Pushkin--More than an author

Taking a break from packing...

Isaiah and I had the great delight of spending last Thursday with our friend, Katya and her 4 year old niece Marina.  We went a little bit out of the city to the "suburb" (for lack of a better word) Pushkin.  The area surrounds the palace that Peter the Great built for his wife Catherine I, which then became the home of Catherine the Great (this history was explained to me in Russian, so I think I'm passing on the right information to you).  We didn't actually go into the palace, though.  The grounds are beautiful enough to warrant a visit all their own.

Here are some pictures from our day:

I have a hard time judging how long it will take me to get places in St. P for some reason.  Isaiah and I got to the meeting spot a little early.  Naturally I took a few shots of my favorite subject.  I really like the funny expression he has in this one.

When Isaiah saw the giant statue of Lenin, he laughed uncontrollably.  The closer we got to him, the more he laughed.  I have no idea...

After a short bus ride we made it to the palace.  Sorry it's crooked, I didn't notice it at the time, but I think you still get the idea.

Marina really enjoyed feeding the ducks, and Isaiah really enjoyed watching her.  Every time she threw a handful of bread out to the ducks he giggled with delight.

Marina taught him about dandelions.

Then Marina quickly realized that if she ran around all over the place, Isaiah could not contain himself.  He laughed so hard at her, and she so graciously obliged him.

Besides entertaining Isaiah, I think the highlight of the trip for Marina was having the squirrels eat from her hand.  Isaiah didn't understand this concept at all.  I tried to help him feed the squirrels, but he just wanted to take the food out of my hand and try to put it in my mouth.

Isaiah post laughter session when Marina had been running around.

Isaiah with our friend Katya

Yes, I really was there, too. :)