Update

Lots of time has passed since my last post!  We have certainly been busy, and enjoying life but I have taken very few pictures.  I'll see if I can recap what all we've been doing.

First off, we have been busy sponsoring a new family.  They are lovely people and I have enjoyed helping them get settled here in Tallinn.

Clara continues to learn to play the piano.  We finally broke down and purchased an 88-key keyboard she can grow with that operates much like an actual piano.  I am starting to sit down and read her lesson books and am trying to learn.  So far, I'm pleased with the progress we are both making!

Charlie and I participated in the SEB Tallinn Marathon.  Charlie ran the half-marathon (21 kilometers or 13 miles) while I did the 10K (6.2 miles).  The picture below is of Charlie with his youthful Marines.  See the old guy on the left?  Yeah, that is Charlie.  He is 39 years old.  He was the first of the four to cross the finish line, taking 2 hours 12 minutes to complete.  See the girl on the right, she was just three minutes behind the old man.  Those fit 22-year-old guys...22 minutes behind her.  I did the wimpy 10K, with an official time of 55 minutes 13 seconds.  

Additionally, we were finally able to find new homes for the gecko and fish that we adopted when another family moved back to the states.  An Estonian family took the gecko.  They were so very nice and I really enjoyed their visit.  They brought us fresh produce from the country and the kids a box of chocolates.  I made cobblers from the apples and sent one to the family and we had crispy zucchini fries from the zucchini.  Yum!

 Another recent development was the loss of another tooth!  A better mother would know exactly how many teeth her child has lost, but I have lost count.  Anyway, the tooth fairy came and made a little girl very happy when the fifth Harry Potter book was loaded to her iTouch.  As you can see, she has a sizable gap where she is missing a top and bottom tooth in the same spot.

That Friday night was a blur for me as I was wakened a couple of times by Zach.  Luckily he went back to sleep easily. Clara woke at 3am that morning to bring me the above letter.  She was so excited, but I told her that was great but to go back to sleep.  She came in at 6:30 to inform me which book the tooth fairy had brought.  I went to bed early Saturday night.

This past weekend we enjoyed a nearby adventure park.  I forgot to put the memory stick in the camera, so have no pictures.  Grrr.  I did find a couple of videos to show you what they did.  I supervised Zach on the little course while Clara went with Charlie and the Marines.  Both kids did great!  I was pleased to see them handling all the responsibility for their safety, gain confidence, and have a good time.  Charlie and I are planning to do a date day and go solo soon.



This is similary to what Zach was doing:



I cannot think of much else.  We have definitely been busy and having fun.  Clara is officially 1/8 through the school year.  We submitted her first major set of tests covering all the material we've learned so far yesterday and started the next portion today.  Zach is enjoying school, especially science and social studies.  Well, I must wrap this up as my little one is demanding some attention.