Waiting

This week we were outside of the country waiting on paperwork to get processed for us to return to the country. So, one might ask...What do you do for 8 days in another country with 4 little ones. Well, you are about to see :)

First, we ate McDonald's for breakfast nearly every day! The sausage was the best! I can say that by the end of our trip I never wanted to see a McDonald's again, but I am still very thankful to have it available.

It rained almost the entire time we were there, so most of the time we were stuck inside. The day we arrived, it was not raining (but we were too tired to do anything). We did see that there was a park near where we were staying and it advertised a playground...sounded perfect...

...then we saw this sign...still not sure we figured all of them out, but really? at a park? ...our interpretation of the pictures...1. no playing ball 2. no climbing over rails 3. no yelling 4. no elderly people with a cane trying to ride a skateboard? or is it supposed to be a storm cloud? either way, we are not elderly, so I guess it does not apply to us 5. no letting your dog go to the bathroom 6. no playing card games 6. no riding bicycles So what are you supposed to do at the park again? Oh yes, play at the playground...No luck there either. It was closed for remodeling.

So, back to the apartment we went and ordered pizza and ate chips and had sprite and coke. Besides eating lots of Western food, we also decided to take a complete break from the language. Before leaving our brains were in overload mode, and we really were struggling to function in either language. So we had a week of nothing but English...and it was a needed break. We now feel refreshed and ready to speak the local language again.

Since we did have really big rain storms, the older two kids played some computer games and the younger two enjoyed watching a few movies/cartoons. Jonathan and I enjoyed our evenings after the kids were in bed and took advantage of the really fast internet to watch 3 episodes of Extreme Makeover Home Edition. It was so much fun.

The little box of of random toys...still not sure how Katherine fit in there, but she did.

The girls decided to fix their own hair before we went out one day. Well, I guess I should say that Katherine decide to fix Lauren's hair. It was quite the site. We do love those little clips, but all at one time is a little overboard. Katherine was not happy when I redid Lauren's hair before going out.

I found it very interesting that while we were gone all of the kids called Lauren "Lauren" and spoke to her in English; but as soon as we got back to our city, they started calling her "Mei Mei" and speking to her in both languages again. I guess they took a complete break from language too :)

I had one VERY excited little girl that got to eat a pickle. We went to a burger place that was excellent!

We went to a Science Museum on Wednesday because it is free on that day. The kids had a great time and Benjamin loved the dinosaur skeleton.

The museum had a house of mirrors that was lots of fun. This was one of Katherine's favorites...a table full of Katherines.

It was also pretty cool to see the little bones inside of your ear. Benjamin couldn't believe how small they were.

Regan saw some pretty cool giraffe flip flops. We let her get them because they were very cheap and she has been asking for months for some flip flops. The sad part about these shoes is that they were from a women's store...my little girl wearing ladies shoes! Now she does have big feet (she is a size 3), but you also have to remember we live in an area of the world where most people do not have big feet, so the ladies sizes are much smaller than in America.

Probably one of our most favorite things to do when we leave the country is lots and lots of bubble baths!!! We are still trying to teach Lauren that the water stays inside the tub. She has no concept of this because where we live the entire bathroom is one big room, so the whole thing is wet when you take a shower. How do you explain to a 2 yr old that many bathrooms don't have a drain outside of the tub? :)

More fun in the tub.

So, another thing we did was mall hop. Really not my first choice, but it lets the kids move around instead of being inside the apartment all day long. While we were at one mall, Lauren got run over by another bigger kid. She fell flat on her face. She had 3 loose teeth, a chipped tooth, swolen gums and lips, and lots of bleeding. We could not get her in to see the dentist for a couple of days. By then the swelling was completely gone, she had started eating again, and two of the 3 teeth were much firmer. We still took her to the dentist just to make sure. She is just fine. There is a chance that one or more of her teeth may turn grey, but that is just a wait-and-see thing.

We had told the kids all week that we had planned to find a beach, but with all the rain it was not looking promising. Well, the last day we were there, the forecast went from 100% chance of really bad thunderstorms to thunderstorms some places and maybe a few sunny spots. So, we packed up and headed to the beach. I had one excited little boy! He has always been my beach lover.

So, I took as many pictures as soon as we got there because I could see the storm heading our direction. Katherine had bought a little pail and shovel in hopes of coming. I'm so glad she got to use it.

We didn't actually go into the water very much because the under current was very strong. We did have lifeguards all around us, but I still did not want to be in that kind of current. And yes, we did get rained on! But the storm passed and we spent another 45 minutes at the beach....and believe it or not, we even saw the sun!

Jonathan helped the girls make a sand castle. With all the rain, it was not hard to get the castle to work. I think they are all ready to go again :)

Such a beautiful view...the islands and my kids! :) Gotta love em!

Also, while we were there I had an eye appointment to get new glasses. You may have noticed that the past several months worth of blogs that I appear in my glasses. Long story short...I cannot wear contacts anymore due to severe dry eyes (not making any tears), so I have been wearing old prescription glasses. I now have new glasses and can see clearly again! YEAH! It's also good to hear from my 7 yr old that she likes my new glasses because I don't look like I'm "wearing granny glasses anymore" I'm so glad that she approves. I guess I can still be a "cool" mom! :)

So, that is what we did while we were waiting!!! Oh, and yes, we got all the paperwork in order, all processed, and we are back home again!

Skype, Recitals, and Graduation

TLC K5 Graduation...Recitals...and Skype calls with 5 different families!!! So much fun to see all the results of all the hard work the kids have done this year and to get to talk to so many of our family and friends!!!

Benjamin had the main part in the graduation program. He was the Master of Ceremony with another little girl, Celina. They did GREAT!! He was so excited and had memorized sereral pages of lines (short ones but still impressive). He wanted to dress up for the occasion and was so proud of his outfit.

His sisters were so excited for their brother to be graduating. He has been a dolphin all year and is about to be a frog (class mascots at the school).

Receiving his diploma from Dr. Kempf, the principal of the school.

Besides the ceremony, the class also showed us several things they have learned throughout the year, including reading, math, singing, and dance. I have put a link to the dance that they did. It definately will make you smile!
I hope this one works this time!! Let me know if you still cannot view it. I think I fixed it though. Enjoy the show :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itmEC-Tpdtg

These are two of Benjamin's very best friends in his class. They came to see him play the guitar. They are so sweet. I just love hearing the one on the right (his left) call his name when she sees him out. They always run to see each other and have such a good time together.

You can see Regan playing the piano at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgqDuYo8hSM Both Regan and Benjamin did a great job at their very first recital. Regan is learning piano and Benjamin is learning to play the guitar. Pretty soon we will have our own little choir ensemble :)

Surprises

Well, the order of this blog is not exactly how I intended, but you will have to bear with me. It's either leave it this way or wait and try to reload pictures tomorrow. SO, we are just going to leave it. We had several little surprises this week...and this was one of them. A friend sent Lauren tons of Little Swimmers! I think she is set for the entire summer :) Hooray! It was so funny. She knew that they were all for her, too. She was very proud of them.

Here's the work they have been doing outside our apartment. We did find out that is will not be a high rise, but instead will be some type of gymnasium. That's about all the info we have gathered so far. The kids have really enjoyed watching what all goes on in the process of building a building (and we have a bird's eys view...literally).

This was an older picture that one of my friends just gave me. It was from her daughter's birthday party and ALL these girls were INSIDE the elevator. I'm sure it doesn't seem like a lot, but to see them all pile out was quite the site.

Another surprise this week...FRUIT LOOPS! I think it was the quietest breakfast I have ever had. The ate every single bite and drank the milk and scraped every single little crumb into their mouths. Someone asked them what their favorite serial was and none of them had an answer. I think it is because they only have 2 choices here, so when they hear about all these different "kid" cereals, they don't know what to think. But they sure did enjoy every bite. :) Oh, in case you were wondering what cereal we eat here...Corn Flakes or Raisin Bran.

Yet another surprise. Saturday morning roles around and the kids actually slept in! It was wonderful! We woke up at 730am and walked into the kitchen to find that only 3 of the kids had slept in. The fourth...you can see who...got a stool, climbed onto the counter, got a box of corn flakes, found the sugar and mixed it with the flour, got paint and painted her lips pink, her hands, and her feet, and a little bit in her hair. Then, she decided to clean up her mess and used hand soap AND dish soap and created an even bigger mess. She wasn't sure if she was in trouble, but she got very excited when she found out that she "had to have a bath."

After her bath, she and Katherine played most of the morning together. And yes, that is a fuzzy blanket on her bed, and I'm not sure why. The temperature today was 100 and the temp tomorrow is supposed to be the same with a heat index of 122. And I wonder why we sweat as we are drying off in the shower. Every night I think to myself..."I never would have dream that I would purposefully take a really cold shower and enjoy it so much"

Katherine went to her best friend's birthday party. It was a gily girl party and you had to wear a dress. They had fun. It was really funny to wacth them try to play the telephone game.

Jonthan had a class that he was helping to teach one night, so the kids and I had pizza, ate popcorn, and watched Super Friends. It was a fun and relaxing.

Father's Day! We celebrated by taking Dad out for lunch (and Lauren was helping him catch a taxi). The kids all made him cards and drew pictures. So, where did we take him for lunch?...

McDonald's :) I know. So fancy. But we all enjoyed the Mcflurry or Icecream Sunday.

Another surprise in the mail...the kids got postcards from some friends in London! They knew how excited Regan got about the Royal Wedding and how she was trying to take pictures with the phone of the computer which we were trying to see the wedding. Anyways. They sent her collectors addition stamps from London of the Royal Couple.

Just a random picture of this little guy. I saw him on the way to class today. We now know the local name for him because I asked my teacher. Now the question is: in English, is he a gecko or a lizzard. You decide. :)

Dragon Boat Races

Well, once again, we have had another holiday :) It was dragon boat festival. My friend invited us to go with her to see some of the dragon boat races. We had not planned on going, but she had tickets to be able to see the races from a good spot. We thought it sounded like fun. She took a family picture for us and it makes me laugh...it shows all the personalities...Benjamin looks like he can't hold the smile any longer, Katherine is pouting because she doesn't want to be in the family picture, Regan is happy to be wearing the fun hat, and Lauren is smiling with her "wa wa's"

So, when we got to the races, we were actually taken to a house boat for breakfast. They served us breakfast (we had already eaten, but that's ok) and it was really good. It was the food that the participants in the race will eat and it is supposed to be very special. It tasted just like shrimp fried rice in the States. It is the first time I have actually had food here that taste like what they serve in the little restaurants in the States. Anyways, these two girls found the tv and the owners hats quickly.

Lauren loved all the boats and the paragliders. She had a lot of fun.

Just as the races were about to start (and we were about to leave the house boat) it started to pour down rain. It was the hardest rain we have had in a while. So, we camped out for a few minutes to see if it would ease up a little but. Lauren and our friend watched the rain. It finally eased up and we all left the house boat and headed closer to the race sight.

There were many races. Each village had it's own team. My friend told me that they have to save up a lot of money to buy one of these boats and then, after the races/festival, they will bury the boat in their village. Then the following year, they will dig it up and get it ready for the races again.

It was a lot of fun to see and hear the activities. Even though it rained, it did not deter them from having fun. Each boat had a guy that stands at the front (reminde me of a conductor of sorts), then there are two men in the middle (spread out) one with a drum and one with a gong. They are the ones that let the rowers know when to row.

As you can see, it was wet and muddy and you stood wearever you could to watch. I was surprised at how many people were actually standing in the water watching. This was one of the teams watching their competition. As each race started, the people watching woul dlight firecrackers and throw them in the air out over the water. So,, it was very noisey. I liked it, but I had one that was afraid. So, between that and the heat we left.

So, of coarse, as is the custom here. Our friends took us our to eat. Katherine claimed the chicken's head. She was fascinated by it. Our friend's daughter showed her wherer to bite to eat the brain. She tried to bite, but didn't bite hard enough. She really just played with it most of the time.

As we were leaving the restaurant, it was still raining. The guy at the door of the restautant had a great idea...he was using a "picnic table umbrella" to walk people to their cars. What a great idea. None of us got wet.

The other news for the week is that they are building a new apartment complex right next door. This is when they just started and it looks much different even today. It has been very sad to watch all the farm land plowed over. The workers have been working so hard to try and save what they can, but I feel that they are unable to save much. They plowed down all the banana trees first. I don't think you can tell here because the picture is so small, but you can see the workers trying to harvest what they can and the tractors are right there in front of them. We will keep you updated on the progress of the new buildings going up. It's been pretty noisey so far, but has provided hours of entertainment for Lauren. She just sits and watches them all day long (and they work all night long, too).

National Children's Day

Yes, you saw it correctly. We have had ANOTHER holiday (and we have one next week, too). This one was National Children's Day and it's a day all about kids. We did not know until the day before that we were supposed to come to Katherine's school again for some games and prizes. We did not know until that day that the entire morning was games and then they go home with their parents/ grandparents. So, After the fun, Katherine came to class with me. :) The older two kids had a swim day at school. The local kids also get to go shopping on this day and their parents will by them just about anything they want. Our kids get Christmas presents, so we just tried to make it a fun week.

She had so much fun playing all of the little games. It reminded me of a fall festival in the States. If you won the game, they gave you these little pink tickets. You could then go to the little prize store to pick out your prize...that part was similar to ChuckECheese.

Katherine was really smart. She tried all the games, but then she went back to the ones that she knew she would win/beat the other kids at so that she could win more tickets. She only got to play this game once, was very good at it. She had to throw balls into the trashcan that I was holding. She got 5 in very quickly :)

Here is one of her prizes that she got...this one was the most expensive...it cost her 6 tickets :) She also got a party blower and a monkey mask and these hand clapper things.

This is Katherine's best friend in her class. Well, there is another little girl that is a foreigner also, so they stay pretty close, but the other foriegn girl was gone for several weeks and it forced Katherine to make new friends. It was really good for her and now she has many friends, but this little girl is her favorite. I think it is funny because they are both so shy...I guess that's why they hit it off so well.

The kids got new swimsuits and got to go swimming again. I guess it has been hot enough for the local people now because the pool has been crowded. Although this week, we were trying to figure out how to shield the little ones a bit. There were SEVERAL boys swimming in the nude or in only underwear. We tried to stay in a different part of the pool, but these boys kept running from one section of the pool to another section of the pool and playing chase and jumping in. Oh well. I really think only one of my kids noticed (or at least only one of them asked about it) Maybe they will come with swimsuits next time :)

In honor of Children's Day, we thought it would be appropriate to make cupcakes and let the kids decorate them however they wanted to. So they all had lots of sprinkles!

Our neighbor came over after she ate dinner and decorated some to take back to her house. I think she likes the sprinkles the best! She always uses tons of them.

The other adventure this week...Lauren cut her own hair! Let me just say that it is not fun waking up at 6AM to "Mom! Lauren cut her hair!!" It really wasn't as bad as I had imagined and it actually forced me to even up some of those curls in the back. I was going to take her in somewhere to get it done but chikened out...I saw all these cute little gilrs getting their heads shaved because it is hot outside and I could just picture them doing that to my little culey locks. So, instead, I tried my best to cut off as little as possible :)

Also, later in the week, we got a phone call that Katherine was not feeling well at school and we needed to come and pick her up. You can always tell when a kid has a fever around here because they always put these little things on their forheads to cool them down. It was really high (103.5F) We still don't know what caused it, but we gave her some Motrin, she slept, and was 100% herself afterwards.

This week, Kung Fu Panda 2 came out at the theaters. We have never been to a theater here and thought it would be a fun family thing...in English! We had to wait a few minutes to get in....we were doing it American style...you know, go by popcorn and drinks and get there about 30 minutes early to watch the previews. Nope. Not that way here! You can not go in until 10 minutes befor ethe movie and you have assigned seats (and there were no previews)

We had a lot of fun and yes...it was in 3D. I'm not sur eLauren knew what to think at first, but she laughed with everyone else.

Katherine holding the popcorn...which by the way is also NOT the same as the States. This popcorn was more sweet.

Enjoying the show!
Oh, and I forgot to tell everyone last week that Regan and Benjamin has Spirit Week at school. They had a lot of fun with it but I think crazy hair day was my favorite. They also had: When I Grow up day, My country day, PJ day, and school colors day. So enjoy their crazy hair....we postponed Benjamin's haircut by a week just so he could have a mohawk for this day!