Another Day Out on the Town

Major events of the day: Bonding Day 11, many Happy Birthdays, and a trip to the park

First, we want to wish Bill Sr. in Virginia (Bill’s dad), Myk in South Africa, and Lloyd in Australia all very Happy Birthday! The sun will not set on a family birthday today!

It wasn’t as cold this morning (low 40s instead of 30s), but it was overcast and not expected to get out of the 50’s today. The weather these past few days has been absolutely great and we’ll miss it. Tomorrow’s projected temperatures are cooler and rain is predicted for Monday, so we planned to make the most of this weekend as possible. Time is flying, but still not fast enough for us.

Today we signed our application for adoption! It will be filed Tuesday, the last day of our bonding period. Our attorney called today to let us know we have a tentative court date of Oct 24th. From the sound of things, judges are pushing more toward court 7-10 days after the bonding period rather than sooner. It is a little disappointing since we had hoped for something sooner, but at least now we have a date to pencil onto the calendar. The kids weren’t happy either since they wanted to go to court on Oct 17th, but we knew that was out of the question. We’re not sure if the 15 day waiting period includes court day or not, which will put us at Nov 7th or 8th for custody. Now we have something really great to count down to! Picture is the Dept of Ed building as seen from teh top of the Ferris Wheel.

It’s the weekend, and the kids were itching to head off-campus. They asked all week, “What are we doing on Saturday?” Apparently they were trying to get Masha to disclose our plans for the today as we were leaving yesterday. Masha has a great future as a cruise activity director! Not only has she managed to line up a lot of great things to do, she didn’t let anything slip in case the weather didn’t cooperate (it’s getting to be that time of year). She had done a little homework and found that the rides in Central Park would be operating today from noon to six, so we put that on the day’s activity list. It’s a good thing we hadn’t mentioned it to the kids because there was a light rain falling this morning, but by 10am the sun was shining and everything dried off.

LG was at the RBS main gate to greet us as we drove up. We never know which one or both will be there, but it sure is a nice to see them waiting, as eager to see us as we are them. They have learned to spot Sasha’s car and start waving even before they can see us inside.

There were a lot of kids in the courtyard today playing tag, chatting, or just running in and out, but LB wasn’t there. LG ran upstairs and reappeared a minute later. She told us he was finishing some chores and we could all go up to the family space while he finished. LB was being as cool as he could in front of all of his friends when he greeted us. Despite the cool act, it was obvious he was excited to see us. Both kids practically pulled us down the stairs, constantly asking what we were going to do today.

After a quick pit-stop at the apartment to swap wardrobe items, we were off to the park. There was a newly married couple posing for pictures. LG though the dress was absolutely beautiful and asked is she could get one like it when she gets married. Yes, but we hope she’ll wait a few years! We haven’t completed the adoption and she’s already planning to leave the nest!

Since the trees are quickly losing their leaves, it was only a matter of minutes before they saw one of the rides through the trees. All attention was suddenly re-focused. From that point on, we just could not walk fast enough for LG. Then the first conundrum arose: Do we want a snack first or do we want to go on a couple rides first???? The rides won the debate, so we headed to the ticket booth. The first ride was something like a roller coaster but on a circular track. The picture can better explain it. Fun, but not as exciting as the Машинки (Bumper Cars)! LB took one, Bill and LG took another while Cathe manned the camera to capture the action. It was a pretty good ride for 250 kzt/car (we paid by the car, not the person on that ride).

Some smooth talking by Bill convinced both kids that they wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel. Great view from up there. Cathe and Masha sure did look small waaaaay back down there on the ground! After that ride, the kids were ready for a snack. LB wanted cotton candy and LG wanted popcorn. Bill, the snack hound, obliged both and we soon had two even happier kids.

LB tried out the quad-runner track and had a lot of fun (he had already finished his cotton candy). LG passed on that adventure and worked on her popcorn instead. It was some very tasty kettle corn with sugar on it instead of salt. The track operator gave LB a few extra laps since his sister was looking pretty cute and not complaining that she wasn’t riding. More great photo ops!

One last trip to the bumper cars and time was up. It was a quiet trek back to the RBS because it’s the hardest part of every visit. Two hours just goes too fast. But now that we have a date on the calendar, we know that in less than 4 weeks, we won’t have to make that trip back anymore. To the left is a view of the park from the top of the Ferris Wheel.

Another great day that we would not mind doing again. Plan for tomorrow: Lunch at the apartment then off to the theatre.