6/25/2013

Chelsea Dance Recital 2013

Somehow I missed this posting of Chelsea's dance performance last June.  Love to watch the girl Irish Dance!  Just love this girl!!!





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6/16/2013

And yet again, another milestone. . .


As the parents arrived the kindergarten "Graduation" the kids were singing and dancing to Broadway songs with Mr. E.  

It was the cutest thing ever watching those sweet kinders.  Marky's class was so special.    The sweetest kids and families were in that class.  
 There last few moments of the school year were spent singing and dancing to songs.  What a fantastic way to end the year.  




Such a bright face.  He loves school!  So grateful for his motivated, joyous spirit.  


Matt stopped by to see the graduation before heading off to work.  


 Marky with the "Dream Team."    

And what he really wanted to happen. . . Lose a tooth while in kinder.  
It happened the night before the last day of school.  


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6/14/2013

Another milestone. . .

Can hardly believe that my cute, cherub little girl has graduated from elementary school and heading to junior high. 



 I feel that once they start junior high that time seems to go at an accelerated speed.
Chelsea was a part of the inaugural group of kids that were selected for the National Honor Society.  


This is Chelsea receiving her Presidential Award.  After Stevie received his, she worked very hard to receive that award. 

She was soo excited to get that award.  Chelsea is a hard worker.  So proud of her for being motivated and driven to do well at school    


Walt Disney said “All our dreams can come true…if we have the courage to pursue them.”   So grateful she has the courage to work hard and reach her goals.  

The moms "excitedly" waiting (not sure for what).  We sure enjoyed sitting by each other.    

Marky ditched kinder for a little bit to watch Chelsea.  He got to sit by his favorite "girlfriend."


With Principal Heidi Smith. 




Seven tips that I would say to Chelsea (hopefully she will read) about going to middle school.  
- Have courage
-  Be joyous
-  Be friends with different kinds of people
-  Be kind to everyone
- Work hard 
- Smile and say hi


Chelsea with her sweet friends since kindergarten. 




Having fun at the 5th grade picnic. 
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6/13/2013

Halong Bay


On our trip to SouthEast Asia, we spent a two days on Halong Bay.  This is a destination which name translates as "Where the Dragon Descends into the Sea."  There are a lot of myths surrounding how Halong Bay was created.  Halong Bay is a very magical place and like no other. 

We took a four hour bus ride from Hanoi to Halong Bay.  It was fun to see the Vietnam country side along the way.  We witnessed near car/pedestrian accidents.  The chaos reached new levels when cows walked on the road and then decided to stay. 

We took little motor boats out to our "Junk Boats."


 




Thousands of islands with different forms look like jewels coming out of the water.  This area where many stone islands concentrate has spectacular scenes.

Steve and I on the balcony of the boat, we are getting ready to go exploring the nearby caverns. 

We hiked to the top of the mountain.  The views were magnificent. 

It is hard to believe that we got to experience such beauty. 



Amazing that nature made this heart in the stone. 


 
Soon after our arrival onto our boats, the  people from the floating fishing villages come with boats filled with their wares. 
Entire villages of people live on the water.  The boats are both their livelihood and homes.  
Children even attend school on a boat. 

 
 
 








 
 
 

 

 




 Steve taking a dip at Sunset in the Emerald Bay.





The inside of our cabin. 




Steve and I kayaked through the limestone islands. 
 
Well, actually Steve kayaked, I took in the beauty

Halong Bay is truly a magical, beautiful place in the world.  It is a "World Heritage Site," so it is protected.  You can see some environmental problems ahead because of the rapid development of tourism, illegal hunting, overfishing and water pollution. 


 
After a peaceful night of sleep on the calm waters,  we enjoyed a cup of coffee on the balcony taking in a few more moments of the beauty. 


We also participated in Sunrise Tai Chi.
 
 
 
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