Spring Has Sprung In California

Spring season in California means the popoular orange poppies, this is my daughter (on the right) and her best friend, they had fun walking through the fields!

Spring Has Sprung in Russia

It's been a real long winter.  These pictures were taken yesterday.  This morning we woke up to even more snow!  Our eldest looked out the window and then asked : "When's Spring gonna get here?"  Soon I hope!

How do you wear your green?

Since the girls wear uniforms to school they have to get creative on how they wear their green!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Luck O' The Irish In Russia

 

This is about as Irish you will get by the Volga!  An Irish Pub with a 

road sign outside it's doors telling you that Dublin, Ireland is 3656 

kilometers from that point!  Happy belated St. Patrick's Day!

My favorite kitchen tool

The Italian part of me doesn't let me cook without adding garlic to just about every dish I do, so my Pampered Chef Garlic Press which I've had for about ten years gets used just about every day! 

No Stinky fingers!

My kitchen knives and utility scissors are also my favorites!

Favorite Cooking Tools

 

My rolling pin is currently my favorite cooking tool.............I have to make most everything from scratch so I use it quite often.  I've already broken two! 

School in the Valley

Unfortunately becasue I don't trust the LA Unified School District, I chose to send my girls to a private christian school, its' a financial hardship but I can go through my day knowing that they are in a good christian environment.   Just like any other school, there are

  Open House nights when we can go see the kids' work through the year........this is my youngest with her
  California Mission Diorama....................


  There are homecoming games to go see......................

 And of course a busy schedule with my oldest daughters' cheering nights at football and basketball games,
 that's her doing a "scorpion".

All their homework assignments are online, along with their grades.  Sometimes, the homework assignments have to be done on the computer and emailed to the teachers, very different from when I was in school!

Kids in School In Russia

 

Only when you homeschool can you pretend to be a pirate.

This is a preschool right across from our building.  Do you know that during Soviet times everyone had to work?  So, moms were not allowed to stay home from work and would have to send their babies to one of the government run preschools like this one.

This is a middle school.  Here in Russia children begin school at the age of 7 and enter into what is called first class.  As they get older they are required to attend school from Monday through Saturday.  In Russia students do not receive letter grades but number grades.....5 being the highest mark and 1 the lowest.