Baby robin rescue.

 Bug was outside playing with a friend when they discovered this robin on the ground. They were very worried about it and were sure that I would know what to do. I did  a quick check on google and then went through the house in search of a basket. I knew that we couldn't leave it on the ground, as the neighborhood cats would eat it. Bug's dad came home about 15 minutes later and got a ladder and hung the basket in the tree. Mama robin came by about 5 minutes later with a snack for the baby...and couldn't find him. It took her several minutes, but she eventually figured it out and they were both happy. I was sure that the baby was going to jump out, but so far, so good.

Here's a short video of Mama Robin flying in for the first time.
http://youtu.be/NPN8LGw9GQ8

Better Chinese ipad app

I've been waiting for this app for a LONG time. I first heard about it late last year, and it was said that it might be available as early as January....obviously, that didn't happen. It was, however, worth the wait.

Bug has worked her way through the Better Chinese My First Chinese Reader Book 1, but definitely didn't fully absorb the last several chapters. This app uses the Discovering Chinese books, which are pretty much the same, but geared towards teens. It is amazing. You can download the app for free which gives you the first chapter. Additional chapters are $5.99 each, or all 12 for $49.99. Not cheap or an app, but consider this: the student book is $22.95 and the workbook is $17.95. If you buy the app, you don't need the books. (you might still want them) You also get audio instruction which is priceless if you don't have access to native speakers.

If you download the app to try it out, I suggest watching this video from Better Chinese, as it shows how to use everything. I also hadn't noticed some of the extra screens for each subject, so it was useful to me.
Discovering Chinese ipad app demo video

You'll also want to go to Settings> General>Keyboard>International Keyboards>Chinese-Simplified pinyin and add it. You'll need this for the writing section.

Right now, only Volume 1 is available. Hopefully 2-4 will be coming soon.

Bug is 10!?!

It seems that Bug has turned 10. I did not give permission for this to happen, but I don't seem to have much say in the matter. Sigh.

Here are photos from each birthday (except 2, 3 &4 which are packed away somewhere, it seems)

A collage of 10 years of Bug. Some of my favorite photos. 

 Bug got a new Razor Cruiser scooter for her birthday....bigger wheels, bigger wooden deck. She loves it!

 

After Chinese class, we went to Bug's favorite park with 3 of her friends. After everyone was tired & hungry, we headed to our favorite Chinese buffet to eat. The kids played in the back room for a while, then came out for cupcakes. Bug got a big one.

The center candle didn't want to stay out...

 

Bug kept at it until it finally went out for good.

100 years of Girl Scouts

 Bug went to Madison yesterday to celebrate 100 years of Girl Scouts. Here's what she looked like when she left.

12 hours later....

Washington - then & now

 After a day of settling in, we went for a drive and a hike. Bug settled into this "fuzzy" tree.

 Bug thought that this bridge was cool, because if you looked down where your feet were, you could see through it.

Here is Bug by the Skagit River which is green and beautiful. 

 

We went for a walk on the Trail of Cedars. We had been on this trail 5 years ago. I made a point of taking pics in the same spots to show how much she's grown in 5 years. Crazy. 

 

 

WA trip 2012 - off the train

 After dropping our stuff off at my sister's house, we went out to eat. Cheeseburgers!

 The next day we went to Bug's favorite museum: Imagine Children's Musuem in Everett, WA. This dinosaur is on the roof, along with other things to play with and climb on. If you're a regular reader here, you may recognize this dinosaur from our visit in Oct. 2010 or, further back, to April 2007.

Bug first met this cow back in April 2007. She fits on the stool a bit better now. 

She found some sick animals to tend to in the animal clinic.

She was very busy building these walls...

and very happy to knock them down. 

There are some statues outside the museum. We had to take some photos. 

It was Bug's idea to "grab" the paintbrush. I wish that I hadn't nearly cut her out of the photo. 

Back at the house, Bug got put to work. Watch for future posts to see what she made!

We went to Washington again.

Bug & I hopped on a train on April 2nd and headed west. We spent a week visiting my sister & her husband and got home on Friday. I seem to have brought a cold with me, so haven't gotten much blogging done.

We got on just in time  to eat dinner, read for a bit, then go to bed. The next day, we took the opportunity to get out and stretch our legs whenever possible. Here she is in Minot ND on this trip and in 2007.

 She also had a quick chat with her dad while in Minot.

We had a small roomette which we enjoyed. Here is Bug outside of the train car. 

We spent some time in the lounge car. Here she is, trying to beat me at Set. 

She also worked on a braided bracelet for herself. It's going slowly, but she seems to enjoy it. Hopefully she'll make more!

We had very tasty (and big) cheeseburgers for lunch. Yum. 

 

 We were able to get out and stretch in Havre, MT.

Here's Bug in Shelby this year and in 2007.

When we first got on the train, these two guys were downstairs. When we went to dinner, we got seated with them. Bug noticed an accent and was confused when they said that they were from Chicago...they're originally from Albania. Their room was a few doors from ours and we chatted often. We all had burgers together for lunch, as well.

This is Sam.

This is Tony. 

At this point, we were nearly to our destination. Everything is packed up and Bug is just waiting to get out. 

Back from vacation.

Bug & I just got back from a train trip to Washington state. We had a blast there and on the train. I'm hoping to get more pics up over the weekend. This one of her with our car attendant from the trip home kind of sums up everything.

While in Seattle we got to visit artist Carla Sonheim at her studio. If you recall, we took an online "Art of Silliness" class with her not too long ago. I'll have pics up soon, but here's a link to Carla's blog post about our visit.

Chinese School

 Chinese class was a bit different this week...we had two visiting teachers from China in class. They talked with the kids and had everyone do introductions. They then showed the kids how to use a brush and ink to make a painting of bamboo. Bug loved it!

 Hard at work. 

The finished piece.