First Snow!

We woke up this morning to a blanket of snow on the ground ... and now we have about 5 inches of the frosty stuff!

There is a snowball fight in progress in our yard. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves! Click on the pictures to see a full size view!

Thanksgiving Feast!

Beverly enjoyed her first Thanksgiving in the U.S. with a complete Thanksgiving Feast! She wanted me to get a picture of the table to share with her friends and family.

A traditional Thanksgiving meal at our house includes a roasted turkey (ours was about 16 pounds, or about 7.25 kg weight). We boil and mash potatoes and serve them with gravy made from turkey broth, and we also cook sweet potatoes (yams) in a sweet glaze sauce, with melted marshmallows on top. Sage dressing is also a favorite, which is made from mainly dried bread, chicken broth and the herb sage. We also enjoyed steamed broccoli, and some corn and carrots. Beverly enjoyed most everything but the sweet potatoes have a little too much cinnamon for her taste!

Beverly also got to meet Grandma Gilpin and enjoy the day with her. Here is a picture of all of us (minus Lisa, who was taking the photo) as we sat down to enjoy our feast!

THS Lady Turks Basketball

Tonight was "Meet the Team" night for Beverly's basketball team! This gave families the chance to take some pictures and hear from the coach what the expectations are for the girls for the basketball season. Beverly is pictured here with the JV team, which is made up of freshmen and sophomores.

They are working hard, but also having a little fun with one another. The girls are getting an excellent workout, including weight training. Each girl has an individualized training plan to boost their strength for the season. It will be a great team experience, and a way to get to know some other students at THS.

We signed up for the parent responsibilities ... Mitch working a concession stand shift on a home game night and me helping get a dinner together for the team to take on the bus since they leave right after school for most away games. The first game is December 1, with the first home game falling in mid-December. Should be fun!

SSAT Test Day

Beverly took the SSAT test yesterday, which is a secondary school admissions test. She is looking at 3 boarding schools in Massachusetts to complete her U.S. high school education over the next 3 years, and this test is an admission requirement.

She felt that she did very well on the test. She is working on her applications for the 3 schools ... Groton School, Milton Academy and Deerfield Academy. She'll be a long way away from Illinois if she lives in Massachusetts for the next 3 years, but we have told her she is always welcome for a holiday visit!

Beverly joins the basketball team!

Beverly has decided to become part of the THS girls basketball team ... it will be a lot of hard work (6 days a week practice) but also a lot of fun! Practice begins this week, and their first game is December 1.

Experiencing Halloween!

Halloween is one of those weird US traditions is that really hard to explain to someone from another country ... I think you just have to experience it to understand it. And that is just what Beverly did!

On Friday night she put on a costume and went to a friend's house in our neighborhood who was having a Halloween party. The kids decided to go trick-or-treating, which teenagers normally do not do around here ... but they had to show Beverly how it works! So they put their costumes on and walked door to door, collecting candy from the neighbors who were participating that night. At each door they told the person, "We know we are too old to do this, but this is Beverly, our exchange student from China, and she has never been trick-or-treating before!" Then the person at the door laughed and gave them handfuls of candy. It was a great way for teenagers to get in on the act of something usually reserved for younger kids!

Last night we went to dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants and "somehow" the server was told it was Beverly's birthday .. even though it was not! She was delighted to find out that after dinner, when it's your birthday, they come clapping and singing, bringing you a sombrero to wear home and a big chocolate sundae! Now she wants to go back on her real birthday in May! ha ha That is the picture at the top, of Beverly at her "birthday celebration"

Halloween Time

Beverly enjoyed going to see the younger kids line up and march in the Halloween Parade ... and she got to see a couple of her friends there, enjoy a hot dog and cider, and even some Halloween treats!

Trip to St. Louis!

Beverly is off to St. Louis, Missouri this weekend with a group of exchange students from the agency!

We lived in St. Louis for ten years, so we know she is going to enjoy the city and see lots of fun things! They are going to an amusement park, Six Flags Over Mid-America, that has great rollercoasters and will be all decorated for the Halloween season. They are also going to downtown St. Louis to make a stop at Union Station, an old train depot that has been renovated and converted into a shopping center. They will visit the St. Louis Zoo, the Arch, and eat at Hard Rock Cafe. Lots of fun things planned, and it will be fun for her to spend some time with the other teens in the U.S. for their exchange program!

Homecoming Dance Tonight!

After a day of nervous preparation, I introduce to you the lovely Beverly. The pictures speak for themselves and I know her family is anxious to see them, so this post is all about pictures and not about words!

(Click on any picture to see a full size view)

Homecoming Parade!

This afternoon was the big Homecoming Parade! In the parade you will find the high school band, cheerleaders, dance team, football players, homecoming court ... and look who else was in the parade, riding in the back of a convertible like a queen!

(click picture for larger view)

We knew that Beverly was offered the chance to ride in the parade as an honored guest in the school, but I wanted to save it as a surprise for her family! This is one really nice thing about small communities and small schools ... the teachers and students have really treated her like a rock star since the day she arrived!

I did take some pictures of her before the parade started, and also of the freshman class float that she helped work on during the past week. With the "Haunted Homecoming" theme it was a natural for the floats to include things like a haunted house, and the freshman one was very nicely done. We thought the freshman float was the best of the four classes and I'm sure is in the running for the first place award! Beverly is at the homecoming game with Mitch and TJ right now, but Abby and I opted to stay home because it is pretty chilly tonight! But Beverly did want to go and spend some time with her friends, and we made sure she dressed warmly.

School Spirit Day!

Today is school spirit day, which means wearing school colors (maroon and white) and getting excited for this afternoon's Homecoming parade and football game! Beverly really did not have much clothing that was maroon, but last weekend when I was at Carthage College I saw a Carthage shirt that I thought he would like, and it just happened to be in maroon! Which is not their school color, so I thought it was meant just for Beverly to wear here in Tremont! ha ha

TJ has a wide range of clothes in Tremont colors ... Abby does have her Tremont shirt on, but it's in her standard color of PINK!

Last night at the pep rally Beverly had her camera there and did take some pictures with her friends. I'll get those from her and post them soon.

After school today, the parade takes place and I will have more pictures. Tonight is the football game and tomorrow is the dance ... so a busy couple of days!

Homecoming Student Game Day!

Today the school does a special competition between the four grade levels of students (9, 10, 11 & 12) in an "Olympics" style competition to name one class the winner of the Homecoming Games. Getting dressed was much easier for Beverly this morning as she had to wear her "freshman" shirt to take part in the games. All of the kids have white shirts with a design on the back (drawn by a school art student) that goes along with the Haunted Homecoming theme, and shows which class they are in, and create a little class spirit. Abby was happy to lend her a black and orange hair bow to match her shirt!

I know Beverly signed up for a football throwing competition, because she and TJ have been out in the yard practicing her throw in recent days. I'm not sure what other types of events she is doing, but I'm sure she will have a good time.

Tonight is the "Community Pep Rally" where many people turn out to show support for the football team and the homecoming event. It's also where the Homecoming king and queen are crowned. Not sure if I will have any pictures of tonight's event to post since it is always hard to get good pictures outside in the stadium at night, since it's dark and the glare of the stadium lights is so bright.

I will have more pictures tomorrow for sure ... it is "School Spirit Day" so that is another easy day for her to dress, just wearing school colors ... but it is also the Homecoming Parade and game. We'll have a pretty day to get some nice pictures!

Costume Day!

Since the theme is "A Haunted Homecoming" that gives the kids a chance to be a little extra crazy and wear something Halloween oriented.

Beverly put together this outfit with her clothes, a jacket she bought and a cape that we already had from previous Halloween years. I told her that her parents and grandparents were going to think she has lost her mind when they see her going to school like this! ha ha ha

Last night she stayed after school to practice with her speech team partner, then helped Student Council do decorating for the dance on Saturday. She has been jumping right in and getting involved in planning with Student Council, and I'm so glad she decided to take part in that. Tonight she will stay at school again and do more decorating with the dance committee.

"Change Your Generation" Day!

Since "Homecoming" may not be a familiar thing in China, I'll first explain that in most U.S. high schools and colleges, it is a special time for the current students to rally their school spirit and celebrate their time at school, and for those who have previously graduated, it is a time to come "home" to their former school and enjoy some school time memories. For Homecoming week, the kids have a special dress up theme each day, and today is "Change Your Generation" day ... which basically means make yourself look much younger or much older than you really are! We decided that it was a lot easier to make Beverly look like a "little" girl than it was to make her look like an "old" lady ... so off to school she went in her pig tails, pajamas, and clutching one of Abby's blanket bears!

Yesterday was a school holiday so she did not have to go to classes ... but she spent her day with classmates working on the freshman class float for the Homecoming parade! This year's Homecoming theme is, "A Haunted Homecoming" and their float will have a mini haunted house, along with other Halloween type decorations.

The Seasons are Changing!

We did have a nice warm weekend, but over the past week Beverly has been getting her first taste of fall weather here ... which means cooler temperatures ... and she has been a bit cold! We have told her that the temperatures so far have just been "cool" and that "cold" gets a whole lot worse! ha ha She was very relieved to see her warmer clothes show up last week in the two boxes she sent from China in August.

In the top picture, she was with us at our neighbor's home for her first "wiener roast" which included "Smores" that she is about to enjoy in the picture. For those in China who might not know what this tasty treat is ... it is graham cracker with marshmallow that has been toasted over the fire, and a bit of chocolate candy bar. She thought they were very good!


This picture is of one of our two cats, Calvin. He and Beverly are pretty good buddies and she finds him sleeping in her room on a pretty regular basis. He's a pretty hefty boy at 15 pounds and she enjoys hauling him around in her arms. Our other cat is much lighter and also a good friend to Beverly. I'll have to get a picture of them together sometime soon.

This is homecoming week so we are going to have lots of fun pictures to share as the week goes on. Each day is a special "theme" day where the high school kids dress up in come crazy way, and we have a community pep rally, parade, football game and dance to get accomplished in the next 5 days! Stay tuned for more pictures this week and the best one of all, of the lovely Miss Beverly in her beautiful homecoming dress on Saturday!

Soccer Time!

The kids have all been doing a soccer unit in gym class recently, so there have been quite a few soccer games going on in our yard.

Yesterday the kids got dad involved in a soccer game with them, which was lots of fun and pretty humorous. It started out just dad and the girls, and then TJ and a friend migrated into the game ... I'll just let the pictures speak for the good time!

Writing her first check!

Beverly was very excited tonight to write out her very first check from her bank account! She needed to pay for air time on her cell phone, and writing a check was a big, new adventure!

She wanted me to take a close up picture of the check, but it's a little fuzzy! :-)


Tonight after dinner Abby was sitting next to Beverly and kept saying "We look like twins! We have the same hair! We both have glasses! We have the same earrings!" It's funny to see that she is noticing their similarities!

Beautiful Weekend

The weather has been nice and we have enjoyed some outdoor time! Yesterday Beverly and TJ had a chance to spend some time on the tennis court, and I think they enjoyed it!

Friday night we did a little dress shopping for homecoming. Beverly is very excited about the dance, which will be on October 18. It's exciting to share her first high school dance experience with her!

She is staying busy with homework and doing some extra things, like being part of the high school speech team. They are practicing now for their speech meets, which will start in November.

Beverly and Mikaela

This picture is a couple weeks old, but I wanted to share a picture of Beverly with her friend, Mikaela. They really enjoy spending time together at school and it is a neat connection for them since Mikaela has traveled to China, and has a sister adopted from Guangxi.

A Big Day for Beverly!

Today was full of many firsts for Beverly!

She spent most of the afternoon at the high school working as a student council representative during the dedication of our new High School building. They served as greeters and hostesses to the community coming through the building, and joined in on the dedication ceremony to honor the community for providing our children with this wonderful new school facility.

After I picked her up ... she had special permission from her parents, so we were off to Pekin to get her ears pierced! She ended up choosing the very same earrings that Abby chose when she had hers pierced last September. After hearing about the process and carefully studying the two marks on her ear lobes to be sure the earrings would be even and in line with each other, it was time to start. The first earring went in without even a flinch, the second one brought a tiny "ouch". But then she was ready to look in the mirror and admire her new jewels!

As soon as we returned, TJ and our neighbors were waiting for her to take her fishing on the lake in our subdivision. They caught a big bucket of fish ... mostly bluegill and a bass or two. Beverly caught the most, with at least 15 fish on her scorecard. She is holding one of the fish she caught in that picture. She came in jumping up and down saying, "I love fishing so much!" Now our neighbor is preparing some of the fish for the kids to sample tonight. Should be fun!


Back to school tomorrow for another big week!