Sabrina is simply the perfect girl. Kind, smart, perceptive, sassy, tough, and dainty are the words that come to mind when describing her personality. This picture was taken on a visit to Asilomar. She insisted on wearing platform sandals with pink jewel decorations (not shown) that were completely inappropriate for the visit because we'd be scrambling around on the rocks and tidal pools. Sabrina somehow made it work. I forgot to throw in the last word that describes her--beautiful. The word that describes me? Wrapped. As in 'wrapped' around her little finger...
Looking a little like a pink pinata (how do you get the little squiggly line above the 'n'?) as she descends from her climb at John Bryan State Park. Sabrina loves doing all sorts of high adventure stuff as long as she is color-coordinated when doing it.
Rock climbing at John Bryan State Park, Ohio Summer 2004
After a triumphant gymnastics meet, Ohio May 2004
Sabrina is also a terrific athlete. Besides gymnastics, she loves running, soccer, tennis, and baseball. Here she is celebrating a successful meet with three of her biggest fans--Michelle was taking the picture.
This is Sabrina as she prepares to swallow her second worm at the annual family worm eating contest...haha. Actually this was taken when we went fishing in Utah with Grandma and Grandpa West, Marc and Sheena and family, and Chris and Tammy. Despite some initial squeemishness, Sabrina soon mastered the art of worm handling and could thereafter bait her own hook. Good kid.
Grossed out while fishing with the family in Utah, August 2004
With mom on the Alpine Slide in Park City, Utah August 2004
Here are Sabrina and Michelle as they prepare to launch themselves down the mountain on the Alpine Slide in Park City, Utah. Sabrina definitely inherited mom's love of roller-coaster-like rides. Steven and I could hear them laughing and screaming together all the way down the hill. This was another great day for the Smith Family.
When you look at pictures of Sabrina and Michelle and my mom as little girls, you are immediately struck by how much they look like each other. Sabrina and Grandma Cheli are especially kindred spirits and are virtually inseparable when they're together. They have the same type A personalities counter-balanced perfectly with friendliness and care for others. Pretty Cool.
Stuck to Grandma Cheli as always, June 2005
Beautiful day, beautiful city, beautiful girl, San Francisco, Nov 2005
The caption for this photo already says it all.
In-between the all-too-frequent mother-daughter spats, it is still possible to catch glimpses of the love these two have for each other. I wonder what Sabrina will say when she sees I chose this picture to put on her web page...she's kind of touchy about mushy pictures.
Eskimos, Maoris, and Smiths, Shanghai February 2006
World travellers in a world class city, Shanghai February 2006
Another mushy Sabrina picture. One of the benefits to our family of travelling and moving often is the close relationship between Steven and Sabrina. They really are each other's best friends--they've had to be. As a parent, it makes me feel good to see our kids genuinely like each other. Don't get me wrong--there are still plenty of fights (typically Sabrina-provoked), but most of the time these two just enjoy each other's company. They hugged each other spontaneously for this photo--I didn't pose them.
If you've been to Steven's page, you already know how much attention the kids attract when they're out on the streets. Sabrina usually gets more comments than Steven when we go out and she's kind of fed up with the phenomenon. The day we went to Yu Yuan however, Sabrina didn't help her cause any when she insisted on wearing this princess crown (she bought at the bazaar) all the way home. It's unusual to see western kids here. It's even more unusual to see them walking down back streets wearing traditional Chinese headgear.
Princess Sabrina of the Qing Dynasty, Our Shanghai apartment, February 2006
