From Russia With Love: August 2006

Nothing But A Good Ride

Last week, the kids took a ride on the Indiana State Fair Train. This weekend, they'll board their first plane since traveling here from Moscow. If the plane is as big of a hit as the train, we'll be in good shape.

Living on the northeast side of Indy, you hear a lot of the Fair Train in August. Every time the whistle blew in our part of town, the kids' ears would perk up. So, we took several after dinner trips to sit and watch the train roll by. Based on the kids' reaction, it's safe to say that trains rank right up there with Santa Claus and ice cream right now.

The kids have had lots of special visitors recently too. Ellie loves chatting everybody up and Bo has become somewhat of a real estate agent. He takes visitors by the hand the minute they stroll in and then proceeds to show them every room in the house. If you plan to stop by, factor in a few extra minutes for the tour.

Balancing act

Story time

Tree climbers

Tire swingers

All Aboard

Train scenery

Train Ride

Happy Day

The kids love a good party. So, Bo and Ellie were in good spirits when they made it to Meg Haley's fifth birthday party. Ellie likes to call them Happy Day parties, but all Bo cares about is when he will get to devour his next round of cake and ice cream.

After a swim in Meg's pool and some play time with her younger brother, Seth, the kids tried their hand at having some Indian food. Since the chef was a little heavy with the spices, a special call went out to the bullpen for a round of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

The next day, we all went to breakfast and then walked over to Foster Park. The playground was so big that Bo and Ellie didn't know where to start. After a familiar stop at the swings, it was off to more exciting things. The kids played hard and had lots of fun helping Meg celebrate her Happy Day.

Ready...Set...Slide

Here I Come

Meg's Happy Day Party

More Benchwarmers

Benchwarmers

Fort Fun

Bo and Ellie took a trip to Fort Wayne last week to visit Grandma and Grandpa Marker. Since no trip to The Fort is complete without a tour of the children's zoo, the kids stopped by for a tour. They saw lots of animals and even had time to ride a horse, a train and a carousel. Then, they got to drive their own safari cars. What a treat. It was just like the visits their Dad made when he was a kid.

The next day the kids went to pick blueberries with their grandparents. That was fun too. Later in the week, the kids met up with Mom's cousin, Kelly. They had a great visit and Bo was quick to grab Kelly's hand and give her a tour of the house. The first stop was his room, of course.

We've been trying to stay cool by making lots of trips to the pool at the Y. The kids also took in their first movie at a big theatre. They watched the movie Cars and feasted on popcorn. The kids loved it and so did Mom and Dad.