Delayed...

Our documentations at the Consulate in Astana could not be done today. We are therefore delayed by 2 days. Thankfully, our tickets had been reserved, but not officially booked so we will not have to pay an additional fee. We should be departing on Friday (Feb 5th) instead of Wed. (Feb. 3rd). We contacted our travel agent so hopefully there are tickets available...cross your fingers. We were pretty bummed to say the least, but at least we are now in Astana and there are new things to discover.

Our internet has not been working in the last 2 days. We are therefore having to go to an internet cafe at the Mega Centre. Sorry for delaying in responding to e-mails.

Here is a sampling of the neat architecture that we can see from the Mega Centre ;0)) Tomorrow, we plan on taking a tour of the city with Zhanara. I doubt we will go into many building since we have Anna to consider, but just looking at the skyline is enough to appreciate Astana's creative spirit.

For the Lajoys - something to look forward to!

Do not despair....look what awaits for you in Astana! It's now supper time...can't wait for once ;0))) We think of you and miss you guys!!! Your crew is really going to enjoy Dumon...Yannik said "way cool";0)

A morning at the Dumon Entertainment Complex

We were all excited today to go to the aquarium to see the sharks....and we were not disappointed! Even Annabelle really got into in and squealed with excitement seeying all the pretty fish swim by. I have to admit to being slightly uncomfortable in front of the piranna tank with the netting up top...thinking, can these guys jump;0) We all got amazed (and me again, a bit uncomfortable) entering the tunnel and seeying sharks swimming all around us. They seem to come right at you. Of course, I had one little boy just so excited and running from shark to shark! It was def. worth the price of admission. Yannik has been amazing throughout our stay in Kaz and he deserves to have a fun time...I'm just happy that we can make that happen for him. Dumon is an interesting place. We also ventured around to look at the different exhibitions of places in the world...from Las Vegas to Chinatown...it was fun.

We eventually found ourselves back at Mega for lunch at Assorti. We once again had the pizza since we can't get over the fresh produce on it - beats the peas and corn served to us at Doner in Petro! We are so happy to have Ramstop...we picked up REAL tomato sauce (not paste!!!), donuts, fresh, yes, fresh veggies, ice cream...We must have looked so goofie in there with huge grins pasted on our faces seeying all the food!!!

I ended up slipping out to the Eurasian market across from our apt to see what it was like. Wowee...about 10 times as big as Ice berg and so much more room to stroll about in there.

One Happy Kid!

Zhanara's husband dropped by with a crib, a bath and....a zebra for Annabelle to play with... As you can tell by her reaction, it was quite the hit!!! So much laughter out of a tiny little person. This is a very typical toy from Kaz... how I wish we could fit one in our suitcase!

ok....back to my movie... The "girls" are watching "The Prince and Me" - quite a nice surprise for me as well... my favorite F1 driver from way back, Eddie Irvine, has a cameo as a playboy driver of course ;0)))

Pictures from our afternoon at the Mega

Amongts the highlights of the day, seeying Anna discovering sliding at the play park...and her first taste ever of ice cream....yum yum Annabelle!!! As for Yannik, we discovered this cool toy store that was very inviting for our little "knight"! Best of all...we look so happy in all of these pictures....What a great family day...the first of many ;0)

A day at Mega

We spent most of our day at the Mega Centre. What more could a north american family pining for home want: Wanta to be KFC, Starbucks and Toys r Us, play parks everywhere, Baskin Robbins ice cream...felt like home, but different. Yannik and Anna had fun at the parks as we indulged in a few favorite treats.

We are not settling into our new home for the next week..It's a bigger one bedroom apt...at least here Annabelle and Yannik can actually run around a bit.

Tomorrow, we hope to visit the Duman Entertainement Complex and aquarium....Yannik, especially, is looking forward to it. Haven't told Sven yet...but we may be able to take in a hockey game while in town... I think that would make his stay here complete until he gets to Canada for some Olympic hockey.

Celebrating my birthday in Astana!

Annabelle had her first experience in a plane and honestly, didn't go too bad at all (perhaps because it was just a little over an hour hop!). We were quite impressed. Feed her food as she is just a happy camper.

Sven and I went directly to the MEGA shopping Centre for a delicious supper at our favorite pizzaria and then my birthday treat to myself: the move and pic icecream in more flavours that I wish to disclose ;0)))

Cindy, Dom..you'll laugh...yes, more lentil soup as well... but creamy and just sooooo good! You'll also be happy to know that our blog works perfectly here - again, no comment ;0))

We had a really good evening out . Yannik was really happy to be back at the Babylon play park. The restaurant also had a small area for kids to play which Anna just loved.

Sven and I were commenting that we know we feel like Anna is ours....we had to get out of Petro to feel like we could finally begin our lives...perhaps just to change our mental state... We are no longer in the midst of adopting..that chapter is done...now let's begin enjoying it... hence, our little "vacation" in Astana. We are here to have some fun as a family!!!