Day Trip to Jurmala

Happy Snow Day to our friends in Lebanon! We were glad to have the chance to talk to the little girls and my mom for almost an hour today!

We have had a good day today! Isabella even said when we were walking in to the apartment "I like today!" We left about 11:00 and walked to the train station, which took about 30 minutes. We walked down the main road, which passes by the President of Latvia's house. I asked the girls who the president was and they told us. I asked if he was nice and they said "no". Why? "Because he make one toy too much money for the people." After looking for something to take home to the little girls, I would have to agree, things are a little pricey around here! So, we made it to the train station where we met Andrea and then we all headed to Jurmala. The train trip was very smooth (although I was reminded of an episode of Criminal Minds where a psycho guy was holding everyone hostage because he thought the government had implanted a chip in his arm to keep track of him, but luckily nothing like that happened :) ) It took less than half an hour to get there. It was very cold, but we made the most of it and walked through the town and down to the "beach". Andrea has been there in the summer, so she showed us about where the water starts. We tried to dig down and see the sand, but all we found was ice! When we walked far enough out, we found the frozen waves, which were really cool. Tim pretended to surf for a great Kodak moment! Becca is scaring us all with her Evil Knievil ways. She was blazing her own trail most of the day, even though the rest of us preferred to stick to a path. She loves to slide on the ice and she jumps up on snow covered things, like park benches and looks like she is on a skateboard. That girl has no fear! I told Tim we should start a poll and have people guess how long it will be before we are in the ER with her. I love her enthusiasm for adventure, especially since I have next to none!

Isabella was so happy to see many, many fat cats around Jurmala! She tried to get a picture of every single one and there were tons! She loves animals and loves taking pictures. We went to Double
Coffee (a chain, like Starbucks) to warm up and have lunch and had a great time visiting and eating a wonderful and very normal meal!!!! Yeah! We walked through the town and went in a few shops, but didn't see anything we just had to have. Then took the train back to Riga. We stopped in the grocery store to get a few things (you can't buy a gallon of milk, so we get a liter at a time, which goes fast with 4 of us). Then we took a taxi back to the apartment. It was good to be gone all day and be able to know we are another day closer to being home.

We have been working on the puzzle some more. Isabella does so well and is so proud of herself. After quite awhile, they both got frustrated (along with Mom) and decided to take a break. They have colored a ton of pictures, which are hanging all over the apartment! They went all day with no MP3 players until now and they asked very politely. They haven't mentioned Cartoon network at all, so I feel like they took our talk to heart. They really are good, sweet girls. They are very willing to help and they keep their things so organized and tidy. Isabella is folding her clothes right now. Tim says that's worth $36,000! I am wondering how he knows, since I do all the laundry, but maybe he gets tired of hearing me complain about it!

Tomorrow we are going to the photo place to get their visa pictures taken, since it was closed yesterday when we went. We need to clean up a little bit for our visit on Wednesday. Pray that we can find a way to come home early. Enjoy the pictures!