The Stucki's: February 2012

Women's Conference Hong Kong ... Feb 23-25, 2012

There is a women's conference every year in Hong Kong for the LDS women that live in Asia. I flew down there with my friends Vanessa, Kathleen and Alison. We laughed our guts out at dinner at Outback Steakhouse, then had a fabulous weekend at the conference. I shared a room with Kristen Gustafson and Vanessa and Alison shared a room in the same hotel. We were close to the church and were able to easily walk back and forth. Unfortunately poor Alison got really sick and barely made it to any of the workshops. Kristen soon followed suit and barely made it home! For those of us that stayed healthy, we learned so much from the conference that was focused on the temple. And we were able to attend a session at the Hong Kong Temple. We had a great weekend overall and I feel very blessed to be in a branch with so many amazing ladies!

Ryan's School Work ... February 16, 2012

I took pictures of some of Ryan's art work that his teacher put up at school.

This is a picture Ryan drew of himself in a boat that he rode in while we were in Hawaii. The blue is for the water, but also it is the only color he will use in his artwork! He always has a blue crayon, blue pencil or blue marker in his hand!

I love this one! It says, "This is me and this is my Daddy. Look we are sooo tall and we're happy".

Sophie Stacking ... Feb 14, 2012

I guess Sophie can stack things now... this was the first time I had ever seen her do it. These are the yogurts that Ryan and Sophie inhale many of each day. The yogurt here in China is very runny, but they sell it with straws, so the kids put the straw through the lid and drink it. I love it because it is much less messy and I don't have to sit and feed it to Sophie.

Also... could Sophie's cheeks be any chubbier???!!!??? So much to squeeze and kiss!

Valentines Day ... Feb 14, 2012

We didn't go all out this year, but we did have (slightly) pink, heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast, and heart-shaped pizza for dinner.

Laura comes to visit ... Feb 4, 2012

We were so lucky to get a visit from our good friend, Laura Birnbaum. Mary Clarke and I were great friends with Laura in Budapest, and have kept in touch and had many visits in Chicago, Wisconsin and Louisville since then. Laura came to visit Mary and I for a week and we had a FABULOUS time shopping and eating and exploring Shanghai. I don't know why this is the only picture I could find of this visit, but this is Laura with Katie, Ashley, Ryan and Liam and Aidan Clarke at People's Park in Shanghai.

Quotes to Remember

We were in Munich and just checking into our Hotel and both the girls needed to go to the bathroom. We all ran upstairs to our rooms and they both bolted into the bathroom. They began to fight over which one was going to use the toilet first. They argue for a few seconds when Katie shouts, "Mom, which one of us do you want to pee their pants?!" (May, 2009)
We were driving home from church last week and I said something like, "We are going to buy a Toyota Sequoia". Suddenly from the back we hear our 4 year old, Ashley, pipe up ... "You killed my Father...Prepare to Die!"...somehow she confused "Toyota Sequoia" with "Inigo Montoya" from the Princess Bride! (May, 2009)
Ashley and I were playing a card game when she says to me, "pause the game, I have to go to the bathroom". This is when I realized the technology gap between my childhood and hers.
I asked Ashley what country she was born in (she was born in Canada). She told me that she couldn't remember, so I tried to give her a hint. I said, "you were born in Cannnn...". To which she immediately exclaimed in triumph..."CANDYLAND!!"
Katie woke us up this morning telling us we needed to get up. Heather told her that her head hurt and she wasn't going to get up yet. Katie responds, "But you don't WALK on your head, so get up!"