Monster Mash

We have created another dance video! This time it is for Halloween.

Auntie Gabby joins us in this one.

So here it is....

Lin-Ley's Love Of Reading

Lin-Ley has developed quite a love of reading. In an effort to encourage this new passion I try to bring home books from the library weekly. After this weekend I now know that weekly will no longer be sufficient.

I brought home six books on Friday. By Saturday evening she had read them all and directed me on which books I should bring home tomorrow.

These books (part of the Rainbow Magic series by Scholastic) are around 65 pages each. There are books about rainbow fairies, jewel fairies, animal fairies, and on and on. If you have a reader at or around the 2nd grade level check out these books. This is a link to their official website: http://www.rainbowmagiconline.com

We are so pleased with Lin-Ley's love of reading!!

Because she has enjoyed these books so much I thought I would pass on these great and entertaining books for your reader.

Happy Reading! We will see you at the library!!

Quote Of The Day:

I've traveled the world twice over,
Met the famous; saints and sinners,
Poets and artists, kings and queens,
Old stars and hopeful beginners,
I've been where no one's been before,
Learned secrets from writers and cooks,
All with one library ticket
To the wonderful world of books.
~Anonymous~

Our 2nd Grader and Our BIG Boy

Lin-Ley began 2nd grade last week! We took the annual photo outside at her bus stop.






Lin-Ley and Tru pose with "the twins".














Our Big Boy news is... Tru wore big boy underwear to school AND stayed dry all day! Hallelujah! I know I can not expect perfection from this point forward but what a great start (finally).
Tru is still in preschool and will finally be old enough for Pre-K next year. He has a November birthday so he missed the cut-off for Pre-K this year by two months.


Our 2nd Grader and our Big Boy have been getting along remarkably well lately. We can usually find them in Lin-Ley's room playing dress up. Lin-Ley loves the fact that Tru follows (almost) all of her directions during play.
Tru seems to love it too.

Dallas has handled Tru's fondness for Princess dresses rather well. I did hear him, however, tell Lin-Ley that Tru could no longer wear the Cinderella ballet slippers.








P.S. Baby Groundhog is back. Well, actually, the baby is now full grown. I would have to describe it now as Mr. Groundhog because it looks like it has a large, black mustache. He can be found on, around, and under our front porch. The last time I spotted him he was walking along the sidewalk with a mouth full of pine straw and then took it under the porch to fluff up his bed.



Flower of Choice: Hibiscus.


He was kind enough to leave us one bloom.














If groundhogs could read this would be the note on our front porch right now:

Dear Mr. Groundhog,
We have left a nice, juicy apple for you. Just walk into the shiny silver box (trap) and enjoy your treat. Then Dallas and Lin-Ley will be happy to escort you to your new home (far away from ours).

Love,
Us (and our flowers)

Lady Liberty (Finally!)

New York City has always been a favorite destination for Dallas and me. We love the energy, sites and especially visiting the Statue of Liberty. The first time I saw her, as we rode across the water on the ferry much like all of the immigrants did so many years ago, she brought tears to my eyes. She is one of the true symbols of America and everything this country stands for.

When Lin-Ley came along we decided to name her after Lady Liberty. Therefore Lin-Ley became Lin-Ley Liberty.

Then here came Tru. He too was named after Lady Liberty. Tru's middle name is Zi-You. Zi you means liberty in Chinese.

However, until this past weekend, our children had never laid eyes on their namesake. (Bad parents!) I had a wild idea during the middle of last week that we should just go and take the kids to New York already! Why wait any longer? The thought was there but we had taken no real action to plan the trip.

Thursday rolled around and I decided to play around on Priceline.com to see if I could find a cheap hotel on the New Jersey side of Liberty Island. Of course, on Priceline if they find the hotel at the price you have agreed to pay you just bought yourself a hotel room. Without any expectations I agreed to pay the ridiculously low price of $80/night for a 4-star hotel. Price accepted! And with the click of my computer mouse we were on our way!

We left Friday after Lin-Ley was done at school, spent the night in a brand new, luxurious hotel that night and Saturday morning is was all about Lady Liberty! Finally!



We were on the first ferry of the morning.

This is the old train station (now the ferry station) where the immigrants, after their time at Ellis Island, were able to board trains to their ultimate destination in their new country.




The ferry's first stop was at Ellis Island.

Another view of Ellis Island.













There she was! Lin-Ley's first view of The Lady.

It was a wee bit sunny!












Lin-Ley strikes a pose with Lady Liberty.

(Every time we went to take her photo she would stick her arm up in the air to imitate the statue.)













Tru's turn. Not sure what he is doing here....















Dallas and the kids against the New York skyline.











Tru is still fascinated with pipes. He explained to us that water came out of this pipe.

Then he pretended the pipe was his camera. He kept yelling at us to smile at his camera.











Our little monkey.
Correction: One of our little monkeys.










Our cousin, Becky, just moved to NYC about three weeks earlier. She was able to meet us at Liberty Island.














We had to call it a day around 3PM.



One last look at Lady Liberty as we ride the Ferry back to the train station.


Inside the restored train station.





The abandoned train tracks.












If you are planning to visit the Statue of Liberty here are some tips:

1. You must buy a ticket to enter the Statue now. Last time we were there this was not necessary. It is suggested to buy your tickets ahead of time online. Here is the website:

http://www.statueoflibertytickets.com/

2. Backpacks and large purses are not allowed inside the Statue. There are lockers available but they go fast. You can take your cameras with you.

3. Be prepared for at least two security scans. You will go through security at the ferry station. Once on Liberty Island you can walk around the Statue freely. If you have a ticket to enter the Statue you will have a wait because security is quite extensive. We have never seen anything quite like that! Tru was scared to death.

4. Go early. The lines get long fast!

5. Warning - lunch on the island is expensive. But surprisingly good!


Quote of the Day:

By: Lin-Ley (before boarding the ferry)

"Why do they call it a ferry if there are no fairies on it?"