CHINESE SCHOOL

Last month Angie from our China playgroup told us about the Chinese class that her and her two kids go to, so mama decided to have Mimi try it out and last week Saturday we did just that. Michelle the teacher (and her family) live in Auburn which is about a 25 minute drive from us. Mimi really had a good time last week. Michelle is so very nice to everyone so we decided to continue with the classes. The classes are every Saturday morning from 10:00 - 11:00 and she charges only $5.00 per family. Not bad at all. As of now Michelle does not have a license to teach Chinese at school but she is in the process of getting one. She just does the teaching on the side. According to another dad who is a teacher, he says that the government had approved of the Kent school district to have Chinese immersion classes at their school. Mimi unfortunately is in a different district.

Today the class consisted of only Mimi and Tai plus their parents. Tai just turned 6. I cannot for the life of me remember from what part of China Tai hails from. According to his mom Angie, while they were in the process of doing the paperwork for Tai, she became surprisingly pregnant with their now little girl. So now Tai has a little sister which is probably why when Mimi tries to play with him, he just looks at her like "Oh alright!" then proceed to roll his eyes. Plus he is at the age when the boys do not particularly care for playing with the girls. At least that is the way it is at Mimi's school. Mimi sometimes has a hard time wrapping that concept around her brain since Blake is her best friend.

MIMI AND COMPANY

Today the weather was absolutely gorgeous. What started out as a playdate with Erin and Blake over at Erin's house ended up being a neighborhood playdate at Mimi's.

Janet had invitedMimi and Blake to come over and play with Erin this morning. Keri brought over the bouncer which made for a whole lot of fun for the kids. In the meantime mama went back home to cook up some lunch for them (grilled cheese sandwiches) then called for them to come and eat. They all were having too much fun to eat so they just nibbled now and then.

Mama decided that it was way to nice outside so back to Janet's house and the park we went. While there Elissa and her big brother Justin came by to play with the kids. Then they all decided that they wanted to come back to Mimi's house to play. The moms all came too. Mimi was in her glory. She absolutely loves having friends over to the house.

SUPER SONICS

Once again only a few days ago the people of Seattle knew it, now the whole world especially the sports world. The people of Seattle had been lied to and betrayed by the owners of the Sonics. All along the owners had been telling us how much they (the new owners) want to keep the Sonics in Seattle while at the same time were making plans to move them to Oklahoma City. E-mails have surfaced to prove that they had no intentions of keeping them here in the first place.

Discussions were held to see what can be done about the Key Arena where the Sonics play or even possibly building a new arena in Renton our neighboring city. All this news has gotten the people of Washington really ticked off.

Now the Governor has become involved and is talking to the NBA muckety mucks to see what can be done to keep them here. We shall see what unfolds in the upcoming weeks ahead.

LUNCH WITH PAPA

Since the kids up here in the Northwest are on Spring break, mama who is feeling a bit better but completely lost her voice has decided to take Mimi to downtown Seattle for lunch with papa. Papa's office is located on the 24th floor with windows that go clear around the whole building. From his office one can get a great view of Seattle. Mama tried to get a picture of Mimi and papa with the Q-West (quest) field in the background. That's where the Seahawks play their home games. The other pictures of Mimi and papa in front of the two model buildings are the ones that papa is working on at this present time.

Next on the agenda was lunch at the great Italian place across the street from the office. Mama is currently experiencing a senior moment and cannot for the life of her remember the name of the place. The food there is absolutely to die for. Unfortunately mama forgot to take pictures of the food unlike her friend Princess Teri. None the less we dined on dungeoness crab salad, smoked salmon ravioli and mac 'n' cheese (their own private recipe).

Finally no trip to downtown Seattle is made without stopping at Uwajimaya Asian Market.

Upon arriving home, mama heard on the news that the emissary for the Dalai Lama was in Seattle and we missed him. Doggone it!!!

E-MAIL FROM SAMANTHA

Day by day Mimi is getting more computer savvy. YIKES!!!

BAR - B - CUBED

According to Mimi, the word is bar-b-cubed. This past week mama and papa have been recuperating from the virus that has been going around our small community. Mama has not been feeling up to cooking tonight and papa worked late. Therefore we ordered out and had a video night. As you might have guessed, we watched Alvin and the chipmunks. So not only is the chicken bar-b-cubed but also Alvin is a "prototype" (new word she learned from the movie) according to Mimi.

BOOSTER SEATS---OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW

Mama is writing this particular story with our good friends the Fratkin's in mind.

About a month or two ago, not sure when as everything is a blur now a days. One day seems to run into the next. None the less our Mimi can now use a booster seat. YIPEE is what mama said until she realized it was a big pain in the tuckuss. We were given the seat on the right by grandpa and grandma (bless their hearts) but the problem was that for the life of her, Mimi could not buckle or unbuckle herself. She needed help from mama which was no easy feat. With mama's short arms and Dolly Parton boobs it really looked like a three ring circus getting in and out of the car. I should have sold tickets to see the show. I'll bet I could have made a million dollars.

The other day while shopping at Walmart, mama found this backless booster seat made by Graco and she bought it. Blake has the same one and both he and Mimi can work it by themselves 99.9% of the time. It also comes with cupholders in the front right and left corners of the seat. By the way, in this picture, Mimi did the buckling up herself. Almost forgot to mention that Mimi really likes it a lot.