Russia - Day 5 - Baptism and St. Catherine's Park

Dad did a terrific job speaking at the baptism. It was neat to have one of his "buddy" Elders translate for him. The dynamics between the two was fun to watch. What a touching baptism. It makes you realize that the church is the same throughout the world. I was especially moved by the music and had the thought that it would be great to have our family sing a hymn at Mom and Dad's homecoming in Russia. David - will you help us out on this? :)

After the baptism it was time for SHOPPING! It was so nice to have all of my shopping done half way into my trip and I feel great about the souvenirs for everyone. I found a fun scarf for me that says MOSCOW, but somewhat discreetly so it isn't overbearing. I picked out a set of Matryoshka Dolls with Greg in mind - the dad has a striking resemblance to him. :) Alex also received a set of Matryoshka Dolls - with the Dallas Cowboys theme. He loved it! I bought Josh a snow globe and key chain with St. Basil's as the theme. Another note to self: snow globes are full liquid so don't put them your carry-on. BUMMER! But Josh was a good sport about it and I've asked Mom to buy him another one, he'll just have to get it 6 months later. Cody received a wooden toy with moving parts known as a bogorodsky. He loves it! And Meagan is enamored with her litte Matryoshka Doll - it has a few cats and a mouse in it. Darling!

After shopping, we went to Catherine's Park. It's hard to believe the size of this place. Beautiful architecture!

Mom had heard about a honey festival and since Derek is our family's bee man, we thought we'd go check it out, see if we could get any tips, see what his competition is like in Moscow. Yikes! I bet there were at least 300 vendors.