Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from the Smith family!

We didn't do much today, just went and got a stroller from Walmartski and ate at Traveler's Cafe.

Thought I would post some pics of today and Maddux in the pumpkin set we got him.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Jenny

First night

Our first night with Maddux went well. He was super good.
We had a little "Gotcha Party" with the other family. We had cake and some gifts so boys had a good time.

The hotel where we are staying in Kemerovo doesn't have a crib or anything for Maddux so we had to sleep with him last night. Well he is a bed hog! :)
I didn't get much sleep. My husband however never seems to have a problem, it's pretty annoying!

I did something to my back yesterday. Well I think it's a combination of sleeping on the springs of the bed, our mattress is beyond terrible, car rides and carrying him. I thought I was going to pass out my back hurt so bad last night, I think I really pulled something. So taking tons of Advil and trying to fix it. Boy am I getting old or what?! We are buying a stroller today, not waiting until tomorrow.

Well posting some pics of the boys sleeping. Yes, Rich can ALWAYS sleep, and I thought I slept a lot! :)

Jenny

Gotcha Day!!!

Gothcha Day is finally here and we are so happy.

We picked up Maddux today around 11:00. We really think he knew he was leaving, he looked kind of sad. He cried when one of his caregivers said "paka paka" to him.

He did wonderful on the car ride home and we took him to Walmartski this afternoon for formula and stuff and he did great there. He is very curious about everything!

Well going to finally post some pics!


We are so happy and he was definitely worth the wait for us!

Jenny

Wheel of Fortune

So here we are on Day 10 and it's so hard for me to believe Maddux will be officially ours tomorrow!

During this 10 day wait I have been thinking a lot about a conversation my Grandfather Stickels and I had years ago. I was waiting to write about it until the end of our 10 day wait. My Grandfather has been gone now for several years but I have never forgotten this story and being here reminded me of it again.

So on my Dad's side of the family I was kind of the 'odd ball' to them. I was in my late 20's and then 30 and wasn't married and had 0 prospects. I never really dated a lot and brought no one around. Almost everyone else on that side of the family married early and had kids. They were from a small town and that is what most of them did. So I got teased a lot, called an "Old Maid" all of the time and would always be asked when I was getting married, why I wasn't etc. My family would do this a lot, but they liked to tease. I knew I was just on a different path. I bought my house all by myself in my 20s, I traveled, I worked hard and took a leap into consulting which really paid off for me. I just wasn't at that stage yet, but the teasing did get to me at times. It bothered me, especially by the time I turned 30 because I would get down about not having anyone special.

Anyway, so one time when we were back in IA my Grandfather could tell all of the teasing was really getting me to that day. I could tell he felt sorry and bad for me so he started to talk to me about it. He said "Jenny you know you remind me of one of those Son's of B's (that is how he talked and it was funny, his style) on that game show your Grandmother watches all of the time, the one where they spin the wheel (yes Wheel of Fortune). He said "you are the sap everyone feels sorry for the whole game. When it's your turn, you always get 'lose a turn' or 'bankrupt'." He said " I always feel so bad for that person and low and behold at the very last minute that person somehow ends up winning the WHOLE DAMN JACKPOT! He/She wins the whole darn thing. He said "that is you, one day you are going to win it all, the whole jackpot".
I have never forgotten that story and wondered if it would be true. I also liked his comparison of life to a Wheel of Fortune show!

Fastforward to now and my gosh my Grandfather was right. I had to wait awhile but in the end I married a great guy who is my best friend and now we are blessed to have a son who I already love so much.

So looks like my Grandfather was right, I ended up winning the whole darn JACKPOT! :)

Jenny

Sushi in Siberia and Day 10!

Today is Day 10! At close of business today the waiting period is up, and hopefully everything continues to go according to plan. We are leaving Saturday morning at 8 am to pick Maddux up from the orphanage. I think we are both a bit nervous, but in the end it will all be worth it.

The other night we went out with Kevin and Denise, the other couple that is here finishing their adoption. There appears to be two Japanese resturants on the main street, and we ate a the better one according to those two. I have to say, even in the places where they don't speak a bit of english, everyone has been very nice to us. The cashier at the Walmartski still scowls at us when we ask for a plastic bag though. Oh well. You can get a long way just pointing at the pictures on the menu!

I'm sure tomorrow we'll have more to say, and pictures of our boy of course! Jenny got a very funny one with his tongue sticking out and looking all goofy. I'll make sure I post that one! He just happens to be wearing a Cubs shirt too...that wasn't an accident. :)

Oh, and a special thanks to Grandma Carole for taking care of our dogs! They are a handful sometimes!

Rich

Days 8 and 9

We are almost there. Saturday still seems like a lifetime from now, hopefully it goes quickly. We're trying to relax as much as possible during these last few days, because once he's with us everything will change.

I wrote something to Maddux back in July, the day we met him. I don't even think Jenny knows about it. I saved it on our netbook so when the time came, I could share it with both of them.

7/22/2010

Maddux,

Today is the first day that I met you. You were just about a week away from your first birthday. I'm kind of lucky, not many fathers get to meet their son on such an adventure. The country in which you were born is very nice. There are many things similar to the United States here, and likewise many differences. As I sit here this morning and wonder how today will go, I can only hope that you and I are starting a wonderful journey together as father and son!

What's strange is you are there at the orphanage now, probably eating breakfast or playing, and you have no idea we are coming. However, your mother and I have dreamed about this moment for a long time now. In about three hours, both of our lives will change forever. I like to think I'm a strong person, but knowing that I get to see you finally has be excited and terrified at the same time. What if you don't like us? What if you want to stay in Russia with your friends at the orphanage. What if you resent us for bringing to you our country. I pray none of these things are true. You are what we have waited for, you are our son.

Your mother is almost out of the shower, and she'll be ready to go eat breakfast soon. I thought it would be nice for you to someday read my thoughts before the day we met. Someday we'll share with you the wonderful journey that brought us together. I love you already Maddux, and always will!

Dad

Day 6 and now 7

We have made it through days 6 and 7!

We didn't do much yesterday, the weather has been really nice here 40s, so higher than usual. So we took a walk near the river and stuff.

We found out yesterday our "Gotcha Day" will be this Saturday the 30th! Yeah!
What a fun Gotcha Day, right before Halloween. Glad we brought a little pumpkin outfit for him.

We went to the orphanage today for our last visit! Maddux REALLY liked the basketball and liked putting the ball in the hoop. I think he may like basketball more than baseball, sorry Rich! :)

Maddux was good though and had fun playing ball with Luke.

We also tried on Maddux's cubs shirt, took some pics of him in it. He looked very cute!~

On the way home we say lots of stray dogs. I couldn't live here, I would try to rescue them all! One of the dogs was a pretty black with white paws and he was in middle of nowhere. He was walking down the road, staying right by the side to avoid traffic, he looked like he was trecking to the next town.... Poor guy. I hope he makes it there and finds a home... :(

Well Saturday is the big day for us! We can't wait!

Jenny

Not sure what to do with all the down time?

Jenny says that I've told people I'm bored or there isn't anything to do. I said at times it gets dull, but that's not bordom. It's been very relaxing so far, and soon enough we'll be on a plane back to Moscow. We just aren't use to this much down time I guess. The picture above is located in their "town square" of sorts. It's an even bigger than when we first say it from the backside during Trip 1. There is a ton of history here, and you can tell the people that live here are very proud of their city and culture. There are still a ton of symbols of the old communist regime, which is strange because in Moscow they took down all the Lennin and Stalin statues after the end of the cold war.

So tomorrow we go back to the orphanage for what seems to be the last visit. Then hopefully Saturday we pick him up. Things are going to change drastically, so it's best for us to enjoy the time we have, right? I can't wait until he's with us, but I can tell already that I'm going to miss sleeping in!

I'm sure tomorrow's post will be more interesting. Now Jenny says I'm boring to all of you? Feel free to post comments or questions, and I'll do my best to answer them.

Rich

Day 3, 4 and 5

We haven't really done much these past few days, it's consisted of walking around, sleeping, eating, shopping. The sun has been out some though and it hasn't been that cold.

Some interesting tidbits I wanted to document to remember:

- On our Siberian flights whenever we land the people clap and clap for the succesful landing. I kind of like it, I clapped last time too!
Maybe I should clap on a US flight? :)

- All the girls and women here dress so nice. I am definitely underdressed. I have worn sweat pants a few times and definitely stuck out. Most women have high heels and high boots. Even when it's kind of snowy and rainy out they have them on. Most wear nice dresses and skirts.

- We can't take our bags into shops, they make you leave them in a locker in front of the store.

- At the supermarkets, there are ladies that watch as you check out and you have to walk through a security tower as leaving in case you steal.

- The town here really gets quiet on the weekends. It's so busy during the week, it really slows down though on Sat and Sun.

- There is a music television channel that actually plays videos! However, this same channel also plays Top Model all the time too. Like in the evening or on the weekends you can catch Tyra Banks dubbed in Russia!

Well that is it. I have said this before, but will say it again. I have really liked the people here, everyone has been very nice. We could not have better coordinators here. This is an experience I will never forget and really treasure. It's neat to see other parts of the world and really makes you see how at the core we are all alike for the most part.

Well that is it for now. We are half way through our 10 day wait. Woo hoo!

Jenny

Travelers Cafe

Ah...the Travelers Cafe. We've spent a lot of time here, and will be spending more time there in the coming week. It's further than the other cafes, but they have an english menu, and the staff is super nice. I secretly think they like to practice their english on us. A few of them are pretty good actually! They have a pretty big menu, but in the end we always make it back to their donuts. They warm them up somehow and make them extra delicious.

Sounds like I'm missing all kinds of college football fun back home. K-State losing to Baylor?? Iowa St beating Texas!? What the heck is going on?? I have to rely on ESPN.com, there isn't any sports on their TV, and if there was I'd guess it'd be soccer or hockey. I also saw that the benches cleared in the 3rd inning of the Giant/Phillies game, but both teams were too sissy to throw any punches. It made me sad that I was going to miss the World Series, but not now with these teams. Come on, the Rangers??

No word on whether or not we can pick up the boys on Saturday yet. We should know tomorrow. In the meantime we'll have some donuts at the Travelers Cafe to pass the time! :) I guarantee the updates will be more exciting in about a week!

Rich

Missing food from home

That was dinner last night. Looks really good right? Beef shank with potatoes and gravy. How could you go wrong? It's a nice place, ate there twice actually. But their idea of beef and our idea of beef are two different things. It was at that point that I realized I am really missing American style food. The food here is interesting, and I've enjoyed trying different things, but you just can't go wrong with a cheeseburger or pizza. Unfortunately, we haven't found the "American" resturant yet. (Like they'd actually have something like that.)

It's Saturday morning here in Kemerovo and it seems like everyone stays in on the weekends. There is no one out on the street. During the week the streets are filled with cars and the sidewalks with people. On the weekend it's almost a ghost town. Definately not what we are use to. I think we'll head down to the Walmartski today and shop around. Not sure what we need, but it's something to do. It can get dull here in a hurry!

There is an outside chance we'll get Maddux next Saturday, Oct 30th. We'll know for sure on Monday or Tuesday. That'd be great, having him four days before we leave the region! We'll keep everyone posted.

Rich

Our little apartment in Siberia...

Some people have asked about where we are staying and what it looks like. It's a small place, about the size of our living room. The bathroom is actually pretty large, but the shower leaves a lot to be desired. It's ice cold in the morning and takes a long time to warm up. Overall though, it works for us. We'll see how it is when we add Maddux in a week! :)

Rich

Seinfeld Season 9 and snacks

That's pretty much how we have been filling our nights. After dinner we stop by the corner market/grocery store and pick up pops and snacks. Half the time we have to rely on the pictures to give us some kind of indication what's inside. It's fun though. As you can see, they have bacon flavored Lays potato chips! I haven't tried them yet, but what isn't there to like!? I have also discovered my new favorite candy bar. It's made by Cadbury, so there is a good chance we could get it in the states.
We brought an assortment of TV DVDs, and started with Seinfeld season 9. Next will be the first two seasons of 30 Rock, and then who knows what. I normally would look forward to the weekend, but there isn't much to do here. It will be nice when the 10 day wait is over. Then we'll finally have Maddux with us and can start our journey home.

During our visit yesterday, Maddux may have said "da da". In his world that is "yes yes". But for me that's close enough. Jenny had mentioned that he walked for us too. He not only took a few steps, he was full on walking, which leads us to believe this wasn't the first time. But we got it on video, and will tell everyone this was the first time! :)

Jenny has a cold, so we're probably going to take it easy today. Cafe and then maybe the small mall near the grocery store. I'll try and get more fun pictures!

Rich

Day 2

Today we went to the baby house and celebrated Luke's first birthday (the other couple's son). Maddux had fun and really liked the chocolate cake and loved the apple juice!

We found out today Maddux can indeed walk (they said he hadn't started). He was doing pretty well and getting around good.
He did say "da da" but think he was just saying "yes" in Russian, "dah" is Russian for 'yes' here.

We were cramped in a Toyota Corolla for the 5 hours total drive. Rich was lucky and got the front seat but rest of us were on top of each other in the back. Vacilli was our driver and very nice, he drove over 100 at times. Driving is much different here, I wouldn't do so well. I am sure everyone would pass me and would get a lot of people honking! :)

We don't see Maddux again until next Tuesday so will have a few days of just sleeping,cafes and shopping.

Jenny

Day 1

So today is day 1 of our 10 day wait.

I couldn't sleep last night at all, was up probably until 6am. Rich got up at 7am and I think I finally fell asleep. I slept until 10ish while he was reading etc.
It was snowing outside this am and looked really pretty. The sun came out though so nothing really stuck.

We ventured out and decided to go to Subway. Yes there is a Subway here and I thought it sounded good. We just pointed at the stuff we wanted, I tried to learn how to say Turkey in Russian before going but of course forgot by the time we got there. The kids were really nice though and we got our order just fine. It was ok... Afterwards we went to Traveler's Cafe for awhile, we really like it there. We had drinks and donuts. They warmed the donuts up so they were so good!!!!!! Yum.

So we are sitting at the Traveler's cafe and this woman behind us heard us speaking English and asked if we were here adopting. We said yes, and she said we were the first Americans she has seen in 6 weeks. She is from Boston and was such an interesting woman. She adopted her daughter here years ago when she was 11. She found out later that she has a sister who also lived in an orphanage. She tried to get her, but the agency she was with went bankrupt and she lost all of her money. By then the sister turned 17 and she lost her chance to adopt her. I guess here the kids stay in the orphanages until they are 16 (her daughter got to stay until 17 for some reason). At 16 it's time for them to leave the orphanage and are sent on their way. I can't even imagine! She moved here for the time being and also in process of adopting an 11 year old.
The lady also said that the Proko babyhouse we are adopting from is the best here in Russia. The kids are well cared for and loved. We have witnessed that ourselves and know we made the right choice. If we adopt again, we would definitely request this region.

We have enjoyed spending time in our son's country and region so far. Everyone has been really nice and even though we don't speak the same languange we have managed to get by.

We went to the Walmartski again, turns out it has 3 floors. We totally missed that last time. The other 2 floors have different stores. We bought Maddux 2 balls, one Russia one. He loves playing ball with Rich, they roll it back and forth.
We also got him a puzzle and some stacking toys.

I called the Marriott today and I have to say LOVE THEM! We ordered a Visa card through them a few months ago to begin earning points and let me tell you it's turned out to be such a good decision. I must say thanks to me, it was my idea after much researching!!! Rich and I use credit cards a lot. We are smart with them though and earn points or $ back, we don't pay interest. So for signing up we got 3 free nights and along the way we have earned 4 more. So our next stay in Moscow is for 9 nights and we only have to pay for 3. I somehow just earned another night for some promotion and so cashed that in also. SO glad we signed up. We will continue using the card and stay at their hotels when we can. We have been very pleased with them and what we have earned...

So I think tonight we are going to the cafe with the Peanut on it. We heard it has great food so interested to try it.


Tomorrow off to see Maddux again for his first birthday party with a friend. We can't wait!

Jenny

Passing Court...and some misc stuff

It's early in the morning, and for the first time during our visiti there is snow on the ground here in Kemerovo. Not much, just the kind that sticks to the grassy areas and makes the roads damp. The cold here is different than Nebraska or Kansas cold. It's hard to explain really. It's cold, but not unbearable. But we're from the midwest, they'll have to throw a whole lot more than this at us to keep us down!

The picture above is from yesterday, outside the courthouse. The "courtroom" was more like a little office. One desk at the end where the judge sat, then a small table in front for the prosecutor and court reporter. We sat against the wall on the left side, and the lady representing the orphange on the right side. The process was pretty simple actually. They wanted to talk to me most of the time, and I was ok with that. I talk in front of people all the time. Jenny was a bit more nervous, but that is understandable. We've been waiting for that moment for a long, long time. It was finally our turn. The judge asked about Rylee and Scarlett some. Then they asked about a families and if they were excited? Then a little about our house and financial standing. The judge seemed to spend a lot of time looking at the packet of pictures we had to include in the dossier. Note to anyone reading this and working on their dossier, take time on the pictures. I think the detail helps! It concluded with Helen (we think that is her name) from the orphanage talking about how it would be in the best interest of the boy to go with us. The translations were kinda funny and touching at times. She said that during our visits we would "kiss and make hugs with him" and he would smile. She also said that no one ever came to see him at the orphanage. Not his mother, grandmother, brother, no one. That part makes us sad, and reinforces our commitment to making his life the best it can possibly be with us as his parents.

So now we wait. It shouldn't be too bad. We're going tomorrow to see him again, then again twice next week. The ten days will be over before we know it...I hope!

Rich

Wrigley's

So before court today, Denise, the other woman adopting was talking how angels visit her in times of need and times like today. We were like ok, but she said
she gets signs you just have to look. She said she always gets feathers around her(like little angel feathers). I kind of said I would have to see to believe it to her.
So she comes out of her time with court and has a little white feather on her coat. Hmmm ok...

So since Dad has been gone I said, you know I don't have that around me I wonder why? I also said I wish dad would show me something, he never does and it's no fair. I said this out loud to Rich after court going to our cafe...

Ok... so we are leaving Traveler's Cafe today and Rich and I are walking. A white feather comes from the sky and drops right in front of me. It's a white little feather like Denise had on her coat. Hmm ok, Rich and I agreed it may just be from the birds. Of course there were no birds around but still.

BUT, then we go to a restaurant tonight. A little backstory, when I was in college Dad used to send me letters. Included in the envelopes he would include a piece or 2 of Wrigley's Spearment gum, the white kind. It was kind of his thing. I have saved some of those pieces of gum for all of these years, I have them in a box at home along with his letters. So our bill comes and Rich opens it and what is inside? Two pieces of Wrigley's Spearment gum, the same exact kind he would send me. I burst into tears right there in front of the other couple. I know it may sound weird but I knew it was him. I can't explain it but it was....

So I guess he had to prove me wrong today. I asked why he never sent a sign and I guess he had to show me.
I may sound weird but I knew the moment I saw that piece of gum he is around.

I'm saving the gum, it will go in my box. :)

Jenny

We passed court!!!!

We had our court appointment today, I was super nervous. Rich was way more calm than I was.

It all went well though and only lasted about 20 minutes. They asked what we did for a living, our income, education, about our house, family etc. They asked if we were aware of all of Maddux's health issues (which really is just the norm orphange delays). When we were talking we had to stand up and address the judge and prosecutor. It was a little indimatating at first. When I first stood up I kind of tripped over my chair leg, nice. Our orphanage staff represenative was there and said some very nice things about us, so it made me kind of cry some. As I said before, the orphanage staff here is just amazing. She held my hand while waiting for the decision to come in and is just a nice lady...
Anyway we had to wait like 1 min for the decision and it was a YES we were approved!!!

So now the 10 day wait begins! Let's hope it goes quickly.

We get to see Maddux this Thurs and then again next Tuesday and Thursday. We are very excited to go back and spend some time with him.

Oh funny story, we exchanged $ today with our coordinator. They just pulled up though and did it with a guy on the street, it literally looked like a drug deal. It was pretty funny! Hey but we got the best rate we have gotten so far here in Russia. The coordinators even exchanged money themselves. I guess it's all in who you know! :)

Well today was an awesome day, we are going with the Finch family tonight to celebrate! :)

We also hopefully will try to watch some American shows on our DVD tonight. I have been watching Russian tv and actually have been able to find things to watch. There is an MTV like station here and one night they had like an American Idol or something on, I liked it. It was just a bunch of different groups singing and dancing. Then I watched an American movie with Christian Bale in it. It was all in Russian but amazingly enough I was able to understand the main points and was interested in it. It was good.
Rich all of these times has been sleeping! One day he went to bed at 2pm , yes 2pm and slept until the next day!!!

Anyway, that is all for now. Can't believe I can actually say we passed court. It seems like it would take forever, but it was worth all of the waiting.

Jenny

Meaning of names in Russia and other randoms today

On the way to the orphange, our translator told us a few interesting things about Russia. For example, Kemerovo Region produces more potatoes than any other place in the world. However, it isn't operated by Russians. They outsource all of it to Holland. It's been like that since the mid 80s. We were asking her about meanings of names in Russian and she said that Luke (the other couples boy) meant onion armpit. Maddux doesn't mean anything in Russian, or it doesn't translate. I said it meant southpaw, but only Kevin and I laughed at that. The ladies and the driver didn't understand. It was pretty apparent that our translator isnt happy about the fall of the Soviet Union either. Her dad was milliary, so that explained part of the things she said. Kinda strange because she seems young, like our age?

We had the same driver today that we had last time. Same guy that pointed out the prostitutes last time we were here. He is a good driver, gets us to where we need to be in a hurry. Driving in Russia isn't for the weak at heart!

Court tomorrow. Hopefully it all goes well. More fun stories to come I'm sure!

Rich

Seeing Maddux day!

What a good day, we got to see Maddux again!
It's been 3 months and he really hasn't changed much.
He came in and was scared of us again, it took awhile again for him to warm up to us.
By the end of our visit though he was laughing and having fun.
He kept clinging to me which is nice! I keep telling Rich he is going to be a momma's boy! :)
He liked our treats this time, loved the cookies we brought him.
He also was very interested in the other boy and his toys, he had to steal his stuff. It was funny.

He isn't walking yet, he walks with help. He was holding my hand and walking pretty good so we think it will be anytime now. That will be fun to see his first steps.

So tomorrow is our big court day... Hopefully it all goes well!!

Oh I found out today from our coordinator why people don't smile here. She said you just don't do it, it's more for service people (the cashier at a grocery store can smile because it's her job). If a woman smiles at a man walking in town, he thinks you 'like' him and 'want' him. Oh gee, I was smiling at an old man yesterday who was walking with his dog. She said they also think you may be laughing at them etc and wonder why you are smiling.... It's kind of hard for me not to smile at people, I keep catching myself and then try to go to a straight face.
I'm glad I didn't go and pet that dog yesterday, I really wanted too! :) That old guy really would have thought I was interested in him! ha

Well that is it for now... Wish us luck for our court tomorrow!

Jenny

Arrived in Kemerovo

We arrived today in Kemerovo! We left Moscow last night at 11:45pm and got into Kemerovo around 7am ( lose 4 hrs). So we are now 12 hours ahead of NE.

I made a huge mistake yesterday and fried our converter! I plugged my travel hair dryer into it and it began smoking. So we are without one now. I had no clue I couldn't use it. Come to find out from Denise hair dryers can be like that and you have to be careful. She didn't know either until a friend told her. We bought an adapter in the airport, which is just for laptops. We spent $90 on it and of course it doesn't work for netbooks. UGH... Mark and Andrea were nice enough to buy one for us in CO and looked into shipping and it was way high... So Rich and I spent today in Kemerovo going around to different shops. They all have the adapters (which we bought) but nothing we need. So it looks like we will rely on the couple we are traveling with to charge and hope we can find one eventually.

We found the Walmartski here (nickname American's use, it's like a WM). We bought tons of pop and water and some snacks. So when we were checking out the girl didn't bag the items, so I took a bag from behind us and she started yelling at us. Turns out you have to pay for the bags, wish we would have known that! That would have been a helpful tip!!! Now we know!
I bought a cheap hair dryer that doesn't need to be converted!

We go to see Maddux tomorrow and we are super excited to see how he has grown!!! :)

Oh our hotel is nice, it's small only has like 9 rooms. It is run by these nice ladies, they made breakfast for us and it was really good. We like the place so far.

We go to court on Tuesday and were prepped some on it. Turns out Rich does most of the talking, which is fine with me! Seems to be that way for some things. In our Dr's appt they asked what he did for a living but didn't even look at me to ask the question. I guess they thought I did nothing!

Well that is it for now. Will post again tomorrow with our Maddux update!!

Bye from Siberia!

Jenny

Pictures from our first two days in Moscow

Click here to view these pictures larger

Arrived in Moscow!

We successfully arrived in Moscow with no delays. Our layovers were quick and painless as well as the flight from DC to Moscow. After far too long at the Dr offices on Thursday, we checked into our hotel. It is super nice, but so new that most of the taxi drivers have no idea where it is. We have decided to change hotels on the return stay with Maddux. It will just be easier that way. Plus it is closer to zoo and Red Square. Friday we spent three hours at the doctors office again, visiting 8 different doctors. I had a pimple on my shoulder and the dermatologist said I had "much acne". She also told Jenny to "use more sunscreen" for whatever reason. We both had chest x-rays done too, and they gave them to us at the end of the exams. I will be selling peeks at Jenny's to the highest bidder...hehehe!

We celebrated our success at the Hard Rock Cafe on Arbat Street, then headed back to the hotel. I was somewhat hesitant about taking a taxi back that late at night, but it all worked out.

Tomorrow we leave for Kemerovo. Once we get there I will update the blog again.

Rich

Packing almost finished

I have been packing since last week, we can only take 44 lbs which has been a struggle. I managed to get my bag AND a bag for Maddux both weighing in at 46 lbs.
I was HOPING Rich could be under and give me a few lbs. His first weigh in for HIS bag along was 50 lbs. HUH???
The guy has everything in his. He took some stuff out but is still at 40 lbs. So he made up a few... Again, this is just his bag. So not really sure how I have less!

I am excited to go but am going to miss the dogs! A month is a long time to be gone.
They will be well taken care of though, Mom and Dan will be house and dog sitting.
I know they are both excited. :)

I did more shopping for Maddux today, it's fun to buy for him.

Jenny

RIP Shiloh

Today has been a very sad day, we had to put our cat Shiloh down. She had a thyroid disease and it wasn't going to get any better without radiation or major surgery. We had to make the difficult decision to let her go.

This was a lot harder than I thought it would be. We kind of always made fun of Shiloh but she was a good cat and we loved her. I always said I thought she came from a trailer park (got her at the pound) because when I got her she had fleas and ring worm. I caught ring worm from her! She always liked mom when she was a kitten and mom would let her sleep with her at night, even with the ring worm. She felt sorry for her... She would never cover her mess when she went in the liter box, poor Sadie would always clean up after her. She was a good cat though and liked attention. She would also pick on Sadie and want to play...

Shiloh was part of our family and I had her for over 12 years. I said my goodbye's today and it was super hard. I had to go to Des Moines for work, so Rich took her in. THANK YOU so much Rich, I don't think I could have gone without completely losing it...

Anyway, Shiloh you will be missed!!! Go find Dude, Taz and Huey for a pet reunion. Our poor immediate family has had a tough year with losing our pets... :(

Bye Shiloh :(

Jenny

Let the packing begin!

We will be leaving 1 week from tomorrow.
I started packing and have no idea how I am going to make the 40lbs limit. I am over right now and don't know how to cut anymore! I am trying to find out if Maddux gets a bag, if not then I am definitely over. Oh well... Guess we will just have to pay a fee.

Mom and I made our last trek to Lincoln to get the last of the new paperwork apostilled. Luckily, we had 0 problems this time and it didn't take long. I took a photo of the capitol where we finished up the paperwork.

Of course, come home and find out we are having an issue with getting some of the brand new bills we need. Trying to work that out now, hopefully it won't be an issue.

In other news, we took Shiloh in for all of her throwing up and losing weight. She seemed to get better when we changed food but it didn't last long. It turns out she has thyroid disease and it's pretty expensive for any option she may have. She would either have to have radiation done, or surgery. Both of which, are very expensive and then could lead to kidney failure. We had to make the hard decision to put her down. Rich is going to do it on Thursday since I'll be away for business. I feel bad for her, but don't think we have much of a choice. We kept putting off taking her in because she didn't seem to be suffering but it's time.
She was a good cat for the most part, kind of goofy but a nice girl.

Jenny