More Snow, More Geocaching, and Chinese New Year

Renee has been enjoying the trip to the ski slope very much, although neither kid has got a hang of geocaching.

Max has getting used to talking on the phone. Here is him talking aunt from China.

Just like all the boys, Max loved this air gun.He still need to learn how to aim the target.

Here is Renee attending the Chinese New Year party at the Chinese school that she goes to.

Mom and the kids taking a picture at the Chinese New Year dinner as the grand parents busy in the kitchen (they are the reason that I am able to survive school and work)

The kids are saying cheers to the grandpa.

Here is another geocache that I took the kids to. Neither has shown enough patience or interest to find it. I had to keep them entertained while looking for it. Once I found it, they got more interested and asked all sorts of questions like "why is it here?" and "where is the money?"

I cannot wait for Renee to get on the board with me one day.

Renee is getting better and better at ski! I only sent her in for the half day class because she can go down the slope with me pretty well.

While Renee and I were having fun at the resort, Max and Sophia are playing in my friend's house in Sacramento.

Renee and Ashley are very happy to see each other, even though they didn't get to spend a lot of time together this time because Ashley is still too young for the snow.

I caught Renee's school singing concert at her school this time. There were so many parents with cameras, I had to push myself in to take this picture. I am really glad I did.

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.