Coloring Eggs

In the picture with Pete, he is applying decorative shrink wraps to the girls' colored eggs. I didn't realize that the kitchen faucet was blocking the view. Chloe is holding up one of these eggs in the final picture, but I was playing around with selective blur, so it doesn't show up there either.

Casa de Fruta--A Hundred Year Old Fruit Stand

Whenever we get the opportunity to drive by Casa de Fruta, we do. This time it was on our way home. In the past, my husband has done some engineering for the owners of this historical fruit stand. It has now grown to be a destination. They have huge markets with fruits, veggies, nuts, sauces and local specialties. There is a sweet shop and a wine shop and a restaurant. For the kids, there is a train ride, a petting zoo and a new carousel. On the day we stopped by, there was even a craft fair.





I just loved the artwork on this double-decker carousel. I wonder why I never noticed it before. Even though it was the day before Easter, the turnout was light and we almost had the carousel to ourselves.

After the girls had a chance to ride the attractions, we took them over to the watermill to sift for treasures. The girls were thrilled to find that their bags of sand contained special stones.


Two and a half years ago, just after bringing Pearl home from China, we stopped by Casa de Fruta to get pumpkins for Halloween. It was another fun time and I shot this first picture below in a miniature railroad car that the children are allowed to play in. Yesterday, I saw that the car had been moved over by the carousel and I decided to take another picture of the girls in it, just like I did in 2006. I was amazed to see the comparison of the girls below. In my mind, they are somewhere in between. In the first picture, they look so little and young and in the second picture, they look so much older and almost grown up. Both pictures seem out of touch with my present reality.

A Mini Vacation

At almost the last minute, we decided to take a long Easter weekend and venture off to the Monterey Bay for a few days of fun. We were able to meet up with another family with a daughter from China and had a nice loooooooooong dinner (or more accurately, a long wait for the table). Dad had to bring some work with him on the trip, but he was able to get it done, so we had lots of time for playing around. We found this really neat playground at a local elementary school and the girls were able to expend some energy. There was even a little track and Chloe ran two laps around it. Maybe we've got a future cross-country athlete in our midst.


On Thursday, we took a trip north to visit with Cousins Bruce and Lorene. Lorene wasn't feeling well, so we only had time for a hug, but we were able to stay for a little while to visit with Cousin Bruce on his birthday. The girls totally love him and were playing all over him. Later he attempted to teach them Checkers. I am not sure the girls got it, but they sure enjoyed the effort.

Spring Break

Here is a teaser from our Spring Break trip to Carmel. I will write more in future posts.

Forever Family Day

Saturday April 4th was not only Pearl's birthday party, but it was also the fourth anniversary of Chloe joining our lives. It was she who made us a family and it was she that showed us how much more joy we were capable of feeling.

I don't really know how to express the words for how she changed our lives. When I first held her, it wasn't instantaneous love. It took me a few months for that love to grow, but now it is so strong that it scares me. I wish so much that I could have had these deep feelings from day one.

We traveled to Nanning China in the Guangxi province. The nannies brought Chloe in from the orphanage in Qinzhou. She had been in foster care for 4 months. There were 14 other babies in our group, 5 of which were from the same orphanage as Chloe. Chloe didn't cry much at first. She was scared and sick. She slept very well. It was a rough two weeks, but we never regretted a moment.

Tonight we watched videos from when she was a baby and when we met her. I cannot believe how small she was. That cute little baby is gone and now she's my sweet loving little girl. I haven't seen her like that in over three years. I am so glad Dad thought to tape those moments.

Today I got her some flowers and we took her picture. In two weeks, we are attending a wedding and I ordered the girls some very fancy dresses. Chloe tried hers on to see if it fit. The tags were still on it.

Just for Fun

I was watching the girls ride their bikes in the yard Sunday and I decided to take a few pictures. We have a whole planter of California Poppies (our state flower) that come out every year. I thought it was interesting that when I went to photograph one, it was very shiny. They only have four petals.

Pearl's 6th Birthday Party

I think the pictures say it all.

Book II- The Sequel

Here is the book Pearl wrote this evening, hot off the presses. Each page has so much more going on that just the story. Tomorrow is Pearl's birthday party.





Pearl said the stars were out because it was starting to get dark.



Pearl said that there were birthday presents and balloons. Inside one of the packages is a flute shaped like a carrot. The small box has DVDs in it. The rabbits are eating birthday carrots on red plates.



On the second page, the bunny family is eating healthy food at an Easter picnic. They are watching fireworks in the sky.



On the back, the bunny family plus a cousin and Pearl are sleeping on the picnic blanket. The two circles to the left are Pearl's shoes because she didn't want to get the blanket dirty.

Our Newest Author

Thursday evening I came home from work a half hour early. I had gone in early and taken a short lunch. After I walked in the door, Pearl greeted me with exhuberance and mentioned she was making a book. That is one of the girls' favorite projects. They are always drawing on something and calling it a book. I didn't give it much thought, but encouraged her and then left to get Chloe from daycare.

Everyone was settled in so I began sewing a prototype for my newest pattern. I have no idea if it will turn out, but it is piecing together nicely for now. Time flew and it was now dinner time. My husband let me order delivery so I wouldn't have to cook and so I could keep sewing.....what a sweetie!

At the dinner table, Chloe was telling us stories and engaging in conversation, which she does quite well. Pearl ate quickly and then asked to be excused. She had a surprise for us that she was so excited to share.

She came back with a book she had made all by herself. The only assistance she had was when Elena, our helper, stapled some white sheets of paper together. She not only drew all the pictures, but she wrote out an entire story as well.
Pearl book Pearl "The Little Rabbit Wants a Mommy" by Pearl Chavez

Then the little bunny smells a carrot. A carrot that is "all" said the bunny and the bunny likes to eat it.

Then he saw a mommy. Could that mommy be my (mine)? The mommy bunny look at the little bunny, they look back at each other.

They look and look and look and they look and they found out they was family. They had a fun day and they love each familys make others happy. (?)

Family's is the best day. When is my birthday?


Pearl took her book to school and read it to her teacher and her class. When she came home tonight, she made another book, even better and more detailed that this one. She used bunnies and eggs because it is almost Easter. She mentions a birthday because tomorrow is her birthday party. My little Pearl is starting to amaze me. As she handed me her second book, she exclaimed "I am the author AND the illustrator."

Extreme Grooming or Strange Hobby

I used to raise English Angora rabbits for show competition. I think it requires a compulsive and slightly eccentric person to raise and show them successfully. That is because each animal requires hours of care and grooming on a weekly basis. It requires a dedication, or perhaps obsession, with wanting to maintain and improve the breed. It is very dirty work, but there is a certain thrill that is irrisistible when you have a win on the show table with one of these glorious creatures.

But this poodle grooming, artistry, hobby, animal abuse takes "eccentric" to a whole new level. To see more amazing pictures, see this POST on my good friend, Betty's blog.

A Day Off Work

I finally convinced my husband (a big American Idol fan), to join me for a day of American Idol in Hollywood. I waited over a year for these tickets and tried to go a month ago, but was turned away because they cancelled the taping of the rehersal show. After driving two hours and taking a day off work, I was pretty peturbed and frustrated. They gave me a number to call, which I did, and I received a replacement ticket for March 17th. By then, I was still upset and didn't want to waste a day off only to be turned away again, so I didn't go. That morning, "American Idol" called ME to see if I was coming to the show. At that point, I realized that they must be "for real" and I rescheduled for March 31st.

Shortly after arriving in line, we were pulled aside to a "priority" line and we entered the waiting area first. That's where our "priority" status ended, but it did make it more convenient for us and we had great seats for the rehearsal show. After the rehersal, they told us that there were some seats available for the "live" show if we wanted to stand in another line. Hey, we already took the whole day off, so why not give it a shot? Well, we waited and were given wristbands (a hopeful sign), but alas, we did not get in. It felt a little bit ironic to be listening to the live show, standing just outside the door. We could only hear it because there was a hole in the wall where some electrical cords were poking out. In a gesture of fan appreciation, they took our names and numbers and offered us tickets to a future performance, next time a "live" performance. I just might go again.

We had left the girls at home, in good company, and made it back by 9:30 PM. Pearl had sacked out on the couch, but Chloe was too diligent to fall asleep before we made it home safely.

The show was really a lot of fun. The studio is tiny. It looks much bigger on TV. They were also shooting "Dancing With the Stars" on the same lot, so we were able to see a few stars milling outside their trailers before going on.

When we arrived home, we watched the show on television and it was fascinating to hear how different the performances sounded. I don't have a favorite contestant yet, but I do really enjoy Danny and Adam. Before tonight, I didn't really care for Kris Allen, but his performance was my favorite and my opinion of him has started to change.