Are they not the cutest? :)
Homeschool can be tough sometimes...especially when a certain black dog demands that you pay attention to him instead of your work! ;)
And then you have some needed snuggles from the other dog. They were both so happy just to be hanging out on the couch. Scout was sound asleep, and Hudson was close.
Every Friday these two head off to soccer class. I miss the class being just down the street where I could watch them, but I am so glad that they are having fun. The coach said that Katherine has gotten much better than when she first started. She always wants to get a goal and they are becoming more frequent for her.
These are the flowers from Jonathan and the kids for Mother's Day.
The kids were so sweet and thoughtful. These two girls spent a long time on their surprise gift for me (that none of us knew about). They made breakfast!! Now, it's not a typical breakfast ;) They made chocolate chip cookies (because they said they know I love them), Krispy Kreme style donuts (They were incredible!!! I can't wait for them to try that one again) White powdered donuts (more like a fritter) and brownie bombs (chocolate chip cookie dough balls covered in fudge brownies dipped in chocolate (talk about rich!) They were so excited! They said that they couldn't decide and so they just made them all :)
They made me some of the sweetest cards with notes inside. I would put the notes on here, but don't want to embarrass anyone (since they are getting older) so I will just keep them for myself and treasure them in my heart. Lauren bought me the flower with essential oils in the vase for the bathroom and the coke :)
These were the incredible donuts!!!
Me and my crew
We spent the day together. The kids wanted me to race them on Mario Kart, I played a version of hockey outside with Lauren, and went for a walk with Lauren and Regan.
Regan is taking a photography class this semester. All of the pictures have to be in black and white and shot in manual mode. She has multiple assignments that tell her what type of picture she needs to take.
Oh yes, and for Mother's Day, Benjamin said he would get his hair cut. He did. But you really can't tell...haha!
A little friend of ours...we gave her some finger paint, so her mom was sending me the pictures. I think she enjoyed it! Check out the "apron" ;)
This toy was always one of the kids favorites. Her mom is homeschooling her and she has not been interested in learning to read and spell. I thought this might help. YEAH! She loves it!!!
On a walk with Regan trying to get some photos for her class.
Katherine drew this for her art class :) It's Lauren and her hamster doing ballet, love it! Katherine has enjoyed this class because it allows for some creativity. Most art classes here are "Here's a picture. Copy it exactly or it's wrong." This teacher gives instructions like "It must have an animal, a person with a big head, and swirly design somewhere." She loves making up her own things.
HayHay loves Lauren's hamster. Her little sister has gotten brave and likes to touch it, too.
This was the one class that the teacher asked them to draw a picture from a story that she read to them. I put this on here because I am so proud of these two girls. The teacher wrote an article about them and posted it online. She talked about how they are always polite and respectful to everyone (adults and kids) and never say an unkind word to anyone or make fun of anyone's drawings. They are always eager to help and show love. She wished more kids/people could be like them. The One who leads them is shining bright. Through them comes opportunities.
Watch out! I'm gonna lick you!
Regan does so much taekwondo that I don't normally go anymore, but it had been awhile and I thought I would stay for class to watch what I could. It was fun to see her teaching the younger kids. She's growing up so fast!
I help my neighbor and some of her friends each week with English. Coco got very excited that we both had on New York City shirts :)
It may look like a mess, but it represents my oldest and youngest girls' hearts, their hearts for their friends, and their desire to see them understand. If you have seen the movie War Room, then you will understand. I don't read them because I know they are personal, but it fills my heart to know this.
It's been awhile since we made a trip to McDonald's...this made most of the kids happy :)
Katherine LOVES McD's, Regan not so much ;)
This soup doesn't look like much, but it tastes so good! It comes with your meal at the Muslim noodle shop. We like to eat here not only because it tastes good, but it's cheap!
Regan has been wanting to have a pizza class for her coaches for some time now. WE were finally able to make it happen.
The class went well.
The class
The coaches wanted one with the dogs.
nothing special about this picture...just snapped it at bedtime :)
I think Katherine is growing again...8 pieces of pizza!! That's an entire pizza!!
The three of us went up to see a friend in another city. We've been there before, but we didn't realize that they moved locations in the city....which meant instead of a 1.5 hrs trip door to door, it was over FOUR hours!!
SO to pass the time we snapped pictures along the way.
We went from taxi, to train, to subway 1, subway 2, subway 3, then walk.
We finally made it!
WE saw Snow White in the complex. I said that we needed to take a picture and I heard, "Hurry, Mom. This is embarrassing." :)
Happy 1st Birthday, Joseph!
Joseph, Lauren, Hillary, and Katherine
He loved his toy form us. I could resist a VTech toy that had perfect English pronunciation of words and the ABC's (You don't find that too often)
He enjoyed it!
Qi Cheng "7 layers" I can't describe the taste well....maybe coconut and tea?? It wasn't too bad :)
But you can guess what we brought for the birthday boy :) Katherine made the cupcakes all by herself!
These kids love kids!!
The girls decided that we should bring him back with us.
WE didn't have nearly long enough to talk!! I had already bought the tickets to return before I realized that we would spend 8 hours in total on the road. That meant that we only had about 1.5 hrs including lunch. It's ok. We'll know for next time.
They both wanted to take him out. They had to take turns :)
Selfies with a baby...never an easy task :)
Since we are on birthdays...I know that there are still 4 MONTHS until her birthday, but she got her present this week! She is definitely my child...she wanted furniture for her birthday. :) She has wanted a chair like this for over 2 years. We wanted to get one last year, but it's only available as a "summer item" and if we wanted one we were told that it would need to be purchased before the end of May. Really? It's summer temps here from April-November!
So we ordered it and had no idea how enormously large the BOX that it came in was going to be. There was no chance in trying to hide it....so happy 12 birthday EARLY! :)
I'd say that she loves it...she even fell asleep in it that night!
Grace is learning the ukulele and taught a little bit to Lauren. It was such a fun day listening to all the music. They were playing and singing all day long (really songs...and it sounded good)
reading on the balcony :)
It's time for a hair cut!!!
I love the bow tie ;)
He LOVES it! He thinks he is the stuff right now. "I can't walk the dogs. The wind might mess up my awesome hair." It's not quite so tall when we fix it at home, but he's happy. He's glad that he gets to use gel again. :)
Next weekend is International Children's Day. Her dance class gave out gifts early! :)
