This is one of the biggest, if not the biggest Chinese holidays, so the kids had off all week and it was a Hong Kong holiday for Andy Monday through Wednesday. I didn't spend a lot of time learning about the traditions and meanings behind everything that is done...but we got the basics, and over the year I will learn and be an "expert" by next year. The first weekend, Andy was a rock star dad and took the older three kids ice skating. None of them had skated before, and it had been a LONG time since Andy was on skates...but it was a great time for all of them. The skating rink was in a mall, so Abby and Sarah and I met them towards the end of the fun to watch them, then go to lunch in the food court. We got invited to meet our friends whose son wanted to skate for his birthday. So his dad and two sisters also went, and Andy wasn't alone...although he was praying that they did not have his shoe size:)
On that Monday, we had two families come over for lunch. One of those families had four kids and the other had three, so with 12 kids everyone had someone to play with. It was a beautiful day, and we had so much fun that they all ended up staying and ordering pizza for dinner.
The next day Andy took the three olders hiking with our friends whom we went skating. Again, the weather has been gorgeous, and this day was perfect! They were pretty much out most of the day, coming back tired but with lots of stories, bug bites, and laughs. I was just glad to hear they decided to stop when they got to the point that they needed a rope to pull themselves up...you never know how far dads are going to go.
Wednesday was a laid back day at home...well, at least it was at home:) We "slept" in, did a little cleaning, and then Andy took the kids to the park while Sarah took a nap. Then Grace had three friends from school come spend the night. We had a great time playing hide and seek/sardines. They also painted nails, watched a movie with popcorn, and were actually quiet by 11pm. It was great to be able to host Grace's friends...and it was really sweet of them to include the other kids.
Thursday Andy went back to work...but Emma and I met him for lunch and spent a little time getting a couple more things for Josh's birthday. It's times like this that I love the train because I was able to meet him in about 30 minutes...where it would have taken well over an hour because of traffic. The traffic around our neighborhood has been more than the norm because we have the "Wishing Tree" close to us...and people flock to make their wish. I didn't exactly see the tree this year. Andy and Grace and I ran to and around the parking lot. To me, it looked like a local carnival. Lots of New Year decorations, some floats, and a lot of people.
The rest of the week I already shared...Josh's birthday on Friday. On Saturday night, Andy and I actually got a date night to Soho, which is on the Island. It was a great night, going to a familiar restaurant. We rode the travelator...which is an escalator going up the hill on the sidewalk. We actually left to go home relatively "early" around 11:30pm, when things were just picking up. And they say NYC is the city that never sleeps!
We originally thought we would try to get away for Chinese New Year. Everyone does, and there are so many interesting places to go. But we didn't start looking into it until it was too late (November) and by then the options were limited, especially for the prices they wanted. I am so glad we ended up home...it was a wonderful staycation for our family. Really, it was the first time we had been together by ourselves for a whole week since July, because Christmas was spent trying to catch up with everyone. It's funny how God always knows exactly what we need, even before we do!
Picures above show the kids in their Chinese New Year clothes, worn the last day before vacation. There was a big assembly in which Josh's Chinese class did a skit about pulling up a turnip
The hikers stopping for a snack. This picture shows the scenic view...they were overlooking Wu Kai Sha....just beautiful.
sounds like a lot of fun. loved all the pictures
ReplyDelete