A happy Sunday

Last Sunday was a very busy day. First of all, it was my 8th birthday! Then we drove to the airport and picked up my uncle Robi bácsi from Cleveland. He came with us to Portola Valley where we have Cserkészet (Hungarian Scouts) and Magyar Iskola (Hungarian School). It was our last meeting before our summer break.


Két jelvényt kaptam! (I got two badges!) One was for finishing the first level of the online reading program (Olvasási Különpróba) and the other was for passing a test of scout knowledge (Tulipán Alpróba). I was very proud of myself and I am looking forward to coming again next year.


If you can, please help me practice my Hungarian so that I can have an even better time next year!

A visit from Vicki

I recently mentioned that Daddy's cousin Vicki visited us from England. Actually, she flew to San Francisco from Washington, DC, because her travel plans changed due to the Icelandic volcanic ash. It was a nice surprise for us to find out that we would see her.


After we had lunch at the Ferry Building and I hurt my tooth, it was time for Charlotte's baseball game. I just wanted to go home and get some ice, so Vicki and Charlotte went to the game and Mummy took me home before joining them. It was the first time Vicki had seen a baseball game, so Charlotte was excited to show her.


Then we had dinner together at home. I was feeling a bit better by then. We were very happy to meet Vicki and spend some time with her, but were sorry that she had to work and we did not get to spend more time together. We have asked Mummy if we could see Vicki again next time we go to England. We don't know when that will be, but we are looking forward to it already.

Keep on Brushing

February is National Children's Dental Health Month. This February the children in Charlotte's 2nd grade class were asked to create posters promoting dental health. The theme was "For a Sparkly San Francisco Smile, Brush and Floss Daily".


Charlotte's poster won an Honorable Mention in the poster contest, one of two winners from her class. We attended the award ceremony recently. She received a certificate, a Senate proclamation from Leland Yee, two toothbrushes and some colorful flossers. She was very excited to receive her prizes, and we were impressed to hear a politician talk about the importance of preventive medicine/dentistry.


In the photo above, Charlotte is standing directly below her poster. It is the blue one with a tooth, toothbrush, and floss on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Apparently the poster will be displayed in the San Francisco International Airport in February, 2011.

A marha good day

We had a very big day today. We went to the Cserkészvacsora (Hungarian Scout Dinner). This was a fundraising dinner preceded by a show where various groups performed a dance or a play and a few people gave some speeches.

Sári was the sündisznó (hedgehog) in her class's performance of A Félig Nyúzott Bakkecske (The Half-Skinned Billygoat). She had 4 lines, and performed them very well. The photos and videos I took of the other performances were nice and clear, but unfortunately the ones of my daughter all turned out blurry.

Here she is with the fox and the bear:

Here the bear is telling her to run away from the devil in the fox's hole and she responds that she'd like to try to get him out:

She does in fact succeed in getting the billygoat out of the foxhole:

While Sári was busy at her final rehearsal, Sándor and I helped set the tables in the dining room. All of the old ladies (and the young ones as well) were very impressed with how helpful he was. They made sure he knew it too!

Here he is enjoying a snack after working so hard:

Then we all enjoyed a lovely dinner of marhapörkölt, tészta, and uborkasaláta (beef stew, noodles, and cucumber salad). Of course the chocolate cake was nice too.

Keeping the tooth fairy employed

As I have recently mentioned, I am losing teeth like they are going out of style.


During yesterday's dinner, I bit into a slice of watermelon and one of my top teeth came out. This one was not quite loose enough yet, so there was a bit more blood, pain, and trauma this time. By this afternoon, I was proud of my gap and ready to show it off.

It does feel strange in my mouth now. During today's dinner, I kept asking, "did I lose another tooth?"

Oh, and it's not just my missing tooth that makes me look so cute. Before my tooth fell out I had my hair cut yesterday.

A busy weekend for my mouth

This Friday afternoon I lost my first tooth while I was sitting in library class at school. My tongue just pushed it right out! Mrs. Wareham wrapped it up for me to take home. The tooth fairy brought me a dollar.

Mummy never had a chance to take a photo of my first missing tooth. The next morning at breakfast, my second tooth fell out. Again, my tongue just pushed it out. I popped it into my hand and said simply, "I just lost another tooth." That night the tooth fairy brought me another dollar. Mummy was sure to take a photo before I lost any more!


Saturday afternoon we went to the Ferry Building with our cousin Vicki from England. We had a great lunch in the sunshine next to the water and bought some juicy oranges at the farmer's market. While we were walking back to the car, I got distracted by the boat that was driving by. It sounded like a duck. I turned to look, and walked into a light pole. Fortunately, I had my baseball cap on, so my face didn't hit the pole as hard as it could have. Even so, my lip was bleeding and one of my top teeth is now looser than it was. Maybe the tooth fairy will have to come again soon!

Spring Break in Monterey

During Spring Break we also took a trip to Monterey to visit our friends Erika and Matt and their daughter Emily. We had last seen each other when Charlotte was a baby, so it was lovely to catch up again. Now that we live only a couple hours apart, we hope to get together more often.


We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for the first time. They all really enjoyed sitting under the glass dome where the waves would come in, and would have happily sat there for longer. My kids both enjoyed being able to touch the bat rays, but Alexander's arms were a bit too short and he became frustrated that they were not swimming close enough for him to reach them.













I was surprised that they were a bit freaked out by the jellyfish. They could not get out of that room fast enough. But later when they were talking about what they saw, the jellyfish were suddenly very "cool".


We also enjoyed the otters, sharks, penguins, and flamingos. There was so much to see and do, that we didn't see it all. We'll just have to go back again for another visit!


After a rest, we went over to Erika's house and painted Easter eggs. Although the blue dye was spilled, necessitating a change of clothes, the children enjoyed it and the eggs turned out beautifully.













We also visited a couple parks, went swimming in the hotel pool, and enjoyed some playtime. Alexander felt left out when the girls were playing with dolls, but he still made sure he was part of the action. (Note the green sock in the photo below.)