Just a swinging!

The temperatures soared mid-week so we took advantage of the sun and warmth by stopping at our local park.  Lucia, of course, wanted to swing.  I had been hefting Phoebe in the baby carrier, but then realized that she actually might be old enough to swing.  She LOVED it!

For the sake of scientific research...

One morning last week, we peered out the front window to this view of Troy pounding a stake-type object into the ground. Apparently, he was checking it out to make sure it would work as a sampler in a stream bed. It was good entertainment for a few minutes.

Weekend cooking

When we can't go outside, cooking becomes a good way to spend time. Apple hand pies and spinach, mushroom and bacon frittata use up ingredients we had in the house.

Icy weekend

The sleet, icy rain and then snow fell Friday, starting even earlier than predicted. We left our playdate, then grabbed some lunch and stayed hunkered in the house all afternoon through the next evening. We enjoyed the fire in our fireplace and reading books in front of it.

Grandma visited last weekend

Thanks to Mara and Tania for the girls' hats!

Siblings!!

Yo, yo, yo

Phoebe got a turn to hang out with Daddy recently.

Our flight home

The photos are from a couple weeks ago but felt I had to post them since I found them.  Troy asked for a Coca Cola when the flight attendants came through taking drink requests.  The can advertised the Summer Olympics (in Chinese) from five months ago.  The girls traveled beautifully again!

Even the crying is cute!!

You are my sunshine....

Does happiness radiate any more than this smile?!

Working with my tools

Lucia recently got her own toolbox and now loves to use it. She helps her daddy fix things but also enjoys just pulling out all her tools to use on a rainy day when we have to stay inside.

Cruising in a cool car!

Our local automotive service shop's waiting area has a cool retro car seat which makes the time during the annual required car inspection much more enjoyable.

Children's Museum

We ventured out to the museum on a Saturday, all the cousins making their way through the numerous exhibits.  One popular one was the grocery store, but the music area and water area also contained many interesting play items.  The ATM was located by the entrance of the grocery store.

"Little Cart" obsession

Lucia LOVES to go to Trader Joe's.  The main reason being their little carts (and the samples help too!).  She always wants to push one and more often than not, is disappointed that one is unavailable since our store seems to have dwindled their little cart supply to one.  While we were at the Children's Museums last week, she played in a grocery store exhibit which excited her greatly since a whole host of carts lined the wall.  The exhibit contained life-like milk bottles, fruit, vegetables, bread, etc which allowed for kids to select and even purchase on check-out registers that beeped all the food were scanned.  Lots of fun!

Special lady

Our time at my parents' sped by quickly and we didn't visit with as many people as we would have liked.  We did manage one special visit with this dear lady and her husband, plus her daughter and her family who were visiting from London.

First ice skating adventure

Lucia tried ice skating for the first time on New Year's Day.  She loved it!  Her first pair of ice skates are courtesy of Halmoni and Halabuhgee.  She started out wearing them on the carpet, and then excitedly moved onto the slick ice, with much assistance, of course.  I thought she would want to come off the ice after a few minutes, but she insisted on staying and when she did take a break, wanted to get back onto the ice.  We watched a few videos on first time skating lessons, and found one in which the kids bent down to touch their toes.She practiced that as well.

TWINS, two years apart

Last Sunday while at my parents' house, we found this photo on a shelf in which Lucia was wearing the same dress that Phoebe had on.  Amazing resemblance!

The ORIGINAL rubber ducky

One of Phoebe's gifts this year was this original duck. She really likes to grab, hold and chew it as it is much more pliable than most other rubber ducks.

My first motorcycle

We spent a week with Halmoni and Halabuhgee which was exciting for everyone. While wandering around the mall, we ran into this motorcycle.

There were also other cars and play structures. At the center of the mall we found a designated play area.

Dora tent

Walking in the rain

As I was flipping through our photos on the computer, I found these from a couple weeks ago when we took a walk in the rain.  Actually it was barely misting, but was the perfect excuse to put on a raincoat and use an umbrella.

Holiday food

What is a holiday without favorite foods and traditions?!  We love the memories that are being made for our girls in making and decorating sugar cookies with Auntie Mara.  We delighted in the gingerbread with lemon curd and whipped cream.  We ate well, though didn't photograph every meal or dish, unfortunately.

Mincemeat pie

Photo of the photo

Gingerbread

Annual sugar cookies