The Thanksgiving Day 10 Years Ago in 2001
This day ten years ago, Harrison and I met at Sam’s turkey dinner in San Jose. Can’t believe it’s been a decade. There has been so many happenings between now and then. Most of our friends got married and our life also moved on with more new families and friends. I realized that our slideshow at the wedding was not included in the wedding DVD. There were so many memories there while watching it again today. Each picture has its unique mark and memory before we got married… Andy, do you still remember what you said to Harrison at the night of this picture in the slideshow was taken?! (hehe, you know which one I was referring to.) Sam, remember our failed tiramisu and the very first trip we visited you in NC when we went hiking? Tim,...
G & M Farms, Here We Come Again!
It was such a great experience at G & M Farms last year so when Jean was asking about it, we said, “Yes!” right away. Since it was not a school field trip, we didn’t have the Hayride. But Kyle, Kaitlin, Anders and Arden had a great time in the “corn-box.” Look! Who were buried in the corns?! There was a small area set up with skeletons and ghosts. I remembered Anders was so scared last year. However, this year, he was just trying to make as much noise as possible to wake up the ghost in the coffin. Not to mention about Arden, she didn’t fear even a tiny little bit. Kyle and Anders took the bike rides and used up all their energies. Anders and Arden also got one “big giant” (Anders favorite description) pumpkin...
Happy Hollow with Mike and Jean
Jean and Mike were kind enough to invite us to Happy Hollow for a kid romp fest. Having never been here before with the kids, we were admiring the new rides and facilities that Mike explained was installed after a lengthy two year renovation. The new park boasts an outstanding multi-story rope climbing jungle gym. Their puppet story of the classic “The Frog Prince” had contemporary twist to the story line that was Shrek-like. Both the Prince and Princess became frogs, eschewing materialism and superficial beauty. Anders and Kyle had the most fun in their three rides on the mini roller-coaster. Even Arden joined in on a final roller coaster ride before we head out for lunch at Com Tam Thanh for some Vietnamese rice places. Afterwards, Jean...
Grandma Hung Comes to Visit
Grandma Hung was able to visit for an extended period this time. The stars aligned, she just wrapped up a Fang family Mexico cruise with her mother, and the daily 100 degree weather in Texas helped persuade her to come to California. Unfortunately, the visit was last-minute, so I wasn’t able to get her affordable lodging for our Tahoe trip, and much of the rest of the time, she wasn’t feeling well and we had to cancel trips to more interesting places. So I apologize that the photos are not very lively, but we were able to capture a few moments as she tagged along with the kids in our daily lives and as Anders hit his 4th...
Arden in July 2010
This post is dedicated mostly to her photos and videos as Arden is really coming into her own. She loves my company, unlike Anders at this age. She greets me at the door with a happy shriek and cuddles in my arm contentedly when we watch Blues Clues with her brother. Just a side note, Christine and I share the camera, so it is quite hard to determine who took what photo. As with everything in life, she’s good at some types of shots, and I am with others. Giving credit where credit is due. Summer of 2010 is the happiest in my recent memory. The kids are growing nicely and everything is stable. Unfortunately, I had an incident of shingles, and may have permanent dark spots around my eye.. but hey, as my dad put it. I’m married with kids....
Arden At Library
Anders started going to the library when he was 6 months old because he was really afraid of strangers (怕生) and I hoped that he would become more social by meeting and playing with other kids. Now Arden is also 6 months old and I started taking her along too. She’s the opposite. She was very excited. She smiled at everyone and let anyone to hold her. Anders also played a good brother role. I was worried that Anders would get jealous and fighting for sitting on my laps like what he always did at home. Surprisingly, he was very nice to Arden. He sit on my side and let Arden to be on my lap; he went for the toys and played by himself; he grabbed toys to Arden and “asked” her to play; he ran away by himself when he wanted to play something...