Our Family
Andrew
Charity
Avinelle Lynn
Eloise Ann
Recent Blogs
Quarantine Here….Vs. “There”
(cute pic of our girls on one of our outings to the playground) Well my “there” is the US since that is where the majority of our family and friends live. Just wanted to give a bit of comparison as to what it is like for us here during these times. Not too much changes Read more about Quarantine Here….Vs. “There”[…]
Brains Like Sponges
While we were away for a week, Avinelle and Eloise stayed with different friends, we know they were hearing and speaking a lot more Russian. (Probably some Kazakh for Eloise, too!) After returning, both of them responded a lot more to us in Russian the first few days. Now of course we primarily speak English Read more about Brains Like Sponges[…]
Girls of Honor
Wow I am so incredibly fascinated by the richness of culture and tradition here in Kazakhstan. Today during my English Club we started to talk about having daughters and the roles as Mothers in general in our children’s lives. These beautiful ladies shared with me how you raise the girls not just as immediate family, Read more about Girls of Honor[…]
Really, truly winter
So one thing I like to talk about living here is the true seasons. And right now we are in the midst of winter. It tempted us by getting warm a few days ago, then dumped about 5 inches of snow two days ago lol. Even when it warms up, it never gets above 50ish Read more about Really, truly winter[…]
Central Asian Food Series: Okroshka
(Oops, I thought I posted this a month ago lol 🤦🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️) Okroshka, is a Russian cold summer soup. Of course it got carried over as a popular dish in central asian dishes during the Soviet time. The funny thing is I know I have had this before but don’t distinctly remember when, probably in the Read more about Central Asian Food Series: Okroshka[…]
Same Same but Different
We went to a new Central Asian country last week- Uzbekistan! This is our 4th country in this region (including Kazakhstan). The above pic is the TV Tower in Tashkent, the capital (it is actually the 11th tallest tower in the world according to Wikipedia).This TV tower has a restaurant halfway up. (we didn’t go- Read more about Same Same but Different[…]
Central Asian Food Series: Kumis & Shubat
Okay… while this isn’t food, it is a big one here in Kazakhstan!!! It’s fermented horse milk! Yes, people drink it here often. Shubat is camel’s milk. Both are similar to kefir. Quite sour. The above pic is from when I was at a neighbor’s house a few weeks back and I totally drank (kumis) Read more about Central Asian Food Series: Kumis & Shubat[…]
Central Asian Food Series: Manti
Once again, the above picture is not mine. 🙈 Most Central Asian (and any Asian for that matter) countries have their form of Manti, also known as samsa. This is definitely a national, staple dish here. It is a boiled or steamed dumpling. (Our friends baked them and called them “samsa” so maybe it’s a different Read more about Central Asian Food Series: Manti[…]
Central Asian Food Series: Doner (Kebab)
Ahhhh doner. One of the cheapest, on-the-go food you can get here. There are doner shops everywhere! Andrew loves this food and it is not something I eat often myself (they put french fries INSIDE the wrap-yuck lol. Doner is kebab meat (cooked on a vertical rotisserie) put inside with fresh salad type veggies and Read more about Central Asian Food Series: Doner (Kebab)[…]
Central Asian Food Series: Beshbarmark
This is not a photo of Beshbarmark (sounds like Bishparmark) from one we have eaten here, we have forgotten to take photos HAH! This national dish is very traditional to Kazakhstan (And Kyrgyzstan and a couple of other Central Asian, Turkic specific countries). It is typically made all with the same water in a very Read more about Central Asian Food Series: Beshbarmark[…]