Birthday, Babushka's and Dachas...

We've had some fun in the last few weeks here in Saratov. On June 5th some students planned an excursion to the Volga and the Regional Museum. We had been to the Museum several times but this time was extra special: they had a butterfly exhibit. One room was closed off and filled with butterflies! We had a picture taken by the staff of the kids with butterflies on them. Dylan's butterfly flew away before I could snap a photo but here is a great one of Katie and her butterfly friends!





The next weekend we went on a picnic with the folks from the church that we have been attending. We rode a marshrutka to the forest, hiked a bit and as in all Russian picnics, found some firewood for shashlyk (kebobs). The girls wandered the surrounding area for flowers to make crowns and the guys played some soccer. Dylan played and was a tough cookie - he took a few hits (those Russian guys play to win)!
Pictured in this photo are Albert (a student at Sobinov Conservatory - wearing the flower crown and Peter the pastor of the church). We had a chance to sing and a few folks shared their testimonies. It was a beautiful day to be outside with our friends.

June is also important because we celebrated Ken's 38th birthday on the 15th. We had cake from our favorite bakery, the kids sang Ken a song, made pictures and gave him his gift (at least he got a photo of the gift that it waiting for him back in OH courtesy of Amazon (backpacking stuff!). We've had 2 birthdays in Russia so far (Amy and Ken), Dylan had his birthday this year at America's Best Value Inn (when our van broke down in SC) and Kate will celebrate her birthday in Moscow in a few weeks!

We have hit a bit of a lull here in Saratov - we've seen the sights, had lots of fun, read all of our books and have some days when it is hot outside and we feel a bit of boredom creeping into our days. To help alleviate this for the kids we took them to the store and let them each pick something out. Dylan chose a dart board and Katie took up counted cross stitch. She is becoming quite the crafty girl - enjoying knitting and now cross stitch!

We have had the wonderful opportunity to visit some dachas as well. Dachas are summer homes (many are not weatherproofed for winter weather) where the Russians spend most of their summer weekends. Dachas are not for relaxation as much as they are a place to grow food that will sustain families through the winter. We were invited by Dima's family (Dima is Dylan's friend) to their dacha which was about an hours drive out of the city. In this photo are Dima, his parents, grandma and great aunt/uncle. They were a warm family and welcomed us despite not speaking English! Despite this barrier we had a lovely day. We spent a good portion of the day eating. The family prepared a fish soup with a fish from the Volga. I was a bit uncertain, especially when I saw the fish head floating in the pot, however, it was delicious!




This is a picture of Babushka Valia with myself and Katelynn at the Dacha!





We also had the chance to visit our friend Nellie's dacha. She became friends with American Missionaries a few years ago who asked her what her dream was. She shared that her dream was to own a dacha. They gave her $250 (raised in America to be given to bless someone). She was able to buy her dacha with that money! The house on the land is a bit rustic but very serviceable and we had a lovely day there.

Nellie's Dacha

Katie and Dylan had fun picking strawberries, cooling off in the wading pool and of course eating some yummy food. I fell in love with salad made with dill from the dacha (I think I will be adding dill to my garden in OH)!

Nellie and Amy

We are nearing the end of our time in Russia and our thoughts are definitely turning towards home. We have been watching the World Cup and cheering on the USA, visiting all of our favorite places for a final time and making preparations for home. On Sunday we are heading to a Sanatorium for a conference with the University. Ken will be doing some presentations and the kids and I will be hanging out. We will be back in Saratov for a few days and then on July 6 will head to Moscow/St. Petersburg for some sightseeing before heading home on JULY 13!!!!

Outing in the Woods and Other Adventures...

As I write we have only 5 weeks left in Russia. The next few will be fairly laid back - Ken does not have a lot of commitments at the University and we do not have a lot of plans. We were wondering what we would do with our free time and have been so blessed by all of the wonderful people we have met here who call and arrange excursions for us!

Valentina (Valia) works in the International office and she took us to a hiking area on the outskirts of Saratov. We climbed up (and I mean straight up) a hill and collected branches for a fire. Valia's boyfriend came and we roasted potatoes in the hot coals. I am always amazed that we can make a fire wherever we would like! Below is a picture of the hill that we climbed - There were no switchbacks we just went straight up, which was intense, but fine. Going down was a little riskier (Katie and I both slid a little too much for comfort)! We also walked a little further and discovered some nice hiking trails - we are looking forward to going back and having a picnic in the woods!

The next day, Dima, a student from the University, arranged for us to go to another forest. We met his friends; Sasha and Lena. We hiked into the mountains and stopped for a rest and had tea! We also tried Kvass. Since the beginning of Spring we have noticed Kvass stands all over the city. Kvass is a beverage and we have heard differing reports. Some folks like it, others don't...some insist that there is no alcohol, others think there is a little... some say it is perfectly safe to buy off of the street, others think maybe that's not so wise. We had been wanting to try it but were also a bit hesitant. Dima solved our problem by bringing some Kvass on the hike. This was made by his family and he is of the opinion that there is a little bit of alcohol. Kvass has three ingredients- bread, sugar and water. Ken tried it and sort of liked it, Dylan tried it and did not like it, I tried it and finished my small glass but did not ask for more, Katie opted for juice!

After our tea break we headed into the forest to hike to a horse farm. Dima made arrangements for us to ride some horses owned by his friends. The kids were excited to ride the horses and we all had a lot of fun. The forest was beautiful - we saw wildflowers, a birch grove and of course some wild Russian dogs. We happened upon a dog that was resting in a large mud puddle. I wish that I could rescue all of the wild dogs that we see roaming the streetShortly after this outing in the woods we went on a picnic with our friend Nellie and her students. Nellie teaches English and Katie has been going to her classes to help. Katie has loved this chance to hang out with other kids and Nellie has enjoyed having a native English speaker so it has worked out well for everyone. We rode a bus out to the forest. The bus left the road and we were bouncing along dirt paths and finally stopped in the middle of nowhere! First thing we did - start a fire of course! The kids played games, we ate family sausage (hot dogs), and had a fun day. Dylan made a new friend, Dima. We think he found his kindred spirit. Dima and Dylan played soccer and were observed sword fighting with sticks. It was fun for Dylan to finally find a friend and have a good time with other kids! Dima called tonight - it was so funny to answer the phone and have someone ask for Dylan!

We are looking forward to another hike in the woods tomorrow, on Friday we are going to the Dacha (summer house) with Nellie (we hear her strawberries are ready) and on Saturday we are going on a picnic with friends from church. Time is speeding by!

During the last week in June we will be at a conference with the University. Ken will be participating and the kids and I are going along to see something have some fun. The conference will be at a Sanatorium (sort of like a spa/resort but I think not as fancy) near the Volga. Hopefully it will be a nice change of pace for all of us.

I've included these photos of Dylan - we went to check on him one night before we went to bed and found him sleeping in this hilarious pose...

Ken has been having an ongoing battle with the drapes in our flat. In our first week here, Katie and Dylan managed to get tangled in the drapes in Dylan's room and pulled them crashing to the floor. Without proper tools, Ken finally managed to rehang them only to have them crash down about a month later. He fixed them and in the middle of the night they fell again, and again the next night. He finally secured Dylan's drapes only to have ours fall down a week ago. Ken fixed them and they fell again. They are currently lying on a pile on the floor - the main annoyance is that it gets light here very early (4 am) and our windows are wide open letting in the light. I took this photo while Ken was working on our bedroom drapes, he was not amused that I was documenting this episode of our stay - he's spent far too much time during this sabbatical fixing drapes...

We are still working out our travel plans for July but expect to leave Saratov on July 6 to go to Moscow and perhaps St. Petersburg. We fly home on July 13.