Chopsticks Times 6: Chinese New Year Part 1

It's that time of year again! Chinese New Year! It's the time when kids get out of school, special "winter classes" are offered, excitement and anticipation is in the air, and you spend time with family and friends. This is part one...all of our activities leading up to the actual holiday.

Regan was able to go to a taekwondo camp for 2 weeks. She worked really hard to get all of he school work done in advance and was able to enjoy the 2 weeks with other kids and coaches. She had a great time!

Ayi called and asked if she could take the kids out to eat. The kids were excited to go. It was really quiet around the house, too!

We went to a park and I let the kids choose one game to play. They had fun and all won a prize.

Winter and Yoyo spent a few days with us. This was a fun little statue.

This guy was making lots of scrolls to sell. He would write anything you wanted.

This is at the entrance to the park. Lauren and Yoyo won little BB guns. That's still not a good term for it because they are really just tiny plastic pellets that come out with a puff of air.

Everyone is out and about so the buses were jam packed almost every time we got on.

Regan bought this souvenir for her room. It's made of seashells. She did a good job bargaining the price down. I was a little afraid because when she asked how much it was, she thought it was already a good deal and got very excited. She just knew it would be around 50 USD, but she got it for only 7 USD. :)

Oh no! It's begun. He's been asking to shave off his mustache for weeks now. His daddy finally bought him his own shaving stuff. My baby is growing up.

The traditional orange bushes to bring in the New Year.

On the last day of camp, Regan's camp did class outside. Here they had climbed to the top of a small mountain and did their routines up there.

This picture just made me laugh. The coach wanted them to make little hearts with their hands....so you have Regan making hers, the girls (front left) making a kissing face, and the girl (front right) crying because she doesn't want camp to end. Too funny.

The "older" girls at camp. Regan borrowed my clothes for the class because they said no taekwondo clothes and no shorts....that just about throws out her entire wardrobe ;)

Here are the girls playing a shooting came to pop balloons. They got 10 tries. Lauren popped six.

Winter popped four.

Katherine popped eight.

Regan didn't want to play that game, so she tried to throw the "baseballs" or flour filled panty hose balls to win a prize. I asked the rules and she said that whatever you knock off is what you win. She really wanted this cute tiger, but she knocked off a stuffed wine bottle. Really? I asked if she could trade it and the lady said that you could trade two for any one. So I decided to try once. I knocked off three including the tiger. YEAH!

So cute. I gave the others away.

Lauren had a 5 day (2 hours a day) winter break dance class. She learned a dance and performed it for us in just five days.

This is Xiao Bao. She just loves Regan so much! After the New Year she and her family are going to come over and learn how to make pizza with us. She hasn't stopped talking about it.

So how do you get a teenage boy out of bed? You send the dogs in to wake him up. How can you get mad at a puppy dog?? :)

We have learned that these two love trying to catch a laser. We found it out by accident, but it is hilarious. It' the only toy they don't fight over because neither one of them can catch it. haha!

So, local kids are out of school, but we still had homeschool. Here the girls are making their dough for the volcanoes.

While they were creating and constructing their volcano experiment, we watch National Geographic videos about volcanoes. I like these kinds of school projects.

Hudson has been taking some online piano classes. We hope to get him in with real live in person teacher soon, but for now, I want him to show me that he will practice what he has learned. He's having fun with it. I really like it, too. They do a great job of explaining things in a way that can be remembered and easily duplicated. It's through Hoffman Academy.

After Polly and I have a short English lesson, she usually plays with the kids. She is really good at Air Simon! This time they were playing two player...you have to work together to get it right!

Here's Lauren doing her performance. The dance was about a bird.

Surprise! Crazy. They were smoking our entire complex! I'm glad we are on the 17th floor. They said it was to keep roaches away.

A little big kid play dough fun.

poor little goats

Ha! I found Lauren and myself on a poster in town.

So, when Ayi took all the kids out to eat, it meant that Jonathan and I got to have a rare lunch date. He cooks for us all the time, but not usually so fancy looking :) It was delicious!

We found a new park that the kids really like. It has paths just for skating and bike riding, including some fun hills.

Benjamin was the only one to attempt (and successfully by the way) to go up and down the hills on his rip stick.

Hudson cheered and blew bubbles while everyone else took a turn on the hills.

He's worn out!

Finally! Hudson has figured out how to jump rope!! His record is 7 jumps by himself and a few more than than with someone jumping with him.

Regan was in a Chinese New Year performance. We saw many interesting acts while we waited for her turn to perform.

It was a little chilly and it was televised.

She was so nervous about possibly not breaking the board on stage. She did great! See picture below. I don't know the English name for the kick, but she had to do a 360 in the air and break the board in the process.

Their favorite toys.

It's a rough life.

Scout won't leave the "fireplace" these days.

Regan and some of her friends :)

We went to see a movie with a neighbor. We were told it was in English, but no such luck. It was still good though.

One of Lauren's dance friends came over for the day. They had a lot of fun together.

Benjamin has found someone who never tires of playing Nerf gun wars with him. haha! :). The dogs race for the bullets and bring them back so he will shoot it again.

lunch

afternoon bike ride

I met this kid at the park. He loves to talk! He talked to me for an hour. The next day his dad texted and asked if the mom and boy could come to our home to meet our family. They were coming at 5:00. At 5:05 they arrived, but it was not just the mom and son, it was 3 moms and their 3 sons. Surprise!

dinner is served

Qian Qian's first time to eat a fajita. She put just a hair too much stuff inside. We had to call in the expert roller upper (Jonathan) to try and save the day.