Bam!

 Bam! Kazam! Boom! 

Here are our Super Heros in action! 

(I guess super heros don't mind breaking the no standing on furniture rule)

"cuddley duddley doo! yes! Shmookie wookie tookie nookie! Sure!"

The things we say with a baby in the house we never even thought we would think about.

 Super Girl Lily (sorry to ruin the disguise)

"Whoa!"

 off to the bat cave

"Zazoom!"

All we could squeeze out for a Christmas countdown this year. Sometimes, the simpler, the better.

 A typical day's view from out our neighbor's window. 

(not sure why... but there it is)

 Vet Vera, Olivera, Abibet... what is my name? 

(Olivet at 5 months (though she is 6 months today!))

 Katie & Princess Lolly both still alive with no recent escape attempts to report. 

 My Novice Percussionist 

(and with an audience!)

Here is our Christmas package from GG & Gampy!! Wow, we had so much fun opening all the special gifts. THANK YOU!!!

Lily posing with her new purse she just finished coloring, along with some fun pants and a shirt... but the same old earmuffs :)

 I told Cade, "No, you can't use this camera to take a picture of yourself." So he decided he would just pretend it was him taking the picture :). 

 "Yeay, it's supper time!"

 "Not hot pot again!"

 I love the attitude in this step. 

(I'm not so sure I will love it in ten years :)

"Hmm, what's this? Oh, just a package slip glued to our door."

Josh and Cade returned from their half day trip to the post office... with EIGHT BOXES!!! SEVEN from our church in La Crosse who collected books for our The Book Station, our local library!!! And one SPECIAL box from Uncle Phil and Auntie Danielle!! What a fun weekend!! 

Before getting the books into the Delicious Monster Library System, the kids took advantage of having hundreds of books to look at... and set up their own library in their room! At several points during the day, all four (big) kids were reading at the same time, without being asked to!

Zoom!

 Caedmon eager to use dad's knife to open this one.

(In our excitement, I must not have captured the box opening on "film." Well, we were spoiled with stickers (that stick), candles, onion soup mix, some Bath and Body bottles, puzzles and more! What a delight.

 Speaking of delights, I love this age. But I will not fool myself this time. I have come to grips with the fact that Olivet will go through a naughty stage no matter how sweet she is now :).

 Welcome back Josh, Beth & baby Hudson!! Sometimes it's hard to live overseas, knowing our friends often move away. But it sure is fun to have them return, especially with a new addition!

The Natural

 

These hot pot pictures are all over the place. This one is from New Year's Eve! We hosted a Hot Pot party! 

To really get the feel of what eating hot pot is even like, you will have to come and visit.

Good thing for "Pine Scent Lemn Floor Cleaner" otherwise "Happy New Year" would have been permanently written in our dining room.

In preparation for dinner... 

some people buy turkey, maybe steak, some potatoes, a veggie for a nice New Year's Eve meal.

We buy bags of random veggies, dried noodles, frozen meat rolls and of course dried tofu (above).

2012- the year of the DRAGON!

What a hit!

 Ok, back up a week. Here we are on Christmas Eve roasting marshmallows over a small grill and singing Christmas Carols at the same time. And we wonder why our neighbors think we are weird...

Xiao li, Si en & A xing

(try saying that ten times fast!)

 

And for the clean up. The counter was filled with almost every dish from the cupboards! I guess doing dishes on New Year's Eve was better than waking up to hot pot sauce everywhere and a hundred crusty dishes. And our whole family was in bed by 10:30!

 Caedmon actually wore this under his clothes as he pretended he was Peter Parker for a day. He totally loves Spider Man.

Alakazam!

 Getting the hang of hot pot

"Woosh!"

 We were all excited for our friend Austin to spend the day with us a few weeks ago. 

 He & Hadassah had fun decorating their submarines. 

Five month old Olivet. "I love my Ayi!"

 Chillin' like a villain

(don't tell batman and super girl)

 During Josh's class that our city hosted, Josh invited about 30 guys over for the Rose Bowl. It was super fun for them (not sure if Josh would use that terminology) to eat some yummy, homemade brats and cheer and communicate together about deep things (jk). Once again, this is the only picture from that occasion. Huh. 

 Here is the prof herself (who the kids loved) visiting one night along with a handful of the counselors that came with.

What a sweet experience.

Pow! Wham!

The most beautiful thank you card i have seen. The prof thanked Josh for his hard work and blessed us with some cash to go on a date! Look at those sparkles! Kazaowee!

 And here is Captain Bumbo to the rescue! 

Crash! Boom! Bang!

(Though his little sibling has doubts...)

 Our sweet friends Julie & Ty were in town for the class, along with some of their friends. We had a really fun night playing games, doing puzzles, and eating cheesecake! 

 This is what Dassah, Vivi and I do on Wednesday mornings...

 We play cards and puzzles and eat cookies...

while daddy teaches Lily and Caedmon! Yeay!

 

Our friends and neighbors are back after being gone for six months!! YEAY FOR GIRLFRIENDS!!

 trying to help overcome jetlag with dress-up and stories

 I love this. This was Vivianna's Christmas present, a magnetic doll with clothes. Lily did mention she didn't think Vivi was ready for this type of toy yet.

 The "GP" stands for "Go Pack." Josh did wear his special necklace (which came with a couple extra beads just incase) until the Pack lost. 

 another shot "by Caedmon"

 "This is pretty comfy. I think I'll just take a snooze right here."

(Like Lily, Olivet does sometimes sleep with her eyelids not all the way closed :)

 I also love ages 5 (almost 6!) and 7. The question "Can you please help with this?" takes on a whole new meaning. They really get the job done.

 And just in time for... you guessed it... hot pot!

 Will our kids think seeing something like this when they grow up is random or normal?

(just doing a u-eee). (How do you spell that? U.E.? Uy?)

 And finally, I will conclude with Josh's new office and a nice hot meal (not hot pot this time).

The location is great. Second floor off of a street with lots of yummy restaurants and a store called "Stinky Socks". 

 the walls have been painted...

 there's a bathroom

 a pipe repair seems to have been attempted

 the pantry

 the kitchen

 the kitchen (angle two)

 storage space

 grain crusher

 some nice wall decals 

 and a welcoming blue Gumby

 Not too bad! Since our last visit, Josh spent a day bleaching the bathroom and tidying up a bit. He and his buddies now have a great place to get their work done and I'm sure will look more forward to a nice hot meal after a long day!

 "Lickety Wop!"