Monthly Au Pair Meeting

B had her monthly au pair meeting at the Como Zoo. It was a scavenger hunt. She had a lot of fun but admitted that she cheated when asked to find the Minnesota flag. HA! Oh well. Now she knows. She won a great smelling candle from "Life is Good" but I think was hoping for something else. Her name got drawn toward the bottom though so there wasn't much to pick from. B was a little disappointed with the sleeveless green shirts they handed out for the day. In Thailand they are a bit more modest that Americans or Europeans and don't usually bare their shoulders so she put it over her t-shirt which was red and the neon green clashed a little. Okay, a lot. The boys all got regular t-shirts so she tried to trade. She wondered why they hadn't gotten regular t-shirts for all of them but she made the best of it.

California

B saved up her money so she could take a trip out to California. It was planned very last minute as we were going to be heading to the cabin for a week over the Fourth of July and thought it would be a good time for her to use a week of her vacation. She booked her ticket less than a week before the flight and started packing right away. I brought her to the airport early Saturday so she'd have a full day in California. B had plans to stay with another Thai au pair that is living in Los Angeles and after staying with her a few days they told her she was welcome to stay her entire trip. What a relief! Free place to stay with friendly faces. She befriended the neighbor who was a 97 year old woman who used to work at Disney Studio. She still drove and brought B there for a tour which is something that not everyone gets to do so B was pretty excited about that. B thought her driving was a little erratic but they are both still in one piece so that's good. She got to visit Venice Beach, Disneyland (B was very excited to meet Mickey Mouse!) and see the Hollywood sign. She also went to Thai Town and had fun walking on the streets speaking to all the Thai people (in Thai) and finding the best familiar food to eat like Papaya salad. B went to the Temple there which is supposed to be the largest in the country and spent a good part of her day in the kitchen at a restaurant talking to the cooks and helping them out for fun. B also met someone who buys hair and sells it in Thailand. He told her she had great hair and wanted to know if she'd like to sell it! She told him "no" but he told her that if she could find people in Thailand to sell their hair to him he'd give her a share in the profits. So funny. She really enjoyed her trip and felt good about traveling there alone...she's getting much more comfortable being independent in the States. We're happy B had a good trip and that she had a safe and fun time.

Go Twins!

B got to go to her very first Twins game at Target Field last night. I dropped her off on my way to a happy hour with old friends and co-workers and she had some time to sight see around the stadium before meeting her au pair group. She didn't understand the game so I don't think she had as much fun as she could have but I think she had a little fun and she met a couple new au pairs in her group. She also got to meet T.C. the Twins' bear mascot and got her photo taken with him!

Whatsa Cabin

B finally came up to the cabin for her first time a little over a week ago. It was a tight squeeze in the car (we had to borrow my FIL's vehicle) to fit me, T, t, J, B and P but we made it work. The weather on Saturday was touch and go with rain, then sun, then storms, then sun, then rain...you get the picture. I used to it to my full advantage to take a nap when t took his nap. The others played Monopoly City. J, T and B shot targets with BB guns and went for a boat ride. Little man and I played outside and just chilled. On the way home B told me she had been a little homesick for Thailand (for the first time I think!) because she lives in a remote area and our cabin is in a remote area. We're happy she had fun with us and looking forward to the next time she can come up with us to have fun in the sun!

Eating at the Drive-In on the way up (and getting eaten alive by mosquitoes!)

Minnow Jim's hats

Nature walk (we saw a turtle, a chipmunk and a bunny on this one)

First boat ride on Nelson Lake

Me and my boys

Skol Vikes! (in Packer territory)

Shooting BB guns

B and t

Playing Monopoly

More on visiting au pair

Pics from B's weekend with A - they crammed a lot of activity into a short weekend!

Visiting au pair from Poland/Iowa

Last weekend we headed up to the cabin but B stayed behind because she had her an au pair friend visit for the weekend. B met A while they were in au pair school in New York and became fast friends. B called A her "translator" because her English was so very good and she could understand B and help her to understand others. A is from Poland and lives for the year with her host family in Iowa City. She takes care of four children. Two girls (I think 3 1/2 and 5 or maybe 7, I forget) and two boys (10 and 12). They've been in school the entire time she's been here so I think she was getting a little nervous for summer break to be coming. A is a very sweet girl; she brought us some cookies and popcorn! She left Iowa City on Thursday night and had to change buses a few hours into the trip. She arrived in Minneapolis around 5am on Friday morning and walked around and then took a bus to the general vicinity of our home and walked several blocks to get there. (It's too bad she couldn't figure out the bus stop that just down the corner from our house!) A spent the day with B and t and they had lots of fun playing with him. After we left Friday evening for the cabin, her and B had a fun-filled weekend full of bowling, shopping at the MOA, visiting the sculpture garden and more. We would welcome A in our home anytime.

Au Pair School in Maryland

Last Friday my MIL came over to watch the little man so I could bring B to the airport. She was headed off to Maryland for a weekend school that is designed for au pairs to meet their credit quota. B's plane landed Friday evening and the hotel shuttle picked her up at the airport and brought her to the hotel that the classes would be taking place. Saturday morning she had orientation and then a full day of classes. Sunday also was filled with classes and after B was done she met up with an au pair friend of hers that is from China but who lives with her host family in Maryland. She spent the next three nights with her and her host family and did some sightseeing and flew back to Minneapolis on Wednesday. It's was T's first day home alone with t and so they went to the airport to pick her up and B had missed t so much and volunteered to spend the afternoon watching him to T could get some work done. We missed her as well and are happy she had fun and made it home safely.