Uncle Linc visits HK

I thought I'd post a few photos of Linc's time here. We didn't take too many. I just lent him our little camera to take with us when we went out. Maybe he's already shown them from his computer, but in any case... a bit of documentation that Linc was in Hong Kong!

 We aren't sure why Leila calls this ride at Disneyland "Pops and Parachutes" (probably because it pops into the air and parachutes down), but it has stuck. Leila doesn't like it but Annie does and definitely wanted to ride on it with Uncle Linc. 

 telling Tinkerbell something very important, I'm sure. Actually it was very exciting that we stumbled upon her in Pixie Hollow and there was NO LINE-UP! 

 Waiting in line for the Golden Mickey's. 

 On the cable car up to the big Buddha. It wasn't raining which was good, but so cloudy that the view wasn't as spectacular as it could have been.

 A random cow at the top of Wisdom Path. 

 Reading stories after bath/before bed. 

A rainy day at Cheung Chau Island 

 It could have been so much better (like we could have actually enjoyed the beach) if it hadn't been so RAINY! Oh well... we still tried to stick with our plans at made the most of it. The weather this week was not rainy at all. 

 Linc only ever experienced a grey skyline of Hong Kong. But we still had fun! 

These little goofs loved spending time with their uncle! Good thing we'll see him again soon! A week from this moment and we'll be in the plane!!!

Annie's grad

 I will post pictures of the fun we're having with Uncle Linc, but first I wanted to put up pictures of Annika's kindergarten graduation ceremony. It is so hard to believe that she is done school. Wow, that was a fast year! At this rate, grade 12 will be here before I know it!

 Annika and her lovely teacher Mrs. Ganbaatar. 

 Annie's friend Miyu. 

 Annika told me she had to read a verse, but she made it seem like it was with a group of kids. It was a group who did the readings, but her part was reading together with Ashley Psalm 139:13. They both were loud and clear. What a great little surprise!

 The class then sang "Yesterday's Dream" which we've been hearing her sing for weeks. Funny story: at one point Annika wanted us to find it on the computer, and I told her that we didn't have it, thinking that they were probably learning from a CD at school. She said "Oh no, Mom. Mrs. Kong says it's really easy to find on YouTube." haha... what do you say after that?! So we've watched many versions on Youtube and heard her sing it so many times that I've heard Leila singing it to herself. But it was still great to hear the whole class. 

 And then they danced a little number to a Hillsong kid's worship song. 

 After that, "prestigious" awards were given out. First for perfect attendance, which no one in P3G had, and then a music award, a Mandarin award, and the "Good Samaritan" award. Finally an award was given for the student who had shown the most improvement academically and socially throughout the year. And look who's name was called! I love Ruby cheering her on behind shell-shocked Annie. She deserves it though- it is mind-blowing her far she has come- both socially and academically- since she she started kindergarten!

Mike was able to get his classes covered so he could come (it was in the morning). That was nice!

 Linc took these pictures and I meant to get one with him in it too, but we must have gotten distracted. It was pretty special that he could be there too!

 Annie and her best pal, Brigitta. 

(Brigitta was the proud recipient of the Mandarin award) 

Way to go, class of 2012! Catch ya again in 2024... 

all about Leila...

 It's so hard to believe that my little girl is FOUR! Here are some fun facts that you may or may not already know about her...

Favorite color: purple and yellow and green and blue
Favorite food: spaghetti [I'm not sure why she said this- she won't eat spaghetti with sauce. My guess would be macaroni and cheese, pizza, cereal... most kid food!]

 Favorite season: autumn
Favorite thing to wear: flower shirt

 What do you want to be when you grow up: "A doctor because they are very good. They check people when they are sick."

 Favorite Bible story: Baby Moses

 Best friend: Rachel

 Favorite TV show: The Lion King [HA! She hasn't even seen the Lion King other than some short YouTube clips. Rachel loves all things Lion King, and she's obviously been influenced by her! What she actually likes to watch on the channel we have is Dora, Barney, Ming the Minibus and Umizoomi]

 Favorite book: Amelia Bedelia
Favorite thing to do in Hong Kong: play in our own [clubhouse] play area

 Favorite song: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

 Favorite drink: juice box!

 Favorite toy: Thomas [again, I'd beg to differ since we don't own any Thomas. but it is exciting to play with at other people's houses. I would say Playmobil, Barbies, and other little toy figures)

 Favorite animal: "Lions. No, I mean dinosaurs. No, I mean tigers."
Favorite jewelery (her idea): rings and bracelets 

Favorite ballet move: the twirl and spin

 Favorite time to wake up: waaaaay too early! (six-ish). At least she barely barely ever wakes up in the night these days. 

 Favorite mode of transportation: bus
Favorite Disney character: Alice in Wonderland

Happy 4th Birthday, Leila. xoxoxox

Little Miss Leila is (almost) 4!

 Well, I survived another birthday party. Since Linc arrives on Leila's birthday on Monday, I decided to hold a party for Leila this morning and invite all the moms from my Tuesday mom's group that I've been a part of and have really loved. It was a Little Miss/Mr. Men theme, and it was actually a lot of fun. 

 I can't take any credit for the cupcakes (although I did make the toppers). Once again, I could play the "I don't have an oven" card so I enlisted Jocelyn's help and they turned out far better than I could have ever done! Tasty AND colorful! It was extremely difficult for Annika and Leila to decide which color and which character they wanted, and they changed their minds several times daily leading up to the party. 

 You can't easily find party supplies in Hong Kong which forced me to be a little more creative. The kids got to make their own party hats. I had color-photocopied the cover of the books and cut out templates from card stock. They could choose which character they wanted and decorated them with stickers. It was a hit- it worked well for their age group and there were more girls than boys at the party, which probably helped because I have noticed that Leila's little boy friends aren't very into crafts and coloring the way Annika and Leila are!

 Once again I missed having my mom and her camera there because I wasn't able to get many pictures and in every one someone is looking really crazy. I'm sure Grace would be mortified to see this picture, but Leila looks cute and I like it that it shows the cool view from the clubhouse window.

 Total chaos! I have a whole series of these pictures and they are hilarious! 

All in all it was a good party, and it was fun to get together since our group ended two weeks ago and it's likely the last we'll be seeing of most of these people until after summer. Leila's a lucky girl to have made lots of little friends her age this year and we were glad they could celebrate with us!