First day of school!
Emma 10th grade, James 8th, Eliza 6th and Tessa 1st
Emma's 15th b-day party
John celebrates his 39th b-day at Shanghai's new Outback Steakhouse
Anne and Steve Hayden are teaching seminary this year. It is such a blessing that they live in our neighborhood. They are amazing teachers and the youth love them! Emma rides her bike there each morning at 5:55am. She comes back at 7:00 and has enough time to eat breakfast with us before catching the bus.
The first week of school was a success. The kids love all their teachers and
classmates. Emma’s homework load is
massive already--no easing in: had to read a novel in her lit class in five
days, took a practice AP History test on the sixth day, already had a math
test…breathe! She didn’t make the school
play, they only cast six girls and six boys. She
was disappointed at first but is staying busy with Chambers Singers and
Dance. And she can look forward to
cheerleading and the spring musical. James
is playing touch rugby after school and this Saturday will sign up for a
community baseball team. He bore his
testimony at church yesterday about his experiences at Scout Camp this
summer. Eliza goes to gymnastics two
days a week and is excited for girl scouts to start up again next week. She got the 6th grade teachers she
hoped for and her best friend is in her class.
Tessa came home the first day and said, “I think first grade is going to
be a great year!” She was worried about
homework, but hasn’t had much yet.
Emma celebrated her 15th birthday on Friday, August 23rd. She had
friends over for pizza, cake, games and a movie. She has a good group of friends and we heard
lots of laughter coming from the basement!
Her real b-day, Monday, was a disappointment (other than the cupcakes
she took to seminary and candles in her pancakes). After school she literally did homework for
three hours straight. When John got home
from work we piled into the Focus to go to a new French Crepe place that opened
this summer for dessert. Traffic was
horrible and what usually takes seven minutes took us twenty to get there. When we pulled up it was closed with a sign
that said they are only open on weekends.
Back home we went for leftover brownies and two more hours of
homework. She received her b-day present
this summer, a ukulele. That day she
opened up an amplifier for it and some homemade cards from her sisters. She decided that Monday is not a good day
for a birthday.
I met John for lunch on his 39th b-day last
Thursday at a delicious Thai restaurant in the mall across from his work. That morning he blew out candles in his
pancakes and opened his presents (mainly new workout clothes). That evening we had middle school Back to
School Night and enjoyed meeting James and Eliza’s teachers. Saturday night the two of us went to Puxi to
eat at Outback Steakhouse for one last b-day celebration this month. As we sat down, our friends from the other
branch, Ruth and Kent Demke, came in. We
had them join us for dinner. We had a
fun time visiting with them about their summer and she was just called as their
new YW president (she doesn’t know how she can possibly replace Becky Olsen – we
agree very hard shoes to fill).
On Sunday the YW “roasted” Emma for her b-day and read the
following:
1. When Emma was falling asleep in her crib
as a baby she would roll her head from side to side and say “goy, goy, goy,
goy, goy, goy….” She had a bald spot on
the back of her head for about a year and a half from this habit.
2. She had a stuffed toy lamb called “Lammy”
that she took everywhere and couldn’t sleep without. After three years the ears
fell off but she still wouldn’t give it up.
3. In August 2005 The Wall Street Journal did
an article about our family living in Chongqing. The article ended with this:
“But they are always aware how far they are
from home. Mr. and Ms. Larsen returned from dinner one evening to a find a poem
from their 6-year-old daughter Emma, complete with a child's misspellings,
taped to their bed-stand. It read:
Amarica is my place!
I love Amarica.
It was fun.
It was so fun.
I miss it.
I miss my frieds.
I love Amarica.
Amarica was my place and it still is my place.”
I love Amarica.
It was fun.
It was so fun.
I miss it.
I miss my frieds.
I love Amarica.
Amarica was my place and it still is my place.”
She was embarrassed and cried when she saw it.
4. In the sixth grade Emma would often wake
up with a stomachache. She would carry a
barf bag in her backpack. We finally
took her to a doctor, who said everything looked fine. She thought Emma might have low blood sugar
in the mornings and recommended she eat ice cream before bed. Emma said “Sweet!”
5.
Emma loves to dance and is a cute High School cheerleader. She was on a dance competition team before
moving to Shanghai.
6. Emma is usually the peacemaker in our
home. She likes to do what is
right. She is very consistent in her
scripture reading and journal writing.
7. Emma loves music! She says she can’t live without it. For her b-day this year she got a ukulele and
an amplifier. She is in APAC choir and
will be going to the Philippines and New York City with them this year.
8. Emma loves kids and is a popular
babysitter. She taught Tessa to read and
is now her piano teacher.
9.
Emma does not enjoy competitive sports.
She is always disappointed when the youth activity is dodge ball or
ultimate Frisbee.
10.
Emma is obsessive about being on time.
And by “on time” she means five or ten minutes early. Always.
