Pre-School Graduation

Going Once......

Going Twice.....

Our baby girl is going to Kindergarten!

It was a fun day for her.  There was a nice ceremony, a pot-luck, and a bounce house to boot!

Her pre-school teachers were so loving and fun.  

Ms.Yuriko is the one on her left, and Ms. Alicia is on her right.

Her sidekick Selah also shared the celebration.  These two think they will be in the same class next year......however, there are 10 Kindergarten classes at Sullivan's ES!

Great job Callista.  Of course, I cried.  I loved your song, "I've been working hard in pre-school".  But most of all, I loved how you have allowed yourself to make new friends both students and teachers, and overcome a little of your shyness!

Hong Kong - Day 3

We enjoyed a peaceful Sabbath on our last day there.  Can you tell where we are?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

written in Cantonese.

The church building was 6 floors and was a beautiful building.  We had passed it a few times while riding the bus the previous few days, and it stood out like a beacon, calling all to come to it......so we went.  We had mapped out our route to get there by train, easy!  But then we got off the train and had to determine which exit to go out (there were many).  So as we poured over a map showing us the various exits from the station and what streets they would lead us to, we heard a voice from behind say, "An American family, dressed in church clothes, on an early Sunday morning.....you wouldn't by chance be looking for a Mormon Church, would you?"  It was perfect, although I can't remember their names, but this wonderful man and his wife walked with us and showed us the way.  It was a great way to spend our last morning in Hong Kong!

After church, we found a place to eat that offered us some local delights.  The stick things were a peanut chicken skewer, the triangles were Samosa, the other things were fried wontons, and you can see the shrimp sticking out of the egg roll.  It was all delicious!!!

 Paul took some pictures of the skyline from outside our hotel.  It really was beautiful!

It was an amazing vacation.  Thank you Paul for planning it all!

Disneyland - Hong Kong

Our kids were completely surprised when we told them we were going to Hong Kong Disneyland. Chloe said she knew there was one there, but thought "there is no way they brought us all the way here to take us to Disney"!  It was a great day.

Hello Mickey!

What I just could not get over was how gorgeous it was there.  Of course, the landscaping is always beautiful at Disneyland, but the park was set among these lush green mountains and you could see no other buildings, high rises, freeways, etc, beyond the park.  Hopefully, you can see some of the backdrop in this picture.

 And YES.....I did cry as the princesses sang this song in the parade about believing in yourself in Cantonese, and then English.

 A perfect shot of my handsome husband, along with the lush mountains in the back.  Isn't it beautiful?

It was truly a magical day in one of the "Happiest Places On Earth"!

Hong Kong Day 1

What a day!  It started with a tour that took us to the tram for Victoria's Peak.

 This is the view from Victoria's Peak.  It's amazing.....you're almost as tall as the skyline.

 This is the building on top of the peak....any guesses what it is supposed to represent?

A rice bowl!

 This was our guide Ricky....."not to be confused with Ricky Martin" he informed us. 

 Next we went to Stanley's Market where we filled our bags with souvenirs.  Nothing like bartering in Hong Kong!

 Next we went on a "Sam Pam" boat ride around the fishing harbor.

 After the tour, Ricky dropped us off at Ocean Park, where there was a very cool alligator habitat.

 This one is actually real.  Look at him looking at Ryan......

"Mmmmm.........dinner".

 This is the cable car ride taking us from the lower park to the higher park.  It is so lush and green there.

 Paul, Chloe, and Ryan went on a rapids ride, and got pretty wet.

 Callista enjoyed posing on every statue she could find.

 This is "LeLe".  She is beautiful.  Needless to say.....we now own two stuffed animal pandas by the name of "LeLe".  The habitat was amazing.  I could have sat in there all day enjoying the sound of the waterfall and watching the pandas.

It was an exhausting day, but the kids' were troopers.  Tonight at dinner we will tell them our surprise for tomorrow.......Disneyland Hong Kong!

Broken Arm?

OH NO!!!!  

What Happened!

Just kidding........Paul did his yearly presentation in her class on bones, and usually he puts a cast on one of her dolls.  However, since we only live 5 min from the hospital and it is VERY easy to just pop in to get it cut off, she was excited to get to try one on for about an hour.

HN Jordan McCormack is Paul's ortho tech and demonstrated to the class how to put one on.

She thought it was cool for about 5 minutes, then the cast got hot, itchy, and overall irritating.  Every kid in the class was begging to have one too.

Kamakura

This is the Great Buddha in Kamakura.  It is quite impressive, and a very popular tourist attraction in Japan.

AND....you can't visit Japan without a try on the roller slides. 

 Thank you Grandpa and Grandma for visiting us.

It was so great to see family again, even if only for a week!

Who's coming next????