American Girl Doll Bed

Just before Christmas I built this doll bed for Amelia with the help of some good friends.  It was such a fun, yet intense project!  I only managed to just barely get it done in time, and all the bedding (including the mattress) was made in one night!  Not my best work, but I'm pretty sure Amelia and the dolls love it!  It was so exciting to put it under the tree for Amelia to find on Christmas morning.

Painting Ceramics

The day after Christmas we all went to a paint your own ceramics place and let the kids pick out something to make.  Jack teamed up with Mike and chose a little dog that he named "Scarfie."  Colin partnered with Grandpa Chin and painted a cool jet.  Amelia and Grandma Debi worked on a tea pot.

Christmas Stuff

Well, I'm finally getting around to posting about our Christmas.  We stayed in Philly again this year, and although we missed our family back in AZ, it was wonderful.

This very lame photo represents our trip to NYC with Ginny, who came to town to see Amelia in the Nutcracker.  My camera was on the fritz that day, so I wasn't able to really get any photos at all, except this one at the M&Ms store.  It was chilly, but fun to be in the city and see the holiday decor.  We met Jim's son, Jason, for lunch, rode the carousel at Toys R Us, let the kids pick out their own bag of M&Ms, and ate a yummy Thai dinner.  The kids were thrilled to go to FAO Schwartz to pick out their Christmas presents.  It was a really nice trip.

Here's a photo of us playing Uno with Mike's Dad and Debi, who came out for Christmas.  The kids get more and more into it each year!

Here we are after eating lunch at the Dandelion Pub.

Deep Thoughts 2011 Repost

DEEP THOUGHTS BY AMELIA, COLIN, AND JACK

December 2011

Jack, smiling and whispering in Mike's ear during the duet in Amelia's Nutcracker ballet performance: She almost got his privates!

October 2011

Jack, after watching the movie Winnie the Pooh: My favorite guy is the horse.

Amelia: It isn't a horse, it's a donkey

Jack: It's a horse. It's name is Eeorse.

Amelia: No, it's Eeyore.

Jack: Oh, it's Eeo.

Me: One thing detectives do is look for clues to solve mysteries.

Colin: Like finding a lost lamb, right!?

Me: Ooh, it's blowing out there.

Jack: If I go outside my hat will wind right off!

Amelia, written on a sign she left in Colin's room: No traps allowed. No potty talk.

Jack, to Mike: Look at my dragon shirt. Tell me it's cool.

Colin: My new bike's name WAS Force, but now I think I'm going to rename it. Now it's name is Dork. Yes, I'd like to call it Dork.

September 2011

Amelia: There's a mosquito!

Colin: I like to call it a sucknito.

Jack, singing a song he loves: La La La La Wemon. La La La La Wightbulb. La La La La Wollipop...

Me: Jack, great job using the potty by yourself!

Jack, who is very interested in winning: I winned that pee!

August 2011

Jack, trying to squeeze a lemon into his water at a restaurant: Mom, this lemon won't squeeze!

Me: Too bad.

Jack: Yeah, I guess it needs some new batteries.

Amelia: I'm not lying. Look into my eyes and eyebrows to see if I'm lying. Am I lying?

Colin: Yes.

Amelia: Try again.

July 2011

Jack, while biting into a German chocolate cupcake: Mom, I reawy like this onion part.

Sarah: What do you think my favorite color is?
Jack: Green. Maybe we should go to the color store and buy you a green.

Colin (out of the blue): I actually like Amelia, for some reason.

Colin, after seeing a mummy exhibit at a museum: I hope I can forget this soon, otherwise I'm going to just freak out.

June 2011

Mike: Ouch, Jack. Stop hitting me in the back. Would you want me to do that to you?

Jack, turning to expose his back: Yes!

Me: Kids, go upstairs to shower.
Jack: This robot don't needs a shower.

May 2011

Colin: Mom, let's have cheese dump for dinner.
Me: What's cheese dump? Fondue?
Colin: Yeah, fondue. I like to call it cheese dump.

Me: Jack, look, there's a big bumble bee.
Jack: Yeah, and it has a GUN!

Me: Jack, here's your biscuit with honey.
Jack: I don't want any of that bee jam!

April 2011

Colin's Buddy Sam: The movie "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" is really scary. It will totally freak you out.

Colin: I'm kind of feeling a little freaked out right now.

Colin: Mom, I mean Mommy. I call you Mommy because it's so cute.

March 2011

Excerpt from Amelia's journal at school: I like to relax on my couch. It is really relaxing until my brothers start talking. I really like when my brothers are qwiete.

Excerpt from Amelia's journal at school: I wish I had a lace fan. I really want a lace fan. A beautiful lace fan. I really want a beautiful lace fan. If would be very fancy. I wish I had a lace fan. I really wish I had a lace fan because it would be so pretty.

Amelia: I'm eating YoBaby Yogurt.
Mike: Mom needs some YoMama Yogurt!
Amelia: The President needs some YoBama Yogurt!

February 2011

Me: How's the bread I made, guys

Jack, after a lengthy pause: It's the greatest, Mom. It's the greatest I ever seen.

Jack, seeing Mike walk in to church: Hey Mom, there's my good friend Daddy!

Amelia, in a letter after losing her 2nd tooth: Dear Tooth Fairy, Good luck finding my tooth. It is somewhere in this house. Love, Amelia P.S. I love fairys. P.S.S. Especially the tooth fairy.

Jack, after being reprimanded: Mommy, you're telling me wrong fings.

Jack, upon seeing a woman with heavy eye makeup: Mom, he has chapstick on his eyes! No. Mom, he has rainbows on his eyes!

Colin's Teacher: Let's see how high you can count.

Colin, after counting to 21: I can actually count to 31 feet, I just don't feel like it right now.

January 2011

Me: Wow, Jack! Great job eating your dinner!
Jack: Now clap your hands and say yea.

Amelia: Mom, did they have paper when you were a kid?
Mike: Yes, it was called papyrus.

Day in the City

Just before Christmas we decided to take a Saturday and do a bunch of Christmassy stuff in the city.  It was wonderful!  

We started the day off here, at Federal Donuts.  If any Philly friends read this, I'd recommend going there!  It was delicious.

Then we went to the Macy's downtown where they have the Wanamaker organ.  We saw their big light show, went through their Dickens Village, and saw Santa.  Afterward, we walked over to the Christmas Village in Love park.  Here are the kids playing on the giant game pieces near city hall.

We had lunch and then took the kids ice skating at the river rink.  It's an outdoor rink that overlooks the Delaware River and the Ben Franklin Bridge.  This was our second time ice skating there, and the kids were hilarious.  Amelia liked to cling to the wall and make her way slowly around, but by the end she could let got for a second or two.  Colin was slipping all over the place, but loved to have Mike drag him around.  Jack wore "double blades" that should help a toddler be more stable, but they didn't have that effect, so Mike dragged him around, too.  We had a great time!

Preschool Christmas Pageant

The boys had their wonderful Christmas Pageant at the preschool.  It was Jack's first one, and my fourth!  Jack did a great job, and even sang most of the songs.  He took it very seriously!  Colin was a little more nervous this year, (there was a much bigger crowd than the last few years) and looked like he might have a meltdown until he saw us in the audience.  Later he said, "Mom, people I didn't even know were taking pictures of me! That freaked me out."  After he saw us he perked up, and he sang quite a bit more than last year.  The boys favorite song from the show was definitely the classic "Happy Birthday Jesus!"  It was a great pageant, and the highlight of our Christmas so far.

Colin was a sheep, and this year his teacher thought it would be cute for him to wear his tie outside the costume.  Hilarious!

Jack was an angel.  Tinsel is very irritating!

Nutcracker 2011

This year Amelia danced in the Nutcracker as a Polichinelle!  She got to run out from Mother Ginger's giant pink skirt, wave to the audience, dance with her classmates, and then wave again and run back under the skirt.  It was a really fun part to play, and we loved the green dresses.  G.G. came out from AZ to see the performance, so it was extra special!  These photos were from the rehearsal, so that's why her hat is wonky.

Christmas Photos

Against their will, the kids were dragged into the side yard in their Christmas outfits for a quick photo shoot.  Here are their results, the official 2011 Christmas photos.   Merry Christmas!  

Amelia is a VIC

At school this week Amelia was chosen to be the VIC.  The "Very Important Child" brings in a poster and a treat, and the class spends time asking questions and saying nice things about the person.  Then the teacher hangs the poster of the child in the hall.  It was fun to make a poster with photos of Amelia, and I think she had a wonderful day at school!

Amelia's 3rd Recital

Amelia had her 3rd piano recital last Saturday. She played "Temple Breezes" which has an Asian sound, so we got her a dress in Chinatown for the occasion. :) She was pretty nervous this time, so there were a few flubs, but I think that she really played with feeling. We are, as always, very proud of her!

Outer Banks

Here are a few more photos from the trip.

Colin practicing karate on the beach!

All the kids in a crab walking race.

11 kids in all!

Jumping in the Outer Banks

At the end of August we planned a week long vacation to the Outer Banks in NC with two other families .  Hurricane Irene messed up the beginning of our trip, but as soon as it was all clear we headed down to the beach house.  As I was scrolling through my photos of the trip I could not believe how many of them contain a kid with both feet off the ground!  Here for your viewing pleasure are are the best (but not all!) of the jumping kids!  By the way, Jack's stubby legs don't get much air yet, so he isn't in any of them.

 

Groundbreaking Lunch

Back in September, on Constitution Day, the church broke ground on the Philadelphia LDS Temple, which was really exciting!  President Eyring and a lot of other General Authorities came out for the event, and I lucked out and got to be part of a small committee of 7 women to host a lunch for them after the ceremony.  My friend Tiffany and I were in charge of the centerpieces and the desserts.  It was lots of work, and one of the best experiences I've ever had!  We got to meet all the General Authorities and Pres. Eyring and his wife and daughter, and then eat with them.  They were all so enthusiastic and kind.  I'll never forget it!

It was decided that the whole lunch should be decorated patriotically, so Tiffany and I rounded up some reproductions of the Constitution and used them under the flower arrangements.

I made lemon tarts and dark chocolate cupcakes.  Tiffany whipped up some killer apple crisp.  We had an incredible lunch of grilled salmon, salad, veggies, and rice.  

A hideous photo of me, but the only one we got with Pres. Eyring!

Fall Field Trips

 The boys took a couple of field trips with their preschool during the fall, and here are the highlights:

Squirting the hose at the firehouse. 

Our wonderful trip to the farm.  I figured out that this was my 6th trip!

 I think this was Jack's first time on the horse.

Holding a chicken- Colin was into it, Jack wasn't.

 I took the boys to NJ to pick some Pink Lady apples.  They were fabulous!

Halloween, again

I had to post this hilarious photo of Amelia at her school's Halloween parade.  I sent Amelia to school with an extra stick on mustache because I knew that the one we put on before school would bother her and she'd want to take it off.  Consequently, she had to put the second mustache on without a mirror, and it ended up being crooked and upside down.  It was awesome.