Gramma Irene

      We're so happy to have Leif's mom here this month!  Leif wasn't able to go on the hike because if his should injury, but instead he went to Chita (a city 10-12 hours east of here) for a conference and a meeting with local leaders.  He was gone 5 days, and it was so nice to have Irene's help and company.  During that week, we got to celebrate Irene's birthday!!!  We all picked up Anneka from school and then went on a special birthday picnic.

     It's so nice to have a lot of days now that get above freezing.  Things are melting!  We all ate while Ike slept.

     Then the girls played on the playground.  Anneka had the idea to make Gramma special cakes with candles out of the sand.

 And Ella got right into this idea and loved making a special cake, too!

Ike likes having Gramma here, too.

     The girls each got Gramma presents and enjoyed watching her open them (hand cream and jewelry).

     There has been an ad in our building for take-in Chinese food, and we thought we'd try it out for dinner, as Irene likes Chinese food.  I was a little nervous to order over the phone as it's not something I have ever done here, but the lady was super-nice and understood everything I said.  And the food was really good.  Ike and Ella really loved it.  Ike loved it so much that he ate it by the serving-sized spoonful and dug his hand into the box to devour it.

After dinner we made creations with the straws and connectors.

     Anneka designed this all by herself and solicited help for putting it together.  Both girls liked hanging out inside of it.

     And Irene requested a mud pie (with imported Oreos and peppermint flavoring).  Ella happily put in the candles.

And we sang Happy Birthday... what a fun day!

      Leif is back now.  It's nice to have him home and to have moments when we're all home at the same time.  I love when there's a one-to-one adult to kid ratio (especially at bedtime!).  I feel like I'm getting more quality time with each of the kids at different moments, and they're getting special times with each of us.

We're glad that we still have more time with Irene before she has to go back to the States!