New Magazine: (学中文：在美国 Keep Learning Chinese in America)

 I'm starting a new magazine that has some parts in English and some parts in Chinese. It has a bit of Chinese history, Chinese culture, stories in Chinese, introduces different places (one time it'll be a place in the US and the next time it'll be a place in China), and more. There's a puzzle where you have to find things in the picture and another puzzle where you have to find 5 things that aren't the same. It's available as a printed magazine for $10 on www.lulu.com (look for Rachel Bubb). Many of my books are also available as printed book on this website. 

Aquarium and Beach

 We love living so close to the beach. There's 2 beaches within walking/ biking distance and lots of beaches within a 30 minute driving distance. The kids have wanted to go to the Aquarium for a long time so we finally went. It's also a 30 minute drive away. The kids loved it- we all loved it. We went to an aquarium back in China that was much bigger, but you never got that close to the animals and there were much more people. This aquarium was smaller but much more enjoyable and hands on (you could pet the star fish, some other animals, and even a shark! They had a bunch of leopard sharks that are small and don't normally hurt people...for sharks, they are super tame). 

Camping Trip

 We went camping over the weekend- the first time for my husband and the kids. We went to a river close by (20 minute drive). The kids loved it and want to go camping again. We'll go again in a few weeks because we already have it reserved. The place we went camping at is super popular and books up fast. You have to reserve ½ a year ahead of time because it's so busy. 

Trip to Coos Bay (Lighthouses, Trains, and Animals)

 We just came back from a three day trip to Coos Bay in Oregon. We saw some lighthouses, went to a train museum (where you can climb on the old trains- the kids loved it!), and went to an animal park. It was nice and we had great weather.

Skunk Rescue

 We tried to rescue a skunk that was caught in the crack of a drain pipe along the side of the road. The kids and I were walking along the road to go to the beach and saw the little creature along the road. I thought the animal was dead but the kids saw it breathing and then it moved. We called the animal control place and they came to rescue it. They got it free and it ran away. We've had lots of lovely days at the beach lately; it's been so nice!

A visit to a lighthouse (and museums)

 I love history and love visiting places of history. Today was a really nice day for the whole family. We drove up north to see Cape Blanco lighthouse, went to a museum (the Hughes House- a house from the late 1800s that's now a museum), a life boat museum, and the beach (that's supposed to have agates). We also saw lots of baby dragonflies on the walkway close to the beach.

Summer Fun

We had some summer fun: flying kites on windy days, going to the beach (a lot since it's so close by!), growing plants, etc... The kids are very excited about blueberries, which should be ripe later this month or next month. 

My oldest son is flying a kite on a big pile of wood bark in the backyard.

My daughter has loved doing some art- she's really good. (8 ½ years old)

Some of my favorite flowers that are in bloom at the moment.

We have some avocado seeds growing in water. We did this a few months earlier with another avocado and now that one is in the dirt and should get leaves soon.