The big news of the day is weather. I woke at 6:30, peaked out the window and it was wet, but did not appear to be raining. By 8:30, there was sunshine. I need to let you know that at 6:30AM it is fairly light out as the sun has been up for a while. For the golfers in the world days like today and most of the summer in Moscow are great. The sunrise is at 5:00AM and does not set until 10:00PM. That is only seven hours between sun down and sun up or 17 hours for golfing. It is 10:00PM as I type this and there is plenty of light for finishing the last couple of holes. OK, enough about how much golf one could play.

IT WAS SUNNY AND 65 TODAY!!

As planned we got our driver to pick us up and take us to Old Arabat, St. Basils and GUM. It was nice to get out and walk and see a few things. Annabelle was a champ as always. Taking in the sites and generally being a perfect little shopper as we went in and out of stores. We left at 1:00 and did not get back until 5:00 and she was great.

Tomorrow is a big day as we go to the US Embassy for our interview at which point we will get Annabelle’s Russian Passport back with a Permanent Resident US Visa in it. We will also get the secret sealed envelope that we are instructed not to open. We will simply hand it over to US Customs when we arrive in Atlanta. As the adoption process works and with paperwork already filled out, once we reach the United States, she will be a US citizen eligible to get a US Passport. Shortly after we are home a letter from President Bush congratulating Annabelle on her citizenship will arrive with her official certificate. We are looking forward to getting this step of the process completed.

So, we have a bunch of photos today. In addition to the usual cute Annabelle stuff, we have a few from around Moscow.

Tomorrow, Passport and Visa!

Annabelle being a ham for the camera.

Red Square

Aunt Lisa and Annabelle at St. Basil's Cathedral

Annabelle taking a little break

Annabelle's signal that it is nap time.