More January Fun

 We went back to the reindeer ides so Elder Smith could see them - so much fun!

 Ploy and Dasha with the decorations in the Metro subway!

 We all had a great time getting our nails donw downtown - Elder Smith kept working in the mission office while we played!

 I love my 'golden' nails,  Dasha had pretty blue and Poly - dark purple - good time was had by all.

 Dasha treated us all to a wonderful dinner at a fancy restaurant near the City's Ice Scluptures - this is my lemonage and Elder Smith's chocolate shake - amazing and delicious.

All of us at the restaurant - sure had a great time with these beautiful young ladies.

Post Holiday Fun

 Elder Smith met us for dinner at the food court in the Mall - then we went to the evening performance of the Opera - Barber of Seville!  Singing in Italian,  subtitles in Russian - and these two beautfiul girls to translate for us!!  lovely evening.  January 8th, 2019.

 Sweet Ploy helping take down the Christmas decorations at our apartment - It was so fun to have 'grand - children' living with us - for even 10 days!

 Dasha at my desk in the mission office...she is making Russian translation of the famous quotes that I only had in English ... she said: "everyone who comes in here speaks Russian!"  She's right and she researched every General Conference quote and made a pretty copy in Russian and then wrote the English translation of the back of the card.  I enjoyed using both in my last days as mission secretary.

 Ploy helping take down the Christmas decorations in the mission office also - she is so gracious and helpful - all the time!

Elders Rolfe, Mathson and Saunders at the mission office - Dasha in the background...we have the best volunteers in the world serve in Novosibirsk!

Christmas Day! January 7th, 2019

 On the main Lenin Square there were reindeer pulling sleds - fun!  The same reindeer we saw being unloaded.  There were many people celebrating and it was delightful to be a part of it all!

 Closer look at the reindeer rides!

 Camel rides also! Anciently camels came on the 'Silk Road' from Asia to Europe - through southern Russia.  So many kids were having a good time celebrating Christmas.

 There were horse drawn carriages also - with more people could enjoy a ride - reminded me of the snow scene from Dr. Zhivago!

 Stage and entertainment all day long - here are the famous Russian dancers who seem to be gliding along the floor - great music and costumes - many acts following each other...ice scluptures in the background here.

 Dasha was surprised that a Nativity scene was part of the City Celebration - I was thrilled that it was.  Another dance group was posing in front while we were there.  The pine boughs that made the stable smelled good and Christmasy!

 Another Russian dance group and musicians on the stage - - we almost wanted to stay and watch these shows instead of the Ciinderella Ballet tickets we had for the matinee - but we went and it was delightful, as usual.

 Two beautiful ladies, in front of ice sculpture horses!  Ploy would always take my bag - said in Thailand that you carry old ladies bags for them - bless her!

 Father Frost (Santa Claus) at the far left - people joining with dancers and costumed adults for a line dance around the square.

Across the street at the Ballet Theater, Ploy and Dasha taking pictures of monuments to film.  Both of them enjoy watching movies and know a lot about them. Now Dasha has my plaid bag for me - nice to have wonderful friends!

More Holiday Fun

 Our less than ideal 'guest bedroom' Ploy said she loved sleeping on the floor (bless her!) Dasha had the couch bed - here they are hanging up their laundry - we like our drying racks! Love these young women!

 Monday, January 7th was Christmas Day and we had tickets to the Cinderella Ballet - so we headed downtown on the subway - Elder Smith worked at the mission office....he came with us to the evening events of our fun week - didn't want us downtown without him!

 Dasha taking pictures in the subway tunnel of Russian history - fun to have her and Ploy to translate for me!  I learned a lot from them.

 Ploy on the other side of the tunnel - more Russian history - very military !

 We noticed in the main square - trailers unloading reindeer! 

 The whole square was busy with activities - they build these ice slides and the kids wait in line for their turn to slide!

Neither Dasha nor Ploy had ever been to Novosibirsk - they showed me so many things in Irkutsk that it was fun to reverse and show them the few things I knew about in Novo!! Love these cute tourists! 

Christmas Cookies and Roskov Family

 Dasha and Ploy decorating Christmas Cookies - loved having them in our home.

 Dasha's creations - I had baked the cookies before so they would be ready to frost and give away for Christmas - January 7th in Russia! The tree is an overturned ice cream cone!

 Ploy was also creative and meticulous in her decorating.

 On Sunday, our District President, wife and two little boys came over to dinner.  It was good to have Dasha and Ploy who could speak Russian with them.  We had some fun activities and they enjoyed playing with the boys.

 The older one was doing this puzzle with Dasha until I wanted to take a picture!

 We had more cookies for them all to decorate and they had a great time doing it!

 They took them home and had enough that they could also share with others.

Ploy was so good to do all the dishes when they were with us - love them both!

Dasha and Ploy Come to Visit

 This is the Central Train Station in Novosibirsk - it is 5:00 am on January 5th and we are coming to pick up Dasha and Ploy from Irkutsk - they have been traveling for three days on the train.  We left home around 4:30 and didn't know the subway doesn't run that early - luckily there was a taxi near - we had to wake up the driver but we arrived in plenty of time!

 On the subway - Metro... aren't they beautiful? We met Dasha in November 2017 - when we did an audit training in Irkutsk ...not knowing we would have the privelege of living there in December!  She guided us on a tour of the Lake Baikal region and was darling!  She had been investigating the church for about one year! Ploy is a student from Thailand - the sister voluneers met her on the street in her second week in Irkutsk - both are lovely and fun and we planned this holiday trip since September when we left Irkutsk to be the mission office couple.

 Because of the Russian Holidays - Jan. 1 - 10, our mission invited the next mission to the west - Ekaterinburg Mission - to a YSA and Seminary student conference.  We missed the Friday evening Winter Ball at one of the fancy hotels, but went to the Saturday events at the Left Bank Building.  After the long train ride, the girls slept a few hours and then we got back on the subway to attend the Saturday parts of the conference ..on the subway we met Slava, a member from Irkutsk who had come also.

Dasha and Slava walking from the subway station to the church building - they are good friends. It was good to meet Slava, he was baptized before we were in Irkutsk and left for a job in St. Petersburg. Then after we left to live in Novosibirsk, he came back! He is preparing for a mission.

 Darling Ploy making snowballs - she pelted each of us and we all laughed!

 Ploy being funny! 

 We found this travel poster in the subway tunnel - advertizing visit Thailand!!

January 2019 - water cooler

 This is one od the water coolers in the mission office - we found red cups for the holidays ... and the servicing company jugs said:  Siberian Water!

Closer look - they had said 'Classic Water' before - Russian on one side of the jug and English on the other - we all laughed at this - what other kind of water would we get in Siberia?