More Mickey!

Here are some of my favorite family pics at Disney!

In front of the Tarzan tree house. (You took a little ferry across which Archie LOVED.)

In front of an old rusty car I thought was neat:

Archie is still saying "I love Dumbo". We rode twice AND they had this nice elephant for picture posing. (Archie was really happy Memaw got him a green dumbo because that's his favorite color.)

I've always loved carousels and Memaw loved helping him ride.

Grace was fascinated by all the pretty lights in It's a Small World!

Another carousel pic:

At the front entrance:
We really wanted to get Archie's pictures with some characters, but he's absolutely terrified of them and wouldn't stop crying. So, Hunt got his pic made with Buzz instead. (He says Buzz is his favorite.)

Archie loves cars of all kinds. A big highlight of the trip for him was getting to ride in a plane, taxi, double-decker bus, subway, tram and boat (and Dumbo) while we were in HK.

A new favorite Mommy and Grace pic:

MICKEY MOUSE! Here comes the parade!

What was the highlight of our Hong Kong trip? Other than seeing my parents, it was definitely seeing Mickey Mouse! I hadn't been to Disney since I was a kid and I was really excited to see how the HK version compared. Although the park is definitely smaller, I'll take it most any day because the lines were so short and it's less than half the price. I never thought I'd be able to ride Dumbo, Small World, the teacups and the carousel TWICE in one day as well as seeing shows and doing a bunch of other stuff!
We rode in on this cool, Mickey-themed train. (The handholders inside were even mouse ears.)

Cinderella's castle is always a favorite.
Everyone loves a parade. Grace watched from her stroller.

Archie preferred his seat on Daddy's shoulders.

My favorite parade float is the Mickey Mouse one at the end. Even though it's not the flashiest, it just seems classic and wholesome.

Well, maybe not quite as classic as these guys...

My Dad's favorite has always been "It's a Small World" and everyone in our family (even Grace) enjoyed it, too. The kids in the white are Thai and I feel a special connection with Thailand since both my kids were born there. The bottom left corner has good-bye in our language.

More pics coming soon.

Hong Kong is GREAT!

Hong Kong is GREAT! That about sums up my thoughts on the trip. I guess with that endorsement, it might seem strange that I'm celebrating our trip with pics of our return home. But, with so many millions of great pics to sift through, these were the easiest available to post.

I love comparison shots! Grace at 5.5 months on her way back from HK.

Archie at 5 months on his way back from Thailand.

Pretty cute kids!

Trip highlight: Introducing the kids to my parents. (They hadn't seen Archie since he was a newborn and it was their first time meeting Grace.) And, the great weather! (And Disneyland.)

Trip low-point: Going to the doctor for a checkup and finding a 4 cm mass inside of me and having an ultrasound, MRI and blood work and waiting four days to determine what it is. However, getting the results of the tests that showed nothing serious was definitely a highpoint and a big praise. We follow up again next month to make sure nothing has changed.

Archie's eye update: Surgery will probably happen in May. We need to have one more appointment for him in March.

Grace update: Precious. She is now officially rolling over. I've been sad to put her back in all her winter clothes which hinder (but don't stop) her mobility. Way to go, Grace!

Grace laughs with Nai Nai

You can never have too many cute clips of five months olds laughing. Mama and Nai Nai (our house helper)

Grace likes toys, toy!

Grace is such a big girl. She can play with toys now. Shake, rattle, shake! What a cute froggie!

The Toddler Dance

Hilarious! I can't stop smiling when Archie is jamming.

Gotcha

Archie, thank Daddy for being such a great Daddy and inventing all these fun games for you. (Don't worry, friends, the heater they're running around was off and unplugged for safety.)

Grace's present discovery

Worn out from the Christmas Eve festivities, Grace slept through most of Christmas morning but woke up just in time to open this present from Grandma DeJ. Thanks for the discovery box with animals!

Scared of a Christmas stocking?

Archie seemed a little afraid of his Christmas stocking. (That's what he kept telling us in the local language.) Oh well, he seemed pretty happy with the presents Daddy pulled out.

First Bite!

Here it is! Grace's first time eating rice cereal on Dec. 5. Never before seen footage. You saw it first here, folks! Since then, she's added carrots, eggplant, and green beans to her repertoire。

I love...

Archie loves a lot of stuff and even some people!

Love at first sight: Meeting Memaw and Papa

We're finally here, and we're all together!

After an all day journey for us (and much longer for my parents whose flight was cancelled, re-routed, etc), we are together in Hong Kong. It's Me-maw and Papa's first time meeting Grace, and they haven't seen Archie since he was a newborn (which means it's kind of like their first time meeting him). Below are the pics of our first meeting a few hours ago.

Archie is still a bit undecided on whether he's Pepaw or Papa so we'll let you know after we get home what he decided.

Since we'll be busy for the next two weeks or so, I'll be posting recent videos for your enjoyment rather than live posts, but we'll get you caught up on our HK adventures once we return home.

Meet the sweater pants!

What do you wear to an ice festival anyway? Sweater pants are a definite must. When preparing to move to the frozen tundra, I asked one of my Asian friends what to wear under my pants. When he said "sweater pants" I thought he must have gotten the English word wrong. Now, I know I was wrong. He literally meant sweater pants. My friend's mom knitted these and gave them to me last year. Now, I wear them everyday. (I dread wash days when I can't wear them.) Thought you might like to see what a pair of sweater pants looks like. (Oh, and it's culturally acceptable to answer the door or have friends over wearing just them. They're ridiculously thick!)

Leslie goes to the world famous ice festival!

It's world famous, folks! The ice festival in our city. This is our third winter here and I'd never been because, frankly speaking, it's so cold outside the outing isn't even that enjoyable. However, I figured I'd have lifelong regrets if I passed up all my chances. So, I dressed in as many layers as I possibly could and off I set with some friends while Hunter stayed at home with the kiddos. (Don't worry, he's been three times already and doesn't need to go again.)

Although I know all my blogger friends believe me, I feel the need to post some pics of myself flying down the giant ice slide to prove I was there!


While at the festival I realized how much more fun you can have when people don't live in fear of lawsuits. I don't think having ice covered steps would fly in America where everyone's constantly looking over their shoulder for a suit.

Now, on to the fun pics. I only posted a few favorites because one ice sculpture looks like another after awhile.



They had this cool ride. You just strapped yourself into the chair and flipped yourself upside down manually. After my friends played on it forever, some angry workers came over and yelled at us to stop. (I would think you should post a sign if you don't want people playing with the toys. I would anyway.)

Warm up with some nice "inspiring" coffee (or not). They wouldn't bargain with us this year and since we wouldn't pay their outrageous prices, we stayed out in the cold. As my group's spokesperson and translator (although why I was translating when we also had two native speakers with us I am wondering), I had finally agreed to buy one ridiculously priced pot of tea. However, the waitress kindly informed me that only half of our group could sit in the warmth if all I would shell out was $12 for the tea. Customer service! No wonder there shop was empty. I am not a business major and have never run a business, but I am confident I could make them more money if they put me in charge. HAHA!

Oh, if you're feeling jealous of my incredible experience, you can go to the Opryland Hotel in Nashville and check out a MUCH smaller version designed by our world famous ice sculptors.

Still camping!

We're perpetual campers! If you didn't take the campsite tour with me back when we moved in, click the link and you still can. We've upped it a notch, though. Hunter and I are now sleeping in the living room floor. Why? You might ask? So we can have family time playing with the kids in a tent? NO! Because it's the coldest day in the last 43 years and our heat is not that great. Our bedroom is the worst room in the house so out we go! (We're pretty sure the heat in there is completely broken, but nobody cares but us!) It's been staying below zero and I think it may have even hit that magic point where Celsius and Fahrenheit meet and become one and the same at -40. BRRRR. Anyway, sleeping on the floor's not so bad. And, I'm thankful for our super flimsy mattress that's so easy to move. I've taken to having Hunt move it in a little early and studying on it before bed. Much more comfortable than the sofa!