To Minsk (Минск) and Beyond!

Week in Review

Sunday was a very nice Sunday.  We had our normal morning routine and the headed off for church.  The weather was nice, so the trip back and forth was actually quite pleasant.  We also enjoyed the church meetings and the kids had a great time in primary.  After church, we watched a conference talk and then had rest time, followed by dinner and a pleasant evening after the kids were in bed.

Monday the weather was gorgeous so we spent a good amount of time playing outside.  For the first time, I let the kids take off their shows and put their feet in the fountain by the playground, thinking it would be a good way for them to cool down and have a little fun (also naively thinking they wouldn’t get too wet!).  Within a couple minutes there had been so much splashing that everyone was soaked!  We had a great time and had to change clothes after we got back to the apartment.  The Johns joined us at our apartment for dinner and brought a yummy Belarusian dish!  We had a great family home evening done completely by the girls (Lia—music, Amber—lesson, and Sara—game).  It all went great and we enjoyed having the Johns with us for the evening.  After they left and we got the kids to bed, Jacque and I had a nice evening before hitting the sack ourselves.

Tuesday was Belarusian Independence Day.  We took off around 9 am so we could get to the big parade, and it was good we left so early.  We got there and there were tons of people, check points, and quite a bit of walking before we finally got to the spot we wanted.  The parade was basically a display of the Belarusian military and the kids loved seeing all of the soldiers, tanks, planes, helicopters, etc.  We got back to the apartment in time for lunch and rest time.  After rest time iIt was quite warm, so I decided to let the girls get into their swimming suits and took them down to play in the fountain.  They loved it!  The water is not the cleanest in the world (in some ways kind of like canal water), so I was probably a bit overprotective with them, but we all had a good time and were able to cool off.  After dinner we had a movie night with popcorn and treats and we all had a good time.  Then Jacque and I just hung out and chatted until it was time for fireworks.  We got the three oldest kids up and took them out on the balcony so we could watch.  They were very pretty, but they are also so loud here (like canons going off every time).  It was a good day.

Wednesday was another warm day.  We ventured out to the mall so Jacque could get some cross-stitching stuff and then found a little place that had all sorts of little pastries and treats.  We got something for all of us for less than $3 and it was all yummy.  After rest time I took the kids to the park to play and Jacque also did some shopping.  Our evening routine was normal and Jacque and I had a nice evening after the kids were in bed. 

 

Thursday was a warm day.  After a typical morning of work and playing with the kids, I took off for work and had my long day at the office, with my MBA class in the evening.  I got home before 10 pm and Jacque and I hung out before bed. 

The heat wave continued into Friday.  We had a normal morning and then I went and spent half of the day dealing with immigration stuff.  To say that I am frustrated with the situation is a huge understatement.  It has been very frustrating as the rules and required documentation seems to change every time I go and meet with the immigration officials.  We are still hoping that everything gets taken care of in the next couple of weeks (should have been taken care of two months ago).  We then had a fairly quiet evening in the sauna that is our apartment this week (thank you heat and humidity).  

Saturday morning we were all up early because of the heat and after breakfast we spent most of the morning outside in the shade eating ice-cream and playing.  We then had lunch and rest time and then we spend a good part of the afternoon down at the park too.  After the kids were in bed, Jacque and I watched a live-stream on the internet of her uncle’s funeral back in Utah (we are grateful for technology so we could participate).  It was a very nice funeral and it was great to learn more about her uncle, who admittedly I did not know every well before his passing. 

Today is another really hot/humid day already (and it is only 6 am).  We are hoping it cools down a little soon.