The Fishy Saga Continues....

Can you see the 2 new fishies?

No one ever told me fishkeeping was harder than caring for 2 birds + 2 kids + 1 hubby! Yesterday Abbie and I went to Petsmart again to return Ganny, the Mickey platy who started to 'scratch' herself on the sides of the tank. Maybe she got the 'itch' from Waggy. Anyways, we returned Ganny and got 2 more! We got a beautiful Green Cory Catfish whom we named "Green Bean"...

Green Bean and blurry "Tiny"

....and Pepper immediately fell in love with her! She's very outgoing and swims up and down the sides of the tank, very atypical for catfishes who usually just stay on the bottom and sleep and eat and do whatever they do at the bottom of the tank....

Abbie was very friendly and chatty with both of the fish departement guys that they gave us a free baby Marigold Variatus (platus & swordtail hybrid) fish! She was born by livebearer mommy (not via fish egg, but as a fry capable of swimming right upon birth) ! "Baby Tiny" was SO cute and tiny, just 1/2 inch and very big, ogling eyes (compared to his body size)!

Tiny is so cute! She waits by the other fishes who are eating bottom feeder algae wafers, and as the pieces float to her (from the water current), she snatches the tiny pieces and eats them! Smarty girl!

Can you find Baby Tiny in the picture?

I learned that we cannot get too attached to pets, ESPecially fishes, 'cuz they die of ever reason imaginable! Food (too much), temperature, pH, fish fighting, skin sore/bacteria/diseases.... you name it! In 6 weeks I've gone to the fish store 25 times! But they are a pleasure to have, to watch, and even relaxing to behold. Cleaning fish tank has become my pastime and method of de-stressing!

I took 150 pictures of them today and only got 7 clear pictures. but it was worth the time and energy 'cuz they are so cute.....I guess I'm a fish addict after all! Welcome home, everyone, and please....do get along and don't die!

This is "Where's Waldo"....Can you find them all?

The Merry Life of 8 Fishies and 2 Shrimps

What? It's August Already?

I can't believe we're half way through August!! Where has the summer gone?

I'm on batch 2 of my sunflower seed planting! The last batch has all grown and one was even taller than me!

Abbie graciously took pictures of me and the giant mammoth sunflower, though I look chubby and pregnant in the pictures....

One enjoyable reward this summer was having fresh-picked, SUPER sweet, home-grown tomatoes (3 sizes) to eat every week! I didn't know that tomatoes are actually SWEET!

A sad thing that happened over the weekend was that our first Mickey platy, "Mickey", died because the earthworm I gave her was too big and got stuck in her mouth. I never knew fish could choke on worms 'cuz they breathe through their gills..... But we got "Waggy" the Sunburst Wag platy and "Guppy".

I realized all 3 fishes were males 'cuz Ganny (the surviving Mickey mouse platy) whom we thought was a girl....kept doing the mating dance w/the other 2 new male fishes....so it's creepy to watch this boy fish keep trying to mate with the other 2 guys...

Hence, today I decided to get a girl Mickey platy ~ "Baby" after watching "Despicable Me" with the kids. All these name-giving to our fishies is getting burdensome 'cuz things happen to fishies all the time... (*_*)....and it's only been 6 weeks since we started fishkeeping!

I told Abbie that Mickey is now compost for tomato plant and went to Jesus. Maybe one day we will see Mickey in heaven! She's skeptical but accepted the fishie's fate.

Looking forward to going on our Yosemite trip soon! This has been a busy summer and finally we get to go on our 1st trip! Hubby read on Wall St. Journal that there are $15,000 worth of damage from bears in Yosemite this year, compared to just $1500 last year! It will be exciting if a bear tries to break into our minivan or tent for food or soda! (^_^)

Vacation Bible School Continues ~ Group Pictures and Monkey Business!

Rainforest VBS 2010

Today Jubee bird decided that she wanted to visit the kids at VBS too! First the kids and camp leaders took group pictures, then split up into little groups like the past 2 days!

The "Good Samaritan Watermelon boy" was a big hit, and it was so cute! So are the heart-shaped cheeses!

The most difficult VBS craft this year was the "Build-A-Monkey" project using (unworn) socks and stuffing! But the kids did a great job!

Jubee attracted lots of forest lookey-loos as they walked past and stopped to chat with her! She enjoyed watching the kids play outdoor activities!

Little kids intrigued by Talking Jubee

VBS Finale!! (^_^) What an Unforgettable Celebration!

Rainforest VBS 2010 ~ Slideshow of the year (Courtesy of Emily)

It is 2 hours after VBS ended..... I'm very happy yet sad that we finally have to part! It reminds me of the chinese proverb: There is no banquet that lasts forever. Hence, after we've gathered and recharged, we are to go out and spread God's Word and love.

Parents joined Praise and Worship time at the end of Day 5 of VBS!

Today we had "dress up like a rainforest animal" day, and the kids were so cute!

We had parents come join us for the final praise and worship, group presentations, and super cool slideshow! Hubby was so touched by the video....tears tears! Here is the very cool Anacondas dance, the cute Jaguar presentation, and finally, the incredible Lizards! Must see!

We had so much fun eating the taiwanese foods....everyone had to buy them with raffle tickets. I went through the "back door" and grabbed food for myself and Abbie!

The kids also played lots of carnival games, thanks to Uncle Peter! He brought lots of games and prizes for the kids to play!

We are very blessed to have so many friends and coworkers who helped make this eternally-impacting event possible. The high schoolers and college students were awesome! The Lord bless them richly!

Thanks to everyone for your help with VBS. The clean-up time was incredible....everyone worked fast and efficiently, and before we knew it, the clean up was done!!!

 

Our Church Vacation Bible School ~ Rainforst 2010!

We had a blast on Day 1 and Day 2 of VBS! It was so fun!! We had so much fun and 50 kids registered, just like we prayed for! The setting up in the week before this was difficult, but thanks to our hardworking VBS crew, the beautiful Rainforest was up and running by Monday!

Everyone helped set up the registration and name-tag table, and in the slideshow below, you will see some "behind-the-scenes" pictures of how everyone pitched in to make this event possible!

Our Faithful Snack Providers!

This is how your VBS shirts are made! With lots of love!

Kids sang praise & worship daily, watched daily dramas of adventures in the rainforest, ate different snacks representing the day's parable (like crushed oreo soil and gummy worms; sheep-shaped crackers), and had outdoor activities like water-relay!

Caleb eats his 'lost sheep popcorn snack', unaware that Pastor Allen is next to him with silly face....

The boys especially loved getting themselves (and others) wet!

In between stations, some groups played fun games!



They also participated in snake-jumping contests, made different crafts like rainmaker instrument and silly masks, and heard different parables in a secluded rainforest tent!

On Day 2, a special guest joined the kids in the rainforest! IT WAS..... Kobee the Senegal Parrot! Brought to you by our coordinator, Ranger Mark! [Ok, it was lugged to and fro the house/minivan by supportive spouse Sophie...but we'll give him the credit anyways....] (^_^)

He immediately got the attention of many forest rangers, and had a blast hanging out with them! Stay tuned for more tomorrow.....and Thursday....and Friday!