Emma and Erin...Keepin' Busy

There are definitely times when the girls long for our Arizona home - they miss family, non-scary/stinky/squatty toilets, drive-thrus, and Target (they are, of course, MY children - and I mall those same things). I truly hope and believe that they will one day really appreciate this experience as something super special. In addition to the travel and culture that they are exposed to, they have also had the opportunity to try a few activities that they may not have been able to do so easily in the states due to lack of time/money/resources. Here are some pics of them exploring their talents:

Emma takes a Chinese painting class from a local art teacher. This is one of our favorites - we also had it matted and framed because custom framing is CHEAP!

Erin also takes an art class from a (different) local art teacher. So far she has worked with oil pastels and clay.

Both girls have been taking piano lessons from a friend in our neighborhood. Here they are in front of our building just before their "recital" in the gym.

Here they are with their teacher, Michelle. She is wonderful and we are going to MISS her when she leaves for college this summer.

Emma really wanted to learn to play guitar but I couldn't find her a teacher so she decided to try piano and loves it!

Erin loves any chance to be in front of an audience - if you'd like to see her "live" performance check our website. I will post the video soon!

Here is Erin enjoying an after school activity - Irish dancing which was taught by someone actually Irish from Ireland!

Emma is also getting some babysitting experience. She watches our little friend Julie (and sometimes her brother Nathan) - Julie is two and just adores Emma. I (or Julie's mom) are always in the neighborhood just in case, but Emma has done a great job showing responsibility and has quite the knack for nurturing.

Last fall the three of us girls bought rollerblades so we could have some fun outdoors together. I do okay unless I need to stop - then I am rather terrified. I have discovered that the older I get the more frightening the idea of falling becomes. I told the girls I will practice without them so I don't have to worry about their taunting. I do have the medical clinic on speed dial...

And to conclude I will leave you with a typical Erin farewell:

Distractions...Continued...

Okay, so there is definitely some irony in the subject of my last post which is entitled "Distractions". My sister, Jessica, lovingly pointed out to me that I am in the midst of a six month DISTRACTION since my most recent blog was in November. What can I say...

I am not sure how I will catch up on six months worth of life. To be honest, most of it is just that: life. The daily stuff of school, work, shopping, making dinner - definitely not blog-worthy. Here is an abbreviated version of the highlights - November thru now. (Except for Spring Break - I will do a separate post for that...someday).

In school, as a vocabulary review activity, Emma had to "be" the word examine. This is one of the things I love most about living on campus and not working full-time - I can be at school for the girls for every 30-second presentation.

Thanksgiving 2010 was spent in Hong Kong - lovely weather, good food, and Starbucks with Chai lattes! It's a great city!

We spent the day at Hong Kong Disneyland - it's a much smaller park but still feels like Disneyland. How cute is the subway that took us right into to the park?

Erin celebrated her 6th birthday in AZ with her cousins.

Celebrating Christmas and catching up with cousin Jacob.

We had the pleasure of spending another Chinese New Year in Dalian - friends, time off, and plenty o'fireworks! Mike got to help launch this show right in our neighborhood - 45 minutes of spectacular explosions.

This was part of the festivities downtown - we stayed at one of the hotels with a big group of friends. You'd think they would shut down the streets during all of the exploding extravaganza, but nope, cars were driving by and little girls were out in the streets (just for a quick photo op, then she was on the sidewalk with me!)

Erin making dumplings - a major Chinese tradition for this time of year.

In February, Mike went to Vietnam on a business trip. I flew out at the end of the week and we spent the weekend exploring Ho Chi Minh City - there are NO WORDS to describe the sheer volume of motorbikes on the road. I loved the energy of it all but was glad I didn't have to worry about the girls being mowed down by a scooter!

We took a tour bus out to the Chu Chi Tunnels where the Vietcong lived and fought during the "American War" (yes, I was confused too - to them it is the American War, to us, it will always be the Vietnam War). The Vietnamese people are SMALL - I could barely move in the tunnel and can't imagine making a life inside that sweltering and dark space.

My baby girl lost her first tooth!

Well, it's not much but it's a start! Hope you feel a bit caught up! I do!