Greetings and Housekeeping

From our Family to you; Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy, Healthy and Properous New Year. Ring in the Dragon! Yes in a marathon posting session, I have updated the blog for an entire year. But to read all the posts, since Blogger can't show them all, you will either have to read them and then click on "older posts" at the bottom or head over to the archives section on the right column and click on December 2011. Yep there they are, month by month, plus extra additional bonus- New Years Wishes.

December 2011

Community Tree lighting and nativity

Santa #1 at the tree lighting

Santa #2 at the Cleft Team party

LiaVietnamese culture exhibit being taken for a ride

Practice for being a mom; tote that diaper bag, and lift that child, have a few too many white wines and land in therapy (with apologies to Paul Robeson)

Mary and Joseph waiting in the wings at Pageant rehearsal

Reheasrsal - the Christmas eve production will be in Church

Making cookies for caroling

Entering the North Pole

Santa's sleigh

With the Big Man

Adding on to the already extensive Xmas lists

Sending off the request- her list now has over 50 items, hum we need to talk about consumerism

Cool digital feature at Santa Land

There are 6 more pix like this despite Mama's pleas to "just smile for one second!"

Visiting the lions in NYC

At Rockefeller Center with Donna

And Mama

It was spectacular

Making a friendship wreath at school - all the hands are formed into a giant wreath.

Caroling reindeer

Caroling -we go to Grandma Pines house too

Decorating Grandma's tree

Cookie Monster, or rather Microwave S'more monsters

Getting to the end finally. And now we’re headed into the main event, Christmas. Party number one, sponsored by Lian’s Cleft Team was at the County Children’s Museum, always a fun event. There was a terrific display on folktales from Vietnam, Santa visited – with presents - and they could spend as much time in the bubble-arium and hanging climber as their hearts desired. Santa # 2 was at the community Xmas tree lighting and live nativity. Next up, cookie baking for the Xmas caroling party. We went caroling, which includes racing around town in a car convoy to various houses, and then back to church for cookies and hot chocolate. Jamie sang in the Messiah concert, the girls squirmed in the back pew until I sent them out into the cloister to color. So much for culture -in Lela's words, "But it's BORING." Santa #3 was the big kahuna, the Man himself, or at least one of his top eleves, says Lela, at Macy's Santaland. If you go , go on a weekday right afrer school - only took 25 minutes. Then we walked up 5th Ave to see all the Xmas decorations, and had dinner with Lian's Godmother and my long time friend, Donna. Santa #4 visited church coffee hour last weekend.

Lela has a big role this year- she has been cast as Mary in the church Christmas pageant on Christmas Eve.

We are not going out to WI to visit my family this year, as the logistics are not working in our favor -school is not out until the 24th, and since we don't really want to spend Xmas eve in a hotel in Ohio, we'd have to leave Monday, drive 2 days out, stay 3 days, drive 2 days back. Christmas will be with Chris and Christy this year. But we will have lots to do. Surprise visitors showed up this week, the girls' good friends, Meiling and Ian, arrived with their Dad from China for a visit with their grandparents. We're planning playdates and outings with other good pals. And of course, after Xmas shopping.

November 2011

Lela the toothless wonder

Making cookies after Thanksgiving dinner - because we NEEDED more sugar

Thanksgiving crowd

Setting the table

Turkey Trot runners and workers

Off to the races

Watching the sunset

Disney on Ice

Princesses at Disney on Ice

Fog rolling across the Bay (hey I have to squeeze in a pretty picture or two)

Harvest Fair at our church

November and we got a new car! Well, we got a really old (1996) van with very low mileage, so now I can tote the girls, friends and paraphernalia. The Subaru was maxed out with 2 kids and their boosters. Now we need to sell Jamie’s old car. Our church also called a new rector, Father Huntley and family, from far away Jersey, the Isle, not New. And we had our annual Harvest Fair, lots of work and lots of fun. Lela was a big loser - her two front teeth on a Monday and a lower one on Tuesday. The Tooth fairy was working overtime. We went to Disney on Ice for a second time and they still loved it. Turkey Day. Our church collected many bags of food for the local food pantry, organized by the Youth Group. Jamie and Lela ran/walked/cartwheeled in the local 5 mile Turkey Trot- with zero prep, so 1:27 is not too bad. Lian and I worked registering and handing out medals – I’m on the board of the local charity that the race benefits. Later, we were joined by old friends of Christy’s who were visiting NYC, so 12 for dinner and almost no leftovers. I cooked a turkey breast a few days later just to satisfy that turkey sandwich craving. I did most of the Xmas shopping on Black Friday and cyber Monday from the comfort of my computer. Gotta love it.

October 2011

Riding with the Brownies

Haloween horrors!

School Halloween parade

Halloween Parade

Tae Know Do Halloween Party

Horse grooming with the Brownies

Off on an adventure

Daisy outing. Watching the bridal pictures was a much bigger hit than the great outdoors

Daisy outing

October is mostly a run up to Halloween, with the important decision of “what to wear?” looming large. They finally settled on Jasmine (from the Disney version of Aladdin) for Lela (I had to haunt Ebay for her costume) and Cinderella for Lian (which we already owned.) They trick-or-treated with friends (parents following at a suitable distance) and brought home masses of candy, which lasted into December. The girls also took a chess class at our great local library. Lela’s Brownies troop took a field trip to a horse farm and got to groom and ride, little girl heaven.

The International Beach Clean up

Goofy girls at Chuck E Cheese

Quiet momment with papa

Face painting at Town Family Fun Day

It rained the first day of school

September – back to school. I am definitely in the “most wonderful time of the year!” camp. Our district gets off to a slow start, with their first full week of school starting on the 12th. Lela started gymnastics and piano and Lian started Tae Kwon Do. We shelled out big bucks. Really big bucks. Lela is a natural, placing with kids who have been doing gymnastics for years. Lian had a taste of TKD at the summer culture camp and really liked it. She’s already gotten the yellow, blue and red stripes on her white belt. Yellow belt testing is the day before Xmas eve and she should move up. Once again, the annual International beach clean up, my 14th year as beach captain. And the tenth anniversary of 9/11. I wrote about it here, http://lianmakes4.blogspot.com/2011/09/september-11.html