Well, our new city is becoming more and more like home. We still miss parts of our old city, especially some of our really good friends, but we have begun to make new friends here and even got a package in the mail. Actually, we got two packages, one from Mamaw and Papaw and another from some dear friends back in the States. It was a very special day and we got some much needed goodies :) Here's Jonathan showing off all his new socks and what has become a cooking staple for us...Zesty Italian dressing packets! I hope I didn't give away one of his top chef secrets ;)
The kids got some really cool shirts that change colors in the sun. Benjamin changed into his right away.
They also got some children's books. We have had fun reading them every night. I think Katherine's favorite is The Berenstain Bears book.
Lauren opened all her candy and had it spread out on the table. She was eating one at a time and had her hands up to protect from any thieves that might snatch one quickly :)
Another thing that makes it more like home is a finished room. Regan now has curtains and is getting her pictures up around the room. It's hard to tell, but the curtains have cute little flowers all over them, including purple ones...her favorite color. I still have to print a couple of pictures for her, but it is much more finished than it was before...curtains make a huge difference.
She also got her desk for school this week. She loves to do artsy things as well, so this gives her a great place to work on them. We found a bulletin board and thought it would be perfect over her desk to display all of her things. She didn't really like that I was putting the picture up this week because the bulletin board is "not finished yet" but I think it is cute still.
And having a bit of a routine is helping as well. All the kids are taking one class this summer that meets twice a week. I was able to get in to take pictures and video some in the little girls class, but I had to pay a price...the teacher pulled me up their to help her demonstrate one of the dance moves. Hopefully, she realized quickly that I can't dance and I won't be the "example" again. Haha. In case you didn't see it already, here is the link to Lauren doing the dance after just 3 lessons.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-BtptY6aGI&list=UUfIa9zOYvMeSfzPHuu6DevQ&index=1&feature=plcp
It's too cute. I have to get one of Katherine up soon.
After dance class, the girls found this climbing wall inside their new school. They can't wait for school to start in September!
Some new friends took us out to eat. It was a similar restaurant to others we have been to, but this one had some particularly interesting things you could eat. You pick out which ones you want to eat and so that it is "fresh" when you eat them. Here the kids found that we could order a small alligator. I'm pretty sure he would have been VERY expensive.
Here are some chefs waiting to see if we want to order snake. Yes, I said snake, and yes, we ate some. I have to say that the taste was not all that bad, but there are way too many bones in it...I think it is too difficult to eat.
Katherine was so excited to find her favorite food....shrimp! She couldn't wait for a platter of them to come. We have not had any since we moved, so she was one happy girl.
As usual, our friends ordered WAY TOO much food for us. It is impolite for them to have food and us eat it all, so they will always order too much, but our new friends have not learned yet that our kids do not eat the same amount as an adult :) Many times, people will order a fish for one of the dishes, but this time every one got their very own fish to eat. It was very good food, just no way to eat it all. Oh, and a side note for my mom....this place had EXCELLENT shrimp fried rice.
