Ice Ice Baby

All right stop, collaborate and listen

 

 It's been 3 days since my last post (gasp), which is an indication of how crazy things have been at the Hotel Scoggins!
Thursday, Alyona made her 3rd and final trip to the dentist.  Huge shout out to Dr. Chris Maestrello, who did x-rays, a thorough cleaning, and 8 fillings completely free of charge. It was painful for her, but she bounced back quickly. After that, I took her to Target to buy her a curling iron.  She perked right up!

We returned to find another Ukrainian had moved in.  :-)  Zoya, one of the chaperones/translators, came to spend three nights with us.  Having her has been great.  We've been able to ask Alyona questions about her past and present at the orphanage (without having to type everything and wonder if she's even understanding us), and share her translating services with other host families .  She is quite in love with Short Pump Town Center, and retail therapy is her thing!!  It has been nice for Alyona to have a buddy around, too.  I love hearing them ramble on in Russian, while I listen intently to see if I recognize any words.  "Wait, did you just offer her some tea?  I'm quite sure I heard the word 'chai'... and I know that means tea!!"

Friday morning we made yet another trip to Target (we Americans LOVE our Target!) to get Alyona some heels and nylons for the big dance (thank you, Janele!)  She felt quite special!

After that, it was time to decorate for the Mingle and Jingle Dance!  It was put on by the orphan care groups of Hope Church and West End Pres.  We went all out, hoping to create some wonderful, lasting memories for the Ukrainian kids.  I believe there were 7 host kids there, as well as MANY adopted children from all over the world.  IT. WAS. AWESOME.

The DJ was great, and I'm guessing he burned no fewer than 2,000 calories  just jammin' to his own tunes.  He also rocked a pair of angel wings, at no extra charge

.  

You're probably asking yourself, "Is that Alyona I see UP ON THE STAGE?"  Why yes, yes it is.  

She was drawing quite a bit of attention to herself, but again, we pick our battles.

She squeezed every ounce of fun out of last night that she could.  In typical teen form, she completely ignored her family.  That's ok- we just hung out with the other ignored parents.  Ha!

Getting our groove on

My sweet friend, Jennifer, came and took pictures of the evening.  It really was fantastic.

Can you tell that she was NOT interested in a family photo?  We pulled her away for a moment, and that was totes uncool of us.  Parents of teenagers: my hat is off to you.

shoes optional

Today, it was time for some Ice Ice Baby...literally.   Cole and Loren spent most of their time flat on their backs, but they refused to stop and said they loved it!  If you see them covered in bruises, please refrain from calling DSS.  They are from skating...really!!!

Reid was disappointed that he wasn't skating like Scott Hamilton after 10 minutes of practice.  That child is such a perfectionist when it comes to individual sports.

It was Alyona's first time, too, and she got the hang of it and managed to stay upright, for the most part.  She was quite concerned about her hair and was constantly trying to fix it while she skated...

I got a little nervous when I saw her grab the hand of a random teenage girl.  Oh dear.  They skated a couple of laps and then the girl left the ice.  When I saw her skating later, I went up to her and explained that Alyona is here from Ukraine and doesn't speak English, and that I was sorry if she was uncomfortable.  She was so incredibly sweet and said, "I figured it was something like that, although she did point to Loren and tell me she was her sister."

We were so impressed with her and quickly told her mom what an awesome daughter she has.
Point for the teenagers!  :-)

Seriously, how cute is she?!

After picking Zoya up from her solo shopping excursion, we went home, changed, and headed out for a Mexican dinner.  It was really fun!  We even checked out a couple of homes on the Tacky Lights Tour (which was a flop when we took Alyona one rainy night before Christmas).  This time, we were able to get out of the car and walk around, and she seemed to enjoy it.

It's hard to believe that we only have 4 days left.  At dinner, I asked Zoya to ask Alyona what her favorite part of being in America was.  Her answer surprised me.  "All of it.  Everything." 

I was surprised because half the time she gives the impression of being completely bored, irritated, grumpy and/or anti-social towards us.  To pry her off of the Android  has been a chore. 

Back at the orphanage, she has little freedom and can make few choices.  She is told what to eat, what to wear, what time to go to bed, what to do with her time, etc.  I guess maybe just "being" has been really nice?  No matter what comes of her time here, I know that the things she has experienced, both big and small, will make a difference for a lifetime. 

I'll leave you with this:
If there was a problem, Yo -- I'll solve it!
Check out the hook while DJ revolves it.