Natalie and Lily

Lily's 4th Birthday: part 1

2009-06-12T23:39:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that Lily

turned four today (yesterday).

Where does the time go?

Nana and Papa sent a really fun box.

One of the things that Lily asked for were a pair of, "tie shoes." Nana was able to find some w/ bouncy balls that match Natalie's. She says that they do indeed make her run faster and jump higher! What a deal!

After a little gift opening we took a break and went to the theater to see Up. It was a great movie. We all loved it.
Don't you love the 3D glasses? The girls both kept theirs.

After the movie we went to Red Robin for dinner. Yum! Lily really wanted them to sing to her and they did not disappoint.

Lovin' the spotlight!

Lily is a great sharer. She offered to share her ice cream with Natalie. We were going to get them their own Sunday's but hey. ( ;

Don't you wear your ice cream too?

After dinner and dessert it was back home to open some more gifts. So many packages!

Lily, Natalie, and Donkey were excited about her new Barbie dream house. I had help from all three of them putting it together.

*sigh* The dream house is still sitting in our living room partially put together... Scott spent about thirty minutes putting it together before he left for work. He showed me where he left off and wished me luck. Things were going well for about an hour all I needed to do was put the roof on and..... I'm missing a part.. Not an ordinary part either... I've never seen them before.. It needed 12 of these and all I had was 11... *sigh* I called Scott after searching everywhere.... And he said, "Oh yeah, I found that in my pocket." So tomorrow the barbies can move into their new crib.

Fimmin' Coo

2009-06-12T23:14:00.000-07:00

I love summer!! We've finally gotten the sunblock stuff down this year so we're not burning, just browning and having tons of fun.Natalie was quick to remember how to swim this summer. In the past summers it's always taken weeks or months to catch back up to where she was the previous summer. This time it only took about a day. So she's doing great!
Swimming makes ya sooo hungry.

pre goggles..

Lily has come leaps and bounds with her swimming. All of last year was, I can't do it, I don't need your help... glug...glug.. glug... This year we started off with climb up my arm and neck, shriek and claw with a life vest on. She has come a long way! In just a two short weeks she's done with the life jacket and graduated to the floaties and swimming on her own. She can swim the length of the pool and get in and out on her own. We're so proud and she's pretty proud of herself too.

Post goggles w/ her buddy.

Look at that girl!

one...

two....

three...

To the beach...

2009-06-12T22:09:00.000-07:00

Did somebody say, " Go for a RIDE?!?!" And we're off...
The girls will probably never know what it looks like on the way to the beach. With a three hour drive they pretty much just watch movies. I remember being completely and utterly bored on long car ride, (ie. anything over 15 mins), oh to have had the portable DVD player then.

My sweet boy...

3.5lb protector..

Are we there yet!?!??!?!

Not a seizure from watching too many movies in the car.. Just an eye roll to add emphasis. ( :

How you doin'?

Look whose not afraid of the docks anymore!

We were able to see a few dolphins in the bay at Port Aransas.

Woo hoo!

(Not pictured: the girl who found the fear)

Crack!

Awww... Talking to Papa.

The weather was perfect. It was about 85 degrees and the water was 82. We swam, we played, Mel got stung by a jelly fish, and it was time to head home..

Sexy beast!

I have no idea what's happening here.. I just know that as soon as we got there the dogs were ready to go back home as soon as they were done peeing.

Sophie and Frito both swam in the ocean and were all pooped out, literally and figuratively. When we all piled back into the car they slept the entire way home.

Rotate the seats and start up the movies again... With a little less enthusiasm.

Little greasy, little sweaty, but what a fun day...

We tried to come back again the following week and camp, but were unfortunately stormed out in the wee hours of the morning. Oh well, better luck next time I guess.

After our failed attempt at camping we came home to nice calm weather and decided to go out for some Texas BBQ before Mel headed back to Oregon.

The final presentation...

2009-06-12T22:02:00.000-07:00

In May Natalie had her last presentation of the year. I think I missed her intro with the video and it's a little tough to hear, but very cute. Her presentation is on her First Grade book. It's a compilation of writing from the first grade. Lily waiting every so patiently and quietly...

Thank you Nana....

2009-06-12T21:43:00.000-07:00

For the beautiful spring Kimonos!It took us a few times to get it right...Lily wasn't feeling it so much, but Natalie wore hers the entire day.

Sprinkler Dodge Ball w/ Auntie Smel

2009-06-12T21:27:00.000-07:00

Wait for it......
Run! Run! RUN!!

Quick break to make a grass harmonica.

A visit from Auntie Smel...

2009-06-12T21:10:00.000-07:00

Mel's finally back from Japan and we were lucky enough to have her right here in our home for a whole two and half week. We all had such a great time together, and I hope she makes it back soon! ( :

Silly girls lounging with Auntie Smel.

More snuggle puppies..

2009-06-12T20:52:00.000-07:00

More cute puppy pics.

Sophie's sitting directly on top of poor Frito, but he likes it.

awwwww...True love...

spooning.

Namaste Natalie

2009-06-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

Natalie is teaching Lily the ancient art of yoga. Stay tuned.... Video coming soon...

Fun in the Sun: Sprinkler Park

2009-06-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

May marks the beginning of water play. The sprinkler parks open the second week and the pools open the last week. The girls count down the days until they can be in the water.

Natalie and her buddy (Natalie's in the pink)

So much fun!

Didn't see Natalie much, she was off with her friends.

Playing in the water makes for some hungry girls.

Lily snacking with her buddy.

Spring time fun...

2009-06-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

Everyone's getting outside before the weather gets too hot! (These pictures were taken a while ago). ( :

Our old/new neighbors just moved back and they have daughters the same ages as ours. They're having a great time together and looking forward to spending more time together in the summer.

best buddies

2009-06-12T20:02:00.000-07:00

Sophie and Frito have become best buddies. They play all the time and when they're not playing together they're sleeping together...

So cute!

Eww!

2009-06-06T19:56:00.000-07:00

Cottonwood Borer

We knew something was up when our cats were doing something together happily.... They found a big bug on the other side of the window and were both really excited about it. This is not the actual bug, but the pictures turned out far better than our night time pics. According to the website it's the largest beetle in N. America. Skin crawling yet????? Mine is!

Scott was nice enough to capture him in Natalie's bug catcher so we could have a closer look. He was so big that we could easily see all of his parts. Eww! Eww! Eww!

I guess now we have to keep an eye on our baby Willow tree. If it lays its eggs in the base it will be the end of our little tree. ) :

Puripae

2009-04-25T10:52:00.001-07:00

The group that came and performed at our Korean picnic invited us to come and see them open for Puripae. Puripae is an award-winning traditional Korean performing arts Company. That is currently touring in America. Above is the local group and below is Puripae.
The performance was pretty amazing. Reminded me a lot of the Korea House that we visited while we were in Korea. The entire show was about two and half hours.

The picture above is Natalie's favorite! Lily's favorite was the drums. She giggled for the first 10-15 mins of the show from all of the excitement. She was pretty much done though at about 45mins in. Fortunately we were on an isle so she was able to sit and lay and get some wiggles out.

After the show we ran into some of the performers since we were some of the last to leave. They loved to see the kids and volunteered for pictures. It was pretty cute.

Mahala Rose

2009-04-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

On March 26, 2009 our newest niece Miss Mahala Rose was born!

Big sister Dahlia doing such a great job!

For those that are keeping track... That's 3/3 all girls. As for grandchildren for Nana and Papa that's 5/5 all girls!

Easter!

2009-04-22T22:36:00.000-07:00

After our Korean picnic we had enough time to dye eggs.
In the morning the girls enjoyed their search for their baskets and we had a leisurely time getting ready for church.

The girls both had a great time at church. Which is pretty unheard of in our house.

Korean Picnic

2009-04-22T22:19:00.000-07:00

Easter weekend was our annual Korean picnic. This year it was held in Cameron Park in Waco. It was a perfect day weather wise, and we had great company with all of the other families and friends.

This year we were treated to the music from a group of players from the Killeen area. They were glad to join us and we were glad to have them. They drew quite the crowd from around the park when they began to play.

After the performance they let the kids come down and try out the instruments.

The players thought Lily showed real promise in playing the drums. They showed her once how to do it and she continued holding the mallets the proper way, and played the varied tempos. She had a really good time.

We stopped on our way home to take the girls pics in the blue bonnets. Too cute.

Summer is here!

2009-04-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

Well not quite, but the girls needed some relief from the heat. So out come the water toys. April marks the opening of the sprinkler parks in Austin, and May marks the opening of the pools. So not too much longer and we will be spending our days by the pool. The girls are counting down the days.

It's strawberry season....

2009-04-22T21:52:00.000-07:00

With buckets in hand we headed out to Marble Falls for some strawberries. It's taken some time for us to get used to the fruit and vegi seasons. They're about three months ahead of what we are used to from Oregon. So March means strawberries!

So cute!

None of them were hungry for our picnic lunch since they ate more than they picked. At least we knew it was a good crop.

Here we are again with heads in cutouts and the camera with some of our buddies.

Puppy Love

2009-04-22T21:46:00.000-07:00

Sophie and Frito get along so well together. Since Frito has arrived he has taught Sophie how to play like a dog. She never had an interest in toys or playing and now she and Frito play everyday, several times a day. From time to time she will even pick up a dog toy and walk around with it. Too cute! A match made in heaven.

Happy Dogs

No cavities!

2009-04-22T21:38:00.000-07:00

You can kind of tell from this first picture we weren't quite sure how things were going to go. She did well in the beginning, but after a few minutes decided to plant her little arm across her mouth. I guess all of the head phones and flat screens just didn't do it for her. So they brought out the big guns.....
The new tooth brush!!!

Things were pretty smooth after that, and she was cavity free too!

Hurray for Lily!

Sisters...

2009-04-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

I had to sneak this sweet picture of the girls just hanging out together working on stuff. I'm not sure but I think they're playing school.

Mama's takin' us to the zoo tomorrow........

2009-04-22T21:07:00.000-07:00

We went along w/ one of our smaller play groups to the Waco Zoo.

Again our family w/ heads in cutouts and cameras ready.

This one's for you Nana!

This was a neat recycled interactive art piece. The girls really enjoyed it.

Aww so cute!

Poor Lily gets so hot. We didn't realize it was going to be such a hot day and didn't have a hat for her. We improvised this look and later she put ice cubes and bottled water on her head until she was all cooled off and having a good time again.

Have to give a little plug for the Step 2 wagon. Not only does it hold a ton of weight but it really lasts. We purchased this one in Oregon when Lily was a baby and have definitely gotten our money's worth. So if anyone is looking for a shower gift for someone that has everything.... Here ya go!

The newest exhibit at the zoo was the Brazos River area. The girls had a great time playing in the shade of the teepee's.

They had the coolest sea otter exhibit. The slide goes right through the middle of the tank. I think if you ask the girls about the sea otters they would probably say, "What otters? I didn't see any otters!"

We stopped on the way out for a nice cool ice cream treat! Can you see the joy?!?!?

Lily's first slumber party..

2009-04-22T20:49:00.000-07:00

One of Lily's little buddies mom's had to have knee surgery so we got to keep their daughter overnight. Lily was beside herself excited! It was a beautiful day so we spent most of it outside.

There was enough wind we were able to bring out the kites.

Before bed we had time for a little Mary-Kate and Ashley, it was a hit too!

They were both so tired that they actually went to sleep pretty quickly and slept well.

NASA in Austin

2009-04-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

NASA came to Austin for a field day in March and brought a bunch of their toys to play with! This too took place on the UT campus

There were lots of staff on hand at the booths to answer every question asked. They were able to touch and feel just about everything. Including a rock brought back from the moon.

They had experiments with gravity....

The kids were able to try out different experiments like trying to used the tools with several layers of gloves on. As if you were doing a repair during a spacewalk.

Not even NASA is prepared for this type of meltdown.

They built alkaseltzer rockets...

... and even got to pose w/ a person in a faux space suit.

This was probably one of their favorites. If you can stick your head in it and have a picture taken. We always have to stop.

Bring on the band-aids!

2009-04-22T20:16:00.000-07:00

Natalie has learned to ride without training wheels!!

UT: Girl Engineering Day

2009-04-22T20:08:00.000-07:00

Scott and Papa escorted Natalie to the girl engineering day on the UT campus. I guess it's a once a year thing and they are able to try out all sorts of experiments and earn a t-shirt at the end of the day. Natalie had a great time building a church out of gumdrops, and building a circuit for an Operation game, along with many other activities. We may make this an annual tradition.

R.I.P. Little Bear

2009-04-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

A package! A package!! A pretty pretty package!!!

Auntie Smel sent a package to us all from Japan. What treat! It was filled with little goodies and a bear for Papa's b-day.

Well we're sad to say that despite our best resuscitation efforts the trip in the box proved to be too much for the little bear to handle and he has left us.

The Beach in Febrary

2009-04-22T19:41:00.000-07:00

In all of Nana and Papa's visits we'd yet to go to the coast. It's a bit of a trip at about 4hrs one way. But definitely worth it. We were able to see dolphin pods in the bay, play with sea snails on the beach, and collect tons of sea shells. It was a bit on the chilly side. Probably in the sixties low seventies. Lily decided that was warm enough for a swim. So when we were thoroughly chilled we took our popsicle Lily and we all headed to Snoopy's to warm up and for some really good seafood. If you're ever in Port Aranasas, Mustang Island area, definitely a great place to eat.

We left so early in the morning that the girls were still in their pj's.

There are a ton of beautiful birds down there too. But the one we heard the most about, thanks to Nana, the pelican.

"A marvelous bird is the pelican,

His beek can hold more than his belly can!"

Man you haven't lived until you've heard that a few hundred times, trapped in a car, for eight hours.................. thanks Nana-NOT!

Valentines Day

2009-04-22T19:24:00.000-07:00

In case you're wondering why all the sudden our blog is back to life... Our computer crashed at the beginning of this year so it's taken some time to get back to it.

So here we are with Valentines Day. It was a great day indeed. The day before Valentine's Day we had our park day friends Valentines party in the park. It was a lot of fun. We had a potluck with tons of different heart shaped food and treats. There were crafts, games, and of course just fun park stuff too. It was a little chaotic in the beginning when all 40+ students tried to stuff boxes at the same time. Someone did have a great idea though and put all of the boxes in alphabetical order that helped a ton. So we waited for the crowds to clear up a bit and delivered the cards.
A little after Valentines we had our presentation group's Valentine's Day party. Definitely a more intimate group and so much fun.

Our best Valentine's Day gift was Nana and Papa's arrival. Their flight came in early evening of February 14th. We had a nice dinner together and some yummy chocolates for dessert!

Haircut

2009-04-22T18:50:00.000-07:00

Lily had been begging us to get her haircut for sometime. She really wanted a super short bob like her little buddy Livie. Lily's hair however, was just above the cheeks, and I don't mean the ones on her face! So we took her in and the hairstylist couldn't bring herself to cut that much off so she lopped it off just at the shoulders w/ a few layers. It's super cute, but I think we're going to grow it back out again. Such a big girl! Can you believe she's almost 4!?!?!? They really do grow too fast.

Preparing for a visit...

2009-04-22T18:43:00.000-07:00

In February Nana and Papa came for a visit. A few weeks before their arrival Natalie had a journal assignment. "Remember spelling, handwriting, and punctuation don't count. It's about getting your thoughts on paper." This is what she came up with. SOOooo cute!

Little bundle of joy..

2009-04-22T18:37:00.000-07:00

In January we had our newest fall into our laps... Introducing Frito Espidito! Isn't he cute! He's very sweet and cuddly too. This little guy is 2.5 years old and a whopping 4lbs. When next to Sophie he looks about half her size. Frito and Sophie have become the best buddies. They sleep together, play together, and lay in the sun together.

Kareoke anybody!??!?!

2008-12-22T08:20:00.000-08:00

Natalie's Toast! (Out of order)

2008-12-20T18:27:00.000-08:00

Found this picture online and it fits so perfectly. Minus the creepy nails of course. Nope she's not toasting Christmas or her birthday... She's toasting bread. She's been making toast for a couple of months now and has gotten pretty proficient. So early this morning while Mom was still sleeping and Dad had dosed in his chair Natalie began to make toast... toast... and more toast... and a little more toast... She toasted an entire loaf of bread. Seems she was on a mission. A mission to survive. She was making enough food/toast to last for two days in the far reaches of the upstairs... Yes, I believe this was Natalie's first attempt at running away. She had such a guilty conscience for what she had done she burst into tears and I had no idea what had happened. The confession fell out of her mouth surrounded by cries of I'm sorry.. I'm soo soo sorry! When asked why she had made so much toast she continued to cry....

"Because I wanted to have enough food in my room for two dayyyyyyyyysss!"

"Why do you need two days worth of food in your room?"

"Because I didn't want to do school work or clean the house......" Followed by more sobbing... "Aren't you mad at me."

"No. You do need bring all the food back downstairs so we don't get bugs."

"Okay are you sure you're not mad?" still sobbing.

"No. Go get the stuff."

I had to remain really calm, otherwise I would burst into laughter.

In her haste this morning preparing her goods. I think she had forgotten that today was Saturday and there was no school work. I think she didn't look around much to see that the house was relatively neat. And she didn't know that the plan was to make Christmas goodies. ( :

When she brought down all of the food and was putting it away I was trying to see what she had taken up all together without drawing any attention to it. She had two Rubbermaid containers and one gallon Ziploc filled with toast, about four cups of raisins in Rubbermaid containers, and four clementine oranges. She also put ice packs on top of the containers to keep the food from spoiling.

So anyone have any recipes that require large amounts of toast, or bread crumbs even??? ( :

Time for Christmas!

2008-12-14T14:48:00.000-08:00

Time to decorate!

This year we let the girls put all of the ornaments on w/ the exception of the tippy top.

They did a great job! Natalie's were evenly spaced.....

Lily's showcased the strength and flexibility of the branches on our tree.

This is what happens when you don't keep your things picked up....

2008-12-14T14:37:00.000-08:00

Your children pick them up and play w/ them....

Growing up...

2008-12-14T13:32:00.000-08:00

Our little girl is growing up.... She learned to tie her shoes even w/ a double knot. She can even put her hair in a pony tail or bun all on her own. Sniff.. sniff... SOB!!

Camping!! For reals.... ( ;

2008-12-14T12:25:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of November we headed w/ some of our friends to Lake Buchanan for some camping. The weather was beautiful. Mild during the day, and a little frigid at night. Unfortunately it's been so dry this year we were unable to have a campfire so we used a little bbq instead. We discovered even two small bbq's just can't warm you up in the morning or keep you warm at tight. ( ;
Our friends brought along little containers for the kids to decorate and collect things in. This was a great distraction while the grown ups got everything set up.

Beanies and Weenies on the menu for dinner!

Smores for dessert!

It had been a while since they had played. They had a lot to catch up on.

The stage.....

The kids are all pretty close in age so they paired off, played, and had a good time.

On the second day the dad's rented a canoe and took the bigger kids for a ride. The little girls decided they didn't want to go.

Relaxing...

Time to head home....

Look at that dirty little face...

Halloween 2008

2008-12-14T12:20:00.000-08:00

Not a whole lot to say here....

Talks for next year have already begun... We're hearing a lot about Hannah Montana, and Wall-E.

Mariposa

2008-12-14T12:12:00.000-08:00

One of the field trips we attended this fall was a trip to the Children's Theater for Mariposa. A story of the Monarch butterfly from a wee caterpillar to arriving in Mexico just in time for Dia de la Muerte.

The girls had a really good time reenacting this one for a couple of weeks.

Paper Mache' Pumpkins

2008-12-14T11:59:00.000-08:00

Since the weather in October is still reaching 80 and 90 degree temps in the afternoon pumpkin carving is saved until the day before, or the day of Halloween. One of the mom's in one of our play groups invited us over to make paper mache' pumpkins that we could paint, and illuminate.

It was a whole lot of messy fun!

Natalie is quite the paper mache' pro. Her pumpkin/balloon was neatly covered w/ very little excess goo. Lily's approach was slightly different. She would stick the paper in the paste and then scrunch it up in her fists to get all of the excess off and the place the fist sized glob onto her balloon.

The girls were all nearly finished when they decided they were done. ( :

So the mom's helped fill in any gaps that were left.

Sorry again... No finished pictures here either... Man!

Guess what time it is???????

2008-12-14T11:38:00.000-08:00

Time for another visit w/ Nana and Papa!!!! Papa didn't get to stay too long. He was just passing through on his way to Atlanta for work, but we got to keep Nana for almost a week.

We miss you guys!

We had one entire day w/ Papa before he left so what do you do when you're in Texas..... BBQ and bowling..

On one of our days w/ Nana we loaded up the babies and headed to the American Girl Store in Dallas for lunch, playing, and shopping. It was a very fun visit, but time flies when you're having fun and before you know it, it's time to head back to the airport. ) :

Dress up fun.

2008-12-14T11:26:00.000-08:00

Okay well not so much fun for the cat... We discovered the cat is bigger around than Natalie. The girls wear these little monkeys around there necks and waists, and the legs wouldn't fit around the kitty.. I guess the self feeding thing isn't working out so well for her.

Natalie came downstairs and showed me the beautiful job she did on her hair. I counted 22 hair clips in all. When you look good you feel good!

This is during Natalie's fashionista period. She dressed Lily up in this cute ensamble. The "torch" is actually a microphone and they were singing but she looked so much like Lady Liberty I had her strike a pose.

Backyard Camping

2008-12-14T11:04:00.000-08:00

Scott and I had been talking about taking the girls camping now that they're getting older. We thought it would be wise to do a dry run, so to speak, in our back yard prior to the real deal.

So we had salad and smores w/ the neighbors. Sorry no pics of the smores. The kids did there own this year so it was a little scary w/ hot pokers and flaming marshmallows being wielded by irresponsible somewhat uncoordinated little people.... The kids were scary too.. ( :

Ahhh... The excitement of sleeping in your very own backyard in a tent! I suppose it could be the smores pumping through her veins.

Yep, I think it's the smores...

Awww... Well Natalie made it the entire night, and so did Scott. To be honest I planned to sleep in the house, and Lily only lasted about 30 minutes. Then she came shuffling into the house w/ her pillow and her bunny, saying Daddy said I had to sleep in the house since I wouldn't go to sleep. ) :

Pretty sad but pretty predictable. ( :

Another Whopper of a day...

2008-12-14T10:36:00.000-08:00

On this fishing trip everyone caught fish except for Natalie. She was a little bummed but there was a ton of other stuff to do and see. This particular park is a favorite for bird watchers. So we were able to spot many different kinds, and a little group of ducks were giving us some attention. Frogs, golden baby dragon flies, and probably the biggest hit... rocks. ( :

We're not quite sure how long Lily's fish had been on her line since she had been playing and left her pole to twitch on the ground. So there was no saving this little guy. The hook made it all the way to the lung.

This little raised area turned into a stage for Natalie and a platform to look for rocks for Lily.

Oregon: Summer '08

2008-12-14T10:07:00.000-08:00

Not too many pictures here. I guess we were just so busy having fun we didn't take a ton of pictures. ( ;

Here we are on the parking shuttle early EARLY in the morning. It's easy to wake up early when you're getting on a plane!

Lily made it a habit to be the first person at the table for meals. Even if that meant a good thirty minutes to wait. It was worth it!

One of the things we did while in Oregon were new extended family pictures. Lily came along w/ Nana, Beth, and I to finish up errands. It pays to be the only one around w/ Aunties, and Nana's. She and her dress enjoyed every last bite!

There are so many fun activities to do at Nana's house. From naked gardening to washing the dogs. The possibilities are endless! Speaking of ends.... Yep looks clean.

We also had a chance to visit my good friend Hyein. You may remember a post w/ a picture their newest addition. Well we got to see her in person! Cute as can be. Lily had a good time playing w/ big brother Justin.

Here she is... Getting bigger and bigger.

Girls on the rocking elephant at Nana and Papa's. Fun fun!

We also enjoyed hanging out w/ our friends the Foster's. The kids all got along great and we had a good visit. Now if we could just figure out how to keep them all from growing so fast...

The new school books are here!! The new school books are here!!!!

2008-12-14T09:52:00.000-08:00

As many of you know this past spring we began home schooling Natalie. Toward the end of summer we ordered all of the materials for first grade and when the boxes arrived it was like Christmas morning!

Once we looked through all of the books and science kit we discovered that the boxes were meant to be turned into castles. A few nips w/ the scissors and turn the boxes inside out and wa la (sorry no finished pics)!

Once the new school books arrived Natalie wanted to start right away. Unfortunately we only had another week and a half before we were going on vacation in Oregon for three, but when someone is eager to learn, we jump..... Natalie's first day of school. ( :

A Whopper of a Day

2008-12-14T09:34:00.000-08:00

On an early evening in August we set out in search for the a Whopper..... Little did we know we would be lucky enough to find several!!

We started out on the peer fishing outward. Lily got tired of that pretty quick and started fishing in the hole in the center of the peer. Turned out it was a perfect little kiddy fishing hole. Every time they put their poles in they'd pull out a fish.

Both girls were soooo excited and really enjoyed their fishing day with renewed enthusiasm.

Puppy Party

2008-12-14T09:21:00.000-08:00

This summer the girls were invited to a puppy themed birthday party. It was very cute. They served cocoa puff's for snacks and had a bone shaped cake.

This puppy was pooped.

Summer has finally come to an end.

2008-12-06T12:39:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. Things have been super busy around here, and the site keeps kicking me off when I try to edit. So the pictures are out of order but still fun.

This past summer the Edmundson's came to visit, and we were able to hang out, celebrate the 4th of July, visit Sea World, and take in a show at the park. We had a really nice visit and look forward to the next.

Beauty and the Beast at Zilker Park.

Tatoo's w/ Auntie Beth.

The 4th of July pre-show.

Driveway fishing.

Jasmine going for a ride w/ Natalie behind the wheel.

Auntie Beth and Lily at Sea World.

Natalie, and Jasmine are on the right. Playing at Sea World.

Just after picking them up at the airport. Together at last!

Funny Lily...

2008-09-09T15:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick Lily funny from dinner this evening.

"My nose is itchy cause I have a booger in my ear that I need to floss out."

We've got crabs...

2008-08-01T08:24:00.001-07:00

Our neighbors daughter headed off to college a couple of weeks ago and we inherited her hermit crab and setup. We added a couple more for fun. So now we have Crabby Patty, who is on top of the palm tree. Gary, not pictured, and Hannah Montana-Miley Ray Cyrus-Lewis in the patriotic shell.

Gymnastics

2008-08-01T08:05:00.000-07:00

Natalie's summer gymnastics class wrapped up this past week. She had a really good time and her flexibility and balance improved greatly as well as some tumbling.
They also worked on strength training. Although not pictured Natalie is able to climb half way up the rope. Makes my hands hurt just thinking about it.

I like this picture. The girls were definately more serious about gymnastics than their male counterpart. ( :

Beginners vault practice.

Mani - Pedi

2008-07-31T16:25:00.000-07:00

Before Nana and Papa had to head back to Oregon we split up to have some fun. Scott, Papa, and Lily went down to Cabella's to do all things manly. While Natalie, Nana, and I went and had our nails done. It was a ton of fun and Natalie did a really good job holding still. She enjoyed it a lot. In case you can't tell she picked red for her toes and purple for her fingers. Good solid choices. ; )

Lily's 3rd Birthday part II

2008-07-31T15:48:00.000-07:00

Okay I found the rest of the pictures....

Lily had a great party!

Lily's 3rd B-day part I

2008-07-31T15:23:00.000-07:00

Lily decided that this year she wanted a Thomas birthday party. I found this Thomas tutorial online that showed us how to make a 3-d Thomas cake! So five people and two days later Lily had the best cake ever! (I can't seem to find the "middle" pictures at the moment so when I do I will post them.)

Brandie and Scott's Carribean Vacation!!

2008-06-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

We started out driving to Galveston to board our ship, the Carnival Conquest. We were celebrating our 30th birthdays! It was a fabulous vacation. The first vacation we've had solo since we had kids. It was great and we do plan to do it again in the future. ( :

I'm not sure what happened to this picture when I uploaded it but you get the idea. ( :

The first two days were at sea. It was a very smooth ride. We enjoyed the ships activities and shows, along w/ a couple of naps!

Our first stop was Jamaica! It was a little sketchy looking outside of our bus. We docked at Montego Bay and rode a bus across the island to Negril, more specifically Margaritaville!

The tour guides told us the do's and don'ts of Jamaica. Pretty much stick w/ the group and talk to no one. It was scary. We were told that people still get kidnapped and when it rains the stores get looted.

A quick towel break. Our cabin steward was really good with the towel animals. I think they are as follows...... Sting ray, Koala Bear, dog, seal, pig , and sloth.

Next stop Georgetown Grand Cayman Islands at Hog Sty Bay.

This Island was my personal favorite of them all. The water was so clear and the city was so clean and friendly. I could stay there forever. We went to the beach and spent most of the day snorkeling.

Last stop Cozumel Mexico! We snorkeled and relaxed on the beach enjoying our bottomless margaritas and daquaris. Then we walked around and visited the little shops prior to boarding the ship.

Cozumel had the most fish, but it was also rockier and had rougher seas. "Swim at your own risk."

The last night of our cruise and the last sunset. We had a phenomenal time and hope to do it again soon!

American Girl Bistro Dallas TX

2008-06-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

While Scott was working the rest of us drove up to the American Girl store in the Galleria mall. I'm not sure about Papa but I think the rest of us could've spent the day in there.

At first Lily was just interested in all the fun places to sit. Then she just explored and explored until we got to the Bitty Baby section where she played w/ the strollers and sets. This is her first trip to the store awake. It was a very different experience.
Before Lily Knew where we were.

When Natalie saw Lily getting her picture taken next to the wall she thought she needed one too. ( :
I called ahead and booked a reservation for us to have lunch upstairs. It was a lot of fun. The girls each brought there own babies but they were also offered loaners for the meal.

Lily really had a good time feeding her babies. She didn't really care to eat anything herself but her babies had a good meal. ( :

More misc.

2008-06-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

A couple of Sarah's friends had a going away picnic and pool party. The girls really enjoyed it and it was fun for Sarah to see all of her teachers and friends one last time before heading back to Korea.

Lily's not too sure about the water. Every summer she has to get back in the swing again.

It's not too long before she's having fun!

We miss you Sarah!!! Yeaaaa Yooooooon!!

Natalie on the other hand is part fish! Can't keep that girl out of the water. Looks like we'll be uping our pool days from once a week to 2-3 times a week this year.

After swimming there was a bbq picnic where Lily kareoked w/ the big girls. Fortuneatly they had High School Musical so she could sing along.

On June first. Scott and I left on vacation. Just the two of us and cruised the western Carribean. We had a great time and in our absence Nana and Papa played the part of "Old Mommy and Daddy". You can see the girls had a horrible time and missed us greatly-NOT!!

It's about time....

2008-06-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

..... for an update!!! Here are some pics from a fire station field trip we took in the beginning of May. Getting soooo big!! Can you believe she's 3!?!?!??!?!??!
These are some of the girls homeschool friends. Not too many boys. ( : Not on the same day......

Natalie discovered that Sophie fits in Cabbage Patch Kid clothes. Lucky for Sophie!!

Misc. good stuff

2008-04-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

The baby changing table has recently turned into a pet grooming station. Donkey and Sophie both get groomed on a regular basis. They're such good pets. Movie night! So cute! As both girls get older Natalie is becoming more tolerant and Lily is beginning to play well with others their sisterly bond is growing strong. They're becoming inseparable.

Still Dancing

2008-04-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

Our pretty ballerina's love dancing w/ Bella Bella Dancerella (a disney DVD).

Dancing Girls

2008-04-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

Natalie Loves HSM (High School Musical)fixed

2008-04-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

Natalie Loves HSM (High School Musical)
I think the movie is self explanitory, this is how most of our car rides have been since the movie came out. We had to hide the camera so she didn't know she was being recorded other wise she stopped immidiately

Sweet Berry Farms

2008-04-04T13:56:00.000-07:00

This week we visited Sweet Berry Farms in Marble Falls. We went along w/ Natalie's two newest buds Charlotte (left center), and Lily (right center). Our girls are on the outer edges.

Scott had the day off so he was able to come along w/ us.

All three girls are in Kindergarten this year and are very funny and sweet together.
After our picking fun was done we had a refreshing homemade strawberry Popsicle. Believe it or not the stains all came out!
After we cleaned up a little we visited the animals on the farm. There were chickens, donkeys and goats for the kids to pet.
These next two are for you Nana. Unfortunately we couldn't get them all in the holes at the same time. Maybe we should have tried this pic before the Popsicles. Yes, the mom in this picture, my friend Mindy or at least half of her, is trying to get her son's head out of the hole. ( :

Helping Dad.

2008-04-04T13:46:00.001-07:00

Natalie and Scott hard at work on a project. Look Ma I still have all my fingers!!!
So cute! Matching outfits and it wasn't even planned.

Stables Field Trip

2008-04-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

Last week our play group visited Grace Riding Stables in George Town. The kids had a good time. They watched as the horse pictured below was fitted with shiny new shoes. Oooo Aaaaah! Natalie's in the white hoodie.

Natalie and a few other girls fell in love w/ the extra cuddly farm cats and dogs. Who knew there was another cat out there as docile as Donkey.
The farrier was really good w/the kids. He explained everything using technical terms and correct names of the horses anatomy for the older kids and then also explained it in very simple kid terms for the younger ones. He was really good at answering questions too. Any and all. ( :

This last horse was a rescue horse. She is/was pregnant and has been at this ranch trying to put some weight back on. They don't have very much history on her so they're not sure of her due date but thought she could have it at any moment. She was the only horse w/ special privelages. She was allowed to roam wherever she pleased. So she followed us all over the ranch and you would think a horse would be noisy enough to hear but she always sneeked up on us. She was very sweet and the kids fed her unlimited carrots. She also rec'd a very thorough brushing thanks to the kids too!

Easter '08

2008-03-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

No we didn't have Easter dinner at Sonic but they did have a funny sign. You may need to double click on it to read it.
The girls weren't quite sure what to do. The stood in the middle of the play room for a few moments before they began searching for their baskets.

Natalie's was hidden in the baby changing table/bathtub/wardrobe.

Eureka!! She found it! She was the first one to find her basket.
Lily spent a great deal of time gathering her eggs and walking by her basket.

Wooo hooo! She found it!!
Time to go through the riches!Sarah had a little bit tougher time. Not in plain sight like the little girls. She eventually found it after a few clues.

After the baskets we had breakfast and got ready for church. The girls looked so cute in their new dresses from Nana.

Spider man!

Cheese!With sweaters and tears! Is it nap time yet?

Samsung Easter Picnic

2008-03-29T09:32:00.001-07:00

The day before Easter Scott's work has an annual picnic for the kids. The kitchen whips up all kinds of fun carnival food and there are clowns roaming around as well as several Easter bunny's and chicks. This year the temperature was much better than last years, or maybe we've just acclimated a little more. Anyway here's the highlights from our day.

Gotta love the bum shot!
The age groups were 0-2, 3-5, 6-9, and 10-12. Last year we split up w/ the girls but this year we decided to all go to the 3-5 group even though Lily is two and Natalie is six. Shh! ( : Once the girls had filled their baskets there we still many more eggs to be had but we pointed out that no one was in line for the moon walk, or the blow up slide so we headed over there.
The girls had a really good time on the slide. They went over and over again until they needed a bathroom break.

We seemed to have great timing after the potty break was over the blow up area was full so we headed over to the tent that had face painting, character's, balloon animals, and ice cream.
Limpy the clown. Some of you may remember him from our Day w/ Thomas blog.

Next we moved on to the pony rides. Natalie was really excited and we were still ahead of the crowd so we were able to walk up and she got on. This didn't work out so well for Lily. She took one look at it and said, "NO!" So once Natalie was done on the pony we decided to head home to do some egg decorating before Scott had to go to work.

After we arrived home it was a quick change of clothes and the decorating fun began!

This was the first year that both Sarah, and Lily had decorated eggs.

I think they had a really good time.

Sea World

2008-03-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

The final outing w/ Papa was a trip to Sea World in San Antonio. Natalie only needs to grow about another foot before she'll be able to ride the big rides.
Sit Shamu! Sit! Good Whale!

Natalie asked if she could have a hair wrap. Sure why not! Then I remember, oh wait this is the weekend before Easter. These things last at least two weeks. Oops.. Oh well I guess. She loves it. It will probably be a crisis when it does finally fall out. I just hope it unravels opposed to leaving a small stump of hair.
We finally made it to feed the dolphins! We had a year pass to the park last year but every time we came we always missed feeding time. So we were really excited to feed the dophins. This next pic is not of us but it gives you an idea how close it is.

This is the dolphin that Natalie fed.
This is the best pic I could get of Natalie feeding the flippers.
Here's what it looks like from the back. Lily had a good time feeding them too. She didn't quite get it at first and just threw the fish in the water w/ no dolphin in site. But she did end of feeding a dolphin and that it was pretty great.
In the beginning of the ski show they invited all of the kids down to the beach area to dance and play for five minutes. Natalie was very hesitant but Lily was off and running to join.

As we left the park we noticed little mud spots all over that weren't there before. Pretty soon our stroller was speckled, the back of my hands, jackets, etc. Then we made it to the parking lot and all of the cars looked like they'd been out off-roading while we were in the park. Of course, this was the time I'm out of windshield fluid. It was raining mud! The temp went from 75 when we left the house in the morning to now 42 in the late afternoon and raining mud. Weirdest thing ever! So a quick stop to the store for some fluid and we drove out of the mud rain. Once we arrived home and put the girls to bed I googled it and found out that it was indeed mud rain and that a dust storm from Mexico had mixed w/ a rain storm from the NW to give us mud rain. So odd.

Zilker Park

2008-03-20T20:19:00.000-07:00

Another outing w/ Papa landed us near downtown Austin at Zilker Park. Where we rode the Zilker Zephyr. Yeee haaaaw!
The weather was great. We went out for BBQ for lunch at Iron Works and had a some fun.

Natalie and the sculptures again. We tried to get Lily up there w/ her but she was really scared of the old men.

Chuck E. Cheese revisited..

2008-03-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

Papa asked Natalie where she would like to go while he was here and her first answer was Chuck E. Cheese! Yes the large rat that provides mediocre food and introduces children to gambling. This seems to be turning into a tradition. Every time Nana and Papa come down we have to go to Chuck E. Cheese. Ahhh good times! Good times w/ Gappy!!

Awwww...
So Feet!

Sprinkler Time!

2008-03-20T19:55:00.000-07:00

Papa came for a visit on his way home from a job in Georgia. On his second day in Austin it was 101 degrees! So we broke out the sprinklers and had some fun.

Then we found a spot of shade for papa to take a rest in the hammock. Ahhhhhhhh.....

Spring Break '08!! The Beach!!

2008-03-20T19:35:00.000-07:00

To kick off our spring break we drove to Port Aransas on the Gulf coast. It was a really fun day. We watched dolphins in the bay, gathered shells, flew a kite, built a sand castle, and visited some shops. Oh and burned of course. It was a great day.

Lily broke into song with her rake. "Na na na na... na na na na.... You are the music in me!"
Feeding the Sea Gulls.
Really heavy sand.

Natalie loved posing w/ the different cement things around town.

More shells!

The clouds burned off in the afternoon and it warmed up. It was a beautiful day!

Spider Man Spider Man!!

2008-03-20T18:57:00.000-07:00

Natalie and Lily were invited to a Spider Man birthday at the Children's Museum by one of the neighbor kids. We had a great time and Natalie and Lily played "Spider Man," (basically running around and jumping off of things and shooting webs) for two days after the party. It was pretty funny.

If everyone shakes spider man's hand so do I....
Natalie was the first volunteered into spider man's web.
No other children would go so then Spidy himself jumped in to save the day.
Still no volunteers so the birthday boy's Dad was shoved in and put on a good performance.

After the fun, games, and cake Spidy still had some time to hang w/ the kids before he had to go fight crime. So he went around the children's museum and played. After a while the party disolved and the kids played on their own had some more fun.

Fun in the really cold sun!

2008-03-20T18:52:00.000-07:00

Lily didn't like it when Natalie jumped on the moon walk bridge.

We missed the playgroup earlier in the week since the girls weren't feeling well so we stepped out on our own before doing some grocery shopping only to find that it was soooooo cold outside. We were used to the seventies and had to run home to grab winter coats and hats when we realized the temps had dropped into the high thirties with really high winds. Brrrr! We played as long as we could stand it .

Two front teeth!

2008-03-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

Well these days she's called Gappy McGhee, or just gappy for short. After Natalie finished pulling out her two front teeth we still had time to go play at the playstructure inside Toys R Us. It was a good day!

The tooth fairy strikes again....

2008-03-01T21:10:00.001-08:00

Natalie has finally lost one of her upper teeth. These teeth have been wiggling since well before the holidays. She ended up pushing it w/ her tongue and catching it in her hand. Silly girl!

Ms. Snaggletooth

Nana's visit

2008-03-01T20:04:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago Nana came for a visit and we had a great time. Upon her arrival Natalie wanted to go up to her room and play. So firt off they played w/ the hula girl from Hawaii. Notice her outfit, she wanted to match Nana.

One of our outings was the San Antonio zoo. It was a lot of fun. We weren't expecting a lot but were plesantly suprised. All of the animals were so active.

It felt really weird being so close to these big kitties.

There were three different kinds of flamingo's and they were so much fun to watch.

The temperature reached 91 on our zoo day, I don't know how Natalie was able to lay on that hot sculpture.

This pic is from our "Nana Tuesday" trip. We started out running some errands and going to the library. Then we headed to lunch this is Natalie and Lily checkin out a grasshopper from the opposite side of the glass. My little bug-a-phobes.

Later on during the same day we headed to the mall. Lily took a nap in the stroller while Natalie played fashion show at Limited Too, her favorite store.

Another activity was making Valentine's Day cupcakes. Natalie promised Nana that she would save the cupcake making until Nana arrived. So we had them about a week after. ( :

Natalie tells us this is how her uncle Glen told her to eat cupcakes.

On the afternoon before Nana's flight to return home we went bowling. Everyone had a really good time. Natalie beat us all with a score of 108.

Ashley Song!!

2008-02-24T20:49:00.001-08:00

It's a GIRL!!! My really REALLY good friend Hyein just had a beautiful baby girl. 7lbs 15 oz, not sure how long (how long Hyein?) bouncing baby girl on 2/21!! Isn't she amazing?!?!?!?!?!

Here's Valentines Day just for you Aunt Kerry!! ( ;

2008-02-23T21:01:00.000-08:00

Valentines preparation. Wake up and get ready!! The hair.... the makeup..... the jewels... The gift opening!
The tired gift opening...
The nails... We call these thirty minute nails. Can you guess why??

It was a great day!

Wendee and Dahlias visit

2008-02-18T20:43:00.001-08:00

We had a really nice visit w/ Wendee and Dahlia a couple of weeks ago. Dahlia had many of her first w/ us. She did the "up hands", sat up well on her own, and caught her first cold. ) : Despite the colds we still had a great time.
This was on our way to the BBQ. We couldn't squeeze it in but Sarah was also asleep in the back seat. ( :
The weather was great during there visit in the 70's and 80's.

We were sad to see them go, but Paul was ready to have them back ( :

Misc. getting caught up ( :

2008-02-18T20:00:00.000-08:00

The girls havin' fun painting in the garage.

Scott told Donkey to stay off of the counters... Now Lily has a new jacket!!
Raise your hand if you're sure!!
Lily's first haircut if you don't count bang trims. Her hair was about down to her crack so we took her in and several wiggles later she left w/ a sticker. She liked it so much she wants to get her hair cut all the time.

February 4th was Sarah's super sweet "american" sixteen. We celebrated w/ just family and this past weekend she had her "friend party" w/ a group of girls from school. I think they all had a great time and the little girls had a great time too, celebrating separately at Chuck E. Cheese until bedtime. ( :

The Big Island

2008-02-18T19:43:00.000-08:00

These pics are courtesy of Nana, Papa, and Grandma Seese's helicopter excursion.
Except for maybe this one... It looks like it came from teh balcony. ( :

On the ship

2008-02-18T08:23:00.000-08:00

I think this needs to be one of those motivational pictures. "Trust"
I really like this pic.

One of the views from the balcony.

Crazy Monkey.

So Feet!

Awwww... Trouble...

Natalie had a decent time at the evac. drill.....
Lily.......did not..

The newest memeber of the Lewis clan.

One of the many resturants. The girls' manners were really put to the test. Eating out two out of the three meals a day is trying on a little one.

Someone's room who had a balcony. Ours was very similar except instead of a balcony we had an adjoining room w/ the girls.
One of the girls favorite spots on the basketball court.

Oahu, HI

2008-02-17T19:09:00.000-08:00

I'm not actually sure which island these first two pics are from. 1400+ pics will do that to a person. Possibly Kona.

One of the views from the Pacific Something 'er other that we stayed at in Waikiki. So cute!
This is way out of order.... When Lily and Dahlia reunited in Hawaii.

How did they know Nana and Papa were coming??

Our first out to dinner together. Are we having fun yet??!?!?!?!

Lahaina, Maui, HI Day 2

2008-02-17T18:40:00.001-08:00

On our second day in Maui Auntie Smel took the girls pictures under a really cool tree I think it's a Monkey something... I'll check and update later. ( : Maui was my favorite Island. It's soooo beautiful! We were told this boat ran a ground on it's maiden voyage three years prior. It was decided that it would cause more damage to remove the vessel than to leave it, so there it sits. Oh and the owner did not take out insurance on the boat. Ouch!
This tree was so neat. It ws as big as the park. The vines that came down rooted into the soil and then turned into trunks. Slowly taking over the world. ( :

Grandma's hot photo op. This guys a triple threat! Strong... silent.. and in a uniform!!

Dahlia took a mini snooze at lunch..... As Lily would say, "So feet!"
Lily did not take a nap at lunch. ( :

HUH??

Maui, HI Day 1

2008-02-17T17:40:00.000-08:00

Our first day in Maui we had an excursion that visited Needle Point, and the Maui Ocean Center. We also saw many cats along the way. Our tour guide said it can also be pronounced Mee-ow-ee due to all the ferrell cats.

The view from the resturant where we ate lunch.

I think this view is from the ship.

Kona, HI

2008-02-17T17:25:00.000-08:00

Coming in on the tender.

Scott Scuba Diving (self portrait)Stuff on the bottom of the ocean ( :

Kuai, HI

2008-02-17T11:39:00.000-08:00

The view as we pulled into port. The girls playing on the 'Stardust Theater' stage.
The view from the other side of the ship.
Shopping w/ Dad and having a snack.

Christmas Morning

2008-01-30T11:48:00.000-08:00

Sorry they're really out of order but let's pretend it's a puzzle and you have to put them in order. ( :

How many people can you fit in a hammock??? Almost four!!

Sophie's pretty Christmas dress.

Twas the night before Christmas......

2007-12-25T20:47:00.000-08:00

Before we headed out for the Christmas Eve service we had a light dinner and Sarah took some great pictures of the Gingerbread house we made a few nights before.

Sarah's stocking!!

The moment Natalie had been waiting for...... time to open some gifts!!

Clothes... :( More specifically pajamas. The tradition at our house is that everyone opens two gifts on Christmas eve. One is always pajamas and the other is something else. One would think that with everyone opening pajamas that this wouldn't be a surprise to receive a pair of pajama's. But I guess that's our glass half full girl. Maybe she will just get toys!!!!!

Lily doesn't care about clothes or toys when there's boxes!!!

What could it be?!!??!?!?! Drum roll please................................

PAJAMAS!!!! Surprise!!!

Lily still is happy!! The best hooded towel in the WORLD!!
Scott and I had a joint second gift from Natalie. Something that she'd worked very hard on in school.

AWWWWwwww!! How cute! The look of devastation when you've just been given the chance to open two gifts there were no toys to be found.

Pajama and Stocking Time!!!

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.....

The cookies, carrots, milk, and spoons were put out for Papa and the reindeer.

The girls were quickly off to bed and Sarah assumed the position on the laptop never to been seen or heard from till morning. ( :

It's the... Day before...The night before Christmas.....

2007-12-25T20:34:00.000-08:00

.... and Sarah looks sleepy.

Lily looks ready!
Natalie looks ready too!
In the evening we decorated the cookies. The cookie closest to Natalie's finger is the Mother Mary cookie. The white Spree in the center is "baby Jesus still in her tummy."
When Sarah returned from shopping all of the cookies had been decorated. So she decided to decorate a spoon for Santa. I don't know... Must be a Korean thing. ( :

candy....Candy.....CANDY!!!!

2007-12-25T20:29:00.000-08:00

While waiting in the carpool line I gave Lily a sucker. I thought it was just a regular sucker, minimal mess, some stickies.... Well it wasn't until the teacher that was helping Natalie into the car busted out laughing and couldn't stop staring at Lily. I thought maybe I should look and this is what I found........ A very happy Lily!

San Antonio: Alamo and City Walk/ Schitty Wok

2007-12-25T19:33:00.000-08:00

We drove down to San Antonio with our friends and a bunch of the exchange students to see the Alamo and do the City Walk. We all had a great time. The weather was beautiful but chilly.

The Alamo is really small and for non-history type people it's very boring. So for a bunch of teenagers and two small children they were very pleased with it's small size. ( ;

Love is patient.....

I'm wishing..... and I'm dreaming of....

Peace out!

The Students: Left to Right. Ye Eun - Korea, Felicia - Germany, Ursula - Germany, Julia - Italy. Not pictured: Andrew - Hungary

At last.... The City Walk! The teens promptly ditched us to do some shopping. We agreed to meet up for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe later on in the evening. So we shopped a little and stopped for a hot drink from Starbucks and sat out in the freezing weather to watch the Gondola's go by... Sorry I guess we didn't get a picture of one of those... but boy were they neat!

How old are you now Natalie????

Name this movie...... "I can't put my arms down!!!"
Tower of the America's
This is just about when the City Walk (Paseo Del Rio) became the Shitty Walk (Paseo Del Caca). We walked along the winding canal to the Hard Rock. Along the way we walked under several bridges where many bats lived. Dusk was fast approaching and they were all clamoring or pooping on their way out. We walked as fast as we could through this area covering our head and begging not to get pooped on.

*Sigh* Natalie and her beloved peers. They were very sweet to ask if Natalie could join them at the teen table. It was probably right up there with Disney Land.

On our walk back the bats had all made it out and all was quiet. The only thing that remained was there little poo's that were still on the sidewalk. Whew!

This is a close up of Lily's peace sign. It's thumb and first finger over eye. ( : So cute!

Felicia and Lily. They were fast friends. Which is good as Felicia was only here on a five month program so this was the weekend before she left. We will miss you Felicia!!!

Lily's 2nd Annual Whatchacallit Day!!

2007-12-15T18:34:00.000-08:00

We haven't quite settled on a name for Lily's annual homecoming party. Half the time we call it homecoming, and the other half we call it "Gotcha Day." This day is to celebrate the day that we were able to bring Lily home forever. ( : On this day Lily receives a gift and we usually have a Korean meal. If it wasn't for my wonderful friend Hyein teaching me all of these recipes this would also be the day that we go out to a Korean resturant. ( :

Hold on before those fingers get yucky lets open the gift!!!

It's a Little Tykes airplane!! Very appropriate as that was our mode of transportation for returning home w/ our Lily. It also has little Hawaiian looking tourists which will be great to practice for our upcoming vacation!!!
Sarah helped a lot with the dinner this year. She even helped us add a couple of new items to our menu. It was kind of fun too as it was her first time cooking a lot of these things since her mom does the cooking at home. Okay I think the best way to do is as a clock....
12:00 Bulgogi - Grilled marinated beef
1:00 Mandu - Steamed Dumpling stuffed w/ vegitables and pork
3:00 Mulchi - Sauteed sweetened dried fish
4:00 Jap Chae - Sweet potatoe noodles with sauteed vegitables and beef
7:00 Bap - Steamed short grain rice
8:00 Kim chee - Fermented cabbage with pepper paste and green onions
9:00 Dong Chee Me - Fermented Dikon radish
10:00 Jokbal - Seasoned roasted pig feet
Not pictured: Chop Sal Duk - Rice and red bean cake, Boong al Pang - Sweet pancake stuffed with red beans.

A note from Lily: "Party's fun. Happy birthday Gotcha Days! Where's Sarah?? I need to go poo poo. Ta da!! Here I am!! I wanna push a button I think. Please please please!! I wanna bolley ball! Where's my bolley ball???"

Good times at Walmart

2007-12-15T09:00:00.000-08:00

While walking into Walmart this week Sarah said, "Ooo you have those too. In Korea we always take pictures when we put money in." So I told her that I had my camera and this is what happened... ( :

Natalie's Birthday!

2007-12-11T09:20:00.000-08:00

The chosen outfit. Thanks Nana, ( :

The theme: High School Musical 2

It was a tough choice between this and Hannah Montana, and Hello Kitty. Decisions..decisions..

The gifts.....

The cake...

The wish..... That Sarah and Natalie could do High school musical on TV and for a turtle. "Wheelies"

Getting down to some serious business w/ the new toys...

A note from Natalie:

"I had a good time at my birthday. I was opening my presents. I had a lot of fun time. I love everybody!"

Sarah's hair color...ever changing

2007-12-11T09:06:00.000-08:00

Before: Maybe I should say after her friends bleached it. Twice!

During:

After: