How Michael Sees the World, Part 2

In preparation for Rachel's arrival, we tried to think of things to do for Michael so that he wouldn't feel left out or ignored and to help him adjust to not being an only child anymore. We bought him a book that was all about the new baby. We bought a couple of books that were on sale as well as new coloring paint pens and letter cards "from Rachel". Brian also took him to the store to pick out a gift for his new sister. I helped Michael pack a bag with coloring books and toys for him to have at the hospital. We also let him use our little camera to take pictures of his little sis. (We may have gone overboard, but he'd been an only child for over three years, fairly newly potty-trained, and I was worried). Well, I forgot about that camera until Brian took it to Minsk and then loaded the pictures from the camera onto our computer when he got back. I started looking through his Minsk pictures and was surprised to find all these pictures from Michael. It made me laugh, and I thought I would share a few. 

 Michael's gifts from his sis

 One of the movies he picked to watch. I'm not sure where I was for most of this movie. Maybe taking a shower?

 We got tons of feet pictures

 Obviously he didn't take this one, but I'm including it because it is an awesome one of my feet. I had very little swelling while I was pregnant, but after having Rachel, my feet totally ballooned up! They got pretty bad during the days we spent feeding Rachel while she was in the NICU. I was so worried that they would never go back to normal! They stayed this way for about a week. Eck!

 Rachel ended up in the NICU for low blood sugar (she wanted to sleep, not eat), and so she ended up staying an extra day in the hospital. I had to check out after twenty-four hours, so the nurses kindly found us a room in the pediatric ward--the only one available--for boarding so that we wouldn't have to drive from Saratoga Springs every two hours for feeding. It was such a blessing, even though they were worried about RSV exposure. Thankfully, that was the night my parents arrived, so they took care of Michael so we could take care of Rachel. They bought Michael these awesome "construction" pajamas. They are his favorites. It will be a sad day when he grows out of them.  

 Michael took lots of pictures of his Grandpa, one of his favorite people in the world! Dad was really good about taking Michael on trips to DI (where he could pick out a toy) and the Lehi bakery (where he could get a donut). Dad helped Michael feel important so that we could figure out Rachel.

 And Michael has loved Rachel from the beginning.  

 A picture of Brian getting ready to go back to work. I might be crying. No, I wasn't, but I might have been closer than we'd all like. Even though this is a not a very clear picture, it kind of made me happy that Michael took it. 

This is only one of SEVERAL photos that he took of his cars. He loves his cars. 

Ten Days in Idaho!

Earlier this year, Brian told me that his work might send him to Portland for a conference in April. Then, around the beginning of March or end of February, Brian called me up from work and said, "So, instead of sending me to Portland, they might send me to Belarus."

"Belarus? As in..." I replied.

"The country. Yes."

"For how long?"

"About a week."

"Where is that again?"

"By Ukraine." Oh, right.

That's how it began. I decided with him gone, it would be a good opportunity to spend some time with my parents. I'm proud to say that it wasn't an oh-no-my-husband-is-going-to-be-gone-and-I-don't-want-to-be-alone kind of thing. It just seemed like a good opportunity. That being said, I was really glad to be around two other adults to help be a buffer between me and my 3 year old and my then two-month old.

First of all, can I just say that getting Brian's papers ready to go to Europe was a mess. In order to go to Belarus, you need a visa. You can't get a visa until you get a passport. You can't get a passport unless you have your birth certificate. We couldn't find his birth certificate, so we had to order a new one. Brian used a company that would expedite it, which cost three times as much to have done than getting it through the health department. And they weren't fast. We ordered Rachel's the same day using the state service and hers arrived three or four days before Brian's. Turns out he could have just gone to the health department in Provo and had a copy made in the same day. Oh well, you live and learn, right?

So after the birth certificate mess--which we all just laughed off--there was the issue with a passport. He sent in his passport application and paid to have it expedited. It wasn't being fast enough, so after talking with the state department, it was decided that Brian needed to fly to San Francisco to the agency there and get his passport. He explained why he was applying for a passport twice within a week or so, and got his passport that same day. After that, the visa wasn't a problem. So, a recap: expedited birth certificate, passport with expedited services, and a round trip plane ticket to San Francisco. Thank you, Adaptive Computing, for paying for the most expensive passport in history! Live and learn, right?

A shuttle picked Brian up on the morning of April 4 and took him to the airport. A few hours later, we finally made it out the door. I guess I didn't realize how much Brian helps whenever we take a trip. It took me forever to pack our car! Anyway, we finally got going, and Rachel slept most of the way, so I was able to make it all the way to Ririe without stopping, which was awesome!

As for the visit, it was fairly uneventful. I had visions of hiking, some outdoor photo shoots, and things like that, but the weather was not very cooperative. I expected it to be chilly--it was Idaho in April, after-all. And I expected it to be windy--we were in Idaho after all. But the 75 mph winds took me a little by surprise. Looking back, I realize it shouldn't. Long story short, we didn't go on any hikes, and I didn't take many pictures.

But we watched General Conference with my parents:

and took videos to send to Brian:

Rachel got some good bonding time with her grandparents. She hit a growth spurt while we were there, and really started talking and cooing, and they were there to see it and notice. My mom had her pretty much figured out by the time we left. Rachel was such a champ during the trip! 

 I visited my dear friend Julie, and Michael found a willing explorer in Mike while Julie and I chatted it up:

 I wish I had taken a picture of Michael dragging Mike across their yard. Whenever Mike would come back inside, after about five minutes, Michael would say, "Let's go back outside."

I just love Julie. I drove back to my parents house smiling. 

On Saturday, April 13, I threw a baby shower for Taryn. Our theme was a Mustache Bash. We had a lunch of chicken salad sandwiches, spinach-strawberry salad, and fresh fruit. Here's the spread:

 I tried to incorporate mustaches into whatever I could, and since Taryn LOVES milk, I came up with the sign to tie the two together:

 Our family friend, Peggy, and Taryn:

 I made candy mustache suckers for everyone. I made them all pose for pictures:

 Kendra, Taryn, and Grandma rockin' the 'stache

 Rachel

 Cydnee and Tiffani with Peggy

 Cindy, Tracy, and LaRenda

 Aunt Trina and Mom

 And since I made them pose, they made me pose. 

 Amber just wanted to eat hers.

 The only game we played was a gift bingo game where you fill in the squares with what you think people gave Taryn. They did this at my neighbor's baby shower, and I thought it made the gift opening segment of the shower less awkward. After the gifts, I gave everyone a little favors box filled with thank-you candies and candy-dipped Oreos. The treats were super easy to make but looked so fancy. Taryn and David helped me put the boxes together and Chelsea helped me put the tags on. 

I thought they turned out cute. 

After the shower, the kids got to eat the leftover mustaches, but not before I made them pose for the camera:

 Matthew

 Heather

 Michael 

My Uncle Rick happened to be visiting, so he posed too

 Poor Sarah wasn't feeling well, but I did get her to pose with her mustache after the Motrin kicked in a little bit.

Who has the best mustache?

After church and dinner, David helped me load my car (so nice and helpful!) and we caravan-ed with Taryn and David until they had to turn off to go to Logan. We enjoyed our time in Idaho, but we were all ready to head home, especially Michael who was really missing his dad by then. We picked up a very tired Brian at the airport on our way home. It was so nice to have our family back together! 

If you ever take your spouse for granted, just send him to Belarus for ten days where your only form of communication is Skype over a lousy internet connection or email. It worked for us.  I never realized just how much I count on Brian everyday. He's so great about helping get the kids in bed. It was kind of tough without one of the star players on Team Saville. We were all so glad to be back together!

Kim's Wedding

On April 2, my very last room-roommate got married in the Salt Lake Temple, and she invited us to her wedding dinner. I hadn't seen her since before Michael was born, so it was an even bigger treat. A few of us got together the night before her wedding for a little low-key bachelorette party. It was so fun seeing all those amazing girls from my last singles' ward. It was also great to introduce Michael and Rachel to Kim and Colleen (another former roommate), and to introduce Rachel to Tali. 

We got there a little late thanks to rush hour traffic and a few other issues, so by the time we arrived at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, the only table with seats available and with someone I knew was the bridal table. Kim and her new husband Nate waved us over and had us sit by them and their parents. We felt kind of silly, but it was nice ti talk more with Kim. The food was yummy. 

 And the view was awesome.

 Omni 168 Roommate reunion:

 Me, Tali, Kim, and Colleen--the best group of girls to end my single days with (as well as begin life as a freshly returned missionary since they are all RMs as well and helped me adjust back to normal life.) It was SO so nice to see them again. 

 Colleen's super cute kids--how time has flown! Kim and I were driving to her wedding in St. George when Brian called me and asked me about the kind of engagement ring I wanted. Now look at us!

There was a little dancing:

 Which meant spinning for Michael. 

Michael seems to do this a lot at wedding receptions. 

Such a great night spent with such great people. Let's do it again at Tali's wedding, okay ladies, if not before!

Adventures in Belarus - We're Watching You

Going into Belarus and Minsk, I was surprised at how the same it felt as other countries.  I expected to find a people oppressed, depressed, and constantly looking down.  What I found instead were happy, healthy people who were just trying to live their lives, and often they had a great sense of humor too.  That really surprised me, and I'm not sure why.  I just figured a communist country produced unhappy people who drank away their cares and sorrows, and while that might have been true in Russia at one point for some groups of people, I think by-and-large it is completely unfounded.  While communism is their form of government, the people are still people.  They still laugh, love, and try to live their lives the best they can.

A few more comments on the people.  First, everyone is skinny.  I think I saw 2 or 3 people who were larger, but when I say larger I mean a little overweight.  I'm thinking that America really is extremely obese after being in Belarus.  Trev told me that this is pretty standard for foreign people - they are just skinny since they tend to walk more, get more exercise, and eat better.  Second, people are the same as in the states.  While there are always exceptions and they have different views on the world, people really are not different - obviously this goes along with what I said above.  Kids especially are exactly the same.  There were so many kids I saw that acted just like Michael that I just missed him the whole time.  I think there is a deeper lesson here that if kids are the same between country and land boundaries, maybe the adults should be as well (become as a little child).  Last, Trev warned me about this (and I've heard it before from others), but Americans are loud.  I mean, really, really loud.  A couple of nights ago I went out with Devri to Olive Garden, and it was so incredibly loud that we could barely talk to each other.  In Minsk, Trev and I went to a restaurant and while there were probably 3-4 couples around us, I didn't hear a single word they said the entire time.  It was almost eerily quiet most of the time, especially around people.  The subway was the same story.  There is the rare exception, but mostly people are just more respectful of others' space and privacy.

Speaking of privacy (and what this blog post is titled for), I guess I just assumed that I would have the same privacy as in the states, but I think I was dead wrong.  Nothing bad happened, but soon after we got off the plane in Frankfurt, Trev told me that our hotel rooms were very likely bugged, that we were probably watched if we went out.  He said that if we were more active in going out, they probably would have watched us more closely.  It confirmed what I had been feeling but didn't even realize until I got into Frankfurt.  The entire time we were in Minsk, I felt this weight on me, like someone was watching.  Going out to go shopping and things, I felt like everyone was looking at me.  It is quite possible that the people that looked at me funny (and there were a few) may have been KGB agents just making sure I wasn't doing anything suspicious.  As soon as I got off the airplane in Frankfurt, I felt like I was able to take a big breath of fresh air.  I only connected the dots after the fact, but I felt a very real pressure leave from my shoulders or the back of my neck as I got back into Germany.  I have never experienced anything like that, it was an ... interesting ... feeling.

When you went into stores in Minsk, they had people in all corners of the stores to watch you as you got your things.  They did this to everyone, not just Americans, but especially to us.  I must have stuck out a little more than I thought I did, because everytime I went into a back room in the store, they watched me like a hawk.  It's a little discomforting.

Finally, I think that some people have been wanting a few pictures. I honestly didn't get much sightseeing in due to work schedule, not being there over the weekend, and being sick the first half of the trip.  But we did get one good evening in.

This is the library.  It doesn't do it any justice for how big it really is.  Think 20-30 floors up probably.  I've been told that the entire outside is lined with LED lights so that they light shows at nights sometimes.

Some writings on the wall outside the library.  These are all the different languages that they have inside.

The other side with more languages.  Notice the English in the middle, which I think is the same in each language: "That the man of God may be perfect, furnished to every good work."

Did that surprise you too that it was on a public, government building speaking about God?  That'll be the topic of my next post.

Some buildings have these huge murals on them. I think they speak of the glories of communism or something like that, I'm not sure.  The star is a symbol like the sickle and scythe of Russia.

And you thought our gas prices were ridiculous!!  Ok, so this is in Belarussian rubles.  But still.  (for those curious, 8600 rubles ~ 1 dollar, but this is per liter)

This is the plaza right next to our hotel.  Right behind me is an entrance to an underground mall where everyone shops.  No walmart, just a little grocery store in the underground mall.  Very different.

I couldn't take pictures of the coolest buildings because they are government buildings.  I didn't want to be shot or arrested.