Last Chapters

Well, we're nearing the end of what has been a great, great trip. We've been running all over, doing everything we can think to do, and as Papa said to Ellie as we walked in the door at the end of the day: "I think we've run out of adventures."

We did do a couple things today before calling it quits. We headed out to the seminary to see where Nana works and to see the progress on their new building. It is colossal. Ellie has made it a habit of becoming a surrogate grand-daughter to every doorkeeper we meet. The one at the seminary gave her a pair of hand-knitted socks! If you're keeping score at home, that's one pair of socks and about six metric tons of candy accumulated thus far.

I talked my dad into doing a little craziness before the end of our time together. I had said back in the early fall when we were planning this trip that I wanted to do a polar-bear-club-style jump into the ultra-frigid Dneiper River, the big fat river that runs through Kiev. Since today was a balmy one (high 30s), and our last day here, it seemed like the time was right. We ran out about 100 feet, dunked ourselves under, and ran back to the shore like wild men. It was a blast. And a little chilly. My dad gets the Manly Man award for the day -- look at him in this picture! It's like he's taking a walk on the beach! I was screaming my head off. In a masculine way. Really.

We also rode the yellow bus to a toy store today where Ellie got a replacement snow globe for the one that broke earlier in the trip and perhaps more important, some bus tickets as well. She has developed quite an obsession with bus tickets.

Tomorrow morning I will get up and take some pictures around the area before we go and then we'll jump on a plane and begin our trip home. This will probably be our last blog. Thanks so much for blogging with us while we've been here! It's been great for us -- it has made us intentional about collecting and remembering our stories each day. While I doubt we'll blog when we get home, hopefully we will be equally faithful to collect and share stories. See you soon!