New boots

Kaylin has been beggin' for Uggs for a really, really long time. I just haven't felt like forking out over $100 for boots when the kid is going to outgrow them in a couple of months.


Enter Target....my fav everything store. I bought these bad boys for $20. Do I care if she grows out of them in a couple of months? Not really. Do I care if they fall apart when the season ends? Not really (but they do seem pretty sturdy).

Is she just as happy with these $20 boots as she would be with the $100+ ones?

Yep! She really is!

School Jog-a-thon

This year was our schools first jog-a-thon. I volunteered for Haley's class which consists of 4th, 5th, and 6th graders (it is a multi-age classroom school).


I have to say, her class had the most spirit. Their class color is white, and the kids went all out!


I counted for these goofy kids. The boy in the top right corner actually colored his hair white with spray and he had a painted on white beard!

Here they are getting pumped up to do some serious laps around the track!

My camera died right after I took this picture (bleh!) so no pics outside. Ya know the boy with white hair? Well, he ran 20 laps....that's 5 miles folks!

I learned my lesson long ago, to pledge a total sum and not per lap amount! These kids are crazy and will go the extra mile (literally!).

We just found out that the school raised over $43,000!!!! Our goal was like $30,000, so this is amazing! Our facilities budget was cut by 50% so this will help in so many ways!

A big shout out to Stacia Williams who put the whole thing together. Hat's off to you lady...you totally rock!

The wedding (part 2)

Haley was a Jr. Bridesmaid, so she started off the ceremony walking with groomsman Joie (Rob's little bro).

Rob's nephew's were the cutest little ring and coin bearers ever!

The flower girls. Kaylin (8 1/2), Emma (6), & Payton (4 1/2).

The beautiful bride, B, with Mom and Dad.

This gets me all choked up! Who am I kidding, I always cry at weddings!

The bridesmaids and flower girls watching the ceremony. My girls were super good. Not one peep out of them during the entire ceremony!

The groomsmen.

Bride and Groom listening to Rob's little sis and little bro say some poems/passages.

The vows.

The veil.

The cord. It was accidentally forgotten, so Rob (who is a major yo-yo addict) made one out of yo-you string that he had in his car. A-mazing. He totally saved the day!

Mr. and Mrs. Rob Villahermosa. Do they look happy or what?!

My girls were happy to be done with their "job" too. I am not kidding you, we could not believe how good they were.

The flower girls awaiting the after wedding pictures.

The lovely couple along with all the bridesmaids and flower girls. :)

Thank you so much to Andrew, for taking all of the pictures during the ceremony! You did such a great job!

The wedding (part 1, the tea ceremony)

In keeping with Chinese Tradition, my lovely sister in-law, Suong (we call her "B"), and her now husband Rob (who is Filipino) had a Chinese Wedding Tea Ceremony on the morning of their wedding.

B and most of the bridesmaids waited upstairs in her parents bedroom for the groom to arrive and the ceremony to begin. She made her beautiful red dress/outfit herself (among many other crafty things she did for the wedding).
Please note the purple bed set on the bed behind the girls. This was given to Dao and I for our wedding. It is meant to bring good luck for us in making babies. As you all know it most definitely worked for us! Watch out B and Rob!


Haley was such a lucky girl! She got to spend the night before the wedding with the bride-to-be, and her other Goo-Goo's (Aunties). B made all of my girls jewelry which included necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Haley's are all fresh water pearls, and the younger girls have crystals.

She had her hair professionally done, and Goo-Goo Xuan did her make-up!

Mom and Dad are getting ready for the ancestral offering and prayer. An entire pig, fruit, and candy are offered to the ancestors. Incense burn, and then...


the couple does a prayer ceremony. Nothing is ever explained to us, but I think they pray three times, once to the ancestors, once to their parents, and once to each other. Dao and I also did this for our wedding day.

Now they serve the tea, starting with their parents.

After they serve the tea, they get red envelopes, or jewelry. B got a beautiful white gold diamond necklace and earring set. This is considered as part of her dowry.

Rob's parents and family were super sweet. They not only came to the ceremony, they also participated.

Dao and I loved being on the other side of this. It's a lot less stressful!

After all the "old" people are served tea, the couple sits down and the children (anyone younger than them and unmarried) serve them tea. The couple then gives them red envelopes. My kids ♥ red envelopes and discovered early on that they contain $$ inside. :)

After the ceremony, everyone grubbed on tons of yummy food and got ready to head to the church wedding.

Part 2 coming soon...

Book recommendation

To all you Twilight fans out there, I highly recommend the book Shiver! I was hooked from the start!

I just read it for my book club . Check out the book club and read with me so that we can discuss!

It has a similar draw to it's characters that Twilight had for me. The story is told in first person between the two characters, Sam and Grace. As a reader I bonded with both characters from the start. They are both very human and likeable. The writing in the book is very descriptive, and flows beautifully.

Try it...you'll like!

kthanksbye.

Grandma's work picnic

This year, Grandma and Auntie Andria took the kids to the picnic. So I only took these two pics when they got home!

These two spent the entire time in line for face painting! Haley and Payton didn't want to get their faces painted, so no pics of them.

Thank you so much Grandma and Auntie Andria for taking the girls, they had a blast!

Gymnastics time for my pre-schooler

Payton was so excited to start her gymnastics class this year! This year, the mommies and daddies aren't allowed to stay in the class. So this is major big kid status.


Her best friend Dev is in the class with her! Here they are waiting on the bench outside for Teacher Marilyn.

Parachute time!

Shaking some eggs during music and movement.

Stamp time! At the end of every class, Teacher Marilyn gives 4 (yes 4!) stamps. One on each arm and one on each leg. Dev can hardly wait!

Finally, Dev's turn!

Pay can hardly wait for her weekly gymnastics class!