Mail Call!

All four boxes from China arrived in great shape. Woo-hoo, more stuff!

Kids n' Stuff Museum

We are now members of this neat museum near us. There's a lot to do. Here are a few of the many activities offered:

A favorite: the "fishin' hole".


Cultivating artistic talents:


C. learned how to play checkers this summer and this giant version was a lot of fun to try:


Working on those pre-engineering skills:

Kiddie Kamp redux

The kids enjoyed it once again this year. Next summer, they'll be ready for "Kids Kamp" - a week long all-day experience. Here are some highlights:



Proud of all the crafts made:

Five Princesses and a Prince

On Sunday the 27th, we had a super time at the home of our dear friends Sherry, Larry and their four girls. Wonderful company, delicious food and a great time! E. couldn't get over her luck of stumbling upon "girl heaven"! Having an older brother means this girl has plenty of trains and trucks for entertainment, while sorely lacking in the doll department.

The pool is the place to be on a hot summer day:

All that jumping can make a kid hungry:

Dining with the five princesses: (counterclockwise from C.): Elena, Ivy, Katie, Maylin and Mya:

The birthday boy: All enjoyed a taste of our family birthday tradition - Tres Leche Cake (a Guatemalan recipe) or as C. and E. call it - "Guate Cake":

"Christmas in July"

is the feeling we have had all month long. The kids have been having fun rediscovering the toys they left behind and G. and I keep finding things we forgot we had. Since we moved into the condo in late May 2007 and then quickly left for China early August, most of our possessions were still in boxes in the garage. We've been slowly getting organized, and of course, are constantly derailed by shrieks of "Wow! Look what I found!".

We had a busy July. Swimming lessons, storytime and music events at the library, visiting the park, playdates and the like kept us going. I'm enjoying the return to baking - it's so nice to have an oven again!


We attended "Soccer 'round the Clock" - a benefit to raise money and awareness for bone cancer - earlier this month. Before the games, activities and competitions were held for kids and adults.


This mom's dream: my son (and his constant companion Panda) reading the Free Press! I was about the same age doing the same thing, thus, forever hooked to the printed word.

Welcome!

Thanks for visiting and we hope you'll come again! The plan is to update this blog only once or twice per month (sorry - we're just not that exciting to warrant much more than that) with our family happenings. It'll be more or less short on text with the photos doing the talking. We enjoyed sharing our lives with all of you while in China and want to continue to do so. Please leave a comment - we'd love to hear from you.





Here's C. singing (off-key - hey! just like his Mom!) "Happy Birthday" in Chinese, Spanish and English. He does love to sing - too bad he won't be invited to join a choir anytime soon...