October Holiday

 I love this picture. Regan officially started coaching 4 classes every weekend. This little girl travels about 40 minutes by bus to be in Regan's class because she doesn't speak the language here and they know that Regan can help if there's any communication problems.

 This is Regan's white belt class.

This girl has been fighting a cold (which her little sister now has) but she was trying to work on her science project. It called for a certain chemical, which we didn't have, but we tried to make it from a recipe we looked up online.

She was trying to get "leaf skeletons" but it didn't really work. I think we had too much water in the pot so the chemical reaction wasn't as good. It was a fun experiment anyways.

So, we actually had a second holiday. Most people were off for a week, so we invited Grace's family over to spend the day with us. We had had a great time! We played games, ate pizza, and had good conversations.

Trying to get a selfie :)

I went up with the girls one night to see a friend. I talked while my girls entertained her two little ones :) Phinehas kept saying "ride" to Regan, but was too little to hang on. They were so cute.

Again, another day with friends visiting. The kids went to ride bikes since it was such a beautiful day. I'm glad they are good friends. I forgot that the local kids don't really go outside to play when the sun is out because they might "get dark" My friend let her kids go out and play, but she asked me for sunscreen first.

Winter and Cucumber ;)

My twins were dressed similar :)

Another experiment...let's just say that I am not a fan of cooking /melting actual lard. It does not smell good...but apparently some birds like it. Poor girl hasn't seen any birds come for her food. Disadvantages of city living I suppose.

Yes, your eyes are correct. That is another guinea pig. Meet Lemon (another gift from the same friend) I agreed to let her have a second one when we were researching how to care for a guinea pig. The internet said that they are very social animals and that in some countries it is illegal to buy just one. Cucumber was squeaking so much and so loud. I thought maybe it was lonely. The only problem is how to get them to be friends.

According to the internet, it's best to introduce them in a bathtub where they are on neutral and unfamiliar ground. The "trauma" is supposed to make them like each other instead of fight each other.

SUCCESS....and one relieved parent!

How could I pass up this picture.

Katherine's balcony garden is doing nicely! We may even get some veggies soon :)

Day Trip

 My good friend needed a travel buddy for the day to go to HK. She didn't want to travel alone, so Jonathan agreed to stay with the kids for the day, so I could go with her. So we were off to catch the early ferry.

 I saw this van on the road and said that I could picture Katherine owning a car like this one day.

 After a morning of waiting in lobbies while she took care of some business matters, we went to find some lunch. There was a restaurant that was selling New York slices of pizza. I've had pizza in NY and this one was bigger than any of those...and the price was not bad at all!

 Come to find out that my friend has not been to HK in 14 years, so we made lots of memories together. We took another ferry (5 minutes) across to the island.

 I love this picture because we were both laughing at something and I don't remember what.

 We met some celebrities. OK, well the wax versions. WE didn't pay to go into the exhibit, but enjoyed the teasers outside.

 I don't know who this is, but she looks so real!

 This is my friend, Al.

 Xiao Jun was freaked out by how real Einstein looked. She kept saying "but he's dead" :)

 I love free exhibits :)

 Overlooking HK

 One of the things I love is the parks in the middle of the city that are not out of the way to where you are going. It makes the commute so nice.

 The nighttime skyline is nice.

 They have started lighting up the old junks. It is always interesting to see the old mixed with new.

 Lauren went to her friend's birthday party. She was turning 11 and had never had a party before. Her parents said since it was double ones then they would celebrate. She had a good time.

 Science experiments about flying animals

Regan demonstrating for her class. She enjoys teaching and helping others so much. :)

Katherine's 12th Birthday

Happy 12th Birthday!!

Yoyo, Winter, Katherine, Grace, HayHay, Regan

Lauren, Hudson, Benjamin

 Katherine asked for a flower birthday. The girls made little watering cans out of paper for the goodie bags and put candy in each one. I thought it was a super cute idea.

 The entrance to our apartment...100% paper

 After, the party was over, Katherine quickly collected all of the flowers that Regan made. All of them are now in one cup next to her bed.

 We happened to be out of the country, so we thought it would be fun to buy chips for her party. YUM! Yes, they all look the same color, but hey. We bought BBQ, Cheetos, Munchies, and Lays Sour Cream and Onion.

 The girls having fun :)

 Katherine got a small backpack (her favorite color..burgundy) and it was filled with her favorite snack (tons of seaweed)

 The look when she realizes that her big sister was able to sneakily buy a gift that Katherine had her eye on this past summer when we were visiting Mamaw and Papaw. It was a little stuffed kitten.

 Benjamin got her a watering can for her garden that she has started on our balcony, and some fake flowers.

 Grandmommy sent her these pigs in a blanket. Katherine thought it was hilarious. It's fitting, too, since Katherine was born in the year of the pig...so this is her year...that's why 12 is such a special birthday here....you have made it through one complete cycle.

She also got a cute little stuffed rabbit. :)

 One of her friends gave her Harry Potter Jelly beans...GROSS! They actually taste like awful things in the book! Earwax, Sausage, Grass, Vomit, Dirt, Earthworm, and more. Apparently, it was a hit though because the kids at the party took turns trying one and then guessing the flavor.

 I prefer the Garden Cake :)

 So, this was the surprise gift from her friend, Yoyo. She heard Katherine say that she really wanted a guinea pig, so your best friend goes and orders a guinea pig. :) It was delivered to our house on the same day as the party. It was 4 weeks old, and Katherine named her Cucumber.

 That's one happy girl on the left and one proud friend on the right :)

 The party was a sleepover. Katherine wanted to watch A Bug's Life.

 A 4 week old guinea pig who traveled in the mail for who knows how long means that it was a bit scared. Katherine was glad that she got to hold it so soon! (I have been looking up how to care for a guinea pig because I have NO idea)

 Homeschool...when your book asks you to go outside and observe birds/take pictures of them, you ask big sister to borrow her camera and ask Mom to come along to sprinkle bird seed to see if the birds will come ;)

 Katherine asked if we could go rock climbing for her birthday. Hudson was terrified. This is how high he got and then he wanted me to take his picture before he "came all the way back down"

 He got pretty good at it, but then realized how high he was a lost it. I thin the cried for about 10 minutes. He said he was done and just wanted to watch everyone else.

 Lauren

 Lauren (left) Katherine (right)

 After resting for 30 minutes or so, Regan was able to talk Hudson into trying once more. He raced them up the easiest wall. He now says that he loves rock climbing.

 Well, since we officially live in a zoo now...there must be some drama, right? Well, Hudson's hamster escaped during the night. Yes, we have had this happen before with a different hamster and corrected the problem. The thing is is that Hudson's hamster is the laziest animal I have ever seen. It like to sleep and eat and eat in his sleep. (not joking) So I was a little worried about finding the little guy. Well, many hours later into the day, Lauren thought she spotted him behind the bookshelf. Yep. It was him. The only way the kids could reach him was with the fish net. Lauren and Regan to the rescue! :)

 Grace was happy that her assignment had her learning how to make brownies from scratch :)

 Yes, it's cute and growing on me.

 A really cool plant that closes up if you touch it.

I found Katherine outside in her swing, playing her iPad and talking to Cucumber. Hope it was a great birthday, Katherine!