Spring Break - Day 2

Not a moment to rest on this vacation of ours!  After thoroughly enjoying our day in the Caribbean we were ready to embark on the next leg of our journeys - China!  Still experiencing terrific springtime weather wherever we go, we did spend quite a bit of the day playing outside.  After all, don't you think kids play outside in China too?  We also experienced some very fun "native" things during our day in China.  We got out our tangrams and made pictures.  We got out paint and paper and tried our hand at writing the Chinese symbols for the numbers 1 - 10.  This was particularly challenging for my oldest who is wee bit of a perfectionist and sometimes has the attitude that if he cannot do it well the first time then he would rather not do it at all.  Maybe it was in the spirit of travel, but I am very proud to report that he hung in there, and actually, had fun with it!  "Mom, my favorite to write is 9."    We read a couple of Chinese versions of stories that we know.  The first being "Lon Po Po - A Red - Riding Hood Story From China" by Ed Young.  The kiddos thought it was very interesting that instead of a girl who leaves to visit her grandmother as in the story we are familiar with, it is the mother who leaves her three daughters to go visit the grandmother.  The wolf then disguises himself and tries to trick the daughters into letting him in.  The second book we read was then "Yeh-Shen - A Cinderella Story from China"  also by Ed Young.  This, of course, was not as interesting as a tale with a wolf in it to my boys, but it did thrill my girlie.  The part that stuck out to her, of course, was the golden slipper Yeh-Shen wore (instead of the familiar glass slipper from our Cinderella story).  Yes, that would be my shoe-lovin' girl!  Not long after it was time to try a bit of the cuisine.  On the menu tonight -- Broccoli Beef Lo Mein.  I am very pleased to say that, for the most part, this too was a success and enjoyed by all.  My sweet little picky of course did not like the mushrooms, but did like the noodles and the meat.  I tell you, it was genius of the chef, pure genius, to make sure our entree's had those ingredients!  All in all, another great day of travel and memories.  The only complaint of today's travels was from my son Nate, our middle child, who was, after wearing his "tropical gear" and swimsuit yesterday, quite dissappointed that he had no "Chinese outfit" today.  I felt for him and tried to make him a make-shift kimono out of one of daddy's old shirts, but he declined.  My poor Naterbug!  He has always loved costumes and dressing up - I should have known that he would want to dress the part each day.  Even with this setback we all enjoyed our day, and now I am off to get some rest for our next destination tommorow!

fun with tangrams

Our paintings of Chinese letters (and Sophie's of a chocolate cookie)

Our books that we read

Ben's sheet of Chinese letters

   




Our dinner - Broccoli Beef Lo Mein

Sophie, in her "Chinese Princess Dress"
(And yes, Purple Bunny IS making these
travels with us)

Spring Break - Day 1



Ben, getting ready to eat dinner (jerk chicken was finishing up on the grill)

Nate and Sophie "We're just so happy momma"

Laying out on the Carribean beach

Warmer days, budding plants, robin's chirping, and the sounds of children playing outside can only mean one thing ... Spring is on it's way!  Another sign would be that my boys get to be home with me for this whole week as it is their Spring Break!  I totally love having them home!  In the spirit of Spring Break I decided it would be fun to travel around the world.  Stopping each day in a different country, learning about that country, doing some fun activities and crafts related to that country, and having an "authentic" dining experience from that country.  We will see how the dining experiences go with my little picky eater -- that, in itself, could be an experience!  And so we started our travels today.  This morning found us in the Caribbean.  My kids definitely got into character.  My oldest (Ben, age 8) made me laugh so hard as we did have to run a few errands this morning.  We needed to pick up a few necessary ingredients at the grocery store and get to the library.  Well, this mama also wanted to stop by the fabric store since it was close to the library.  When I made mention of this Ben spoke out that he did not think there were fabric stores in the Carribean (which translated, means he did not want to stop there).  Poor boy!  Our time in the Carribean definitely kicked in once we got home.  The sun had come out and it had warmed up.  The kiddos put on their "tropical outfits" that I had found (Hawaiian print shirts and shorts for my boys, and a "tropical" sundress for my girlie, and beads and lei's to further their ensembles)  We played outside and enjoyed the sunshine.  Then we all (daddy included) enjoyed our dinner of jerk chicken, saffron rice, pineapple, and a tropical fruit smoothie.  I wasn't sure how it would go over, but the jerk chicken was a hit -- even my picky ate all of hers!  To conclude our night in the Carribean we layed out our beach towels, the kids got on their swimsuits (which they were delighted to do) and layed out in the living room for a little snack (bananas and oranges) and movie time.  They went to bed happy and eager for our next adventure tommorow.  I love their excitement and their ability to, along with me, totally throw themselves into this trip of ours.  Their giggles of joy at getting to wear their swimsuits and lay out on their towels, their non-stop chatter at supper as they fill daddy in on the day's events, and the sunshine shining down on them making them positively radiant will stay embedded in my memories of our trip to the Carribean and this day.  How blessed I am to have them as my travelling companions, not only for our Spring Break travels, but as I travel through the even more exciting journeys of motherhood  Stay tuned for news from our next stop.     

This blog has been on my mind now for soooooo long!  Not really sure of what I am doing, but excited to be doing it.  I simply want a way to keep and preserve the goings on around me because, with my three precious little ones, it is always changing and there is always something new and many things that are interesting.  I might think I can remember them all, but I can't, and so I start this blog in an effort to do so.