Happy Halloween :)

This morning we allowed ourselves to sleep in a little, and Jake made us some pancakes!  They were soooo yummy.  We brought the mix and syrup from home - and they did taste just like home!  It was a nice treat.

My morning coffee...overlooking the city :)
No - that's not traffic smog :)

Someone else who is here in EE adopting recently said on her blog that cooking meals is a lot like camping.  This is 100% truth!  We have one skillet - and it's cast iron.  We have one sharp knife, 3 glass plates (just enough to not have to take turns eating!), one pot...and that's about it!  It gets a little creative around here during dinner time :)

After breakfast, we went out souvenir shopping.  Rachel got some really cool things for her family.  We did most of our souvenir shopping on our first trip - but we did get a few Christmas gifts today for the 6 cousins :)  We were also on the lookout for 'Gotcha Day Gifts' - a relative (or should I say friend?!) of ours adopted from Guatemala a few years back.  They bought a whole bunch of little gifts while they were in Guatemala, and have given their son one gift each year on his 'Gotcha Day'.  We LOVE that idea!  So - we're totally copying, Jeanne!  It won't be hard to find 15 or so inexpensive little gifts - there are souvenir stands everywhere.

We walked down to Independence Square and finished up our shopping.  We realized that our visit was only a few hours away, and we really didn't want to walk all the way back to our apartment, only to turn around and come back to the metro.  So we decided to eat lunch and relax at McDonalds for a bit...I know, so 'American' :)  It was close, and we were hungry :)

We have been wanting to get off the metro a few stops early, and walk around by the Dnipro river.  Today, we did.  Let me tell you - it's really not what it seems :)  It was pretty dirty - lots of garbage - and it felt slightly unsafe.  So we didn't wander too far - just enough to take a few photos and hop back on the metro.  Still glad we did it, though!

Wish I had a beautiful, intriguing story to tell you about this statue.  I don't.  I just liked it :)

The Dnipro River.  I'm pretty sure this part of it is not near as 'scenic' as other parts :)
In other words - don't judge the whole river by this one photo, please :)

Fun fact...when we got back on the metro, we saw an advertisement for a Skillet concert!  In this city!  Too bad it's scheduled for a few weeks after we should be leaving :(

When we got off at the Lisova stop (our stop), we shopped around the little vendors.  We found nothing...so headed to the orphanage early. Rachel and I were chilly - when we left this morning, it was sunny and about 50 degrees! But by this time, the sun was gone and we were cold.  We knew the orphanage would be warm (it's usually like an oven when we walk in...) - so we decided to hang out there for the 45 minutes or so before our visit.  It worked out good, because they brought Carter out a bit early to us!

We noticed that his left eye looks irritated.  My 'Preschool Teacher Professional Wisdom' tells me it's pink eye.  Goopy/watery and red.  Hopefully it just takes care of itself.  His chest also sounded a little rattly.  Praying that cold stays away!

No - he's not sleeping :)  Just giving some snuggles!

Some more nose wiping for the Grandmas who just can't get enough!



Carter and I took a few long walks down the hallway today, and we found these pictures!

Carter is on the right, and his gal-pal Lucy is on the left :)

Anyone recognize this little man?  Orphan no more - this boy is happily home with his family!  Anyone?  Anyone?

Loved the ensemble today.  Perhaps it was a Halloween costume.  Whaddya think?  'Bathing Beauty'?  'Rubber Ducky'?  'Orphanage Chic'?  Take your pick.  We don't care - we think he's cute, anyway :)

Carter's little cheeks and lips are pretty chapped...so I put some chapstick on them.  Well - after watching mama do it one time, he had it down pat!

Mommy was trying to teach me to clap my hands when everyone yells 'yaaaaay!'.  I didn't quite get it - but I will soon!

Toward the end of our visit, we called Yulia and asked her to call us a cab.  It was dark, and being Halloween, we really didn't want to walk back to the apartment.  She called back and said 'the taxi will be there in 5 minutes!'.  Well shoot!  We still had over 30 minutes left of our visit.  Oh well...we got Carter early today, so it all balances out :)

We went to the grocery store, and we were surprised to see that there were no Halloween shenanigans.  Okay - I know that word is ridiculous.  It's all I could think of :)  I guess we were thinking it would be like 'State Street' - which is mass chaos on Halloween in Wisconsin.  But really, it was just like any other  night.

Now we're back at the apartment - and Jake just made us a really, really yummy meal.  Pork with a cracker crumb coating, wild mushroom risotto, and crusty bread!  What a guy.  Remember what I said about eating in shifts?  He made mine and Rachel's first..and then his.  Well - ours was delicious!  Jake's...was burnt.  Poor guy.  He busts his buns to make us dinner, and then burns his dinner :(  But can I just say...he really does spoil Rach & I!  Jesse & Lisa...Rachel might be demanding room service when she gets home!!

Can I just say...it wouldn't be Halloween without listening to 'Thriller' :)  Which is what we're about to do...and then finish our movie that we started last night - 'Ever After'!

One Thing I Know For Sure: Read Jake's post from this a.m if you haven't already....it's pretty darn sweet!