Happy Lunar New Year!

School Performance

So the kids are never at a loss for school performances. They had one this past Friday, 1/23, for the Lunar New Year. Hansel, my brother Ed, and I went while my mom stayed home with Mathis.

Maile's class did two songs. One involved a costume change. Maile pretty much knows the moves but she rarely sings.

Beck's class also did two songs -- no costume change but they had umbrellas. Not to be biased but Beck knew the routines the best in his class. He tried to sing the first song. During one of the songs they would squat and hide behind their umbrellas and then stand up and raise their umbrellas. Beck liked the standing and raising part.

Beck takes a music class at the preschool now. He started this month. He was too young to take it back in September, but now he is old enough to follow along and he can keep a rhythm.

Em & Em's Engagement Party

Hansel took Maile and Beck to Emmet and Emily's engagement party at Kingfish. I stayed home with Mathis.

Maile came home with two princess balloons while Beck was empty handed. Hansel said Beck wasn't that interested in the balloons. Apparantly, he was more interested in taking photos. Because I later found a lot of photos of people from the waist down.

I'm sorry I missed the engagement party. It looked like a fun time based on Joyce Lee Yang and Joyce Bernas-Yung's photos. Our photos came out a little blurry. Probably because of Beck's grimy hands.

Eric and Yura's Lunar New Year Party

On Sunday (1/25) Hansel, Maile, Beck, and I went to a Lunar New Year party hosted by my cousin, Eric, and his wife, Yura. They had yummy Chinese food and games and fireworks. After dinner, we gathered in their backyard, where the kids got to hold sparklers, throw snaps, and watch Yura almost catch herself on fire from these spinning sparkler things. Beck was scared of the snaps but not by the sparkler stuff. I guess he's more sensitive to sound.

Beck hiding behind me while other kids throw snaps

My aunt (Eric's mom) had told Yura that she used to play Bingo to celebrate the New Year, so we played Bingo. Yura actually had one of those Bingo contraptions that you spin around til a Bingo ball comes out. We let each kid spin the ball cage and we played until each child won at least once.

My cousin Richard's youngest son, Lucas

Each child also came away from the party with a red envelope, where each family contributed a couple of bucks to each.