Sorry that I haven't been blogging lately.  Just very busy with school starting up again.  I am also a working girl again.  I'm writing and editing for a local real estate magazine.  I'm also busy with volunteer work at the school.  I am the Secretary for the PFO (Parent Faculty Organization) this year.  So juggling family, work, and volunteer work should keep me out of trouble.  The three boys have all gotten off to a great start this school year.  The twins are in 4th grade (separate classes).  Philip has the same teacher as last year, who he adored (and still does), and who has moved up a grade.  Thomas has a new male teacher from England who has a fantastic sense of humor, according to the kids.  There are some new children at their school in their classes that they have made friends with. Nick is happy that he has his Aussie pal's dad as his homeroom teacher.  The 7th grade class has an upcoming trip (3rd week of September) to the south of China, in Suzhou.  They go there by train (a long train ride,  I think....I'm waiting to hear more details) and stay there for a week.  It's called the "Week Without Walls," trip.  How about that for bonding with your classmates and teachers?  No walls indeed.  First time Nick will be gone that long from his family.  But an adventure of a lifetime.  Have to go now and pick up the kids from school.  I'll add more later.

Okay, now here's my blog on Thomas.  Sorry for the delay on photos and blogs.  Please direct all complaints to windows live spaces.  They updated everything to make it easier for us to use these web pages, but it took me awhile to figure out how to download their stuff for their "new features."  Personally, I don't see many changes.  It was good both ways.  Oh well.....now about Thomas.  He has become quite the reader this summer.  He has become engrossed in a series of novels created as a spin off of The Pirates of the Caribbean series.  Thomas has also developed some new food tastes this summer.  He absolutely adores cream of mushroom soup now.  Which is a good thing, because I'm able to buy the Campbell's cans and this soup flavor seems to have been embraced by the Chinese.  Again and again at local restaurants, we are astounded when the soup of the day is cream of mushroom soup.  Sometimes it is in the guise of other names, such as four fungi soup (doesn't sound as appetizing), but it tastes pretty much the same.   He loves egg salad sandwiches, but he smears them up with ketchup (a habit gleaned from his father).  Won't eat the crusts, though.  Right now Thomas is happy that his best friends in China, Alex and Louise, have arrived back from their home leave.  The kids are all riding bikes back and forth between the two houses, overjoyed to be reunited again.  Nick has started the idea of their being rental shops in the O.C.....kids can rent toys, games, and books off of each other for very cheap profits.  This idea has taken off in the community, and there are rental shops popping up between the two houses.  I believe that some partnerships have even been formed cross-family.  Last I heard, Philip and Louise had an unlimited partnership.  Or was that limited?  I can't keep up with it all.  I'm waiting for one of them to go public, so I can buy stome stocks.