Test Video Blog

Thanks to our good friend Christine, we're all joining the world of video blogging! This was the only video I have on my computer at the moment, so you'll have to excuse the fact that it's not very funny or entertaining whatsoever. I just was sooooo excited when I heard about this that I had to try it right away. So here goes....


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May-Lynn!

It seems like a lot happened in the Wang household in the span of about 1 week.

One of our highlights was catching up with our friend May-Lynn who was visiting from Boston. It's always such a joy and delight to fellowship with friends who just know your heart and understand without you having to explain every little thing.

We love you May-Lynn! And congrats on the new job!

Auntie Sarah & Uncle Jeffy

We surprised our friends, Sarah and Jeff, late Halloween night. They had run out of candy at 7:30pm and Jeff had to ride his bike to Safeway for a sugar run so their house wouldn't get egged by the neighborhood kids. They were well stocked by the time we arrived.

Trick-Or-Treating at Hillsdale

I think everyone had the same idea Halloween night, cuz there were tons of people packed out at the Hillsdale Mall.

We ran into some friends from church. The kids got to decorate cookies and got lots of candy.

Art

Lauryn's starting to learn word recognition. I wrote out, "I Love You" on a piece of paper for her and now she is writing it on all of her drawings.

Here is one she made for her teacher. Ms. Bonilla graciously hung it on the board in the classroom along with a drawing by her friend Emma.

Halloween at Sea Breeze

Here's Lauryn's class from Room 4. The kids got to parade for the whole school and Lauryn was very proud to be the Line Leader.

Jacob's Party

Another party we just attended was for Lauryn's classmate, Jacob, who also turned 4. The kids all dressed up in their Halloween costumes and got to go "trick or treating" from door to door in Jacob's house.

Here is Lauryn with her friends from Room 4 - Daphne (on the left) and Emma. There were several princesses in attendance that day.

The kids got to play a game where they had to eat a doughnut hung from a string with their hands behind their backs. (Jacob's the fireman in the middle, behind the yellow butterfly.)



Jacob's parents did an outstanding job decorating for Halloween and the party. There were scary "finger" cheese sticks, and ghostly cups of milk. Their fruit punch was chilled with ice in the shape of hands. So creative!

Caroline's Party

Lauryn's friend Caroline just turned 4 and we were so excited to attend since it was the first time Lauryn's been to a party for a friend from her school. We've never been able to attend other classmates' parties due to scheduling conflicts or illness.

You can see Lauryn, Caroline and their friend Alexandra in the picture sitting in front of the Dora jumper. There was also a real live Cinderella princess in attendance. She not only performed magic tricks, but she made balloon animals also! This was one multi-talented princess!

Princess Lauryn and Her Royal...uhh...Flower

"Asleep" in the Burley

On one of our walks with the kids in the Burley trailer, our little Sydney fell asleep on her Gia Gia's shoulder. We thought it was very cute and told Lauryn to pretend to sleep too. This was the best she could do.

Max & Sydney Hanging Out

The week that Auntie Rose and Yo stayed over, Max helped me watch the kids during the day. I work from home and let the kids play by themselves sometimes (ok, a lot of the time). One morning when Lauryn was in school and I was working in my office, I couldn't help but notice how nicely Max and Sydney got along. Max always stayed very close to Sydney and got up whenever she moved.

I snapped some shots of them hanging out.

Sleepover at the Wangs

When my aunt had her new hardwood floors sanded, she and my cousin Christine spent the week with us. It was like old times - but with kids. And of course Max had to sleep over too!

Tony & Marissa's Wedding

Our good friends Tony and Marissa got married a couple of weeks ago. We were so excited to be there to celebrate with them. And BOY was it a celebration! Complete with a LONG and LOUD dragon dance.

They both looked so happy. And Tony's speech was so heartwarming and touching. So sincere. Congratulations guys!

Camping

Yes, the Wangs went camping in Mendocino with 7 other families in September.

What possessed us to do this, I do not know. I think we were trying to pretend a bit that we are a normal family who can just pack up and live outdoors a couple of nights, no big deal. But it turns out it was much more difficult than we anticipated, even when everything was so fantastically planned for us and all we had to do was bring ourselves and a few supplies.

We got a late start and hit traffic through Marin County. By the time we got to the camp site, it was pitch black and took us approximately 4 1/2 hours to get there. I remember commenting to John that if we added another hour or so to our drive, we could've driven to LA.
With our friends' help, we were able to set up our tent and get the girls to bed with little trouble. However, sleeping through the night seems to have been lost and forgotten during this trip.
The first night Sydney woke up only once or twice. The 2nd night, she woke every few minutes because it was sooooo freezing cold. It had rained a little during the day and cooled things down dramatically. And Sydney is what I call an independent sleeper. She likes to sleep completely by herself with no one near her or touching her. So I would hold her next to me to keep her warm, but eventually she would cry and want to sleep alone. But sleeping alone left her freezing cold, even wearing 3 layers of pajamas. So we didn't sleep much at night. Major apologies to all of our camping neighbors!

We did have a lot of fun hiking (although we never made it to the waterfall), and Lauryn loved picking flowers with all of her friends. Sydney spent most of her time in the Burley trailer, which turned out to be most useful as a makeshift playpen for the younger kids (and older too), and as a wagon for carrying camping gear and supplies. It even made a debut as a shower caddy.

I do have to mention one strangely amusing moment. As we were packing up to go home, one of the kids, Josh, was playing very contentedly by himself while he waited for his parents. He was also humming a strangely familiar tune over and over at the top of his lungs. I listened to him for several minutes and finally, it dawned on me! Earth, Wind and Fire! He was humming the song, September over and over and over. I don't know. For some reason, it made me feel really old. But it was also really cool to hear a 4 year old humming such a classic oldie. Try imaging one of your kids humming that instead of Hi-5 and you'll see what I'm talking about.