Day 22

Yesterday was Constitution Day. I have not found anyone who knows exactly what it is for except it gives them a 3 day weekend. I assume it is the day they got their independence from Russia in 1991. They had a parade at the main park in town, but I didn't find out about it until afterwards. We drove by the park and it was filled with flags and many men in military uniforms. Throughout the town, there were a lot of blue and yellow/gold banners hanging. The streets were filled with people outside walking. Most stores were still open. Today is their day off so I am not sure how many stores will be open today. They had a celebration Friday at the baby house. The music room was decorated with flowers and later I saw the caretakers in there having a small party.

I haven't posted pictures of the girls dresses yet. These are the Kazakhstani traditional outfits. They wear them for celebrations. I found one I really liked and they were able to hand make a copy in a little over a week. These are 100% hand sewn. All the red is small hand sewn on beads. The workmanship is very good. the dresses and vests are lined and are very nice.
I decided to go with 2 different hats. The one one the left was made to go with the material of the vest.

I just loved the beading and design on the one on the right. I thought I could go with identical dresses and then different hats and keept the girls happy that way.

I tried to get a closeup of the beading, but it is very detailed and didn't show up the greatest. I think they will probably fit the girls when they are 5. I wanted to have them for when they were older and will understand the history of the outfits better. Now I just have to get them home without getting them crushed!