Wet & wild summer

The boys have had a great summer so far...one more month until Mongolian pre-school and kindergarten! Zeke will also study half-time with our MK teacher. July has been surprisingly wet which makes for lots of great puddles. Yesterday they caught a can-full of frogs down by the river (we had a baptismal ceremony with our church). They cried when we made them let the frogs go, but other than that it has been a pleasant, scar-free summer!

Twins?

Nope, not twins, but there is certainly a resemblance ... especially for Mongolians who think all white people look alike! Zeke is 6 and Saiah is 3, and despite all of the bickering (and bruises) they are pretty good brothers. I'm surprised how much they play together ... and Saiah can almost hold his own in wrestling! Zeke is starting to do "chores" around the house for an allowance. Saiah, on the other hand, has no interest in work of any kind ... what do you expect from a 3-year-old (or 30 for that matter)?

A Monumental View

Here we are at the opening of the newest monument in town. The workers put in long hours to get it done in time for Nadaam, the summer holiday of manly sports. This year was the 800th anniversary of Ghengis Khan as well as our city's 45th anniversary. There were big doings for both (archery, wrestling and horse racing), and this monument is one of the 45 improvements they are making around town.

Loving the great outdoors

Friday and Saturday we packed up the car (with camping stuff and lots of friends!) and headed off over the mountains. We found a nice little spot next to the Orhon river for a little retreat with our church leaders. We played (I even swam), we laughed (my sandal floated downriver), we got eaten by misquitos, we sang, and we studied some great examples of God's love in the Bible. What a pleasant weekend!