Random thoughts

Hello.  I wanted to take a moment and let you know how things are going within our family dynamics.  Jack is so excited that he has an older brother.  He is on him, literally, 24/7.  They hold hands while walking down the street.  They buddy up to climb whatever is in front of them and they usually order the same food in a restaurant.  Leah and Annie have taken to him as well.  I think they enjoy having another older brother around and he's fun to be with and helps take care of them.  Emma is great.  She sees Andris not only as a brother, but she's learning that she can do things with the boys and can keep up probably better than Jack.  Andris is opening up a little more everyday.  He has started singing and dancing with the kids, but stops when I walk in the room.  (I remember doing that when I was younger.)  Even though he never asks for food, I know he's hungry and sometimes have to force the food into his hands.  He's 16 and has a man-size appetite despite his slight frame.  I keep telling him to eat, but I think he doesn't want to stand out from the others and is trying to be polite.  He is so sweet with the kids.  He makes sure Annie and Leah aren't left behind.  If someone is hurt, he's the first to check on them and make sure they are okay.  He's really a great boy.

A little side note, if you will.  Why do Latvians make the light switches 3' off the ground?  Leah and Annie go around turning on and off the lights in every room.  Also, there are key locks for every room in this apartment, plus 2 main entry doors in addition to the apartment complex door.  All use a different key.  Scott has it down now, and I can do it every once in awhile but otherwise, I'm at each door for a minute locking and trying to unlock.  Locking and trying to unlock.  The people in this building probably think we have some serious issues.  Not only do we not speak the language, we can't even open our doors.  It's hilarious.

I lost Leah's sweater a couple days ago.  Since then, we have been trying to locate a children's clothing store near our apartment.  We have been to a few places, including a mall, but no luck.  We're going to try a children's store further down the other way we normally go and another mall if that doesn't pan out.  Not even souvenir shops carry sweatshirts.  Just t-shirts.  Hmm...

The park benches are twice the depth of ours, but they are made of wooden slats with spaces so if you don't sit far enough back or far enough forward, your butt cheeks will sink in.  Nice.

Enjoy your dryer, people.  We don't have one.  I have a washer that will fit 7 items of varying sizes and then a drying rack that I have to position near an open window because they also do not have fans.  Socks and underwear take about a day to dry (if it's not windy outside) and jeans take a good 2 days.  After the clothes dry, they are board-stiff and I have to iron them to get the wrinkles out and look presentable.  I thought I'd put some fabric softener in the washer with the clothes, but it helps only a little.  Hats off to those who do this everyday.

Oh, Leah grew out of her shoes but that will not be hard to find here.  There are shoe stores everywhere!  One thing these people have is their style.  You do not go out without looking your best.  And they literally wear high heeled shoes on cobblestone streets.  They don't even act like it's painful.  The women have dresses or really nice business casual clothes on and most guys look like they stepped out of a Brooks Brothers store, casual and dressy.

Happy Father's Day!