Rhea:  "My time in Latvia was good but some things were not so good. For example I had impetigo (Bacterial thing Highly contagious), but I don't have it anymore. This bacterial thing was so close to my eye and mouth.  My mom thought maybe it was a fungal infection so we tried oils and rub on creams.  It went on for a week or so when she decided to ask Aunt Misty who is a nurse if she knew what it was.  She said that she thought it was impetigo.  My mom had never heard of it, so she googled it and it seemed a perfect fit.  So she put me on antibiotics that we had from the embassy nurse, and it started clearing up right away!  Luckily this happened during the year of home schooling so I did not feel embarrassed. But I have my mom to thank for that."

This is when it first started:

 Then it got bigger:

 Here you can tell that the antibiotics started working and it started scabbing and then peeling off.  Yay!

 Eating a breakfast I helped my mom make with yellow peppers and eggs.  It was good!  I kept the impetigo covered because it was ugly.  But the impetigo completely healed and you can't even tell where it was!

We busted a gut laughing so hard as Rhea and Thomas tried to show us that they had learned to wink.  Bri was laying on the couch behind saying, "I can't remember ever not knowing how to wink."  As I tried to capture this entertainment on video, Bri reminded me not to shake the camera because I was laughing so hard.  ;)  Their attempts at the art of winking were more than hilarious.

Thomas and I had front row seats to Rhea's "winking" and we couldn't contain our laughter!

There are many Saturdays here in Latvian winter when we just want to hunker down in our warm house and be cozy and snug in our blankets and fuzzy pajamas.  Today, Briant and I wanted to get out and explore, while the kids wanted to hibernate and play on their technology since it was Saturday and they had a break from school.  So Bri and I dressed in layers of course (leggings underneath my jeans, multiple shirt and sweater layers) with our best coats, scarves, and gloves.  We decided to do a "Bog Walk."  Of course a better time to do this would have been the fall, summer, spring, etc., but I wanted to get out and see something new in nature, so we did it.

It was wonderful--no cars, just humans and nature.  :)
 The wooden path was underneath layers of snow, and if you fell off of it it was just snow and not a wet bog, so there was a benefit to doing this in the winter.

It was crazy to stand on a road that was built in the bog by the Germans back during WWI in 1916/1917 when they were trying to attack Tsarist Russia!  The Germans and Russians had signed a friendship peace treaty promising that they wouldn't attack each other, but then the Germans reneged on the agreement.

 At the top of a lookout point

It was a beautiful place to walk and explore.  It was definitely cold, but it was great to get out of the house and be in nature on a date together!

 

 It's hard to see, but someone walked out on the bog while it was frozen, to make a snowman!  They were brave!
 After the walk, we went to a nearby restaurant/store and got some grub for lunch.  I ordered one of my favorite Latvian dishes--pork with cheese with baked cauliflower and cheese casserole on the side.

Bri was super satisfied with his meal as well of cauliflower and cheese with a dill sauce.  The Latvians know how to do dill!

As the "China Watch" guy at the embassy, Bri got invited to attend a Chinese New Year concert with an extra ticket for me.  Both of us were blown away by the beauty and quality of the performance.  The songs were amazing and we loved the unique instruments they performed with!  We couldn't recognize or name 90% of the instruments on stage.  It was a new experience for us and it got us excited for our move to China next year! 

The orchestra director.  I appreciated his friendly, warm smile.

We worked up an appetite watching the concert ;) so we headed to one of our favorite little Chinese restaurants called "Wok to Walk."  Quick, cheap, and easy.  And you get to throw in whatever you want.  We always loved to add bamboo shoots and grilled garlic.

 And on our way back to the car we passed by our favorite Doma church, frosted with a little snow.  We love seeing this church!