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Wednesday, April 29, 2009

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

When I was looking at photos from O-Show's birthday party, I noticed a picture that looked vaguely familiar. It was this picture:


So I looked through my photo albums (do you remember when photos WEREN'T digital?) and found this picture. It was taken on our honeymoon 13 years ago. Please forgive Chris's ghastly paleness, photography has come a long way since then. Notice any difference? Besides the awesome Billy Joel Elton John concert tee shirt? Who would have thought that Chris would have a daughter that enjoyed playing arcade driving games as much as he does? I think its so cute that Hannah has almost the same expression as Chris while playing the game. Hannah loves her Daddy.



No worries, I'll work on posting some embarassing old photos of me soon. In the meantime, you might be able to find some on facebook.
;-)

Monday, April 27, 2009

Happy Anniversary Baby.


After thirteen years, I can't imagine my life without you. Thank you for all that you are and for all that you do. May the next thirteen years be as sweet.
K

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Happy Birthday O-Show!









Owen (aka O-Show) had his birthday party at Sports Connection and O-Show's parents were kind enough to invite Hannah. Hannah loves Sports Connection and seeing O-Show's family again was really great. I cannot believe that Owen is three years old already! Chris was such a great sport by taking Hannah to all of the bouncies and playing games with her. My favorite part of the party was when Owen starting banging his cake with his tools - my goodness I do not know where he got that idea from. hee hee.

After the party, Hannah got on her bike and stayed on it for more than 30 seconds. We are making progress!
:-)

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Happy Family Day Travel Group 947!


Three years ago today we met our daughter, Ling Qian Liang in Nanchang, China. And our lives have never been richer, more vibrant and simply unforgettable. Our cups runneth over.
:-)

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Hannah's people


I wanted share this because it is the first drawing (that we know of) of people that Hannah has done. I had to ask her where the feet were, so she shut me up by scribbling in some feet. If you look really close you can see that this was done on the back of a Steak 'N Shake placemat. Oh yeah, nutrition is key in our home.

Let's start the art auction at... priceless.
:-)

Easter 2009 (belated)


I hate to report that I really did not get very many good pictures of Hannah in her Easter dress for the blog. Oh well, this very cute one of Greyson and Hannah will have to tide you over. I'll try to do better next time.
:-)

Easter Egg Hunting, versions 1 & 2







This year we just did two Easter egg hunts: one at our church and one at home... see if you could tell which one is which (just kidding). Obviously the version at home is a little more "dressed down". Hey, you're lucky I didn't include pictures of Chris in his jammies, but that's a whole 'nother post.

Side note: Hannah does not usually where pullups, but at this time we were having some trouble with Hannah regressing and forgetting all she has learned. I guess it is to be expected to have some ups and downs. Hopefully we will be done with pullups for good soon.
:-)

Monday, April 20, 2009

FYI

We are having technical difficulties with our home computer. Please stand by.
:-)

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Dance Class





This past week at the dance studio was the week that the parents can sit in on their child's class. Luckily I had my camera to capture the pink-tutu'd cuteness. Hannah did pretty well paying attention, at least well enough to get a sticker at the end of class - which she promptly put over her mouth. I'd like the record to show that she did not get that from her parents. She thinks it's funny when she tries to talk with the sticker over her mouth and it is muffled. She does the same thing with her hand. What a goof.
:)

Happy Birthday VJ!








Last week Hannah was invited to VJ's birthday party at Monkey Joe's. Since VJ is one of the little boys Hannah talks about a lot, we figured that she would really like to go and we have always been curious about Monkey Joe's. When we got there, I was worried about Hannah getting hurt. She doesn't seem to get and keep her balance as well as the other kids and she always seemed to be tossed around like a rag doll (the little boy sitting on the sidelines in his Mother's lap with the bloody nose did not help things either). Hannah had a wonderful time and managed to avoid injury on the bouncy things. She did get hurt while sitting at the table eating pizza - but that's a whole different story... Actually she slipped down between the bench and the table and hit her chin, lip and elbow. Nothing that some Mommy and Daddy kisses couldn't cure. Overall, it was a really fun party and we'll have to keep it in mind for future birthday parties.
:)

Friday, April 10, 2009

Good Bye Grandpa Vegas!






and goodbye beautiful Bellagio. May we be lucky enough to stay there again.
Thank you Jimmy!
:)

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

The Neon Boneyard

























































































While I was researching child-friendly Las Vegas, I stumbled upon the Neon Boneyard. And for those of you who know us well, you know that this was right up our alley. Apparently an eccentric man purchased some land in the questionable part of town and started buying and storing old neon signage on his property. The average shelf-life of a neon sign is 30 years. And since Las Vegas likes to reinvent itself, there were lots of signs for him to buy. Eventually, the intent is to build a museum and refurbish these signs for the museum. The proceeds from the tour fee that his staff collected go towards the building of the museum. You can even write it off on your taxes!

Anyway, we reserved our spot for Friday since that day my Dad had to work. And boy was it worth it. Although we did get some strange looks as we roll up to the tour with Hannah in tow. Most of the group were artsy kids from UNLV. I kept thinking of that scene in "Sweet Home Alabama"... "You brought a baby... to a bar." Yes, yes I realize that this place is not exactly kid-friendly. But look at the pictures - it doesn't look soooo bad. And Hannah's feet hardly touched the ground. Actually I can't believe how good she was - I think she enjoyed the tour too. I took as many pictures as I could of the old, rusty signs and figures. We had perfect weather and our tour group wasn't too big. Although it did take some patience to wait for the group to get out of your shot. I started taking pictures of individual letters so I can spell out Hannah's name. I thought it turned out pretty cool... take that artsy kids.
:)

Monday, April 06, 2009

Springs Preserve










On our second day in Las Vegas, we went to the Springs Preserve. It is a beautiful facility located about 5-10 minutes off of the strip dedicated to educating the public on the history of Las Vegas from an environmental perspective. The site is on the original water resource that was used by the Native Americans that lived there. It is considered the birthplace of Las Vegas.

We spent the day walking around the beautiful dessert gardens, animals exhibits and the educational museum. I imagine that it is a popular spot for class trips. Luckily for us, Thursday was a quiet day and we had most of the facility to ourselves. It is a pretty big place - the Nevada State Museum will eventually be built on the site. Hannah LOVED it. She especially loved the playground with the awesome sand and water table. She also loved looking at the lizard exhibit - all of the lizards scrabbled over to check her out. If you are ever in Las Vegas, I highly recommend this attraction. Even the website is cool.

After the preserve, Hannah got it in her head that she wanted to go swimming. And once that girl gets something in her head - you just better do it or you will NEVER hear the end of it. So even though a crisp wind was blowing hard all day, we got her dressed and headed to the Bellagio pools. Thankfully the big pool was heated, but she only lasted about 15 minutes and never got in past her thighs... sigh. Well, at least she stopped asking to go swimming. Poor thing, because of the wind her little lips turned blue.
:)