Beautiful St. Petersburg

So we escaped Moscow and went to beautiful St. Petersburg. We thought it would be a 3-5 day trip, however, the smoke lingered in Moscow longer than we imagined it could. We ended up spending just at 2 weeks in St. Pete. We were able to stay at St. Petersburg Christian University in their dorms. We were also able to connect with other people working with our organization in St. Pete. They were wonderful and had us over for dinner a few times...it was wonderful to have a home cooked meal and great conversation with some awesome new friends.

Last Train Out

We left the camp on Saturday afternoon with the plan to see how things were in Moscow and if they were to bad...possibly trying to go somewhere else on Monday. However, as we drove into the city we realized how bad things really were. We could not see some buildings that we knew we were passing. I started getting a headache and Liam started coughing and wheezing. We knew we needed to get out of Moscow as soon as possible. We got home, packed a few things, and a friend came to drive us to the train station due to the metro being filled with smoke. Tim stood in the long lines and got us tickets on the next available train out. Thankfully there were two tickets on the 1:35am train to St. Petersburg. They were in a 4 person compartment and we had the 2 top bunks. I shared a bunk with Liam...it was not a comfortable ride, but we were so thankful to be getting out of Moscow we didn't care. We heard later that by the next morning train tickets were sold out for the rest of the week and over 100,000 people flew out of the city. We feel so blessed that we were able to get Liam out of the smoke and somewhere safer.

Liam sleeping on the car ride back to Moscow.

Liam hogging our bunk!  This is where we both slept.

At the Camp

Tim went out to help with an English Camp outside of the city...and after a couple of days of just Liam and I in our hot, smokey apartment...we decided to go out and join him for the rest of the week. There were about 30 campers between the ages of 14-23. They were so much fun and Liam was voted the most popular person at camp. It was great walking around with Liam around the camp in the fresh air, however, it was a little surreal. Walking around the grounds of this former soviet youth camp there are many reminders of communist Russia...a time Liam will never know.

Fire and Brimstone!

It has been a crazy summer here in Moscow! Liam has had an adventurous first few months. This summer Moscow experienced the hottest weather ever recorded for the longest period of time. It was sweltering...and there was no relief. We live in an non-air-conditioned, cement block apartment building. The temperature inside never went under 100f...even at night. I have never experienced such heat...and I am an Atlanta girl!
Then came the fires! Due to the heat and drought there were over 2,000 fires around Moscow and the smoke filled the city. Some days would be bad and some days would be clear...depending on how the winds were blowing.

Liam at 1 Month!

A Unique Find

While my mother was here, we took her to a popular souvenir market.  While a majority of the souvenirs for sale are carbon copies of each other, there are a few stands that are truly doing something original-- and even personal.

One stand in particular, towards the back and far enough to pass by unnoticed, is a stand owned by Viktor and Ludmila.  They specialize in matrioshka dolls, but with a twist.

We found this particular matrioshka, and knew it would go perfectly with Liam's decorations.

Another Montage -- Liam's First Few Weeks