Monday, June 2, 2008

I've had my new toy for a little over a week now...



I even took a "Master Barista" course, which was a 5 hour training that also certifies me to work in Australia as a barista. I have no intention of doing that, but I wanted to learn a bit more about how to make decent coffee at home. It's been a lot of fun so far, but I'm definitely still learning.

This weekend, Sue taught Emily how to use the touchpad mouse on the laptop. Once Emily figured it out, she absolutely loved playing the games on the Nick Jr website. She played game after game after game :-)

Friday, May 30, 2008

Day at the Wiggles

A couple of weeks ago, we took the kids to another Wiggles Concert. They had a really good time, as you can see...

Ethan Dancing:



Emily Dancing:



"Wake-up Jeff"

Before the Wiggles Concert

Here's a nice picture of Ethan before we went to the Wiggles Concert:

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Mother's Day Presents

On the morning of Mother's Day, I told Emily this was a special day that we try to do nice things for mommy. Then, I asked her what nice things she wanted to do. She said she wanted to make Mom a crab out of play-dough. As usual, it was lots of fun.




More Pictures

I found several pictures on Sue's computer that I didn't have on flickr yet. I've uploaded them now, so there are so new ones if you haven't checked in a while. You can see them all here, but here's a few of my favorites:







Monday, May 12, 2008

Mother's Day Humor

I stole these from another blog entry I read today. Fortunately, Mom didn't use/say any of these, but it's still some fun for Mother's Day. I've bolded a few of my favorites :-)

(Happy Mother's Day, Mom -- I love you!)

---------------------------------------------------------------

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL .
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
" Because I said so, that's why."

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.
"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."


6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

7. My mother taught me IRONY.
"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."


9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"


# 10 Edited by Chris...
10. My mother (father) taught me about STAMINA.
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is (of those onion rings are) gone."
Love you Dad! :-)

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER .
"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
"Stop acting like your father!"

15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
"Just wait until we get home."

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING.
"You are going to get it when you get home!"

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way."

19. My mother taught me ESP.
"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

20. My mother taught me HUMOR.
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."


21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
"You're just like your father."

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
"Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

Note from Chris... Now, I do :-)
24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."


25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE.
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!"

Monday, March 31, 2008

Going to The Wiggles

So far, we've taken the kids to two different big shows: The Wiggles and Nemo on Ice. In the last month, Emily has told us several times "I want to go to a show again!". So, Sue worked hard trying to find a good show/event for the kids, but we weren't able to find anything decent.

Until now! As a proud member of The Wiggles Fan Club, I was one of the first to hear about the upcoming tour to Melbourne and Sydney in May. We called as soon as the tickets were made available (9AM) and the lines were jammed. Then we tried buying tickets online, and on first couple times, it said the seats were no longer available (about 9:05 AM). We quickly tried a few other show times and seat options, and got lucky -- We've got tickets!

Even though Emily has somewhat outgrown the Wiggles, she's so excited to be going to another show. Ethan will absolutely love it, we're sure!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Emily's School and Artwork

Emily started preschool (called "3 Year Old Kinder" here) in mid-February. She only goes for 2-3 hours, twice a week, but it's been a great experience for her so far.

Originally, we were worried she wouldn't adjust very well, but she has really liked going to school. On her days off, she still asks if she can go to school that day. It's so nice hearing her tell us stories what her and "all my friends" do at school. It's particularly nice, since her main social group is Sue's mother's group and their kids, which are all children Ethan's age. Being the oldest in the group, she's used to being the boss, but she's done very well with kids her age too.

Here is the artwork that she brought home last week:





Thursday, March 20, 2008

Emily sings "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

Emily Starting Dance Classes


IMG_1391, originally uploaded by Chris Melinn.

I can't believe how fast Emily seems to be growing up. Sue just enrolled her in dance classes last week. The first visit, Emily was supposed to just watch and see if it was something she might like, but she ran out there and did everything they were doing.

She absolutely loved the whole thing and kept asking us to go back. We had to tell her that she goes back on "Wednesday". So, everyday since then, she tells us "I go to dance on Wedndesday!".

Fortunately, Wednesday came along, and she got to go again... Here she is in her new outfit.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Fun at KidsZone

Here's a few pictures from our trip to KidsZone last week:





Visit to Cebu

I haven't posted much since my trip to Cebu a few week ago. It was a short trip over a business week, so I didn't get to see much as a tourist. Hopefully, I'll be able to take my family next time and stay a bit longer.

View of the office from my hotel room:



Dinner with some of the team and their wives/family:



Most of the dev & qa team:

Friday, February 8, 2008

Chinese New Year

We went to a local event to celebrate the Chinese New Year. They had lots of free activities for the kids, so they had a great time.





Ethan's Shoes

Becky, I had to post this one for you -- in your weblog, you had the post about Bryson wearing your shoes, so here's one with Ethan in Sue's house shoes :-)




Smiling for her picture

Just a short clip where I'm filming, but Emily thinks I'm about to take her picture:

Monday, January 28, 2008

Goggles


Goggles, originally uploaded by Chris Melinn.

Computer Games

Emily loves playing games on the computer. Watch how much fun they are having playing Pingu!



Here is a picture from the same:

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Australian Open - Day 7

I went to the Australian Open on Sunday (Day 7). We got ground passes and watched several of the matches outside. Here's a picture with some of the Melbourne skyline in the background:


(The match is the Bryan brothers playing their 3rd round match)

Learning the Alphabet

We started practicing the Alphabet with Emily again:



At the end of the song, I love how Ethan claps for his sister!

Emily Painting Fireworks

Last Thursday, Emily painted this picture:


I asked her what she drew, and she said "fireworks".

Looks good to me!

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Ethan's Turkey Dance

Sue's father bought a singing & dancing Christmas turkey for the kids last year. It's crazy how much they love this thing. Emily and Ethan both love singing and dancing with it:



I started singing Jingle Bells to Emily a couple times, and she always tells me "that's turkey song!".

Sarah's First Day of Work

Last month, Sarah had a work trial day at our dentist's office. She's too young to start officially, but she seems to have lined up a job for later this year. Here's a picture of her before her first day:


She'll work a few days this week, too, while on school holidays.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Lots of Pictures

I'm trying to catch up on loading all of my pictures to Flickr before I start posting again.

Click here to see what I have so far.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Fun in the Sandbox

Here are some pictures of the kids playing in the sandbox in our backyard. You can see the whole set here.






Emily's Artwork

Here Emily is showing off some of her artwork that she made last month:

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Werribee Zoo - Rhythm of Africa

This Sunday, we took the family to the Werribee Open Range Zoo and met some friends for the Rhythm of Africa night there. We had a great time, and we'll surely go back again. It was especially nice since we were able to go without charge as part of our Friends of the Zoo membership.

Some of my favorite pictures are below, but you can see the whole set here.






New Year's Resolution

This year, part of my New Year's resolution is to create a family weblog and keep it updated regularly.

This one's for you, Mom! :-)