Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow

This morning Alan + Ly awoke to the sound of Alan's cell phone announcing "blizzard conditions" for the DC area. Very excited, Ly rushed to wake her dad and announced her brilliant plan of going to play in the snow at her school. Thus, Alan got their snow clothes from the garage and before you can say jingle bells Ly, Alan, and Ly's dad were decked out in snow gear (complete with snow boots) and ready for a morning of fun. There was so much snow on the ground that it went up to Ly's knees! Ly loved the opportunity to play with her dad (and Alan too) in the snow -- they made snow angels, threw snowballs (one hit her dad in the face and bounced off his head), slid down slides, buried one another, and even tunneled through the snow.







Upon returning from the escapades in the snow, everyone agreed to spend the rest of the day inside - the roads were not cleared very well and businesses had started to close by noon. Once everyone was toasty warm and wearing pjs, we made chocolate covered pretzels, watched some movies, and played lots of cards.





**Some of the pictures are taken by cell phone so please excuse the poor quality**

Wintery Weather Warnings

Last night, Ly + Alan picked up Ly's dad from the airport for his three week extravaganza to visit the Lee family and help with Ly's upcoming surgery. Ly has been busily planning for his trip and created an itinerary that included items such as visiting Philly, seeing Shenandoah National Park, seeing the pandas, and lots of holiday activities. Those plans, however, might need to be changed given the fact that this evening it started to snow...and if one is to believe the weatherman then we are expecting a record breaking 24 inches of continuous snowfall by Sunday morning.

Ly's dad is unable to contain his excitement about the snow - it's the first time he's seen it since he was a kid in Pennsylvania. In fact, he is so excited that he has text messaged everyone (including Ly) photographs of the snow and mentioned the following things on more than one occasion:

1. I told you I would need some snow boots
2. Look, it's still snowing
3. When I was a kid on the farm.....

Here's hoping the weatherman is right -- Ly's dad (and Ly) would be very excited.

Xmas Time in NYC

Last weekend Ly + Alan went up to visit Rich in NYC for the weekend. The weather was icky - it rained a lot and was freezing cold, but that didn't stop Ly from insisting on going to see the various holiday sights around the city. Alan and Rich indulged her holiday desires as long as Ly promised to enjoy an evening of Chinese food and movies. It was a win-win situation for all involved. In addition to seeing the holiday festivities, Ly also got in some shopping on fifth avenue.

Ly + Alan loved seeing Rich before Christmas and hope to get up to NYC again soon.

Virginia Beach

Last weekend Alan surprised Ly with a trip to Virginia Beach. Ly had been talking about going for weeks so needless to say she was quite excited when she discovered the destination of her weekend getaway. Despite the fact that the weather was very stormy, the weekend turned out splendidly. After checking into their luxury hotel suite (complete with an ocean view and private beach), Alan taught Ly how to play backgammon - and she then proceeded to beat him multiple times in a row. It is now her new favorite game.

Besides playing backgammon, Ly + Alan enjoyed some quality seafood, watched a few movies, strolled along the boardwalk, did some shopping, and enjoyed the benefits of an in room jacuzzi. It was a very relaxing getaway and Ly was sad went it came time to go back to go to DC.

La Jolla Cove

Here comes Santa Claus...

One of the highlights of Ly + Alan's Thanksgiving Extravaganza was the family Christmas party. We had our first ever white elephant gift exchange which turned out to be a blast...although perhaps next year we should make sure everyone brings gender generic gifts.

After the gift exchange we had a special visitor -- Santa! He made a special visit from the North Pole just to have everyone sit on his lap and tell him our wish. Ly wished for a visit to see the Pandas in China. Alan, of course wished for medical school acceptance letters. Here's hoping Santa can work his magic!