Today we had no set plans except to go on a few walks, which we did. This morning we walked to the water. Victoria played with a pail and shovel in the sand and really enjoyed this. She also had a good time chasing a bird and watching a few dogs pass. I have yet to come across anything she is afraid of. Always curious, but never afraid.
While we were down at the water there was a large group of kids walking around, taking pictures, playing on the broken rides, and just enjoying themselves. They noticed that we spoke English and finally came over to us, asked if they could talk to us and ask questions. It was really sweet. They did speak English, somewhat broken, but we all managed. We learned they were there for some sort of camp that lasted 21 days. They have already been here 10 days, but have just now started to enjoy the beach because the sun has come out. Actually, it was a beautiful day here today. It seemed they ranged from the ages of 11 to 14. We told them we are from California and they mentioned (the girls of course) that they hope to meet Brad Pitt someday…..haha! They asked several questions and we asked questions of them too. Finally, they said that they had a special present for us, they gathered together and sang to us! It was awesome! I really loved it! They reconvened again then gave us some Russian chocolate, a coin and a shell from the beach. What a great group of kids!
We came back to the hotel to find that Ryan and Sandy finally received word that their paperwork was back from Moscow. They made flight reservations and got a plane going out tonight. We will miss them and Bodi very much. Another great family. Bodi is such a cute little guy. Both parents and Bodi are blessed to now be a family. Ryan and Sandy are both involved with the Air Force and just a really fun couple with interesting experiences under their belts. Now, we are down to three families here and no sign of any new ones on the horizon!
So here is how this goes, when a family leaves they start passing out all of their food. That happened when the Overstreet’s left and again with the True’s today. Justin even left a pretty nice knife! Both of those families acquired stuff when others have left. Today one of the items acquired was a can of kipper snacks (canned fish in an oval tin, like sardines). Mom opened them, started eating them and of course, who did not want to be left out of any sort of eating that was going on….yes, Victoria! She enjoyed them and kept going back for more. Honestly, she has not shown any dislike to a food yet! Funny, her caregiver at the orphanage was sure to tell me she was a picky eater! I have to admit, in her defense, she has slowed down a bit.
After snacking on canned fish (no, not me), we headed to the playground here at the hotel. Just as soon as we got out there, I noticed I had forgotten my camera. I wanted to get it because we were heading back down to the water, knowing lots of people would be there because today is a holiday here. I swear I was only gone for maybe 4 minutes and when I returned my mom says to me that I most likely will not want to leave my daughter with babushka (grandma) again. She managed to fall face first while I was gone! Mom decided to teach her how to swing on her tummy and she toppled head first over the swing into the dirt (I told mom I was telling). I wanted to know of course how she reacted. I was told that she got up, looked at grandma, brushed herself off and moved on to something else….crazy little girl! That really goes along with her personality, she is pretty resilient. We played on the swings (with mommy!), she went down the different slides, talked to the other kids in Russian, and we moved on.
We headed down to the water and had a nice walk. Like I had predicted, there were many people. It seems the warmest part of the day here is around 4 or 5 in the evening. Sun sets late, it is not dark yet and it is 9:05 pm. On our way back to the hotel, Irina drove up to tell us goodbye. We are not leaving yet, but she will be out of town for a bit on business. We are now in the care of Lana, though we don’t have much else to do here. We actually spent part of the afternoon looking into changing our flight. I will have the paperwork I need to bring Victoria back to the US by Wednesday and we are now scheduled to fly home on Saturday the 9th. We will know for sure tomorrow if we can change the flight, that will be nice! I am ready for home!!!
