I love this part....

here.

I feel like we use this quote. Sometimes, not always. It's so perfect and, in these pictures, I love the sisters' and mom's facial reactions. Who would you sell your hair to? If you can, I think it's a much better idea to donate. :)

New Year Preparations

This is Madeline. She is getting her dress ready for the 4th Annual New Year's Day Ball. Besides the general ironing needed, we need to do some hemming and measurement adjustments (with elastic, this is super simple! :) and, for fun, we switched out the old blue sash for a new green sash. 

Madeline's favorite part of the dress is this...

a dress-picker-upper-holder (but we will need to change the color to a lighter green to match her sash). This way, no one will be able to trip on her gown. Oh, the little joys in life. :)

Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas!

Advent-ish Post II

Just a warning, if you don't like music or Christmas songs, don't even bother with the next posts. They are all going to have music - almost exclusively. :)

Here is another song...

Merry Christmas!

Advent-ish Post

Ok, so the purpose of this blog before was to keep people updated on the while I was in Russia. Just so you know, I'm back now, so I won't be keeping you updated on what I'm doing in Russia.

The new reason - well, it's for me. I can put links to recipes up, hair-styles I like, family stuff, and whatever else. :)

Therefore, here's what I really wanted to post:

Merry Christmas!

It's December

Yes - it's December and the first day with Christmas parties. Yes, "parties". 

Saturday morning, eleven of us prepared to go to my Grandma's tea - it has been a tradition for years which we all look forward to. This was the second year the twins were able to attend, and the first that Zachary was able to go and serve for. It was such a fun way to start the day!

We got home about noon, and plans and preparations for the next party were made. The third annual fashion failure party. :) The first year, I won and was dubbed "Fancy Nancy"; the second year, I couldn't find anything, so I wore a ball gown with wacky hair since I had won the year before; being completely out of ideas this year, the fairy godmother Megan came and looked through my clothes and found this (I found the hair-do).

Parties have happened and more will be happening. I don't think I ever was thinking during these parties that we were having a birthday party. We call them Christmas parties, but, at least I, forget that I am celebrating Christ's coming to earth.

"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas!

And Now, Our Feature Presentation

I AM HOME!

Yes, I am home - safely and soundly!

Super happy to be silly and fun with all these amazing people!

At some point today, I need to unpack.... Or, I could just enjoy being home. :)

The Last Post - While in Russia

Things are closing up here for me. I got my backpack (with all of its internals still in place) for less than $5. I have done all my chocolate and tea shopping for this trip... I think. Tomorrow, I will go for (potentially) the last time to mall to wrap up my shopping.

Oh! I kinda forgot. I went a did a little touring over the weekend. We went to a mosque (Ben went to this "many moons ago"), to Victory Park, and a war museum (it focused on the Bashkir people's involvement in WWI and WWII), which is practically part of the park. Zukra* organized it all telling the museum that there was a US delegation - so we got a personal tour after hours. :) It was super interesting and (hopefully) I'll be able to put some picture up later of VP, the mosque, and outside the museum when I get home.

(Daniel is almost crawling
and has his first tooth showing. )

Ufa looks this a bit this way
both morning and evening -
that is, on clear days. :)

It is strange to me that I have almost been here for two months! I said goodbye to Craig, Lindsay, and Daniel today.





I am super excited to see my family and friends again. I am not excited to leave - who would be? "Content" is the only word I can think of; yet, "content" makes me think of something stationary and I am not stationary. I am content with the chapter of this book and look forward to the next. A good book will make you appreciate each chapter and give you the desire to keep reading.

I'm happy a lot of you understand what I'm thinking, 'cause it's awfully hard to put into writing!

Blessings on you all! Keep praying!
See you soon!
*Zukra - цукра

Taxi Issues....

Yes...
I've lost my hairbrush.
I've lost my sister's Kindle.
I've lost my shuffle.
I've lost my backpack.
BUT
I lost my hairbrush. I do have hair. What will be become of me? What will become of my hair?

I left my backpack in the taxi I was in. When I realized my mistake, my phone wouldn't call or text Lindsay or Craig to tell them my predicament. When Jeremy finished teaching (and was able to call Craig), the taxi company said they weren't gonna be able to get in contact with the driver till Monday. Oh, dear!

So, until then. "Take care of my hairbrush [and my sister's Kindle!]. Take care, oh my hairbrush. Take care, take care, don't dare not care. Take care [my] hair. No fair. Take care, take care... my little hairbrush!"

The End.

Chat House

After church and Subway on Sunday, we went to look at Craig's location for Chat House.

Well, there is a fast blog post. But now you know.
Apparently, Craig and I look like we are siblings. Their friends would walk up and say, "It's not hard to know whose sister you are." I could actually understand when they asked me in Russian if I was his sister. Well, I understood "sister" and I knew what they meant. :)

sister - сестра

Traditional Bashkir Dance Performance

On Friday night, I went to a Bashkir Dance Performance. Ben told me to make sure my camera had a full battery and was ready to take pictures and videos. I tried to heed his advice, but it didn't work.

So, here are some dances that I found. This first one was one that was performed at the concert I went to. It is called "Seven Girls". It is a legend of, well, seven girls who were going to be kidnapped as wives and, to avoid leaving their tribe, jumped off a cliff. A little strange, no?

I was trying to find a video of the men dancing with swords (when I went, they did fight with swords and you could see the sparks fly off their blades!), but I wans't able to. So, here's another one.

From what I can tell, these two are the most famous for men and women to dance.

One of the things that characterizes Bashkir Dance is that they move their feet quickly, even if you can't see them . The face pace is suppose to represent the briefness of life.

Craig and Lindsay took me to this and we met a girl named Galera (spelled phonetically). She didn't speak much English and I speak next to no Russian, so when we were left alone for a bit, it was very fun to attempt to talk with each other. We laughed as we tried to speak in the other person's language. Goalraw acutally lives in the same village I do, but she lives in Ufa during the school week (Mon-Sat). But, hopefully, we'll be able to see each other again before I go.  

I'll be posting again soon. Maybe before my Monday is over. Hope you all are staying (at least) mildly healthy!

Lightening Knight

After I showed Samuel "Once Upon an Engineer", he decided that he also wanted to make a movie. This is something Samuel and I have been working on and we hope to complete it before I leave. (We think we can only film on weekends, but we'll see.)

Hope your Saturday went well and that you have a good Sunday!

P.S. Who liked tea and who like coffee?

Monday

Besides it being one of my favorite person's birthday (who wishes to remain anonymous), it is also Monday and the beginning of the week.

It began as normal, with the addition of snow covering the ground, until Jeremy realized that one of the snow
tires was leaking air.

Amy wanted to take me to Central Market, so we worked it into the day. Jeremy only taught one class, so we all drove into the city, dropped Jeremy off, and went to the Mall.



Central Market is a huge 3 story mall. It also was originally a real market (right Ben?).

I know the lighting isn't amazing, but this is (I believe) a 100% wool hat.

I decided I wouldn't by dried whole fish.

It is cold here. It did not get above 24 degrees (that I saw) and I checked later in the afternoon. I think I need to change to my winter boots as, with my Fall boots, my feet were cold for some time.

I hope you all are enjoying your Fall. Take lots and lots of good pictures all you who are able! I love this time at home with all the beautiful colors, smells, and the crisp weather (that comes about at times :).

Silly? Yes, definitely. But It's hard to catch snow falling in a photograph. :)

Blessings!

I am planning on doing a real blog post soon, but in the meantime...

it's snowing. :)

And it's suppose to keep snowing for the next three days or so. 

With the Piguets

I have been at the Piguets the last couple of days, and I thought I'd show you some things that happened while I was there.

So, Craig and Lindsay both had various things to do Thursday afternoon, leaving Daniel and I in charge of the house.

 When Lindsay got back from the store, she had me follow a recipe for split pea soup. I, obviously, read next to nothing in Russian, so even though the directions were in English, the bag size and all was in Russian. All that to say, I made enough split pea soup to last them one night for the next several weeks - good thing they like it. But this made me laugh - the two bags of split peas were from the Western Hemisphere. One was from "Орегон"

(sound it out James and Zachary). It was from Oregon and the other was from Canada.

 Apparently,
they still trusted me in the kitchen 'cause Lindsay asked if I would make pancakes for breakfast the next morning (just so you all know, with everything I made while I was there, Lindsay had taken out all, or most, of the ingredients - helpful when some are in Russian!). So, black current pancakes were on and pulled off successfully.

The rest of the day was "normal" cleaning and baking. Speaking of baking, I found out what "caster" sugar is. At Fort Vancouver, there is a barrel labeled "Caster Sugar" and no one knew what it meant. Apparently, it is a very finely ground sugar, but not as fine as powdered. Very good for cakes and macaroons.

I am officially Aunt Rachel now to Daniel. He loves books - especially this one called "Bee" and especially the last page with the mouse (which he, on occasion, hits and is cheered on to continue this by Lindsay). He has begun to love books sooo much, that he decided they must taste as good as the look.




Well, now I'm back with Amy and Jeremy and the boys. I really should head off to bed now. I hope you all have a good Friday!

Sundays

Well, Sunday mornings are very slow here. (Actually, in general, most "mornings" don't start till after 9:30am.) I Skype my family, while Amy and Jeremy Skype their parents.


Yes, it dawned bright and beautiful today - though it rained the rest of the day.
(I don't mind the rain that much - it was a real rain too!)

Today, after all the Skype sessions and a half feeding of the twins, Amy and I went to pick Craig, Lindsay, and Daniel up from Лента (Lenta - a grocery store).

In Russia, part of hosting is having food - lots. When we all arrived home, we ate cinnamon rolls, eggs, juice, and coffee made by Craig. :)

Daniel, Camilla, and Samuel

We then read and talked for a while, and, before we had completely finished, company had arrived. This family had just been to Crete and wanted to share their pictures with Craig and Lindsay, and Jeremy and Amy.

I got to work a little bit on my Russian words playing "Twister" with Samuel and their kids.

Names in Russia:
Samuel's name in Russian is pronounced "Sam-oil" (Сэмюэл)
My name, on a familiar basis, is "Raychka" (Рейчка)

So there you go - that's a somewhat "normal" Sunday for me. Hope your Sunday goes well with whatever you are doing.



 

Saturday

Saturday has been rather normal here. I get downstairs at 8 or 8:30am to help feed the twins.

Zachary and Ryan

After that, I skype family and friends (as I did this Saturday) and play with Samuel.

Only one of these happened this morning.

Today, it snowed. It snowed enough for Amy to say it was a real snow as opposed to yesterday's sleet.

(It technically "could" stick, it just won't stay all winter for a while - and, just so you all know, it is gone right now.)

.

Then, around noon, we make breakfast (pancakes!) and eat.

Yes, I was in my pj's at 2:30 - actually, almost till 4pm.

Even though I don't have pictures, I made my first batch of rolls here and have been given the task of bread making. I am really happy about that!

Well, I hope you all have a good Saturday - and if you're not, I hope you make it end well!

Blog Tag!

Yes, a game of Tag. So, here are your rules.

here

1. Thank whomever tagged you - Thanks Red!
2. Answer his questions.
3. Add 11 random facts about yourself.
4. Come up with 11 of your own questions.
5. Tag up to 11 people with under 200 followers to answer your questions and follow the rules.

So... are the questions I was asked:
1. What is your favorite board game?
Monopoly
2. A favorite quote of yours (humorous or thought provoking)?
"Facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."
3. A book/series that disappointed you?
You are asking the person who doesn't read...

Ryan (back) and Zachary (front)

4. Furthest place you've traveled from home, and why?
Ufa, Russia to help friends with their twins.
5. Your favorite non-board-game activity (sports, reading, card games, eating, etc...)?
Sports - definitely sports. I like some baking, too.
6. A favorite character from a book/movie, and why?
Sir Percy Blakeney  from "The Scarlet Pimpernel". He is just - well, you have to read the book. I've listened to it at least twice, and am reading through it for the first time by myself. Love.that.book.
7. If you could have any car, which one would it be?
Some type of convertible -  not sure.
8. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Washington State. :)
9. How many states have you been in (driving through, staying at, but not flying over)?
No idea.
10. What is your favorite type of pizza?
Pepporoni or cheese
11. What's the story behind your favorite (or most infamous) nickname?
Rachie, Ray, and Rewster (pronounced rooster). Ok, so you all are curious about "Rewster". When I was much younger, we had some friends and their mom called their son Drew Drew the Drewster. So then my mom called me Roo the Rewster. :)

Me in Moscow after traveling for almost 24 hours.

Honestly, there aren't 11 random facts about me. But I'll give it my best shot.

1. I'm the fourth in a family of ten kids

2. I have naturally red, curly hair

3. I played soccer for four years

4. I have soloed with an orchestra on my cello

5. I have taken five years of French

6. I will start getting tutored in Russian later this week

7. I jumped thirteen hours ahead of myself last week

8. I have the most-awesomest-amazingest family ever

... See! There you go! I don't have 11. But I do have 8... kinda... and you all know most of it anyway. :)

Ok, my turn. Mom, Kelsey, Bethany, and Emily - you are all it. 

My questions for you are...

Just out the front door.

1. What's your favorite color?

2. What's your favorite smell?

3. What's your favorite memory?

4. What's your favorite book?

5.What color socks are you wearing right now?

6. What was the last thing you ate?

7. Who is your favorite historic character?

8. What was the last state (besides your home state) that you were in?

9. What, so far, has been the highlight of your year?

10. What are you studying right now?

11. What was the last thing you memorized?

Sorry for the strange assortment of questions - I'm not very good at starting conversations. :)

And so ends my first week of being gone. Have a great Wednesday - I did. :)

Russia

Travels in a nutshell, I got to Russia - I figured that from the time I left home till being at the Savages, I traveled about - a long time. :)

outside my window

I arrived in Ufa, about 7:30pm local time (I think :) and arrived in Shamonona) later by 8:20. I'm in the cutest place ever!






Saturday was so much fun! They took me to Ufa and the famous "Salava Yulaev" - think of a Russian Robin Hood during Czarina Catherine the Great.

They took me to "Zvern" and had me have a delicious meal, similar to shishkabob, but Russian style. (Ben, Zvern is right across from the McDonalds you went to and about two doors down from where Jeremy teaches.)

Dinner was delicious!

 Three interesting facts:
1. Russia doesn't have daylight savings. They went on and haven't gone off. So, when you all have your daylight savings, I'll be 14hrs. ahead of you.
2. The sun doesn't set till after 8:30pm here.
3. It's tick season. They only come out for a couple weeks because soon it will be too cold for them. Oh, I hope it gets really cold really soon! :)

Well, I hope you have a fantastic day - I guess you all will go to bed before you have a fantastic day so... uhm...sleep tight? Don't let the tick bugs bite? :)

Take Off!

Hope you all have a fantastic day!

Sunriver, Oregon - that's the place we like to be!

How can you describe a place you have been going to all your life? Fun-filled-memories from forever ago. Dad has been going since 1982 and we've been going consistently as a family since 1994.

Zach and Mum missed the picture; Sarah and Ben joined us later that day.

Traditions? Yes! Doughnuts, bike rides around Sunriver, purchasing our new sweatshirt for the year at "Your Store", going to bed late and getting up early, games of Monopoly and spoons, and the list continues.

One of our biking traditions is going to Benham Falls. It was much easier this year as the majority of the road was paved. In years past, dad would put an age limit on it for how old you needed to be to go. It was so. much. fun. to all go as a family!

We went again this year to the High Desert Museum. 

On the last day, we went to the Lava Lands on bikes, of course. On the way there, I tried to go over a curb - not the smartest idea, I guess. My chain came off (easy fix) and I thought I heard air leaving my tire. We didn't worry about it and went to go walk around.

When we were ready to leave, we discovered that my tire had indeed been losing air and was now flat. Dad stayed and we all coasted (literally costed, the trip there was all up hill) home for mom to grab the van and go pick up dad and the bike. 

For the last part for our last whole day, we had some friends over, went to the SHARC, had pine cone wars, ate food, and played intense games of Monopoly. 

Great vacation. Great people to be around. Great time. Greatly blessed.