Year of the Dragon! Happy CNY

Once again, a group of us invaded Lin's Bistro on Saturday to celebrate our Chinese connections!  A few families attended that are just getting started, some waiting to travel, and some who have come and gone (and gone again!). 

Happy 9th Bday Alaina!

Alaina celebrated with 5 friends from school and family on Friday night with a "late night cupcake party."  The girls ate pizza, decorated and ate cupcakes, played Just Dance 3 and ran wild (I need to remember the general rule to make the party 30 minutes shorter than you think it needs to be!). 

A Little Escape

We spent last night in Clayton.  On Screamer Mountain.  We just love it up there.  The big girls think it's a little boring.  The little girls think it's great fun (after all, there's a hot tub and lots of sticks).  Even though there's always a job to do or something to fix or something to clean, it's just the most refreshing place to go (well, the beach is good too).  And of course, there's "Goats on the Roof".  We took a little hike on the trails near Talullah Falls.  Perfect day  - a little sunny and even a hint of "warm".  In January!

Renee cooks Korean!

We enjoyed a yummy authentic Korean dinner tonight comliments of Renee.  She is such a fun addition to our family!  Doug took Sara, Lauren and Renee to the Super H Mart this morning and she cooked most of the afternoon! 

Alaina's Special Day

3 years ago we met Alaina for the first time! YEAH Alaina. Glad you expanded your wardrobe beyond your fuzzy purple vest!

Merry Christmas!

We had several great Christmas celebrations this year! It was especially fun with Renee (our exchange student from South Korea) along for the ride(s)!

We began in Ohio, celebrated here at home with an after-church Christmas Eve party with friends, a big C'mas blow out here on the 25th and then at my mom's yesterday! What a way to say "welcome to the family, Renee!"

Favorite gifts were:

Sara - leopard footy PJs, Toms, cowboy boots, Sheldon bobble, Snitch antenna topper
Renee - Toms, Finn (from Glee) poster, boots
Lauren - orange soccer cleats, Toms, boots, Castle calendar
Alaina - Toms, Password Journal, brushes, headbands
Ally - Buzz Lightyear bike, Password Journal, Mario DS games

EVERYONE (including mom and dad) enjoyed playing "Just Dance 3"!

Halloween

So I have a little catching up to do. Just a tad. A few things happened since my last post (cough, cough Easter)!!!

We had a great Halloween celebration last night. As they do each year, Lauren and Amelia did a great "duo" costume. This is a tradition they began way back in 3rd grade! They were Phineas and Ferb (hopefully, to those of you that watch P and F, it's obvious!).

Ally was a (grumpy) Candy Corn; Alaina was a Baton Girl; and Sara was Minnie Mouse. We went to the Hills for T or T. Unfortunately, Ally's fun was "cut short" by her big sister Sara, who thought it would be a great idea to hide behind a bush and jump out and scare our little Candy Corn.

So, now I need to catch up on the end of school last year, summer, a couple of B'days, and Homecomings... Should be easy, right?