Big Eyes

When we were in China adopting Choe, we were stopped by a lot of Chinese people who remarked about how big Chloe's eyes were. Little did we know at the time, but now when we look at those photos, we can see that she was scared. Nevertheless, her eyes are a bit rounder than the average Chinese eye and we still hear remarks about Chloe's "big eyes".

Earlier this evening, Chloe went upstairs to her room to put on her pajamas. She likes to do this at least an hour before bed, often even before her bath. Tonight I noticed that she was dressing in the dark and I remembered that Chloe is afraid of the dark. I turned the light on and said, "Chloe, what are you doing dressing in the dark?" She replied, "It's OK Mom. I have BIG EYES!" Then she proceeded to turn the light back off.

Preschool Open House

Chloe and Pearl both attend the same preschool. Chloe goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Pearl attends on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Chloe was very jealous last year when Pearl went on stage to perform and she couldn't go, but this year was different. Chloe had so much fun and we all enjoyed ourselves. Monday evening was the Open House and it was very crowded.

Solvang

Sunday we returned home from a weekend of camping in Santa Barbara. On our way home we stopped by Solvang, a Danish American community. This tourist town is lots of fun and very charming. We enjoyed a nice lunch and lots of window shopping.

El Capitan Canyon

Kern County Fair

On September 26th, Pete took Chris and the girls to the Kern County Fair.

3 Birthdays and a Moon Festival

September 22nd and September 23rd was a very busy weekend. Chloe and Pearl celebrated Jack and Patty's birthday on September 22. Jack turned 6 and Patty turned 5. The very next day, they attended Keeley's birthday celebration. Keeley turned 4. All of the kids know each other from daycare.

After Keeley's birthday party, we all went to a celebration of the Chinese Moon Festival in a park. It was hosted by the Kern County Chinese American Association. That isn't the exact name, but it is fairly close. I guess the Chinese community is rather small in Kern County. We ran into Chloe and Pearl's former pediatrician and also their new pediatrician. We had to change doctors when my work changed insurance providers. I even met a couple of work associates. It was a nice gathering, but we didn't get any good photos. Chloe met a little girl and immediately befriended her. Chloe kept leading her around by the hand. I have never seen Chloe behave like that before. They were only one month apart in age.

Preschool Open House & More

Another activity that occured during my blogging hiatus was the Kern County Fair. Pete took Chris and the girls to see it and play on the rides and see the farm animals and eat the food. Since Mom wasn't feeling that great, she was able to rest at home for a couple of hours. Pictures will soon follow (maybe even this evening).

Last night was the open house for the preschool that Chloe and Pearl attend. The girls got up on stage and sang three songs. I was pleasantly surprised to see Chloe singing and going through the motions, even with a big smile on her face. Pearl also did well, but was a bit hidden from view in the back row. These two just love school so much and they really enjoyed showing us all of the craft projects that they have been working on. It was such a fun evening.

Stay tuned. I have some pictures to post this evening and I have more to put together.

Where have we been?

I was doing so well too, blogging at least twice a week, and then BAM!! Nothing. Oh, I let a couple of weeks slip by. I wasn't happy with the pictures I had from the two birthday parties the girls attended or the pictures from the Moon Festival celebration. I wasn't feeling "creative". Then I managed to come down with my first cold of the season. Before you know it, another couple of weeks slipped by. If this is anything like last year, there are another 7 or 8 colds to follow.

But wait, this blog isn't about me. It's about Chloe and Pearl. Their lives haven't stopped. They have been quite busy. Let's see, I mentioned the two birthday parties, the Moon Festival. What else did we do? There were a couple of slow weekends at home and I am sure there were some more outings that I forgot about. Dance class is going great. Last weekend (September 29th), Chris had her photo session for her senior class pictures. They were beautiful and as circumstances dictated, I also had both girls with me, still in their dance outfits from class. The photographer took the opportunity to take a few photos of the girls too, even though this was supposed to be Chris' session. She even took some great pictures of all three together. Once I order them, I will be sure to sneak a picture or two onto the blog.

This past weekend we decided to try "luxury camping". We went to El Capitan Canyon, just north of Santa Barbara. It is camping with cabins and tents already provided. You don't have to bring any gear. There are luxury linens, king size beds, kitchenettes and even room service. It's like a hotel room in a campground. There were children everywhere and the beach is within walking distance from the front gate. On Saturday night, they had a big BBQ and a band playing great rock and roll dance music. Chloe cried for the first three songs and then decided she was going to have fun, so she asked Daddy to dance and it was all giggles and wiggles from that point on. Pearl loved it from the first moment and both girls were out on the lawn dancing until exhaustion set in (at least for Chloe). Pearl is like the Energizer Bunny. I don't think I have ever seen her tired. Getting her to settle in for bed every night is a little bit challenging because she has to kick and move around a lot before she goes to sleep. These girls had a blast and I have a feeling that we just started an annual tradition.

You will have to be patient a little bit longer. I have some pictures to post, just to prove we really did do all these things. I will start getting them up this week in the evenings....maybe not tonight, because it is Open House at Chloe and Pearl's preschool. Which of course, means more pictures! Until then...........