November 2015

Here are my favorites from November so far:

Kaitlynn riding the deer at William's school...and so so happy about it!

Two peas...or maybe butter beans.

because everything is more fun with your tongue out!

These smiles are gifts of warmth no matter the weather or mood I'm in!

Pony tail and posing with a fall leaf; both her idea :)

Can we go up the ramp? They ask every time we go to this shopping center. 

William is really into coloring right now and he chooses his colors carefully.  It's a fun stage. 

Kaitlynn is really into eating ramen noodles...uncooked...right now.  EVERY DAY! lol

Just a castle he built, just an ordinary castle built by an precious little boy

Their homemade bunk beds

notice the note at the bottom of the racket...it was a note from Jeremy's wife...he played a whole game of tennis without noticing it lol it was funny when I showed it to him afterward. It reminded me of a time with Jeremy left a note on my fan when I was single, I didn't see it at all lol but my fiancé knew then that I'm not very diligent at remembering to clean fans :)

See ya in December!

Oliviye Salat

"Oliviye Salat" (an Uzbek potatoe salad)

Ingredients:
Potatoes (washed but not peeled)(I usually use 4-5 medium sized potatoes to make a decent size batch of salad)
Carrots (washed but not peeled)(in the end the amount of carrots should equal about the same as the potatoes so I usually use 6-8 carrots but the carrots in the states are bigger so I have no idea how much)
Eggs (5)
Can of green peas drained
Can of whole kernel corn drained(optional)
Pickles (optional)
Kielbasa sausage (or Bologna type meat is often used)
Mayo
Salt

Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil. Put potatoes and carrots (cleaned but not peeled yet) into the pot. Once the water is boiling again, put eggs into the pot. Boil on high heat for 20 minutes. Carefully remove boiled eggs and cool. If the potatoes and carrots are cooked well, take those out also, otherwise cook for another 15 minutes or so and check again. Our gas fluctuates and the carrots here are more sweet and firm so it can range from 20 minutes to an hour to cook the vegetables. Once the vegetables and eggs have cooled, peel them all/remove skin or shell. Dice everything into very small pieces. Everything should be about the same size including eggs, meat, pickles, and anything else being used. After everything is cut up, gently mix it all together in a large bowl. Add salt generously. Add the mayo last. The amount of mayo depends on how you want it to turn out. Cover and refrigerate. Keeps well for at least a week here but it doesn't usually last that long.

Enjoy!
Love,
Samantha

Taking a glance back...

one year ago, at the airport, on the way to Central Asia

Dec 2014

Jan 2015

Feb 2015

March 2015

April 2015

May 2015

June 2015

July 2015

August 2015

September 2015

a jump back to two years ago..Oct 2013

one year ago...Oct 2014

and now Oct 2015

October 2015

October 2015 has come and gone! Here are some of my favorite pictures from October (minus the ones from the visit with Pop and Gramm which I posted separately!): 

William's bestie at his birthday celebration

William's 4th birthday photo smile

She loves to swing

Angie and I had the opportunity to visit a local pottery shop and gallery

it was really cool!

Daddy and his little girl

Just riding the deer at William's school

Buddies

Our visitor for 3 weeks in October...he made it through the visit but died shortly after he returned home; rest in peace little marathon runner.

light sabers!

They loved Mr. Hamster

pouring beans

new umbrellas for the rainy weeks

one of my closest friends and her family had us over for dinner, blessed us tremendously! love these guys!

Kaitlynn carrying her baby in her "Boba"

Kaitlynn loves to visit the international clinic because they have a playground :) 

Kaitlynn with a friend playing the piano

Painting mommy's toes

A present from a friend for his birthday!

these guys are a mess

going as guests...

is a lot of fun!

precious

We had our first strong earthquake since we moved here.  It was later revised to be the 7.5 everyone saw on the news...yes we felt it from over 350miles away and it was scary even here.  

William's first picture from school