1st Day of VHC.....

Swimming in the morning.

Jazzy's kindergarten class. Today they were in the Vietnamese Village part of the day learning which state they live in right now and where Vietnam is. They each made a globe with stickers on it as well as other crafts.

Next they went to the Heart Talks. They each "adopted" a little Koala bear, made a home for him, and discussed what it must be like for the little koala to be adopted.

Ice cream social.

Rocky Mountains....

Yesterday, we drove from Denver to Estes Park, where the Vietnamese Heritage Camp will be held. We drove around Rocky Mountain Park, took a little hike, went to the Lake Estes Marina and rode our little bike/cart around the lake, ate a nice lunch in downtown Estes Park, went swimming at the hotel, and then went to a VHC BBQ. Whew... long day!

Jazzy and me at the playground.

Jazzy and Vince at the playground.

Jazzy and Vince getting ready to go on a bike ride around the lake.

Jasmine is actually a good photographer. She took several photos of us that were perfectly centered. Here we are at Lake Estes.

Vince and Jazzy on the trail.

Yeah - Finally!!

Finally we meet Dr. Vince:) Here is Jazzy and Vince at the restaurant. Jazzy said.."You hug him on the forehead, and I will hug him on the legs":)

Today, we're driving up to Estes Park where the Vietnamese Heritage Camp is, and possibly stopping in Boulder for lunch or looking around.

Denver, CO

This morning, we got up at 2AM to catch our very early flight to Denver. We uneventfully made it there... only to find out that Dr. Vince's flight was delayed for about 6 hours due to wind. So... we drove downtown to the Denver Aquarium, walked thru it looking at all the exhibits, then ate lunch at their restaurant.
Now we're going back to the airport to pick up Vince.

At the aquarium.

Getting her arm "tattoed" with a cat.

Making an ice cream sandwich.

A milestone....

Earlier this week, Jazzy hit a big goal in her swimming class. She swam mostly on her back, but sometimes facing downward the entire width of the pool by herself. They yell something like "turn" and each time they have to flip from their back to front and vice versa while they continue to move forward. This is something she has been working on for 8-9 months. It is one requirement for advancing on to the next level. They didn't advance her because she has to be able to do it consistently.... not just one time. No pictures:(

Jazzy's first mani-pedi

A couple of months ago, I bought one of those "Groupons" to get a mani-pedi... so, I figured I would finally use it. "V" who is from Cambodia, did my nails and put a "dragonfly" on my toes... although it looks more like a arrow "--->" to me. Anyway, she said they also did little mani-pedis on kids... so I picked Jazzy up from Kindercare and told her I had a big surprise for her. We walked into the salon, and she still didn't know what was happening. When I told her they were going to do her nails as a gift prior to Vietnamese Culture Camp... she started jumping up and down--- very happy:).
Here she is getting her nails painted and little Jasmine flowers (we think) on her fingers and toes.

Aaron's Birthday Party....

This morning was Aaron Abrahamson's 5th birthday party at the Scottsdale Railroad Park. I've lived here for almost 30 years and have never been to this park. It's kind of like the Railroad Park in Irvine, CA that we visited close to my dentist's office in Los Angeles. I didn't realize that it is actually a museum for old retired trains- the Pullman boxcars, old steam engines, etc. They actually have an entire building just for a model train exhibit. All of the buildings.... even in the play area, resemble the "Old West" buildings. There is a miniature bank, barber shop, post office, and of course the miniature train which goes around the entire park- an entire Scottsdale block. There are nice air conditioned box cars for parties- complete with their own kitchens- which was really nice because it was already 100 degrees at 9AM when we got there!

Jasmine ready to go with Aaron's present- a little kindergarten computer to help learn words, sentences, letters, numbers, etc.

Let's get this party started!. Jazzy with Athena, Aaron, and Aarick- waiting for others to arrive. I felt like I was at their family's reunion because all of the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins were there- many with New York accents and New York tee shirts and baseball caps on:)

Riding the carousel with Aaron and Oliva (both from pre-school) in front.

Who wants ice cream and cake?

I have alot to live up to for Jazzy's party after this:)