Another Beautiful Day on the Slopes

I took Lindsey and Sammy skiing again today.  This was Lindsey's fourth time and Sammy's second.  Even though it was a group lesson we lucked out and they had one instructor for the two of them.  She said they had a great day and both loved to ski.  She even suggested for next year to get them a season pass.  Next winter I'll be able to ski again (can't this year because of my surgery), so I think we'll do it.  It did look like they were having a blast.

Brian and Cindy joined us again

Riding up the "magic carpet"

Sammy and Lindsey with Paulette, their teacher

How to Torture Children at the Mall

You get their ears pierced.  A friend's daughter, Eliza, just turned five and she had her ears pierced a few days ago and didn't cry at all.  This inspired me to get Carley's and Lindsey's ears done.  Lindsey is about to turn six so I gave her the choice and she said yes.  Carley at two, I made the decision for her.  Now that she has short hair again I don't want to have to constantly explain she's a girl to well meaning strangers that say things like "what a cute boy" or "hey, little buddy".

To show them it wasn't that bad, I had an extra piercing put in my right ear first.  It really didn't hardly hurt and was very quick.  But in spite of my bravery and the pep talk from Eliza (they met us at the mall for moral support), Lindsey almost didn't go through with it.  She did it, but there were some pretty big tears rolling down her face, enough for some mama guilt to set in.  Blain held Carley and she screamed pretty loud as well.  He said he felt bad about it especially since he wasn't really for doing it in the first place.  But in the end, it was over very quickly and the tears dried and the girls are now even more beautiful, if that's possible.  Then we all went out for pizza so all was right in their world again.

Even having a lollipop didn't help!

Minutes Afterwards

Lindsey and Eliza



Sam and his dessert - a true love affair



Saying Goodbye



Crazy Hair

Carley's hair extensions had grown out so much we finally pulled them out a couple of days ago.  Her hair had grown and was much longer then before the extensions were put in but there where quite a few knots at the ends that I had to trim off.  So I'm not sure her natural hair is any better off for having put in the extensions, but it sure made the day to day care way easier.

Carley's hair right after the exentions were pulled out

Weekend Alphabet Soup - NYC & SLC FCC CNY

I had a great weekend getaway meeting up with my good friend Lily in New York City (NYC).  Meanwhile on Saturday, Blain and the kids went to the Salt Lake City (SLC) chapter of Families with Children from China (FCC) celebration of Chinese New Year (CNY).

On top of Rockefeller Center



Dressed up for the Party



Happy St Valentines Day

Hope everyone had a great Valentines Day and ate too much chocolate.

I came across this youtube video about Valentine's flowers coming from Kunming, China.  That's where our Sammy was born so this has special meaning for us.

And being a Green Day fan, I couldn't resist posting the second youtube video below but watch at your own risk! 

Warning: If you are a Green Day fan or heavy or punk rock fan you should enjoy this video. If you aren't, then you won't so just skip it. 

St Valentine's Day Party

We have a new record!  Blain and I had two nights out in a row without kids!  I think that's the first time we've done that since becoming parents.  We met up with friends last night for dinner and then met more friends at a local bar to see a band called "66 & Main".  Here's a shout out to the band who did a great job, especially to Cindy, one of the singers in the band, who was one of the friends we met up with last night.

The Tooth Fairy Again?

Lindsey lost her last front baby tooth last night.  By now the tooth fairy has worn a flight path to our house.  Another nice surprise last night was having a romantic evening with my husband by celebrating St Valentine's Day early.  He surprised me with some roses, then we packed the kids up for fun kids activities at a "parents night out" at MyGym .  Then Blain and I enjoyed a much overdue date night.  Everyone, including the kids, had a great night.

Happy New Year - Year of the Rabbit

Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival is February 3 - 17th this year.  We met with several friends last night to celebrate at a local Chinese restaurant where the Lion Dance was being performed.  What fun!  Happy New Year!

127 Hours and Superbowl Sunday

Because of my newly rediscovered love of movies and because it happened here in Utah so it was a REALLY big deal in the news here at the time and because it's now nominated for an Oscar best picture, I got away for a couple of hours yesterday to see "127 Hours".  It's well done and I can see why it was nominated for best picture, though I doubt it will win.  It happened in 2003, but I would have sworn it was only about 4 years ago instead of 8 (wow, as you get older time really does start to speed up).  Great story of survival and the meaning of life.  I don't think I would have survived 27 hours myself.

Then it was TV watching for the rest of the day, first the Puppybowl on the Animal Planet Network with the kids, then the Superbowl.  Glad Greenbay won and glad that a guy from Utah won a million dollars for coming up with the best Doritos ad during the Superbowl.

Where the Wild Things Are

This was another movie I watched a couple of days ago.  I haven't seen this many movies in years!  I've rediscovered how entertaining and thought provoking a good movie can be.  "Where the Wild Things Are" has haunted me since I've seen it.  In fact here I am blogging about it at 4:00 in the morning.

This is the best movie I've ever seen that deals with some of the more raw and difficult emotions of childhood - anger, loneliness, fear, wanting to be heard and accepted.  A young child doesn't always know how to recognize or deal with these feelings, hence the term "acting out" which is basically being out of control and wild.  I remember this as a kid and I see it in my children.

The story of this movie is pretty simple, a young boy has a fight with his mom and runs away and ends up on an island inhabited with some very strange and immature creatures.  They threaten to eat him so he convinces them that he's really a king, in fact their king (they're not very bright).  Each of the creatures represents his different emotions.  At first everything is fun and great but things slowly but surely spiral downward and out of control.  In the end, he escapes the island and goes back home where he knows he's loved.

I know this sounds so basic, but it really was a great film, beautifully shot.  There really are no solutions offered, these are emotions all humans deal with and being able to handle them, well, really the only cure is growing up.  Oh and by the way, I've never read the book.  From what I understand it's a really short children's book.  Now I'll have to check it out.  I must say, though, the movie does seem more geared towards an adult or teenage audience.  I know it's too intense in places for my five year olds.
 
Afternote:  After watching the trailer again, one of the reasons I liked this movie so much was the beautiful way it portrayed the fun and wonderful imagination of a child.  It's a good reminder to get in touch with that part of my inner child and appreciate and enjoy this with my children.