Open House

Here are some samplings of Ashton's Open House work. She had stories she had published, art on the wall and lots of great accomplishments to share.

Her self portraits are getting more and more realistic.
and her handwriting has come so far that even her teacher was impressed.


Jacqueline was happy to sit at her sisters table and take it all in. I'm happy to say that she even sat quietly so I could enjoy the presentation.

Stone Soup Performance

Two of the first grade classes combined to put on a performance of the Stone Soup Rock Opera.

This show was complete with sets and characters. In fact, we had a series of dramas as Ashton was not at all thrilled to be cast as a narrator and not an "actor". Later she switched with a friend and was given the role of "Captain Max".
As we got ready for the show I was surprised to find out that she didn't have any lines (so I was confused about what the drama was about getting the part). In the end, I realized the point was the costume and not the speaking. In fact, none of the actors spoke, they acted out the part as other kids did the talking (a smart approach for first graders in retrospect!).

So while Ashton was a huge hit I guess she does not yet qualify for the SAG from this part.

Somehow I'm sure there will be more chances! Bravo to Ms. Chan and the other teachers and helpers for pulling off a really great show with a cast of first graders!

Lion Dance

One of the fun events at Lincoln is the "Lion Dance". The Lion is a nod to the school mascot and a play on the concept of a line dance.
While not officially invited to join the dancing, Jacqueline decided that she should participate with the kindergarten class.
As can happen, this event was very windy and cold. While all the girls had coats we ended up freeing and there was a lot of time spent chasing hats!
So I'm including footage of the outfits at home where they were modeled before the event.

Junior Gym Performance

I got to attend a Junior Gym event for Jacqueline. This was the perfect fit for her fearlessness and her need for motion.

She even listened pretty well as well.
She was very happy to have me there and was all smiles the whole day.

Spring Skiing 2010

Doesn't everyone go on a ski trip mid-move to a new house? Right, we didn't want to be abnormal or anything.

This spring-break ski trip was a total blast. Both girls were so enthusiastic to get on the slopes again, their dad was really proud. Traveling has gotten so much easier, we had two bags and they were not even full or anything.

I was especially happy that we finally got a good shot of Jaq on ski's since last time we forgot our camera.
You will notice Jaq got a new helmet (same as Ashton of course) which puts them as essentially identical. This year Ashton was thrilled we let her get poles and Jacqueline was understandably jealous. Ashton being the worlds best big sister let Jaq use them for our last runs of the day as a family.

New Bikes

As a testimony to our optimism we got a new bike for Ashton. She had completely outgrown her other bike and it was no longer really helping the cause.

Of course, Jacqueline was not really enthusiastic to be getting an existing bike and managed to talk her parents into a princess balance bike (has no wheels) also.
Jacqueline is getting pointers from her sister.



Dad is showing Ashton key tips and trying to convince her to ride on the grass.


Both girls look ready to go. Hopefully soon they will actually be riding ;-).

Our new [temporary] house

Here are a few photos of our new [temporary] digs. Although it's only a 2-1 (and yes the 1 part is a bit of a challenge for us) the rooms themselves are actually larger than our past ones. This is especially nice for the girls who were outgrowing their space in the baby room.

We didn't pick the wall color but we did add the decorative stickers to give it a personalized feel. Thanks to Grandpa Bob we also relocated their custom closet to this house so they still have their shelves but slightly larger hanging space.
While there is only one bathroom after a quick wallpaper removal/paint job it came together in a livable fashion. It's a huge bonus that this house has quite a bit of storage space. Turns out that's actually more critical than bedrooms for making a house livable.
Thanks to Auntie Suzie we had almost no challenges moving in space-wise. She helped determine what furniture should be packed for our return and what should come with us (and where it should go). This hybrid of our family room + living room + den + dining room worked out brilliantly.

We did break down and replace the god-awful light fixture in the dining room. Yes, over investing in a temporary space but I'm guessing it might help with finding a renter to replace us if/when we get done on time and want to break our one year lease early.