Ski and Geocaching

Looking at the pictures that I have taken, it occurred to me that I have been so busy with work and school. I have not taken enough pictures! I still feel that I spend time with them though, just not any trips that make me pull out the camera.

Encouraged by Renee's sudden interest, and more importantly, confidence in ski, I called up Paul, my old snowboarding pal and made another trip. I am now getting good at this itinerary. The only thing I didn't do it right this time was the choice between the half day and full day kids club (answer is full-day). Renee turned out to be a very good student. She follows the instructor and was the first one in position.

The trainers screwed up Renee's allocation this time such that she missed the class that she really belongs to. Once I realized it after following them for an hour, I took her out of the group. She was very confident in getting to the top and ski down with me. And she did very well.

Here is another picture of Renee on top of the hill ready to go down.

This, is something I can get used to. I cannot wait next year to take both Renee and Max with me. Max might whine a bit but I think he will be a good trooper

I don't remember taking this picture. I probably was either studying or in school. I sometimes have to catch up on their activities after coming back from school or study.

I have been taking the kids out to go either biking or just hanging out in the park. Recently, I have got hooked on geocaching. So I started going to the park with geocaches. This is the first geocache that we found. By "we" I meant "I", because they gave up long time ago before I really located it.

Max is getting better at school now. He plays well at the class, even though he is still the quiet and "polite" one. I start thinking "polite" might not be a nice words for our kids. However, this week, Max starts getting a hang of taking his toys to school for the letter of the week. The teacher told me that he is now the first one raising his hands, showing off his toy and reading the calendars. We of course have been giving him a lot of encouragements. On a side note, I have been teaching him to greet the teachers when he arrives at school. He is able to carry on a short conversation with the teacher at the front desk. "Good morning." "Good morning Max! How are you?" "Good..." "Good is good! Have a nice day ok?" "You too".

Have a nice day!

Christmas Season

Happy New Year! It has been a fun month during the December. We picked a Christmas tree, built a gingerbread house, had a winter concert, went to play in snow and had Renee upgraded to level 3 already!

Here is us building gingerbread house, another informal tradition of ours.

Picking a Christmas tree on the weekend after the Thanksgiving has been an informal family tradition for several years now. I have found that the small trees work the best. They are a lot easier to set up, and the kids gets to decorate them from top to down

We took the tree home and decorated it. They put up the snow, the stars, and everything else.

Max had his first ever winter concert. Like all the boys, he just moved his lips while the girls had the most fun time.

During the winter break, Max had a new teacher who would not take no for an answer. As a positive, Max's whining stopped working and he learned to put his head in the water.

We took the kids to their favorite restaurant, Eddie's Papa, and enjoyed the cotton candy at the end.

After my school finishes, we drove up to the Lake Tahoe. This is when we were stuck in the traffic.

Max somehow didn't want to take the picture at that moment.

While Renee is taking a lesson, Max and Yanyan were playing in the snow park.  They are trying to figure out how to pull the sled uphill together.

Renee is learning ski! She learned it so fast and she enjoyed it a lot.

We had to come back because I have another school session. After the school, I took Renee again to Lake Tahoe so that she can ski more.

Renee started at 2b and learned quickly. By the time I found her after lunch, she was already "with the big kids" according to the coach.

Autumn Fun and Hawaii Trip

Fall was the season for a lot of outdoor activities around the bay area. We also had a chance to go to Hawaii during the Thanksgiving.

I took Renee to the science affair in the city. This was also the first time that Renee rode the BART and MUNI with me.

While I was out studying, Renee and Max were cleaning up the backyard.

They are proud of the work that they have done

Then they went out for a ride in the driveway. I have not run with them for a while.

When I got back, I took them out for a walk. Renee and Max both enjoy being held upside down these days.

We went to Hawaii during the Thanksgiving. Renee and Max did not complain during the five-hour flight, thanks to the portable entertainment center we rented. Speaking of the airline, Hawaiian Airline is by far the worst I have flown in terms of equipment and services. Not exactly recommended.

Max looks just like a cool traveler in that pair of sunglasses. We bought lei flowers for them even though it was not cheap at the hotel.

We went downstairs every day in the morning to feed the fish and watch the penguin. The breakfast was pretty good too. That is a shirt that I bought from the hard rock hotel in Chicago. She was also wearing the slippers that I bought from Brazil. 

Max and Renee stayed with their early morning schedule even in Hawaii. While I was sleeping, they will go downstairs with the mom to walk around.

We also visited a local place where there is a huge Banyan tree. We were all amazed at how the whole area can be just one tree.

We took the road to Hana and enjoyed the view. The kids had to suffer through the lack of places for restrooms. When they are able to go out and walk around, they were good sports for hiking. Renee's hat was blown into the pond soon after this picture was taken. I had to retrieve it from the other side.

We enjoyed the great view at the end of the road. Later we learned that this area sometimes can be flooded without much warning.

With some experiments, the kids learned the fun of walking on the sand and chasing after the waves. They even had a taste of big wave as well as the salty water. The only time they cried was when the wind was blowing the sand all over us. To be fair, it did hurt