Izzy goes to Culture Camp

This is a posting for Isabel who is hopefully resting well after a busy day at our adoption agency’s annual summer Culture Camp for adoptees from China, Korea, and a few other countries. Here she is with a friend she made today, Caroline. She made a paper lantern, went to a Korean dance workshop, helped to play drums with drummers from Korea, started a “Lifebook” to tell her story and a few other things that she couldn’t remember. Other key points gleaned were that she didn’t drink the whole day, so we’ll have to work on that next year.

In Oliver news, he has been working at a fever pitch on his bird field guide, currently drawing and coloring birds of the field like ptamigans, bob whites, etc.

Henry is busy pushing boundaries.

Signing off!

All about rattlesnakes

Hi it's Oliver again. I like reading animal guide books and got one from the library on reptiles. We leave for Big Moose Lake soon. Hopefully we won't see a rattlesnake while there.

Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake

The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake is tan with dark brown blotches shaped like diamonds on it and a dark brown mask on its face. It can be 33 to 96 inches long. It lives in sandy areas and pine woods in the southeastern United States. The top photo is the eastern diamondback.

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

The Western Diamondback Rattlesnake is tan with reddish brown blotches shaped like diamonds on it and black and white bands on its tail. It can be 30 to 84 inches long. It lives in deserts and rocky areas in the south central and southwestern United States. The western diamondback is the bottom photo.

Oliver loves sharks

Horn Shark

The Horn Shark lives around large rocks at the bottom of kelp forests in the Pacific from central California to Baja California. Male Horn Sharks are 25 in. long, and females are 23 in. long. It eats sea urchins, crustaceans, and small fish. There are spines on the Horn Sharks dorsal fins. The Horn Shark is tan with dark brown spots. When it is born it is usually 6 inches.

Huzzah, Huzzah!

4th of July at George Washington’s Home                                                                                        

We went to Mount Vernon for the 4th of july. We heard the Declaration of Independence read and saw General Washington inspect his regiment. Then we went down to the dock. When we were having a snack at the dock, we saw an osprey fly up to its nest that was right above us. There was another osprey in the nest and it was probably sitting on eggs.We watched the ospreys for a while. Here are some pictures of us at Mount Vernon and the ospreys.

Ha Ha

First a few Oliver jokes...

Why did the baseball game get cancelled on the hot, hot day?

[pause] Why?

Because there were no fans.

[ba-dum-dum]

What do you call pasta you just bought at the store?

....mmmm, what?

NOOdles!

And now a word on sharks.....

I got a book about sharks at Barnes & Noble. It tells you about what the different kinds of sharks eat and where they live. And it tells how big they get. I drew some pictures of sharks. Here are some of them.

Ribbet

Oliver loves his reptiles! Or is it amphibians?

Oak Toad Report

by Oliver

Oak Toad, latin name: bufo quercicus

The Oak Toad is a very, very small grey to black toad with reddish-brown and black warts. It also has a light stripe down the middle of its back. It is 3/4 to 1 1/4 inches long. The Oak Toad lives in oak and pine forests in the southeastern U.S. The Oak Toad is the smallest toad in North America. The Oak Toad is active during the day.

Ancient Greece

We are having fun learning about the amazing culture, myths and battles of ancient Greece. Yesterday, we learned that if you were ever to go back in time, it would be best to not choose to be one of the 300 Spartans who battled the Persians at Thermopylae. Best to not choose to be a Spartan at all—particularly if you are a boy. Oliver, Isabel and Henry will post things eventually that we are making and doing as we have fun with the Greeks. [Mom]