Camping

We went camping on Hontoon Island this past weekend.  The weather was perfect and Saiya had a great time.  There were a bunch of girls with the American Heritage group around her age, so she made friends and was playing with them the whole weekend.  We went hiking and geocaching and just had a fantastic time.  After camping, we stoppped in TItusville for lunch and killed some time at SPace View Park, where they have a mercury 7 monument and a war veterans garden.  It was very cool!

 

Wish we could have stayed longer.

Saiya the Bio Med Engineer

For Christmas, we bought Saiya a building kit from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.  It was a metal framed Winter the Dolphin kit.  Lots of little pieces and TONS of little screws.  Saiya wanted to sit down and put it together last night.  So we took it out of the box and started to work on it.  She LOVED putting it together.  It was the most tedious build kit ever, but Saiya absolutely loved it.  She kept telling me how much fun she was having and asked me why daddy doesnt like things like that.  I like putting things together, so it was a nice mommy-daughter activity.  Of course about an hour into it, she went off to bed, leaving me to finish connecting all the pieces together.  Yay me.  It was s tedious and I dont think they could have found smaller screws if they tried.  But it all came together and Saiya was so proud of her work.  :)

Coloring Eggs for Easter

This weekend we colored eggs for Easter.  Yes, I know, its a little early, but we are busy the rest of the month and Saiya has never colored eggs before.  We bought one of those egg-coloring-kits and had a blast with about a dozen eggs and several different cups with bright colors and really smelly vinegar.  Saiya had a great time, she was so proud of her eggs and super happy to take some to school with her today.

Happy Easter Everyone!

Bay Area Rennaissance Festival

 

We took Saiya to the Tampa Bay Rennaissance Festival this weekend.  She had a great time!  Within the first 20 minutes, she had a tail, wings, and a pet dragon.  She even got to ride an elephant and duel an expert swordsman.  The swordsman immediately fell in love with her and said anytime she came back, he would teach her for free!  We came out covered in renn-dirt from head to toe, but had an awesome time.

 

Happy Birthday Saiya

 

Saiya's 7th birthday was last thursday.  On friday we took her out to the Melting Pot for Fondue and Saturday we took her and her cousin to SeaWorld!  She is now just barely tall enough to ride a few of the rides there (minus the two larger roller coasters).  Her first ride was the journey to Atlantis ride.  It is a water based ride with a big drop/splash.  She HATED it.  The whole ride she was crying and wanted to get off.  Poor kid.  Not nearly as fearless as  her cousin who was screaming for joy the entire time.  After Atlantis, we hopped on the simulator ride for the trip to the Polar Bear area.  That ride wasnt so bad, but I have to admit, it made me a little nauseous.  We had a great day.  She even got to spend some of her birthday money all by herself.

Happy birthday, baby!

Boston for Chinese New Year

Saiya had a great time in Boston for the CAWLI Chinese New Year Party.  We went on a trolly tour and saw the USS Constitution.  We also met up with Wei Ying's parents and all five girls had a blast at the aquarium.  The Chinese new year party was awesome.  There was a traditional lion dance and the food was great!  We got to see Lillian.  She was so thrilled that Wen Wen and Saiya flew in to Boston for the weekend to see her and attend the party.  We met another little girl who was adopted from the same orphanage as Saiya and Wen Wen.  All four girls are close in age (although Saiya is the oldest).  I asked Saiya if she remembered her and she said a little bit.  Sunday it snowed and Saiya got to play in the snow a little bit before we had to head to the airport.  I am looking forward to Wen Wen and her family coming to Florida for a visit.  Boston was nice, but super cold (and sometimes windy).  Warmer weather would be appreciated by all, I'm sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saiya the Engineer

We took Saiya to Downtown Disney yesterday.  We ate at the T-Rex Restaurant and Saiya got to make a Dinasaur at the build a dino store.  At the Lego Store, Saiya went right to the Lego build center and started putting things together.  She has a very logical mind.  It was fun to watch her little wheels spin.  Enjoy the pictures from an awesome day!