Our first trip back to Houston from Sakhalin was pretty stressful and busy, but it was so great to see our dog Luca, family and friends. Both kids got the flu which was not ideal but hey what doesn't kill us makes us stronger! I was pleased with how the kids handled the travel and the jet lag. It took a little bit of time but they really are troopers and getting to be pretty good at this travel thing early on. Here are some last pics of our trip home:
This is the school counselor -Jennifer Drakes daughter Maddie Rose. Ms. Drake was awesome with our family and her daughter and Carter became great friends at school. We were lucky to get to run into them at church. Listening to them catch up was so cute! 
The last day in Houston - saying our goodbyes to our sweet puppy and to our beautiful house... till next time!
Once the long leg of the flight is over - we have a layover in Nartia Airport in Japan- its just long enough to do a little duty free shopping and get a good meal. This is the last place to get fast food - McDonalds - so Justin and the kids run to get a burger but I have grown very fond of Ramen. This is my Ramen bowl in Nartia on our trip in - delicious!
We got home and had a complete temperature shock - we quickly traded our Houston shorts for our snow pants and started back at our ski lessons -its the perfect way to beat jet lag! I was able to squeeze in some night ski time with our instructor Ruslan too. The kids seem to really enjoy skiing. They get frustrated at times with falling down and Ruslans correction of their technique but its been a great family weekend experience. Every weekend we are on the slopes for a few hours.. they have progressed so much!
We can say that skiing wears the babies out! Jetlag over!
Carter has a king bed here in Russia. One morning Justin and I woke up to him crying and ran into his room. He told us he had fallen out of bed but it was dark so we put him back in his bed and let him go back to sleep. The next morning we wake up to his eye looking like this. He must have hit his head on the nightstand and we didn't notice in the middle of the night. Poor baby had a black eye. How one falls out of a king bed at 7 is still a mystery!
One of the things I like a lot about this school is they send pictures a lot - below is one I got of Riley and her friend Caleb working on maths. They are very good at giving the kids hands on exercises to work on as well. Its really helpful to keep them engaged.
WE are pretty lucky here - since we live on an Exxonmobil compound we have a lot of amenities that many would not have. During the winter the facilities workers take the snow and build a sled hill for the kids. They also freeze over the basketball court and make an ice skating ring/ hockey court.
Ice Skating Ring Sled Hill
Sissy - bundled up in the car - heading to the grocery with mom
This year we had a great time watching our LSU Tigers play. What a season they had! Its strange to start your Sunday morning with breakfast and college football but we adjusted. For the National Championship game I had to work and the kids had school. I dressed them appropriately and I represented my tigers in Russia. I went to work for half the day - then came back to the compound to enjoy the game with some friends. And what a game that was! GEAUX TIGERS!
Carter started Taekwondo as one of his term activities. A parent Mr. Mike taught them and Carter really enjoyed getting back into his karate.
Living in Russia is just so different for so many reasons but many things are becoming more our normal. Its been such a crazy ride but I wouldn't trade the experience for anything . I found the below quote and it really spoke to me. We have been here for a bit now and some things get easier and some things get harder. We have bonded so much as a family and grown in ways we didn't know we needed to. I am beyond proud of this group and how we have handled this.
Kids waiting for the bus - yes this is how they dress to go to school in the winter!
Me taking my work team out to lunch - walking - its just so crazy but you cannot stay inside forever!
On January 23 - we learned that we had elevated Radon levels in our compound here in Russia. Justin as the Safety Health and Environmental Manager and me as the Human Resources Manager have our work cut out for us on this one. A super concerned expat community dealing with a cancer causing natural element and battling freezing temps! Ill Update on Radon next month!
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