Forbidden Gardens

Forbidden Gardens here in Houston is now closed but we went the last weekend they were open to the public. It reminded us so much of when we were in China one year ago. Sarah remembered a great deal of the Forbidden Gardens. We went with the Gee's this time. The Gardens will be sold off hopefully to museums around the US. Russ and I were there before we brought Sarah home and it still looked exactly the same. I am sad that a part of the girls heritage is gone but we have pictures and will hopefully go back when the girls are older.

Sarah made a crown for Micah's birthday

Sarah made a crown for Micah's birthday. Sarah got me up early and we made the crown. Then we went and woke Micah up. She loved wearing the crown.

Micah's 2nd birthday and first year home

Micah is home 1 year and turns 2 on the 8th and 10th of March. We had a dual party. We decided to have a petting zoo come to the house and invite her class mates. We had about 35 people here. Her classmates Emme, Emma, , Sloan, Derick and Angelina came. We also had the Fourniers, Gees, Gyllings, Norris', Sarah and James, the Brothers, Aunt Marcy and Manna. Uncle Jim had to work.
The petting zoo had rabbits, a duck, 2 chickens, a baby goat and a pony for the kids to ride. Micah was sacred at first of all the animals. I sat in the pen with her and as long as she was on my lap she was good. We put her on the pony and she was very nervous. But as soon as the horse started to walk, she got a huge smile on her face and was very happy. Sloan also was very happy when she sat on the horse. We went inside for cookies and ice cream. There we found the little baby goat. It was 5 days old and barely ready to be out in public. He spent the morning in someone's arms. (Mostly in Manna's arms) Sarah named him Harry. The day was supposed to be cool but it was very cold and a little rainy but it didn't actually rain until the party was over. Micah went down for a nap before all the people left.

Micah's Rodeo at Bendwood

Micah had her first Rodeo at Bendwood. They had lots of different rides and games and then the chuck wagon with lemonade and trail mix. There was a parade to start with all the cowboys and cowgirls. All the kids had stick horses that their parents were to make. We used the same, bought, stick horse Sarah used when she was at Bendwood. Some of the games were, a horse race around the cones, find the needle(rhythm stick) in the haystack, a hay ride, bowling for scarecrows and many more. They also had rocking horses around the playground and a chuck wagon with 2 rocking horses to pull it. I am sure there were other things, I just forgot. Both Micah and Sarah had a wonderful time. We were sad that Dada couldn't join us.

Sarah's Wellness Rodeo

Sarah had a wellness rodeo at her school the end of February. Russ got to go to the rodeo and they had fun running around and doing all the activites.

Chinese New Year 2011

Chinese New Year was at China Bear Restaurant this year. When we got there, there were people setting up. There was a huge buffet of food. After lunch, we got to play games, feed the koi, have our faces painted and much more. At each of the games, there were prizes. Sarah even colored part of the Great Wall. There were also silent auction items that I bid on. I won a pirate game and Chinese firecrackers. We had to leave just as the lion dancers came as Micah ended up with ear infections in both ears. The day was lots of fun.

What a great weekend

We had a great weekend. It was very busy but lots of fun. It started on Saturday morning and meeting all our friends at Hunan Plus for lunch and then shopping at Mulan. We had to get shoes and trinkets for the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration. Then we came home and spent the evening playing together. On Sunday we went and got Aunt Marcy and took her to the museum to see the pirates! It was a little scary for Sarah but she did enjoy most of it. Later we took Uncle Jim and Aunt Marcy back to Hunan Plus for a wonderful dinner. It was great being with family. At the restaurant, Sarah got a little jealous of all the attention Aunt Marcy was giving Micah. Russ and I had to be very careful how much attention we gave Sarah and Micah at that time. Sarah is very sensitive and sees and hears all that is going on around her.