Greetings Everybody!

Hello to all. My new friend Dana showed me the blog she set up for her family and I think it's a great idea, so I created one too. With this blog I can share what we are all up to here in Virginia. Keep in mind that this is new to me, so there may be glitches from time to time. Check it regularly to see if there are any new posts. ~malika

I was going to start with pictures I took at the start of 2005, but that would take forever. I'll just start from April to keep it simple.



April 10, 2005.
Sarah's first ever group sport is soccer. Her team is the "Comets," and she chose the number 4 jersey herself on uniform day. For the first couple of weeks she didn't really enjoy it, I'm talking crying, running off the field, folding up her arms, complaining that the other kids don't "let" her kick the ball, and/or just standing in the middle of the prractice/game . Fortunately, though, somewhere in the middle of the second game, something in her snapped and she actually started playing along with the other kids. She even had (gasp) fun! I was relieved to say the least.



This was in the middle of the first game. She wasn't a happy camper.



April 13, 2005
Sarah's preschool class went to see a clown to promote library awareness. The excursion was on a Tuesday, so we had to drive there since she only goes on Mon, Wed and Fridays. But we got to sit with her class when they arived, so it worked out.

Sarah and her class watching the clown



April 14, 2005
Haden and Tyree being monkeys.


April 15, 2005
Here are Tyree and Sarah with Sarah's pre-school teacher (Miss Vidia) and classmates. They had a "Children on Parade" day in which we walked through a good chunk of Fort Lee.


This is another "Children on Parade" shot. There were a lot more people in front and a little more behind, since all the children from the child care divisions also participated.



April 16, 2005
This was the break through game. I don't know for sure how Sarah got rid of her soccer funk during this game, maybe it was because her friends showed up and watched. Kylie may have used some kids-only lingo to help her out, I don't know, but it definitely was a treat to see her want to play.



April 16, 2005
This is Grift and I dressed up for a date. He took me to the "Madea Goes to Jail" play. Sarah and Tyree spent the night with our neighbor Dana and her two children, so we got to roll in the grown up car, as opposed to our beast of a family van. It was strange going somewhere without the kids, as I am usually with them 24 hours a day, but also FUN. I felt like an adult for a couple of hours. I wasn't the crazy lady trying to get her son off everything not meant for climbing. Anyway, the play was awesome. It was very funny and the singing was powerful stuff. There is something to be said about audience interaction at a black play.



April 17, 2005
This is Kyli and Haden (Neighbor Dana's kids) with Sarah and Tyree. They're sitting on a gargantuan magnolia tree. It sits on what used to be a privately owned parcel of land, complete with an equally gargantuan mansion. Today this place is called Maymont park. It's about a hundred acres of paths, themed gardens, grassy knolls, and tons of animals to look at. It's a really cool park. But back to our new friends. Dana's husband (Buddy) is actually in the same unit as Grift, but that's not really the cool part. What is a very cool coincidence is that Buddy is part Hawaiian, so there was something that Dana and I could talk about from the very beginning. So there you have it people -- four Hawaiian children from two families play on a single street in this confederate state of Virginia. I don't even remember having Hawaiian friends on my street growing up in Waialua (Hey Johnny Boy, could I be mistaken? I can't recall any.).


April 18, 2005
They had a bubbles day at Sarah's preschool. They are usually glad to have Tyree participate in most of their activities. He'll be in this class next fall when Sarah is in Kindergarten, so he'll already be used to some of the kids and all the teachers.

Well, that's all for right now. Let me know