Professional Pics

Here are some pictures of the kids we recently had a photographer take at Deep Water Bay Beach.  We're really happy with the way they turned out!



Disney!

We were supposed to spend a few days of my mom's visit in Bangkok, but given the flooding taking place there we had to cancel our trip.  Instead we opted for a day trip to Disneyland, which is about an hour from our home. 

We knew about when and where the princesses would be coming out to greet people, so we made that our top priority.  Finley was more excited than I have ever seen her, and when Cinderella, Snow White, Belle and Sleeping Beauty appeared she almost cried tears of joy. She was utterly starstruck and it was so cute to watch.

We were first in line to meet Cinderella....here she is right before getting the green light to approach her favorite princess! 

She smiled so hard her cheeks hurt.  It's beyond cheesy, but it was such a special day for her and we loved seeing her so happy.   

After Cinderella, we made a beeline for Snow White before the lines got too long.

And last, she got to meet Belle and Sleeping Beauty.  Belle even kissed her cheek and hugged her, which is pretty awesome if you're a three-year old girl. 

We spent the rest of the day on rides - the park is designed with young kids in mind, so even Nolan was able to go on most of the park's rides.  It was a great day and we're happy we've done our parental duty and taken the kids to Disneyland. 

Parties

Our friend Nicky recently hosted a party for her husband Simon's birthday.  In typical British fashion, it was a theme party.  The theme?  Wigs.  So in case you were wondering what Dave looks like with a lot of hair, here ya go.  And anytime he was with our friend Shafi, people referred to the two of them as terrorists.  It's a real PC group we roll with.

I opted for a blonde wig.... and ended up looking more like Axel Rose than Pam Anderson.  Sigh.  Here I am with my friends Janey and Emma, both of whom are normally blonde.



Backpacks and Women's Shoes

Each weekday morning as I get Finley ready for school, Nolan insists on wearing our extra kid's backpack.  We walk Finley outside to catch the school bus, and Nolan waves to all the kids and then tries to get on the bus himself.  This kid doesn't have a shy bone in his body.

Outside our building, waiting for the bus.

And when he's not wearing a backpack, he's walking (amazingly well) in Finley's princess high heels.  Daddy is so proud!!! 

Sometimes he goes wild and wears the backpack AND the princess shoes. 

 And sometimes he just goes all out and wears a backpack and pulls Finley's suitcase around the flat while wearing her pink Crocs.  I'm hoping he gets it all out of his system NOW.



Halloween

Although we told Finley should could be whatever she wanted for Halloween, she insisted on being Cinderella again and wearing the same Cinderella costume as last year.  This costume has been worn about 250 (or more?) times since last Halloween, so it's starting to show some wear and tear....but Fin couldn't be persuaded to change her mind.  She's a loyal kid.  Here she is at the American Club Halloween Party.

And here's Top Gun pilot Nolan in the bouncy house.  In spite of his young age, his massive bounces and fearless attitude may have scared a couple of older kids out of the bouncy house.  Seriously, his bounces were so hard core that a three-year old left crying because he was scared.  This kid is trouble.

Our attempt at a family picture.  And my lousy attempt at dressing up....I gave into peer pressure and let my friend Tali put cat ears on me. 

My mom (who prefers to take pictures rather than pose for them) arrived into town on the 30th, so she was able to join me at Finley's school for their Halloween parade.   It was such a nice day!



Junk Trip

The day before our friends Matt and Patty left to go back to the States, we had planned a junk trip....which entails renting a boat for the day with a bunch of friends.  We had about 20 of our pals join us and we went to Sai Kung (a beautiful part of the New Territories of Hong Kong, near the China border) for the day.  We drank, talked, had a motorboat come meet our junk with wakeboards and banana boats so that whomever wanted to could do watersports for a while.  It was a beautiful day and so much fun....we want to do it again as soon as spring rolls around!

Arriving near one of the beaches in Sai Kung, where we dropped anchor, were served lunch and sunbathed for a while while some people did watersports.

We think we hosted a pretty fun party. 

The girls (minus a few).

The guys (following their jump from the second story of the boat into the sea). 

Partying on the boat....it was sort of like a booze cruise. 

Patty and I at the end of the day, as the boat is driving back into the city.  It was so sad to see her go!

October Part 1



Handsome little guy...

Finley and I invited her friend Eloise over to make some princess cupcakes. 

This is Finley at about 10pm.  No idea how she can fall asleep like this! 

Passing time with the iPad. 

Boys are soooooooooo different from girls.  Yes, this is Nolan climbing our windows. 

Playtime at the Manhattan playground before Finley's ballet class. 

Nolan is a DEVIL!!!!  He loves to climb on top of the couch and slide down the back of it.  (Further proof of the differences between boys and girls.) 

But he's awfully cute, so he gets away with it. 

Our friends Matt and Patty are in town visiting from Connecticut this week (yay!), so their first full day we went down to Stanley and made peace signs on the rocks....Chinese people LOVE to make peace signs when posing for photos. 

Matt gave Nolan a quick golf lesson in the American Club's golf cage....so that years from now, when they're father-in-law/son-in-law they can enjoy rounds of golf together. 

We took them to Hutong for an amazing Chinese dinner.  It's on the 28th floor of a building right on the harbor, so we ate while checking out the stunning views.

And then we acted like total dorks and got on the tuk tuk in the foyer of the restaurant. 

October is full of the best weather EVER.....we woke up to a beautiful sunrise this morning. 

Since Finley is on mid-term break from school, we organized a playdate with a few of her friends....if you can read the names they've written, you'll see she's with Nina, Leah and Elizabeth. 

We made and decorated cookies with her friends.... 

And even let the kids make their own pizzas for lunch. 

After that playdate, I feel as though I earned a couple hours of alone time....so here I am, home alone and updating the blog while the kids are off at the playground!

Tokyo

We had a fantastic time in Tokyo last month....the weather was perfect, the kids really enjoyed themselves and it was wonderful to finally see a city I've been wanting to visit for a long time!

Checking out the crazy Japanese fashions in the Harajuku district.

And on to the Meiji Gardens (where the next slew of pictures are from) 

Some seriously huge goldfish. 

The Meiji Shrine (Tokyo's most well-known shrine)

We were able to see a traditional Japanese wedding procession at the Meiji shrine. 

Kind of reminds us of Central Park. 

Shinjuku District

Shinjuku (a crowded, bustling area in Tokyo...though not so much on a Sunday morning)

Shinjuku Goen 

We enjoyed a fantastic traditional ramen lunch at Hakata Ippudo 

Dinner at one of Tokyo's themed-restaurants.....the Ninja Restaurant!  This is Dave and Nolan, right after making it through "Ninja Training Camp". 

Gotta admit, we were surprised when the ninjas served us such delicious sushi.  It was AWESOME. 

And we finished off the night with a visit from the Ninja Magician (apparently, they're a multi-talented group of guys).