My biggest countdown though is till my husband comes home for a 2 weeks visit.
He started his new project in Jamaica and we "celebrated"2 weeks since dad left the country. He mentioned in the last em that he enjoys the feeling of being connected and the music on my blog (?) , so I decided to surprise him today and post some pics he's been asking me for and change the songs. I am sorry it took me so long, love, but you know what my life has been like lately.
But, I made no excuse today, especially since it's been almost a month and it's Friday! So, before Saturday comes with all its load of work I decided to hurry up, refreshing up my dusty old blog to reconnect with my friends who've been begging to find out what we did.
Ben finished the Panama project and came home on the 18th. We left for Ky on the 24th and spent 5 days visiting with his family. It was a challenge to relax without www or a phone connection. Well, W/D as well. I satisfied my www addiction at my nephew's house and did laundry while there as well. Huge blessing! Thank you guys! We had a gas stove and I packed all the kitchen gear I needed there. It was different to cook meals in my house that I haven't lived in for 2 years. I always enjoy finding a book I've been wanting to read and didn't know if was in my house. I didn't take hardly any pictures while in KY and the laptop crashed (for the second time), so Lord knew no photo editing would have been possible.
We did get to visit with many friends new and old. Too soon it was time to leave. We left for the Cincinnati area the 30th after a short visit catching up with 2 more friends on the way out in the Cafe on the Square. Cincinatti was only a 4 hour ride from KY. We were able to skate for an hour the same evening (after checking in at the hotel) at a small, but fun skating rink in the middle of town and ate at burittos that were so spicy kids were miserable. Dad filmed and took pics of the kids and I. I have to figure out how to take them off the HDD camcorder. Let my teenager figure it out tomorrow. Will add those later.
The next morning bright and early we headed to the Perfect North slopes where we met friends and family for a full fun day and savings for a group rate. I couldn't take my DSLR on the slopes obviously, but we should have some decent pics on that HDD camcorder, which fit in my inside jacket pocket. I finally used the DSLR when it was dark. Grrr! I hate using flash! We had an awesome day skiing. I even took a snowboarding lesson! Free, but too late! I skied for 6 hours and left the snowboarding tryout for the last hour when I was pooped! What a mistake! I think I enjoy skiing a whole lot more anyway! Snowboarding is not for old foggies like me. Wish we could go back again this year but it is pricey, even with a group rate. Another highlight of mine: talking on my cell while speeding down a steep hill using my bluetooth. Felt high tech to the max! Forget HTML and all that. Trying to talk on the earpiece while the wind is blowing in your face is something else. Bluetooths are so handy, aren't they?
We were very sore and tired when we parted with our friends who headed back to Ky and we headed to eat at the nearest Ruby Tuesdays where we were treated to free desserts (our steaks were not done properly twice so we were offered a treat). What a nice NY's treat! We waddled to our hotel for another good nite rest. Well, not until the kids swam in the hotel's pool. I was about to drop from exhaustion! But they couldn't get enough fun! I wasn't tempted to work out the calories I had at Ruby's for I already worked them out on the slopes for 6 hours straight! I doubt anyone in my family heard the NY's fireworks since everyone was bone tired and I was wide awake! In my country of birth we stay up way past midnite to welcome the NY. Not here in the US! There were a few scattered firework shots at the slopes earlier in the day that sounded more like distant invisible explosions. The slopes and the skating rink were probably more festive, but out of my hotel room window nothing was reminding me of NY.
We headed back home to AL the next day. We really were torn between going to the Creation Museum and splitting the drive after half a day at the museum and making it home the next day just in time for the NY's party at 4pm. But it was too much and we decided to skip the creation museum for lack of time. We had committed to a NY's party with our Russian friends. So, we hope to go to the Museum next time we are in KY. Our trip back was long-9 hours but we made it safely!
The Ny's party was fun. We ate yummy Russian food! Like caviar (yes, fish eggs) sandwiches and Olivye and beet salad salad. My Russian speaking friends included Ukrainians and Armenian friends. So, a mixture of English, Russian and Armenian was heard the whole time. I found this pic my kids took while I was enjoying the food and too busy to take pics. I thought it was perfect to include here. This is the reaction of my kids to Russian delicatessen.
Our not so very hushed dialog at the table (luckily it was buffet style):
My kid: What is that, mom?
Me: Fish eggs or caviar, the red kind, they also have the black kind, but I like the red better. Kid:! That looks disgusting! Mom, how can you love this stuff? You are weird. Are all Russians weird?
at which point my friends starting to hear my conversation
Me: I am not Russian and you don't have to be Russian in order to love caviar. Besides this mansion is full of people who speak the common language -Russian, but are from different parts of the former Soviet Union. Now, please, pass me your caviar sandwich, please, will ya, kid? You don't know what good food is. I also like liver, heart and tongue, if prepared properly. Are your eyes as big by now? LOL!
Caviar sandwiches. Expensive stuff! I remember only elite Communist Party members could purchase it at currency stores (special stores where elite government members and VIPs could buy stuff with bucks, not for regular mortals) when I was growing up in Moldova. It wasn't available for common folk. Now it's available to anyone with money.
Olivye salad. A veggie mayo based salad. A staple at every holiday table. Love it. DIdn't get a pic of the vinaigrette-beets and veggie oil based salad! YUMMO!
We also enjoyed a puppet show staged by our friends and their children. How much fun! Those my kids didn't understand a word of it it was fun to watch their faces attempting to understand what was the plot of the story.
There was a ton of dancing and of course, Father Frost (Ded Moroz aka Santa Claus) made his appearance with inexpensive gifts for all the kids.
Since our family wasn't russian speaking we sang a song. You had to perform something to get a gift. Here they are singing:
Our dd2 asked FF if she can exchange her gift for another one.
The only child who dared. Well, what could we say. She is our brave little Evangelist, so same goes for other things. boldness is in the genes. I did teach them to bargain too, ahem, not in the US, though. In Panama with the taxi drivers. I better watch it!
After the Russian party we took a deep breath, got a good nite sleep and woke up to get ready for our dd1 BD party I scheduled weeks ahead of time so dad could be with us. Her Bd was after dad left for Jamaica, so we wanted to celebrate earlier. The ranch was an hour drive each way and we went in 2 vehicles to fit all the kids! Ben had to leave the very next day! So, what can I say? It was a crazily overbooked 2 weeks but it was all well worth it. Anabeth enjoyed it! SO, did the rest of her friends! The hayride was last and a highlight indeed!
Well, I did manage to cram 2 weeks worth of events and pics in one long post. That's what I get for procrastinating and blogging once a month. I sure do hope to make time to post weekly! Hope you enjoyed the journey with our family. We were in 3 states in matter of minutes when on the way to the slopes. So, can you figure out where were we?
Hi there friend!!! I am not avoiding you just having 5 is soooooooooooooooooooo busy! Talk to you soon and this was such a fun post! Bless you girl!
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