Ribbit

Leapin' lizards it's leap year! We didn't see any lizards today, but we saw plenty of leap frogs. I had the Activity Day kids over this afternoon and this is what we did: First, we discussed the parable of the Good Samaritan. We said that we probably won't find lots of beat-up people on the side of the road to serve in our lifetime. However, there are plenty of ways we can serve our neighbors. We made 8 secret service coupons for the boys to complete in the month of March. We then started our frog activities in honor of the day.


We made these cute paper plate frogs. I love how the boys made theirs so colorful. Don't they remind you of the poison tree frogs?


We also made some hoppin' origami frogs and raced them. I sent them home with a leapyear/frog wordsearch, maze, and coloring page. The frog cupcakes though, were definitely the favorite!

Happy Lear Year! I look forward to doing this again in 2012!!

Look who's turning 6

Julia, Kaleb, and Noe!!!

You're invited to their

birthday party at Tom Dragon

on Saturday, March 8th,

from 10:00 am - 12:30 pm.

Please RSVP to

Jennifer or Milena.

Let's have some fun!!!

Sympathetic Soul

I started a GoodReads account wanting to keep track of the books I read starting in 2008. However, I think I'll post my thoughts on my blog too as I can write more. I knew this book was sad before I started it, but since I got it twice for Christmas I decided to read it on my flight to Vegas and back. The back of the book told me it was about regret, redemption, and love. The regret is obvious, but I kept waiting for the redemption and for me it never came. Or at least it was way too little, too late. There was definitely love, but it was never expressed properly so it was never felt. That was truly heartbreaking to me. I just bawled my eyes out sitting on the plane surrounded by strangers. This book is beautifully written, but because it was so sad to me I have to say something that was hard for me to say before, but here goes- I didn't like this book.

On a tangent- I am a very emotional person. The things happening to my loved ones greatly affects me. But not just people I know, strangers too. I even feel strongly for fictitious characters in books and movies. Sometimes I feel like May Boatwright in The Secret Life of Bees, and the poor girl drowned herself! I'm not that extreme, but I think I have a big heart and even though I am shy I really care about others. I wanted to mention some movies I watched on my flight too that I really enjoyed:
Lars and the Real Girl
Martian Child
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
Sydney White
I watched 4 others too, but they just helped me pass the time, not worth mentioning. What books and movies do you like?

For the love of Vampires and Werewolves

I actually read these books in December (thank you Camille and Lori for lending them to me). But we just had our book group discussion on Thursday night about Twilight. The 2 main things we discussed were: why are these books such page turners? would you like your teenage daughters to read them? Most of us generally liked them as they were light, escapist entertainment. However, we all kind of thought Bella is a twit. What drew us to them then? Edward, Edward, Edward. Yes, we all love Edward! Even though he is a vampire, he is so good. He is the perfect guy and he adores Bella. Isn't that what every girl wants? (I think I have that with Leonard, I'm so lucky!) I found some good discussion questions on the blog "So Many Books, So Little Time."
The question I thought was the most interesting was "Did this book change your view of vampires? If so, how? Is it a positive or negative change?" We all agreed we like the Cullen's, but the other vampires were frankly, scary still. One comment brought up was that the Cullen's are "vegetarian" vampires, which means going against everything it is to be a vampire. There was a parallel made to those of us trying to live the gospel. Our natural man self tells us to do one thing, but we believe we can rise above that and be better, even though that can be truly challenging at times. Another comment compared the Cullen's diamond-sparkly skin in the sunshine to Celestial beings- interesting thought.

There was concern addressed about Bella being a role model for our teenage daughters. Let's face it, her whole identity was wrapped up in Edward. She was obsessed with him, and that's just not healthy. Our daughters should be confident in themselves, regardless if they have the love of a boy or not. Plus, even though there were only make-out scenes in the book there was a ton of sexual tension. If we want our daughters to "wait" until marriage is it healthy to read this? Edward was the hero again (although he was scared if he had sex with Bella he'd devour her too). In the real world, most boys aren't as strong. I know it's not fair, but we have to teach our daughters to be even stronger. I don't think girls realize the huge influence they have on boys.

Even though I did have my own concerns about these books, I still really enjoyed them. I look forward to reading Breaking Dawn and Midnight Sun. If Noe wants to read these books when she's a teenager, I will let her. I will also re-read them then and discuss them with her. I want her to be a strong girl, and I think by being close to her and talking with her about everything (even/especially the books she reads) will help her to be.

If you've read this post, please leave me a comment and let me know if you were Bella, who would you choose- Edward or Jacob???

Lantern Display

I was so lucky and got to go with the Kindergarteners on their field trip to the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall to see all of the lanterns on display for the lantern festival.


For the first half of the day Noe and I joined Kaleb with his class, then for the second half Kaleb & I joined Noe's class.


These smaller displays were made by the local middle schools.

There were also large parade-float displays made by the high schools.

There were also beautiful hand-painted lanterns hung all around the memorial hall.

I love roosters, so I had to get a close-up of this guy.

Hand-holding chain, so cute!

The Memorial Hall, and the big globe that they lit up at night.

While we were there we also watched the changing of the guard inside the memorial hall. I took a picture of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's statue, but it turned out too dark. So, I thought I'd add this statue that's out in the garden area, although I have no idea who he is.

An Engaging Evening with Jack Gantos

Every year TAS hosts a visiting author for a week. During the week s/he gives presentations to all of the elementary, middle, and high school students along with a family night. Last night was family night for Mr. Jack Gantos. I was a little reluctant to go because he has a bit of a shady past and some of his novels have controversial topics. However, he was phenomenol! He was truly inspiring, giving tips for parents to help their children's writing, and he also surfaced Len's and my burried desire to work on getting our own stories written and published. Here are some things he said that made me go "aha!"
Most of us read at a level far above our writing level.
To be a good writer you must be a good reader.
To be a good writer you must write! He recommends writing for 10 minutes a day.
To help children get started writing, have them draw a picture first.
He encouraged us to have our children actually make books of their stories and illustrations including covers, a dedication page, and their photo with an "about the author" caption. He even said we could include some blank pages for people who read their books to leave comments. After all he said, when you write a book, you want it published, sitting on a library shelf, and you want someone to check it out!
My favorite thing that he said was that you should choose your literature like you choose dessert, it should be delicious!
At the end of the presentation he signed books and t-shirts. We got all 3 kids a Rotten Ralph story and the kids were so excited to get his signature.
Rotten Ralph Feels Rotten- Kaleb
Best in Show for Rotten Ralph- Noe
Practice Makes Perfect for Rotten Ralph- Gavin.



*Flashback to last year's visiting author Donna Jo Napoli. She gave an enjoyable presentation as well, and she signed books for all 5 of us.
Leonard- Song of the Magdalene
Jennifer- Bound
Kaleb- Bobby the Bold
Noe- Pink Magic
Gavin- Albert
Wouldn't it be great to get a book published some day and get to go to book signings and sign YOUR name for others?

**Sub-post= 5 Taxi Rides
Our little Gavin must have a reflux condition because whenever he coughs hard he vomits. Unfortunately, last night Leonard was his target again and it happened right in the middle of Mr. Gantos' presentation. Kaleb and Noe were sitting on the floor at the front, so I followed Len and Gavin to the bathroom to help them get cleaned up. I didn't come as prepared this time as I did last Friday. Len decided he would just take Gavin home in a taxi and I would stay with Kaleb and Noe. So the 2 of them left with Gavin barechested and Len wearing only his garment top (yes, he was mortified and he held Gavin really close as his shield). About 25 minutes later, they both came strolling back. In our effort to be discreet, we forgot that the house keys were in the diaper bag with me. So they took taxi ride #2 back to the school to get the keys and then taxi ride #3 to go back home. After the presentation and the book signings I gathered up a very tired Kaleb and Noe to head out to the parking garage down the street. I didn't get far when I realized I didn't have the garage card to get our van out, it was in Len's pants pocket. Taxi #4 took Kaleb, Noe, and me home. After we got the 3 kids in bed, Len took taxi #5 back to the parking garage. We finally got it right with keys, cards, and money so Len was able to bring our van back home. This morning when Kaleb woke up the first thing he said was, "Is our van home?" Yes we assured him, it was safe and sound in our little parking spot in our own basement parking garage. Whew!

The $18 Car Crash

Scooter vs. Van, who will win?

This year, Leonard and I have made Friday nights our date nights. We rotate through Ward Temple Night, Len & Jen date, Len & child date, Jen & child date, and the whole family date. So far, so good- we've been consistent. Anyway, this past Friday we decided to have a family date. We took the kids out to Chili's for dinner and then went to see the movie Enchanted. We all enjoyed ourselves, except during the movie Gavin threw up all over himself and Leonard. Luckily, I came prepared. We whipped off Gavin's clothes and put them in a plastic bag I brought and got him snuggled into his spare set of clothes. Len added his shirt to the plastic bag and just wore his jacket as a shirt. We were sitting in the side section and pretty much had it all to ourselves, so I don't think we distracted anyone from their viewing pleasure.

After the movie, we started turning right out of the parking lot when all of a sudden a scooter is in our lane heading straight for us. Unfortunately, we couldn't stop in time and we collided. Fortunately, we were only going about 5 mph and the scooter was only going about 10, so the driver appeared to be uninjured. As soon as we stopped, I jumped out of the van to see if he was ok. Len asked him if we should call an ambulance for him or the police or what we should do. We didn't really know the protocol since this was our first foreign traffic incident. The guy didn't say much, so Len gave him his office number and said to call him on Monday (his cell phone is lost and he didn't want to give him our home number). I picked up a piece of broken plastic from the scooter's light and handed it to the guy and he started the scooter and drove off into the night.

Monday at work, he called Leonard and said he had a broken arm and leg and asked Len what he would do about it. What the? If he had a broken arm and leg it was not from our collision. Len told him he would talk to his local staff and call him back. His assistant called the International Police who told her to call the Traffic Police. They told Len to set up an appointment with the guy and then they would come to hear both sides of the case.

So last night was the big "hearing." The scooter guy came with his mom who seemed surprised that the traffic cops were there. The boy showed his bandages on his arm and leg where they had been scratched and his doctor put iodine on them. So that was his broken arm and leg, apparently something got lost in translation earlier. He also said he paid $1,200 NT to repair his scooter. The cop asked if Len was willing to agree to 50/50 and pay $600 NT or if he'd rather file a report and wait months to see a Judge and then have the Insurance Companies pay, etc. Len voiced his concern that he wanted to be responsible for whatever was his fault, but he also didn't want to be taken advantage of either. He wanted assurance that if he paid now, there would be nothing else brought up in the future. The cop said he would write a report that the dispute was resolved between the parties and the case would be closed. Len then agreed to pay the entire $600 then (remember, this is only about $18 US). He also told the scooter guy that he had no hard feelings towards him, and he hoped for the same. The scooter guy told Len that he didn't, and the cop also assured him that they didn't think he was a crazy foreigner or anything. So then they all walked away, end of story.

When Len got home and told me, we were both so grateful and shocked that it was all so simple. Coming from litigating countries we were expecting much worse. It's too bad that people from our countries can't learn to be more civil towards their neighbors and get over the sue-happy way of life.

Will you be my Valentine?

It's Valentine's Day again, and I'm so lucky that I have 4 special Valentines!



Kaleb, will you 'choo choo choose me?' At 5 years old you love to learn! You love to read new books and you love it when I read to you. Some of your favorite topics are transportation vehicles and the solar system. I love when you come to me with your cute puckered lips and I love your tenderness.
The kids' school doesn't exchange Valentines (which I think is unfortunate), but Kaleb came home with some sweet treats from his teacher. Later I found a somewhat wilted rose and some fabric hearts in his back pack from a couple of girls in his class.


Noe, 'you rock my boat!' You are such a spirited little girl. You love to dance and sing along to any song (your speed for picking up lyrics amazes me!) You also love to play with your dollies and you still love dinosaurs. I love your sweet prayers (that our family will be together forever) and how in-tune you are with me.
Noe's class actually made valentines for each other today in school. She came home with this cute Love Bug tote filled with them and some goodies from her teacher.


Gavin, 'you're a great catch!' At 14 months you are just a sugar drop! You love being a member of our family and we love having you with us! You love to put toys in and out (like your Little People in and out of the School Bus), you love to chase rolling balls, and you love your Baby Einstein DVD's. I love your sweet laugh and cute little voice, your slobbery kisses and your sweet bear hugs.
This guy is seriously always happy! He is such a joy to have around and a good example to me.


Leonard, you have the key to my heart! Cheesey, I know (but remember I went shopping at Victoria's Secret earlier). You love current events and have such a memory for detail and knowledge on how to make the world a better place, and I know you will do it (you already are!) I love the wonderful man that you are and how you take such good care of me and our children. I love that you love me too.


I got spoiled this year by having 4 Valentines, and I also got spoiled by my sneaky husband. On our flight to Hong Kong I pointed out a pretty necklace and bracelet from Swarovski. On our return flight that little stink got both for me to surprise me with today. He also got me a box of my favorite- Almond Roca.
I love my sweet family!

Weekend Warrior

Wednesday evening, I left Taiwan at 4:40 pm. I flew to Los Angeles and then on to Las Vegas and arrived at 4:46 pm. Isn't it cool that my trip half-way around the world took only 6 minutes? Mom picked me up with this gorgeous bouquet of a dozen tulips. We went out to dinner at Carraba's with Coleman, Mandy, Me, Mom, Papa, and Kristopher.


Thursday, Mom & I shopped until we dropped! Seriously! I got stuff for my family at The Children's Place, Bath & Body Works, Victoria's Secret, JCPenney, Dick's Sporting Goods, Kirkland's Home, Toys 'R Us, Best Buy, Wal-mart and Target. Whew! We also had lunch at Baja Fresh.




Thursday night, we went to a Scrapbook class and made these 4 darling pages.



On Friday, we went out to lunch at The Olive Garden then we toured some model homes. This is one of our favorite activities to do together. We love to get ideas for different floor plans, but mainly we love to get new decorating ideas. Aren't these rooms for a little girl and a little boy too cute?

Friday night, Mandy, Lynn, and Aunt Debbi joined us to see the movie "27 Dresses"- so cute! We also got dessert afterwards at Golden Spoon.

On Saturday I got my hair cut and colored. I love the color (thanks mom). I hate the cut (thanks Pablo). Ugh! It will grow out, right? I drowned my sorrows in delicious Marie Callender's pies! Would you like some? There's Lemon Cream Cheese, Chocolate Satin, Coconut Cream, Cheesecake, and Apple. We had the Barlow and Reil families over to join us. (Leslie, how was your cruise?)

Papa, Mom, Mandy & Coleman,

Kris, Jack, Conner, Aunt Susie, Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Connie & Rachel,

Aunt Debbi, Me, Janalyn, Jake, Brett & Brooke.

Sunday morning I went on another 2 airplane rides and arrived back in Taiwan on Monday night. I enjoyed every minute of my little weekend getaway, but I was thrilled to be back home with my little family. Thank you Leonard, Kaleb, Noe, and Gavin. I love you all so much!