过年好 (guò nián hǎo)...

Happy New Year! Yesterday was the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, the year of the Dragon. Michael is a dragon, so this is supposed to be his "special" year. We had our annual get together with other local adoptive families, only with a twist this year. Two of the adoptive families have exchange students this year, and brought some other exchange students along with them, so it really was a multi-cultural experience! Taiwan, Mexico, Germany, and China (exchange students, not just our daughters) were all represented at our celebration, which was a lot of fun.

Only Josh was missing, as he stayed home because he knew that Chinese buffet would be too much of a temptation and torture, since he had to make weight the following day (today...and his dedication paid off, as Mike just sent me a text that he won both his matches tonight, as did the team).

The Reappearance of Normal...

After six solid days of snow and ice, I am happy to say that we are getting back into the swing of normal, whatever that is.  Yesterday was the first time since last Saturday that the girls got out of the house in a car, and boy, did they need it. One stop was the library, and 20 books, 4 books on tape, and 3 videos later, I wish we had all these earlier in the week.

After two canceled practices, the girls are eager for their basketball game today.  Because of match count, Josh wasn't heading to today's wrestling tournament, but Mike headed out early this morning, only to find out no one told him the tournament was delayed two hours. Now they have to squeeze into their schedule the match they missed this past week, before districts begin in two weeks.

Speaking of squeezing in, now we have to make up the four school days we missed. We won't know for sure, but it looks like Mike and the kids will be in school until June 20th. With me leaving for China that day, looks like I'll have to catch another ride to the airport. June 18th will most likely be my last day now, which doesn't give me much time to prepare for the trip. Now let's just pray the snow is done for the season, because if we miss more days, that could really mess things up!

Day Four, and Boredom Sets In...

Yep, this is day four of snow, and my kids are bored. Well truthfully, me too. Sunday's snow was perfect to play in; fresh, dry, no wind, and blue sky. Monday didn't bring much new snow, but it was a holiday, so enjoyed the day off. Tuesday morning added another 4" to the already 6" that came on Sunday. Was a bit windy at times, with that grainy type of snow pelting your face. The kids went outside between winds, so when they complained of boredom inside, we could kick them outside. Today, it is snowing once again, but not in a fun way. Through my window, I am watching the heavy snow laden trees sway in the wind. The snow is more swirling than falling, and it is only supposed to get worse. Tonight's forecast is for winds up to 50 mph, with a windchill factor of zero. Oh power, please don't go out tonight!

Yep, she's eating this snow. Ate quite a bit of it actually.

A free ride back to the top. Way to go Dad!

Jaelyn was so proud. She made this one all by herself. Love the teeny tiny head!

Sunday we made Snow Ice Cream, Monday we made Rice Krispy Treats, Tuesday Rocky Road Brownies, so what shall we make today? The recipe can't include milk, because we are completely out of that. Think maybe this snowstorm is going to cause us all to gain weight due to lack of movement and excessive munching. Fortunately Josh's wrestling match for tonight is cancelled, so he doesn't have to worry about making weight:)

Ice Cream Snow!

Fortunately we had an unopened puzzle, and we also passed time playing Apples to Apples Junior that Jaelyn got for her birthday. Now that was a hoot, but how many hours can we play it today? I could get some housework done? Nah, for now I will just lounge around in my robe and enjoy the family time!

All for a good cause...

We participated in a fundraiser at Mike's school, and here's what the girls chose....

Now next time I feel myself losing patience with the kids I need to take a deep breath, pull up these photos, and have a good laugh!  What trick does it for you?

Go Green Lightning Bolts!

So the Green Lightning Bolts had their first game yesterday. The girls wanted to be the Fire Dragons, but when there are two girls and eight boys on the team, it's hard to outnumber the boy vote. Regardless, the team played tough, and we won everyone had fun.

Unfortunately my camera kept getting stuck as I was downloading the photos and video, so I had to delete some to get it to work. However, I think you can get the idea of how much fun they were having, and how entertaining the game was. Since there are ten kids on the team, the coaches put in a  fresh five players every five minutes, for a 40 minute game. The girls were plenty sweaty after running up and down the court each for 20 minutes, but they never let it slow them down during the game.

Jaelyn's good buddy Gage is on the team too.

Kaia....

Jaelyn....

Team Lightning Bolts!

First Place Finish...

Josh has had six matches in the last 48 hours, and won them all! Thursday night he pinned his opponent when the team faced of with 7th ranked Everett HS. Last night he won both his matches at a double duel at Hazen HS, where one of Mike's old wrestlers is the head coach. The evening was a special fundraiser for pancreatic cancer. Today he topped it off with a first place finish at the Mercer Island HS tournament. Way to go Josh! Your hard work is paying off.

Sorry for the poor quality, but Mike text me this photo.

I was not at the tournament, as the girls had their first basketball game today. I was hoping to post some video tonight, but I am having some difficulty getting it to work. Will write about that excitement when I get things working.

Happy Birthday Mom, Happy Birthday Insulin!

Two great things happened today in history; my mother was born (I won't divulge the year), and on this day 90 years ago, the first human received an experimental extract called insulin. Without either, I would not be here today! Happy birthday to both:-)

B and B...

That's Birthday party and basketball! Sunday Jaelyn finally got to celebrate her birthday with friends at the swimming pool, and had a blast. It wasn't too crowded, and the kids are at the age where we don't have to be in the pool with them anymore:) 

The other highlight of the week so far was the girls first basketball practice. It is supposed to be co-ed, but the girls are the only two females out of eight on the team, but I think they will hold their own just fine. Three of the kids played last year, but the girls didn't show their inexperience at practice. This Saturday will be their first game, after just one practice, so should be quite entertaining!

Happy New 8th Birthday...

So many reasons to celebrate today, but the first that comes to mind is our sweet Jaelyn's birthday! The girls actually went to their first birthday slumber party last night, New Year's Eve, for a friend whose birthday is also today. When I picked them up shortly before church, they looked like robotic-like zombies stuffing donuts into their mouth. I can't believe they actually made the whole day without napping or falling apart! And we didn't have any difficulty putting them down early, to start back into the school routine tomorrow. Well that is, everyone except me:) I whined two weeks ago as everyone was out of school days before me, but now that we are on the back end of vacation, I'm happy to have a day of rest to myself. Did I say rest? What I really meant was a day to catch up on all the little things I have neglected and procrastinated on completing earlier!

But I digress; back to Jaelyn's birthday....after I picked them up from their robotic state, Jaelyn was shaken back to reality by opening one gift before church. Little did she know that it contained two things that she would use at church today (which by the way, was the most empty I had ever seen it today. Let's not do New Year's on a Sunday again for awhile!). It was a shoo-in that she would love the new dress, since it had a doggy on the back. And she had asked for a new Bible that she could read, but wasn't too babyish, so she was thrilled by that too.

Look how tired she looks!

But not 15 minutes later, all spoofed up and ready to head to church!

Thank goodness for the beautiful weather today, so my loud children could go outside to play fight. Poor Kellen was trapped inside his car, as the girls had their swords drawn (Josh's Christmas present to his sisters) as he pulled up, waiting to pounce the moment he opened the car door. This photo is blurry, but that's because none of them would stand still long enough during the battle. This one has all four in one photo, with Jaelyn's shot ready to penetrate Josh. When it's your birthday, it doesn't matter if someone claims to be impervious to nerf guns, so I think the girls won!

After everyone settled down, we played Uno, ate Jaelyn's birthday choice of pasta dinner, followed by some delicious cake, to top off a wonderful day of celebrating. Kaia requested to say the prayer at dinner tonight, and I couldn't help but grin as she said "Thank you God for choosing Mom and Dad to be Jaelyn and my parents." It doesn't get much better than that!

Next weekend will be the birthday party, when life after the holidays slows down just a bit....