Disney Kids' Races

A major reward for going to the half marathon was getting to participate in the kids races the day before.  My kids took their races very seriously. Jack ran 100m, Colin ran 200m, and Amelia ran 400m.  We bought the kids special running shoes around the time I bought my special running shoes.  We went to the park a lot in anticipation of the trip and practiced running.  They were so pumped!  The parents got to run with the kids, which was good since both Colin and Jack were nervous.  Jack's age group, with Evie and Claire, went first.  Jack and I held hands and ran along, and he was pretty proud of himself at the end.   Mike ran with Colin, Max, and Molly.  They all stayed in a pack for most of the race, and Colin felt great about it.  Amelia was the only kid from our group in her age bracket, and she got to run with Dad.  She was so amped up before it started, that she ran out ahead of her wave of runners before it was her turn and Dad found himself chasing after her as she dashed around kids, garbage cans, and downed parents.  Dad was amazed by her speed, and she told me that it was tough to run that long without stopping, but that she really wanted to do it, so she pushed herself pretty hard.  The race concluded with some awesome medals and great free snacks.  It was one of the best highlights of the trip, and something that the kids really want to do again.

The kids getting ready before the race with their age groups.

Mom and Penny were excellent spectators.

Mike and Colin speeding by.

Amelia and Dad nearing the finish line.

The happy and distracted group.  We had to leave the park right after the race (before it opened) and spend the rest of the day in Anaheim getting ready for the big race the next day, and the kids were not pleased with the plan!

Amelia with "Flat Stanley," the paper character that she brought with her from school.  She had to write up a little journal of the things Flat Stanley had seen and bring it back to show the class.  This was an annoyance to me!

After an incredible dinner at the Blue Bayou.  

 The boys meeting Doug.  Jack ran out ahead of some kids in line as soon as he saw Doug and gave him a big hug.  It was pretty funny.

Even bubbles are magical at Disneyland.

Here are the kids with Flat Stanley again.  If the kids didn't look so cute, I would have rejected another shot of Flat Stanley!

Tinkerbell Half Marathon

In January Lauren turned 30.  When Sarah and I turned 30, we did a trip to San Diego with our fam, so she decided that for her 30th she'd like to do Disneyland, with a twist.  She wanted to run the Tinkerbell Half Marathon, and she wanted all the girls to run it with her!  I reluctantly agreed, being totally out of shape and an avid running hater.  It took 7 months and over 100 miles logged to be ready (well, by my definition ready only meant that I could run the whole time and had nothing to do with speed or performance), but I did it!  Mike was so supportive, and he trained right along side me the whole time.  I surprised myself by how diligently I stuck to the training schedule, and I managed to accomplish something I never imagined I could do.  Thank you, Lauren!

The race was incredible.  There were 10,000 women running and 800 men!  People were serious about running in costume, and we saw zillions of Tinkerbell wings and men dressed as Peter Pan.  We ran through Disneyland (before the park opened), through Anaheim, and finished at California Adventure.  There were all sorts of Disney characters stationed along the way with whom you could take your picture, and the line for Aladdin had to have at least 30 women!  Despite the fact that Aladdin was adorable, I didn't participate in that. I knew if I stopped running even for a minute I'd never start again and someone would have to come and find me curled up behind a trash can somewhere.  There were bands, dance groups, cheerleaders, and many ladies from the Red Hat Society all along the route to cheer us on. Mom and Dad totally surprised us by appearing on the sidewalk in Downtown Disney, and Dad even ran along with us for a minute or two to see how it was going.  It was so cool! Sarah, Ryan, and Chris dragged all the kids out to mile 8 to give us moral support, and their screaming was one of the best moments.  Lauren and Mike were generous enough to run right with me at my snail pace, and they were incredibly encouraging.  We ran the entire distance, and crossed the finish line just after 3 hours (I wasn't kidding about the snail pace, but we were far from last, which was lovely), and we were all bewildered that it was finally over.  Overall, it was an amazing experience, and Lauren is already talking about our next one, so I guess I'll consider doing it again!

Crossing the finish line.  That wasn't our actual time, we didn't even start the race until half an hour after the gun went off because it takes that long to herd thousands of people over the starting line!

My sweet medal.  

Where's Jack?

Mike found a child hiding in our room in a pile of clean laundry that was waiting to be folded.  Can you find him?

Snow

We really only had one big snow this winter, so the kids didn't get as much time in it as they wanted.  They did enjoy one nice day playing in the backyard, which ended in Dad dragging them around on the shovel.

Charlotte's Web

In January, Amelia's class put on a play based on the book Charlotte's Web.  All the kids got to take turns playing the main characters, and Amelia got be be Wilbur, a narrator, and a gosling.  She did really well, and had most of her lines memorized.  We were so proud of her!

Christmas Portraits

Here are the kids in their Christmas portraits.  They had outfits that matched their cousins in IN and AZ!

Christmas Morning

Yes, I'm ashamed.  Here it is nearly June and I'm just getting around to posting photos of Christmas morning.  Hopefully this is the start of me catching up, and keeping up with, the blog.  Here goes!

After waking up, the kids jumped in our bed to wait for Grandma Debi and Grandpa Chin to arrive and for the camera to be set up.

Coming down the stairs

Examining the haul!

Exchanging gifts with Grandma Debi and Grandpa Chin

After opening gifts we went to church and had dim sum.  It was a wonderful Christmas!

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!