So very blessed with another fabulous week!
1) We had a really busy day on Saturday. We don’t usually do more than one “activity”, but there were a couple of community events that we wanted to attend. We started the day at the Train Museum, taking in the model train show. The girls’ favorite part was “driving the toy train”, a miniature locomotive they each got to steer.
2) Then we went to lunch at Smokey Bones, or “Fokey Bones”, as Baby A calls it. We hadn’t been there in ages, but the girls devoured a grilled chicken breast, steamed broccoli, and macaroni and cheese. There was literally nothing left on their plates! It's so nice when the girls enjoy a meal out as much as Daddy and I.
3) After a nice nap (for all of us!), we went to the Chin National Day Celebration to see some of my husband’s students and their families from Malaysia, Thailand, and Burma. The girls grooved to some music, although they both kept saying, “It’s too loud!” HA!
4) And we rounded out Saturday by dropping off dinner to a friend whose baby girls have been ill. The girls were so concerned when I told them Erin and Lana were sick. They’ve asked at least 20 times, “But the fruit salad will make the babies feel better, right?”
5) In celebration of Mardi Gras, I made Cajun shrimp and grits and bread pudding. The girls loved it all! And I love seeing my girls enjoying good food.
6) On Tuesday “Nana” Audrey came by. She brought the girls a belated birthday present, new baby dolls. It so warms my heart that they chose to name them after our friends’ twin girls, Erin and Lana.
7) And “Nana” Audrey French-braided the girls’ hair. They sat really still, taken with their new dolls…and I can’t get over how sweet they looked!!! Baby A had her hair down within an hour, but B kept hers up through lunch…a new record, for sure!
8) The girls and I met one of my former colleagues for lunch on Tuesday. It’s always a treat to see her, and to see her interacting with my girlies. Her grandchildren are in the same age bracket as A and B, but they don’t live close by. I think it does her heart as good as it does ours.
9) We are so very lucky to have Daddy home with us for bedtime, 99% of the time. Two nights this week, though, he had to work late at school. That made for a long day for me, but we managed pretty well. It helped that we were able to get out for a walk each day – sometimes twice – and the girls took it relatively easy on their mama. It was so sweet to hear the girls tell Daddy how much they missed him the following mornings, though…and they were thrilled when Daddy came home on time on Wednesday.
10) We met Daddy at the park on Wednesday afternoon. It had been about two months since we were last there. It was AMAZING to see how much more proficient the girls were with all the equipment, in such a short amount of time! Baby A bolted for the slides, and even Baby B went down by herself numerous times after a bit of coaxing. The girls climbed up – and down! – a “rock” wall, which they’d never even attempted before. And Baby A was all about the MONKEY BARS (with Daddy’s help). My girls are getting so big!!! [They're still kinda scared of the swings, though!]
11) The girls and I were snuggling before bed one night. Baby A said, “If Sasha were here, then Mommy would have all her baby girls.” I can’t help but smile at her grammar…and her sweet regard for her furry sister.
[I haven’t worked to contain my list to five points – a la “Fab 5 Friday” – in a while, it seems. There’s just so much fun stuff happening these days, stuff I just don’t want to forget!]
And I certainly had a FABULOUS birthday day on Thursday...but I'm saving that for another post! :)
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Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
February 24, 2012
September 25, 2011
International Flair
I love our town. We moved here eight years ago with my job, having no other ties, but it sure does feel like "home". A big part of the draw for me is that it's a small town -- just over 60,000 people -- yet we have quite a bit of diversity.
Our town is small enough that it's easy to get to know your neighbors, the shop owners, and the nice lady who stocks produce at the grocery store. I think that creates an awesome sense of community, particularly for the girls.
But in those 60,000 people, over 10% of them are recent immigrants. We have a Hispanic population and a large number of people from former Yugoslavia and some of the former Soviet republics. Over the past couple of years, we've started to see more people from Southeast Asia -- namely Burma -- and from several African countries.
Every September our town holds an International Festival, and we always go. It's so much fun to see so many different countries represented, many people wearing native dress. There are many different foods to try, and music permeates downtown.
Teaching ESL, it's always nice for my husband to see a lot of his students and their families, too.
The girls had such a great time at the festival this year. Our first stop was Greek belly dancing. You can't quite tell it from the picture, but the girls were definitely feeling the spirit and moving right along to the sounds of the music!
We then tested out the bongos...
And after a lunch of gyros, punctuated by baklava (and some grapes I brought from home), we ran into a couple of Daddy's students, from Cuba, who tried to teach the girls some new moves.
As we were closing out our time at the festival, I was reminded...you can take the girls out of Kentucky, but you can't take the Kentucky out of the girls. Here they are, checking out the fallen leaves. :)
After a well-deserved nap, we had plans to hang out with Aunt Shanda for a bit. I figured we'd hit the bookstore, or maybe walk around the mall...but spur of the moment, and in keeping with the international theme of the day, we headed back downtown and decided to share some appetizers at the Thai restaurant.
The girls got their first taste of tofu. And they were so excited to have a fresh spring roll, which they kept calling "sushi".
We've known Miss Sonny for several years. She used to be the sushi chef at our favorite Japanese restaurant, and she now owns the Thai restaurant. We ran into her at the festival earlier in the day, where she wanted a picture of the girls. She came out to see us off, and I asked if she'd pose for a picture with my camera.
Certainly there's no place like home...but I love that it's so easy to "travel" right here in our own backyard.
Our town is small enough that it's easy to get to know your neighbors, the shop owners, and the nice lady who stocks produce at the grocery store. I think that creates an awesome sense of community, particularly for the girls.
But in those 60,000 people, over 10% of them are recent immigrants. We have a Hispanic population and a large number of people from former Yugoslavia and some of the former Soviet republics. Over the past couple of years, we've started to see more people from Southeast Asia -- namely Burma -- and from several African countries.
Every September our town holds an International Festival, and we always go. It's so much fun to see so many different countries represented, many people wearing native dress. There are many different foods to try, and music permeates downtown.
Teaching ESL, it's always nice for my husband to see a lot of his students and their families, too.
The girls had such a great time at the festival this year. Our first stop was Greek belly dancing. You can't quite tell it from the picture, but the girls were definitely feeling the spirit and moving right along to the sounds of the music!
We then tested out the bongos...
And after a lunch of gyros, punctuated by baklava (and some grapes I brought from home), we ran into a couple of Daddy's students, from Cuba, who tried to teach the girls some new moves.
As we were closing out our time at the festival, I was reminded...you can take the girls out of Kentucky, but you can't take the Kentucky out of the girls. Here they are, checking out the fallen leaves. :)
After a well-deserved nap, we had plans to hang out with Aunt Shanda for a bit. I figured we'd hit the bookstore, or maybe walk around the mall...but spur of the moment, and in keeping with the international theme of the day, we headed back downtown and decided to share some appetizers at the Thai restaurant.The girls got their first taste of tofu. And they were so excited to have a fresh spring roll, which they kept calling "sushi".
We've known Miss Sonny for several years. She used to be the sushi chef at our favorite Japanese restaurant, and she now owns the Thai restaurant. We ran into her at the festival earlier in the day, where she wanted a picture of the girls. She came out to see us off, and I asked if she'd pose for a picture with my camera.
Certainly there's no place like home...but I love that it's so easy to "travel" right here in our own backyard.
September 26, 2010
International Flair
As I may just have mentioned a time or two, I’m originally from the great state of Alabama, and I think it’s one of the best places on this green earth. We haven’t lived there in ten years, though, having moved a few times with my job.
We’ve been put for the past seven years, and – while we’re too far from a good plate of fried okra and the majestic white sand beaches of Alabama’s gulf coast – we feel like we’ve found a good "home away from home" to raise our girlies.
The town we live in is not large, at just over 60,000 people, but it’s got a lot to offer…a small town feel, with (at least relatively speaking) big city diversity. Over 10% of our population are first- and second-generation immigrants. I love knowing that our girls will be exposed to a variety of languages and cultures in their own backyard.
This weekend we attended our city’s annual International Festival. Represented were 22 countries!
It was a great day for a festival, as we FINALLY got our first taste of beautiful fall weather. The girls had a blast at all the sights and sounds, and of course – the tastes!
They got to see all sorts of beautiful colors and patterns in the native attire of a lot of the attendees.
They swayed to the enchanted sounds of a Celtic band, grooved along with the Flamenco dancers, and were mesmerized by the pretty umbrellas that the Japanese performers used.
They also rather enjoyed a couple of snacks. They were all about a Bosnian-style gyro, and they were licking their fingers and asking for “More!” Armenian walnut pastries.
(They also enjoyed the dancing fountains, the origin of which I’m not sure of…HA!)
We all had a fantastic morning, but we did have one funny thing happen…I caught a lady smiling and pointing out the girls to her family. Before I knew it, she was taking pictures of them.
They were pretty cute in their new fall tunics and patchwork hats, if I do say so, but I didn’t expect them to be tourist attractions! (But you know this proud mama didn’t really mind.) :)
We’ve been put for the past seven years, and – while we’re too far from a good plate of fried okra and the majestic white sand beaches of Alabama’s gulf coast – we feel like we’ve found a good "home away from home" to raise our girlies.
The town we live in is not large, at just over 60,000 people, but it’s got a lot to offer…a small town feel, with (at least relatively speaking) big city diversity. Over 10% of our population are first- and second-generation immigrants. I love knowing that our girls will be exposed to a variety of languages and cultures in their own backyard.
This weekend we attended our city’s annual International Festival. Represented were 22 countries!
It was a great day for a festival, as we FINALLY got our first taste of beautiful fall weather. The girls had a blast at all the sights and sounds, and of course – the tastes!
They got to see all sorts of beautiful colors and patterns in the native attire of a lot of the attendees.
They swayed to the enchanted sounds of a Celtic band, grooved along with the Flamenco dancers, and were mesmerized by the pretty umbrellas that the Japanese performers used.
They also rather enjoyed a couple of snacks. They were all about a Bosnian-style gyro, and they were licking their fingers and asking for “More!” Armenian walnut pastries.
(They also enjoyed the dancing fountains, the origin of which I’m not sure of…HA!)
We all had a fantastic morning, but we did have one funny thing happen…I caught a lady smiling and pointing out the girls to her family. Before I knew it, she was taking pictures of them. They were pretty cute in their new fall tunics and patchwork hats, if I do say so, but I didn’t expect them to be tourist attractions! (But you know this proud mama didn’t really mind.) :)
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