Hello and Goodbye

"Rain drops falling on your head ..." Fitting song for todays meeting it was pouring outside - perfect time to stop in for some hot coco and cake -

Viviana from Columbia joined our group last week and this was her first meeting.
Today was Corinna's last meeting, she is leaving for Germany in a couple of weeks and we will miss her terribly.We are looking forward to greet 3 new au pairs joining us next month.

Everyone enjoy Halloween and be sure to go "trick or treat" with the kids.

Self defense

Today was our "make up" safety meeting for all of those that missed a CEP meeting. Jim a martial arts instructor was super nice and agreed to show us some great self defense moves. Click on the October 2007 link on the right hand side for all of todays pictures.

October has been our Birthday month - celebration for the past years and we did again so today. Jennifer from Uniquely Yours Pastry Shoppe made us this amazing cake which disappeared in a heartbeat it was sooooooooooo good some Au pairs were even seen licking their fingers!

Today was Susanne's last meeting and we will miss her terribly we wish her luck with her studies in Germany

check out the map

I was playing around with google's different features and found this program that lets you do maps. I marked all the countries that our group had Au pairs from so far. Use the tools on the left to zoom in or out. The map is on the right tool bar or you can view it on the home page.

September meeting - Police and CEP

Officer Parker was nice enough to go over important safety information with us and then let us try out all his gear. Check out the link on the side for all the pictures of today taken by me. If you have some I do not have send them to me and I'll add them too it.

August meeting - Dinner at Al Fresco

Our 2nd meeting of the month was moved from the Bookstore to Al Fresco. Yummy Italian food and desserts were on the menu.

This was Diana's last meeting and we will miss her dearly.

Also one great way to stay in touch is this website Hi5 is like myspace and others I know some of you have already joined it. A link to my profile on Hi5 is on the right.

August meeting

Fun at Water Country was the theme for our August meeting

Here are Janusz and Sara

Rebecca with newcomers Kathi and Annika


Olga and Tatiana

Thankfully the summer is almost over and its starting to cool off.

Bookstore meeting

Bookstore meeting
Originally uploaded by aupairlcc

July Meeting

Well no fun boat or Jetskis this year but we did have great weather - a bit windy but otherwise really nice. We had two new arrivals and two visitors join us for the Water and Playground Safety meeting.

Picnic in the park

We had a wonderful picnic in the park this afternoon.
Despite the weather not being on its best behavior we had a great turn out.

The children enjoyed themselves as did the grown ups.
For all the pictures of todays meeting click on the June 2007 link on the right hand side.

May - Busch Gardens

So we had fun at Busch Gardens on Mothersday. We even got to ride the new Rollercoaster weeks before the official opening. Click on the may 07 link on the right for all the photos

April self defense

We met at Newport News State park for our self defense meeting. Jim Barnes tought us important self defense moves and tactics. It was a great day at the park as the weather was perfect. For all the pictures click on the April meeting link in the side bar.

Check it out the CCAP t-shirts finally came.

Ice skating

to bad most of you couldn't make it! But those that did seemed to enjoy themselfes - check it out yourself.

Barnes and Noble

Firesafety

We had a good time listening to the firefighters of Station 6. They taught us how to use a fire extinguisher, how to put out a kitchen fire and how to keep children safe. We got to see the equipment and the poor rookie had to dress and climb the ladder all the way up just to waive to us.
After that Dr. Hancock told us how to be safe around animals and answered questions for us and the firefighters. For example how to get a dog away from its unconscious owner??

Click on the February meeting link in the sidebar to see all the photos of todays meeting.

January meeting

We took the Jamestown Ferry to Surry where we got a private tour of the Chippokes Plantation. Click on the January 2007 link on the right to see all the photos.

We met at the Barnes and Noble in Newport News to chat, write cards and to say good bye to Daniela. We'll miss you.

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE

Holiday party

Our Holiday party was a good sucess. We had lots of good dishes and yummy desserts. Santa was able to stop by which delighted the children. Click on the December 2006 link in the side bar for more photos.

It's been awhile

Sorry I have not been updating the blog as much as I should. As you noticed I changed the template a little bit.

On the right sidebar you can now go to all the photos from past meetings.

Our group has grown and we have welcomed many new au pairs this year. If you stop by here please leave a comment so I know someone is reading this.

July

We had a blast at our July meeting. After doing the mandatory CEP meeting part about water and playground safety we all got to go on the jet ski's. The Lind family was nice to lend us the their time and Jetskies and everyone had a good time. Mr. Lind and his brother served as drivers and showed us what the jetskis can do. Follow this link to check out all the pictures from this meeting

June meeting

Driving do's and don'ts where our topic today for those of you that could not make it here is what was on the handouts.

Car use do’s and don’ts

For au pairs

It is a privilege to use the car not a right. That means if you DO NOT follow the rules set by your family for the car use, you won’t be able to use it.

DO’s
Always wear a seatbelt
Use car seats and seat belts for the children
Start studying for you Virginia drivers license right away
Get your Virginia drivers license
Only drive when and where your family said you could,
If you damage the car in any way let your family know right way
If you have a dedicated car be sure that the oil is changed every 3000 miles or ever y 3 months
Keep the interior clean
Obey the Virginian laws (speed limits …)
Pay the deductible (not more than $500) for damages that occurred while you were driving in your free time.
If you are involved in a accident (no matter how small) call your host parents right away and the police
If a unmarked police car (looks like a normal car) try’s to pull you over, be sure it is a police officer (go to a public place to pull over, or call 911 to check if there is a police officer that is tying to stop you. If you can’t pull over right away (dark road or unsafe area) turn your emergency signals on and slow down so the officer knows you saw him.


DON’TS
Do not return the car empty (unless the family says so)
Do not lie about where you are going and with whom
Do not leave the scene of an accident, no matter how small.
Do not drink and drive
Do not take the car without asking
If you are asked to be back at a certain time, do not be late (call if you running late) if the car is to be back but not you, dropped it off at that time
Do not take strangers with you (that includes people you just met)
If stopped by the police do as the officer tells you, call your LCC or host parents if you have questions.