So, we left Russia for our last visa renewal last November. We made it back into the country just in time to vote in the elections. I would have preferred a different outcome, but I was thankful to exercise my right to vote nonetheless.
The sale of our ranch fell through, and with the drought we had last year, Shane was busy pulling cows off the permit, hauling some to the auction, and finding other places to hold our cows through the winter...all with the transmission going out in the ranch truck. In the middle of one of the cow-hauling trips, and after we changed a flat tire on the trailer, Shane dropped me off in St. George at the airport shuttle and I flew to DC where Skye picked me up. She and I started our journey back across the US in her little yellow car. While we were somewhere en route, Shane left to fly back to Russia since his "time" was up and he was needed back on the farms. Skye and I rolled into Arizona the night before Thanksgiving. We had a fun trip together. She might think otherwise, but I had a great time being on another adventure with her. A big thank you to family that watched my girls while Shane and I were going different directions.
Shortly after Shane returned to Russia, he found out he won the lottery--the boat lottery, that is--and he got picked to tend the next shipment of cattle that was being shipped from the US to the farms in Russia. But that is reserved for an entirely different post, hopefully with input from Shane that will portray it as only he could describe it.
So, meanwhile back in AZ, the girls and I were busy with lots of things. And so to name a few, and post pictures of many, we ....
...Decorated a simple, no-fuss, kid-friendly Christmas tree
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| Echo would run to get an ornament, and then ask you to put it on the tree for her. |
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| The candy canes were more her style. "Just my size, Mom." |
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| We were also entertained by a Nutcracker re-enactment featuring Rain and Mesa |
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| Proof I was there. |
...Played with "Christmas present" puppies
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| Echo thought she was quite clever in corraling the puppies in the box and decided to join them. |
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| Enjoying the warm November days. Sun, dirt, and puppies. Can life get any better than that? I think not. |
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| Trying to get a good shot of this moment was not very easy. But I'll take what I can get. |
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| ♫ "Hush little baby, don't say a word..." ♫ |
...Had pedicures with Aunt Skye
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| After Echo warmed up to the idea, she was NOT about to be left out. |
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| This is serious business. |
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| Blow, blow, blow. Now let it dry.... No, don't touch it yet. |
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| Out to explore the first "BIG" snowstorm |
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| Just getting prepared for our first Russian winter |
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| Echo loved eating the decorations |
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| Other than picking out a few jellybeans or something, does anyone ever really EAT their whole gingerbread house, or just use it for decoration and then throw it away? Never quite understood that whole process. |
...Performed in Christmas programs
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| Rain was in her first Christmas program, singing All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth. I enrolled her in kindergarten for the 3-4 weeks we were home. It was a good, learning experience for me and her. |
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| We didn't want to be late and ran out the door very quickly. Much to my dismay later, I realized I didn't have a binky OR a bottle for Echo, and so we had to leave shortly after Rain's part. |
...Celebrated my birthday
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| I have to add a note here. My birthday turned out to be a crazy day, but I was surprised to hear Shane's voice when he called me on my birthday. I hadn't heard from him for about 2 weeks while he was on the boat, but he had found a way to call me from the ship's satellite phone. We couldn't talk very long, but it was a very nice to hear from him on my birthday. Next, he surprised me by sending me roses. He was very sneaky and had ordered them before he left on the boat, and even had them wait to bill him so I wouldn't see the transaction show up on the statement. Very clever, indeed. |
...Played some Twister
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| This was very good practice in learning LEFT and RIGHT and hand-to-eye coordination. |
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| Echo was very helpful in keeping the mat on the floor. |
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| They really need a kid-sized version of this. Echo's poor little appendages JUST.COULD.NOT.REACH! |
...Visited Santa Claus
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| Rain and Santa |
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| Mesa and Santa |
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| Yay! More candy canes. I was actually very surprised my girls were cooperative. They have extreme stranger anxiety. I have mixed feelings about teaching my girls to go sit on a stranger's lap. Am I overreacting? Please tell me there are other mothers out there that have some hesitations about this. |
...Welcomed Baby J
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| Like I mentioned earlier, my birthday was a crazy day....mainly because this little guy decided to make his entrance. I hope my new nephew doesn't mind sharing a birthday with me. What a neat experience we had together. |
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| Such a handsome little man. |
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| The SNOW GLOBE table was a hit. |
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| Good thing I have a bunch of wipes with me AT ALL TIMES! |
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| Since Mom was not quite on the ball about getting our letter in the mail to Santa, and AirMail wasn't even going to work, on Christmas Eve night, Paca helped the girls send a "Smoke Letter" straight to the North Pole. |
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| The girls wrote this letter to Santa, making sure to tell him that "we are at America" so that he wouldn't send their presents to Russia. They also asked that Daddy come home safely. At nightly prayers, the girls prayed daily that "Daddy would get rid of his cows and horses soon", or that "Daddy wouldn't get kicked by all the cows". It was all very sincere. |
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| This is the letter the girls received back from Santa on Christmas morning, left for them by the cookies and milk. (I have a very talented brother, who was "willing" to oblige in helping out in the Santa department.) |
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| One of the favorite presents. Don't worry, this did NOT go in a suitcase. Judd is a lucky cousin. |
...Helped around the house
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| Echo, my little helper |
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| And always quick with a smile, too. |
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| This batch of dishes required a little MORE help. |
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| Talking on a double phone with Aunt Skye. Echo was Skye's little shadow by the time we left. If I couldn't find Echo, she was typically in Skye's room, "keeping her company". |
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| Wrapping paper roll fun. Honestly, the best toys are "FREE". |
...Spent some time being sick
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| Most everyone in the house fell ill after Christmas. We were trying to clear up Bronchitis in the girls a couple days before we flew out. My parents both got pneumonia. I kept oiled up with essential oils and escaped the bug. Here, my girls convinced Paca that watching Barbie and Tinkerbell movies would help him feel better |
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| Shane was finally reunited with his girls on the first of January. We missed him on Thanksgiving, Mom's birthday, Christmas, New Year's, and every day in between, so we had a second Christmas with Dad. The girls got this adorable-but-totally-impractical-doll-house-castle-which-I-knew-we-would-probably-have-to-leave-behind-but-I-bought-it-anyway, but I guess it will be waiting for us whenever we visit. |
...Had a Family Reunion/Farewell
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| Echo was very content to just sit up there with Dad all day, despite the weather being quite frigid. |
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| We had a few minutes to spare this trip, so we stopped to enjoy the friends we always see at good ol' LAS. |
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| Peek-A-Boo! |
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| Mesa finally discovered the "telescopes". |
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| Miss Future Galileo |
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| Rain can always be found drawing in her notebooks. She is getting to be quite an artist. |
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| And Echo is my little techie! She is drawn to electronics like a proton loves the nucleus. Okay, so enough of trying to be original. It is way too late at night. |
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| Just about everything is a phone to her. I just had to be careful because she kept pushing the button to page the stewardess. Oops! |
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| And sometimes, you just have to kick back and put your feet up. This was a particularly long flight since the computer entertainment system was down and we did the ENTIRE international flight with NO movies. It can be done. |
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| Rain is my little wiggle worm. Staying in one place is not one of her strengths. |
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| But aside from some slight escalator anxiety, and never liking the food offered on the plane, Rain was a real trooper and a big help to mom. She really is such a big girl. |
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| My best attempt at re-creating the von Trapp stair-step picture. Does anyone else know what I am talking about? (♫ And up in the nursery, an absurd little bird, is popping out to say, "Cuckoo, Cuckoo"♫) |
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| Our life in a suitcase. And I try SO HARD to condense. It's tough business. |
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| The girls getting their first taste of the Russian winter. It was -15C when we landed in Moscow, which is not terrible, but that cold wind does leave you a bit breathless, and cherry-nosed. |
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| The 80's revisited...elfin-style. |
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| Settling back in. We often stopped unpacking, sorting, and organizing to turn on some music and DANCE! Because that's how we do life. |
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| Plumb wore out!!! That's about how Mom felt after all the packing, traveling, and mothering. But I wouldn't change it. |
We are all doing great. Shane is very busy with a handful of farms to watch over. The girls are growing fast, studying hard in school, and keeping mom busy.
Whew! Congratulations for sticking with me through all of that. Good thing that was the abbreviated version, right?
