Hi again! I had several pics I wanted to post, so I had to do it in two...Here is Paulie playing at the playground outside of our apartment building. Next is a picture of a park in the center of town, which I call the snow park, because when I first got here, it was the place that had the big slides, ice sculptures, etc. Amazing how different it looks now :) It still isn't clean, but I've heard that it never is. I think I will have to start carrying around plastic sacks with me so I can pick up the broken beer bottles that have been discarded the previous night.....

The other pics of the kids are from the baby club at our church. We were doing fingerpainting which they enjoyed immensely :) I think I had to throw away the onesie paul was wearing~!

Hello! We are doing well here in Nizhnevartovsk! The weather is finally turing warmer, and the snow is almost gone! Today, it was 19 degrees celcius--about 65 or so for you in the states :) Nice! Here is a new pic of Emma in her dance class--the girl in the yellow skirt is Alisha, and is the friend we have had over. Next up is Paul--climbing on the exposed pipes, up onto the bathtub, and then into the sink. Yes, this is our only bathroom--and yes, that is the washer you see on the left. It doesn't work too well for everyone to try to get ready at the same time every day :)

Paul is then shown modeling his new favorite outfit--his diaper! And he even complements it with a pink doll carrier! Way to go, buddy! I see blackmail in your future :) He is as onery as he is cute!
The last picture is of the kids playing with their pails and shovels in the snow at the river. You can see the Ob River in the background...there is still ice on it, but as you can see it is breaking up.

More pics to follow in the next post! i love you! j

Hello! There are a couple of pictures of Lee and Emma at a Datcha (house in the countryside) at the end of march. Emma had fun playing in the snow :)
The next picture is of the Russian Orthodox church here in town. I went inside with the other expat women, but couldn't take pictures. It was very pretty and they were saying mass, so it was a neat experience. The last pic is of a wedding party at a local statue. I took the kids out for a walk, and we saw 2 wedding parties taking flowers and taking pictures. Here in Nizhnevartovsk, it is a tradition to go to each statue in town, take flowers to it, take pics, and apparently take some vodka shots while you are at it :) It was interesting! I had to hold Emma back, so she didn't run up and join them!

I can't believe I forgot to put this on here!! This is a picture, taken from our window (yes, I did open it, hang out of it, and snap a pic...i couldn't pass this opportunity by) of a Russian funeral. And, yes, this is a dead russian lady, laying out in an open coffin in the "parking lot" in front of our apartment building. I couldn't believe my eyes---I told our nanny that you wouldn't ever see this in the states :) Apparently here the 3 day old deceased person is laid out in front of their home for about 1 hour so friends and family can visit/pay their respects. Then, they are transported in the truck (seen below) which is open in the back. Two guys sit with the body in the back of the truck on the way to the cemetary and toss fir greenery out the back. I am told that this is so the deceased person can find their way back home after they are buried.

I HAD to share this pic as I thought it was too interesting not to. I was actually walking home from the market when I saw this in front of the building. I walked right beside the lady, and could hardly believe my eyes! I came directly up, and got the camera out!

ONLY IN RUSSIA :)

Hello! here are some new pics describing life in russia. The first one is of Paul and his new rash...we called his pediatrician in the states yesterday, and she told us it is a virus called Roseola. It isn't a big deal and should go away after a few days. Thank you, God!! The other pics don't need too much explaination :)
I'm sure you will appreciate the ingenuity of the "ashtray" in our stairwell, as well as the bathtub that was left in the middle of the stairs!

The needle I saw in the middle of the sidewalk...I have heard there is quite the drug problem here, as this is a relatively common sight. Ugghhh! The photo of the intersection is very common right now. The snow is really melting, and you basically swim everywhere. In fact, Lee, on his way to work yesterday, stepped on some ice, it busted, and his whole foot was submerged in water. Not a fun way to start a Monday, huh?! It has been above freezing for the past several days, so there isn't nearly as much snow left! Yay!! However, I heard we are to get another cold front within the next few days :(

I did finally go jeans shopping yesterday! Tatiana told me about a shop, so I went, and tried on about 30 pairs of jeans until i found some that were suitable for russia. By suitable, I mean TIGHT! I decided I no longer wanted to be laughed at by adolescents when wearing my baggy american jeans. So, now I am officially a russki woman....jeans and all :) Heeled boots to come later :) ha ha! I love you all! J

hello! It has been an interesting week in Nizh! It is finally getting warmer, and the snow is melting (which makes it interesting to get around)! There is water everywhere, and the drainage system leaves quite a bit to be desired...Thank God for my ugly, unrussian, Merrill boots--they are waterproof and allow me to wade through the water "puddles"!

Emma and Paul were sick this last week and weekend. We had to call the russian doctor to look at Paulie...that was interesting! Here, they will come to your apartment, and it is free! so, the dr. and nurse came over and took Paul's temp, and gave him a shot of Analgin. This did reduce his fever, but it came bak :( The fever broke finally on Sunday...whew!

Being the graceful woman I am, I had a little injury myself...I cut my thumb on the lid of canned pinapple...it was very deep, and should of had stiches...but since we are in Russia, and everyone reccomended that I NOT go to the hospital, we had Igor (our driver and all around do it himself man) come and fix me up. He did a great job, and it is finally healing :)

Well, the kids are fussy, so I better run...keep your eyes open for pics of life as it is in russia.... until then!!!!! j

Hello, again! I thought you might like to see what we have been up to.... First off, is the picture of our glamorous kitchen right after Paulie attacked it with cereal. He climbed up onto the table, proceeded to pour the cereal out all over, stir it around, and put some on the floor. I think this was about the 3rd time he has done this--I hope he is tired of this game now--mommy and daddy sure are :)

The next picture shows me with the other expat wives--my new friends :) From left to right it is Juli, Nigar, Natalia, Truda, and Jolene. We get together at least twice a week, which is so nice! It is so nice to be able to speak english with several women--I will never take that for granted again! Anyway, the pic was taken Friday night at Truda's house. She had a little get together for all of the expats in Nizh. There were probably 15 people there, and everyone there spoke english! Wonderful! ......more to come later! love, J

These pics were taken the weekend of March 24th.... it was at a Wood Group going away party for Mitch. The first pic shows Olga, Kissinia, lee, me and Chris (chris is also an expat from Yukon and will be here at least through the end of the year!). We had drinks and appetizers at 5 star, then we proceeded to HITCH HIKE to a club. Apparently, this is ok to do in Nizh...as everyone acted like I was stupid for being scared :)...The pic of the road is the view I had while in the car. Then the last pic is of Olga, me and Svetlana (not a good pic of me--i know--i look obviously out of place :) ) To take a taxi (or a hitchhike ride) anywhere in town is 50 rubles, or $2...nice and cheap. However, I don't think i will try the hitch hiking route by myself.

more to come later........ J