Looking Forward to 2015

We started New Year's Eve day by hiring a driver to take us around Moscow to some important landmarks in our little boy's life. We visited the hospital where he was born and the orphanage where he lived for almost a year before being brought to Kyrgyzstan. While those pictures will be just for him, I will say that it was special to see these spots and be in the places that played a part in his life before he came to us.




We then made a stop by the famous Gorky Park before heading back toward the hotel for lunch and then a nap in order to prepare for the evening's festivities.









Zack had the awesome idea to see a show, and we were able to get decently priced tickets from our hotel for the New Year's Eve performance of the Nutcracker ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre. It was absolutely amazing! The music, the dancing, the theatre, the crowd...everything was spectacular. What an experience!

After going back to the hotel to put on several layers of warm clothing, we headed back out to join the crowds near Red Square. We were too late to actually get into the area (it was already blocked off), but we could still see the fireworks and have some fun. Russians seem to like to light sparklers, pop champagne, and shoot off things when the clock strikes midnight. One guy was shooting off a Roman candle right above our heads! We had the stereotype that Russians would be drinking tons of vodka, but we didn't witness any drunkenness at all. People seemed to be out just walking around and having fun.



New Year's Eve was certainly special this year, and we hope that 2015 brings everyone health and happiness, and a certain little boy home to Denver to be a part of the Keys family forever!