Snowmageddon

I. Love. Snow.

However, I think I'd be pretty disenchanted with it had I been living back home in DC.  Then again, a week off with Sean & the kids...sounds pretty nice.  Unless you don't have electricity and suffer from cabin fever and Sean & the kids start driving you crazy.  Thank goodness we live down here.  ;o)

Just kidding.

We did get to experience the white stuff last weekend and our snow-loving pooch was in heaven.  The roads were still a mess but I'm sure waaaaaaaaaay better than a week prior.  Case in point, almost missing our hair appointment because streets of Bethesda were being plowed so entire streets were blocked off due to snow removal...because there is so much of the white stuff there is also nowhere to put it.  So, the whole weekend I saw dump trucks from WV & NC that apparently were contracted to haul the snow away.

While in Bethesda...Kaia accomplished her goal of this past year.  Donating her hair.  Donations required at least 10 inches of hair.  She donated 14 and wanted to go longer...but A-yi and I were a little concerned what if she freaked having such short hair.  Danggit...we actually could've gone shorter. Anyhoo...

Before:

From The Lee-Espiritu Fam

After:

From The Lee-Espiritu Fam

Oh yeah...A-yi & I also jumped on the bandwagon...with 12 inches & 10 inches respectively (my stylist didn't want to go shorter):

From The Lee-Espiritu Fam

Pardon the fact that I look a wee bit sleepy or boracha (en espanol...look it up).  I promise it's just a bad photo.


The Lee Ladies donated 36 inches of hair. 

Also...some snow fun:

This little cutie stayed inside and tried on her V-day gift from the kids (although a certain overprotective uncle REALLY did not approve...at least it was a one piece!!):

Mohawka

Hi Mohawka,

We love the nickname that Dey-dey gave you.  She's such a silly big sister/cousin, isn't she?  We'll see you very soon to celebrated your dad's 30th birthday.  Until then, take care of your parents and grandmother!  Can't wait to play with you...most likely in the snow!

Love,
Dey-dey, Guo-guo, Yi-jeung, & I-ma

P.S.
Do you like this pic of you inspecting Yi-jeung's haircut?  Is it SAT?  I hope it passed your inspection.

P.P.S.

Baby Girl...we're so sorry we didn't come up.  This snow storm's got us worried that our drive home isn't going to be a safe one.  Save up your energy for next weekend though...we're gonna party until our hair stands on end....wait a minute...

LOVE YOU!

One year ago...

A year ago today we were apparently in DC at my mom's. Notice the adult supervision of our children. My brother J is asleep with Pablo the Monkey (courtesy of Jaron) and Sean is also asleep with Cupcake the dog (courtesy of Kaia). At least I know the guys were well-taken care of...by my kids. ;o)

Thank goodness my children aren't pyromaniacs or have many destructive tendencies.

The Fam

Family. No matter what life gives you...family is always the constant. Family...not just relatives, but family. Being related does not always mean you are family...because so many of our friends are our family. Family...ones that love & support us unconditionally.

This core group that Sean refers to as "The Fam" is a constant reminder of just how blessed our lives are. We cannot even begin to imagine our lives without these individuals...our group isn't whole when we are missing one. Our lives are more enriched, loved, and happier because of The Fam. For that, we thank you.

On the train in Strasburg, PA...part of Kim's 30th birthday celebration weekend.

In Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, MD after piercing Talia's ears.

Giving

My daughter has a very giving heart. In fact, the last time Po-po, Talia, & A-yi were here Kaia tried to give A-yi the Father's Day card she had made for Ba-ba...except it was that, she made it FOR SEAN. She knew how much Kim liked the card and wanted to give it to her.

We had a pretty good laugh about...although I wouldn't be laughing if Kaia tried to give away my mother's day card...I really love that card.

Still...the innocence of children can warm your heart, make you giggle, or do both.

I'm glad my kids' innocence does both.

Ta-daaaaaaaaaaaa...Talia!

So much for posting about Jaron's birthday...shoot, even Kaia's birthday LAST YEAR. I'll try to get that up sometime. We're so far behind.

But...in bigger news...

OUR BABY WAS FINALLY BORN!

Talia Mei Shih made her debut almost two weeks ago!! We barely made it up there for said debut!! Thankfully, after lots of scrambling and anxiety...we got there! You can read the short of it here.

Anyhoooooo...Talia Mei Shih: 5lbs, 11oz. and 19 inches long....and absolutely gorgeous and SUCH A GOOD BABY!!! We are so missing ourselves some Talia right now and can't wait for the weekend to come so we can see Our Baby again. I've been sick since her birth (kept myself away from her homecoming) and Jaron's sick too. We'll be all good for this weekend where I intend on doing some night duty and get some bonding time in with Our Baby. Maybe if Mom takes care of the kids, Sean can join me...so he can be on poop duty...HAHAHAHAHA. ;o) The doting uncle did volunteer to do diaper duty whenever we see her anyway! What a awesome uncle!!!

Kim & J are, as expected, fantastic parents. Kim was amazing during the birthing process. She was awesome! J was a excellent coach. Mom provided much entertainment...particularly taking hits on the oxygen mask...funny lady!

The kids are dying to see their little cousin/sister. Thank you, Talia...you have now made being away from DC even HARDER!!! It's been easier for me to be away from home, but increasingly harder for the kiddies. Now, they have Talia here and something's screaming at me that leaving DC on our weekend trips are going to be H-A-R-D!

Without further ado...Talia Mei Shih:

LIAR!!!!!!!!!!

Po-po & kiddies about to eat homemade coconut birthday cake.

So, I lied. Well, not really...but I did...unintentionally since I abhor lying (as well as liars). Is that a strong word? I guess everyone lies, but I think everyone who knows me...really knows me, knows I'm very honest...sometimes TOO HONEST...;o)

Anyhoo...what was my lie? That I didn't take pics from our last weekend in DC (in reference to my previous post). I did. I was so sick that I didn't even remember until I pulled out my camera and lo & behold...PHOTOS!!!! Shoot...I even forgot that we went to DC to walk around before gorging ourselves at Texas de Brazil.

Kim was SOOOOOOOOOOO sick (this cold was really, really brutal and only the Lee Sisters got it). Poor thing missed an entire week of work and is still not 100%. I'm still not 100%...so I can't imagine how long it'll take for her to get over this completely!! She was still trying to be superwoman during this time...and not resting enough!!! My sister is probably my favorite person to nag....because she's so darn hard-headed. ;o) Good thing that gene skipped over me...tee hee hee. LOVE YOU, SISTEE!

Anyhoooo...we're heading up to DC this weekend to celebrate J-Ron's birthday early. His actual birthday is a wee bit close to Kim's due date/Talia's birth date. So, no biggie...two celebrations means more cake! ;o)

Kiddies, Talia (in utero), & A-yi...pre-plague.

Kiddies & their real parents & sibling-to-be...Uncle J, A-yi, & Talia.

Kim & J let us borrow their kids...how generous. ;o)

Sean might have made a "big" joke...I can't remember...but I'm sure Talia is giving her cute uncle a big kick right now for saying whatever he did!

Plague

The plague that is Tanya has managed to infect her poor, poor PREGNANT sister!!! What a good big sister I am! SORRY SISTEE!!!!!!!!!!!! This cold is a whopper too...definitely the sickest I've been this year.

Yeah, I can't even remember how many times I've been ill since the beginning of January. Definitely more than 6 times now. I cannot wait for the weather to be warmer and school to be out!!! ;o) Hil reminded me that I've been sick more than I've been healthy. Great.

We spent the weekend up in DC celebrating family birthdays. Po-po turned 59 and we got to eat (even though I didn't have much of an appetite...you know I'm sick if I don't have an appetite) at Texas de Brazil...a carnivore lovers paradise...SOOOOOOOOOO YUMMY!!!! I also made a yummy coconut cake for my coconut-loving nutty mom!

We also celebrated the 1st birthday of our nephew Aidan!! He's more of a tank than Jaron was and is so super yummy! He's such a little charmer and just so adorable!! We got him a bomber jacket from the base and Sean attached patches of jets & subs on it that will hopefully remind him of us! Papa & Mama Yuan made some maaaaaaaaaad good food...as usual!! Our cutie niece Lina was also there and is equally as delicious as her first cousin! It's so nice to live closer to home and be able to spend time with family! Sean keeps saying that it's nice to drive 3.5-4 hours rather than the 12 hours from FL...not that he drove it too often. Anyway...good to see our family and celebrate our nephew's milestone! Hopefully, I did not infect anyone there!!

No photos this time...too sick! Wah, wah, wah.

The biggest shout-out this weekend...my hubby. He did EVERYTHING this weekend so all I had to do was take care of myself (which I normally complain he should do, but I was so sick that I wanted no one around to catch my plague). This man did all the packing up (the car, that is), took care of the kids...canine & human, drove, ev-er-y-thing!!!! He was so awesome. PLUS...Kaia was still getting better so she was still having crazy nightmares...esp. our first night in DC...where Sean slept with the kids all weekend and I was in my little cave. Poor guy. Really...he busted his sweet little tookus off this weekend and never complained or showed he was even bothered by it.

My hubby...I'm really lucky.

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

We're heading off to Disney tomorrow with The Fam. Actually, J will be flying into Orlando on Friday and Sean will be meeting us in Orlando Saturday afternoon. We had a slight scare that he wouldn't be down at all since he's the big man in charge for a long period because he's the weapons DH. Boooooooo. Anyhoo...it's Kaia's 5th birthday Saturday and just wanted to make sure we were together as a family. So yeah, tomorrow we pick up Mom & Kim from the airport in Jax w/the poochies, drive to Plant City and drop them off with the trainer, and then head off to Shades of Green (the military resort @ Disney).

Meanwhile, I've been siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick. I somehow managed to stay in bed almost the entire day yesterday...without Sean home. Yes, with the kids home. They were really good. We're so lucky to have good kids. The last time I've been so sick was with the flu back in February and before that it was with the flu in 2000. Wait a minute...is this the flu???? Nah, it's not...but it's pretty durn bad. Anyway...enough whining.

Gotta pack and plan for my baby gurl's 5th birthday celebration with our Besties!!

The Fam & High School Musical...Sorry, this one's a LONG one!

Ahhhhhhhh...another week done. Last week, the camp was on vacation because of the abbreviated week. That left us with no camp and no daddy. *sigh* It's all good since the three of us were sick and getting ready for The Fam (Sean's collective title for Mom, Kim, & Jason) to come down to FL to visit. I had the attempted abduction stuff to keep my mind off of Sean's departure.

We had a great weekend with The Fam. As usual, they took FABULOUS care of us and we loved spending time with them. Even though our weekend was jammed pack, it was still relaxing. After dinner at Burrito Gallery in downtown JAX, we watched the fireworks in downtown Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island. The weather was FABULOUS and, more importantly, NO BUGS (I sound like my hubby now)!!!

Kaia getting beads from a pirate (pirate history is rich in Fernandina)

Jaron having his pirate experience since he was a bit scared the first go-around.

"Sword fighting" with glow sticks.

They weren't DC fireworks, but they were nice.

We also hit up Savannah, GA and Silver Springs, FL. On Monday, Kaia decided to stay home from camp (which actually was a pretty difficult decision for her given that she loves camp AND that it was High School Musical week). When they left, on Tuesday...it was pretty rough on them. Kaia was crying on and off the whole morning before school (we went to the airport at 5am). Sean didn't get any tears from them!!! I guess that's a good thing because I'd rather it be like nothing for them when Sean goes out to sea rather than it being heartbreaking everytime. Anyhoo, as usual, it was hard to see them leave. They are some of the biggest blessings in our lives...that's for darn sure!

Savannah, GA was great...in between the THUNDERSTORMS! Yup...as soon as we got there, the skies opened up and laid a can of whoop a$$ on Savannah. It was still beautiful...and yummy there!

After our DELICIOUS buffet at The Pirate's House...one definite thing I'll miss about the South...FRIED CHICKEN!

Po-po & A-yi taking pictures of the local pirate.

Our family seems to love buying our kids these ginormous lollipops wherever we go!

Sometimes, I'm not sure if our kids remember that WE are their parents. ;o)

Silver Springs, FL is near Ocala, FL. None of that means anything to me either. ;o) We visited Silver Springs and luckily narrowly missed a thunderstorm! We toured the natural springs of the park (where movies/shows such as Tarzan, Seaquest, parts of The Crocodile Hunter, etc. were filmed). The cloudy day worked in favor for us giving us respite from this lovely FL heat. Oh yeah, we did pass Jumbolair. It's a neighborhood of AVIATION ESTATES. Yes, every house has it's own hangar. John Travolta has an estate here. Craziness.

1 of 3 Glass Bottom boat tours that tour the springs.

I'm not going to lie, 80 ft. high and who knows how old this bad boy was...I almost needed a diaper and a vomit-catcher.
The Fam Minus 1 standing inside the Horseshoe Palm Tree...5 years good luck if you pose in the middle.

So, this week was High School Musical...one of Kaia's favorite movies that she still hasn't watched in its entirety. ;o) She had a blast!!! Enrollment was tripled this week...so there were LOTS of new faces and LOTS of older kids. She told me how all these big kids like picking her up and calling her cute. The teachers told me how she's Miss Popular and also that the older kids all adore her. I kid you not, it took an extra 10 minutes to leave because all these big kids were all hugging, kissing, and loving on her! It was really great to see. They were all telling me all cute she is and was a sweet girl she is. They even started loving on Jaron too...who got all super shy and clung to my thigh. Kaia told me how the older girls want to be her mom while they are at camp. How cute is that? Anyway, I'm really proud of her (does it show) and she's totally excelling. We're really blessed to have these two boogers.

I know, it's really hard to spot Kaia...heh heh heh.

Kaia and one of her "moms" Justine.

"Ice" (apparently that's his nickname) and the lead of the show & Ms. Thang. Daddy might not be too happy with this shot (as with the other shot of her & Jordan during Hip Hop week).

Kaia & her Groupies. L to R: Christine, Kaia, Rachel, Megan, Justine, & Ice.

The Groupies/"Mommies+Daddy" saying goodbye again...I think we were actually holding up the rest of their performance.

Seriously, how cute is this??

Of course, I wouldn't leave you without video clips. You can always catch more on our YouTube.

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