Today was our day to have another outing with the children’s chaperone, Ilga, and her husband Janis (yah-nis). Rob arranged for the children to have eye exams at his shop in the morning so luckily Ilga was able to translate for us. Olegs was brave and had no problem with the exam, but Kristine was very nervous and paced around the office. She does this walk/skip dance when she’s nervous so she was hopping all over the place while waiting for her turn. When her time came, she did great and was so relieved when it was over. We had no idea what to expect from them. Thankfully, there was no crying or screaming. We were so glad that Ilga could be there to reassure them that the exam wouldn’t be painful.
After the eye exams we got to switch gears and have fun. Poor Rob had to stay at the shop and work but the kids and I took Ilga and Janis to White Water, a local water park, for the rest of the day. The kids were awed by the huge park. They said they have a water park in Latvia but it’s only a fraction of the size. It was SO awesome to see the smiles on their faces the entire afternoon. There were even a couple of lifeguards who spoke Russian so they talked with Ilga, Janis and the kids in Russian. Ilga spotted them right away when she noticed the Russian names on their name tags. I wish so much that I could understand their language so I could know what they are saying. Maybe someday I’ll be able to learn.
I couldn’t get over how Olegs wanted to go on all of the scary (at least scary to me) attractions. I’m usually the big chicken when it comes to any type of ride that throws me around too much. He and Kristine talked me into going on the Tornado which has a giant slide that shoots you out into this HUGE swirling drain type thing where you go around and around and around until you land in a big pool…UGGGHHH. While waiting in line I pondered how I could escape but there was just no way out. Everyone else wanted to go on it so I couldn’t have the kids see me as a big chicken (“vista” in Latvian…LOL!). Kristine, Ilga and I rode on one intertube and Olegs and Janis rode on the other. I didn’t have the courage to open my eyes while we were being tossed about. I just held on for dear life and prayed for it to hurry up and be over. I’m so thankful to have survived and I actually feel good about conquering my fear. Next Olegs wanted to go on the Cliffhanger, a huge slide that’s many stories high and makes you feel like you’re free falling. Since the fear of falling is one of my biggest fears, I told him there’s no way I’m doing that. That didn’t stop Olegs though. He went on that too and wasn’t scared a bit. He loved to rub it in that he wasn't scared at all and I was TERRIFIED. It was so awesome to see the HUGE smile on his face. Another fun day!
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