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Permalink Today was a day off from school for a teacher work day. The Dads are in Hong Kong for 7s, therefore, the ladies arranged a play day. We took the gang to play at a new fitness club with a kid zone any kid would love. We paid 100rmb per kid for 2 hours of fun. They loved it.
After sliding in the kid zone, we went to dinner. At dinner, Eleri showed me she lost her tooth and she must have swallowed it. She was fine with it as she knew Emmy had swallowed one of her baby teeth, also. However, she found the tooth on her plate and she was excited to leave it for the Tooth Fairy.
Dear Eleri,
My dearest Eleri, I was so happy to visit you tonight. I knew that tooth was coming soon as my wings were tingling. I will take your 4th tooth back to Fairy Land with me. Thank you.
Again, I have enclosed a special gold coin for you for losing your tooth. I have also enclosed a 20rmb note for you to spend.
I look forward to my next visit and letter when your next tooth falls out. However, I don’t feel my wings tingling so it may be sometime before I see you again.
Love the Tooth Fairy
March 25, 2011
Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 296 user reviews.
Permalink Book Week is a special week at Concordia. Ms Shepard arranged for Moms to bring in a treat all week relating to the book, “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”.
Monday were cookies for “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”.
Tuesday were muffins for “If You Give a Moose a Muffin”.
Wednesday were pancakes for “If You Give a Pig a Pancake”.
Thursday were cupcakes for “If You Give a Cat a Cupcake”.
Friday was popcorn for “If You Take a Mouse to the Movies”.
On Wednesday, the girls and I went to an evening with the guest author, David Biedrzycki. He talked about his story board ideas and how stories come to life. He showed us how he does all his illustrations on the computer. He presented his new book, “Me and My Dragon” which will be out this summer. Mr. Biedrzycki was selling signed books of his Ace Lacewing Bug Detective books.
During the week, Mr. Biedrzycki came into each class to draw with the children. Here are the drawings the girls brought home.
 Eleri’s dragon
 Eleri’s beetles
 Emersyn’s beetle
 Emersyn’s dragon
On Thursday, Elle took her sleeping mat, a pillow, Fluffy, 3 books and a flashlight to school for “Reading Detective Camp”
Book Week ends on Friday with a character parade. Eleri decided she would be Fancy Nancy with Posh Puppy. She dressed to look just like the cover. Poodle skirt- check, black spotted shirt – check, a big pink ribbon – check and color necklaces – check! She also made Buddy fancy for the parade.
At school, Eleri is waiting for her turn to show off her character.
Eleri’s class walked across the stage to display their characters.
The guest author, David Biedrzycki, finished his week with the kids at the parade. He has been very involved with the kids all week. The administration staff came to book character day dressed as characters from Mr. Biedrzycki’s book, Ace Lacewing.
Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 292 user reviews.
Permalink Eleri was determine to catch a Leprechaun this year. She found a box and went to work to make the best Leprechaun trap. She put in shinning pennies and dimes to get his attention. She had a trap door under the tissues that he would fall through while collecting the coins. She made a soft bed for him to land in under the trap door. The trap was well designed.
The Leprechaun’s expression when he falls through the trap door.
The Leprechaun’s surprised look when he sees Eleri in the morning.
She tried to catch him each night up till St. Patrick’s Day on the 17th. She left him notes and chocolate along with more shinny coins.
He would visit her trap every night and take her dimes – he was a tricky fellow! He always managed to escape – there will be next year to try again!
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 based on 156 user reviews.
Permalink The annual Daddy Daughter Dance for Girl Scouts is a big event every year. This year the theme was Disco Nights. Emersyn is no longer in Girl Scouts, but Eleri has continued as a Daisy. I am Eleri’s Daisy leader with nine 1st graders in my troop. Eleri has fun with her friends at the meeting which meet once a month.
Every special night starts with the beautification. Emersyn, Eleri and I had our nails done at Dragon Fly on Friday night after school. Of course, Eleri picked out the most expensive nails, but it was for a special night.
On Saturday afternoon, Eleri and I got her hair cut and an “up do” for all of 70rmb ($11).
Of course, we made a run to the fabric market to get the right outfit for the dance. Ready to dance the night away!
The event is held at a local hotel and includes dinner and dancing. The girls all had a fun time dancing the night away with their favorite man!
 Callie & Eleri
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 based on 189 user reviews.
Permalink Every year Shanghai has a big St. Patrick’s Day parade. We have not gone in the past due to soccer or something on the calendar. This year we decided would be the year we would join in on the fun. This would also be the year the government cancelled the parade out of fear of protesting. The event was moved to an indoor venue without the parade.
We met four other families at the event. The kids had fun running around and enjoying the shows.
We had a nice long pizza lunch before Eleri and I had to run off to get her beautified for her big date tonight – the Daddy Daughter Dance.
Average Rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 206 user reviews.
Permalink Emersyn spent Saturday afternoon working on her Saturn project which was due today. The assignment was to put together an advertisement to promote living on or visiting Saturn. She needed to use facts about the planet in her advertisement. Jim and Emmy created a paper mache for the planet, got out the paints to give it color and used pieces of foam core from another project to create the rings. They were busy while I was off with the girls in Ningbo!
Discover the moons of Saturn
Why stay on Earth with only one moon when you can come to Saturn that has at least 62 discovered! Of the 62, only 53 have been named – so place your bet and name a moon! There’s a new adventure waiting to be discovered at each and every moon. You can start off at the closer moons of Saturn – Epimetheus, Janus, Pandora, Prometheus, Atlas or Pan. For the more adventurous, visit Enceladus, Saturn’s brightest moon or Titan, Saturn’s biggest moon.
Better Living on Saturn!
Tired of the crowded cities on earth? Enjoy the wide open spaces of Saturn! With 100 times the surface area of the Earth there’s no crowding! At 890 million miles away from the sun, there’s no need for any sunscreen. If your interested in weight loss, life on Saturn will take off that stubborn last 10 pounds. It’s gravitational force at 92% of the Earth’s makes you light on your feet even when you’re are wearing your Special Saturn Space Suit!
Ride the Rings of Saturn!
Are the Rocky Mountains and Sierra’s easy? Do you need a new challenge? Then come over to Saturn and Ride the Rings! You can pick from 8 different rings. This new level of difficulty comes with challenging rides to avoid dust, rock and ice particles making up Saturn’s rings. Saturn’s rings also never have the same course. They change with each rotation of Saturn, always creating a new challenge.
Explore the Core
There is so much adventure here on Saturn! You can even explore the core! Plow through the many layers of Saturn’s atmosphere, cutting through the brilliant clouds of hydrogen, helium and methane with a temperature of -176 C ( -295 F). After passing through the brilliant clouds you’ll discover the iron core with it’s pools of liquid and metallic hydrogen. The temperature at the core can range up to 10, 000 C – 15, 000 C (18, 000 F – 27, 000 F)! Before you go, you need to put on a Special Saturn Space Suit and Special Saturn Space Boots, allowing you to adjust the temperature inside the suit! The suits protect you from harmful radiation, chemicals, and the raging temperatures for this once in a life time experience!
As always, she put in the extra effort to meet the requirement of the assignment.
Average Rating: 4.9 out of 5 based on 151 user reviews.
Permalink Ningbo or bust…the bank! The ladies hit the road for another shopping trip. This time to Ningbo for furniture. Our good friend, Mary, is going back at the end of the school year so she is buying for her home in America. The four shopping ladies were the same crew that hit Jingdezhen (or as Jim calls it Jingdejunk) last October.
 Faith, Mary, Brenda & Jennifer
Ningbo is about three hours from Shanghai. We took my driver, Mr. Nie, and Mary’s driver, Mr. Wu. They are both so helpful. Mr. Wu has great English which is a bonus.
The first stop when we arrived at the furniture warehouse was the bathrooms. Just one comment, once you leave the City, you always have a toilet story. The bathroom had a trough running down the three bathrooms stalls. Of course, the bathroom stalls didn’t have a door. This trough style was a first for me. However, NOTHING tops the bad bathroom we all four used in Jingdezhen so no one even blinks.
The plan was to shop all day Friday and to buy on Saturday. We hit two very large warehouses. One had five floors of furniture, therefore, it didn’t take long for the day to get away from us. We finally ate our sandwiches we brought from home in the vans around 2pm – we were hungry!
Jim did remind me we have no room and less room in our SMALLER house in California before I left. I told him not to worry, I will come home with something!! I had three pieces in mind. I wanted a cabinet for the kitchen, a cabinet for the stuff that piles up on the floor in the office and a small phone desk in the office. Since Emersyn got her large desk, the phone has been on the floor. I found all three pieces at the second shop stop.
We booked a hotel in Ningbo without realizing the furniture warehouses are no where near the City. It took us over two hours to drive to Ningbo and find the Sheraton. Hum, we could have drove back to Shanghai! We enjoyed some pub food across the street along with wine and chat time back in the rooms.
Saturday was for buying. Mary was the big buyer, of course. Faith followed right behind her. Jennifer was the small buyer of the weekend putting me in the middle. I added a small table to my purchases to set up a sewing table for Emmy.
The place did not negotiate. At one point, the lady told me if I continue to ask for a cheaper price, she would cancel my whole order!! The prices were really good, but we are in China and there is always room for “cheaper”.
This last photo is Mary shopping in the lift for a piece she liked. They were unable to sell it to her, but she tried.
By the time we finished buying, it was 6:30pm. Time to drive home for the tired, cold shoppers. We had a protein bar for lunch and the warehouses are cold with no heat.
The delivery man brought our cabinets a week and half later on Wednesday evening. Something about permits to drive into the City, therefore, he came at night. By the time he delivered to Mary and Faith, it was 11:30pm when he arrived at our place. My driver, Mr. Nie, drove to each home to help unload the truck. It was after midnight on a school night by the time we moved my pieces into our apartment.
The office cabinet to hide the “junk”.
The phone cabinet.
My favorite, the kitchen cabinet. It is an old Chinese kitchen cabinet that held chickens in the bottom half.
The sewing table did work out. The table was too tall. So, I did the next best thing, I went to Ikea to buy a cheap sewing table for Emmy. It cost 79rmb ($12) – can’t beat that for cheap!!
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 based on 209 user reviews.
Permalink Yesterday, March 2, was Dr. Seuss birthday. Eleri’s class made green eggs and ham in the classroom. Eleri loved doing this and talk about it all the way home. She came home from school with her Dr. Seuss hat. She wanted green eggs and ham for breakfast today. Jim got out the food coloring to give her green eggs and turkey (no ham).
Emersyn stayed with yellow eggs for breakfast!
I wonder if green eggs will be on the request tomorrow!!
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 based on 284 user reviews.
Permalink Emersyn’s story as part of her space theme study.
A Lost Alien, by Emersyn Lyon
“We are the first people to land on Saturn!†Janie exclaimed.
“Oh joy, †Andrew said dully, “Maybe we’ll get to see a alien!†he said sarcastically. This time Janie couldn’t tell.
“Don’t be silly!†Janie said, “There’s no such thing as aliens.â€
“I’m going for a walk, †Andrew said.
“Don’t forget to put on your space suit!†Janie called.
“Sure, †Andrew mumbled. Andrew suited up and was ready to go out. He went out the hatch and was ‘walking’ on Saturn.
“Gas, gas, gas, oh look more gas!†Andrew said sarcastically. “This is such an adventure! Helium, Hydrogen, Helium, Helium, … what the heck is that?â€
Something was looming in the distance. IT looked like it had 3 eyes and holes over it’s hands and feet. The creature kept coming closer and closer until Andrew could see it clearly! It did have 3 eyes and holes all over it’s body but this creature was 7 feet tall! Andrew wanted to hide but THERE WAS NO WHERE TO HIDE!!! Andrew crouched down to make himself as small as possible, but the creature kept coming closer and closer until it said,
“What are you doing?â€
By this time Andrew was freaking out! His mind was going a million miles a minute. Andrew thought, “What do I say? Do I say anything? Yes, I have to say something to be polite. Why should I be polite? This is a THING!!!â€
“Uh, †Andrew finally managed to say, “Just looking for my, er, never mind.â€
“Oh, †the creature replied.
“So… what and who are you exactly?†Andrew asked.
“I am IT and I have lost my family, â€
As andrew looked more at IT, he found that he was less scary and more sad. Andrew was finding meeting an alien was quite interesting and he wanted to hear more.
“IT, you seem like you could use a friend. How about you tell me about yourself?†Andrew suggested.
At this thought, IT seemed to perk up a little.
“Well you see, wait what’s your name?†IT asked.
“A-A-Andrew, †Andrew stuttered. He was still nervous about talking to a alien.
“Well you see Andrew, I have lost my family. I do not know why, where or what happened to them, I only wish I did though.â€
“Wait, wait, wait, how did you lose them?†Andrew wanted to know.
“I came back from gather medicine because my child was sick. For Zoomblobers, we inhale both Helium and Hydrogen at the same time through our holes in our hand and feet. Some times there are chemicals in the air that make us sick.â€
“Sorry to interrupt, but how do you survive in such harsh conditions? What about eating? Sleeping? Shelter? Clothing? Waste? A family? Living?†Andrew finished.
Zoomblober Fun Facts
• Zoomblobers don’t need clothing. We have rubbery skin like seals to protect us.
• We don’t need to eat. The Helium and Hydrogen is our energy and ‘fuel’.
• Zoomblober reproduce eggs and after 6 months they hatch.
• Zoomblobers are up the whole day in Saturn. We live in small ‘tepees’ as you may call them.
• When we sleep, we create a giant ‘cocoon’ that keeps us safe and warm.
• Zoomblobers are hollow inside (except for a heart, brain, muscles and bones. We have everything but organs like intestines).
• Our holed feet produce air that creates us to hover above Saturn’s gassy atmosphere.
Back to the Story
“When I got back from gathering the medicine, I went into the village and into our tepee and my family was gone. I asked the others where they went and they said that my family just disappeared.†IT finished.
“Sad story, †Andrew replied. “But I have an idea. Would you like to live with me as my half brother?
“YES! YES! YES!â€
Back At the Spaceship
“Janie! I brought a new half brother back!†Andrew called as he and IT entered the space craft…
(Don’t worry. IT was perfectly safe in a hydrogen and helium bubble.)
A Week Later
“Andrew, †IT said, “I can’t live as a half-brother. I need my family. I miss my children and wife. Can we go look for them?â€
“Are you sure?†Andrew asked
“Positive!†IT replied.
Andrew and IT set off to find IT’s family. They search and search and searched. They checked everywhere they could be in the atmosphere of Saturn.
“I give up!†IT said. “We can’t find them! It’s hopeless!â€
“Maybe th-†Andrew started, but then he saw something he hadn’t before. It was Enceladus. Saturn’s brightest moon. IT saw it too. 
 “What if your family was on Enceladus for some strange reason, †Andrew said.
“They might be, but how are we going to get there?†IT asked.
“The spaceship!†Andrew replied.
IT and Andrew ran as fast as they could back to the spacecraft. They hoped in and took off. Janie was confused about what was happening and said they would explain later. Five minutes later they were up in the air and traveling to Enceladus.
“I can see them! I can see them!†IT was excitedly saying from the spacecraft window. When they got off the spacecraft, IT’s family was there.
“IT! We were so worried about you!†His wife cried.
“Daddy!†his three children squealed.
“What happened?†IT asked.
“We were carried away off by a creature! He brought us here and left.†IT’s wife explained.
“Daddy, †one of his children said, “I wanna go back to Saturn, â€
“We’ll get you there, †IT replied. Andrew let me introduce you to my family. “This is IM, my wife. IM this is Andrew. He helped me find you.â€â€¨ “Thank you! Thank You!†IM said over and over again.
“This is my eldest daughter LIZ, my second eldest son IS and my youngest daughter MIZ.†IT said.
“Thank you for bringing Daddy back.†MIZ said.
“No problem, †Andrew replied. “Now can we get back to Saturn before the creature comes back?â€
They all boarded the spacecraft to go back to Saturn. At Saturn, everyone said their goodbye’s. Janie and Andrew watched as IT walked into the hydrogen and helium reunited with his family again.
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 based on 245 user reviews.
Permalink After chapel, Ms Shepard had a “Meet the Author” gathering. The students set their stories out with excitement to show them off. Parents were asked to go around the room to listen to your child and other children read their stories. The kids all had a big smile as they read their stories.
Eleri’s story was about two brother bees, Bob Bee and Bee Bob. They took turns helping each other when they were sick. It was a cute story. I thought the names of the bees reflected Eleri’s personality!
Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 228 user reviews.
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