Horse Lovers

another bday party with pony rides. something about little girls and horses, esp at this age. does that mean we should get the girls a (miniature) horse? Eric does, he's considering it for their big 5th bday. Am I the only one who thinks that's a bit over the top?

What did you do for mom's day?

we went to virginia beach for monster trucks on the beach!

since vienna likes trucks, we figure she'd enjoy seeing BIG trucks. BIG trucks racing, jumping, diving, chomping metal! woohooo!!

the motorcycle drag race and the monster free style jumps were the thrilling highlights. vienna stated she would like a helmet, just like the winner on the red motorcycle.

Momma had a blast too!! laurel isnt as big on trucks, but she had the beach and indoor pool.
we've already booked a room for next year!

Now I know

What kind of bday cake to you want?

the tomboy: Iron Man

the girly girl: princess or ballerina

Who do you want to invite to your bday party:

the tomboy: Griffy, Sevi (Sebastian), Nathan

the girly girl: Ada, Britian, Tamsen, Ella

While in the town of Vienna, hanging out by the train park, Eric spots a karate classroom, 'let's go ck out karate, hichi punch!'.

the tomboy: I want to do karate!

What about you? the girly girl: no, ballerina

at the end of class, soccer coach asks, 'do you want a pink sticker?'

the tomboy wrinkles her nose, 'no orange'

at the school's playground pick up, the tomboy comes home w/scratches and bruises on her leg.

the girly girl is usually sitting on the teacher's lap.

each morning getting ready for school, the tomboy wears socks and sneakers.

the girly girl dons 1 pink croc and 1 purple croc (fashion statement?)

for xmas, the tomboy requests a 'rocket car' (just like poppa). she doesnt like to let anyone else drive and likes to wash and clean her car (just like poppa).

the girly girl got her prancing, ride-on horse.

at the store, they get to pick one toy with their gift cards:

the tomboy wants the spiderman snorkeling kit (she still loves to swim and dive).

the girly girl chooses (yet another) doll, one w/long hair to comb.

our three musketeers:

Happy Easter!

Easter egg hunt w/all the Vu cousins. We had age brackets for the younger 2-4yr old (easy) and older 5+ (harder hunt).

All the kids got candy goodie bags (easier than filling each egg), with a grand prize (theme toy baskets) for each bracket. Noah and Laurel were the big winners (!)

OK, so we practiced alittle beforehand. Since Vienna gets distracted easily, Laurel was our prime contender. She just had to out-hunt Lindsey (little Ella wasn't a real threat). And she did it, she did it! OK, call us alittle competitive (:

Easter Sunday rock & roll church service then a wonderful, relaxing brunch at Alto Plaza (ate way too much raw oysters!) with Gramma D. Hope you had a fantastic Easter too!

Easter Time

an easter egg roll not hunt. i had them all psyched up to dodge the bigger kids and grab all the eggs. a roll isnt as competitive.
Laurel was frustrated at first when she missed the egg w/her swipes, stomping off. after Eric cajoled her back, she finished 1st!



ran into willa, their school friend and the Easter Bunny.

theme parties

Fantasy and imagination is big at this age, esp through dress up. I'm gonna miss this silly, who-do-I-want-to-be-today stage .... I wish they can be 3 forever!

character playdate at Sumi's house

red carpet walk at Jenna's bday party
power pose with Guinivere at Mia's princess bday party

Back to WVA

We booked a trip to Greenbrier to test our luck for the New Year, but with the 'snowmageddon', we didn't get to go til this last wk.
Old, historic hotel oozing with southern charm. Every room had a unique decor, even the bathrooms!
We only stayed 3 days, but we squeezed in quite a bit. Enjoyed the 'tea party' every afternoon, swam in the Olympic pool with tiles dating back from the 1940s, walked the bunker tour (an underground hideout for our legislative branch during a nuclear threat), climbed a cave dripping with evolving stalagmite, hiked with sweeping views of the mountains; and of course, gambled!
We invited Grandma Vu to join us. She likes to travel. And she also likes to go to bed early, allowing us to sneak out to the casino. A win-win for everyone!
Sadly, I'm not a winner at the cards. Even managed to loose $100 bill dropped fm my purse. Talking about bad luck! Eric did decent, up then down, but overall still up in the end. The year of the Tiger may be a bust year for one of us.