ButlersinStPete

Summer Vacation

2008-08-09T08:32:00.000-07:00

After a very long hiatus from updating our blog here is an update of our vacation. We headed out to Tartu, Estonia and Riga, Latvia by car on the 22nd of July. After one night in each city we flew out to London for 4 days and finally spent some time checking out Stonehenge, London and Cambridge. We originally did not plan to do this but since we constantly travel through London but never stop to actually see it we decided to 'layover' in Cambridge for four nights and it was well worth it. We were able to see Stonehenge as well as Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, The Tower of London, The London Eye, The London Dungeon, Westminster Abbey, The British Museum and more. After London, we headed off to Trieste, Italy and rented a car for the rest of our vacation in the area. We drove to Ljubljana, Slovenia and spent three days at a camping/hotel resort. The kids had a great time at the water park that was attached to the resort. From the resort we made day trips to Lake Bled and the Postojna caves as well as to old town Ljubljana - a beautiful city that I would recommend to anyone. After Ljubljana we headed to Zagreb, Croatia for a night and stayed with Brian Baller and his family (a fellow Olmsted Scholar). The kids were extremely happy to see some other kids and we were relieved to have the opportunity to hang out with fellow scholars and talk about our experiences. Zagreb is a gorgeous city as well and definitely making a fast transition to a modern European way of life. After Zagreb we headed to Baska on the island of Krk, Croatia. We stayed in a hotel right on the pebble beach and the location was spectacular. Baska was stunning and reminded me immediately of a pebble beach version of Haunama Bay, Hawaii without all the Waikiki sprawl. It is a remote beach and although hosted its fair share of tourists it was a great 'getaway' from city life. After Baska we headed to Rovinj, Croatia and while the beach and the town were great the resort we had booked was horrible. Unfortunately we left after one night because of the condition of the rooms but it actually was a blessing in disguise. After our little fiasco we headed up to Portoroz, Slovenia and checked in to a family resort a few days earlier than expected. The resort and the town were wonderful. We had a blast playing in the pools and the ocean (our room was about 20 feet from both and all of our hotel room windows looked over the cove and the entire town). We were sad to leave but had another 'once in a lifetime' vacation. The pics are Faith and I at the Lake Bled castle (in the background is an island in the center of the lake with the Church of the Assumpition of Mary). Second pic - The Butler Family (with Silas Baller :)) in downtown Zagreb. Third pic - Dad and Amber overlooking Koper, Slovenia from the old town bell tower. Fourth pic - the kids in front of their lego project - known to the rest of the world as Stonehenge. Fifth pic - Faith and the kids in old town Ljubljana.

Christmas and a quick vacation

2008-01-15T04:07:00.000-08:00

C novem godem. Happy New Year. Well despite having a slightly turbulent past few months the Butler crew enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year. We even started off the New Year with a small vacation to start off right. Christmas included a number of gatherings including one with some children from a local Russian cancer center as well a Consulate employee party at the CG's residence at which David was asked to play piano and lead everyone in singing Jingle Bells. Although fireworks seem to go off in Saint Pete almost every day, New Years was definitely proof that the fireworks industry can make a years salary here all for one day. We went down to Palace Square to watch the central fireworks and ring in the New Year. After we arrived home we realized that local residents set off fireworks at the courtyards between apartment buildings. This basically resulted in a tit for tat of fireworks between the courtyards (there is one about every other street here) until about 7am! I think I easily heard over a million fireworks go off all over the city all night long - even had a neighbor setting off what looked like a roman candle and some air burst fireworks from his 5th floor window at 2am! Like I mentioned above we also followed up the New Years celebration with a vacation. We headed off to Estonia and Latvia. We stopped first in the small town of Sigulda in Latvia where the Butler kids had their first ski slope and bobsled excursion! Zack and Amber took their first try at skiing while David and Faith braved the slopes on snowboards (also for the the first time). We also took our first ride on a bobsled. Latvia used to be home to the Russia bobsled team and they actually still practice there (they left the day before we went to the track). After Sigulda we headed to the capital - Riga. Riga is the more populated of the Baltic capitals with 3/4 of a million people. The city has a beautiful old town area with a great view of the entire city from the top of St. Peters Church. After Riga we headed to the small Estonian town of Tartu and loved it. Although Riga was enjoyable to see we are falling in love with the smaller more cozy towns like Tallin and Tartu. Tartu has a nice old town area and a great toy museum that Amber didn't want to leave. Well, we all had a lot of fun but now we are back in town and the kids are back in school with Dad to follow in a few weeks. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday break and continues to have a great 2008!

Winter and getting ready for Christmas

2007-12-18T00:43:00.000-08:00

Things are definitely busy here as the daylight keeps diminishing. Usually gets dark around 4:30pm and doesn't become light again until 9:30am. Amber and the boys are having fun in school but looking forward to the break. There are a number of Christmas parties on the way and one (at Amber's school) already passed. The winter has been mild so far but we are seeing our fair share of snow and ice as well as snowball fights and skating on the pond at the park. Not sure if the Butler 5 will head out of town during the holidays yet as we are still trying to get a window replaced on the Explorer that was broken a few weeks ago. We had a wonderful trip to Tallinn, Estonia at the beginning of November as well as to Helsinki. Both cities were beautiful and we would recommend either city to anyone who asks. Unfortunately, after we returned from our 4 day weekend holiday we have had 4 trips to the hospital. David was the unfortunate victim of a soccer accident which ended up with a broken nose. All is well following a few hospital visits and seems to have healed well. A week after the break Faith went to the hospital with some stomach pains that turned out to be appendicitus and meant her staying at the hospital for a few days following her appendectomy. Amber took a trip to the dentist for a filling and I have had the pleasure of my first experience with Shingles - thank god kids get Chicken Pox vaccinations these days as it is a result of having had Chicken Pox when I was young and brought about by stress they say. Included are some pictures of Estonia and Finland with a few around town pics as well.

Pics of the house and Navy Day

2007-09-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

Well, we have had a few family requests for pics of our house and its surroundings so here they are. We live on the fifth floor of an apartment building on Sedmaya Sovietskaya Ulitsa (7th Sovietskaya Street) which is a relatively quiet street for St Pete. We are about a 10 min walk from Moscow train station and a busy metro hub which are all located on Nevsky Prospect - the main street of St. Petersburg. The first pic is looking out our master bedroom, the second one is of our dining room, and 3rd is our living room. If anyone wants more pics (like of our secret hideaway pantry) just let us know! The final pic is one of the kids at the Navy Day festivities near the Neva River. They are standing in Palace Square (where the Rolling Stones had an open air concert the night before). Palace Square is a large open area in front of the Hermitage on the river end of Nevsky Prospect.

School starts plus a trip to the Zoological Museum

2007-09-02T07:05:00.000-07:00

Well as we are declining into the low 50s high 40s here in St Pete it is time for school to start. The boys were extremely happy to start school here as that meant getting to meet new friends and playing soccer on the field next to their new school. The school is a nice, small American style school located on Petrogadsky Island about a 15 minute bus ride from our house (without traffic - with, probably 45min to an hour). The school has K-12 grades and holds about 125 students this year. David has decided to learn French and Zachary is taking Russian. Aside from the language classes school is the same as in Virginia - Math, Language Arts, Art, Music, etc. The boys will begin after school activities soon as well which will mean a few days of soccer, tennis, science and a first for Zack - cooking! Faith and Amber have become involved in the St Pete International Womens Club activities which include pre-K kid play groups and singing groups. Amber will be having a Russian lady coming to the house for Art classes as well and we are working on Ballet/Dance classes as well. For the first time in about 10 or so years I actually get to say the same thing as the boys every morning - "I don't wanna go to school today!". I will begin classes at Smolny Intsitute - the location of the Saint Petersburg State University International Relations department. As for the pictures attached - the first two are of the St Pete Zoological Museum on Vasilivsky Island (ALL kinds of preserved animals from Mammoths down to cats, dogs, and even chickens!), the third is of the boys new school and the last one is Amber standing in front of my school. More to come soon.

David answers his public

2007-08-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

Well, in true businessman style David has taken the advice from his fans to draw something with a Russian influence and outdone himself. Unfortunately his Mom loved it and made an immediate bid of double the usual price - making it $6. David is willing to make more of this same picture (by hand of course - no copying allowed) if there is a demand. He is also planning to move on to other historical Russian pieces. This piece is David's rendition of St. Isaac's Cathedral located on the Neva River. Enjoy! Edit - 1st pic is of the famous Church on the Spilled Blood.

Peterhof

2007-08-05T07:23:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon we took a hydrofoil from the Hermitage pier to Peterhof. Peterhof (in the second half of the 20th century known also as Petrodvorets - "Peter's Palace") is one of the most magnificent European palace-and-park complexes of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and is situated on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, twenty-nine kilometres outside St Petersburg. It is an incredibly beautiful mix of gardens, palaces and most importantly fountains. There are literally hundreds of fountains all over the grounds and some are in places designed to catch the unaware tourist off guard and soaking wet. The first picture is of the kids with two 'actors' in front of the main entryway, the second is a closer view of the Great Cascade, the third is a view looking away from the main palace down the Great Cascade and into the Gulf of Finland and finally Zach having a bit of fun in the tree fountain where a number of kids and adults were playing.

Kids and Moscow

2007-08-05T07:01:00.000-07:00

Well this was a busy week as well for the Butlers. On Wednesday our air shipment arrived from the states so the kids and the adults were happy to see linens, clothes, toys and a few food items from the states. On Thursday night I (Eric) had to head down the US Embassy in Moscow to 'check-in'. Beautiful sites to see but unfortunately it began pouring rain on my way from Red Square to the Kremlin so the tour of the Kremlin (as well as pictures of the inside) will have to wait until the whole family can go. First pic is of the kids by this bear statue we saw on the way to the Consulate in St Pete, the second pic is of an eagle some street kids had on display in Moscow (took this for dad - go Auburn - WAR EAGLE!). Third pic is of St Basil's Cathedral at the southern end of Red Square (Krasnaya Ploschad).

David the Entrepreneur

2007-07-30T09:09:00.000-07:00

David has decided to start his own business - complete with an assistant manager (Zack) and a security detail (Amber). He is very ambitious and has wanted to do this for a long time - specifically at school but Daddy won't allow it. He wants to sell his artwork and loves to draw so I am giving him his chance. The first two works are titled 'Chill' and 'Draw-a-mania'. Prices are $1.50 for 'Chill' and $3.00 for "Draw-a-mania'. We will do the mailing and David is willing to discuss payment options with the buyer. David has more drawings to come and is creating paper airplanes with drawings on them as well!

Crossing the ocean yet again, Dabro Peshalovat

2007-07-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

Although the Butler and Crowe families hated to see us leave the states again I think everyone was happy for us to get an opportunity to be assigned somewhere as interesting as Russia. Pretty much the only way to be in the Army and be assigned to Russia within my specialty was the Olmsted Scholarship so it is definitely a blessing and we are very grateful for the opportunity. We have only been in town two weeks but things are moving at a very fast pace. We have established internet access (biggest concern for many reasons), water service, a nanny, halfway setup satellite tv with only one english speaking channel, trip to the western style grocery store and university language training for myself. Next hurdles will be getting the english speaking cartoon channels for the kids, getting the kids registered for school and possibly getting our household goods and the car. We managed to go on a boat tour along the Fontanka and Neva River with Paul and Courtney Sebold (my classmate here) and it was a beautiful night with beautiful sites. The pictures are (in order) the Church of our Savior on the Spilled Blood, the Kazan Cathedral on Nevsky Prospect with the whole family, and the Hermitage Museum.

Another set of 'in transit' birthdays

2007-07-27T07:27:00.001-07:00

Another constant with the good ol' 'Butler 5' has been the neverending series of moves in June. Unfortunately this means David, Zachary and Faith (24th,13th, and 23rd) get to spend birthdays on the road. This time around we were able to celebrate David and Zachary's birthdays prior to leaving Arlington so here are a few pics of the events (first co-ed party for David and Dad was definitely not ready for it!).

Pre-Russia fun!

2007-07-27T07:06:00.000-07:00

Arlington, Va. was good to the Butler family but it was time to move on down the road. After completing a year learning Russian (or attempting to) we headed out to see Faith's family as well as Disneyland. Amber was in Princess heaven and David and Zachary couldn't get enough of the rides now that both of them are tall enough to ride everything.