July 7th

Pat and Bob are off to the gym at 8:00am for an abs workout and ping pong. They will not be able to go to the gym on Friday because of the change in our schedule. We will visit the children at 8:00am on Friday since our hearing conflicts with our regularly scheduled visitation. I catch up on my journal and grab a shower. Hot and cold water today! Another tough day of ping pong for Pat. Bob takes the day 4-2 (after winning the first four) and leads the summer series 49-43.

Dana arrives at the hotel at 10:00am. We're walking to the soccer stadium to get tickets for Saturday's game. We are able to get the exact same seats as the previous game. Pat and Bob anticipate flag duty again. From the stadium we go to the small open air market. Bob and I want to buy nuts and dried fruit. I purchase almonds, dried apricots and candied pineapple rings. Outside the market a man is selling assorted items which are displayed on a blanket. Among his wares are soviet-era coins. We purchase two as does Bob. They are 1 ruble coins and are the size of a half dollar. We get back to the hotel and relax for a few minutes before our trek to the baby home.

The sky is overcast and the weather has become unseasonably cool. I'm wearing long pants, a fleece and a light jacket. Everyone we see on the street is bundled. So it's not just the baby home. We enjoy another good visit with the kids. Highlights include:

1) Molly head butts Nicholas in a tussle over the weeble doll

2) Very good day for Aidan - He laughs heartily while Olesya tickles hims with her finger nails and again while I hold him in my lap and brush the window treatments across his face. He also spends 15-20 minutes exploring Pat's face: Rubbing his fingers on Pat's whiskers. Putting his fingers in Pat's mouth, nose and ears and putting his mouth on Pat's mouth. This is a little boy who doesn't like sudden physical contact but allowed to explore and proceed at his own pace is very gentle and inquisitive.

3) Molly fusses a bit and walks around the inside of the baby home to wind down the visit.

And so another visit goes by. We pack up and take the kids back to their rooms. Gone are the days when we lay them down and they go right to sleep. We know this was too good to be true. They don't fuss though. They entertain themselves in their cribs.

We run errands with Olesya after our visit. We go to an office supply shop and have copies made of the attendance book we sign each day. These copies will go with us to court tomorrow. We also stop at the mall and Beth and I each select a plant for the judge. We make arrangements to meet Olesya at noon for lunch and say goodbye. Back to the hotel to drop off our stuff and then to the Internet cafe to quickly check email.

We meet Dana at the pizza place for dinner. She has to pass it on her way to our hotel and we thought it was silly for her to do the extra walking. We know our way around (even me!) after being here a month. We have a very nice meal. Nothing spilled or broken. We walk Dana 1/2 way home and get back to the hotel at 7:30pm.

Movie night at Bob and Beth's. We watch "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days". Everyone enjoys the flick. We all have a busy day tomorrow. We turn in at 11:00pm.