Christmas!

We enjoyed our Christmas up north with family.
Strange...aren't there a couple little people missing?

Of course, Cousin S and Cashew are sitting at the head of the table. Too bad they didn't enjoy the delicious Beef Wellington.
Yup, a smaller group at home this year - missed you Uncle T and Sushi family.

Yahoo! Wow, is that 2 Santas visiting us? Gee Cashew, you must have been extra good. "Veggie Tales, Tickle Me Elmo, Mega Bloks - what more could I ask for?"

Our visit with the Orrs - is this the prelude of homecoming king and queen?

"Hmm, looks like Uncle Jamie is liking Owen's spelling game..."

Fun with Sushi

"Wow, this is an amazing rice krispy creation. Let me see if it tastes as good..."



"Wow, a new mitt and hat set from the 'Neighbors' - I bet Auntie KL will like this too."

" Hi there, Sushi here. I'm wearing a new Mickey and Minnie Mouse scarf and hat set. Here, feels it soft texture and snug fit on my head. It can be yours for the low price of a new toy for moi."

"Yippee! My parents just left for their Christmas party so I get to spend quality time with Momma Cashew and Spidey. I've been looking forward to this time all day."

"You all be safe out there this Christmas season! I'll be out of town on a business trip for a while so I'll let Cashew have her site back. You all come back now you here?"

Cake, Snow and Kids

Happy Birthday Spidey! How many is that now? Wow, still 29? Mmm, red bean mousse cake. Delicious! I think Sushi wants some too...

We had a visit with Po-po and Gong-gong along with A-ma and A-ye - finally a day without rain so we could do a little sightseeing! We had lots of yummy food too - Korean, Shanghainese etc.

Cashew loves her cousin S.
Hangin' out with the Orr boys. Are they on growth hormones? Come on T, 'fess up!

Snow - inches and inches where we were!! Our drive back home was horrendous - 20mph speeds with all the snow during those days. Took us an extra 1.5hr because the roads through the mountains were snow-covered and with the winds, the snow was blowing horizontally! We were in the car so long, Cashew said, "all done!" Good thing we have snow driving experience from the east :) We counted at least 12 cars stuck in the ditches. Yikes - don't think AAA would have helped this time.

Lately

"Is it time for a costume party again? Didn't I just wear this at the end of October?"

"I got my own bling bling goin' on. "
"After testing it out, I found that it's quite cushiony - I can't even notice the books and toys I'm rolling on when Spidey is tickling me."

"As some of you may know, I really like chairs. Recently, I found a new chair. Do you have one of these in your home?"

What could have been...

A Little Princess - but Cashew thought the dress was itchy and said "off, mama, off."

Cheerleader - we even had the pom pom ready for her... but furry lamb used it instead

Finally...what was she? bathrobe model? Spidey was a tree and Momma Cashew a doctor who forgot to wear her mask for the picture. Thanks to The Neighbors for the fun party over the weekend.

We ended up taking Cashew to Fallapalooza which had tons of things for kids to do. Being the early sleeper, she actually fell asleep while we were driving there - we debated about whether we should go home. But, onward we went! Cashew wasn't too happy about being woken up, but once she had some time, she enjoyed herself. Most interesting to her were the buckets of candy - of course, she's never had candy but she had fun picking a candy out of the bucket and putting it into our bag. There were many inflatables, a face painting station, a puppet show, a stacking cups station etc. There was even a maze - Cashew loved running through it and finding her way out.

Here's Cashew on her 1.5yr birthday - Spidey helped her celebrate by letting her drive a car and ride a horse. She also rode the merry-go-round a few times. Please excuse the big touque - oh, maybe some of you don't know that that is, well, it wasn't that cold.

Farm Day!

Today we went for farm day - if you have kids, you should go - it ends Sunday at 3pm. In addition to what we share below, there were chickens, bunnies, kettle corn, pony rides, hay rides, inflatables, food etc. It was nippy today - hopefully it doesn't rain tomorrow. Admission is free but some items require purchase of tickets.

A llama? In this area? I'll check - yup, feels like a real llama!


Baaaa...well, it's a goat, but close enough!


Are you lost in Sunflowerland Cashew?

A pumpkin patch - kids were able to decorate them with markers, glitter etc.


Trucks and tractors in the sandbox..."this sand needs to be moved over here, yes, much better."

My little friends

"Thanks Grandma for my new chair. After we got back home, I tested it out again. It makes me giggle!"

"We visited Peanut and Monkey - gee, he's almost the same size as me! Nice to see you again buddy!"

" Off we go to the science center! Here we are before all the action and excitement. "

" Vrrrrrrrooooooooom! Hop on in everyone - where to?"

"How many fish? First one to guess correctly gets a prize!"

Oh what a beautiful day!

Ooh, look who's visiting. Yummy food for everyone!

A nice afternoon stroll along the lake.

Fun with the showerheads! Hope you enjoyed the introductions to some new eats :) Happy renovating and we'll see you soon.

Rose City continued

Strollin' around the downtown cultural district.

Sand and rock display at the Japanese Garden.

Of course, photo infront of Niketown - just like the shot we took in Barcelona, sans Cashew.

Rose City

First a visit to the Japanese Garden - "Best in the world, outside of Japan."

Cashew's been putting her finger back in her mouth. Her right molar is in so it's the left one that must be coming in.

We visited the Historical Society and Art Museum downtown. It certainly was different with Cashew running around - we had to take turns looking at the art and then trading off to protect the art!

The Rose Test Garden - mmm, sweet.

"Dear Lord Jesus, please don't let dada pull me into the pool."
After Cashew's brush with the cold water at the beach, she was tentative in entering the pool and preferred to stay with whoever was on dry land. We only got so far as getting her feet in the pool. Hopefully next time, she'll go in for a dip. She enjoyed playing with duck though.

Beach

"Hmm, something interesting is going on over there...this is a great place to people-watch."

"No, dada. I don't want to be any closer to the noisy water."

"Hee hee, now this is more fun! Tickled by dada's scruff."