A day at the park, 23 Apr

Today was a nice day for the most part. Even though it was still a bit brisk, we decided we would take advantage of the sunshine and walk to Mario’s Pizza for lunch and then walk down to the big park with the lake and let the boys run around a bit. Mario’s was, as always, delicious but then again after multiple meals of cereal what wouldn’t taste yummy? Of course this was the one day we didn’t haul around our camera, which turned out to be a bit of a bummer later in the day. While walking to the park we noticed the “carny” rides were working. We could all use a bit of fun so we headed to Fantasy World. Both boys had their first taste of cotton candy and loved it, as did their Mama. They also had their first Bumper Car experience, but were more interested in driving their cars vs. bumping into one another. We then went outside to enjoy the sunshine, music, and the Giant Ferris Wheel. Sam did not enjoy the Ferris Wheel whatsoever and while it didn’t come close to our level of safety standards it was nice to get a bird’s eye view of the city of Karaganda. Sam is generally fearful of things he hasn’t experienced before. He is not afraid to run full-speed into a wall, was afraid of being within 10 feet of the lake or more than 5 feet off the ground. He is quickly realizing that we’ll keep him safe in these ventures though. After watching Ian on a ride, he was willing to try it out himself. He never got the guts to jump on the trampoline ride, but he’s getting braver. It is strange that so many things are “firsts” for him, even though he is 4 yrs old. It’s fun to watch him experience things. Sam is acting more and more like a child vs. a robot. He shows much more emotion, both positive and negative. I think going from no real attention or intellectual stimulation to as much as we can give him as a family has been great for him and he treasures it greatly. Unfortunately, he still has a bit of the institutionalized personality in him and he is somewhat afraid that his new found attention will leave, thus he tends to still cling to one person or game for a good part of the day. On a lighter note, Sam is a ham, who has a wonderful laugh, smile and cracks us up daily, but he definitely doesn’t like being told “no, having to wait his turn, etc.” He’s a smart little guy and likes to see if we’re going to be consistent with our rules and discipline and to his dismay we are. It’s funny to think that having your child act out is a good thing, and while we’re not jazzed at going through the terrible 2’s once again, (even though they were quite mild with Ian) we don’t get as frustrated or upset about it because we know it will pass and in just a short while he’ll be a well-mannered, fun-loving, respectful boy just like his brother. As always I love my daily trips to the grocery store. I get to practice a bit of Russian and the workers are always so helpful and kind. I decided to venture out and purchase one of the dried salami looking meats, but I wanted to make certain I purchased, beef vs. pork or horse!
So, I politely ask Please, malinkee ruski, (a small amount of Russian) da karova (yes cow=beef) nyet sveenya (no pig=pork) They laughed and smiled but knew what I was getting at and handed me a long stick of meat and I hoped for the best. Surprisingly both boys enjoyed the salami, as did Tim and I. It will be nice to have some meat, cheese and bread as an added meal to our limited cuisine while in Kazakhstan. We hope to venture out once again tomorrow and hope to add some new photos. PS. Thanks again to everyone who adds notes to the blogs, sends us emails and gives us a bit of home while we’re so far away.