Springtime in the Backyard!

Thanks, Gary for all of your hard work. We love our backyard! You've made it such a special place for so many special memories. Love you!

Cutie-pa-tootie in front of the gorgeous tulips!

If you could only smell these lilacs...YUM!

Where we spend our afternoons

This phlox is like carpet. It is so lush and pretty.

Oasis

The Retreat! Great for napping

Ahhh!

Toothless Wonder!

Our little girl is growing up. Quite the milestone this past week. Hailey lost her top two front teeth. She is just too cute. Her little smile and adorable "ethheths". She is so very proud. So are we!

Happy Family Day!

Two years ago we were in China meeting our little Hanna for the very first time. Hailey became a big sister...Jie Jie and Mei Mei helds hands for the very first time. And Mommy and Daddy, we were complete. We've come quite a long way.
"All good and perfect things come from God."

Mexico!

Gary and I just returned from our first "Mommy/Daddy" vacation in about 7 years. Gramma and Grampa Maynard agreed to kid duty, so we packed up and flew to Cancun for our friends wedding and 6 days of sun, sand, sea, and cocktails. What a great idea it was. We are so glad that Mike and Sara decided to get married in Mexico so we enjoy some grown up time. Of course with the media frenzy surrounding Swine Flu, we had moments of second thoughts, but Gary being the eternal optomist was not going to let a little thing like and epidemic stand in his way of some R & R. Thinking about it now, it was probably safer and more cleanly than it normally is since Mexico is working hard to polish up it's reputation right now. Out of the 24 people in our group, nobody got sick at all. Travel was super easy and our resort was gorgeous. With our wonderful guides, the bride and groom, we discovered a quaint little Mexican beach village, Akumal. Wonderful little places to eat and enjoy the ocean. Our favorite, and the site of the wedding, was called 'La Buena Vida' (The Good Life). The beach was beautiful, amazing sunset, great music, the bar stools were all swings, and they had 2 palm tree "treehouses" complete with a bucket to haul up your beer. Gary and Dr. Kevin found this to be the highlight of the entire trip! Gary got in a day of fishing of the guys and although three of them caught some amazing fish, Gary came up short. But, he loved being out on the water with his friends.
It is good to be home and back with the girls. Being away was good for Gary and I, but we started to feel a little out of sorts without our sidekicks. Thanks again G & G Maynard for taking care of H & H while we away. We can't thank you enough. What a gift!

Happy Mother's Day!

To all of the women in my life who mean so much to me. Whether you are a mom, dreaming of the day when you become a mom, or you are the one who can step in and rescue me from the craziness of motherhood, I adore you. I am blessed beyond measure by each and every moment that we have been able to share. God bless My broken road, that lead me to you!

Earth Day

Earth day today. Hailey did some stuff at school about the three R's, reduce, reuse, recycle that is. Since Gary had a late meeting I took the girls to see the Disney movie Earth. It is basically all of the good parts of the Planet Earth series that was done by Discovery. But, narrated by James Earl Jones. Hailey loved it. Hanna wanted to go home after she saw the shark eat the seal. She said, "That's not very nice, Mommy." Keeping her entertained for the last 40 minutes was rather annoying. If she wasn't imitating a walrus or a penguin she talking. This girl does not have an off switch. She doesn't quite get the no talking part of movies. She is at this point with her language that she has to shout out everything that she sees and continues to say it until I respond,Mommy, a giraffe. A giraffe Mommy."
"Yes, Hanna, it's a giraffe. Quiet voice please," I say in a whisper.
And before I even say all of that she is on to, "Zebra Mommy! Like the zoo. Mommy, mommy...!" It was a never-ending commentary.
Meanwhile, Hailey is on the other side of me giving me an entire dissertation on the shrinking polar ice cap and how global warming is endangering the lives of the polar animals. Huh? She's seven! Where does she get this stuff? From there she moved on to describing the hunting behaviors of wild cats. Evidently, documentaries are better watched in the privacy of our own home. Between the narratives provided by my children and my constant Shushing, I am not surprised that there was such an extremely wide margin of empty theater seats surrounding us as the lights came on after the show. Now that we are home and the girls are in bed, my head is absolutely spinning. And so, I get to pass this chaos on to you! Aren't you lucky?
Anyway, Love Your Mother and all that stuff!
Cheers!

Happy Easter!

Goin' Buggy

Back in March Hailey was in a school performance with all of the 1st and 2nd graders. Many may remember my Facebook status one day about making a caterpillar costume. Well, costume donned, Hailey was the cutest little caterpillar there. She had such a fun time and the whole production was a hit. Both Hailey and Hanna are still singing songs about ladybugs, fireflies, and, course, caterpillars and butterflies!

Family Ski Day

Well, we have finally made it. The whole family actually skied together for an entire day at Beaver Creek. It was a great way for us to end the season and really gives us something to look forward to for next year. Hanna made such amazing progress...it's hard to believe she just started back in December. She is a quick little learner and we are also finding out she is a bit of an athlete in her own right. She worked so hard to keep up with Hailey and Hailey was so patient and encouraging. Hanna wasn't afraid to zip in and out of the trees right behind big sister. I could watch them all day long. Daddy and Hailey took a couple of "big kid" runs, Hailey's first black diamond top to bottom...she said it was, "Easy, peasy lemon-squeezey"...of course, how else would a 7 year old describe it? Hanna negotiated her way down a couple of blue runs and even spent some time in Rose Bowl..."Cuttin' some freshies in the pow-pow!" ( Okay, so I don't talk like this and neither does Hanna, but it is so much fun!)
It was spectacular and I am just so fortunate that the girls have been bitten by the ski bug. It is a huge investment for us, but worth every penny. Hailey raked in 20 days this season, with Daddy close behind with 17. Mommy got in 15 days and Hanna Mei topped out at 8. We're pretty impressed with ourselves considering we live 2 hours away. Gary said he actually got on the hill more this year than he did the entire time he lived in Vail. There is still snow up in the high country...although our family trips up the hill are over (too much happening on the weekends in April), Hailey and I still might play hookey a day or two and sneak in a couple more days...Shh...don't tell...

Erin Needs...

Erin needs love and support
I am not making this up: This is the actual caption for this picture. I found it by doing a google images search with the words "Erin needs".

This is hilarious. There is a note now going around on Facebook where you go to google and enter your name plus the word "needs". It is worth trying it just to see what comes up in your search. If you need a good laugh try...it's better, and cheaper, than a psychic...
Very telling, I think....
Heres what you do:

Go to Google.com and do a search. Type in your first name and the word "needs" after it. Then copy the top ten things Google says you "need".

I promise I didn't make any of this up! I did filter a bit...

1. Erin needs a drink. (AMEN)

2. Erin needs a miracle. (again I say, AMEN).

3. Erin needs to wear shirts. (I don't get it...maybe shirts that don't have stains on them...or shirts that don't come from Target...hmmm...I have to think about this one.)

4. Erin needs a life. (Sad but true...)

5. Erin needs your prayers. (Ahhhh, how sweet is that...see #2).

6. Erin needs to visit the library. (After my BBC book note on Facebook, apparently I do.)

7. Erin needs advice. (see #3)

8. Erin needs a servant. (Ooooh, Mama like this one....)

9. Erin needs another miracle. (uhem...#5 people).

10. Erin needs a night off. (AMEN Goggle!)

Sadly, some of my needs are reflective of a 1 year old girl named Erin who is awaiting a liver transplant. This is all in fun, but please take a moment to hold #2, #5, and #9 close to your heart. love ya!

Happy Chinese New Year! Year of the Ox!

We had such fun celebrating Chinese New Year. It has become a new tradition for all of us. This year we went to dinner at PF Chang's with the whole family. (We missed U. Pete, though). We decided to combine this celebration with all of the January/February birthdays as well. We were quite a group in the restaurant. The kids were so good and loved all of the Chinese food. They all received the traditional Lai See, lucky red envelopes filled with chocolate coins, lucky candy, chopsticks, and jade bracelets. We also had a celebration at Hanna's school. Her class read books, did crafts, and ate fortune cookies, rice, noodles and mandarin oranges. We also did a lion dance with them. I took some video but it didn't really turn out. I was too busy trying to direct the parade as well. I have to say it was pretty hilarious though. Gung Hay Fat Choy to everyone!!!

Talons Challenge

On January 25, Gary, my dad, and I did the Talons Challenge at Beaver Creek. It's a benefit for the Snowboard Outreach Society (SOS) who makes it possible for kids in Eagle County to learn to ski and snowboard who might not otherwise have the opportunity. But more than that, it is a type of Big Brother/Big Sister organization for these kids who benefit from having a role model.
We skiied 23,000 vertical feet on 13 black and double black diamond runs. Now some people might do this type of skiing all the time so it is no big deal. But I have spent the majority of my "ski time" on the green runs these past few years teaching Hailey and Hanna so I wasn't totally confident I still had it in me. The weather was pretty crappy...visibility was limited and the snow was really wet and heavy. We had a great time though. Lots of laughs at all of our tumbles. We certainly earned the beer at the end of it all. And kudos to my dad...I hope I can still ski like that when I 69...It was a great day!! Also, here's to Gary for doing the whole thing on a board...VW size moguls are hard to navigate for a knuckle-dragger...

Birthday Pics!

Hailey had a fun birthday. I met her at school for lunch with her friends and then returned in the afternoon for cupcake fun. After school we met Eme, Sutton and A. Becca at Starbuck's for a Hot Chocolate Party. It was sooo cold. Then it was off to Macaroni Grill for dinner. Hailey loves, loves, loves, buttered noodles with Parm cheese...so this was her pick. She soaked up all of the attention. Presents were opened back at home...she was shocked with her Wii...so was Daddy...but we had agreed that we would do big birthday parties every other year...so that means big birthday gifts. We love you Hailey. It was a very special day.

Happy Birthday Hailey Magen!

Hailey Magen is 7 years old today. My how time flies. People always told me it would go by so fast and I never believed them. But it seems like yesterday we were in our tiny apartment in New York City bumbling around with a new little girl in our lives. Hailey amazed us then, and still amazes us each and every day. Her smile, her laugh, her love for books and learning...she is a blessing beyond measure...our "Little Miss Magic". We love you Hailey! Have a wonderful day!

New Year...New Look!

Time for changes. My great blog, adoption, christian mom friend does awesome blog work. I would love to know how to do this stuff, but I don't have the time. I've hailed Leslie before and I can't sing her praises loud enough. Thanks so much! I love it!

Happy New Year!

Well, let's hope it is going to last longer than a week, because otherwise I am already in serious trouble.
Suffice it to say that my resolutions for this year must be fulfilled within the first six months of 2009...they involve the words...
High School
Twenty Year
Reunion...
I'll allow you to fill in the blanks of my very long list of what needs to happen between now and the end of June...
Happy 2009 to everyone...

Toy Packaging

Merry Christmas

Oh Holy Night

Mary Kissing the Face of God

And She Skis....

We had so much fun last weekend taking Hanna skiing for the first time. I have to say, I was a bit skeptical. For starters, our little South China Sea princess does not like to wear jackets, or mittens, and has a very difficult time with socks; especially when wearing them with boots. So, donning her ski 'suit' and magic boots off we went to the bunny hill. Regretfully, on day one, I forgot to bring the camera. Her face was absolutely priceless the first time she went sliding down the hill on her skis. She had the biggest grin followed but the sweetest giggles. On the first day it actually only took her about a half an hour to figure out the whole, "pizza stop". I couldn't believe it. We let her call the shots and after about an hour and half she said she was finished. No problem. We went again the next day. Again, there was some trepidation on Mommy's part since it was only 12 degrees. But, Daddy was all about the muscle memory since we won't be back until after Christmas. So bundled as much as could be without experiencing total sensory overload, away we went. She did so well. Aside from the fact that she would burst into tears whenever she fell down, she seemed to like it. She actually told us that she much prefers her skis in "french fries" rather than "pizza". Which translates to "I would rather go fast and have Mommy catch me than actually try to stop." The best part of the whole day was when we were on our way home and from the backseat we hear her say, "I go ski". "Yes sweet girl, you did go ski." "And Mommy/Daddy poud of me! I wuv to ski in the snowing!"
Oh my goodness...melts my heart!