They're Gone.

Today, the girls moved out of our house and into their own basement suite, nice and close to the University. Well, they actually moved out yesterday, but after dropping them off at their place yesterday morning, Amy and I ran errands and attended a birthday party before we picked them up again and headed to the Corn Maze. We got home so late last night, that it didn't seem any different. Today, however, the house felt oddly empty, just like when Sean and Kristin leave.
They are coming back next weekend for dinner though, as it is the twins' birthday on Friday. I have a feeling we will be seeing a fair bit of them over the course of the year.

Corn Maze - September 25th

We went to our FCC's gathering at the Corn Maze on Saturday. Amy just loves this event as there is lots to do. It has really been raining here, so the maze itself was very muddy and wet. With so much to do, however, it was easy to avoid going in the maze altogether.

We began with a hay ride in a wagon pulled by massive Clydesdales.

Since the girls moved into our house, Amy has started this annoying habit of flashing the peace sign every time I take a picture. I try ignoring it, I try taking a quick picture or I just ask her to not do it (she does it anyway). Nothing seems to work. The girls joke that she is Chinese and that's just what Chinese kids do. Robin says, "Man, back in my day, that's what us hippies always did . . . until Nixon ruined it". Hmm. It still drives me crazy.

Amy and Aunty Carol on the horse drawn wagon ride.

We drove past the actual pumpkin patch during the hay ride.

The girls and Carol began making dinner. It was the girls' first experience with roasting wieners. For the record, they cooked their second ones on the BBQ's provided. Sheesh.

The Pumpkin Barn was a fun place to hang out and play with the pumpkins.

The girls and the 'pie pumpkins' we bought. Who knew there was such a thing? No pressure though. Thanksgiving is a couple of weeks away yet!

Up in the hay bale pyramid. She could spend all day there chasing her friends around.

Lantern Festival - September 24th

Friday was our Lantern Festival celebration. Our FCC group is invited to join in the festivities with a local mandarin school for pot luck dinner and the the much anticipated "running of the lanterns". After dinner, they make the kids sit through entertainment before handing over the lanterns. Let's just say it is one antsy audience. I think the bigger girls were a little envious that only the little ones got a lantern.

Gymnastics

Amy has begun Gymnastics class with her friends Sophie and Izzy and has been having a blast! They are like three peas in a pod. I am amazed at Amy's ability to perform these gymnastics maneuvers given the nightmares I used to have as a child the night before the gym class where we would have to perform the dreaded arm hang for the Canadian Fitness Test (if you went to school in the 70's and the 80's, then you'll know the anguish I'm referring to). Let's just say she doesn't get her athletic prowess from me.

I don't think I could ever have done that as a child.

The cartwheel is not perfected yet, but it's not for a lack of trying.

Now that looks fun.

She really works hard, drinks a ton of water and comes off sweating like crazy. And she loves it, especially the pink sparkly outfit!

Happy Half Birthday - September 20th

Amy celebrated her half birthday on the 20th. She is now officially four and a half and she makes sure everyone knows. As we were driving home, we happened to go past a cupcake shop, so we made a quick stop for some individually chosen tasty treats to mark the big day.

Robin was in Vancouver for a conference and I just happened to be talking to him on the phone when we snapped this picture, so technically, he's in the photo too.

The girls, of course, were very taken with their cupcakes and lots of picture taking ensued.

Anna's Updated Information - September 8th

We sent a care package though Ann from Red Thread and were delighted to get these pictures emailed to us. She is so beautiful.

Ann also included new information for us. Her height is 83.5 cm (33 inches), her weight is 10 kg (22 lbs), she has 16 teeth and her feet are size 3.

And yes, it looks like they shave her head!

I remember when we received new information about Amy. I was so excited and would stare at her picture and say, "We're coming to get you Baby. Hold on."

Now that I know how much Popo loved and cared for Amy, I look at Anna's pictures and think about the huge upheaval she will experience again in her short life. I think how she has a loving Mama now (I hope) and we're about to come in and take her away from everything she knows. As excited as I am, I feel sad for the trauma she will undoubtedly face.

Stay safe little one. We love you.

Krissy Comes to Visit - September 10th

Kristin came home on the weekend to be a bridesmaid in her friend's wedding. Given there were many functions related to the festivities to attend, we did not get to see much of her.

Amy, however, saw a fair bit of her beloved sister. On two different days, Kristin picked up Amy early from school and the two girls went out for lunch and shopping before Kristin had to head out for her other commitments.

On the Sunday night, Kristin did come home for dinner and she and Amy spent a long time playing hairdresser, with Kristin being the victim, umm, I mean lady and Amy being the stylist.
I think Amy was trying to braid Kristin's hair. I'm really glad she did not get her scissors out! It looks like Kristin's glad too.

The Girls - September 4th

Let's start this post off with an explanation. Yes, I know I'm behind in blogging, but I have three good excuses. Their names are Lin, Pin and Gui Hua.

In August, we signed up for a welcome program through our university whereby you are assigned an international student to pick up at the airport and either drop her off at her residence, or take her back to your house so she may sleep off the jet lag before heading off to her residence. I signed up as I thought it would be fun to get to know someone who spoke better Mandarin than we do, but our one student soon turned into twins. When I went to the airport to pick them up, they had another friend with them from the same college, so she came home with us too.

The brave girls, however, came here without a place to stay and we soon found out that finding an apartment on the long weekend before school starts is impossible. So they just stayed with us . . . and they're still with us. They actually have a place, but it is not available until the end of the month. I drive them to university in the morning, which is an hour drive, and then collect them enroute to Amy's school.

Needless-to-say, life has suddenly become busier, but fun too. The girls are wonderful with Amy and help out a tremendous amount around the house. We are always laughing at their delight in the new things they discover in our culture or at our mispronouncing our Mandarin words and phrases we are trying to learn.

They have never experienced any temperature below 22 C, so our weather is a bit of a shock to them . . . and it's only going to get worse! The first night they were here, we spent time outside taking pictures of their breath - something they had never experienced before.
They've been very interested in cooking and baking, given their specialty is instant noodles! I don't think they had much experience around the oven, but within minutes had completely taken over the cookie making one night.

Never have cookies been made in this house with such precision.

And the food combinations! They are constantly making fun of Robin and his need for sauce, but have certainly caught on when it comes to his love of ketchup. If you look closely, you can see the bottle of ketchup to be used with the tacos. I have to give them credit for trying everything we make, even if it does get covered in ketchup.

Yes, we will miss them when they leave later this month, but rumour has it we will be seeing a lot of them throughout the year.

United States of America - Aug. 31st to Sept. 3rd

Amy, my sister Carol and I jumped in the car and headed south to the "United States of America". This is exactly how Amy refers to the States, as this is how they learn it in school. Every time you asked her where we were going, this is how she would reply.

We were only there for two days, and one of those days was spent at the "Mall of the United States of America" - another quote. I don't think, however, that this is exactly what Amy has learned in school.

We spent the entire day there and I did not buy a thing, apart from consumables and a wrist band for all the great rides. As luck would have it, we ran into Diego as soon as we got off the elevator. Ahhh. Heaven. This was how we spent the entire day . . .

. . . with some not being nearly as exciting . . .

. . . as others.

The best part, however, was the Bumpy Cars! Amy has been facinated with these since she was about two and realized that she was too short to go on them. We told her that when she turned five, she would be able to go on them (assuming she would be tall enough by then). You can imagine her excitement when we discovered a kiddie version of the much coveted Bumpy Cars! She could have easily spent hours on this ride alone.

Life is good.

There really is nothing funnier than watching three and four year olds, who have no idea how to drive, try to drive. It was a spectacular day.

We stayed at my friends, Elisabeth and Kevin's house where Kevin very kindly showed Amy how to play the guitar.

The two of them played a duet with Amy strumming and Kevin carrying the melody.

Amy really enjoyed it.

So much so , that she began to serenade Kevin!

Then she spent so time with her adoring fans, Carol and Kathy.

She felt that she needed to help Kevin with his image, so she lent him her beloved pink, sparkly headband.

And then she taught him some yoga.

Then it was back to serenading both he and Elisabeth.

Thanks for the great United States of America Adventure, eh!

Entertaining - August 28th

We spent the last few days of August entertaining some of our friends. One day, we had some of Robin's co-workers over. A few of them were able to come early and enjoy a beautiful sunny day in the pool with their kids. I also hosted our annual Book Club family party where the members all bring their children. It should be noted that there never seems to be any books discussed at this meeting!

Amy enjoyed hanging out with her friends and so did I.

Weekend Celebration - August 21st

Our community had a celebration on the weekend and our sleepy little town turned into a very busy place. We seemed to gravitate towards the children's area, oddly enough, where there was a little train that both Daddy and Amy enjoyed. Let's just say that it took a long time for poor Robin to get both in and out of the car. What a great Daddy.
The pony rides were also a big hit with someone.

The catfish mascot, however, was a different story. I suppose he just looked too strange. I never thought of a catfish as being cute and cuddly before.

Luckily, we met up with a few friends, one of them being Sydney from soccer this spring. The girls teamed up and had a great time running from bouncer to bouncer.

We also met up with Wesley and his parents. Once the kids had had enough, we invited them all over for a swim and a beverage or two. Amy and Wesley decided that they needed a little down time and cuddled up on the couch with a snack.

On Sunday, the celebrations continued and we took in the helicopter rides. Amy loved the ride as did our friends Della, Cora and Arlene, who also come along.

We began the ride by flying over the locks in our town.

And then we headed toward our house. Because there were so many of us going, we went in two rides. Robin, Amy, Della and Cora went first, and then Arlene and I went later. I called Robin when we were taking off, so he and Amy would know when we were flying over. Arlene was able to get this great picture of Amy in the pool and Robin on the pool deck.

I love this picture of our house and surrounding area. It illustrates how the area adjacent to the river is treed and green, but less than half a kilometer away, the prairies take over again.

You can see the pool and house right in the bottom center of the picture. You can also see where our creek meets the river.