Day 2 w/ the kids

temperature today: Moscow -18 C, 0 F

We are up bright & early today! We dress, make the beds & are ready to brush our teeth. Where's the toothpaste? We had it last night. After searching for it, we explain to the kids that we can't find the toothpaste. L runs off & reappears w/ the tube. Oh, OK thanks. When we finish she grabs the tube back & puts it in her backpack. It looks like we have a new holder of the toothpaste!

We are off to breakfast down the hall. They love the yogurt drink we find in the executive lounge. The employee there speaks to the kids in Russian & returns w/ a 6-pack of the drink for each of them! We are the only family here, but no one seems to care. All of Corbin's business travel is paying off :)

Soon after we get back to our room, the western dr. arrives to examine the kids. He is sent by the US Embassy to make sure the kids are not sick & able to enter the US. Overall, they are healthy. He briefly mentions that we will be buying our dentist a BMW soon, but signs the paperwork & is off. I ponder what he means...

The kids are more comfortable in the hotel today. They explore the room examining every drawer, bag, paper, etc. They are thrilled w/ the many toiletries they discover. Before I can halt four quick hands, they are spraying hairspray like perfume & have shampoo in their dry hair. Well, I suppose it's time to wash hair. As I grab a towel, L has already hung her head over the tub & turned on the water. Of course, nothing is done orderly & after washing two little heads of hair, we now must change into dry clothes, too. I forgot what it was like to have two sets of busy little hands "help" you do everything.

L asks where T, J & H are. With all the confusion, I never really explained that we are staying at a hotel. I try to tell her that this is not our home. We will be here for 3 more days then go home to America. I'm unsure if she understands anything I said.

We decide to venture out for lunch. We had spotted a Chili's nearby. Our server speaks enough English, which makes lunch very easy for us. The kids draw pictures, drink apple juice & speak w/ the server in Russian. She's young & very sweet. Their pizza comes & they are excited! They taste it & are not. Strike one. Luckily, french fries are a winner & that's what they basically eat.

The kids are getting into the habit of holding the room key & trying to open the door as we return to our room. This time, L & O run down the hall w/ the key. She is successful at unlocking the door on the first try. I start to run down the hall, but the door closes before I reach it. "Please tell me that you brought your room key, too." Thank goodness he did & all is right w/ the world. We enter & find no one. Did they not open the right door? Just as I'm about to panic, we hear tiny giggles. "Oh my goodness, where did they go?" Giggle, giggle. "I guess they're not here. Maybe we'll just take a nap." Neither one could hold back a second longer...hahahahahah, blah blah blah, Russian, Russian, Russian hahahaha. Some things are the same no matter where you go :)

Later, we Skype our first 3 kids at home in Colorado. L & O are extremely cautious about this IPad thing. They see us talking into it & other people talking back. They want nothing to do w/ it. They are trying to stay far away from it & not to look at it. How do you say, "you won't get sucked in," in Russian?

It's the end of Day 2 & we are exhausted again. We ask L for the toothpaste & all brush our teeth. At 8:00pm, we are all in bed.