Weather not fit for man nor beast...

Today was COLD and WINDY. The kind of cold that makes your face feel like a pin cushion after being outside just two minutes. The driving was interesting, blowing snow, very high winds and our driver Aleksander doing 180 (kilometers that is) passing everything in sight. The funniest part is Aleksander blows right by the Stannards driver on the highway yet NurSultan always manages to beat us to our destination. Oh well, it's the soviet way.
The visit with Ryan was great as always, fun and playful until 1:00 then he slowly melts into nap time. We got to meet with the Pediatrician today who didn't have alot of information. Ryan has only been here since January 24th so she just went through the medical file to date. Nothing we didn't know about already. He was pronounced in good health. We also got to see him eat lunch. In addition to his formula and cereal, he has an afternoon snack of mashed potatoes and ground beef. All the makings of a good little irishman. How we will duplicate that once he is in our custody is another story. He loved it, actually he loves all food except for Cherios. He doesn't seem to get the fun of them yet.
We are still on 6pm curfew so we ventured to the cottage for a late lunch/early dinner. It was a menu reminiscent of home. Roasted chicken, corn and cheese potatoes with side of wild boar stew. Nursultan shot a wild boar (has gross pictures to prove it) and shared a jar of it. Believe it or not it was quite good. Yesterday we had Shashliki, our new favorite food. It is the Kaz version of shish kebab made from pork, chicken beef or horse. We opted for the chicken and pork and ate alfresco at the Shchuchinsk outdoor bazaar. You tend to eat very fast when eating in the elements. Very fast.
Our social calendar seems to be filling up - bowling tomorrow and a pool tournament on Wednesday at our hotel. WOW, what excitement, don't you all wish you were here. Our court date is just four days away and counting down for our return trip home. Paka, Paka.