Dacha

A couple of times we got a chance to go to my Aunt's and Uncle's dacha - a house about an hour outside of Kiev. They have a little garden there with a few fruit trees and berry bushes. They also have a little pool for the kids to play in. The kids loved it there and here are a few pictures to prove it:Grandma with Harper-boy
Kirill - my cousin's son. He was very excited to meet Andre and Harper and loves playing with them, he calls them both 'brothers'

The boys having fun in the pool

Kirill - he is 8 months older than Andre

A very focused boy - he spent most of the time in the pool, and didn't want to get out

The boys' favorite 'toy' was my brother Vanya. I think he went to bed around 6 pm that day because those 2 (and sometimes 3) monsters wore him out

Kisses

My cousin's wife -Julia

My cousin Alex cooking up some shishkabobs (sp?)

Beautiful lilies in my Aunt Zhanna's garden

Andre loved picking his own strawberries, carrots and apples (and about everything else - green or ripe)

Poor dog Grada tried to escape the kids - ain't such easy task

Plums - yum!

When my Aunt offered Andre a plum, he took it and came up to me. I said -"Andre, try it, it's yummy". To which Andre replied: "Stop it, Mom! We first have to pay for it!"

That's what you get from living in LA - no gardens there, in our concreted common 'backyard' of our apartment.