Another year/decade is here!

WOW!!  I can’t believe we are in 2010, but here we are!  The holidays rushed by as they always do.  We had a fantastic time and I was a bit busy to do too much blogging.  So, here is my reflection on the festivities…

THE CRAFTS

Our gingerbread house...next year we will try a different one! It turned out great again!

The Finished Product...Joshua did this side of the roof.

Coloring their Nutcrackers. Ashley loves to cheese now, hard to get a "real" smile!

They always want to do a "goofy" shot too!

Let the cookie making begin! It was a mess as it always is! But sure was yummy!

Here they are (the cookies, that is)! Some things to note: had to change our pj's, part of the gingerbread house already gone and crazy smiles from the kids!

JOSHUA’S SCHOOL PARTY

Joshua's school holiday party - mom was the party coordinator (Way fun, but way more work than I thought!). They all seemed to have fun!

Of course there was a craft! Remember who the party coordinator was!

Caroling at the town hall after the party. It was very fun! Santa and Mrs. Clause even came!

ASHLEY’S NUTCRACKER PROGRAM

Marching in like a Toy Soldier. Yes, the same Christmas dress...you'll see it again, looks like the only thing she wore in December!

Twirling like a Sugarplum Fairy. She was so into it and it was absolutely adorable!

Ashley was trying to get her partner to pay attention. Poor kid was too busy smiling and watching his mom. Ashley was having no part of it and was very much the leader in this dancing couple! It was hilarious!

Pretty as a Princess!

FINALLY SNOW!

We finally had enough snow to make a snowman. We were worried we wouldn't have a white Christmas, no worries there!

Our Snow Angel

Ashley's snow angel

Joshua sledding. He loves the snow!

CHRISTMAS EVE AT GRANDMA’S

The Big Kids Table

The Little Kids Table

Opening presents...again same dress!

The host every Christmas Eve, Grandma and Grandpa Lemon - always a GREAT time!

CHRISTMAS DAY AT HOME

I guess he was good...Santa brought the Wii and Indiana Jones game! Look at the sheer happiness in that face...PRICELESS!!

Ashley asked for pink pj's from Santa. How did he know she loves donuts???

She also got a kitchen! I made her that apron in one night (I'm better than I know)!

We had a fantastic holiday and hope you all did to.  Happy New Year (sorry no pictures from the New Year…we’ve been busy playing the Wii in our pj’s)!  I love the holidays!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

May 2010 bring you health, happiness and prosperity!

I Wanna Hippopotamus For Christmas…

So Ashley had her first of two show last week.  Her daycare always puts on a cute little Christmas show.  So low and behold, what song is it this year?  The one song I don’t know the ENTIRE words or tune to.  I only know…”I wanna hippopotamus for Christmas…”  Well, the wonderful internet (I don’t know how we lived before we had internet!) saved us!  We found the song on line and played it a million times and the whole family learned the song.  Very cute!  One of my favorites now!

So I was the doting mom and recorded it all on my camera.  Except the following day erased it off of my camera by accident!!!!  I could have KILLED myself!!!  It was so stinkin’ cute and I deleted!!!  UNBELIEVABLE!!!  I guess it is etched in my memory.  I did get still shots of her in her pretty dress.  She is a little cutie.  This Friday she performs the Nutcracker at her pre-school.  Hopefully I don’t erase that one too!!!

So happy after her performance.

So proud of my pretty girl!

I spoke too soon…

We had our first snow today.  It was a mere dusting but it covered the ground and the kids were SO excited!  A big storm is forecasted for Tuesday night into Wednesday.  We’ll see what it brings.  It just adds to the feel of Christmas!  No pictures this time…

Christmas is in the air!

Well, the weather is getting frightful, but doesn’t sound as bad as what their getting down south!  The temps are frigid but we haven’t had any of the white stuff yet.  The kids are extremely bummed!  They are calling for a blizzard on Wednesday.  We aren’t so excited but the kids sure are!

We got our tree the day after Thanksgiving as we have been doing the last few years.  The lights are up outside and I bought the ready made gingerbread house to decorate.  We are definitely looking forward to the fun school productions, parties and festivities!

We took our Christmas pictures too.  So Christmas cards will be going out soon…HOPEFULLY!  I love this time of year!

Here is our tree!

Dad cutting down the tree.

We got to see Santa there too!

The finished product...I love Christmas!

Night shot.

Yes, I’m finally blogging again…

So, it has been far too long since I last blogged but the fall is a crazy time in our household!!!  But, I’m back and hoping I can get some pictures posted and let you know what we have been up to.  Firstly, some sad news as my Ba Noi (Vietnamese for Paternal Grandmother) passed away last month.  She was 99 years old in American years but in Vietnam years she was 100!  She definitely lived her FULL life.  She was my last grandparent to pass away.  It was a sad occasion but also a happy one in which I was able to connect with many of my cousins and aunts and uncles I have not seen in a long time.  Sad how they always say that is when you see family at weddings and funerals, and really it is so true.  We are her legacy and it was so nice to see everyone gather in honor of her life.  I am blessed with a great family!  We did take some pictures at the funeral and I have them below.  It was very interesting to be a part of a Buddhist buriel.  I followed what I was told to do:  kneel, bow, take incense, etc.  It was pretty neat.

On a lighter note, Halloween came and went already and I have no pictures posted to show for it – UNBELIEVABLE!!!  I’m such a slacker.  Joshua had a week of festivities and I was able to attend a couple of the events.  His class went to a pumpkin patch, painted pumpkins in class and had a halloween party, after which they went around the neighborhood around their school to deliver the pumpkins they painted to those who had no halloween decorations.  It was a fantastic program and one that I was happy I was able to take part in!  Ashley had her party at her pre-school and they had a costume parade.  She had a fantastic time!  We also carved pumpkins again.  I have pictures of the carving but didn’t get any shots of the finished product…why you ask.  Ashley was puking midway through carving the pumpkins, so my mind was on other things.  That was the day before Halloween…so she was worried she would not be able to go trick or treating.  The weird thing is she did not have a temp or anything else.  Just puked the entire night…it was LOVELY!  Joshua assured her he would take her bucket to trick or treat for her (he is so sweet)!  Well, turned out she made out for Halloween!  It was freezing this year so coats and full winter regalia were in order.  Ashley made it through our cul-de-sac and then we went home.  MORE than enough candy for her and then we stayed in for the rest of the night.  I was actually okay with that since it was so cold.  Sam and Joshua stayed out with the neighbors and the bonfire for quite a while.  But it was definitely an earlier night than usual for Halloween.  You can see the pictures below.  Joshua was a Red Power Ranger and Ashley was Cinderella (Thanks to her Cau Qui and Co Shana for sending the dresses last year for Christmas)!

Lastly, crafting has begun in our household.  Of course there were the pumpkin carvings for Halloween, then we made Halloween cookies this year (so cute and yummy!), and Ashley made some home-made cut outs for the windows (leaves, cornucopia, Indian corn).  The holidays are in the air and we love it!

We were so suprised and appreciative that my mom's sisters and their husbands came to pay respect to my grandmother. The one aunt and uncle I had not seen since 1988!

This is a picture of my dad's brothers and sister, along with one of my aunts and my brother (L-R): Aunt Barbara (Chu Loan's wife), my Dad (eldest), Chu Loan (2nd oldest), Co Ngoc (3rd in the family), Chu Mai (my dad's youngest brother) and Quyen my brother who represented our generation since he is the eldest son of the eldest son of my grandmother. There were many rules and regulations to follow!

Me and my cousins - we came from everywhere! L-R: Beatle (Sacramento), Ro (Texas), Me (Midwest), Sarah (Germany), Lyly (San Francisco); Ron (Texas), Quyen (Nevada), Tanja (Germany) and Qui (California). It was so nice to see my 2 cousins from Germany. We hadn't seen them since they were much younger and they were all grown up and BEAUTIFUL! We all had a great time together!

Here are our festive Halloween cookies!

They had to wear their festive Halloween shirts too!

This is our field trip to the pumpkin patch. I got to ride on the bus with these two - Joshua and Matthew. We were in the last row. Can't remember the last time I rode a yellow school bus. It was fun!

Joshua picked his pumpkin. It was really muddy out there. He was having a ball!

Who is that headless horseman? The kids all got to play after they picked their pumpkins. It was a great field trip with his class!

Here is Joshua's class during their Halloween party. He is the Red Power Ranger. His teacher is the pepper - so cute! They all looked great and were so proud of their costumes.

They also played games. This was the "hot potato game" and the 2 final players just happened to be the 2 Joshua's in the class. I call this picture the dueling Joshuas! Joshua R. won - Joshual L. was still excited he finished with his best buddy. It's funny but the 2 Joshuas are the best of buddies...they must have bonded over their names. It was nice to meet the other Joshua's mom too! We got a kick out of it too!

Then off to deliver all the pumpkins they had picked out at the pumpkin patch and painted the next day. What a great lesson for the kids in giving - I really liked it!

Joshua at the doorstep of the house he would leave his pumpkin at. They all shouted "Happy Halloween" after they put their pumpkins on the doorstep. There were notes attached to tell the owners why they were receiving the pumpkins. They got some thank you notes from some of those who received pumpkins. It was so nice!

Ashley at her school party during the costume parade. She is a little pretty princess - Cinderella to be exact!

Here they all are on parade! It was just adorable!

I love this picture!

They sang songs and had a little program for us also. It was extremely cute!

That night we carved pumpkins...until the dreaded puking started. This is the best I got this year!

This was the only picture I could get of them together. Too much excitement and I had to get their coats back on because it was FREEZING!

Here are the neighbors all ready to go trick or treating! Wish it had been warmer!

Ashley so happy to be glittering her leaves she cut out.

Ta-da! Here are the final products. They are all hanging on our windows. The holidays are upon us!

Who’s that girl???

Ashley gets her first official haircut at the age of 4!

Ashley got her first official haircut at the salon I go to.  She looks so much older!  She loved it and told me she wants to go back EVERY DAY!  When she first got there (Sam brought her because I got my haircut too and she came to get her haircut while my color was setting).  She actually started crying when it was her turn.  I think she saw the papers in my hair for my color and she thought she was getting the same.  When she figured out she wasn’t having that, she was fine and enjoyed the entire experience.  Her favorite, she told me, was the blow drying part.  She even had a shampoo!   Loved it all!  I’m a little biased, but I think she looks adorable!!

The first official cut! Enough to donate to Locks of Love! 11 inches in total.

She said this was her favorite picture, holding her hair.

The joys of the salon shampoo.

The turbin stayed on for 2 seconds, pretty much for this picture.

Is this having fun or what?

This was her favorite part!

Look how shiny and healthy that hair is!

A picture with her new stylist, Colleen - she likes to just say her name every so often now, it's hilarious!

Our photo shoot at home.

Always the funny poses!

And goofiness...

She's our little cutie pie!!

Joshua’s Birthday Party…A Little Early!

So it’s a little early but with my work schedule and all the other things going on, we thought it better to be early than late!  So we had Joshua’s birthday party today.  It was at a local “fun zone”!  He told me tonight when I put him to bed, “It wasn’t that fun mom, just kidding…it was AWESOME!”  He had a blast and was sweating by the end of the night.  We had friends from his pre-school and some from the neighborhood.  Hasn’t been in school long enough to have any kids from there yet…maybe next year.  They all had a great time.  Here are some pictures.  My baby is almost 6!!!  Unbelievable!!!

The Birthday Boy sliding down the slide...Ashley making sure it all goes well!

Here's the rowdy crew.

He picked this cake out...from "Ice Age 3-D". It was a pretty cool cake!

Blowing out his candle. You can do it!

More fun, I think that's what they called it!! They had a blast! Everyone's sleeping good tonight!

The Latest Activities

Today was a beautiful fall day, so what did we do…went apple picking of course.  We went to the same place we went last year for Joshua’s birthday party.  However, because this time it was on a weekend, it was a mad house there!  It was fun though and we got lots of apples.  The kids had a blast and ate A LOT of apples!  Happy Autumn everyone!!

On the wagon ride out to the apple orchards.

Ashley picking Fuji apple.

Joshua picking a Honeycrisp apple.

Ashley double fisted and Joshua about to enjoy another bite! What could be better?

Boys with boys...

Girls with girls...

I guess it’s that time…reality, I’m old!

Happy Birthday to ME!

Well, I’m still smiling in this picture but can’t believe how old I’m getting.  Can it be true that I’m actually 40 years old?  Well it’s actually not until tomorrow so I will have to still say I’m 39 as long as I can!!!  Technically my birthday is tomorrow but my birthday on all my records (except my birth certificate) says it’s the 15th.  Long story, when we came to America, my parents wrote my birthday as the 15th and so all my legal documents in the US say the 15th.  However, when my brother Qui and I found my birth certificate some years back, we found my birth certificate said it was the 14th.  So I usually celebrate it on the 15th, since I’ve done it for so long that way.  But it really is the 14th.  So confusing…should I be a little mad that my parents didn’t even realize the mistake…only when I’m turning 40 one day sooner than I do on my driver’s license!

Sam got me this beautiful yummy cake and he and the kids sang me happy birthday.  The kids both made me cards and we said we wouldn’t be giving gifts this year (we are saving for a big renovation), but Sam still got me a gift card to the salon I go to.  He can never follow the rules…but I love it!  All in all a good day!  I have a great family…it’s okay to be 40!

Ashley’s First Day at Pre-School

So Ashley had her first day at the Field Station.  She had been prepped by Joshua about how great it was there and how much painting she would be doing there.  She was a regular pro at it really.  She had been to the school so many times with Joshua.  She was excited.

We started the day with a good breakfast of eggs and toast with cream cheese.  She then got her clothes to wear.  The first day was red day.  So the kids all had to wear red.  The only one I could find was her old Disneyland one.  They warn you at this school to dress them down (because of all the painting and the hiking they do…the kids can get a little dirty).  She got to wear her new hiking boots (they light up too).

When she got to school she had to find her picture (that’s how they take attendance).  Then she had to find her name tag.  She went straight for an “A” name but it was Aubrey.  Oops, she tried again and found Ashley.  They she got to play upstairs and that was when Sam and I left.

When I picked her up she was so excited there was a girl who celebrated her birthday (she didn’t remember her name).  She painted using real apples as stamps in several shades of red.  The snack was cupcakes with pink frosting and red sprinkles.  She said for her day which will be Monday (they’re celebrating her birthday then), we are going to make leaf cookies and put green icing on with green sprinkles (it will be green day).  So that’s what’s in store for tomorrow.

She loved it and can’t wait to go back.  Great first day of school!

A good breakfast this time!

Joshua with his new missing tooth grin!

Posing on our front steps before leaving for school.

Walking to the school with one of her classmates, Nick.

Finding her picture for attendance.

Finding her correct name tag.

In front of their calendar (for calendar time). She had a great time!