Summer performance for Lily Cai dance class

This summer Charlotte took a dance class from Lily Cai herself.

At the end of the 10 classes, the girls performed their dance in the studio for their families. They also demonstrated their stretches and some other techniques they learned.

Here is their new dance.

The class was great for improving posture and learning to control one's own body movements. Another benefit was seeing school friends regularly throughout the summer!

Back to school again

We had many fun adventures this summer, but alas, the school year has begun again. I was surprised that both children were looking forward to their return, with nervousness only appearing the night before.

Charlotte is now in 5th grade, so she is in the oldest class in the school. She has the same lovely teacher as last year, and many of the same classmates. A few friends have been added to her class, and she now shares recess time with some of the friends she missed last year. She is off to a great start.

Charlotte will be studying American History this year, and she has already told me all about the land bridge in the Bering Strait.

Alexander has started the 3rd grade. He has the same teacher Charlotte had two years ago, and we are already recognizing some of the assignments and expectations. We're a little nervous about learning cursive writing this year, as neat handwriting is a constant challenge for him. But Alexander seems to have become a master handballer, so he's happy as long as they let him out to play.

We've also discovered that he is good at memorizing poems, especially if he can dance around the kitchen while repeating the lines that I read to him. Alexander has proudly learned most of "I Stand Tall," although he has not yet recited it willingly to anyone but me. (My family might recognize our methods, replacing his poem with "Már egy hete...")

Now that Alexander is in the Upper Grades, he and Charlotte have the same lunch period again. This was very convenient one day this week when I accidentally put their sandwiches in the wrong containers. They were able to swap in no time, and I was saved from too much complaining after school.

Happy 8th birthday!

Alexander recently celebrated his 8th birthday. He had a wonderful day. In fact, he told me several times that "this is the best day ever!"

Charlotte gave him an Angry Birds blanket. He has slept with it almost every night since his birthday.

Grandma and Grandad gave Alexander an erector set. Here he is building a catapult. Since then he has already built a crane, and is currently working on a car.

As Najp was visiting, we were able to take a rare family photo without dragging out the tripod.

A great birthday surprise was that Najp and Najm gave Alexander tickets to a San Francisco Giants baseball game that took place that afternoon. He was very excited.

We had very good seats right behind home plate. We thought it would be cold, but were protected from the wind. So we sat in our t-shirts in the sunshine and enjoyed the game, the view, the snacks, and each other's company.

At one point Alexander leaned over to me and said, "Even though the Giants are losing, this is still the best day ever." I wonder how much of that had to do with the ice cream in his hand.

He received some birthday money from our friend Steve, and used it to buy himself a little Giants bat. He has found a soft ball at home, and likes to practice in his room.

 Many thanks to everyone who helped make it a day he will always remember!

Lake Tahoe Holiday

We haven't shared all about Spring Break yet, or about the end of the school year and the concerts and performances, or about baseball season, or about anyone's birthday. Stay tuned for those updates. In the meantime, we'd like to share our recent Lake Tahoe vacation photos.

It was such a restful break from everything that kept us busy in the last few months. The weather was warm, but not too hot. It was before the peak season, so nothing was very crowded. We didn't have a schedule, but managed to swim, go for walks, mini-golf, climb rocks, photograph waterfalls, read books, watch sunsets, play in the sand, and watch football on TV.

One of our favorite spots was at Eagle Falls overlooking Emerald Bay.

Things were not perfect. It was so windy that we decided not to do any boat trips or gondola rides. The lake water was so cold that we only swam in the indoor pool. And there was so much pollen that our car turned yellow and we had a few days of allergy symptoms even though we don't normally have any reactions.

But it didn't really matter. We ended up extending our holiday by a day because we had such a nice time.

Another lovely outing was to Sand Harbor State Park in Nevada. It was quite windy, but we found a sheltered spot on the beach.

On the drive home we stopped in Placerville at Hangtown's Gold Bug Mine and Park. We toured the mine and the stamp mill and even got to pan for gold! We look forward to more fun family adventures.

Ferry Building

My brother Pák also came to visit during Spring Break. One day we met at the Ferry Building and took a walk along the pier.

Alexander would have been happy spinning on the chairs at the end of the pier all day!

Here is Peti with his girlfriend Jeannine, who has since become his fiancee Jeannine. Yay!

After our walk we wandered inside the Ferry Building to find something to eat. Whether it was Vietnamese noodle soup or gourmet sandwiches or sweet potato fries, we each found something delicious to enjoy!

Alcatraz

Our Spring Break took place during the last week of March. We did not travel, but had visitors come to us. First, my brother Pete arrived with his girlfriend Jeannine. They wanted to see Alcatraz. We often send visitors on their own, but this time we decided to go along since we felt the children were ready to see it.

It was an overcast, rainy day. Fortunately the rain did not start until we were already on Alcatraz Island, so we were able to enjoy the ferry ride over.

The audio tour was quite interesting. As you can see below, everyone is riveted by the stories of prisoners attempting to escape the island.

Charlotte had fun playing about in the cell, but Alexander was not sure he wanted the experience.

As we waited for the ferry to take us back to San Francisco, I noticed this seagull perched on a rock. I thought it would be a nice photo with the Bay Bridge and Treasure Island in the background. The children found it hilarious that the bird made it clear he did not appreciate having his photo taken.

Happy Easter

We hope you had a lovely Easter. Ours started out beautifully sunny. We even walked to church for the first time this year.

Charlotte enjoyed painting eggs, and did it almost on her own this year.

Happy Easter!