July 4th in Pictures and Random Updates

Family movie night - watching Spiderman

We all spent most of July 4th in the pool at Mom and Dad R's house.

Libby the Seahorse

Kolya helping Caleb onto a raft

Caleb-man

Everyone had a fun time together and enjoyed splashing unsuspecting victims at every opportunity.

Josh showing off

The guys (and Libby) showed off their diving board skills and not-so-skilled skills.

Nathan has mad skills

Libby - obviously shares Nathan's obsession with weird pool behavior

another weird diving form

It was entertaining anyway!

Sara wearing Libby's goggles

After Mom and Dad's, we went to the Cleveland Orchestra's American music concert and fireworks show at Blossom. The music was beautiful and everyone had a good time. Kolya was pretty quiet, but we were all exhausted after playing in the sun all day earlier.

At Blossom - Libby taking the picture, so it was a little blurry and poor Kolya was exhausted!

Everyone under 18 slept in the next morning - and I mean slept in! Caleb emerged first at 10:00 AM. Libby followed at 10:30. Sara didn't show up until 11! Finally Kolya appeared around 1:00. It was a really strangely quiet morning for me, as I am used to be woken up at dawn by wild children who are ready to face the day (and the only thing I want to see is the other side of my pillow).

Sara-bear

The week has continued to go well and we are all enjoying our time with Kolya. He loves to tease and horse around with Caleb, especially. Caleb loves the attention from his "big brother" as he calls Kolya - so cute! We have discovered that Kolya does not like Taco salad, but he does like spaghetti. He is very courteous and helps out whenever he is asked. He makes his bed every day - something I'm still trying to get the rest of the kids (and Nathan) to do.

Kolya having fun

The dentist apointment went well yesterday, but we found out Kolya will need a root canal to fix one really bad cavity in a molar. YIKES! The dentist's office did some bargaining and got us into a specialist very quickly for the root canal on Tuesday morning. I feel so bad for him! I'll be stocking soup and pudding in the pantry this week. . .

Libby helping Sara

After the dentist, I took Kolya to Dick's and we picked out some soccer cleats and shin guards. He was sooooo excited! It was cute to see his eyes light up about the shin guards especially. We are looking forward to the weekend and enjoying each other's company at home.Maybe a trip to an amusement park, maybe just staying at home. We'll see how it goes.

Kolya playing volleyball

Monday we are meeting friends at the Cleveland Zoo who are also hosting a boy from the Ukraine. I think it will be good for the boys to be able to talk to each other in complete sentences.Can't wait to see what new things we learn about Kolya this coming week!

Kolya enjoying air hockey with Nathan