Trip to Yaremche

Last week was Spring Break for most kids here. Our family didn't take the whole week off from school, but we did have a special field trip on Friday. Having an experienced outdoor guide as one of our Sunday school teachers is giving us fun trips together, and I really see these times building good relationships among the kids and teachers at our church.

We started out pretty early in the morning, to get on a train up into the mountains. Our group was eight kids, three Sunday school teachers (including me), another mom, a grandmother who happened to be visiting her grandchildren for their break, and a dog.

The order of the photos is a little jumbled, but you can see that we walked through Yaremche, explored the Dovbush Trail--which was our main destination--then back down through the town and to McDonald's (or was that our main destination?). After that, one little guy fell asleep in the train station, while the rest played games and waited for our return train.

Bogdan's 15th

On March 12 Bogdan turned 15. The morning of his actual birthday he made brownies to take to art class later in the day. Then he celebrated his birthday there. His teacher and classmates really made the day special for him, surprising him with a cake and presents. They gave him art supplies and special military patches and had tea twice, once with the younger class and once with just the older group.

The next day Bogdan got to celebrate with his friends. He invited four boys he enjoys spending time with, two originally from Kherson and two from here. They played outside while Will grilled meat. Then we had dinner. More play until it was completely dark and cold. After that, they came in for tea and opening presents.

Bogdan had a great birthday and was well celebrated by lots of people who love and appreciate him.