Monday, May 23, 2016

Catching Up

 Life has been a bot crazy to say the least.  Really, I haven't even had time to think about what's been going on or to put it on the blog even.  So, this is my attempt to somewhat catch you up...but really doesn't cover half of it.  This picture just says it all.  He just LOVES the new blue and white taxis.  You would think that we ride in them all the time, but it's actually quite rare.  He got to be the very first passenger in this taxi.  No, really.  I'm not kidding.  See the plastic still covering the seats?  The driver still had is uniform folded nicely in the plastic wrap on the back seat.  He asked us not to sit on it.  haha!
 "Quick! Did you get my picture by the taxi before he left?"
 When we picked Lauren up from class, she had been given her official certificate from the Beijing School of Ballet.  She passed level 2 and is working on level 3.  She can't wait to pass one more level.  She is about to go crazy waiting to wear the "tippy toe" shoes :)
 We had a great dinner with some friends and spent an evening laughing and having fun.  We played some games and came to the conclusion that we should try to make this a more regular thing....wish they didn't live so far away.
 The kids were excited to see an old friend come back :)
 Happy Mother's Day!  Katherine is alway smacking and creating things.  She has such a giving spirit.  I loved my gift (and she knows me well....a kitty right at the top)  :)
 The reverse stair step...they are almost even!!
 I didn't get a step, but I got a picture with my kiddos on Mother's Day :)
 I got to ride in the back of the taxi with these two cuties
 People watching can be interesting sometimes...I don't think I have ever seen anyone use a feather duster to clean the engine of a car before.  I guess he really didn't want in dust in there!
 The girls have been working on going through their stuff deciding what is "keep" "give away" and "trash"  They still have along ways to go, but have done a great job going through everything.  Lauren wanted a picture with nearly everything before she made a decision.
 Ayi bought the kids ice-cream.  I couldn't remember why at first, but it was a treat from her for donating some of their stuff to kids in need.
 Yes, this is how I have to fix her hair now.  She used to use that stool to reach the potty when she was little.  Now, I am using the same stool so I can reach her head for a good pony tail.  She can do it, but if she still wants Mama's help, she's going to get it ;)
 This just made me nervous....he's just way too small to be using a box cutter!
 sitting in the pigeon seat while we wait for Lauren's performance to start
 They really wanted to ride the sky wheel.  I told them that they would have to setts for just a picture this time.
 Lauren was so happy that a few of our friends came to watch the show by the river!
This picture just made me laugh.  Daniel looks thrilled to be there!  I actually think he was mostly annoyed that his sister put the hat on him sideways.
 These kids are always looking for a chance to ride a moped
 Benjamin added in and Katherine thought it was a little too tight ;)



 Corry, Daniel, and Bonnie with the kids (minus Benjamin) in the random boat on the sidewalk.

 Look Mom! I built a car all by myself!
 Oh! What have you done to the Oreo!  It keeps getting thinner and thinner!!  Why can't they make double stuff here! ;)
 We took a day trip to Hong Kong to visit Mamaw and Papaw...it was Mamaw's birthday and we needed an excuse to celebrate! :)
 Just some market shots
 We found the Hard Rock and ate at it.  No one left hungry that's for sure!
 What do you know....another ferris wheel!
 This time, the kids got to ride.  The only bummer is that they would not let us all in one car....8 was the max and they wouldn't let us put Hudson on a lap.
 Great view though
 There is the other cabin :)


 This is Hudson telling Papaw the books of the Bible.  He's a pretty amazing kiddo!
 We took a ferry to a different part of HK


 Haircuts for the boys...the one on the left begs to go every day, the one on the right begs not to ever go.  They are so funny.
 I found this on the phone....apparently, this was the attempt at sleeping without sucking a thumb.
This boy and cars!  Too much cuteness right here.

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Last Few Days

Our family id so large that it can be a chore sometimes to travel around the city, so instead of trying to catch multiple taxis we opted for 2 kids at a time going on a short outing with Grandmommy.  Katherine and Hudson wanted to go to a plaza not too far away to skate/ride bikes.  They had fun racing and picking up leaves they found and putting them into large piles.
Grandmommy and I watched :)
We headed home about the same time as the schools were letting out, so it was grandparents galore and little babies and kids everywhere.  The parents don't typically get home until late.
Regan and Lauren got to go on a field trip to a nearby museum.  I had been there before but this time found it particularly interesting.

My friend drove us to the museum...fun :)
just a little old man at the museum....he just seemed so intent
These two wanted this picture with the "dog"  The funny thing was that after everyone saw them pose there, they thought it must be the photo spot and they all started rushing over for a picture there...haha!
some pretty lilies surrounding by pretty girl
I'm not sure what the bell was about, but that's ok
The kids had just watched The Sound of Music the day before, so these two just couldn't help put to hide and pop out from behind the column singing "cuckoo"
Posing for a picture just before we left
While we were gone at the museum, the others worked on school and lunch...Indonesian fried rice.  The kids made the shrimp chips (HUGE)  I assumed that they would break them into pieces so they would be bite size, but they took it as an opportunity to make a kind of taco
They really enjoyed the lunch.  Benjamin has been asking for it for at least 6 months now, so he was a VERY happy camper.
Katherine and Benjamin got to go to a mall with Grandmommy.  Truth be told, the ONLY reason we were going here was so that the two of them could jump on the trampoline outside :)  Our timing wasn't perfect....we had to wait 40 minutes for a taxi (and that was placing an order for one on the phone!)
Benjamin was doing his Spider Man impersonation :)
Ayi took us all out for dinner right before Mom left.  Katherine LOVES the noodles at this place :)
I know 7 years old....I think she gets a kick out of Ayi spoiling her!
Grandmommy and the little girls
group shot...minus Benjamin because he didn't want his picture taken and Jonathan because he was taking the picture
We finally took Grandmommy to the "statue park" ...at least that is what my kids refer to it as.
Yes, those are my kids at the base of the statue
Afterward, the girls went dancing again.
Lauren wanted her big sister to carry her...I think they both loved every minute of it!
But I think Katherine got a little jealous, so Regan carried her some, too! :)  Sweet sister!
Hudson is really improving in Taekwondo!  He still has some balance problems, but check lout that kiddo standing on one foot right before he kicked!
This is his coach.  She is really patient with the little ones!
We went to a friend's apartment and had a cookout on the top of the building.
Then the little kids all migrated to one of the back bedrooms to play.
Soey and Wing saying "bye to Grandmommy"  I thought it was cute to hear them call her that :)
Lauren had a dance performance/competition.  This is her ballet teacher.  She was helping all the girls  get ready for the performance (Chinese dance)  The only problem they ran across was that they bought make-up to make them appear a little whiter (because that is supposed to be more beautiful) and when they started putting it on Lauren it started turning her "yellow"  Lauren was afraid they weren't going to put make-up on her like the other girls.  They also opted not to draw in the black eyebrows on Lauren :)
Ayi came to watch!  She was supposed to go see her son over the weekend because it was a holiday, but she asked him to come to her because she didn't want to miss Lauren dancing.
All the girls had to sign in at the registration desk...She signed in characters 美美  :)
Lauren was so happy to get a picture with this girl.  She did a ballet number on "tippy toe shoes"  This is Lauren's dream!  She can't wait to be at a high enough level to get those shoes!
The stage was a little small.  I was so impressed that the girls adjusted like they did.
This girl had a solo in the dance and did great!  I told her that we might need to fix the dress again before the next show (apparently I measured her after dinner when her belly was full)  Glad that the professional photographer got this one!
Afterward she wasted to eat at McDonald's so one of her dance friends went too.
Hudson wanted the green apple ice-cream. He's always the brave one to try new flavors.  I'll stick with vanilla.
This guy wore a suit and looked so handsome...then I realized that he must need some new shoes if that's all he had to go with it...hahaha!

Regan and "her" cat Gracie
The girls went out to play. While they were outside a HUGE storm came through.  I assumed they took cover under the buildings were the ping pong tables are.  After about 15 minutes I heard all this laughing.  I look out over the balcony and they are having the time of their life playing in the rain.  They were dancing, sliding, jumping, doing shows, you name it.  I got a short video clip before they decide to come in and dry off.  They had no idea I had already seen them.
 Regan decide to dress everyone up in Star Wars fashion.  From left to right you have Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Master Yoda, and Rey.

 I caught this little exchange while we were waiting to cross the street.  Too cute
 It has been Hudson's goal in life to ride in one of these blue and white taxis!  He was SO excited that he and Jonathan caught one.  He's still talking about it!  I have to admit...these taxi are much nicer than all the rest!