Kindergarten schedule

It's official - Katrina is assigned to AM kindergarten. Even though it's 2 months away, I'm already worried about switching our night owl schedules. Even though we got what we asked for (we did sign up for AM), I did at times secretly hope she'd get assigned to PM (due to high AM demand) and we'd be "forced" to do the strange PM schedule. PM'ers need to finish lunch by ~11:20am and still need to follow the AM schedule every Wed - so it really isn't a great option, but at least we'd be on time.....

On a typical day, all 4 members of our household are usually still sleeping at 8:10am (which is when school will start). I'm not sure if it's easier to move our terribly late schedule up 5-10 minutes at a time or to go cold turkey. I'm inclined to enforce an mock daylight saving time change by adjusting all the clocks up an hour - think that'd work ?

Katrina's Blog

One day Katrina ran out of things to play with so I drew a box with some lines below and asked her to draw a picture and describe it with words. She attempted drawing and writing but she rambled on about unrelated topics - so I thought she could use some practice with focused narration. Remembering how she loved holding up books and pretending to storytell to an imaginary audience, I thought she might enjoy starting her own blog and talk about little anecdotes in her life.

I showed her some choices for her blog layout and she actually was very specific about the exact colors and patterns she wanted. She does author 99% of it (I don't have the patience to wait for her to type so she dictates and I type). I do provide suggestions for topics and also help with diction - like correcting 'graduationing' or suggesting replacing '2 covers on top and bottom' with the word envelope. She seems to catch on fairly quickly so maybe one day soon she'll be blogging all on her own ?

www.katrinawlee.blogspot.com

Wind, Produce, and Livestock Farms

Although we didn't actually "enter" a wind farm - this was the closest we've been to these familiar wind turbines as some were just yards from the road. The kids were of course fascinated and loved having windmills adorn the long road to our true destination - a fruit-picking expedition.

Although most cherries were all picked by this time of the year (some farms are already closed unti 2010), a couple of farms off the beaten path were still open with treefuls of these yummy fruits. Pease Ranch also has shaded picnic tables and low branches for kids. Folks were SO NICE too, a worker saw petite me carrying a heavyset 3 yr old and offered to take us all (4 adults, 5 kids + a stroller) back to the entrance on his cart. It really helped as Nathan was exhausted and carrying him all the way back would have been a bit much.

After getting some stonefruits from a neighboring farm, we headed to an Alpaca farm to meet the most ADORABLE animals. The owners were also very nice and brought out treats for us to feed these endearing llama-look-alikes. Their coats were amazingly soft. The owners knew each of their 52 huggable cuties by name ! Katrina kept asking about one of them who had a very pretty name: Moonbeam.

On our way back, we stopped by some more farm stands to grab some strawberries and super sweet corn. Nothing like fresh-picked produce for dinner !

Sand Castles and Sand Sculptures

It was Crown Memorial's 43rd annual contest but the first for us. It was fun to people watch and admire everyone's "sandiwork" (did I just make up a new word ?) The kids had lots of fun of course - check out the art work.

採花賊

To my dismay, our 24 newly planted snapdragons were ALL EATEN within a couple days (do they know how hard it's to plant something with a 3 yr old who'd do the darndest thing ?) At first the nanny thought snails were to blame, but Jonathan figured they can't possibly eat that fast. Sure enough, a mouse was caught the morning after he placed a trap nearby. No relief though - we then discovered blooms were gone from most of the new jasmine plant too. Later that day, we discovered another dead mouse a few yards away. This time the cause of death was unknown as we didn't set up another trap. Did it eat too much too fast ? Or was it allergic to the fragrant jasmine oils ? Who knows - it's all very unsettling - as pesky and these critters were, it's not the nicest thing to have to end their lives. The only comforting thing that came out of all this is the kids seemed to sense how bummed I was and were very empathetic and kept comforting me. Katrina even made me flowers to "replace the ones outside" - how can these not cheer me up !

Class of 2009

For 15 minutes, an auditorium full of family and friends waited patiently for the processional of their beloved graduates. Jonathan joked that it felt like a wedding ceremony. Maybe it was the grandeur of the music - emotions welled up when Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March came on and the adorable kids started pouring in. Don't laugh, but I gained a tiny understanding of what my parents must have felt when they attended my graduation ceremonies.

Katrina was actually one of the "original 12" students that started with this new school last May so they are the very first graduating class of the school that now has has over 100 students. Thinking back on how she had a tough time adjusting in the beginning, she has indeed come a long way in her emotional, spiritual, mental, social, and physical development - so yes, I'm indeed very proud of her !

We were also all very impressed when she immediately hung her treasured medal around her brother's neck as soon as she came off the stage - it's awesome watching a preschooler share.

Anniversary Dinner

We rarely get to go out, so a special occasion is a great excuse go all out to a two Michelin star restaurant in the city. Aqua was a logical choice 'cause we both love seafood. Two glasses of complimentary champagne and well wishes were brought soon after we were seated. It was fun to try some exotic fish - Hawaiian Walu (a bit too tender and buttery) and John Dory (delicious and not to be confused with Nemo's friend, the regal tang). Food was wonderful, presentation beautiful, and service impeccable - a very nice night out indeed.

∞ years

This bronze symbol we designed for our wedding invitation seems perfect to commemorate today. Not only does turning the number 8 久十° = ∞, turns out bronze is also traditionally associated with 8th anniversaries !

Yellow Ladybugs

Whereas Katrina gets to hang out with bunnies, crickets, tadpoles, butterflies, and praying mantises at school, the extent of Nathan's daily interaction with nature is to water plants and pick flowers from the backyard. Imagine his awe when I caught him his own "can" of 4 yellow lady bugs that he can pick up and look at all day long.

Walking in my heart

Katrina is pretty quick at making a comeback sometimes: One night during her bedtime routine, she exclaimed: "Jesus is in my heart !", pointing happily to the right side of her chest. Daddy gently pointed out that hearts are on the left side. Immediately she went, "well that's 'cause Jesus walks back and forth from here to here inside of me ! (moving her hand back and forth from one side to another). As usual, she thought it was hilarious and couldn't stop laughing at her own wittiness :)