World Cultures

We went to an event in downtown West Palm today called "kaleidoscope." It was like a mini Epcot, with different schools (mainly middle schools) putting out mini countries with exhibits, activities, walk throughs etc. It was so well done and very creative! Shayna's future middle school, Omni, had Australia. We found out that she can take part in this by joining a club. Skyler slept the entire time we were here.

in front of the philippines:


Guatemala:

There were so many countries including Israel, Germany, France and Italy. Italy had a nice elaborate set up, with a gondala out front, a little bridge to walk over, kids in costume greeting you handing you things, a leaning tower of pisa, the sistine chapel ceiling. the cutest thing was a girl I call the huggy girl who was dressed as a white statue. she asked for a hug as you walked into the exhibit area. after we came out, I told Manny he should go in, and I watched as he walked by her quickly in the other direction ignoring her, and she chased him down for a hug.

Visitors so far

We went to Las Olas Blvd. tonight in Fort Lauderdale to meet up with an old friend of mine, Brian Cohen. We had a nice dinner and walked around. Brian went to the same high school as me and graduated in 1984. He was passing through on his way to south beach Miami and Key West.

Our other visitors:

Jami and her husband Chris came by in late November. We showed them the house and sat out back by the canal and then went out to Max's grille in Mizner Park Boca and walked around. They were on thier way to Coral Springs and then the Keys.

Our first visitors were my parents over Thanksgiving.

We're looking forward to more visitors...come on over to paradise!

Fishing on the ocean in Boca

While Skyler and I were at the beach, Manny and Shayna were fishing on the boat. They went out on the ocean as it was very calm. They went up to the spot close to where we were at the beach, which was in the southern part of Boca (south beach). I was able to see the boat from the beach with the binoculars, and then took these photos using the zoom on the camera:

Here is a photo Manny took with his cell phone. I did Shayna's hair in a medium high ponytail (high is next to impossible) and she really likes it this way rather than just at her neck.

Tidepool

I took Skyler to south beach Boca today after preschool, while Manny and Shayna went out fishing on the boat (she had a half day). It was a really nice day, warmer than normal for January (according to the parents I talked to who have lived here a long time). There was a really nice big tidepool and Skyler had a blast playing in it:

when we first got there, there were 2 little girls, Anna, age 7 and Madeleine, age 3 (4 in march). Anna is in 1st grade at Del Prado (same as Shayna). I was talking to thier mom, Susan, about the preschool that I will probably be sending Skyler to in the fall for his pre-K year, the Professional Learning Center. Her daughter Anna went there for pre-K and she thinks that Madeleine may go there in the fall for pre-K also. So they may be in school together for pre-K. I was glad I met her, as I have not met anyone with personal experience with the school, and she said it was very good. We were discussing the "pre-K plus" program, which is more hours per day than just the VPK program. The state pays for what is called VPK- voluntary pre kindergarten, but the catch is they only pay for 3 hours per day and/or about $2500/year. So if you want the 4.5 hour class you pay a little extra after they subtract the state money from tuition.

Below, Madeleine (pronounced mad-a-lynn) in red and her sister Anna and Skyler:

The girls left, and like magic a brother and sister appeared and played with Skyler. David, age 5, was snorkeling in the tidepool. How cute, double click on the photo:

David and his sister, Lauren, age 6. Skyler really wanted to use her blue shovel, so she was nice and used his purple shovel. Lauren is in kindergarten at Addison Mizner (the other elementary school I was/am considering, its more east).

Later, 2 brothers, Jonas, age 5, and Luca, age 3 arrived and enjoyed the tidepool and some boogie boarding. Skyler and I had met them about a week before, the last time we were at south beach. Jonas knows Lauren from Addison Mizner, not sure if they are in the same K class or not. Notice the tide is coming into the tidepool.

we stayed until the sky started turning pink, then all three parents and kids left the beach at the same time.

Skyler vs. Yo Yo

Skyler won. Here is what happened to the yo yo:



A toy has to be made very sturdy to survive Skyler. Also, he is already showing skills in reverse engineering.

Skyler in a Box

anytime there is a box, Skyler will enjoy sitting in it:

New kid K'nex

Skyler got another Kid K'nex set from Uncle Mike and Aunt Christy for Christmas. he got his first one for his birthday from them. He really loves this. he is getting good at following the examples in the brochure. You can see him playing with both sets:

Now he has been showing us the brochure that came with the set, pointing to the kits he does not have yet, saying he "needs them." Its the first time he ever made a point to ask for a toy.

he also got a leapfrog card game/s from uncle mike and aunt christy, so he got to play his first card game. he really likes saying "go fish."

Alligator Egg

Skyler got an alligator egg from Shayna for Christmas. She gave the same egg to cousin Sam for his birthday.

Skyler really was excited about the egg, and after it was put into the water wanted to check it every five minutes:


It took about 12-24 hours for some cracks to show, and then eventually it looked like this, below, and over a day or two an arm, then head, etc. would pop out.

here is the alligator after he hatched:

Rutherford Park

After leaving the childrens musuem, we went to Rutherford Park to take a walk on the boardwalk trail winding through the mangroves and along the intracoastal. This park is on the west side of the intracoastal, opposite of the Gumbo Limbo park on the opposite side of the intracoastal waterway and also in Boca Raton.

You can see the mangrove roots in this photo. I couldn't get Shayna and Skyler to pose so this is the best shot I got: