Back in the U.S.A.

We made it back! We actually got back on Wednesday the 4th at around 11:50pm, so it was almost Thursday. Travelling was very long, but went well and we didn't have any problems.

Masha seems to be fitting right in with the family. She is very funny, loving, and active!

I'll write more and post some at home photos within the next few days.

Brent

Captain's Log, Star Date 2008.06.04

We are packing up and getting ready to head to AMERICA!!!!

I am posting our last batch of photos. I was going to post a video of Masha playing with a crab, but the video was too large to post.

We are almost giddy with excitement - just waiting is hard, and we know that we have about 35 hours of traveling ahead of us, but at least we won't be stuck in a hotel any more!

We love you and can't wait to see you all!!!!!

Brent

1 Day Left!

Only 1 day left! Instead of doing one of the many exciting things that we could do, we are counting down the time left until we leave. Ok, I was kidding about the exciting things to do around here…

We got our high-speed back, so I am posting a few more photos. Many families are leaving this week, so it will be getting pretty quiet around here. A new family came in yesterday for their first trip, so they will only be here until Saturday anyway – and they will be extremely busy the whole week.

We have been wrestling and goofing-off at the hotel. Masha is doing great.

Please pray that Masha handles the flights well. She has never flown before, so we just pray that she doesn’t get motion sick.

Yesterday I went to the bank in Ussyrysk to close Masha’s pension account. That went very good, and we are going to open an account for her back home to save for college.

All we can really think about right now is getting home, so I don’t know what else to write about. So, we’ll see you all SOON!

Love ya!

Brent

Interesting Day

So today was an interesting day.

I tried to connect to the internet and it seems that our 10 hour card had stayed connected, even though I turned the computer off. They can’t check things out until tomorrow, so we are stuck with dial-up until we can straighten things out.

It was finally sunny, so we went out for a walk. It was still pretty chilly, about 60. The kids at the beach were bundled up like it was winter. Then, there were adults – or seniors, that were playing volleyball in their Russian speed-o’s. It was not pretty, but was quite interesting to see.

Then, we found out why one of the little babies here had a skin rash. The orphanage doctor kept saying that he was allergic to this, that, and about everything else. However, he actually had scabies. So, now we need to keep an eye on each other to make sure that we didn’t get them as well.

Then, we went to the playground at the hotel. Again, the kids were bundled up like winter, and there was a girl playing tennis in a bikini.

We are still bored out of our skulls. But surviving and counting down they days.

Love you all!

Brent