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.