WALL BALL

For quite some time now Mimi has learned to play wall ball at school and is loving it. Today the sun is trying to peek out from behind the clouds, so at this very moment is is soooooo gorgeous outside with the bluest sky and the whitest of white clouds.

This afternoon I learned that the dog Brandy is taking care attacked her cat and the cat had to be sent to kitty heaven. I figured that she was/is not in the mood to cook dinner so I brought some over to her and her family. On the way back to my house I met up with Scott and his daughter Natalie who is 9yo. They were on their way to the school to play wall ball and invited Mimi to join them. Of course dad wanted to go to since Scott is dad's playmate. They have their own playdates sometimes too.

So now the girls are with their dads and I get some "me time" Woo Hoo!

MEMORIAL DAY GET TOGETHER

Last night Janet invited all of us over to their house for a Memorial Day BBQ. Not pictured are the 6 boys all under the age of 5. All of Mimi's friends (L to R, Mimi, Olivia, Halliwell, Erin) have at least one other sibling. Hopefully by December of this year Mimi will have hers.

What happens when you put 2 girls + 2 girls together? The claws come out and someone's feelings get hurt. That's what. For the most part the girls play beautifully together. The boys were being boys. Rambunctious would be the best word to describe them.

Just before going home, I saw Halliwell crying. Did not know why though, so I asked Mimi "what happened?" Of course I got the usual answer "I dunno" Finally the story came out. Not sure of who said what but apparently someone ( I'm pretty sure it was Halli) had mentioned that she was having a sleepover with Erin after dinner last night and it was just going to be those two and not anyone else. Then Olivia said that she was going to have Mimi sleepover with her. Halli who can at times get very jealous of Mimi started to cry to her mom "Olivia said she is going to have Mimi over for a sleepover and not me.......". It's getting to the point now where Mimi does not share much info as to what she does in her free time because somebody somewhere ends up with hurt feelings.

The parents were having the time of their lives downstairs swapping stories about our wildlife out here in the country and catching up on the latest gossip and such. Mimi was quite pleased when she found out that her other friend Alex will be taking Karate this summer along with her and Blake.

GOOFING AROUND

SLEEPOVER CONTINUED

The kids ended up not sleeping over Friday night but yesterday
instead. Blake and Bailey were great. All the kids had loads of fun
all day and all night.

Sent from my iPhone

SLEEPOVER

This past Friday was no school due to the fact that it was teacher
day. I told Mimi that the teacher is most likely getting together to
discuss next year's classroom assignments. "You mean they talk about
us???" the wide eyed girl asked.

So since they didn't have school, our house was full of kids and I
absolutely loved it. First Elsie came to spend the day. Because of the
Regionals that the girls were in, Rhonda had to make up lost time for
work and then there were errands to run. Something which Elsie hates
to do. Then in the afternoon we headed over to Blake's to pick him
and. Bailey up since Keri had work to go to. We all then headed over
to McDonsld's for some play time. Next thing we knew it was gym time
for Mimi and Elsie. Blake and Bailey were just great while waiting for
Mimi to finish. Everyone made comments on how well behaved they were.
Next thing I knew it was time for all of us to head home. Elsie with
her mom and the rest with me. Blake and Bailey both said that they
were having so much fun hanging out with Mimi and me that they did not
want to go home. I can't understand why they felt they were having
much fun cause all they saw was me yelling at Mimi to just chill out
and calm down. The girl gets soooooo excited when it comes to her
friends. By this time Wade was home but the kids wanted to come to our
house and so they did. They the nwanted a sleepover and Wade being the
bright man that he is said "we need to ask mom." There is no sign on
his forhead that says "stupid". Oh the kids just wailed and wailed
when he brought them home. Made me feel good to know that they love
coming over to the house especially little Bailey. Last year she would
not give me the time of day. She just loves hanging out with her big
brother and Mimi. They don't always feel the same way about her but
they all just played beautifully together.

Sent from my iPhone

AUDREY "TING TING" AND OLIVIA

Audrey was just a baby back in 2004 when she and her family came back from China with us. Both she and Mimi bonded quickly. Both Audrey and her family are in China now picking up her new little sister Olivia. If it wasn't for the operation that I had several years ago, we would be in China now too picking up Mimi's little sister Mei Lin. But I guess that all things happen for a reason that is unknown to us sometimes. Audrey's family is part of group 120 and we are group 123. I am still hoping that we will be in China by Christmas of this year.

FIRST COMES THE BLOSSOM.....

Then comes the fruit. Hopefully come this fall we will have some
delicious Washington apples. That is if Butch doesn't get to them
first like the bot did last year.

FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!

Yesterday it was Samantha's school that had the fire trucks out. This morning the fire trucks were out in force at Mimi's school. When we arrived, we saw everyone lined up outside on the playground. Apparently there was a fire and the alarm went off.

The good thing is........there was no rain at the time. I have heard that "true Washintionians" do not carry umbrellas at any given time. Therefore the majority of kids do not carry umbrellas with them. Mimi has become one of them. Most of the time she refuses to use her umbrella so I have just thrown in the towel when it comes to bringing one for her.

The principal came out and said that they don't know what the problem was but that the firemen said it was safe to go back in and in a orderly fashion the kids went back to their classrooms.

IT STARTED

I knew the day would come when the girl would figure out how to slide
down the banister. The question was ...... When?

SEAHURST PARK

All of the first graders at Mimi's school have been studying Marine Life for the past couple of weeks. Today and tomorrow they will be making the trek to Seahurst Park. The majority of Mimi's close friends have gone today. Zoe will be going tomorrow.

I must say that it is quite a place. Never knew that such a place existed not far from home. Seahurst Park is located in the Puget Sound area of Burien which is just a little past the Sea-Tac airport.

The kids were quite excited about seeing all of the live marine life. This is something new for me too. Although I grew up near the beach in Long Beach, Californina, I have never seen live crabs, starfish and such come out of the ocean.

This definitely a place to come back to this summer.

AMERICAN IDOL, THE GIRL IS NOT

With the getting everyone including Butch and Stanley ready for the competition, I forgot to pack Mimi's books for her to read in the hotel and car. ARGH!!!!!!! I did however remember to pack the necessities such as gym bag complete with appropriate clothing, things to do while waiting and snacks.

Since I forgot the books so to speak, Mimi decided at the hotel that she would get some religion in and started to read the Holy Bible and The Book of Mormon.

On the way home she gave us a musical concert of "High School Musical".

I will definitely remember the books on the next go around.

AFTER COMPETITION POOL PARTY

When the competition and dinner was over, the girls could not wait to get into the hotel pool for some fun. Mimi has already had some lessons in swimming and is quite proficient but she is still way too small for her feet to touch the bottom of the pool. Therefore against her wishes, I had her wear the life jacket and had dad go into the pool with her. He would have done so anyway. It was a good thing that she was wearing her life jacket. Dad said that Elsie and Emma did not have a jacket with them and they kept going under the water. He said that a couple of times he had to pull them out and bring them to the sidelines. Otherwise they would have an older girl hold them. As for myself, I had to leave the room. The chlorine was way too much for me to handle. I can't take that stuff. Makes me sick and burns my eyes.

COACH KELLY AND HER TEAM MATES

After all was said and done at the meet, we were all really, really, really HUNGRY. So off to Chili's we went. The girl between Mimi and Elsie is Emily. She is the one who lost her tooth at the hands of Dr. Elsie Rochleau.

OUR LITTLEY GYMNAST

We are so darn proud of her. Reminicising back to when she came into our lives, who'd ever thought that she would turn out to be a gymnast? I guess I should have seen it coming when she was jumping in the hotel crib and broke it when we were on our first trip to Portland Oregon for Tom and Eloise's wedding. She went from that to jumping on furniture and now it is the trampoline. I know that dad's chest is so swollen that we may have to go out buy some new shirts today.

TWO FIDGETY GYMNASTS

Mimi and Elsie cannot stay still if their life depended on it. Here they are playing Quack Dilly Oh So.These two are soooo much alike but yet soooooo different.

JUST HANG'IN AROUND

Saturday finally came so it was either wait at the hotel or wait at the gym with your friends. We chose the latter for a couple of reasons. One was because we wanted to be with our friends and the other was because although Mimi did not have to be there early we wanted to allow enough driving time in case we got lost since we did not know the area well. We did get slightly lost due to unexpected road blocks and down pour rain. None the less we still had a long, Long, LONG, waiting time. We got to the gym around 12:30 and by the time we finished it was darn near 7:30 in the evening.

RETIRED DENTIST

I have officially retired from dentistry. It has been taken over by
Dr. Elsie Rochleau. Last night while at our team dinner at Chili's, I
saw Mimi and the other girls scrambling down on the floor looking for
something just did not know what it was.

This morning Emily's mom explained that last night Emily showed Elsie
her loose tooth and Elsie says "I'll pull it out for you." Then
proceeded to pull it out and drop it on the floor. "Here you go!" the
girl said.

Sent from my iPhone

DINNER AT FUDRUCKERS

We rolled into Meridian at about 6:00 this evening. Not long after we
arrived, the Rochleau's arrived. One by one the team is arriving in
town for tomorrow's reioanal competition here in Nampa Idaho. Being
that we are new on town, we did know of any good places to eat so we
thought that we would try put tje Fudruckers. This place has good food
and is more or less self serve. Mimi and Elsie had a blast like they
always do.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Eastern Washington/Oregon looks a whole lot like Riverside California,
really quite boring. You see nothing but cattle on each side of the
highway and a loong stretch of road down the middle. Then there are
the truckers.

REGIONALS HERE WE COME

As soon as school was over and dad came home, we headed out of Dodge
and on to Idaho.Actually we made the 3.5 hour trip to Kennewick, which is in Tri-Cities. It was about 8:00 in the evening and we were quite famished even though we all had a snack before making the trek down south. Boy did that Margarita Patron taste oh soooooo yummy. Another thing we had was wonton tacos. How about that? Instead of tortillas, it was a wonton shell stuffed with the taco meat, lettuce and tomatoes. Something new for me to try and make at home.

RARE FORM

Sometimes being a kid can be tough. Yesterday Mimi was in rare form. Usually I don't have much trouble with her but all day yesterday she was something else. Sometimes I wonder how a college educated person like I am can all of a sudden start babbling to herself. All morning I kept saying over and over "Mimi, it's time to get dressed and get ready for school" to which the girl would answer "OK mom". Only to find that she has decided to play with her Zhu Zhu pets instead. Next thing I know she has only 10 minutes left to down some cold cereal into her tummy before it is time to head out of the door. The same thing happened when she got home from school and she had to get ready in a hurry for gymnastic practice. Then at practice she was put into "time out" because she was not listening and goofing off. The girl had come upstairs to the balcony where all of the parents sit while their kids are in class. Mimi then started to play under the table. When I asked why she was there, she said that she was in time out. So I pointed over to the chair where she needed to be. It was only then that it started to sink in that we were not going to take any of he crap that she was giving out. When we were all home last night we talked to her about how important that it is that she listens to what we the parents and the coaches are telling her. Thankfully she is a bright child and today went without a hitch. Another reason the coaches are getting real serious with her is because tomorrow we are all getting ready to go to the Regional Competition in Idaho. The girls are both nervous and excited at the same time. Nervous about their performance on Saturday's competition but excited about going swimming in the pool at the hotel after the competiton.

BEING A TOMBOY......

Sometimes pays off. In general, women pay more for their up keep than men. However paying $60.00 for a toy baby stroller is something I would not do.

Now mind you, I said TOY baby stroller. Yep, that is how much Keri paid for Bailey's baby stroller. The girl is 3 years old. Says that she purchased it from The American Girl Catalog. Does she realize what she is getting into? Shelley says that she could have gotten a "real" baby stroller for that price. These are the times when I am really happy that Mimi is a tomboy and would prefer to climb trees instead of playing with dolls.

HER NAME IS LOLA

She is a show girl....... Although it did not happen this day, there
are times when she is all decked out in pink. Butch really likes to
play with her when we take Mimi to school. Sad part is she does not
care much for him. That's a woman for ya.

CALLING HIS BLUFF

Mimi and Blake. They play, they fight/argue, then back to playing again. That's the way it always goes. I can now hear them downstairs playing Wii and Blake getting upset with the way Mimi is playing. "I'm going home now Mimi" says the boy. "OK" says the girl. The boy looking quite astonished decided to stay. They are now at this very moment laughing and playing in her room.

RIP

Yesterday was out monthly get together with our China friends. Our dear friend Rhonda and her two girls are in the process of moving so I volunteered to take Elsie for the afternoon while the rest of her family packed boxes. Not much fun for 6 year olds to stay home and pack boxes you know. Mimi and Elsie always have a blast together so of course Elsie was super excited to come over to the house. The weather has been exceptionally gorgeous outside so the girls had fun playing in our wading pool and riding Big Mama around the backyard. next thing we knew it was time to head down to Auburn for our monthly get together. While driving through the "countryside" we came upon a abandoned SUV that ran off the road and right smack dab into a tree. After seeing the SUV kissing the tree, Mimi pipes up with "mom, that is a bad habit". We all just cracked up laughing. We all had a good time at dinner. We were able to meet one family's new addition from China. Actually they have two kids from China. Their name escapes me right now as I do not know them well as of yet. First they adopted their little girl when she was 7 months old. The baby is now 14 months and running (not walking) everywhere. Remind you of someone we all know and love? Just a couple of months of coming home from China with their baby, they went back again for their son Nathan who is SN. He is deaf. Then there was our other good friend Simone and her two girls ages 15 and 11. Their family had just come back from a homeland tour. They shared their experiences and pictures with everyone. It is definitely a trip worth taking at least once in your life. It is also a trip we hope to be taking when Mimi and her sister Mei Lin get older.

We got home around 9 and everyone was outside. So of course we had to join the fun. Next thing I knew Mimi was with her friends Maddie and Marissa and they were making two cemetary plots for the dead animals. Don't know how the humming bird died but the snake was accidently decapitated by their dad Rey. The girls felt that it was humane thing to do and had the animals buried last night. Mimi placed the flowers on the graves.

WEATHER OR NOT, THAT IS THE QUESTION

This week the weather has been amazingly just gorgeous. Not too hot nor too cold. Then there is the bluest skies you ever seen in Seattle or so the song goes. But it is not far from the truth. Yesterday evening the three of us all sat out in our backyard swing just enjoying the each other's company when out of the blue Mimi says "Hey! There's the first star. Let's make a wish. (always the same one. Which is let's go to China ASAP)" It is starting to get dark later now (9:00 pm). That was when we saw the star and made our wish together. I kept looking at "the star" when I noticed that something was different. It did not look like just one star. It look more like a ball of stars all in a cluster. Both Greg and my ladyfriends said that it may have been the planet Venus. "Really?" I asked. "You mean that you could see Venus with the naked eye?" They all said "yes". At night time there are soooooo many stars out. It sort of makes me want to go out and purchase a telescope.

MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND

"QUACK DILLY OSO"

I have no clue where this little ditty comes from. It's just what I hear the girls say when they play.

Mimi is getting older and it is starting to show. She is still quite physically active but she is slowing down just a smidgen. Hard to believe I know but true. Last September when she joined the team, she was usually sitting by herself while the other girls were playing hand games. Either she had no interest in it or did not know how to play it or that maybe because she was a newbie and did not know the other girls well except for Emma and Elsie. Emma and Elsie had already established their niche with this group of girls. None the less, it felt good to see that she was engaging in the games that the other girls were playing. This is what they were doing till it was their turn to take their personal photos.

TEAM PHOTOS

Yesterday after practice was photo day for the team. It was supposed to start at 5:30. Had I known then what I know now, I probably would have planned things differently. We did not get home till almost 8;45 in the evening and everyone knows how much Mimi loves her food. I thought that since the photo shoot was supposed to start at 5:30, we would be done by at least 7:00 in time for dinner. WRONG! We were famished when all was said and done.

MIMI'S FIRST NOVEL

FIRST GRADE CONCERT

It seems that the older Mimi gets the less time I have to write on her blog. Anyways, last night was the concert at school. She was sooooo excited about it. Practicing singing her songs all around the house for the past couple of weeks. However the girl can't sing a lick but I don't say anything so as to not hurt her feelings. It is the truth though.

Yesterday was also her gymnastic practice. So as soon as it was over, she came flying upstairs and says "WE GOTTA GO MOM!!! We have to be at the school by 6:15 and it is now 5:30!"

Since I know my Mimi quite well, I packed a dinner for her and she ate it on the way to school. This is not to mention the mac 'n' cheese she ate a couple of hours prior.

Oh the kids were soooo cute! Since Mimi's school has a total of 7 first grade classes, they broke up the concert into 2 parts. We were in the first part along with Blake, Halliwell and Zoe. Erin was in the second half.

The concert let out around 7:15 and dad and I were quite famished. So on to Black Diamond for dinner. This was the very first time we had ever gone there for dinner. Usually we go for the breakfast. Quite delicious I must say. Since both Mimi and myself enjoy BBQ. I ordered a full rack for the both of us. Mimi had half of the rack. I ate mostly the veggies with a couple pieces of the BBQ and there was still a half rack to take home. Then came dessert. Mimi had her usual vanilla ice cream. During dinner we saw a racoon outside. He moved to fast for me to get a picture shot of him. Not surprising to see a racoon in our neck of the woods. None the less it was a little surprising because the only racoons we have seen are in a zoo.

GUITAR HERO

Santa Claus brought dad this guitar hero for Christmas and he has yet to use it. Mom tried to use it but was unable to understand the directions on how to use it. All it took was a 7 year old Blake to show us how to play with it. Duh! Why did I not think of it sooner? Just ask a kid??? Here he is showing Mimi how to play with it.

The weather gal was right. We are in for a doozy of a thunderstorm starting this afternoon. It started rainning right on time. Now it is lightly rainning. Tomorrow it is supposed to get heavier and heavier and letting up by Wednesday.

Santa knew what he was doing went he gave us this guitar hero. The kids need something to do when it is crappy outside.

DINNER AT LA FOGATA

When all was said and done. Several of our team families headed over to La Fogata here in Maple Valley for dinner. Clockwise is Mimi, Elsie, Anaya and Emma.

TEAM AWARDS

Because Summit Gym teaches the girls and boys about team spirit, you will see all of the team members that competed yesterday and today recieving their award. The majority of the members from the other teams left as soon as they were done competing. Therefore there was only a handful of their team members attending the team awards.

STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Yesterday and today was the State Championships that was held in a nearby town of Renton. Only about a 20-30 minute drive from our house. Yesterday it was the big girls turn to compete and this morning it was the younger girls turn.

Normally Mimi wakes up at the crack of dawn but this morning she absolutely did not want to get out of bed. I admit that it was my fault this time. Yesterday she had school and then we went to the community center to give our support to her team mates. It was not required but highly recommended as her gym teaches team support. We only stayed for an hour till we went to Sara's house. Next thing I know it's 10:00 pm. HOLY CRAP! Therefore Mimi went to bed waaaay past her bedtime. Naturally she woke up grumpy as all get out.

"Do we have to go today? Can't we go next week?" the girl cried. The saga went on....."My leo is too tight" she cried some more. I had already talked to Debbie (team owner) about this situation. The thing about it is Mimi hates to wear tight clothing. Too binding I guess. The rules of the gym is that the leos are to fit rather snug so that when the girls do their routine, no private parts are showing.

We talked about it as we were getting ready. As I was not quite ready in time, I had Mimi and dad go ahead of me. On the way Mimi called to say she was feeling much better. Thank goodness she does not hold onto negative feelings long.

Long story short, she had a very good meet today. The last time she competed she did not get a medal only ribbons and was quite disappointed. We had a long talk about that one too. Today she recieved two medals and was quite pleased with herself. So am I. She has been working very hard to get those medals.