School Starts Tomorrow!

The kids are excited that school will be starting back up tomorrow. Sarah will continue at Niwot High School in the international baccalaureate program as a 10th grader. She got her learner's permit on her birthday, so she has been enjoying driving around with mom and dad. One more year until she can do it on her own! Ugh! Brian will be moving to middle school this year, as a 6th grader at Coal Ridge. He is very excited to have all the different classes during the day, and will be a drummer in the band. He recently got his own set of drums and is teaching himself some rhythms by ear, listening to CD's. We will be starting back up will regular lessons soon, but wanted him to get settled at school first. Dave is plugging away with work. I am looking forward to having some time to myself during the day and getting some much-needed organizing projects done.

Have a good week. We'll check back again soon.

Our final week :>(

Oh, we are so sad to tell you what we have been doing during our last week with Yiying. Tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m., we will meet the group at Flat Irons Mall and say our goodbyes. They will go to the airport together for their flight to Seattle, and then on to Tokyo. I'm already sad!

Monday, 8/4/08

Yiying was back in classes today, with an afternoon spent shopping at the University Book Store, then bowling. She was very tired when we picked her up at the bus and said that she didn’t like bowling very much! Oh, well. Another experience to check off her list!

Tuesday, 8/5/08

Sarah, Brian & I joined Yiying and the students for an all-day excursion to beautiful Georgetown, Colorado. It is about a one-hour bus ride from the campus up into the mountains. Our day began with a ride on the Georgetown Loop train; an old mining steam train built in the 1870s to carry the ore found in the mountains. (Check out the website at www.georgetownlooprr.com.) After the train ride, we rode our bus to Idaho Springs, a quaint little town with a population under 2,000! We ate lunch at the famous Beau Jo’s Pizza, enjoying their ‘Mountain Pies’ (a.k.a. huge pizzas!). Yiying and her friends, Chihiro and Yu, each ate 3 pieces, I had 2, Sarah had 1, and Brian ate 4! After lunch, we took about a five-block walk to a little park where we had a gold panning demonstration, then got to try it ourselves! Yiying found three pieces of gold, and Sarah and Brian found two. They were very excited.

Our day ended with a drive to the famous Red Rocks Amphitheater where we got a backstage tour, including the dressing rooms that the rock stars use when they come in concert! The next day, James Taylor would be playing there! All in all, it was a really wonderful day. We finished it up with dinner at my mom and dad’s house – Nana Alice’s Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes, honeyed carrots, and rolls, followed up with ice cream and cookies. It was delicious.

Wednesday, 8/6/08

All of the students held their class at Flat Irons Mall today. They learned all about shopping (like they didn’t already know about that!), at lunch at the Food Court (Yiying had Subway), then went to see ‘Journey to the Center of
the Earth,’ which she didn’t think was very good. Once again, she arrived home tired, but excited from her day. That evening, she made a delicious dinner for us called Hayashi Rice, which had pork, onions, mushrooms & carrots in brown gravy over steamed rice. YUMMMMMMMM!

Thursday, 8/7/08

Today we all went to Water World (www.waterworldcolorado.com). It was an exhausting, exhilarating, and sun-drenched day! Yiying mostly hung out with Chihiro. Brian took a friend, Cameron, and Sarah hung out with them. It was very fun. Yiying liked Thunder Bay best, but thought that some of the bigger water slides were too slow! Sarah and Cameron enjoyed the Half Pipe, and Brian liked the Lazy River and Storm.

Friday, 8/8/08

Today, Yiying took her Yukata (like a Kimono, but made of different fabric) to school with her. They spent the day practicing for their performances during the Sayonara party. We joined up with her at the Old Main Chapel on campus that evening, along with my mom and dad. We were treated to an amazing program including singing, dancing, speeches (including one made by Yiying!), and a slideshow created by Kristy, the program coordinator. Our honored guests were two people from Compass U.S.A., the American recipient of this year’s scholarship trip to Jumonji School in Japan, and the Assistant Principal of Jumonji School, Mr. Fulo, and his wife. It was a beautiful program. Yiying did a wonderful job on her speech, and all of the dances and singing were wonderful. Of course, I cried a lot! After the party, we went to Chili’s for dinner. It was very fun. Check out the slideshow that will follow of this evening.

Saturday, 8/9/08

The kids all slept in late (Yiying finally roused at about 11:00 a.m.!), then joined me in the driveway for a Garage Sale. It was Yiying’s first experience with that! It wasn’t terribly successful, but I made about $160, and ended up with a lot less for the Salvation Army to pick up on Monday! Later in the day, I took all of the kids (including Cameron again) to the movies to see “The Mummy.” The kids all loved it. I thought it was pretty corny! We had hamburgers for dinner, and went to bed fairly early (around 11!)

Sunday, 8/10/08

We slept in again today! Then, Yiying, Sarah and I went with my mom out to do some shopping. Sarah is turning in a job application at a local restaurant this week and hoping to get an interview. So, we picked her up a nice interview outfit to wear in case that happens. Then, we went to lunch at Tony Rigatoni’s, joined by Dave and Brian. On the way home, we stopped by Grama & Grampa’s house to drop off Grama and to let Yiying say goodbye. It was sad! Tonight, Yiying has requested pizza for her final dinner in America. Then, I will help her finish up her packing. We will try to get to bed early since we have to get up at about 3:30 a.m. in order to take Yiying to the meeting place for the bus ride to the airport! I’ll post again soon and let you know how the send-off went!

Monday, 8/11/08

This morning we said 'goodbye for now' to Yiying. Oh, we were so sad to see her go. The morning started very early - 3:30 to be exact - after a very late night - 12:30 a.m.! Final suitcase preparations went into the wee hours as we managed to get her bag under 50 lbs. So, on very little sleep and Brian still in jammies, we hopped in the car (okay, so we didn't really hop, but kind of slunk) and went to Flat Irons Mall to meet the group and the airport bus. There were lots of tears, a few pictures, and many, many hugs. We promised to keep in touch and try to see each other in the future. Yiying sure made an impact on our lives - I think the dogs even miss her! She was a happy spirit to have around the house, smiling and laughing, integrating beautifully into the family, and very confident with her language ability. If we decide to do this next year, the new student will have a high bar to reach! We would like to say a sincere thanks to Yu and Kejian for allowing Yiying to stay with us and giving her this invaluable experience, and a thanks to Yiying for being our new Japanese China-girl daughter.

Farewell! Zai Jian! Sayonara!

The Past Week

Wow - that week flew by! It seems the time with Yiying is going too fast. Thinking that next week she will be going back to Japan makes me so sad! :>( We will sure miss her and hope to keep up a good communication with her family over the years.

So, let's see . . .

Monday - 7/28/08

Yiying had classes in the morning and then activities at the C.U. Student Recreation Center. In class they learned about the early Native Americans, a topic she seemed to enjoy. She spent the afternoon ice skating and swimming. That evening was a relaxing one at home. I had picked up some sushi and miso soup on my way to the bus to pick her up, so she enjoyed that little piece of home.

Tuesday - 7/29/08 (Sarah's 15th birthday!)

There was a slight problem on the bus on this morning - Yiying fell asleep and missed her stop! Although there were six other students and one parent chaperon on the bus, by the time everyone got off and did a headcount in Boulder, realizing that Yiying was not with them, the bus had driven away! Yiying woke up 1/2 way back to Longmont, understandably nervous. She told the driver that she was supposed to have gotten off at C.U. Of course, by that time (an hour later), we had the Boulder police, campus security, and RTD involved in locating her. So the driver radioed in letting RTD know that he had her and she was safe. What a relief! The police department met the bus at a stop along the way and gave Yiying a ride back to campus in their squad car, along with a little stuffed puppy dog! She was none the worse for the wear, though, and still wanted to join the group in Estes Park (again!) for a day of horseback riding and shopping. The chaperon who had stayed behind to wait for her drove her up to meet the group. She ended up having a great day after all.

While she was there, Sarah and I went to the DMV and got her learner's permit! Oh, man. What a milestone! That evening, the family and a few friends came over for cake and ice cream for Sarah's birthday. Although tired after the day's excitement, we all had a fun time. Sarah got lots of nice presents, including a wallet that says "Daddy's Money" from Brian, cash from both sets of grandparents, a beautiful purse from Yiying, a book of cute quotes from the Bartons, and jammies from the Thomas'. Dave and I gave her a digital camera.

Wednesday, 7/30/08

Once again, the students had their classes in the morning and then headed to the C.U. Student Recreation Center for afternoon activities. Yiying bravely tried tennis, and had some fun with her favorite - yoga.

Thursday, 7/31/08

Today's adventure was a trip to Greeley to see Centennial Village, a replica of a Western Pioneer Town with actual buildings, farm equipment and a beautiful chapel. They then returned to Longmont, where Sarah, Brian, and I met the group at Texas Roadhouse restaurant for a traditional western meal, barbecue pork sandwiches & cole slaw. The group then headed on to Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory for a tour & shopping (Yiying's favorite, I think), and then a tour of the Leanin' Tree Museum, which is an art gallery. While she was there, the kids and I went to our eye doctor appointments. She was very tired when we picked her up at the bus! That evening, we went out to dinner at a local restaurant called Parrot's. Then, Sarah's friend, Rochelle, came over to spend the night so that she could join the girls the next morning for Teen Day!

Friday, 8/1/08

This was a very exciting day for the Jumonji school girls - their first Prom! The day began with many American teens joining the girls for classes and talking about typical American teenage activities & customs. They played a fun game that is traditionally played at Christmas - a white elephant gift exchange - when everyone brings a gift-wrapped present (funny or serious) and puts it under the Christmas tree. Then, each person chooses a random number from a hat. The person who chose #1 selects a gift from under the tree and opens it. The person who chose #2 can then steal person #1's gift, or choose a new one. If they steal person #1's gift, person #1 opens a new one. The person who chose #3 can then steal from #1 or #2, or choose a new gift from under the tree. Play continues until everyone has a gift! Sarah and Yiying said that it was very funny and all of the girls were hysterically laughing!

In the afternoon, I joined the other host parents at the school's gymnasium and decorated it for the Jumonji students' first Prom! For those of you reading from Japan, this is a school event that is typically held in the evening during the spring of the students' Junior or Senior year of high school. The kids get really dressed up in long, flowing dresses and tuxedos, enjoy a fancy dinner out (often riding in a limousine), and then attend the dance for the evening. The Jumonji girls had a fabulous time, doing lots of group dances such as the Macarena, the Electric Slide, and the Achy-Braky-Heart! The American teens had a lot of fun, too. Kristy and Carol did a phenomenal job, as usual, putting on this great event.

Saturday, 8/2/08

On this day, we had a fun 'girls day out' with Sarah, Yiying, my mother, and I going to a make-your-own jewelry store, and then seeing a children’s theater production of ‘Anastasia.’ It was delightful. Afterward, we headed to Boulder to purchase a swimsuit that Yiying had found on her first day here. The suit she brought was too small for her and she had borrowed Sarah’s on a couple of occasions, but wanted to have her own. She said that swimsuits were much less expensive here than in Japan. We came home to find a delicious steak and mushroom meal prepared by Dave, and then the girls headed over to Rochelle’s house for Yiying’s first-ever sleepover! They had a great time, staying up late, watching movies, and eating doughnuts!

Sunday, 8/3/08

I picked the girls up at about 11:45 a.m. and dropped Yiying off at the house, then Sarah and I went down to Invesco Field for a defensive driving class that I had signed her up for several months ago. She was able to practice accident-avoidance breaking from full speed, emergency lane changes, and skid control, along with participating in several interactive booths including how to check your engine fluids, drunk-driving simulations, and what happens in a rollover accident, exemplifying the importance of seat belts. The program was put on by Drivers Edge (www.driversedge.com). It was very beneficial and informative. I think she feels more comfortable that she would know what to do if she needed to stop quickly or avoid something that came into her lane unexpectedly.

Well, I’ll stop for now and catch you up with this week tomorrow. Remember to check back for pictures!