Day 17 – Tuesday, 22 August, 2006

Tuesday was Masha and Dad day. The plan was for me to take Monday off while Mark worked, and then for Mark to take Tuesday off while I worked. While I got to take Masha to the dentist and eye doctor, Mark took her for a Fun Day. Mark and I both got up and got to work about 6:30, and let Masha sleep in a bit. They watched some TV and played some games, and then joined the rest of the kids for a pool party.

The pool offered a great opportunity for kids from two different orphanages to play together. Masha had never been down a pool slide before, and it took a lot of encouragement from everyone to convince her to take the first plunge. Once she accomplished that, she was invincible! Khrystyna was not so lucky…the deep end was a little much for her and she was pulled from the pool once with a pole and a second time by a fully clothed man!

After the pool party disbanded, Mark and Masha moved on to Tokens and Tickets. Masha wanted to play every game in the store, but proved to need a little practice. The deck was stacked against her when Dad accidentally selected the expert level of the guitar game, but she sure tried hard. Masha insisted on riding the kiddie horse, and further wanted to choose Barbie items from the prize store prior to actually winning any tickets! When she finally had her fill of games, Mark and the attendand finally steered her toward a nice necklace with a Jesus fish, and a fancy ring.

Mark and Masha returned home anticipating dinner at McDonald’s. I finished working, and we set off for the newly remodeled McDonald’s on Washington Center. A Number Six and a Polly Pocket for Masha, and she was a happy girl. She took a couple of passes through the Human Habitrail and we were off again. Despite Masha’s pleas of “Harry Potter, pleeeaaasssseeeeee” we decided to enjoy a family round of Putt Putt.

The first couple of holes were a little rough, leaving us to question the wisdom of choosing this activity. We have discovered a perfectionistic streak in Masha much like my own. But about three holes in, Mark worked with her a little, showed her how to putt, and she settled into a serious game. At the end, we worked on math skills by totalling up the score. When Masha discovered that she had earned the highest score among the three of us, she danced and cheered for herself! We didn’t have the heart to explain golf scores…..

The final promised activity of the evening: Ice cream and Harry Potter. Mark and Masha created mega-cones full of Nestle Crunch, Peanut Butter, and Sundae Cone ice creams, and gobbled them down in front of the television. Simon joined us to wach The Chamber of Secrets, and we pretty much ignored bedtime.