Ust-Barguzeen

     After our family time on Lake Baikal, we continued north up the lake to Ust-barguzeen.  We were pleasantly surprised, as the drive used to take 7+ hours but now just takes 4.5, as they have paved a lot of the road.  We were greeted by the Buikov family.  They were very warm and hospitable.  They have six kids, which is not common here (most families have one or two kids).

-v

     I've determined that 9-year-old girls are WONDERFUL!  We have been with several 9-year-old girls this summer, and they are so sweet and helpful with the little ones.  And responsible and fun.  This girl, "D", made dinner for us when we arrived, as her mom was working in the potato garden at church.  She was so competent.  And I think it was great for our kids to see their family all working together to do what needed to be done.  

     Our purpose of going was to encourage this family, bring them groceries, and for Leif to give the talk at the service on Sunday.  But a defnite benefit was that they also lived by the lake and the weather was warm.  Usually it's windy on the beach, but the evenings were pleasantly still.  "D" and Leif gave Anneka swimming lessons.  Even though the water was icy, she was soooo excited to try out the doggie paddle.

     And all of the kids liked jumping off of this little hill.

     Sergei is the pastor of the only Christian church in this village, and he also works as a car mechanic with a garage on his property.  He owns a couple of very fun motorcycles.  Here, his son is blowing bubbles with Ike on the bike.

     On the evening of my birthday, we went down to the beach.  There were these fisherman there, pulling in big nets.  There were only a few small fish in the net after all of that pulling!

     Something that always surprises me is how much food-prep people do here while camping or having time on the lake.  It seems like in the States we either make salads at home first or pick up a bucket of potato salad at Cosco or something.  But here, you bring your onions and potatoes and big soup pot and chop-chop-chopity chop!!  I actually enjoy the time preparing with others.  And as long as I can slip little snacks to my kids to keep them happy, then it doesn't matter if we don't eat dinner until 8 or 9.  Here, we were peeling hard-boiled eggs for a salad.  I had a bottle of water handy for when the kids dropped them on the dirty ground.  =)

     Waiting for the soup and fish to cook over the fire.  And if you'll notice, it's the 9-year-old girl, keeping close watch on Ike so he doesn't get into the fire.  I'll have to remember this when my girls are 9.  It may be reason enough to have another baby.  Ha!

    Enjoying my kids as the sun set at the end of a great birthday.

And I got my birthday wish- our whole family got to ride on the motorcycle together!

     The next day, after a nice church service, we all headed on a ferry across the river.  In the summer, the Buikov family tries to cross over the river to a little lake on Sundays for some family time.  We were thankful to get to come along!

Ella was SO excited to be on the ferry.  She kept saying, "I'm so excited!"

And once we got to the lake (which wasn't icy cold like Baikal!), Anneka enjoyed playing with several frogs.

... and floating on the surf board with Papa.

And Ella enjoyed eating this potato in the water.

... and sitting with Papa.  And of coure, Ike and I enjoyed the water and the family and the Buikovs, too.

 I didn't get any pictures of the Buikovs daily life or of their church... just mostly fun pictures outside.  But when summer just comes for a short blip every year, it's no surprise that this is the case!