A Couple More Graduation Pics

The Chinese Kindergarten where all of our kids attended has a professional photographer come and take pics of the graduating kids (I'm pretty sure most of the kindergartens do this).  Here are some of the pictures he took of Joey that we got on a cd.  They put them in a fun book with much better backgrounds than what you'll see in these pictures, but I think these are still cute.  I'm biased, I know!

Fun in the Sun

We spent last week at the Taiwan Missionary Fellowship Conference.  It was a great week!  We had a wonderful speaker (which meant I learned a lot), there was a great program for the kids (which meant they learned a lot), we got to have many conversations with friends (which just plain meant a lot), AND we got to swim everyday (which meant the kids were happy a lot)! 

Isaak decided that this was not just the year to start jumping off the diving boards, but that it was the year to start jumping off the high dive....yikes!  I'm pretty sure he jumped off that thing at least 30 times/day!

When Joey saw one of his friends from class jumping off the boards, he decided it was time for him to try them, too.  He even went off the high dive once, but didn't like the "slap" so went back to the short diving board.

Ellie could not be one upped by her little brother, so she also started jumping off the boards!

Joey's Kindergarten Graduation

On Friday my baby graduated from Kindergarten!  How crazy is that?!?!  We spent a long, but fun, evening watching him and his classmates go through the ceremony and then dance their hearts out.  Great memories!

Typhoon Soulik

Early Saturday morning Typhoon Soulik made landfall here in the ROC.  Crazy winds blew, and rain fell.  Here are a few shots from after the storm.

A flooded rice field.  Thankfully this farmer had harvested his rice already.

This raging river is normally shallow and gentle.  Not so after the storm.

The river from the previous picture ended up taking out a section of this bridge.  Thankfully it was already closed so no one was hurt.

 
The beautiful, post typhoon sky.

Ellie's dance school had their annual recital on Saturday, despite a major typhoon hitting the island in the early hours of the morning.  It's always fun to watch Ellie dance.  Her face is filled with pure joy!  I am so proud of her!

Some pictures from her traditional Chinese dance.

And of course I think she makes a cute little ballerina (I know, I'm biased).

With her best friend.

And of course a shot of her with her wonderful teachers!

Ouch!

Isaak was in a bit of a hurry to get back to whatever he was watching the other week, turned around from the counter, bent over and ran like a football player towards the living room.  Unfortunately he forgot to check and see if there was anything in his way and ran smack dab into the corner of a chair and split open the skin right next to his eye.  Ouch!  Needless to say, the gap was big enough that we headed off to the ER for stitches (it was a Sunday afternoon, no clinics were open, and even if they were only surgeons do stitches here).

 Stitches in.....

 Stitches out....

A happy boy who was a great patient!

Father's Day.....Better Late than Never

We took only ONE picture on Father's Day this year, and it was actually taken the day after Father's Day!  Oh well....better late than never.  Happy Father's Day Andrew!

Andy's gifts this year were ALL food!  The kids got him his favorite snack food (chips) and I made him a cookies and cream cake.  Yep, we speak his love language!

XiaoWuLai Waterfall

To celebrate the end of the school year (for two of the kids at least), we ventured into the mountains nearby to find a waterfall we heard about from a friend.  It was a hot, humid day, but it was worth all the sweat.  What a beautiful place!

The beautiful waterfall.

I just loved this red bridge.  Thankfully the kids didn't mind stopping for a second to pose for a picture.

The stream below the falls.

Playing in the water.

After we hiked we stopped at this beautiful reservoir to picnic and watch the sunset.

Last Day of School

The last Friday of June marked not only the end of the school year for Isaak and Noelle, but also the last day of Chinese school for them.  We have been so blessed to be able to have them in a local Chinese school that is both small and full of caring teachers, but with Joey graduating from Kindergarten this year and about to begin elementary school, I know that I can't keep up with all that Chinese and still keep them up to speed with their English.  We all know our limits!!  In the fall we will begin homeschooling, for better or for worse!  That in itself will be a new adventure.....we'll see how it goes.

Ellie with her teacher, Mrs. Zhong.

Ike with his teacher, Mrs. Fan, and a couple of his good friends.

Sunset....kind of

Andy wanted to get some sunset pictures the other night so we decided to all go out in search of the "perfect" spot.  While he had took his pictures I decided to snap some of the kids watching the amazingly clear mountains (while the mountains are very close to us, they are often covered with clouds or smog or who knows what, so we can't see them).

End of the Year School Programs

Ellie and her friends all ready for their dance.

Ellie's class after their dance.

Ike and his class after their rather strange, but funny, skit.

A Fun Filled Weekend

Ellie, her friend, her friend's mom, and I had the opportunity to compete in a ukulele competition on Father's Day weekend.  We had a lot of fun that day!  We played and sang a Hakka song that is very popular here.  We were definitely in the "beginners" category because there were some AMAZING ukulele players competing, but we still managed to take 3rd place in the singing category.  The next day we got to spend some time with the same friends playing the ukulele for a fundraising event, and helping to make/sell Taiwan style shaved ice.  By the end of the weekend were feeling very tired, but also very blessed!

Ellie and her friend accepting our award and the ukulele we won.

Our group

Ellie and her friend hard at work!