IT'S SPRING!!

Parks here have grass, trees, and statues, but no playgrounds. Those are only at schools and by apartments buildings. As far as we noticed, almost very apartment building in Barnaul had its own playground for the kids. We've found that interesting since the families in Russia tend to be smaller than most families in the US. In Novokuznetsk we've seen a lot of playgrounds, but not every apartment has one. There's a lot of variety, all the way from a basic swing set and slide to more fanciful, whimsical ones. Here are some of the fun structures we've seen.

    Two playgrounds, one for each set of apartments next to each other

They often paint old tires and use them for decoration and borders at playgrounds and in gardens

They even encourage the children to play with animals
a dog, giraffes, a snake ;)

We think this is a school playground

Both here and in N'sibirsk we've seen new playgrounds installed this year

It is so delightful to hear the kids laughing and enjoying being outside.

Another sign of spring: A few weeks ago one of our missionaries got a package from home that has been sitting in the mission office waiting for someone to travel to Novokuznetsk. His family sent lots of Easter goodies. He brought them to FHE and shared it with everyone there. We don't think there is any Russian candy specifically for Easter, so it was fun to have him share so many different Easter candies with them. None of the Russians had ever seen Peeps before. Interesting reactions.

This last week we've had lots of rain. Just like in Salt Lake, all the plants and grass turned very green overnight with the help of the spring lightening storms. It's beautiful here.

Spring is great, no matter where you are!

This week in Russia:
Happy Memorial Day weekend. We know time is passing by, but it seems strange not to mark it with holidays. There aren't any big Memorial Day sales being advertised here this weekend, and at times we forget about the various holidays you're celebrating until one of us just happens to realize the date. We know it's Memorial Day weekend because it was Stan's birthday yesterday.