GUILT IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE...AND A FLORIDA SNOWBALL FIGHT

Jia's first snowball

Jia was afraid of the "snow" and wouldn't touch it till Mom did
Notice Drew is far, far away

When Jia found out Mom was wearing a scarf, she needed one too
Also note, this is her own hair do

WELL, less than 24 hours after my "you never write, you never call" type blog entry I received one from my older children. Wow, it's a lot of work being a long distance Mom!

Today we did chores, since I wore a scarf Jia needed one too, doesn't she look fabulous?

We had to go to the bank to get my letter signed giving Drew permission to take Jia out of the US (I still think it's funny that she is American and he is not.)

Our bank is right next to the ice arena, so we asked Jia if she wanted to see snow (the piles from the zamboni) she seemed reluctant but said okay. When she saw it she wouldn't touch it until I did, and then the three of us ended up having a little snowball fight. By that time she thought it was pretty cool (no pun intended) and wanted to stay. We had to promise to bring her back another day. So I guess we can say that Jia had her first snowball fight right here in Florida!

Us Florida Girls Are Climbing Mountains!!

Katie and I posing in front of the Upper Falls.

We found an area where we could actually feel the water. It was soooo cold!

Me and Katie with our cousin Jake.

Again with Jake at the Lower Falls

In front of the falls with our cousins Mitchell, Jake, Shane and our auntie Shannon.

On Banff Ave there was a store and a Mounty Moose that Katie and I took a picture with.

I was dared to kiss it, so I did. Katie, on the other hand, chose not to.

It was decided on Saturday, July 10th, that we would take a trip up to Banff to hike up Johnston Canyon and knowing that there are absolutely no mountains in Florida, we were a bit nervous. We soon realized how hard it was going to be. Steep hills and lots of cliffs made it very difficult to climb because it hurt our feet and calves. The coolest part was seeing the waterfalls. They were so beautiful, the way they flowed down the rocks. I couldn't imagine anything greater. It was cool to feel the temperture drop as soon as you walked by the falls. There were two levels, the Lower Falls and the Upper falls. The Lower falls were so pretty and there was a little ledge made out from the rocks and we were so close to the falls and the water sprayed us a little which was refreshing. There was another level called the Inkpots but it was going to be another 2-3 hour climb from the Upper falls so we decided not to do it.
After we made it back down the Canyon we had lunch and then drove down to the gondolas and that was such an amazing thing to go on. My mom said that we have been on it before with her when we were younger but I do not remember that and I'm glad that she has remembered it and will be able to tell us the story for many years. Katie thought the gondola was a bit scary and didn't think it would be that stable but she lived through it.
We went back down the gondola and then went to Banff Ave where there are a bunch of shops and one shop we went into was a Cow store with a bunch of shirts that have slogans from different forms of entertainment like "Cow-Scene Investigation", Edward Cowlen (the shirt Katie got), Dairy Potter and the Udder of the Phoenix (Shane got this shirt), and the shirt I got, MooTube (instead of YouTube).
All in all this day was very fun and one Katie and I will both remember :)

Lots of Love,

Anna <3

Making Lemonade Out of Sour Grapes...

Find Tink in this picture-Drew couldn't find him

I am feeling sad and disappointed. When Katie and Anna went to Canada they promised to share the blog entries with me, so part of them would be mine to them and then them to me. Even after constant reminding I have seen nothing. In the words of Max in Where the Wild Things Are: "oh please don't go, I'll eat you up I love you so...." I miss my big girls so much. Here is a picture of the exciting adventures of Parnham South. My camera battery ran out before we made it to Barnes and Noble where I bought a beautiful copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird" (only the best fiction book of all time) it's 50th anniversary was yesterday...oh well....

WE ARE HOLDING YOUR DOGS CAPTIVE!!

WE LOVA YOU SOOOO MUCH
XOXOXOXOXO

WHAT A HANDSOME GUY (AND I DON'T MEAN DAD)

THIS ONE'S FOR ANNA
NO EXPLANATION NEEDED

LOOK! NO GIOVANNI, STILL NOT ENOUGH ANGLE THOUGH

REX, RIGHT BEFORE HIS TRIP TO THE EVERGLADES!

DEAR ANNA AND KATIE: IF YOU EVER WANT TO SEE BENNYFOO OR REX AGAIN YOU BETTER GET HOME SOON!! LOVE, THE DOG NAPPER PS. JIA SAYS BENNYFOO IS HER DOG NOW

LET FREEDOM RING!

Our Sweet Chinese-American Girl

Jia took this picture!

The most photogenic person in the world!

Sparklers with Daddy

Josie-before the attack

Jia loves to strike poses

Did you know that fireworks originated in China.
In Guangzhou we saw the most spetctacular ones of our lives on New Years Eve
Even better than Disney World

Jia loves her big sisters soooo much

Two of my baby girls

Happy 4th a day late. We had doggie trauma for the last two days....I made a bad mistake and bought the little dogs some bones, well there was a bone war and Josie got hurt, I was worried sick until today, she seems to be making a recovery. Our plans yesterday were for a pool picnic (rained out) and then go over to Ellen's house to see the fireworks. She lives on a lake with a clear view of the fireworks that they set off on a barge in the ocean. I couldn't go because I was worried about Josie and she wouldn't let us pick her up and put her in a confined area. (For once I really wanted to go somewhere and I couldn't) Katie stayed home with me. She had a bad experience as a toddler and has never really liked to go there. It is kind of dangerous, because not only are you watching the official fireworks, but there are a whole lot of drunk people all around you shooting off things indiscriminately. Anyway, the pictures above were taken by both Anna and Jia. " God Bless our troops serving overseas! (Especially my former students in the Armed Forces-stay safe) I thank God for giving me the privilege of living in this country where brave men and women throughout history have fought for the rights of the individual. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Mom's Summer School Boot Camp

Ahhhhh...when your Mom is a teacher, school never ends. All three girls have summer assignments. Katie and Anna have to read "To Kill a Mockingbird" for their AP English class, they also have to research book banning.....and lets not forget:

THE SAT

They each have a huge study manual with eight practice tests, a website that focuses on explaining the answers behind the questions that will be on the test and they will be assisted throughout their junior year by their AP English teacher and Math teachers. Since the University of Florida is extremely competitive, the girls will be taking the exam multiple times, as they only take your highest scores. ( Please note: Katie has not made a college decision yet, but we are going by UF scores as it is the hardest school in the state to gain admission to.)

Jia was given a lot of remedial work from her teacher, plus she will be doing the "Learning Bridge" series with me. Both Katie and Anna did this all the way through 8th grade. It is a program that starts with the grade they just completed, In Jia's case, Kindergarten and then progresses through to help them with the next year--First Grade.

We have been given some sight words for Jia (thanks to Mrs.Castillo) that we will work with her this year. She is still delayed, but is very, very eager to learn.

One of the things I am most firm about as a teacher is that if you let a child just "hang out" on vacation all summer they lose some of the skills that they have spent time learning. If you keep their minds working with learning experiences (not just workbooks) they will keep their minds "fresh" when they enter their next grade.

This is the first year that Anna and Katie were assigned a book to read by their school. But they have read books every summer since they started school. Last year we read Of Mice and Men and then a book of their choice. When they were little we would read orally, as a family, (a good book for that was Because of Winn Dixie by Katie Di Camillo. It was fun, the whole family participated and the girls looked forward to it.

Ok, our kids do have fun too. They are all looking forward to their trip to Canada to see their Nona and Grandpa (Jia jumps on the bed and shouts NONA!). They swim almost every day, shopping is always an activity, Katie, Jia and Drew go to the gym everyday, and tomorrow we will celebrate the birthday of our great country by going to Ellen's home and watching the fireworks at the beach. Sparklers are at hand!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

My Nook Drama

I think I told everyone that I saved up all of my Ebay money a few months ago and bought a Nook. It cost around $250 which was a lot of savings for me. When I got it I liked it but I am a serious reader and I love books, so there was a huge part of my mind that missed holding a book in my hand. However, it is really cool to browse through Barnes and Noble in the middle of the night (because you know I'm up) and instantly download a book. So there are pluses and negatives to my purchase.

BUT...

The other night I am reading and I notice that my page turner had cracked--this is 4 months later, after suffering the indignity of the price going down ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS and with the lower price they give the buyer a $50 gift card.

Since I don't use the phone, Drew got on their service line and was told basically "too bad, customer misuse." I would have whimpered away and used my still functional Nook. Drew, on the other hand, called the same number back, got a new representative, who said it was a "common error with the page turner" YESSSSSS! They sent me a brand new Nook. I am really happy with the outcome and with the wonderfulness of my husband however is this a sign that there is no better way to read than to have a real book in your hands?

Speaking of books: phenomenal fiction: Little Bee by Chris Cleave, great for you and your book club.