Chinese New Year

We are right in the middle of the Chinese New Year and the island has been very festive. There have been fireworks, parades, theatrical shows, etc. It has been very cool. Today was the traditional Lion dance. In Chinese lore, the lion dance is used to ward off evil spirits and usher in good fortune for the new year. The lion dance came to our condo complex this morning complete with banging drums and LOTS of firecrackers. It was so much fun!

Time for the Olympics!!

We are cheering for our home country all the way from Malaysia! Our friends, Larry and Debbie, invited us over for breakfast and to watch the opening ceremony. Breakfast? Yes, the opening ceremony was at 10am on Saturday morning here! we had a wonderful breakfast (we made a cinnamon roll casserole that was to die for!) and settled in to watch the show.

Here are the kids yelling USA! USA!




Natalie thought the whole event was very exciting...




Alex and their daughter Sarah are good friends...



This is John trying to figure out what in the heck these people are saying in French?



We were all full and happy and we had a great time! GO TEAM USA!!!!! Matching Ralph Lauren team outfits??? Yeah, that's how we roll....

My Little Dolphin

Right down the road from us is the Chinese Swim Club. They run competitive swimming programs and their teams are phenomenal. We approached a few of their coaches and asked if they would be interested in coming to our school and giving swim lessons to beginners. The idea is that maybe some of our students can progress to a level where they can join the swim team at the swim club. The lessons have been great and we put Alex in them as well. It is so awesome to see how quickly he took to it. He is learning so fast and having a ball!

The Thunder Rolls....

Living in a tropical climate also means random, sudden storms. It never just "rains". It is either sunny or it is a torrential downpour complete with thunder, lightening and scary clouds. And since we live right on the Indian Ocean, we have court-side seats to every storm that comes in. Here are some pics taken from our balcony of a recent storm as it moves towards us over the ocean from the mainland.

Sunday Best

I can't believe how much fun it is to have a daughter FINALLY. I love my boys but little girls are so much fun to buy for...the clothes are so pretty. I have been waiting so long for a girl so you can bet she will be dressed in pink, frilly, lacey, floral type clothing daily! This is Natalie all dressed up for church last Sunday.