A Sweet Pea Reunion

It's been a long time since I have blogged. My free time has dwindled and it seems like there are a lot of other activities pulling at my attention. I am going to try and play a little catch-up here and hit some of the recent highlights.

First of all, I must explain what a Sweet Pea is. A little over 6 years ago, there were a group of soon-to-be parents turning in there paperwork to the Chinese government in the hopes of being matched with a child. Since the wait would be months and many of these parents were first-time parents, they formed a group to share the wait and plan for their new lives. We became friends online, but somehow, 6 years later, many of us remained in touch.

Now we have all been matched with our children and have settled into our changed lives. However, some of us still manage to get together in real life to see how our families have developed and grown. It's hard because we are scattered all over the US, but there are quite a few of us on the West coast and even a greater concentration in the Northwest. That's the primary reason, we opted to miss a couple days of school and work and bring Chloe and Pearl to Seattle Washington.

Another reason we traveled to Seattle was to visit our previous exchange student, Chris. Chris is now a junior at the University of Washington majoring in computer science. It was so wonderful to visit with her and take a tour of her beautiful campus.

Back To School and a Broken Arm

It's just been one of those months around this household. On August 23rd, the girls went back to school. Effy, our exchange student, went to school as a Junior. Pearl entered 2nd grade and Chloe entered 1st.

During the second week of school, Chloe fell off the monkey bars at recess and suffered a severe brake to her radius and ulna just above the wrist. The bones were completely disconnected making her arm look like a "W". I had no idea how traumatic a break could be as I had never experienced one myself or with a family member. We really had a tough day and it took more than 6 hours to get her patched up and back home, where the rest of the evening wasn't much better.

Due to the fear of swelling, Chloe's orthopedic surgeon kept a splint on her rather than a cast for the first 9 days, which meant no school. Since we didn't know how long she would be out of school, we signed up for homeschooling and her teacher (who just happens to live across the street) came over every day to teach her what she missed in class.

Today Chloe got her long-awaited cast in bright pink and tomorrow she will return to school, much to the relief of both her teacher and myself. Now I can get back to work. To top it all off, I think Chloe and I picked up a cold when we were in the many medical offices we visited on the day of the break.

Vacation With Effy

Carmel Mission photo converted to a watercolor.

My time available for blogging has dwindled to a minimum. I no longer have access to a computer during the day and with my girls just starting school, our evenings are quite busy too. Last week, we traveled to our favorite place, the Monterey peninsula. We stayed at a hotel right on the beach and it was cold and windy. I totally loved it. Where we live, summers in August can be stifling, so a brief respite from the valley oven is greatly welcomed, even if it means wearing jackets and coats.

The first day we headed for Gilroy Gardens . Now this place is a bit “young” for Effy, but she really had a fun time anyway. She got her face painted and she smiled as we rode nearly all the rides. I just love how there’s rarely a line for anything at this place. It’s like having your own private amusement park. I even got to ride on one attraction that was too “big” for my little ones because Effy agreed to go with me. The banana boat was a blast! We rode the roller coaster two times without even having to get out of our seat. The father and son sitting behind us were eagerly enjoying their fifth go of it.

After that, we headed for Monterey and spent time on the beaches, at the Carmel Mission, in Dennis the Menace Park , and at the Monterey Aquarium. I have been going to the aquarium since it opened (back when I lived in the area) and it just seems to get better every time. There really are a lot of things for the little kids to do, even toddlers. It’s usually too crowded for my taste, but if you come with patience, there is plenty to see and do.

We spent the last day on the beach in Pacific Grove , playing in the rocks and tide pools, searching for hermit crabs. The girls collected dozens, played with them and then released them back into the ocean before we went home. It was a great four days and now I think they are ready to go back to school.

Gate at Carmel Mission

Bell at the Mission

She's Here!

Friday we went to the local airport to pick up our new exchange student from China. Her name is Liu Shuer, but she is going by "Effy". She is 16 and is from Dong Guan in Guandong China. She is cute, smart, friendly and I can see that she will be a joy to have in our family this coming year. She is a tad picky about food, but certainly not as bad as Chloe. We will just learn to expand our dining horizons.

She is not the only new member in our family. We also have a new kitten, named Sarafina. I rescued Sarafina from the local animal shelter two weeks ago. She wasn't the prettiest cat in the joint, but she was definitely the sweetest and smartest. Unfortunately, Effy is terrified of Sarafina, so we are going to have to go through an adjustment period.

I guess that's what life is all about, making adjustments.

Goodbye Chris (For Now)

Chris came down from Seattle to spend the weekend with us and to visit old friends. She had to return to Washington today because she has college classes Monday morning. Even though it was a short visit, we had a fun time.

There is rumor of a Sweet Pea (sort of an FCC group) reunion in October in Washington, so we are hoping to stop in and see her then. For now, goodbye Chris. See you soon.

Just Because

I took this photo last week at the park while I was playing with my brother-in-law's Canon 5D. It was my favorite of the day.

We were at the park on a very hot summer day. The girls were playing in the creek. Pearl actually fell in. I have a picture of that too, but it wasn't a happy shot, so we'll just save that as future blackmail material ;-)

I looked at Chloe and called her name. Then she spun her head around quickly and I snapped this shot. Her braids were almost horizontal. I thought it was cute, but then, I'm her mother, and I think just about everything she does is cute.

Chris Comes Back for a Visit

Chris was an exchange student that lived with us two years ago. She is much more than just a student. She was a daughter and a sister in our family. After living with us for a year, she went off to college at the University of Washington, where she is excelling and doing well.

She came down to visit us and some old friends for the weekend. We took her to Pismo Beach for some fun and to San Simeon to view the elephant seals. It was a very nice day and a great way to escape our Central Valley heat.



Chloe rolls in the sand to keep warm.

Sorry About My Mess

My blog background template isn't available anymore and whilst I was trying to come up with something new, I got lost in html world. I haven't figured out how to change the widths of my columns yet, so please bear with me for awhile until I figure this out.

I have more pictures from last weekend at Monterey. Hang in there. We'll be back soon.

Leaving the Hot Weather Behind

It only takes a few hours to get us from unbearable heat to cool fog. We decided at the last moment to ditch the Central Valley and head for cooler places. The girls just love playing on the beach. These photos were taken at two different beaches. The rocky beach is in Pacific Grove and the smooth beach is in Carmel.

A bride and groom came out to the beach with two photographers to capture the moment. There was also a seal lounging on the beach. Signs were posted to keep people a safe distance back. The girls collected twigs and feathers to create their own structures.

Third of July

In our small town, we celebrate our country's birth on the 3rd of July. That's because the fireworks technicians are booked at larger venues on the fourth. By celebrating on the third, we can schedule a top-notch show that might only be seen in a larger city. The other added benefit of celebrating on the third, is that we have an extra day to fully enjoy the festivities. It's like the whole weekend is the 4th of July.

Here are some scenes from last night. I will be sure to include some pictures of the girls in the next post.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that I didn't have to haul any camera equipment around. I took these pictures standing in my back yard.