BIG catch up

So much has happened since I last wrote. SO much to catch up on.... Still need to write birthday letter to Zoë.

Quick rundown- Zoë bday, harmony week, nationals swim comp,Fiji fashion week, Zoë bday party, broken arm, computer safety presentation, Andie's beautiful teacher, sad, parents/Robertsons. Here we go!

Last week was Zoë's birthday. While it was a BUSY week, her birthday seemed to be the center of it all. Warren was out of town from Tuesday morning to Thursday night and her birthday fell on a Wednesday. So....we celebrated early so we could be with him, we celebrated on the actual day, and we celebrated late for her birthday party! That's a lot of celebrations! On her "early" birthday, we opened up family gifts, which she has only been anticipating since....hmmmm.... Christmas! She was ecstatic. A huge THANK YOU to Kate, Fred, cousins, Amma, Bebe and PapPap for sending such awesome gifts! She was ecstatic! (Her expression on her face in the pictures say it all!)

After presents we went to dinner at Zoë's first choice, Sushi Train. The girls got all fancied up for the occasion. I cannot believe how grown up they are getting!

Snowy House followed dinner where Zoë was ADAMANT that she didn't want the staff to know it was her birthday. Forget about the free dessert, she DID NOT want them singing to her for fear of complete embarrassment. It nearly drove Andie crazy. She was SO tempted to tell the staff. She just could not conceive of anyone not wanting that attention. Such different kids.

On Zoë's actual birthday she got a cupcake for breakfast and went to school as usual. I had the craziest busiest day at work so I didn't get to actually be with her class when they celebrated but her teacher was nice enough to take pictures. That night we went to Eden with Liz, Oscar, and Milla and enjoyed such a nice meal. Great to have family friends to spend the day with and give Zoers some extra love.

Special birthday necklace and flashlight from Milla.

The next day was Harmony day at school. This was a big event where about 10 of the classrooms were decorated as different countries (China, Cambodia, Australia, New Zealand, India, Fiji, USA, Korea, Vanautu, and Iran). The kids went from classroom to classroom with passports to learn about each country and answer a question for their passports. It was awesome! This was followed by a talent show where participants could showcase a talent native to their country. SO much talent!

Guess who was in charge of the USA classroom? That's right, Ms. USA herself and two friends who helped, once focusing on Hawaii (her birthplace). We were so American! Tricia dressed as the statue of liberty and I looked as patriotic as I could. We gave the kids hershey kisses and USA temporary tatoos. I put together a slide show of all things USA. It was a ton of fun! It's funny how I would never do something like that in the States but here it fits right in to our lives.

So patriotic!

Straight after the festivities, we went into the MPH for a service to honor a teacher who recently passed away at our school. She was a long time teacher of ISS and very respected and admired. It was very sad and a beautiful ceremony. After one teacher spoke she broke down at the podium and returned to her seat, crying to herself. I was sitting a few rows behind Andie and watched her watching the teacher. After half a minute, she crawled over to this teacher, stood next to her and just wrapped her arms around her, whispering that it will be ok. The teacher embraced Andie back and just cried on Andie's shoulder. My eyes are watering thinking about it. It was such a sad moment, but one in which I was so proud of my compassionate, caring daughter offering support to those who need it most. They hugged for a while and then Andie gave her one last squeeze and crawled back to her place on the carpet. I don't think I'll ever forget that.

Here is a photo of the service.

The next day, Friday, was the first day of the School Nationals Swimming Competition! The kids were super stoked and very anxious (especially Zoë) for the day. They got to miss school to compete which was cool, but Zoë wasn't too sure about swimming in front of that many people. It's kind of crazy how much of a big deal it is. It's live on tv on one of Fiji's two main television channels. Its got automated time boards (don't know what they are called) at the end of each lane so when the child touches the wall it takes their time and it's got over 800 swimmers participating. It's a big event!

I maintained my composure this time to save my children the embarrassment. They both did SO well on the first day! I felt badly because we really thought Zoë got second place but it was just so freaking close! Many people ran up to her telling her she got second but when the final results came out, she actually got fourth by a fraction of a second. She was disappointed but just racing and representing her school was important!

After the first night of nationals, it was the "Trend Setters" night at Fiji Fashion week. I went with Tricia and we had (too much) fun. Once again, it was really fun to see all of the Fiji fashion and to see some of the up and coming designers.

We got matching rings...we both liked them....soo.....

On Saturday, the girls raced again. Friday was 50 m backstroke and relays while Saturday was 100m backstroke for Andie, 50 m freestyle for both Andie and Zoë, and relays for both girls. Again, Zoë was so nervous, but her nerves eased a bit. When she swam freestyle she all of a sudden changed her stroke where she was breathing every arm pull. I think the excitement got the best of her and she felt like she couldn't breathe correctly....but who knows? Again, it's just important that she got out there and did it and felt good about it! She and her relay team got the bronze medal so she feels great! Andie got the gold in the 100 m back!!!! She is overjoyed! I am SOOOO proud of my kick ass little swimmers!

waiting to swim

relay team

The day after nationals (Sunday) was Zoë's bday party. Whew....what a weekend! We did it up for her party and she was very happy! We had a disco cake, a disco ball, a bouncy house, and of course the pool. I always get stressed out before these big parties, but in the end it was a fantastic day and everyone was happy. Andie's is next!

the cake

disco

parents hanging out

sweet Jeli and Tima with birthday girl

I've been really missing Wendy lately and her sweet family. I've been feeling lonely lately and just like I don't have many friends. I don't know why I go through these phases but they always pass. Wendy and her family drove to see my parents on their way to DC! They had an amazing time and felt like they were with family for the whole stay. I LOVED that they got together and that Wendy and Kathleen got to meet too! It made me so happy to see them all together, but a little sad to miss out too. How amazing is it though when you family and friends love one another?! Check out cute pics!

Kathleen and Wendy's daugther

the crew in my parent's back yard

The Robertsons are now a part of our height wall!

Lach gave Dad his treasured hat. So special.

Someone loved my mom's apple pie!

These two.

Also, our poor friend, Oscar has gotten a compound fracture this week from falling wrong on a trampoline. Terrifies me now about getting a trampoline.... Poor baby. The bone was piercing his skin. Yikes. He's doing so much better now.

Lastly, in this forever long post.....yesterday Harmony day festivities continued. The kids got to dress in their national dress at school. It was so awesome to see so much color all day long. The day ended in a fashion show/talent show representing all of the different cultures. I LOVED it! I couldn't stop smiling. I loved seeing all of the national pride. I loved seeing my kids learning and celebrating those that are different than themselves. I loved the music and talent and vibe. It was a really cool afternoon!