Alex got to spend his 10th birthday in Miami with the grandparents– it had been a while since we had done an American birthday celebration for him. One of the downsides to the decision to put him in local schools while we were in the US is that there was no one for him to practice his Chinese with. He retained so much (the benefits of learning a second language at a young age) but he did regress a little.
Luckily we found a Dairy Queen near the house that was owned by a lovely Chinese couple, and the wife of the couple spoke Chinese with Alex so he could practice a little. So when he decided he wanted an ice cream cake for his birthday I know what we had to do.
Happy Birthday Alex written in Chinese. She thought it was very funny I was asking for that, I don’t think it is a request they get often in the Miami area.
Birthday Boy was thrilled with his cake, as you can see from his giant peice and the green frosting everywhere. That is a thing we very much missed in China, we are an ice cream cake kind of family, but it is not a thing I have learned to make (or really have any desire to learn).
One of the birthday presents that Alex got was the highlight of his time in Miami– I think a pretty good capstone to our time there in general. My dad and stepmom are both Dive Masters, and my dad works as a dive instructor for the last almost 7 years I think in Boyton Beach. My dad has been talking about teaching Alex to dive almost since he was born – and at 10, Alex was finally old enough for the Jr. Diver certifcation, which means when done with all the training and testing, Alex could dive with an instructor or me and Mark to a certain depth.
Alex was so pumped, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him throw himself in a class like this– and he is a good student who loves school, but this was special. He finished all the course work within a week and was ready to start in the pool with Grandpa. And Dad didn’t take it easy on him, Alex still had to preform all the skills and tasks like any other student.
Learning how to assembly gear, check your tanks for leaks
Making sure your regulator is working (important for the whole breathing underwater bit). As a mom, I was really proud of how seriously Alex took all this training, and as somone who has gone through dive certification I can say without hesitation that my son is a better diver than his mother.
Finally getting into the pool with a fully checked BC- I don’t know who was happier, Grandpa or Alex.
Goggles in the back of his head, why? because that’s how grandpa does it–
Just getting used to breathing underwater and all the gear. Alex has been out on a couple discovery dives, but this is the first real training.
Grandpa showing about the weight release system to come up if needed
This is one happy kid!! This was just the first day of in pool training, it lasted for several days (over the course of a week I think, maybe two?) And when pool training was done, then they could go for the open water portion of the certification.
My dad, looking a little quarantine scruffy, but that is a happy Grandpa, I think he was pretty proud of how well Alex did too.
Giving the official OK sign for divers, this was the end of the first day in the pool.
Day 2 (or 3? ) of pool training, tired diver towing-
While Alex and Grandpa Hof were diving, we found a blue crab stuck in the backyard. Harmless but slightly irritating to the dogs, we tried to catch him with the leaf skimmer from the pool so we could put him out over the fence. He was a fierce little guy who was not going to back down from a fight with Mark.
The amount of wildlife photo opportunities that Miami gave me was terrific, although I never managed to catch a photo of the albino peacock that roams around their neighborhood area.
I could have taken 100 pictures of this crab, I love the bright blue, and he was so accomdating to pose beautiful while attacking Mark’s shoe.
There are also an abundance of spiders around the area of the house (but not enough to take care of the ridiculous mosquito population, they need more bats too) and every once in a while I was able to get a good shot of one sitting still. Despite the upclose nature of the picture, this spider is actually fairly small, it was less than 1/2 my thumb long. I loved the coloring on this one though, and have been cultivating a new found appreciation for spiders (as long as they stay out of my house).
These pictures were taken on Father’s Day, right before we made our next move on the Butala Refugee Tour of the US. While I’m sure my parents were happy to get their house and their freedom back, I’d like to think they were a little sad to see Alex leave. Unfortunately, due to a problem with his ear, Alex wasn’t able to complete the open water sections of his dive certifications. But he hasn’t forgotten and has plans to try again at the earliest opportunity.
Just two dive dudes– in their matching fishing shirts.
My dad, being the goofy Grandpa he is. Alex loved his time spent with grandpa driving up to Boyton Beach to go diving just the two of them, and coming home with stories of what fish they were able to see. While moving home under the circumstances was not ideal, I’m grateful for the time that Alex got to spend with his grandparents- He made memories that will last him a lifetime!
Traveling Expat Family 