Sedona's Daisy Sister with Cookie

By MAGGIE DING

Fun pictures with Sedona's Daisy Troop after a meeting with Cookie!

Jane, Gracie & Mia

Bone-Marrow Girl

By MAGGIE DING

The girls love dim sum, and here is Miss Maven's routine ...

Digging out the bone marrow from chicken wings, as taught by her A-Ma and A-Gong Ding.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Someone Lost Her First Tooth

By MAGGIE DING

In kindergarten, they had a special journal backpack that Mrs. Strong gave the kids to take home when they lost a tooth to write about it. By the end of the year, Sedona got to take it home -- but not because she lost a tooth. It was a bit sad. Over the months, she would talk about her tooth being wiggly ... when it really wasn't.

Until this year!!

This year, she had hoped and hoped she'd lose it at school so she could get the tooth necklace - and it finally happened for her! When I picked her up at school, wrapped around her neck was her first baby tooth!

Our little girl is getting big!

We Love Daddy Because ...

Sedona:
...even though he sometimes goes on trips, he usually tries to spend time with us.
...even though he works a lot, we knows he is still here with us.

Maven:
...he goes out of town but we know he loves us.
...we know that even though he is gone for two weeks, he is trying to make money.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Mammoth Trip: Day 1

By MAGGIE DING

I started skiing when I was 5 years old, and every year thereafter during my childhood, my family would take ski trips, sometimes with other families. They were always fun trips, and I have fond memories. 

To start giving our girls the same opportunities, Kevin and I decided to see if this could be something that works for our family, as Maven is now 4 1/2 years old and figured to be able to handle learning to ski.

We originally considered going to Colorado because Kevin was going to be in Denver the day after Christmas, but a little research showed that the ski resorts are actually very far from Denver and hotel rooms were quite expensive (running close to a thousand dollars a night). 

That all said, we opted for a semi-local trip to Mammoth with the help of Kevin's sister -- while including my family to celebrate my mom and dad's 40th wedding anniversary! So it turned into a big group fast.

We started by all meeting at my parents' house in Bel Air and driving five hours to the five-bedroom house that we rented so everyone could relax under one roof. 

Our first meal all together: Dings, Changs and Wangs.

The next morning was our first day in the snow, hitting the slopes at Eagle Lodge in Mammoth Lakes ...

Kevin's parents don't ski, but everyone else tried, including Sedona and Maven in their debut attempts. We opted for lessons for them the first day -- quite expensive, in my opinion. (We also had to stock up on helmets and clothes. Who knew this was such an expensive sport? I never paid for it as a child! ha-ha)

Six-hour lessons ran $168 per kid (that is the discounted early bird price), plus another $29 for ski rental. But it was well worth it, because the girls learned the basics on the "Magic Carpet" and slight hill and had fun.

Here's a video from Kevin of them going down the little hill: Sedona navigating the blocks in her way, Maven righting herself after starting out going left ...

Here's a sneak peek at Day 2, when Sedona used the ski pole to learn with me most of the time and Maven enjoyed going freely. It's a video from Mary ...

Trying some Tae Kwon Do

BY MAGGIE DING

Maven trying out some Tae Kwon Do at a birthday party.

Based on form, I don't think she'll be getting a scholarship but it was fun! 

Photos from Summer and Fall 2012

By KEVIN DING

Here are some extra photos I've had sitting on my iPhone from recent months. They didn't make their way into specific blog entries, but I think they're worth sharing. I'll add some captions where necessary for context. Most, though, are just spur-of-the-moment fun ...

 Maven wanted to try A-Ma Alice's reading glasses, and it was a pretty good look!

 Coming up are a series of photos from a beach excursion with Sedona's friends Gracie and Parker ...

 They just had to try on their Halloween costumes in advance.

 Me and Maven at the boba shop, with some added photo effect.

Here they are in Chinese class, where they've been going twice a week for about a year -- and not really learning much, if you ask me (or if I ask them to name all the Chinese words they know and they each come up with ... two words).

Greatest Video Hits from Summer and Fall 2012

By KEVIN DING

Here is a collection of videos from my iPhone over the summer and fall months. A lot of good stuff in here of some tennis progress, Sedona's tremendous spelling determination and the sisters dancing, singing or playing together, perfectly capped by Maven's giggling at the end of the "I Went to a Chinese Restaurant" clip.

Sky Zone Trampoline Fun

BY MAGGIE DING

Just some holiday fun at Sky Zone, it is an endless sea of trampolines, all connected to form one massive trampoline surface. 

It is quite a work out and the girls get sweaty and crazy! 

Sedona's Turkey Day

BY MAGGIE DING

Celebrating Turkey Day at Sedona's school with her seat partner, Camilla at Hermosa View