Holiday camping

我们和两家大学好友一同去了山区的公园里露营，三家大大小小带着锅碗瓢盆，汽灯炉灶，桌椅被褥和做好的各种美食，就象搬了一次家，住进了最原始的小木屋。没有电，没有暖气，完完全全过了几天逍遥自在的原始人的生活。白天孩子们奔跑在旷野之中，大人们沿着湖边攀爬在怪石之间，享受大自然的日月精华，晚上，点燃篝火，烤羊肉串儿，烤棉花糖，烤玉米，烤红薯，孩子们玩游戏，大人们打牌，都玩儿得乐不思蜀。　夜晚，木屋里很冷，我们都钻在睡袋里，从头到脚，一点都不敢露在外面，真正体会到了冬日里风餐露宿的意境。安娜玩儿得很开心，一点也不闹， 大家都很喜欢她。 　

We went camping in a county park with our two old classmates’ families. We brought all the cookware, stoves, propane lights, chairs and most importantly, the delicious food. We stayed in the cabins with no electricity and heating. During the day, kids were playing in the wild and we hiked around the lake. At night, we lit up the camp fire roasting lamb, marshmallows, corn, and sweet potatoes. It was so freezing cold at night that we had to cover our bodies in layers when sleeping. Anna had a lot of fun and everybody likes her very much.

Merry Christmas!

圣诞节快乐！今天一大早， 随着一声“麻瑞酷瑞丝摩丝”， 安娜和姐姐就跑进了我们的房间，也顾不得梳头洗脸就跑到楼下开圣诞礼物了。 最让我们感动的礼物是安娜的老师亲手给她织的小鱼帽子和一本书。

Early this morning, we heard "Merry Christmas !" and then Anna and Leah ran into our room. They grabbed some clothes to put on and went downstairs to open presents. The most touching present is a fish hat and a book hand made by Anna's teacher.

Deck the house in Christmas light

这一个星期我们一直在房子上挂圣诞灯，安娜每天晚上看到家里灯火辉煌， 都高兴得手舞足蹈。 我们的房子确实漂亮，尤其是在繁星闪烁的夜晚。安娜最近在学写字,全家人的名字都会写了。

We have been decorating our house with Christmas lights over the last week. Anna is very excited to see the beautiful lights at night. She is also leaning to write recently and now she can write all our names.

Yay, my brother got into CalTech

今天我们全家都高兴万分，哥哥收到了加州理工大学的提前录取通知书，我们都知道得到这所著名的大学的提前录取有多么竞争，多么不容易。 祝贺你，儿子，我们为你感到骄傲！今天晚上我们全家怀着喜庆的心情，去了海边的餐馆庆祝一番。
We are so happy today that David got accepted by Cal Tech from his application for early action. We all know how competitive it is to get into this prestigious school . Congratulations, son! We are so proud of you. We celebrated this happy event at the "Crab Catcher" in La Jolla tonight.

Decorating the Christmas tree

今天我们终于找到时间把圣诞树拿了出来，并装饰好了。这是安娜第一次亲自装饰圣诞树。当她看见把树一点点搭起来，装上灯，高兴极了。 看见那么多的各种各样的挂件，更是高兴，看着她专心致志地把一个个装饰物挂 在树上，真是让人享受。希望她慢慢会明白圣诞节是怎么回事儿。Today we decorated the Christmas tree. Anna was very excited when we put up the tree together and liked hanging up the ornaments. This is her first time setting up the Christmas tree and I hope she will understand better as the years come.