Rollerblades

A quick trip on the rollerblades with the girls was moms request.

 Ashton made it very clear that she was not happy about the idea and that she thought it wasn't any fun.  It didn't get better until mom got her planning her birthday party and then all of a sudden things were ok again.

Family Bike Ride

 One of the benefits of living in NorCal is the opportunity to ride bikes over the holiday break.

 Jacqueline was quick to point out that she needed a bike with gears for this trip as there were some hills.

 Ashton was not thrilled to be riding this day so we had to hug it out a bit.

Christmas 2012

 Mom and Jaq's traditional Santa hat Selfie.

 Crab feed with the cousins and Grandpa Bob.

All the lights are up.

and way too many presents!

Girl Scout Nutcracker

 The girl scouts had the opportunity to see a bit of the backstage of the Nutcracker.  One of the options was the chance to try on the costumes that were retired.  Even Ashton couldn't resist the draw of the beautiful costumes.

 Jacqueline of course, went straight to the line for this opportunity.

 and tried on several.

apparently they were fighting over the phone as they waited for the show.

this wasn't even the full group who attended, it was a lot of fun for the girls to see the show with all their friends and while we were inside the rain stopped to let us get this photo after.

Halloween 2012

Halloween is one of our favorite holidays in Burlingame.  This year was no exception

We had parties, parades and lots of fun trick-or-treating with somewhere between 400-500 kids coming for candy.

Even after the costume comes off the face has some reminder of the holiday

As a zombie prom queen Ashton seems to be right in the mix of the popular 4th grade themes.

Not to be outdone, Dan and Jani stole the show, I'm not sure what "The most interesting man" does with a whoopie cushion but I'm sure there is a good quote there for sure.

The girls insisted I get a new costume this year.

Familty costumes followed a theme this year with Dad a vampire, Mom a banchee, Asthon a Zombie prom queen and Jaq a devil.

Musical and other talents

Some talents require special acknowledgement.  The Bear girls have a few of these.  I don't often post videos but below are a few that seemed important to capture.


I have no idea what "shingle bells" are, but real artistic expression can't be contained by real words or phrases that make any sense -- it's all in the delivery.

Ashton just started her flute lessons a few weeks ago, so I was really impressed with her progress here.

And last but not least, no video montage would be complete without Gangham style.

10U Soccer

Ashton spent much of this year playing goalie, stopping a very large number of scores against her team.

 She really got to be a very strong player with lots of hustle and energy. 

Ironically we didn't manage to get any photos of her or the team outside of these two so you will just have to take our word for it.

U7 Soccer

When you belong to a team called "Pink Panthers" you are only showing the best of team spirit when you wear team colored hair.

Sometimes you have to get a bit dirty to support the team.  Especially when you are not watching where you are going and there is a huge mud puddle in the middle of the field.

But of course the most critical thing to do is to get your cartwheels out of your system before the game.  Or sneaking them in quickly while you are in the outfield.

Lion Dance 2012

Another year another lion dance.

As 4th graders, it is also FINALLY the year of doing Thriller.  That means the western outfits had to have a graveyard theme.

Western boots, hats and scarves are still important in the 2nd grade ranks though.

The steps are more complicated in 4th grade and the crowds are much bigger now too.

Important to stake out your space before getting started.

And in the end a good time was had by all.

Happy 7th Birthday Jacqueline

Roller Durby Birthday.  The theme this year was all things roller party.

Of course, if you are doing a rollar durby party you need bright hair.  Mom and Jaq were matching for the event.

Of course a hokey pokey was required.

and multiple cakes and singing.  Thanks to Judy.

Bridging Ceremony - Junior Girl Scout

After school, the Brownie troup moved up to become Junior Girl Scouts.  Talk about a big group!  Ashton is the tall blonde on the right of the photo.

First Day of School 2012

We started off the 2012 school year with a bang.  Jacqueline enters the second grade with Ms. Chan.  

Ashton begins 4th grade with Ms. Sullivan.  Both girls were thrilled to get their last year teachers promoted to the next grade with them.  This made all the first day excitment about others in the class as there were no new teachers to meet.

Jaq was thrilled to finally have Sofia in her class.

and Ashton is starting the year in the new building (with bigger chairs -- this is a bonus for parents who visit).

We ended the early pick up with a picnic at Ray Park.  Tash was there and everyone was happy about the sunny afternoon. Yay! School is back in.

America's Cup

We went to the city to either bore the girls to tears or watch the America's cup, depends on who you ask.

As is typical for this area it was sunny and nice at home and freezing in the city.  The first spot we found to watch the race had mom a little too stressed out as there was an open pier the family decided to under the railing and sit on the pier itself.  Somehow the squirming of this girl made me uncomfortable.

Later we checked out the art scene.  The girls are sitting on one of the exibits called "seat".

There were some cool hands on activities for the kids.  This one has the kids raising the sails. 

All in all it was a fun, if a bit cold, day with a nice walk in the city.  Amazing to live in such a great place.

Look Mom a Bubble

Jaq finally learned how to blow a bubble.  Luckily this happened on the way to visit Grandma and Papa Terry which afforded a large stash of gum with which to practice.

And thus a trend is born.