We had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Ben and I were so mad that we didn’t take any pictures. It would have been an awesome post, but here is the run down just so we can remember...
Friday - 1. Met Dennis' girlfriend
2. Played games and ate "healthy" junk-food
Saturday - 1. Took the kids out to a Chinese buffet (The Royal) for lunch, so yummy. Very impressed at how well-behaved my kids were at the restaurant.
2. I gave a talk at a convert baptism
3. Ben and I went to the temple, our wonderful friends watched our little kiddos. Our kids just get a long so well. They hardly ever fight.
Sunday - 1. Took naps (that's a must)
2. Went camping in our back yard. The kids got to roast marshmallow over our little bbq, and eat smores! We even let them throw a few into the fire...Caden thought that was really cool. While we laid in our tent, we watched Star Wars IV. Chris has been asking to watch it, so we finally let them. Ben brought his projector home from work, so we got to lay down and watch it broadcasted onto the ceiling...it was pretty SWEET!
Monday - 1. Cleaned the house
2. We all went golfing (hit real balls with real golf clubs)
3. Had FHE
WONDERFUL WEEKEND!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Family Vacation!!
I think we found a great tradition for our family vacation...The Great Wolf Lodge!
It's a hotel with a huge water park inside! There were so many activities for the kids to do. The boys had a blast on all the water toys and water play area. The girls especially loved the wave pool and getting dunked by the "BIG" bucket.
At night, they have a story time. It's all automated, but then the kids get to meet the girl wolf (huge character) and take pictures with her.
By far the girls FAVORITE part had to be the Wizard Quest. You buy these magic wands and you have to go on these quests all through the hotel. When they point their wand at something, it will light up or talk back to you. You have to find all the things in the right order to finish one quest. The whole quest can take about 6 hours. All the kids were running through the hotel, and up and down the stairs (great exercise). Plus, it will remember where the left off, and they can finish next time they're there! All the kids had a blast. We stayed up late and watched a movie and ate lots of junk food. It was the perfect 2 day vacation!
Daddy-Daughter Dance
The girls had a wonderful night out with their daddy! They went out to dinner, then to a Daddy Daughter Dance - the theme was Wizard of Oz. At the dance, they got to get their face painted, dance, and play lots of carnival games.
Caden's 3rd Birthday
"Caden" and the Neverland Pirates Party!
My sweet little boy is getting older...sniff sniff. We invited two little boys (3 boys were the perfect number for a 3 year old party)over for our PIRATE party.
"Grrrr...ahoy there matey"
First, they decorated their telescopes with stickers.
Hunted for buried treasure.
Walked the plank obstacle course.
And of course, we needed to end with a treasure hunt. They had so much fun doing this. Caden is always rolling up a piece of paper and saying to me "treasure hunt".
Caden is such a joy to have in our family. He always has tons of cute smiles and bear hugs to give out. Happy Birthday to my BIG BOY!!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Happy Chinese New Year
"Gong Hey Fat Choy" - Happy Chinese New Year!
My parents came over for the weekend and celebrated Chinese new year with us. While Ben and I were at the temple, the kids made lanterns and learned about Chinese New Year.
We all got NEW shirts, because you get something "new" on new years. They also brought their own Chinese dishes and we had noodles, oranges and tea (the tea that's ok to drink ;)
Noodles represent "a long life", the oranges are in she shape of circles which represent "fullness" or a rich life , and the Chinese drink a lot of tea and have many traditional tea ceremonies - (you always drink with two hands) Ben and I had one when we got engaged.
These are the lanterns the kids made. They cut out the center and put tissue paper for the windows.
Later that night, we put flashlights in them and stuck them on poles. We walked around our house in the dark. The kids thought it was so cool!
One great tradition is the red envelopes. If you say Gong Hey Fat Choy, Lai See Dou Loy ("Red envelopes come my way"), then the elders give you a red envelope with money. The red color of the envelope symbolizes good luck and is supposed to ward off evil spirits.
We finished off the night by eating out at a Chinese restaurant. One amazing thing we discovered was that our kids were really good while we went out to eat. Hmmm...we might have to do this more often if they're going to be this well behaved!
Thanks Poh Poh and Grandpa for a fun and educational weekend!
My parents came over for the weekend and celebrated Chinese new year with us. While Ben and I were at the temple, the kids made lanterns and learned about Chinese New Year.
Thanks Poh Poh and Grandpa for a fun and educational weekend!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Let is SNOW!
We didn't get that much snow this year...until 5 days ago. And it has not stop snowing since. The kids enjoyed a nice 3 day weekend because school was canceled.
Teya and Kali enjoying hot cocoa!
Chris with his buddy...I guess they thought the umbrellas would protect them.
Kali was sweet enough to help me sweep of the stairs while I shoveled the driveway. Normally Ben does it, but I thought I would be nice and do it. Whew...I think I'll leave it up for Ben next time!
After it snowed all weekend, the whole family went out sledding on a big hill next to our house. We had so much fun...it was such a blast!
Caden's favorite thing to do is to EAT the snow!
Look at all that snow. It really looked beautiful!
Later in the week we made a family of snowmen!
Of course, Kali had to make her dog.
Teya and Kali enjoying hot cocoa!
Chris with his buddy...I guess they thought the umbrellas would protect them.
Kali was sweet enough to help me sweep of the stairs while I shoveled the driveway. Normally Ben does it, but I thought I would be nice and do it. Whew...I think I'll leave it up for Ben next time!
After it snowed all weekend, the whole family went out sledding on a big hill next to our house. We had so much fun...it was such a blast!
Caden's favorite thing to do is to EAT the snow!
Look at all that snow. It really looked beautiful!
Later in the week we made a family of snowmen!
Friday, January 20, 2012
Crafty Kali
Like most kids, my kids LOVE to do crafts. They make tons of art projects at school and home. They love to make anything, especially my girls. They can do anything with crayons, paper, scissors, tape, and glue. But, I have to say that Kali goes above and beyond. When she sees anything (mainly from movies), she will make it out of paper. I'm mostly impressed that she'll just go and do it all by herself. Here are just some projects that I took pictures of....
Made the vest that "Tigress" from Kung Fu Panda wears. She even tied strings on it so it would close.
She watched Barbie "Three Musketeers" and wanted to be the girl with ribbon weapon. She even made Chris' sword so he could play along.
She had a cup cake wrapper and thought...hmmm...what can I do with this. Yep, she turned it into a hat for a scarecrow. She made the whole body and stuffed it with toilet paper.
Can you guess this movie? Toy Story 2. She wanted to be cowboy. Cool hat. I actually think I gave her a few hints in making the hat because she was getting a little frustrated when it wasn't turning out exactly how she wanted.
As you can guess...The Little Mermaid. This was a while back, but pretty impressive don't you think? She made this all by herself. I think it's a little incriminating as to how many movies we watch, but I think it's totally cool that she is being so creative.
Made the vest that "Tigress" from Kung Fu Panda wears. She even tied strings on it so it would close.
She watched Barbie "Three Musketeers" and wanted to be the girl with ribbon weapon. She even made Chris' sword so he could play along.
She had a cup cake wrapper and thought...hmmm...what can I do with this. Yep, she turned it into a hat for a scarecrow. She made the whole body and stuffed it with toilet paper.
Can you guess this movie? Toy Story 2. She wanted to be cowboy. Cool hat. I actually think I gave her a few hints in making the hat because she was getting a little frustrated when it wasn't turning out exactly how she wanted.
As you can guess...The Little Mermaid. This was a while back, but pretty impressive don't you think? She made this all by herself. I think it's a little incriminating as to how many movies we watch, but I think it's totally cool that she is being so creative.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Ben's New Business
Well, in the past two years, I haven't mentioned anything about Ben's new business. I'm a terrible wife! When we first moved here, he worked at Costco as an optometrist, but just as life was getting comfy, Ben decided to open a specialty clinic called Washington Vision Therapy Center.
It specializes in helping kids correct their vision (not just glasses). He trains their eyes to work together. Your eyes have to work and focus together to read, play sports, things like that, but if one eye isn't working with the other one, then it makes it really hard for them to read things. It has been really cool to watch this business starting from nothing. It has been so much work on Ben's part. Every little detail from creating all the forms, hiring staff, creating a logo, creating all the financials, designing a website, and much more. I've been so proud of him. It's been so many long hours, but he absolutely loves what he does!
Here's his fancy new sign.
Signs are definitively expensive, so I made this sign in the front of the office (just to get us by until he makes enough money to buy one). Not too bad, especially from my Cricut!
But, as crazy as life gets, he always makes time for me and the kiddos!
Here's his website if you want to see it, go to www.wavtc.com
So, it's been two years getting this business going, and it was a slow start, but the Lord was always blessing us and still is, and it looks like it's finally starting to take off (a lot of cools stuff is happening).
For one, Ben entered this 3 month long business plan competition. He mainly wanted to do it, to let the community know what vision therapy was, and to get feedback from business people if his business plan was right. He had one written up already, so he though it would be no big deal. Well, it actually took A LOT of time, and he had to get the business plan and financials perfect.
There were 32 businesses that they started with. First they submit a short business plan that is reviewed by a panel of judges. Ben passed that round where they eliminated half, so now he was in the top 16 left.
The next round, he had to set up a booth in the convention center with the other 16 businesses. He even made a brochure of the “What and Why” about his company with a few numbers, so it would be easy for the judges to look at. They had 30 judges, read the business plans of each of the businesses ahead of time, and then they would go around and interview each of the businesses. They wanted to know more about the business, asked them questions…very grueling. These judges are from big companies, investment firms, CEO’s, etc. I’m proud to say the Ben did VERY well. Many of the judges told him that they would invest in him and that he was on the top of their list. There was even one judge that told him he waited until the very end to see him, because he really didn’t have any questions for him because he had the best business plan.
Well, he made the next cut, and was one of the top 8. They then had to submit their final business plan and give a 10 min oral presentation in front of a panel of judges. Then they would award the winner at an awards banquet. The top 8 were some really good businesses. I thought, he's gotta at least make the top 3. Once they read off the 3rd and 2nd place, I thought, oh no, maybe he didn't win at all. But then they announced his name as the winner! It was so AWESOME! The money was wonderful, but mostly, just the validation that his business could succeed, made it worth it. Great way to end the year off!
It specializes in helping kids correct their vision (not just glasses). He trains their eyes to work together. Your eyes have to work and focus together to read, play sports, things like that, but if one eye isn't working with the other one, then it makes it really hard for them to read things. It has been really cool to watch this business starting from nothing. It has been so much work on Ben's part. Every little detail from creating all the forms, hiring staff, creating a logo, creating all the financials, designing a website, and much more. I've been so proud of him. It's been so many long hours, but he absolutely loves what he does!
Here's his fancy new sign.
Signs are definitively expensive, so I made this sign in the front of the office (just to get us by until he makes enough money to buy one). Not too bad, especially from my Cricut!
But, as crazy as life gets, he always makes time for me and the kiddos!
Here's his website if you want to see it, go to www.wavtc.com
So, it's been two years getting this business going, and it was a slow start, but the Lord was always blessing us and still is, and it looks like it's finally starting to take off (a lot of cools stuff is happening).
For one, Ben entered this 3 month long business plan competition. He mainly wanted to do it, to let the community know what vision therapy was, and to get feedback from business people if his business plan was right. He had one written up already, so he though it would be no big deal. Well, it actually took A LOT of time, and he had to get the business plan and financials perfect.
There were 32 businesses that they started with. First they submit a short business plan that is reviewed by a panel of judges. Ben passed that round where they eliminated half, so now he was in the top 16 left.
The next round, he had to set up a booth in the convention center with the other 16 businesses. He even made a brochure of the “What and Why” about his company with a few numbers, so it would be easy for the judges to look at. They had 30 judges, read the business plans of each of the businesses ahead of time, and then they would go around and interview each of the businesses. They wanted to know more about the business, asked them questions…very grueling. These judges are from big companies, investment firms, CEO’s, etc. I’m proud to say the Ben did VERY well. Many of the judges told him that they would invest in him and that he was on the top of their list. There was even one judge that told him he waited until the very end to see him, because he really didn’t have any questions for him because he had the best business plan.
Well, he made the next cut, and was one of the top 8. They then had to submit their final business plan and give a 10 min oral presentation in front of a panel of judges. Then they would award the winner at an awards banquet. The top 8 were some really good businesses. I thought, he's gotta at least make the top 3. Once they read off the 3rd and 2nd place, I thought, oh no, maybe he didn't win at all. But then they announced his name as the winner! It was so AWESOME! The money was wonderful, but mostly, just the validation that his business could succeed, made it worth it. Great way to end the year off!
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