Saturday Walk

One of our favorite things to do on Saturday is to walk around McRitche in the forest, enjoying nature and exploring.  There are long vines that hang from the treetops here.  The kids love to grab onto them and swing in the jungle Tarzan style.  It is so lush and green here.  I know someday when the tropics are a distant memory, I will miss it.

Abigail's Book

Check out this link on amazon.  It is Abigail's e-book.  She and a friend paired up to write a children's book about water for her 6th grade science project on water awareness.  I was trying to post the book but I can't.  It is pretty cute.

http://www.amazon.com/Aquas-Water-Adventures-ebook/dp/B007T8FGFK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335619556&sr=8-1

Maggie's Concert

Maggie was in a school concert a few weeks ago.  They sang songs from around the world and she participated in a few dances and played one of the xylophones.  She is in the front row, to the right, wearing a yellow shirt.   

Science Museum

I took all the kids to the Science Museum here in Singapore for an outing during Spring break.  It has been quite some time, several years, since we have been.  It really was the first time I had kids old enough to really appreciate some of the more complex exhibits.  All the children had a great time though.  I was only able to snap a few pictures with my phone because most of the time I was trying to find Juliet.  The museum is a bit of a maze and she was a little ball of energy running all over the place pushing buttons.  It seemed like every time I turned around, she was missing. 

It looks like Xander is behind glass, but he isn't.  It is just a poor quality picture. I could reach out and tousle his hair.  See if you can figure out how this exhibit worked.

The fire IS behind glass in this picture. This was called a fire tornado and was a demonstration by museum workers.  We couldn't be in the picture because we had to stand back.

Abigail and Maggie especially loved all the exhibits on the human body and spent a lot of time on their own trying things out.

Homeward Bound

Well, we did it.  The papers are signed and the keys are in my purse. We bought a house in Minnesota and I haven't even seen it yet but I am so excited about it.  It is in a great school district and very close to Costco!  This is true, but I'm kidding.  It is close to Joseph's work and not too far from family.  We will be going to church in the same building Joseph's dad was Bishop when Joseph was 12 years old.  Now you all have a reason to come to Minnesota in case you missed us the last time around.  When I showed the kids the pictures, Xander started hopping up and down and asking, "Is there really snow at our new house?"  Yes, there really is snow there.  He hasn't ever seen snow that he remembers and it is terribly exciting to all the kids.

Here is one of the deciding things about the house: the property. Our yard is mostly woods that go down to this creek.  Our property ends at the creek. You can see the deer tracks on the frozen creek.  On the other side of the creek is a pretty steep bluff/hill with no houses.   From our back deck it is a cozy "cabin" atmosphere yet minutes from the beltway around Minneapolis.

You can see the house from the bank of the creek through the trees.  It is half an acre.  Not huge but perfect enough to explore and build forts.  

Morning Walk

I took these fun pictures of the girls out walking at Bishan Park with Conrad yesterday morning. (It is my phone camera which isn't that great.)  Ella is such a character.  She is more often "Sparkle" the dog, crawling around the house on all fours and eating out of dishes on the ground.  She says Conrad, our American Cocker, is her best friend.  She is by far the most passionate about dogs in the house.  

Valentine's Day

Can't forget Valentine's Day.  I bake the kids a special treat each year.  This year, I had the brilliant thought of doing something healthy and fun so it could double as breakfast the next morning.  I came across these purple carrots in the grocery store.  I've purchased them before because I thought they were interesting.  They taste exactly like orange carrots, only they are very purple and stain everything they touch.  After peeling and cutting them, my hands are a dark purple color.  I figured they must be quite healthy with all that color in them.  And purple, perfect for Valentine's day.  I whipped up some purple carrot, bran muffins and jazzed them up with some nutmeg and cinnamon icing.  The kids were delighted.  They were tasty and healthy.  A win-win-win situation.