I love these photos of Bailey helping him out at his first meet. She was totally teaching him the ropes. She is an expert since this is her 5th year on the swim team! She really has a beautiful breast stroke!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Carson's First Swim Meet...Ever!
So...Carson is now officially a member of the Singapore Fighting Fish swim team!!! He "tried out" the first week of school and made it! He is so pumped. He loves the idea of beating anyone at any sport or any thing; really, so he was thrilled to swim in one race in his first meet ever. He swam the 25 meter freestyle and came in 2nd place - out of 3 kids.
I love these photos of Bailey helping him out at his first meet. She was totally teaching him the ropes. She is an expert since this is her 5th year on the swim team! She really has a beautiful breast stroke!
I love these photos of Bailey helping him out at his first meet. She was totally teaching him the ropes. She is an expert since this is her 5th year on the swim team! She really has a beautiful breast stroke!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
That Dance Thing (Sammy)
Sammy is doing something called "That Dance Thing" this year. It's basically Cotillion if you've ever heard of that. It's held at the American Club here once a month on a Friday or Saturday night. First there's a dinner with a manners lesson. The boys have to pull out the girl to their right's chair for them when they get up, they eat a fancy dinner and have to hold an hour's worth of table conversation.
Then the second hour is a ballroom dance lesson. The girls and boys have to dance with each other and the only acceptable answer when you are asked to dance is, "yes." (You have to sign something before the program begins that you agree to these terms. You can imagine what middle schoolers would act like when asked to dance if they didn't commit to these terms! Ooh! Cooties!)
Mike and I were chaperones for the first one this year. Here's a photo of Sammy and I all dressed up and ready to go!
Sammy was hilarious because when it was time to switch partners she would freeze up. She looked like a lost puppy. Sometimes the girls had to choose the partner and she was usually one of the last to pick one which meant she ended up with whoever was left without a partner. Since I was one of the moms helping my job was to help the boys and girls pair up quickly - to avoid embarassment. Well, since Sammy was one of the last ones a couple of times I was trying to find a partner for her. She told me right then and there, "mom, I don't need my mom out here to help me find a partner."
She also asked me at the end of the night, "Mom, are you going to chaperone every month?" When I replied, "no." She answered, "good!" Too funny.
Then the second hour is a ballroom dance lesson. The girls and boys have to dance with each other and the only acceptable answer when you are asked to dance is, "yes." (You have to sign something before the program begins that you agree to these terms. You can imagine what middle schoolers would act like when asked to dance if they didn't commit to these terms! Ooh! Cooties!)
Mike and I were chaperones for the first one this year. Here's a photo of Sammy and I all dressed up and ready to go!
Sammy was hilarious because when it was time to switch partners she would freeze up. She looked like a lost puppy. Sometimes the girls had to choose the partner and she was usually one of the last to pick one which meant she ended up with whoever was left without a partner. Since I was one of the moms helping my job was to help the boys and girls pair up quickly - to avoid embarassment. Well, since Sammy was one of the last ones a couple of times I was trying to find a partner for her. She told me right then and there, "mom, I don't need my mom out here to help me find a partner."
She also asked me at the end of the night, "Mom, are you going to chaperone every month?" When I replied, "no." She answered, "good!" Too funny.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
First Day of School 2009
So...it's 5:00a.m. and I've been awake since 2:00a.m. when Carson came into my room to tell me that his feet hurt. Not sure why but I got him an ice pack and put it on his feet. So, now I've been up messing around on the computer (note the new look of my blog!) until I get tired again...
Here's some photos of the first days of school for the girls and Carson. Sammy is in 7th grade this year, Bailey in 4th grade, Carson in kindergarten and Jack is in Joy School at home with me two days per week...hooray!
Here's some photos of the first days of school for the girls and Carson. Sammy is in 7th grade this year, Bailey in 4th grade, Carson in kindergarten and Jack is in Joy School at home with me two days per week...hooray!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
This is what I came home to after my Cambodia trip...
My baby Jack-Jack was missing...MY baby with the longish blonde hair was gone and this imposter baby was in his place. Next time I leave the country I need to hide the hair-cutting kit from Mike.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Day 5 in Cambodia
Heading out for a ride!
The branch pres. and his daughter picked us up at 9:00a.m. today. I told them about a horseback riding place called "The Happy Ranch" that I'd read about in my guidebook. I'd had the concierge from the hotel call The Happy Ranch already to get the scoop and warn them that we were fixin' to ride. After driving through the red light district of Siem Reap and stopping several times to ask men with chickens where this place was; we made it!
We were all amazed to see that a mama horse had delivered her baby that morning so we got to see (and touch) a foal only a few hours old! It was amazing to see her stand for a few seconds and then fall again! We are such city dwellers that this was an awesome treat!
Check her out...Her name is "Bee." (Mom's name is Honey.)
I also soon found out that Chetana had never ridden a horse in her life so I had the kids all convince her that that would be a fun thing for her to do. I told her I would pay for her if she would come with us. She was a bit scared to try but soon relented to our begging...we weren't taking no for an answer so she really had no choice!
Chetana's First Ride:
We had an awesome ride through the back yards and front yards and side yards of all of the cows and people's homes in the area. We got to see several people showering underneath their water pumps which was. of course, a highlight of the ride. Sammy, our guide and I rode up at the front of the line...she let us trot the horses and even sent the other horses back to the ranch while Sammy, the guide and I went out trotting for a while on our own. Sammy was in heaven but you can imagine how Bailey felt. That was not pretty.
When we got back to the ranch our guide showed the kids around a bit. She also showed them 2 baby kittens that had been born a few days before and were still in a box with their mother.
Here's the girls checking out the kitty's...
(Our ride was an a hour and a half for $20 per person.)
Chetana & Carson are hangin' after their ride.
We hit the pool again for a bit in the afternoon.
Then we headed back to our room to pack up for the airport! Goodbye Cambodia...we love you!
Cambodia Rocks!
The branch pres. and his daughter picked us up at 9:00a.m. today. I told them about a horseback riding place called "The Happy Ranch" that I'd read about in my guidebook. I'd had the concierge from the hotel call The Happy Ranch already to get the scoop and warn them that we were fixin' to ride. After driving through the red light district of Siem Reap and stopping several times to ask men with chickens where this place was; we made it!
We were all amazed to see that a mama horse had delivered her baby that morning so we got to see (and touch) a foal only a few hours old! It was amazing to see her stand for a few seconds and then fall again! We are such city dwellers that this was an awesome treat!
Check her out...Her name is "Bee." (Mom's name is Honey.)
I also soon found out that Chetana had never ridden a horse in her life so I had the kids all convince her that that would be a fun thing for her to do. I told her I would pay for her if she would come with us. She was a bit scared to try but soon relented to our begging...we weren't taking no for an answer so she really had no choice!
Chetana's First Ride:
We had an awesome ride through the back yards and front yards and side yards of all of the cows and people's homes in the area. We got to see several people showering underneath their water pumps which was. of course, a highlight of the ride. Sammy, our guide and I rode up at the front of the line...she let us trot the horses and even sent the other horses back to the ranch while Sammy, the guide and I went out trotting for a while on our own. Sammy was in heaven but you can imagine how Bailey felt. That was not pretty.
When we got back to the ranch our guide showed the kids around a bit. She also showed them 2 baby kittens that had been born a few days before and were still in a box with their mother.
Here's the girls checking out the kitty's...
(Our ride was an a hour and a half for $20 per person.)
Chetana & Carson are hangin' after their ride.
We hit the pool again for a bit in the afternoon.
Then we headed back to our room to pack up for the airport! Goodbye Cambodia...we love you!
Cambodia Rocks!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Day 4 in Cambodia
Our friends the MacArthur's headed back to Singapore today so it was just the Daynes clan off for another Cambodian adventure today! We got picked up by Pres. Loy and daughter Chetana, as usual. Today we headed to the Silk Farm to learn how silk is made. We got to see the whole process of how the silk worms spin their cocoons all the way to the dyeing & weaving of the beautiful silk fabrics. The highlight was when Chetana ate one of the worms. They wanted us to try one but we decided to pass. No thanks! (Chetana is eating one in the photo.)
The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying the BEAUTIFUL pool at our hotel! The kids ran around the whole time playing "Wipeout"; one of their new favorite TV shows. They came up with all kinds of great obstacle courses and races around the pool. We saw the biggest gecko I have ever seen by our pool!
More Day 3 in Cambodia
Can you believe I'm still writing about the same day? Blogger wouldn't let me post any more photos on the last entry so I had to start a new one!
Our last stop for the day was at a Traditional Cambodian dinner and dance show. The kids enjoyed the Khmer buffet...it's a good thing my kids are such great eaters! They liked the fried rice, french fries (since when is that Cambodian food?) and fruit. I liked the chicken curry soup - didn't eat the chicken though b/c it looked gross but the potatoes and broth were delish with some white rice mixed in...yummy! I also tried fish amok which is Cambodia's national dish; fish curry cooked in a banana leaf. It wasn't too bad. However, my favorite thing to eat is the yummy soup that Cambodians eat for breakfast and I ate it in the hotel every morning...it's just like Vietnamese pho but the Cambodian version. Basically it's a noodle soup in a broth with fresh veggies. It's soooo good!
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