A Stroll on the Beach

We are not quite sure what this is. We asked Ken and Diane and they had no idea either! It looks like string n=but they think it may be some seaweed.
Grace we found shells!!!! We will be bringing them home.

Seaweed.

Dad chasing the birds.

The foot prints of the seagulls. (would that be right? Since birds don't have feet?)

Palm Trees of All Sizes

Can you see Dad in between these tall ones?
This is a medium one, Dad is trying to make this look like a hat. Do you think it looks like a hat?
This is a small tree. Does it look like Dad is holding it in his hand?

An Afternoon with "Good Intentions"

Ken and Diane have a 3o foot boat called "Good Intentions" . We took the boat out today and had a wonderful time!

The view as we leave the slip

Dad says that I look good in a boat....What do you think? ;)
Birds on the break wave.
It sure looks like snow but it isn't! :) Yuck!
The wake of the boat as we go really fast!
Dad with his new hat.

These are some of the amazing homes we saw on the bay...


This castle photo is for Grace, we thought she would like it!
Almost like Italy!

Uncle Ken and Dad.
This one is for you Mom! Simple Green's headquarters!

Some of the houses had pirates Asa!

Rainbow Marina

We went to Rainbow Marina last night. It was what felt like a cool Duluth summer night (jackets required). This area is similar to the board walk in Duluth. Lots of boats and water with beautiful shops and landscaping.

Rainbow Marina as seen from the lighthouse (see the color changing lighthouse below this post and the Queen Mary).

The Queen Mary.

This lighthouse changes color and I tried to get some pictures-they only kinda turned out, but you get the idea. :) It looked like the lighthouse was translucent and lit from the inside but it is actually white and has the colors projected on to it.

We Have Arrived in Long Beach!

Yeah for vacation! We knew this was going to be a great vacation when we went to the ticket counter and upgraded to First Class! :) It was either that or sit a part from each other in coach (which it seemed opposite of vacationing together). It was a long but really comfortable flight here. We waited a full hour for our luggage but it finally came! Ken and Diane came and picked us up at LAX, they were so kind to stay up late to come get us!

We lounged around this morning and then Diane gave us a quick tour by car of Long Beach so we knew which way was which when we ventured out on our own.

We went out to lunch and then off to take some photos from the list that Grace and Asa gave us before we left.

The Condo in which we are staying.

This is a photo from the Rite Aid across the street. We found it funny that they sold liquor so close to the kids toys!
This photo is for Asa put "art" on the list of things for me to take pictures of.
This is what greeted us at the Long Beach Art Museum. I guess its art at least thats what I am told. :)

Our First Outing

We went out for lunch today at this restaurant that is just across the street from the Condo. Really good Greek food. We sat in the outdoor section and loved the sun (me more so than Dad, he forgot his hat and didn't want to sunburn the top of his head. We sat surrounded by gardens and birds. The birds were not afraid of people at all! They were flying so close one brushed my hair as he flew by!



There were many great little statues in and around the gardens.

Pictures from "The List- Trees"

Here are some Palm Tree's Asa!
This tree (I have no idea what it's called) reminded both Dad and I of a hairless cat, it almost seemed to have no bark on it. It was very smooth.
I thought this tree was just pretty. We sat under it and enjoyed the weather for a while.
Another Palm tree! They are all over down here Asa. Some are very tall while others are just "medium" sized. The look like they would be hard to climb because they have pointy "leaves" around the trunk. (Oh and for the grown ups...don't those 6 ceders look like a set up from the AT&T cell phone commercial?)

Finally an Update

Hello all! It has been quite some time since I have posted. I will try to give you a quick rundown of the past month and a half. :)

I am healing well from my surgery although it seems to be taking much longer than I remember, but the doctor assures me I am doing well. Barnabas and I are going on our first ever vacation- and its kid free too! We are celebrating 8 years of marriage and the fact that I am on my way to well. This morning I woke up with a 101.7 temp along with a migraine and it hurt like crazy to swallow, I was convinced I had mono and it was going to ruin the vacation (we leave Thursday). But thankfully it is just strep and I have antibiotics and should be feeling great by Thursday!

Grace just had her second set of conferences. Her teacher told us that "something has clicked for Grace" and she is doing incredibly well with Chinese language and is in the top of her class for math! (Im trying not to brag too much) ;). She loves her school and is also doing wonderfully in her violin classes! She was the first in her class to play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

Asa is getting very excited to go to Yinghua next year. He and Grace will be going to Chinese summer camp this summer. It will be very helpful for him to transition into school and it will be great for Grace to stay on top of the language. Asa has been a pretty emotional guy as of late. He is currently on the porch pouting because its too cold in the house. I have no idea how the porch is warmer than the house, but he is 5 and has it all figured out....sigh.

Zeke is...well Zeke. Barb tells me that Zeke's demeanor is very reminiscent of Jed's. Zeke has been picking up words here and there but prefers to not use them. He is a very sweet boy and incredibly funny. He rarely speaks with out being spoken to, but this past Sunday he was enjoying his easter basket and he looked up at me and said with a mouth full of jelly beans "I wike it!!" and gave me an emphatic thumbs up. I laughed hard at that one, so did he. Grace has had a killer stuffy nose as of late. We have been working with her and blowing her nose. "Blow harder Grace, you can do it." Today while Barnabas was taking the boys to go pick up Grace there was silence in the car (Asa had fallen asleep). And he heard Zeke say "Blow...harder....nose. Eyes...ears...mouth...head...hair."

Barnabas is still working at Reuters and loving it, he is very challenged and having a great time learning so much. He has been walking to work these days. We look forward to getting back to "normal" life here soon. As of April 3rd I will be able to lift things over 10 pounds! We have been blessed by our parents. They have been staying with us to help out with the kids, its been wonderful!

Alright that is the nutshell. We will be posting photos of our vacation for the kids (they will be staying with the grandparents while we are gone) so to help them not be home sick we will be doing photos for them on the blog, check back...

So Proud

Asa came downstairs like this today. What can I say...