Italian Market

This afternoon we decided to mozy around the Italian Market, this crazy street with tons of small businesses, shops, restaurants, and FOOD! It was kind of hot, but still fun to drift around and look at everything. We tried a Mexican restaurant and were a bit disappointed. I'm still holding out hope that one day I'll run into a little joint that will serve up the kind of spicy Mexican comfort food I crave from AZ. Oh well!

I had to stick this crummy photo in- this shop had a pig's head in the front window! The boxes below it are for frozen python meat and kangaroo meat. Also in the window were fresh cuts of alligator, buffalo, and ostrich. Nuts!

Birthday Fish

For the kids' birthdays this year we decided to get them a fish tank. It has really been a lot of fun watching these little guys swim around! The kids really like feeding them, and it's been an adventure naming them. We have: Little Red, Blackie, Joe, Cosmo, Butterfly, Sparky, Lily, Finn McMissile, Francesco Bernouli, and Fitzwilliam. Everyone got to name a couple of them, and it's probably obvious that there was some Cars 2 influence. We've already had one fatality, but I think that one was in trouble from the start. Happy birthday!

Big Day!

Today was a big day for the Chin kids! Amelia decided that she was ready to have her ears pierced, so we headed down to the mall and she got a pair of gold hearts in her ear lobes. She was so proud of herself, and she didn't even cry!

Colin started a new karate class today. He got a short private lesson to begin, and he learned a couple of stances. He's really excited about the class, and I'm lovin' this new outfit!

Jack didn't get to do anything exciting, but here's a cut pic of him anyway!

Pick Your Own

My Mom is in town, and she loves fruit, so we took our annual excursion into New Jersey to pick blueberries and pie cherries. It was a beautiful day, and the fruit was fabulous! We picked nearly 10 pounds of blueberries and almost 25lb of cherries! The kids were amazing this year, and I don't think anyone picked any green blueberries. Jack even picked, and he probably ate 74% of what he got.

The pie cherries were so good, and we were excited to get home and make this! Mike polished off this piece minutes after I took the photo.

Piano Recital #2

Amelia has been taking piano for 8 months now, and was very excited to participate in her second recital. She was a little more nervous this time, but did a wonderful job. We're proud of her! We're also thrilled with her talented teacher. Thanks, Jenny!

Field Day

Amelia's school had field day, and I took some fun photos of the event. She was so excited, and loved every minute of it!

With her game face on.

Didn't you love these parachute things in elementary school?

Amelia with her best friend.

Watching field day really wears Colin out.

After the Show

Dinner at Maggiano's with Grandpa Chin and Grandma Debi who flew out just for the occasion!

Posing after the show with all the flowers she got. I think all these flowers might have been the best part of the whole thing for Amelia!

Holding the flowers from Grandma and Grandpa, and getting ready to give them to Amelia.

Debi let Colin pick out some flowers to give Amelia that would be just from him. He was really proud of these colorful daises and held them during the whole show.

Swan Lake

This year Amelia's ballet studio put on Swan Lake, and Amelia got to be a French princess. She loved her costume so much, especially the gloves! Here are some pics that Mike was able to take at the dress rehearsal.

Field Trip

Mike went with Colin's class on a field trip to a lovely nearby wildlife preserve. They had a great time checking out some animals and being together. Colin made a cool hat at school to wear on the trip, and here he is modeling it with Mike.

Jack-in-a-bed

Our last child moved out of the crib and into a toddler bed. Huge milestone!

Mother's Tea

My favorite part of Mother's Day since we moved here is the Mother's Tea at the preschool! Colin made me a darling pin and a wonderful card. Here are some photos from the event.

Colin with his wonderful teacher.

Chugging milk from a real teacup.

This year Colin wasn't interested in singing with his class at all. Here he is taking a break from the hard work of standing around!

Sarah's Yard

We spent a lot of time in Sarah's wonderful backyard with the kids.

Blowing bubbles.

Doing Easter egg hunts.

Firing stomp rockets and releasing rocket balloons.

Chasing down rockets. Once again, Amelia's hair seems to have it's own personality!

Easter in Indiana

We had a wonderful trip to Indiana during Amelia's spring break. It was a long drive for me without Mike, but totally worth it!

We were there during Easter, so poor Mike had to watch the kids find their Easter baskets like this.

Kids running in to see what the Easter bunny brought. Amelia's hair really has a life of its own!

Playing with the new toys.

All ready for church in matching outfits.