Ok wow. It's pretty much been a month. These posts are getting less and less frequent! But, hey I make up for it in these monstrous posts, right? We've been traveling, sick and we got all our STUFF in the middle of it all, so I've been pretty busy and distracted.

We went to Issyk Kul Lake. Ever since we got here people talk about Issyk Kul Lake like it's the most amazing place in the world. I never understood until we went. It IS. Well, for Kyrgyzstan it is. It's this giant lake that looks like the ocean. And it's a really clean place, like no pollution.

There were all these vendors that would show up at night and I bought this sweet hat made out of fox. I know Greg thinks I look a little insane, but I just love it and am totally going to wear it this winter. It's very RUSSIAN looking. One night a guy had fresh honey and honey comb. So we got some. Now I understand how honey works. I never really understood how you GET the honey. It was so soft and squishy and just oozing out.

 I cannot believe the GUSH of honey in my mouth from one bite. It was overwhelming.

 The kids had a great time. They loved our little room, they loved the beach sand. When we first arrived it was COLD and we were like, "Oh man, what are we gonna do all weekend? It's freezing!" But it warmed up the next day. There was an outside bar really close that would play really good music so that was really fun. We thought it was going to be a really nice room because it was really expensive, but it was not what we were expecting. It was REALLY small and not as glamorous as the pictures in the brochure we saw. By the end, it was fine- we just have to keep remembering nothing here is up to American standards. At least it had a toilet seat! That is a rare find in these parts!

I think most of the lake is surrounded by rocks. This is a man made beach, so that was kind of nice. Except the sand was so loose, when you step your feet just sink in and get completely covered, up to your ankles. It was sort of hard to walk in.

There was this crazy CHIP STICK vendor that would take a raw potato, put it in a machine that cut it in a spiral. He'd put it on a stick and fry it right there, then add salt. It was good. But he charged us more than twice what it said on the sign. I don't know if it was an accident or if he was screwing us. I wanted another one but was ticked because we had already PAID for one, so I wasn't gonna go and pay again!

It was a different experience being on "the beach" but surrounded by mountains. They were also across the water, but you couldn't always see them. They get covered up by clouds or fog or smog or who knows what and then out of no where they appear and they are always so magnificent. And it's always so amazing that something so big can just disappear.

Right here, you would never know that there were HUGE MOUNTAINS spanning across this whole scene, but they're just covered up.

 The place we stayed at had a restaurant that fed you all your meals. So we got to try some real local food! It was really fun. But by the end, we were a little sick of it. The first day I was so inspired about trying to make all these new things. It's funny, they all TASTE the same, they're just presented different. Noodles, soup, rice, whatever- it all tastes like really yummy stew. Every time. They also had a really yummy drink that I have now learned is COMPOTE. Boiled fruit with sugar. It was really yummy, but Greg was too afraid to try it.

Then we all started to feel crappy and came home a day early. Then we all DID get really sick and it really STUNK. More about that later.

 Everyone was really nice.  We met these REALLY nice people that were staying right by us and they had a little girl that LOVED Scarlet and cried everytime we had to leave. They were really friendly and invited us over for Russian Vodka, that was sort of funny. The next day they invited us over to share a melon, so we did. Every time I finished my plate the grandma kept telling us to eat more. They weren't eating anything, just us. We ate so much! I was stuffed! Then after 5 platefuls I realized I need to stop finishing my plate and she'll stop asking. It worked.

 The last day we saw a camel across the water. We see new things all the time here!

 The drive was 3 hours. Pavel, our driver, was awesome and led the way. Thank goodness, because it was a long drive in the middle of nowhere. It was cool seeing more of the country. It was kinda funny though, because there's not much to see! It became very clear that Bishkek is really the only place to live here! There was one city we drove through that seemed big ish, and when I say big, I mean like smaller than Springfield and then there's Bishkek. You might drive through little neighborhoods that are one street and 10 seconds later you passed the whole thing.

Greg loved driving through the mountains. Some of it was on roads and some of it was kind of rough terrain. He thought it was fun. It was really pretty.

There were yurts all over, just popping up in the middle of nowhere, selling fish and other things.

There were so many different looking mountains. It was neat.

  More yurts.

 People would leave rocks in the mountains to spell things.

 Wild horses.

 A pretty river all the way down.

 Cows. We see cows and donkeys every time we go to church. Just out and around. Oh man, we saw the most AMAZING thing on our way home. There was this kid and I mean like a 10 year old, riding a donkey crazy fast, galloping like a horse, herding sheep. It was CRAZY. He looked so wild just galloping away herding these sheep. I was so impressed. And he was all by himself. It was amazing. It is so different here. Kids walking along the highway, dashing across by themselves and giggling. And working. Kids here WORK. Kids take public transportation by themselves, they ride on peoples laps in the front seats of cars. I see them out by themselves all the time! Pulling over and dropping their pants to pee. Swimming naked.

Breastfeeding in public is no big deal here. I see boobs out everywhere. We passed a woman yesterday in the city at a crosswalk, standing up and nursing her child.

Here are some pictures of houses, so you can get a feel of where we live.

 It was raining and we were driving so the pics aren't the best, but this is how it looks.

 This town is where the Boston bombers are from. Creepy.

 More horses.

 This part reminded us so much of driving to the portland airport. That stretch between.

 In Bishkek, it's more crowded, but the houses are the same. But Bishkek has really nice houses too that are really big.

Funny things about Kyrgyzstan-

People are always asking where we are from and I think, "Isn't it obvious?" But they are always so surprised when we say America (it seems they recognize "America" more than the "U.S"). To them, we could be English, Australian or Canadian. Or we could be from anywhere, and just be speaking english because we don't speak russian. Whoever we're talking to gets so excited when we say where we're from and they just love to talk to us. Sometimes for a VERY long time. It's like when you meet someone in the US from England. It's exciting to meet a foreigner and hear their accent. That's us. The exciting foreigners. When I go places and as soon as I speak english to Scarlet, I see the eyes zip my way.

Everywhere I go someone says something to me in Russian, about what I'm looking at in the store, or something about the kids and I try to just smile, but they usually keep going 'till I have to say, "Nipanimio paruski" (I don't understand Russian) which always feels weird, because I am always, in fact, speaking russian. I'm always amazed at how often people will still keep trying to talk to me after I say this.

I really need to learn Russian and I really want to, but the more I hear my master linguist husband tell me how hard it is, it sort of makes me think, "wha what???? If YOU are saying it's hard, how in the world am I going to grasp this language?"

Every week, I am more and more grateful for Pavel, my driver. I would not survive without him. He's so nice and always bringing me apples from his garden and compote he made from them. I just really feel like Heavenly Father saved him for us. I know our experience would be SO different without him and I would be struggling so much more.

It is SOOOOO dirty here. I can't ever where my jeans more than one day in a row because they are always so filthy at the end of the day. I mean, they are filthy as soon as we walk out the door. I think it wouldn't be so bad, if I wasn't picking up even MORE filthy kids all day and their dusty shoes and hands get all over me. Everytime we come home I have to wash the kids hands and feet because they're almost black.

Every few times we go to the park I see a kid with some kind of skin issue- sores and things- and I just sort of freak that my kids are gonna catch something. I feel bad, because I don't want to steer away from kids here, but I definitely don't want my kids to get ill. Which reminds me that my friend told me that the Bubonic Plague is breaking out here???? I need to look into that.

The outside parks here are so different. Everything is steel or some kind of metal and painted. Usually one or two CRAZY FAST slides that just go straight down and if we're lucky there's a ladder type thing to climb as well. Oh yeah, they have swings that are like steel chairs that swing, nothing in front to keep the kid in. At first I was freaked, but Scarlet is fine in them. But I can't put B in yet.

I keep getting more and more laxed with the kids here. I think it's a good thing. It makes me realize how paranoid we Americans have become. But yes, I suppose my kids are more vulnerable to accidents. I think I just HAVE to be this way though. There aren't really 100% safe places anywhere. There's a park I REALLY love, with beautiful trees everywhere, but also broken glass EVERYWHERE. I totally let the kids play and just keep an eye on B. I mean, what are we gonna do, never go outside? There are ALWAYS wires just out, hanging off of buildings and I just have to keep my eye on them and hope they don't get electrocuted before I get to them. Things like that.

People here are either REALLY friendly, like SO KIND and SWEET or just really grumpy faced and serious and NEVER smile. I would say MOST are the friendly type, but you get the other as well.

People here work HARD. Sometimes I think it doesn't have to be as hard, but they just don't know any other way. Like our gardener took all our weedy grass out and reseeded by HAND. I mean, he dug it out with a shovel and his hands, sifted through it all with his hands, threw out the seeds by hand and WATERS IT WITH HIS HANDS AND A HOSE. The whole process has taken so much longer than I ever anticipated. But I guess that's just the tools they have here. I'm pretty sure he's going to cut it all by hand too. We just haven't gotten to that part yet.

People smoke hookas here. Like there are menus for things to smoke in restaurants and someone was doing it right by us tonight at a restaurant. It actually smelled like fruity perfume.

I'm blown away at how well people speak english here. And when I praise them they act like it's no big deal and tell me they've only been studying a year on their own and then they say how Russian is very difficult.

We lose power all the time. Like every week. We have a huge generator so it never effects us, but the strength of the power is always going high and then low so we had to get all this stuff to protect our electronics so they wouldn't blow out. Hopefully it works! The water's the same. It will just pulse with a strong and then weak flow.

Voicemail doesn't exist in Kyrgyzstan.

There's quite a mix of dress here. You never see the traditional "muslim wear". Occasionally you see someone with a scarf and normal clothes. Most people dress just like American's but there are a lot of  men dressed in these white traditional felt hats and one of those long shirt/dress-over-pants outfits with a little hat. Now I don't even notice.

I would say most people are very stylish. It's like Europe all over again- me feeling like the american slob. Just not quite as bad. I would say women are wearing dresses 50% of the time and I hate it, because I like pants and shorts. I feel less girly the longer I'm here, with my stripes and tshirts, short hair and jeans. Women here dress very feminine, Americans included. I never thought I was drawn to more masculine styles, but here I really feel like I am.

Nobody here is fat. Everyone here is so small and scrawny.

We pretty much eat 80% less produce because it is such a pain washing it in vinegar first. I used to buy with good intentions as it sits in the fridge going bad and now I just buy less. A lot less. It's sad. I am still hopefully we'll eat more when life gets a little more settled.

Toilets here suck. They're often glorified holes in the ground. I'm still a little confused about how it all works. I think you stand on it and squat. I'm really just not sure. In Ala Archa, where we hiked every time we saw a bathroom sign, we never found a bathroom, until we realized it was just a dumping zone in the woods.

Which brings me to . . . I've had more diarrhea here in the last 2 months, than I have had in my entire life combined. By a landslide. No exaggeration. Going number 2 has completely changed here. I keep waiting for my body to adjust and this week I'm just starting to think, "Maybe this is just life now. Forever." Rushing to the bathroom at any moment, hoping you make it. And then there's all the false alarms, because it all feels the same. But you can't just risk not going to the bathroom if you REALLY feel like you have to. Sometimes I get nervous to leave the house because you never know when it's gonna hit you! When we drove home from Isyk Kul Lake, Greg had to instantly pull over for me to rush into the trees. It was the WORST. And a car drove by RIGHT when I finished. Thank goodness. If I had taken 30 seconds longer they would've seen my buns. I've got to say, I really hate taking a dump outside. It makes me feel like a dog. Something I've never done before in my life and I'm pretty sure it's going to become a regular thing here. Alright. Enough bathroom talk.

There is this restaurant called Sierra Coffee and it is a little piece of heaven. It's owned by an American. You walk in and suddenly you're in America. It's just like a Starbucks. The decor, the menu, the music, even the way they serve their food- EVERYTHING. It's so amazing. It always makes me miss America and gets me a little emotional. I never know I'm missing my home, 'till I walk in there. It's comforting. We usually eat outside and I turn myself so I'm facing the restaurant and I honestly forget I'm in Kyrgyzstan. Until I turn my head and see Russian signs everywhere.

We were all pumped to go to the circus today, but it wasn't in town anymore :( I guess they have a bear  that rides a motorcycle and it's really up close and there's only one exit! Again, the safety going not COMPLETELY to the wayside, but I suppose we're living a LITTLE on the wild side.

One of our neighbors is burning something every other day. It's the worst, because I have to close the windows.

I got a pedicure today for 8 bucks. I went to a salon recommended by the embassy- so I know it must be one of the better ones. I walk in and instantly feel the same vibe and smell the same smells. But as I sit down and wait I notice rips in most of the chairs and it's just dumpy. I go pee and find no toilet paper and no soap. I left the bathroom feeling really disgusting and so thankful that I only had to pee. I would have been in trouble, otherwise. But I just didn't want to touch anything afterward. The pedicure was fine. Like everything here, it's usually just fine, but it just reminds me that it's not the U.S.

The longer I'm here the more I love the U.S. I've always considered myself a patriot, and always hate when Americans criticize our country, but oh man I REALLY love the U.S now! It is so amazing, wonderful and blessed in so many endless ways. I love it. I miss it. I am totally happy here and feel some strong Kyrgyzstan love comin' on, but how I love the good 'ol USA. It is such an amazing place and I feel like nobody has a clue and the craziest part is, I'm sure I still don't. There are far worse places to live.

Greg cannot get over how funny these glasses are. I mean, they are pretty funny.

Lag Man. These noodles are CRAZY!!!!

Scarlet is really into cutting silly putty these days.

The Embassy planned an activity at a Ropes Course, but Greg and I were the only ones who signed up! It was awesome, because it pretty much became a date, which was needed. This was a little crazy. This was the first obstacle we did. It was a little unnerving just stepping off with nothing below you.

This is me freaking out a little bit. I can hear me saying, "I don't know about this. I don't know if this is gonna work."

The first step of each obstacle was always the hardest. You look and it seems so unstable and wobbly and then you take the first step and go, "Oh. I can do this. This is easier than I thought it would be." But a lot of obstacles, the first step would BE the hardest! Like you'd have to step JUST beyond your comfortable reach, and then all the other steps would be easier.

They were all different.

We were pretty high up. I pretty much made a point not to look down so that I would succeed. But once in awhile I would and I'd be so surprised, having no realization of how high we really were. And it was always dizzying, looking down. I never really was afraid for my safety. I was more afraid of getting stuck on an obstacle and having to have someone help me and feeling really embarrassed and wanting to cry. Or actually crying.

This one I was all confused because the wood was too far between each step, so I just shimmied my way down on the wires. Then when it was Greg's turn, one of the employees ran over to tell him to JUMP between each step. Oh. That makes more sense. I'm wishing I would've done it that way, but it would have been more scary. Greg did it!

If you look how little the people are below us, you can see we're really high up!

Ah, this was my favorite one. It just looks magical- like where Peter Pan lives. Floating steps. I loved it.

Seeing all the tires and ropes in trees just made me feel like it was a monkey's land.

The stairs were actually really stable, but there wasn't a rope to hang onto, except the one connected to our harness.

I hated these ones. They were so hard for me. The first one was climbing up to the first obstacle, this one was climbing side to side, between them.

Ok, this was a doozie and SORT OF ruined it for me. It was awful. It was emotionally painful. It was just the worst and I totally got STUCK, right in the MIDDLE. So then I was REALLY MAD. Greg had a really hard time on this one too and kept saying how hard it was and that he didn't know if he was going to finish it. He tells me this AFTER he makes it through. I would have NEVER tried if it was that hard for HIM. So there I was, completely stuck in the middle. I did NOT want to go back, it was so hard to get where I WAS, but I physically couldn't go forward anymore. Everyone kept saying, "Grab the rope and pull yourself up!" Yeah, my arms can't reach. How am I supposed to just balance on a log, dangling from a rope and inch my way over to the rope?" Um, yeah. That's just not gonna work. I sit there for probably 15 or 20 minutes, before SOMEHOW I do it. It was the worst. I hated it. You can see the guy in a yellow shirt, off to the left, coming to help instruct me. I was so tired by the end of this one.

The bad part of it all, is once you begin you are committed. There's no way down between obstacles. You begin and make your way through the course until you finish. There's no way to just stop or change your mind.

The crazy part of all of this is that they gave us one minute of instruction and sent us on our way. We were dangerously high. This just never would have happened in the U.S. No way. There would have been someone taking us along the whole way, making sure we weren't going to hook ourselves in wrong. I liked being on our own, but it was a little crazy.

Most of the obstacles had platforms to stand on, while you're unhooking and hooking to new lines. But this one didn't and the couple before this one were pretty barren. I thought it was a little nuts that I just had to climb around and hang on. I've never climbed a tree in my life. When I was young, every time I tried, I just hated the feeling of the rough bark against my hands and never went through. And honestly, it never looked THAT fun to me. So I had Greg take a picture of me. 

There were 2 ziplines and it was so fun! I'd never done it before. Greg looked SO HAPPY when he was doing it. He's been talking about getting our OWN zipline equipment and now I understand why. It makes him very happy!!!! Like a little boy at christmas!

It was so nice to be out without the kids. 

When I say we were really high up, I mean we were REALLY high up! This was the one I got stuck on forever.

Afterwards we went to Beirut, our favorite Lebanese restaurant. It is amazing. We stuff ourselves every time. It's simply amazing. I want to learn how to make what they serve there. 

We were gone 5 or 6 hours???? The longest I've been away from B ever. I FINALLY FOUND A SITTER. But she's gonna be unavailable in 2 weeks, which pretty much stinks. But before I realized that I thought I arrived in heaven. I've NEVER HAD A SITTER BEFORE!!! Scarlet was only watched by Pat and Randy in Oregon and in DC, I was so panicked to let anyone watch Scarlet while she was sick, we went on 2 dates??? And she was watched by Greg's coworkers. I've always been on the freakishly paranoid side, as far as letting other people watch my kids, but after Scarlet got sick I went off the deep end and then was completely out of habit once she got better. It's like it stopped occurring to me that others could watch my children and after spending basically a year nonstop with them, ANY amount of time away felt really frivolous and like I was ignoring them and being really selfish.

Then I found Rakia, and the kids loved her immediately, which never happens. Even Brighton. That NEVER happens!!!! She's been coming over while I organize the house, because it doesn't really happen when the kids are awake. And that's how Greg and I got our big date! Woohoo!!! So I was all set to start using her on a regular basis, but I guess the family she normally works for is coming back from the states. I thought they moved permanently and I would get her permanently. So now I have to find someone new. As sad as I am, at least it got me to be comfortable with leaving my kids, which really was needing to happen!

Kid updates:

Brighton is the cutest. We are down to 3 feeds a day- YES!!! Soon to be 2 and down the line. I am so ready to be done. He's finally starting to eat better to. We had a grumpy few days, getting adjusted to it all and he has not been sleeping as well. I think it's a little separation sadness. Hopefully it passes soon. He's starting to talk. He's good with the "B" sounds. Bye bye, bubbles and bird. They pretty much sound the same- buh, but it's all exciting to us! He LOVES birds. It reminds me of Scarlet and dogs. Woof and Cocoa were among her first words that she said all the time and he says, "Bir . . ." for bird all day long! He's always pointing out the window saying bir and when he hears them outside he says it. Greg will imitate a flying bird with his hand and he cracks ups so much. It's hilarious. He is so sweet. He is such a boy. Greg got out the drill to put a shelf together and Brighton was so into it.

When I put him to sleep he immediately rolls over on his belly. He's always cramming himself against the corner. We put him in a real crib and it was a a very sleepless night. It was pretty terrible. I like having a crib though. The pac n play was getting pretty worn.

Scarlet is so old, all the sudden. She understands everything and her vocabulary and the way she phrases- it's just like us. All at the same time I look at her and see how physically little she is and I just love it. And then she will just SAY something to me and I'm like, "What! How old are you!" It is crazy. She's always telling us that she only likes chocolate and doesn't want dinner because she only likes chocolate. She always says it so matter of fact, like it's so individual to her. Ands never whiney or excited, it's simply, "I don't want to eat this because I only like chocolate."

I've had to really crack down on time outs because things were getting out of control. They are a lot better now. I need to start doing it more with Brighton. I need to stop thinking of him as the baby who doesn't know any better. I know he does, he's just my BABY. I want to keep him that way.

I know when Scarlet was this age I didn't think of her as a baby anymore. She was toddlin' around and I was sad to have lost the "baby". Brighton is SO a baby to me, even though he's so much more physically capable than Scarlet was at this age! But I look at him next to Scarlet and he's my BABY!!! I don't know. I love it. It's like I don't want to have a baby soon because I just want him to stay a baby forever. He'll probably stay a baby to me until I do. It makes sense to me now how people would call Scarlet a baby, when I thought she was well beyond that.

With everyone feeling healthy and more upbeat, the kids  have just been so happy and cute and I just think I have the cutest kids in the whole world! It really blows my mind sometimes!

I've come to realize that life is so much better when you're not sick and you actually get some sleep! In the middle of all our temperatures and sleepless nights and chaos of a house- I sort of had a melt down of emotions for a few days. Everything was so never ending and hard. I kept telling myself it will pass, but I was starting to feel like I've been saying that over and over for 2 months and will never stop saying it, because it never actually WILL pass. But now that everyone's healthy, oh man- what a difference! And the house is ALMOST unpacked. Almost. So suddenly that chaos isn't as overwhelming as before. And getting a babysitter. That made a big difference. There were just a lot of stressful things going on at once and it got to be pretty overwhelming!

I'm starting to feel the goodness coming. I mean, things have been really good the last few days. But every time that happens it seems SOMETHING comes out of nowhere to knock us down again. But at this point- I feel like the only thing that can happen is getting sick again. Which I'm sure will happen. Just hopefully we get a break of some sort!

I think I've finally got a hold on things that are here, things that needed to be ordered for the house, for our food, etc. I don't have to worry about that anymore. It just seems like everything now is just about in place and we can just live our lives again. I'm starting to notice all these activities and places, all these things to do around the city! I'm so excited!

I hope this post made sense! I've been trying to finish it for 8 days and the interruptions are nonstop and it's hard to focus!!!