A World Away from Kramatorsk

1. Dancing with Papa
2. At the indoor pool
3. Watching the skiers and snowboarders at the Mountain Lodge
4. Relaxing with a cookie in the Great Hall

Last weekend we had the great pleasure of taking Ana to our favorite vacation destination, The Homestead resort in Hot Springs, Virginia. The trip was our collective Christmas present to one another. We arrived Friday afternoon and immediately took Ana to the Homestead's bowling alley, which is in the basement of the spa, next to the indoor, spring-fed swimming pool. The lightest ball they had was 8 pounds, so we helped her roll it toward the pins. There's no way she could lift it by herself! Interestingly, she was only excited about the rolling of the ball and not at all concerned about how many pins she knocked over.

During the evenings, The Homestead offers dinner and dancing in the main ballroom. Mama and Papa had grilled duck breast and a "tuna parfait", while Ana had spaghetti and french fries. At first she was intimidated by the live band that was playing, but we did manage to get her out on the floor for a little dancing.

Probably her favorite activity was swimming in the indoor pool. As I mentioned before, it's fed by a natural hot spring, so the water is very warm and smells great. Ana was hesitant at first (I'm not sure she's ever been in a pool), but then got in Mama's arms with some coaxing. After that, she totally loved the pool. The only bad part was when Papa succumbed to Ana's cries of "Ya sama!" ("I can do it myself") and let go of her briefly. She promptly sank like a stone and I quickly retrieved my shocked and sputtering daughter. But she's a trouper and very quickly got over the scare.

This Sunday will be Ana's Christening at our church. We're having it during the 5:15 service, since that's the one we usually attend. We took Ana there for a trial run when we got back on Sunday, and it was a total disaster! She still doesn't understand the concept of being quiet at certain times. We left the church during the second hymn, much to the relief of our fellow parishioners! This Sunday we plan to keep her out on the playground until the appointed time. Wish us luck!

-Phil