Casa Bonita

Since Jack was out of town for a week, home for a week, and then heading out again for two weeks, we decided to take the kids out for a fun family time at Casa Bonita on Saturday.  The kids have a great time here.  They love the cliff-diving and the shows.  They love wandering around all the maze-like corridors.  They love to hit the pinata.  They love the haunted cave.  They just love this place.

For the first time we actually got the kids tokens for the arcade.  They had fun trying to do the Ski Ball.  Luckily, the lane right next to us was broken, or else there might have been bodily injury from this game.  It was obvious that my kids have never been to an arcade before.  They had a hard time with the concept that the ball was never supposed to be airborne.  Jack scoped out the place and found some better games for our skill level-- stomping on spiders and catching popcorn.  Since Jack was such an expert at the Jackpot game, the girls were each able to pick out 3 different prizes with the tickets we collectively earned. 

Rebecca and Miriam each got a turn to hit the pinata.  They were excited to get chosen to have a turn.  When it was time to get candy, Joseph wasn't too sure what he was supposed to do.  I had to show him where a couple pieces were that were away from the crowd of kids, and then he went over and picked them up.

We were glad to have this fun time together as a family!

Translation Error

This week I realized that I have made a serious translation error from Joseph-ese to English.  I realized that this mistake I've made has probably added to my stress level and trouble with my youngest child.  And I'm glad that now I am aware of my error.

Often Joseph says something along these lines:  "Duwa Bo Biler?"  or "Duwa Track?" or "Duwa Tos a Tain?"

And my translation has been:  "Dora, Bob the Builder?" or "Dora, Track?" or "Dora, Thomas the Train?"

Then this week I realized that Joseph hasn't watched a Dora episode for probably a year and a half, ever since we cancelled our cable.  I have a hard time believing that at 2 1/2 years old he has that kind of memory or brand loyalty. 

I also realized that he doesn't end there.  The complete statement looks like this:  "Duwa Bo Biler?  I wa Bo Biler."  So for at least 6 months, I have been thinking this child has been saying, "Dora, Bob the Builder?  I want Bob the Builder."  Like the first sentence is where he is laying out the options and then he is deciding on which one is best. 

And then the light comes on.  Ah!  "Duwa"  is Joseph-ese for "Do you want"!!!  So he isn't weighing the options, he's trying to convince me that I want to watch that particular show, and that's great because he does, too.

Jack says that Joseph needs a lesson on content communication already.  Just say what you want instead of asking what I want, buddy!

At least now I can stop mentioning Dora to him all the time, especially when he's really asking for something to eat or a certain toy to play with!

Jetlag

Jack has been struggling with jet lag more than he normally does this week.  This could have to do with going across 10 time zones instead of just 7.  He has been waking up between 3 and 4 am and then being totally exhausted by about 5 pm, when he dozes on the couch for a while.  Then he goes to bed at 10 and starts the whole process over again. 

Monday during Family Home Evening, Miriam was in charge of activity.  She wanted to play Hide and Seek.  Jack was exhausted, so he found some hiding places that allowed him to rest while participating.  Unfortunately, he was always the first to be found!  (I, on the other hand, found an excellent place!)

Hiding under a pillow.

Hiding under another pillow.

Hiding on the floor.

Eight is Great!

Sunday we celebrated Rebecca's 8th birthday.  She is growing up and learning to be an intelligent, independent person.  Turning eight is special in many different ways. 

1. Now that she is eight, Rebecca will be baptized.  This is a very special and exciting time for her.  She has been interviewed by the Bishop and invited family to come share this special day with her.
2. Rebecca will be able to attend Activity Days.  This is a twice-monthly activity for all the girls ages 8-11 at church.  They do fun things like crafts, outings and learning new skills.
3. Rebecca will get to do more chores.  I know this is something she probably isn't looking forward to, but I am actually looking forward to having her help with the evening dishes once a week.  I am hoping this will be a time that we can work together, visit, and share with each other.
4. Rebecca will continue to be a good example to her brother and sister.  She is such a good girl.  Rebecca is willing to help and participate in our family.

For Rebecca's birthday party, we took the family and Rebecca's good friend Dina to B&C Bounce Town.  The kids were all so excited to go.  They had a great time and were constantly in motion.  Nearly all the pictures we took the kids had that blurry "I'm Running!"  look to them.

When we pulled into the parking lot, the van next to us belonged to Rebecca's good friend Anna, who is going to a different school this year.  Rebecca and Dina were excited to be able to play with Anna, and we invited her to come over for cake and ice cream afterwards. 

World Famous Museum

So when I looked at what there was to do for fun in St Petersburg The Hermitage seemed to always pop up at the top. I'm not a huge museum fan (as my wife will confirm) but this place seemed to look pretty cool. Evidently in the summer the longs are very long and so I thought I would take advantage of probably the only good thing about visiting a place this far north in February - short lines.Sure enough I only waited about 5 min in line and I had tickets. While in line there was a guy that came up and started speaking in Russian. I said I don't speak Russian and he started speaking English.He explained that he would be a tour guide for us. I asked how much he wanted and he said 1000 rubles. I said no thanks. A minute later a lady came by saying something in Russian. I asked my Russian friend what she was saying. He said not to trust anything this guy said.It reminded me that tourist sites are prime targets for unsuspecting trusting people. Here are a few of the pictures I took while there.

 

  

  

  

America Around The World

Going to the computer store I noticed a McDonalds. The only thing that seemed unusual to me was that it was completely packed. The line to order was out the front door. I stopped to take a picture of the McDonalds and an older Russian lady started talking to me in Russian. I said I only speak English and walked away. I thought it might be some scam as she kept wanting me to speak close to her ear. I'm not sure what she really wanted but it was a new experience none the less.

Shopping In Russia

So I needed an adapter for my laptop plug. I asked the front desk but they didn't have one so it was time to try my hand at shopping in a foreign country that doesn't speak a lot of English. The lady at the front desk told me about 2 places. One of them was close to the subway I need in the morning and she said it was a department store so I thought I could get some bottled water at the same time. So off I went on my adventure. When I first read about going to Russia I read warnings about corrupt police and skinheads but nobody wrote about walking down sidewalks that aren't shoveled and don't have crosswalks for major intersections. I got to the store and asked if a young lady (younger = more likely to speak English) if they had an adapter. They said they didn't but that "K" had them. I recognized that name as the "other" store the concierge mentioned. I wasn't too disappointed because now I knew where the subway was and I also wanted to buy water. I found the grocery part of the "department store" and it was very interesting. The store was about the size of a 7-eleven and half the shelves were empty. The liquor section was well stocked so was was the water shelf. Now I was getting pretty good a converting USD to RUB so I thought. I just take the RUB number and divide by 3 and move the decimal point since it's 1 USD to 30 RUB right now. Well the water was 52,39 or something like that. I was quite tired and forgot to move the decimal step so I thought this bottle of water was $17 dollars instead of $1.70. But online they said buy bottled water and I even noticed locals buying it so I wasn't going to take the chance. I walked up to the cashier and put the bottled water up and tried to hand her a 1000 ruble and she looked at me like I was crazy. All I had was 3 - 1000 ruble bills and my visa credit card. I offered my visa card and she swiped it and then pointed to the machine and said "pin". I said it's a credit card not a debit card. She gave me a blank stare. I wasn't sure what to do as she and the Russian guy behind me exchanged a few words. I then offer my 1000 ruble bill  again and she took it with a bit of impatience. She then counted out 950 RUB and gave it to me. As I was counting the change (as recommended online :)) I realized that the water was only 50 rubles which was less than $2. But I got my water and now some smaller bills which I now had the feeling would be a good thing. Reflecting on this I was basically offering to pay for $1.70 of good with a $33 dollar bill which doesn't sound nearly as bad as paying for a 50 rubles item with a 1000 rubles bill. Funny how bigger numbers at the same ratio feels different.

Now I had water but still no adapter. I went to the "K" store which really had about 15 letters in the name but I knew it was the computer store as it had "chip" in the name. I went in and asked a guy if he spoke English and he spoke good english (more likely if he wants to be in the computer industry). He showed me the adapter which looked right. I asked if I pay here or up front. He said I pay up front. He gave me a piece of paper with a part number on it. It reminded me of a hardware store where some things like nails don't have labels so you get a piece of paper so the cachier knows how to ring it up. I started to walk away and he said, "No you leave the part here, go up front and pay and then bring the reciept back here and I give you the part." I followed the instructions and got my part. That seems to make sence as it was a small part and I could have easily put it in my pocket and walked right past the cachier. The funniest part of the security routine was that it only cost 19 rubles which is about $0.75.

As I walked out the door of the computer store I pushed on the handle and it broke in my hand. I just let it dangle there and walked away. There are many things in Russia that are aging. When I was walking down the street I heard a loud noise that seemed like a jet overhead. As I got closer is was actually an electric rail car that was making lot's of noise and sparks flying everywhere. The water comes out a little bit brown which I think is from the rusting pipes.