South of the Equator

The Lohses headed to the southern hemisphere to escape Chinese New Year this year.  We had a fabulous time in Australia...so much so that we thought about changing our names and not coming back.  The fabulous food, scenery, pristine air, and anonymity were just what we needed before we embarked upon our third year in China.

And in case you were wondering, Eric took care of communicating with the Aussies for us.  He officially speaks 4 languages now, American, Chinese, British, and Australian.  ;O)

Click to see more pictures from our trip

Happy Easter from the Lohses!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have been blessed in so many ways. Thanks Grandpa Dar and Grandma De for the fantastic week!

Happy Halloween

Happy Easter

Sorry I am a little late getting these up. We had a nice little family Easter. Church was a bit of a disaster (hundreds of people, 2 kids under 3, standing (yes we were late...no seat) for 1.5 hours through church), but it was nice to be able to go as a family all dressed up. Eric kinda gets it...knows it is an important Jesus day, but hard to explain much more than that. The easter bunny did make an appearance and brought some eggs filled with jelly beans. We had fun dying eggs, but unfortunatley, no one likes them but Pokey (and even she could only eat so many).

Hope everyone had a wonderful day with their families.

Our best attempt at a family picture ;O)

Mommy and her favorite Pia

Post-Sugar Crazies


Mine...all of it is MINE!

The perfectionist at work

Merry Christmas

We had a great first Christmas at our own home. It was nice to not have to travel, but we did really miss our families.

Even though Eric still would not sit on Santa's lap, he was very much into him this year. Santa called every night on his "shampoo phone" during tubby time to see if Eric had been a good boy. Unfortunately, as much as we thought Santa would be a motivator for good behavior, he seemed to have the opposite effect. However, after calling Santa a few times to tell him to give his toys to another little boy, Eric ceased hitting Pia and Santa decided to come afterall.

For Sophia, this was the year of the wrapping paper and she loved it! We look forward to next year...the year of the boxes. ;O)

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Eric sprinkling Reindeer dust so they knew how to get to our house

Christmas morning seeing what Santa left him

It's Starting to Look alot like Christmas!

Ringing the bell for Salvation Army

Decorating Cookies

Pia's First Visit with Santa...he really is a scary guy! ;O)


As close as Eric would get...an improvement over last year!

Happy Halloween

We decided to head back East to Boston for Halloween this year. We had a blast hanging out with our Chucktown friends and the kids were so much fun. Eric's obsession with Star Wars took over this year...it even rubbed off on Owen who decided to be an Ewok. Apparently, Star Wars is making a comeback because we saw quite a few R2D2s, Darth Vaders, Yodas, and Storm Troopers. But no one nearly as cute as our little Princess Pia. ;O) Happy Halloween! Pia during the "pre-party"

The boys trying to negotiate a strategy for sharing the M&Ms

Eric, Audrey, Owen, and Pia

Seriously, does it get any cuter?

Eric's halo is a little crooked

Must not have been p-nut butter cups

Post trick-or-treating, pre sugar high