Greece!

I've postdated this post to let you know, that God willing, we are in Greece! By this time our plane should have landed, and we should be on a bus on the way to the hotel. We are attending our home church's conference and we are so excited! After Greece we will head to California for an 8 eight week stay. I can't wait to post pictures and let you know how our time was in Greece. I am sure it will be a great time of encouragement and refreshment but for now I'll take a little hiatus from posting.........hopefully I will be able to post a picture here or there during our time in Greece!!!

Mega Mall

The boys and I took a little adventure the other to kill some time. They (OK, me too) are getting a bit excited about our upcoming trip to Greece! So, we took off to the big mall that is just outside the city. Our adventure started off by taking the bus....

the ride wasn't as long as I thought it was going to take. It took us about 50 minutes to get there which is really not that bad. Nathan enjoyed watching all the cars as we rode along and Jojo enjoyed asking me a gazillion questions about everything and anything. The great thing is that the ride only cost 15 rubles each for Jojo and I.............15 rubles is about 50 cents!

When we got there, the boys said they were hungry and so we bought some donuts! Donuts at IKEA are a real treat plus they only cost 5 rubles!!!!

We walked around IKEA for a bit............I only needed to buy some storage bags and little storage bins. The boys enjoyed trying out all the sofas!

After IKEA they played at the indoor playground for a long time........I just sat back and relaxed.

Of course we had to visit the Lego store...........they each got a minifigure.

After some window shopping and walking around we were all hungry for lunch at the golden arches! And yes I got a big cinabon after lunch.

Our trip back home was uneventful...........the boys even dozed off a bit on the bus ride home.

June 15th Stuck?! Sketch

I thought I'd just keep entering Stuck?! sketch challenges because it really is a great way for me to keep scrapping and I love working from a sketch. I have been so busy lately with packing and cleaning but I had some free time today so I sat down and worked on this entry. I really liked the simple sketch!

I had to look through all my scrapbook stuff to find a butterfly even though I know I could have used a different embellishment but I did find 1 butterfly!

I really like how this layout turned out! I stayed pretty true to the sketch also.

Annual Souvenir Shopping Trip

Every year the week prior to our departure to the States I take Jojo with me to go souvenir shopping. Unfortunately this year he had some nasal congestion and felt kinda miserable so instead I took Naynay with me. On the way there we took the 205 bus and saw this................

a lady and her two ferrets. Nathan thought the ferrets were so cute. Everyone was staring at them......it was kinda funny! Usually everyone is staring at us.

I like to go buy our souvenirs on Leningradskaya street as there are a few tables that sell decent souvenirs. Nathan wanted to check out this fountain.

There were workers planting some new flowers and making the street look so pretty.

We then walked along Frunze Street to get to a real nice souvenir store and on our way over we stopped to enjoy the beautiful philharmonic building.

Week 32 & 33 Lemonies and Chocolate Peppermint Crinkles

Since next week we'll be in Greece! I thought that I would post two things I baked yesterday for Father's Day.

I love lemon and since it's summer time I tried out these "lemon brownies" over on Pinterest. The recipe was super easy to make and they tasted just great. Not too much lemon where it was overwhelming but just perfect.

I also made chocolate peppermint crinkles which I had baked before but this recipe was a little different. The cookies turned out great also and Jon was pleased!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to any fathers reading this blog. Father's Day has always been a bit rough for me since my father wasn't much of a father. I haven't seen him in years. Jon and the boys have never even seen him. Yet, God in His goodness has provided my boys with the most amazing father any child could ever have. Jon is everything my father wasn't......and I'm so thankful that the boys have such a Godly example to follow after.

Instead of having the boys make cards for Jon, they answered some questions about their daddy. Some of the answers are quite funny:

What is daddy's name? Josiah: Jon  
                                      Nathan: I forget

What does daddy do for fun? J: He goes on dates with mom.
                                               N: He helps us.

What does daddy do at work? J: He helps the church.
                                                N: He works.

What are his favorite things to eat? J: eggs, chicken and salad (Jon is on a high protein diet)
                                                        N: salad

What does he like to drink? J: Diet Coke
                                            N: red juice (no, not red wine but cranberry juice.........he's been drinking
                                                                   a ton of it since he has a kidney stone)

How old is daddy? J: 40
                              N: 6

How tall is daddy? J: very big
                               N: big

What is daddy's hair like? J: long, brown hair
                                          N: like Jojo's hair

How much does he weigh? J: 40 pounds
                                           N: a lot of pounds

What makes daddy the best? J:  he loves us, he loves mom, and he loves the whole family.
                                              N:  he works

What is your favorite thing to do with daddy? J: play Wii with him
                                                                          N: play with him

How long have you known daddy? J: for a long time
                                                        N: 42 days

Where did you and daddy meet? J: in California when I was a baby
                                                    N: at California

Fountain

Last year the city built a new boardwalk by the river. They created bike lanes, beautiful little parks, and even put in this beautiful fountain that lights up at night and is synchronized with music. I had not seen the fountain at night so last week we headed over there to check it out.

It's also a real neat gathering place...........lots of families, couples,and teens were hanging out and enjoying the light show and music.

Popsicle Stick Farm Animals

Last week while we had some friends over spending a few days with us we did a little craft that I found over here.  The kids really enjoyed making these and I think you could go in so many different directions with it.............you don't have to stick with just farm animals!  My popsicle sticks weren't as wide nor were my google eyes as small...........but it still worked! The kids and I actually thought it was hilarious for the animals to have such big eyes. The kids could even put on a popsicle stick puppet show once they build up a collection. I'm thinking this summer I'll buy some wider popsicle sticks and smaller google eyes and we'll make some more animals in the fall!!!

Picnic

Thursday afternoon Heather's 2 kiddos came over to stay with us while she and her husband are away. So yesterday we headed out to the park to enjoy a picnic together. It was quite fun even though the mosquitoes were feasting on us.

Warmer Days

The weather has really been warming up and we've been trying to take advantage of the longer days. It's so fun getting outside without having to bundle everyone up!

 Nathan has been asking us to take off his training wheels but

I'm thinking he's still too young!

This parking lot is empty on the weekends and it's a great

open space for the boys to ride around.

Week 31 Carrot Cake

I had some extra carrots and before they went to waste I made some yummy carrot cake. I have actually been craving carrot cake for a few weeks. The pin actually links back to the "Brown Eyed Baker", a blogger who never disappoints. I have to say that all the recipes I have tried from her have been a huge success. The carrot cake has coconut flakes in it which gives the cake a nice little crunch....plus who can resist a delicious cream cheese frosting!!!

 Naynay enjoying a little snack before bed time. 

 

Cherry Trees

It's cherry season here in Samara and we've already indulged in a ton of cherries. Jojo especially loves them. But today on a walk with Nathan I noticed a row of cherry trees on the way to one of the grocery stores. We've lived here several years now and I have never seen cherries on these trees! I was so surprised. What really caught my attention is that people were walking by and just picking the cherries and eating them..............so on the way home Nathan wanted to do the same. He said they were so good!!

Last year I read a book called "The Secret Holocaust Diaries" and it was about a young Ukranian girl who was sent of to a concentration camp but before she was captured she wrote how during the Spring they survived on her grandma's cherries from her cherry orchard. She also said they canned them and made cherry wine which helped feed German soldiers when they invaded their little town. Since I read that book I have looked at cherries differently and walking by those trees today was a reminder of God's goodness to us in His creation.

Stuck?! June 1st Sketch

So, I've made a commitment this month to complete one layout (or more) every day until June 24 (the day before we leave on a trip). I started of by entering a sketch challenge. This is only  my second time entering into a challenge like this...........they definitely motivate me to get a layout finished.

And here's the sketch

Week 30 Peanut Butter Blossoms

These are an oldy but a goody. Back during Christmas time we were able to find Hershey's Kisses! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw them so I bought a few packs. Last night I had to make some cookies for a get together so I thought I'd make peanut butter blossoms. Of course there were some left over for the boys to enjoy at home.

I know you can find this recipe anywhere online but I found mine on Pinterest  of course!