Sydni's 13!

Yep... our baby is now a teenager, and we officially have no "little kids" left in our home. We took Sydni to Hard Rock for her birthday, and she had a friend come along. The International schools in Beijing were having their Battle of the Bands finals, so we were fortunate enough to hear music, to accompany our dinner. The only thing we forgot was ear plugs. Most bands were good - it was just loud... wow, that sure made me sound old. ha!


Of course, the construction is still going on in our basement. A friend of mine from back home, sent me a cartoon from the Houston Chronicle, which depicted our house at the moment. I have added it to this blog... My Ayi even laughed at it.


We will be going to Korea the beginning of next week, and the construction company is supposed to lay the flooring while we are gone. I cannot even begin to express how happy this makes me. Sydni is wanting to have a slumber party for her birthday, and I convinced her to wait till next weekend, so they can have the basement - and media room. Matt bought her a 3 man tent (pops up), and she is going to have several girls spend the night in it. I cannot wait to see them packed in like sardines. They will have a good time, I'm sure.


The driver's ed book is..... I don't even know how to describe it... They will take 100 questions from the 1,000 in the book - seriously? Most of the questions you have to memorize the answer, because American logic gives you the incorrect answer- if that makes sense. James is convinced I don't need to drive here - can't imagine why. Matt told him I was a bad driver in the States, and he should be worried... lol... funny, haha... I have decided that if I fail the test twice, I won't retake it. I have a friend who took it 3 times before she passed... I don't want to drive that much anyway...


I have spent the past 2 days buying flowers and planting them in my back yard. I found some beautiful blue hydrangeas, which James had never seen before. I also planted roses, marigolds, a lemon tree, Mexican heather, and other various types - I was so excited! Samantha worked right along side me, and was just a great help - and I really enjoyed having her share my love for working in the flower bed. I think she enjoyed seeing the fruit of her labor. Now, if they will just live!


Volleyball - is anyone surprised we have found a little volleyball club here? lol... Shelby had her first practice last night. I think she enjoyed the good hard workout and "real" volleyball. We have been playing at an adult open gym, which is very much old school volleyball (more my speed than hers or Samanthas). The coach at the school she is attending in the fall has also invited her to practice with them. So, she's getting ample opportunities to play volleyball.


I am beyond excited!!! I found a ladies golf club, which plays every Thursday here in Beijing. I plan on bringing a set of my clubs back with me this summer. We were told there weren't any public courses (which there aren't), but this will allow me to play once a week and have fun with other women. YAY! It will be all about the fellowship for me, not how well I play. =o)


Matt and 2 of his friends have begun working out 3 morning a week. He has asked me to join him, but I assured him 6:00 only hits my clock once a day - and it's not AM! We are all becoming very active and doing many activities. We bought tennis rackets and are going to start playing at least twice a week. This should prove interesting for me, as I stink at tennis.


Well, I didn't think I had much to say, but I guess I did. We are all doing fine - had our last round of shots this week. We are anxious to return to the states for the summer. I enjoy hearing from all of you!


PS: Our "slow boat" stuff will arrive next Friday - Woohoo!

Be Blessed!