Happy New Year!! Welcome 2010!!!

Happy New Year to all of our family and friends.

New Year's Eve is pretty quiet at the Hing house. Patrick was alseep at 9:30 and Allyson and Ron and battling it out on the Wii now. I thought ROn would be the one asleep before midnight, but it looks like I may win the award this year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2009 was a very good year.
Allyson experienced an amazing trip to Italy. She has had the best school year of her life this year. And she is really turning into a young lady that I am so proud of. We certainly butt heads a lot since she is exactly like me, but I look at her and can't believe what a great kid I was blessed with.
Patrick is growing up so fast. This year has been so much fun. It seems like overnight he lost tha baby face and tunred into our little parrot. He's such a sweet boy.

Christmas 2009

What a great Christmas this year. We had a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner...excellent work, Ron! We learned that Mark knows words we never heard of and could just be the next Boggle champion of the world and that Patrick worships the ground he walks on. **Mark, if you're reading this, Patrick is STILL asking for you. "Where's Mark?" "Go to Grandma Hing's house and see Mark?" "I play with Mark." You are one popular uncle.**
The kids had a great visit with everyone. It was so nice to have all of us together.
Sticking with tradition, we had to wake the kids up again on Christmas morning. Patrick loved his Home Depot workshop that Santa left him, and Ally was very happy with all of her loot. Especially the Dippin Dots maker. (Can't wait to try that one out)
After a waffle breakfast (thank you, Becky) we headed to Kathy's. What a great time we had. Wonderful dinner...lots of presents....and a lot of fun at our Christmas After Party. (that's the party for the adults when the kids are off playing in the basement)
The weekend was over so fast. I can't believe it's almost the New Year already. Time to take down all the decorations and start prepping for Ally's birthday party for all her friends.

First Snow of 2009

Well we certainly got a real taste of snow this weekend. Anyone who knows me (Mary) at all knows hoe much a love snow. (please tell me you can hear the sarcasm) I do not like the snow at all. It's pretty to look at...fun to play in...and if I never had to leave the house until it was completely melted, I'd love it. But unfortunately, that's not the case. So even as I sit here typing this in my nice warm living room, I am secretly battling the panic attack that is setting in about heading out to work in the morning. My hope is that school is closed.
Well, enough about me and my snow demons...the kids are having a blast in this weather. Patrick and Ally went out Saturday for a little while during the storm. Mostly we all stayed in and stayed warm. Making sugar cookies and watching movies. But today was when they were really ready for some fun. Patrick didn't last as long as we thought he would. Once his glove fell off and his hand hit the snow, he was done. Allyson, however, has been out with her friends since early afternoon. We know she's doing ok because she stopped home for a quick clothes change since she was soaking wet.
We hope everyone is staying warm and enjoying what you can. As long as this is it for a while, we'll be happy. Let's just get through the next week without anymore storms. And everyone, please keep your fingers crossed that school is closed tomorrow...my mental health depends on it.

Father/Daughter Dance

Tonight was the Father/Daughter dance, and keeping with tradition, it is snowing. Ron and Ally are sure to be dancing as I type. Hoping they're having fun!

Hibatchi Night

To celebrate Allyson's Student of the Month award, she wanted to go out for Hibatchi last night.
We can't count the number of times we've seen the "show"...even Patrick is an old pro. But with age comes entertainment....Patrick was hysterical! He just kept saying "Oh yea" as he watched the different chefs cook at other tables. He loved the zucchini they threw at him. He just about caught it, and ate every piece he could get his hands on. He insisted on having chop sticks and to our surprise, he used them for just about his whole meal. And he stayed true to the "Hing Men" tradition when reaching across the table with them to get food off Daddy's plate. (Who knew he was such a fan of bean sprouts!)
And not to focus all the blog time on Patrick....Allyson was surprisingly open to trying things this time and loved my fried rice. (No...she has never had fried rice)
And I have never seen her eat every morsel of the soup and salad.
Good times for the Hing Family!

WAY TO GO ALLY!!!

We are soooooo proud of Allyson who was named Student of the Month at school!!! She has improved so much this year and we are so glad they recognized her improvements with this honor!

Visit with Santa

Lsat night we took the kids to see Santa. We like to go right before Thanksgiving to avoid the Christmas rush. Patrick was pacing back and forth waiting for Daddy to get home so we could go. He was so excited to tell Santa that he wanted presents. We got to the mall...not one person on line for Santa....patrick gets about 3 feet from Santa and stopped. He wanted no part of sitting on his lap, but was happy to talk to him from a distance. Allyson was a trooper and got him to sit on her lap next to Santa instead.
'Tis the season!

Allyson's Confirmation

Wednesday was Allyson's Confirmation. Although the ceremony was a little long, it was really nice. The Bishop was really funny (just told too many stories) and the all the kids looked great.
She did a great job and should be proud of herself. We are! All 14 of us had a great dinner afterwards and the night ended around 8:30. Not bad at all.
Pop Pop insisted that Patrick wear a matching outfit so they would be twins. So below is a pic of the two George's, our family shot at Church, and Ally with Kathy (her Godmother and Sponsor)

Congrats to Ally!

Congratulations to Allyson who made the JV basketball team! This is the first time she's ever had to try out for a team and we are so proud of her. She worked hard during the 2-day tryouts. So now the season begins....

Happy Halloween!

Well we had a very fun Halloween this year. Bittany was able to sleep over so she could be Ally's Trick or Treating partner. We decided to include her in the theme and made her a spider web. Patrick did a great job saying "Trick or Treat" and "thank you;" although he did ask for more candy at the first house. So the woman just kept filling up his bag. We hit a few houses before it started raining, so Pat stayed home with me an Ron took the girls for more.
Being a Saturday i thought we'd have a ton of kids, but there really weren't many. (which isn't good bc I bought enough candy for an army)
Here are some pics of our evening...

Pumpkin Fun!

Tonight we carved and painted our pumpkins. Ally opted to paint hers this year and Ron got the hardest pattern in the book for his. Patrick LOVED painting his pumpkin. (And thank God for the awesome paint smock I bought...not a drop on his clothes.) Enjoy the pics!
I also included a pic of Ally and her friend Aubrey from the Halloween party they went to last weekend...

Apple Picking

Well we got lucky today and through a little bit of drizzle, we were able to check apple picking off the to-do list. We wanted to get Granny Smith's...whcih noone around us has. So we went to battleview in Manalapan. They had 2 trees left which was just enough. And in honor of Ally's trip, we filled up the rest of the bucket with Rome apples.
A good time was had by all, although it only lasted about a half hour. Patrick was exhausted so we headed home.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!

Happy Birthday to the best Daddy and husband on Earth! We love you! Happy "old day"!

Happy Anniversary

25 years ago today was the best day in my life. Oh wait...it's only 3 years. LOL In the best way possible, it feels like 25 years. Ron and I can't believe it's only been 3 years. It just feels like we have always been together.
So let's try this again.....3 years ago today was one of the best days of my life (next to the birth of the kids, of course) To be married to your best friend is truly a blessing. Not that I'm a very religious person, but someone was looking out for us....someone (besides Dr. Neil) brought us together. It still (and I know always will) amazes me that two people could be so right for each other, and I'm thankful everyday for the gift I received.

To my wonderful husband who is a faithful reader of the blog....
Happy Anniversary. I love you more then words can say. Thank you for being the person that you are. Thank you for being the best husband on Earth. Thank you for being the most amazing father. Thank you for making my life complete and healing my heart. You are my best friend. I love you. Here's to the next 25 years....

SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After 4 months of planning, Ron's surprise party was a success! He was actually surprised. Although quite a few people didn't show up, Ron was happily surprised to see some old friends from the neighborhood. Seeing his face when he saw them was worth all the hard work.
Allyson and Patrick were able to join the festivities for a little while and then went home with Pop Pop and Grandma. (which Mommy and Daddy quite enjoyed)
It was great time seeing old friends and making new ones. And I couldn't have been happier that Ron enjoyed himself so much. That was my goal all along.

Pics will be up soon....there's quite a few.

First Day of School!

Today was Ally's first day of 6th grade!! She had a good day. Her class size has doubled, so we're hoping that doesn't become an issue, but for now, she's happy. As I do every year...I made her pose for her first day picture. I think she's starting to hate it. (Wait until I come to her dorm Senior year of college!)

Labor Day Weekend

Well it was a busy, but fun, Labor Day weekend. Starting off Saturday with Ally's dentist appointment. No cavitites again! YAY!!! Then heading to Grandma Hing's to see Debbie, Mark, Denise, and her parents. It was so nice seeing everyone. Wish we could see them more often.
Sunday we took the kids to the Philadelphia Zoo. It was so crowded that we only stayed for a little while (thankfully we are members and can go whenever we want). But we got all the rides in and that's what counts.
And yesterday we enjoyed the day at Monmouth Racetrack with Mark, Denise, and her parents. Although Ron only won $2.40 on one race, (we would have been $14 winners had he bet on my horse!) we still had a nice day. The weather was great and sitting in the picnic area was perfect for Patrick to be able to run free. He also made friends with a couple of older ladies in our section. (working his charm, of course)
So now summer is over and school starts tomorrow. Back to regular crazy routine again.

Rain + Mud + EWF and Chicago = GOOD TIMES!

Friday night Ron and I braved the weather and went to the Arts Center to see Earth, Wind, and Fire and Chicago. Although the lawn had become a mud pit and there about 25 people on it....we had so much fun. Then it started raining. We busted out the ponchos and kept singing and dancing. The show was so much fun and we are so glad we didn't skip it over a little bit of rain. Here's a couple of pics...one of my feet planted in the mud (they really were stuck in there) and one of the 2 of us...

SOme more pics from the day...

BEACH DAY!!!

Well, with only a few weeks left of summer, we FINALLY made it to the beach yesterday. Brittany was able to come with us so Ally had someone to hang out with. So we headed to Bradley Beach to avoid the whole boardwalk games and rides meltdowns.
Patrick had fun. He LOVED the sand! So much so, that he ate it most of the day. (Big change from last year when he didn't want it on him at all) He was afraid of the water at first, but he got over that fast and loved being in the ocean with Daddy. (Yes, I actually went all the way in, too) Ally and Brit had a great time. They spent most of the day in the water...and then built sandcastles. It was perfect weather and the water was warm. Couldn't have had it any better.

Peggy's Birthday Dinner

Today we heading to Grandma and Pop's to celebrate Peggy's birthday with an early dinner. We had a good time hanging out, and Patrick put on a good show as always.