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April 08, 2012
April 07, 2012
Return to Pixieland!
April 02, 2012
A few pics from Feb and Mar
January 22, 2012
Busy Year
December 13, 2011
Long time, no pics
October 31, 2011
Dooby dooby doo-wah, Happy Halloween!
August 27, 2011
Back to School and More
More pics from my iPhone since end of July.
We went to a Wiggles concert, but posed in front of a Yo Gabba Gabba cut-out. Deron took his siblings to their first day of school. Jaden caught a frog in our pool. And Deron keeps doing Vanna White in downtown Pleasanton.
/d
We went to a Wiggles concert, but posed in front of a Yo Gabba Gabba cut-out. Deron took his siblings to their first day of school. Jaden caught a frog in our pool. And Deron keeps doing Vanna White in downtown Pleasanton.
/d
August 01, 2011
Super Surprised!
My beautiful wife Cindy spun several months of lies which I continued to fall for. How could I have believed that reciprocal country club privileges for kids' tennis lessons was more plausible than a surprise party?
Thank you all very much for your friendship, support and birthday wishes. Super thanks to Tim for sharing the great photos above!
I am so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends -- and especially Cindy!
/d
Thank you all very much for your friendship, support and birthday wishes. Super thanks to Tim for sharing the great photos above!
I am so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends -- and especially Cindy!
/d
July 23, 2011
Pixieland - Funder Twin
Not sure which came first, but Pixieland is exactly the same as Funderland.
I forgot we've been to Funderland twice!
Funderland 2008 and Funderland 2007
And I guess Pixieland doesn't have a log ride.
/d
June 19, 2011
Banzai! Swimming with the Soongs.
Today our friends the Soongs came to our home for a BBQ and pool party. Uncle Ken tossed kids into the air, and everyone learned to cannonball. So glad they ventured out with the new twins. We matched 5x5 today.
Happy Fathers' Day!
/d
Happy Fathers' Day!
/d
June 18, 2011
Discovery beneath Golden Gate
Today we went to the Bay Area Discovery Museum for the first time. It's right by the Golden Gate bridge.
Thank you Al, Angel and Sammy for inviting us, hosting us and feeding us all day!
/d
Thank you Al, Angel and Sammy for inviting us, hosting us and feeding us all day!
/d
June 16, 2011
Congratulations Jenny and Allen!
Beautiful day in Berkeley. And great job to our ring bearer and flower girl!
Congratulations Jenny! I still remember holding you when you were a baby, so I think I got a glimpse of what it will feel like when Natalie gets married. ;-)
With love,
/d
Congratulations Jenny! I still remember holding you when you were a baby, so I think I got a glimpse of what it will feel like when Natalie gets married. ;-)
With love,
/d
June 03, 2011
Field trip!
April 17, 2011
Finally, more photos...
Sorry it's taken so long to get stuff off my cameras.
Can you tell which photos are from my phone and which are from my SLR?
/d
Can you tell which photos are from my phone and which are from my SLR?
/d
October 11, 2010
More photos from iPhone
September 03, 2010
I looked like Jaden?
Sometimes Jaden looks like the little boy on the left.
Thank you Annie for finding and sharing this photo! (You are so cute! -- I bet it was over 90 degrees when this picture was taken. ;-)
/d
August 21, 2010
Catching up on photos
I hadn't used my Nikon in so long, I had to reset the date/clock. :-(
But here are photos from the past few months. We moved from Saint Francis to Vineyard Heights. We spent a weekend at Monterey Bay Aquarium and Oakland Zoo. And I snapped a few pics today at Jaden's Kidz Love Soccer practice.
Hope you're having a great summer!
/d
July 24, 2010
More pics from my iPhone
March 25, 2010
More pics from my iPhone
I need to take more photos with my nice camera, and get some more video clips online. Meanwhile, it's easier for lazy me to post more photos from my iPhone.
Thx
/d
January 16, 2010
Happy New Year!
November 24, 2009
Saturday Brunch
A few weeks ago we had brunch at the Village Bistro in Santana Row with some very young aunties.
Thank you Auntie Emmeline for sharing the photos from your camera!
/d
Thank you Auntie Emmeline for sharing the photos from your camera!
/d
November 15, 2009
2 megapixels barely good enough to share?
Pics from my iPhone look ok for email and Tweets. How about here?
If you don't follow my Twitpics, then here's the last few months copied to Flickr.
/d
If you don't follow my Twitpics, then here's the last few months copied to Flickr.
/d
November 11, 2009
Deron's Baptism
Deron was baptized at St. Justin's on November 1. Thank you Joan and Steve!
And thanks to Uncle Tony for taking photos!
/d
September 07, 2009
Gilroy Gardens
Some pics from Gilroy Gardens with Ishani.
Uncle Sheth brought a nicer camera, so hope to see his photos soon.
/d
Uncle Sheth brought a nicer camera, so hope to see his photos soon.
/d
September 04, 2009
Non-Occasion Lookback
I post photos every birthday and Halloween, and it's an amazing reminder to see how the kids have grown. Well, I saw the kids sitting at their table in the backyard, and it reminded me of a picture I took just last year when their feet didn't even touch the ground.
[LEFT: May 2008] [RIGHT: September 2009]
<Insert time-sure-flies comment here.>
/d
August 13, 2009
Hello Sleepy-head!
Awake for a bit.
Doing what he does best.
Looks like Natalie has been here.
When is it our turn to sleep like this?
/d
August 09, 2009
Happy 4th Nallie!
Another year already. Our little girl is all grown up! Ok, she's just 4. But see how much she's changed. Happy birthday! You're still my lil sweetheart.
/d
Welcome home Deron!
All dressed up and no place to go? For Natalie's 4th birthday, we brought home a baby brother -- Deron Ting-Kang Fan. We now have three Leos in the family. (roar!)
/d
August 08, 2009
More pictures from hospital
August 07, 2009
Hi Grandpa and Grandma!
August 06, 2009
Three is enough
Welcome Baby Boy Fan! We're all so happy to see you.
[Arrived 4:58p, 7 lbs 6 oz, 20 inches]
/d
Natalie the ballerina
Natalie is so excited about ballet class, except when it's time to dance. "It's ok though, everyone is nervous at first." (says Natalie)
/d
July 29, 2009
Happy Bday to Me!
July 04, 2009
Jaden's Year in Pictures
March 28, 2009
Snakes On A Party
Tyler had some amazing animal friends come to his birthday party. Click the photo to see snakes, turtles, dragons and more.
Happy birthday Tyler!
/d
March 17, 2009
We know kung-fu!
After three lessons, we got our white belts with a little ceremony in front of the whole school. This means we are now qualified to pay karate tuition.
Kee-ya!
/d
March 09, 2009
Chilly day for fishies
Made another trip to the aquarium in Monterey Bay.
Click the photo for a few pictures (all indoors!). Brrrr.
/d
February 28, 2009
Congratulations Corinna and Chris!
December 29, 2008
Merry Christmas!
Click the photo for a slideshow of holiday photos.
Includes the kids at their school Christmas program, our backyard Christmas card photo shoot, and some Christmas morning joy. Don't miss the last photo of some Earth-bending and Water-bending action!
Merry Christmas!
/d
December 18, 2008
Happy Halloween, Yee-haw!
Every Halloween makes me think how fast the kids are growing up. This is Jaden's 5th Halloween costume!
Click here to see all prior years.
Click here (or the photo) for a slideshow of this year's wrangler cow-kids. (Thanks Uncle Tim!)
/d
September 30, 2008
Humuhumunukunukuapua'a
A few weeks ago we were on Oahu and Maui for a Fan family vacation. (my family, my brother and his family, and our parents) This was the first time we've ever all vacationed together, and it was a great time!
On Oahu, we went to the beach every day. Our favorite was Ala Moana. On Maui, we went to the pool every day and stayed at the Grand Wailea.
Click on the photo for a big slideshow on Flickr.
Aloha!
/d
August 25, 2008
First Day of School
Jaden and Natalie started pre-school this week. Last week they had a full dress rehearsal to get acquainted with their classrooms and teachers. Click the photo to see more from last week.
/d
August 14, 2008
Happy 3rd Nallie!
My oh my, how time flies. Lil Miss Natalie is now 3!
Remember when...
Well now you can click the photo of her blowing candles to see her 3rd birthday.
Happy birthday sweetheart!
/d
July 26, 2008
37 Down
Today we had a big family get together for my birthday at Vero ristorante italiano, with my entire immediate family flying up from SoCal.Also had a great brunch (and surprise bday cake!) at the Suh's, where our kids went to town on Matthew's toys. (Thank you Matthew!)
Love you all.
/d
July 13, 2008
Congratulations Uncle Al and Auntie Angel!
July 08, 2008
Happy 4th of July!
The fireworks show at Santa Clara Central Park is really good. We went there two years ago too. Jaden and Natalie were so small then! This year they paid attention through the entire show.Click the photo for a slideshow on Flickr.
Happy Independence Day America!
/d
July 02, 2008
Legoland!
Our kids loved Legoland. They are still talking about it. Nice and warm and sunny. We stayed across the street at the Grand Pacific Palisades and enjoyed some great meals at King's Fish House. Tony took hundreds of photos. Day 2 was only $1 extra.Day 1 (6/14)
Day 2 (6/15)
Happy birthday Cathy!
/d
May 27, 2008
Return to Funderland
Last year we went to Funderland, and the kids have been eager to return again. So for Memorial Weekend, we made the trek to Elk Grove.Click the photo for a slideshow on Flickr.
Thank you Kaitlyn for hosting us! We enjoyed the make-over and movies too.
/d
May 20, 2008
BBQ in backyard
Every weekend is fun with kids! ;-)Uncle Tim took great photos of all the little ones in our backyard BBQ last Saturday. Click here to see his slideshow.
Thanks for coming!
/d
May 16, 2008
Picnic at the Museum
Last weekend, the beautiful weather invited us to picnic outside the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose. We were there for both the opening of the Alice in Wonderland exhibit as well as the national Yo-Yo competition.Click the photo for a slideshow at Flickr.
/d
May 03, 2008
Play-Doh in May
Beautiful day today. Kids played in our backyard.Click the photo for a slideshow.
Happy May!
/d
May 02, 2008
Tony takes better photos
Uncle Tony has been doing a better job taking photos than I have. Check out the kids in April.
April 20: Backyard Bubbles
April 12: Happy Hollow
And lots more in his photostream...
Thanks Uncle Tony!
/d
March 25, 2008
Pump It Up Party
Last weekend we went to a birthday party at Pump It Up Jr in Sunnyvale. Click the photo for a slideshow at Flickr.Happy Birthday Tyler!
/d
March 02, 2008
Game of my life
Last year's playoffs were incredible to attend, but tonight was, well, UNBELIEVABLE. For our 5th anniversary, Cindy surprised me with courtside seats! And not just any courtside seats, but the ones belonging to the Warriors owner right on the half court line. I felt like I could see what the players were seeing and thinking.
I'll never forget this anniversary: VIP entrance, fancy buffet, our names on the jumbo-tron, Biedrins signing my ticket in the parking lot... Warriors got the win too, in a great game against Portland and Brandon Roy.
Click the photo for a slideshow on Flickr.
Thank you Cindy! I love you!
/d
February 16, 2008
Nice day for Monterey Bay
Beautiful weather today -- off to Monterey Bay. But first a ride in Jaden's birthday gift from Uncle Tony.
Click the photo for a slideshow at Flickr.
/d
February 15, 2008
Happy Hollow
Last month Jaden and Natalie had a great time at a birthday party in Happy Hollow Park. Click the photo for a slideshow on Flickr.
Happy birthday Timmy and Tasha!
/d
January 25, 2008
Jaden's 4th Birthday
On New Years Day, Jaden turned 4 and we had some cake. The following weekend, we had a pirate party to celebrate with other little mateys.
Click the photo to see a slideshow at Flickr.
Happy Birthday big boy!
/d
January 15, 2008
Xmas in Pajamas
Cindy roasted prime rib for Xmas day, and we had our 2nd annual Xmas in pajamas at our house. Click the photo for a slideshow.
/d
December 21, 2007
Happy Holidays!
Click the photo to see more from November.
Laurence Fishburne opened the door for us at the La Brea Tar Pits, but we were too embarrassed to bother his family for a photo.
/d
November 13, 2007
Costume Memories
The kids really enjoyed wearing their costumes this year. Here they are trying on old costumes. (or click the photo)
My how time flies...
/d
October 31, 2007
Happy Halloween!
Jaden and Natalie have talked about their costumes for over a month -- knight and princess. They expect me to be a dragon and mommy to be a donkey. (Have you seen Shrek? We have. A lot.)
Tonight we're going trick-or-treat for the first time. Earlier we stopped by our annual halloween parade which draws 1000 visitors to our neighborhood. (See last year.) We also went to the San Jose Pumpkin in the Park a few weeks ago.
Click the photo above for a slideshow.
/d
October 13, 2007
Yahoo! Disneyworld
My team now includes folks in Orlando, so I made a hastily planned trip on Yahoo! business. Upside was I brought the whole family for a last-minute vacation, and we spent the weekend at Walt Disney World.
Click the photo above for a slideshow on Flickr.
/d
September 15, 2007
Play park and toes
On Saturday, we went to Rivermark in Santa Clara -- where Cindy met up with her nail spa hopper friends, and the kids and I had lunch and played at the play park.
Click the photo for a slideshow at Flickr.
/d
September 03, 2007
Aquarium
On Friday we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We've been a few times before, and the kids seemed to remember it. The new otters exhibit is open, and they had young (not big) great white sharks too.
Click the photo for a slideshow on Flickr. (Caution: Slideshow begins with Cindy capturing our roadside pitstop.)
/d
August 11, 2007
Funder. Funder. Funderland Ho!
We're in Sacramento this weekend, hanging out in Elk Grove with Kaitlyn and friends. Before the big party we had fun at Funderland!
Click the photo for a slideshow.
Perhaps there will be more photos from this weekend. The party's just about to begin.
/d
August 09, 2007
Happy Birthday Nattie!
For Natalie's 2nd birthday we had a party at Pump-It-Up Junior in Sunnyvale. The kids had a lot of fun as the inflatables were tailored for 2 to 4 year olds (as opposed to the giant bouncers and slides at the regular Pump-It-Up party zone next door).
In the afternoon, we had party part deux for family and neighbors at our home (with another bouncer ;-)
Lastly, there are a few photos when we cut the cake tonight on her actual birthday. Click the photo above for a slideshow at Flickr.
Our baby's not a baby any more. *sigh* Happy birthday sweetheart!
/d
August 05, 2007
Happy Birthday to Me!
On my birthday (a week or so ago), Cindy and I took the day off and went to Burke Williams Day Spa and saw The Simpsons Movie. Later that weekend, we had dinner and cake with family.
Click the photo to see a slideshow at Flickr.
Yes, I was caught wearing a tshirt I'd never worn before. It was a gift!!
/d
July 31, 2007
Legendary Luau Brothers!
We all dressed up for Diana's luau party a couple weekends ago. Mommy had second thoughts about the mu-mu.
/d
July 29, 2007
Camp Yahoo!
Yahoo! parties just keep getting better. This year's company picnic was at the San Mateo Expo Center, and the theme was speed racing. Click the photo to see a slideshow on Flickr.
/d
July 28, 2007
Happy Birthday Christian!
Jaden and Natalie had lots of fun at Christian's one-year birthday party at Osage Station Park.
Click the photo of Jaden to see a slideshow on Flickr.
By the way, you can view any photo set on Flickr as a slideshow by clicking "View as Slideshow" -- usually on the top right above the photos or thumbnails.
Happy Birthday Christian!
/d
July 22, 2007
New Camera in July
We have a new digital SLR camera - Nikon D40X. I'm still getting familiar with it, but it's funny that some things don't change -- the shoulder strap that came with it is exactly the same as the one on my Nikon 4004s which I bought in 1990.
Click the photo above to see a lot more at Flickr.
/d
June 17, 2007
Cousin Gavin - Professional Photographer
On Friday we had dinner at Ken's with his parents, cousin Gavin and girlfriend Judy. Gavin happens to be a professional photographer and really really enjoys it. Check out his web site gavinphotgraphy.com.
He took some fabulous pictures -- for the family rate of steak, booze and jibes. He and Judy are also good poker players, as we found out the next evening. I guess the steak wasn't payment enough, so they had to take the money another way.
Click the photo above to see more at Flickr.
Thanks Gavin!
/d
June 10, 2007
Magic Kingdom Finale
We considered cutting our vacation short, but Natalie woke up in good spirits, and so we had a fun (tiring) day. Disneyland still delivers on being quite a happy place on Earth.
Click the photo to see the fun and wonder on our kids' faces.
/d
Day 2 at Disney
Day 2 was supposed to be a day of resting and relaxing. But after breakfast with Goofy and some Downtown Disney shopping, tragedy struck. Within minutes of returning to our Disneyland Hotel room, Daddy let Natalie fall off the bed, and she hit her head. Badly. While Aunt Cathy took Jaden swimming, Mommy and Daddy took Natalie to UCI Medical Center where everyone shed many tears but only Nattie ended up with six stitches on her forehead. :-(
Click the photo above to see photos of the happier parts of the day.
/d
June 05, 2007
California Adventure
Uncle Marcus joined us for day 1 of our Disney vacation. It was the first time any of us had been to California Adventure. I would have been disappointed with this theme park for ourselves, but there was more than enough to entertain Jaden and Natalie. Even mommy was happy to have been able to join a character lunch with all the princesses to sign the "kid's" autograph books.
Click the photo above to see more at Flickr.
I'd better get some sleep. We don't have strollers, and you can't take the rental ones out of the park.
/d
May 28, 2007
Happy Memorial Day
We went over the hill to Santa Cruz for Memorial Day -- got there early to avoid the crowds. It was a nice little California State Park called Natural Bridges State Beach. Thanks to the Soongs for organizing and feeding us.
Click the photo above to see more at Flickr.
Happy Memorial Day!
/d
May 22, 2007
Kids in Spring
April 21, 2007
Congratulations Tony and Nhi
Uncle Tony got married! Click the photo to see more of Jaden in a tuxedo. Too bad we didn't get any good photos of J-Dizzle on the dance floor. He didn't want to come off.
/d
April 07, 2007
Happy Easter!
After Easter service, we went to an Easter Egg Hunt at Natasha and Timmy's home. (Thanks Diana and Leo!)
Jaden and Natalie had a lot of fun. Jaden also learned to "doink!" (Thanks again Leo.)
Click the photo above to see more at Flickr.
Happy Easter!
/d
March 31, 2007
The Perfect Morning
Jaden struck up this conversation with me when he woke up this morning.
J: Daddy, there's no school today?
D: No Jaden. No school today.
J: Daddy, we going to grandpa's house today?
D: Yes Jaden. We're going to grandpa's house for a party today.
J: Hmmm... that's perfect.
Click the photo above to see our past few weekends.
/d
March 25, 2007
Meeting Warriors
A few weeks ago, Cindy and I attended a party at Oakland Arena with GSW players and other season ticket holders. You can't really tell, but all the players leaned or stooped a bit when posing for photos with us.
Click the photo above to see more at Flickr.
/d
March 16, 2007
Fun Packed Weekend
Last weekend we took advantage of the great weather and no real plans. On Saturday we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and on Sunday we went the opposite direction to the San Francisco Zoo with dinner at the new Cliff House. On Monday, we actually had plans to take the day off to see The Wiggles in concert and saw Sam the new yellow Wiggle.
Click the photo above to see our weekend on Flickr.
/d
February 17, 2007
Happy CNY!
Year of the boar! (Ok, I'm a pig and turning 36.) We went to SoCal this weekend to celebrate with my family. Cindy brought some fun clothes for Jaden and Natalie to wear. Jaden is pretty fluent with "gong shi fah tsai," and Natalie was a natural for her turn to bai-bai. They are both also good at:
- Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
- Rock-a-bye Your Bear
- Look Both Ways
- Slippery Fish (Thanks Auntie Jenny!)
Click the photo above to see more at Flickr.
Happy Chinese New Year!
/d
January 08, 2007
Xmas and Bday Pics by starnie
starnie took some great photos for us on Christmas Day and Jaden's birthday party.
Click the links or photos above to check them out.
Thanks again starnie!
/d
January 06, 2007
Jaden's New Camera
For Christmas, Jaden got a Fisher Price camera. It's quite indestructable, although the photo quality seems lacking. At least he enjoys it and doesn't fight for our cameras now.
Click the photo to see shots by Jaden at Flickr.
/d
January 02, 2007
Happy Birthday Jaden!
Jaden brought cupcakes to celebrate his birthday with his classroom today. Click the Bday King photo to see more at Flickr.
We had a family party for him on Saturday. I think we have some photos I can upload later.
On his actual birthday (New Years Day), we played with Ethan at Chuck E Cheese.
It's been a busy fun-filled birthday week! Happy 3rd birthday Jaden!
Love,
/daddy
December 28, 2006
Merry Christmas!
We had Cindy's traditional Christmas Eve at her aunt's home in San Jose. But we started a new tradition this year by hosting Christmas Day at our home. The kids opened lots of presents (thank you!), and we feasted on turkey, ham and all the trimmings.
Click the photo above to see more at Flickr.
Merry Christmas!
/d
December 14, 2006
What's this Photostream thingy?
Many of you are familiar with the <photo sets> that I link to on Flickr. But sometimes I upload photos to Flickr without a Set, and you can browse those in my Photostream. As Flickr describes it, "Your photostream is a history of everything you have ever uploaded in Flickr."
You can click the photo of Jaden above to see photos in the photostream you may not have seen before. When you get there, there will be thumbnails on the right that let you go forward and back in the photostream, or you can click the Photostream title to see a fuller view.
/d
November 23, 2006
Back from Mexico
Cindy's parents took us and the kids to fabulous Riu Palace in Cabo San Lucas. We ate too much, baked in the 90+ degree November sun, and generally had a blast -- especially Jaden. Estamos de vacaciones para 4 noches y llegamos a nuestra casa esta lunes.
Click the photo above to see more at Flickr.
Buenos dias!
/d
October 31, 2006
Happy Halloween
Over 1000 people came to our neighborhood again for our annual Halloween parade. This year Natalie was a lady bug and Jaden was a dragon (aka blue crocodile).
Click the photo above to see more at Flickr. (Thank you Ken & Sylvia for taking pictures!)
/d
October 11, 2006
My Niece Kristin
Isn't she adorable?
I was so excited to see her this past
weekend when we went down to SoCal.
I can't wait to see her again!
/d
September 03, 2006
Final Shanghai Photos
Final photos from Shanghai - Set 5 of 5.
I finally uploaded the last photos from our final days in Shanghai. We had a nice meal at the Hyatt (I think), where the main lobby was on the 56th (or 54th) floor of the tallest building in Shanghai. (I already can't remember the details from our trip. Was it that long ago already? We also went to a gigantic museum of science.
Natalie had just started sitting up and rolling in Shanghai, and now she's taking steps all by herself. Time changes quickly with little ones.
Wishing everyone well.
/d
August 26, 2006
Natalie's Birthday Party
On Sunday, August 13th, we threw a big party at Oak Meadows Park in Los Gatos for Natalie's first birthday -- and she had over 120 guests wish her a happy birthday. There were a lot of gifts to take home.
We had a big jumper with a connected slide, and lots of rubber balls and water spray bottles for the kids. The park also has many playgrounds, a carousel and a real steam engine train to ride. Even Barney came to visit on a beautiful 90 degree day. (+10 more degrees for Barney)
Food was catered and served by Hukilau.
Click here or the photo above to see more at Flickr.
And click here to see some great photos that Lu took with his camera. (Thanks Lu!!)
"Thank you for coming to my party!" /Nattie
August 18, 2006
Radio Flyer 2.0
This cool wagon has flip open seats so both kids can enjoy a comfortable ride with cup holders. Funny that they still sell the classic metal one with removable wood sides. Who'd want that now?
I didn't create a set, but you can click the photo above to see more at Flickr. You should be able to see the other wagon pictures in the stream, or look for more pictures I uploaded on August 18.
Regards,
/d
August 03, 2006
Camp Yahoo!
Our company picnic was this past Sunday at Blackberry Farms. As usual, Yahoo! threw another great party. I had more fun this year because it wasn't as hot, Jaden could do more, and the food even seemed tastier.
Click the photo above to see Jaden enjoying his ice cream cone and more.
Thanks Yahoo!
/d
July 30, 2006
Family Photos in July
Click on the photos above to see some pics from this July, including Natalie on the Mickey bus (safety first Natalie!) and a few taken by Jaden too (say "cheese" mommy!).
/d
July 29, 2006
Vrooom!
Thanks to a friend who works downtown (Firsthand Funds), we had a great vantage over the San Jose Grand Prix.
We live about 5 miles from downtown and can hear the cars from inside our house. So at street level it was REALLY LOUD.
Click the photo above for more at Flickr.
Thanks Mike!
/d
July 04, 2006
Happy Independence Day!
Happy birthday America! I don't think our USA was founded just yet, but at least our nation's intentions were declared 230 years ago. That doesn't seem like such a long time given I just posted a picture last month of us lugging our stroller over a little bridge that's older than that. Even I've been around over 15% of our nation's entire existence.
Jaden loves to say "fie ya woks", and he loves to see them even more. We went to Santa Clara Central Park and kept the ground warm a few hours before the show. There was a KFC nearby, and it turns out Jaden likes fried chicken too.
The show was almost 20 minutes and kept Natalie's attention for about 5 and Jaden's for about 12. But the finale was spec-tac-u-larrrr to which everyone (our kids and the thousands of people around us) cheered. Yay!
/d
Did you notice the obscure fireworks reference to Uncle Jimbo and Ned?
June 18, 2006
Shanghai at night and day
More photos from Shanghai - set 4 of 5.
Over the next couple days we were in the flow of being in Shanghai. Places began to feel familiar, and I had some bearings on where things were.
One night after dinner, we met up with Amy and her family and friends and took a private chartered cruise along the Yangtze at night. The views of both Pudong and Pushi were light fantastic, but photos didn't turn out well from the moving boat.
The next day we went to check out Shin Tien Di - "New Heaven and Earth". They've done an amazing job renovating old European buildings and alleys into a posh cafe and night club scene. It's a little like Old Town Pasadena but without any streets for cars. As you might guess, this area is mostly frequented by tourists and foreign residents. Looks like a hip place for scandal.
/d
June 11, 2006
Even more Shanghai
Even more Shanghai photos - set 3 of 5.
Over the next four days, we went to a really big restaurant, the Bund, Shang-Yang market, the Shanghai Sea Aquarium and generally hung out and ate a lot.
Really big restaurant doesn't begin to describe Lu Far in Pudong. Operationally, it reminded me of a cruise ship. With hundreds of tables on the main floor, there are numerous stations for the wait staff as well as a giant bar just for them to pick up drinks. There's also over a hundred private rooms, and in the corridors another giant bar so that those waiters don't have to walk to the other giant bar. The food was good, but not as impressive as the operations. They don't have menus either. Instead, all the ingredients for the dishes are laid out and someone follows you and takes your order as you point at what you want. And if you want seafood, they have a large room full of tanks for you to pick out your dinner. Fish aren't friends here, they're food! (Seen Nemo?)
New Heights at the top of three on the Bund was absolutely delicious. (Please thank your parents for the recommendation Pete!) Chinese-European fusion, and expensive compared to everywhere else we'd been (about $60 US dollars for Cindy and me). But it would have been more than that for a similar quality meal in the Bay Area. The view was also spectacular even though it was overcast the day we went.
We didn't take any pictures at Shang-Yang market. Imagine a bunch of stalls tightly packed together, and then thousands of people trying to squeeze through while yelling prices and profanities at each other. It's actually not much different than most other flea market type places in Asia, except that this one specialized in counterfeit clothing, handbags, watches, accessories, DVDs, etc. However, it's perhaps the last of its kind in terms of scale. At the end of June, the entire market will be shut down to make way for something newer and fancier and more legitimate. I think they've finally realized they can make a lot more money legally. Too bad for Korea, where all the better quality goods in Shang-Yang come from.
The aquarium and the area around the tower is a tourist hotspot. We didn't go to any other attractions except for a nice meal in the mall across the circular intersection. The aquarium itself was quite nice and much larger than the one at Monterey Bay. But they didn't have any sunfish. I really hate sunfish, but I can't stop looking at them.
Last comment here is that I ate a lot. Every night someone was treating us to a fabulous dinner featuring something wonderful in China and Shanghai. And in between my mom would cook up the most delicious meals from whatever they brought back fresh from the local daily market. On the flight back, I was six pounds heavier than on the flight to Shanghai.
/d
June 07, 2006
More Shanghai
More Shanghai photos - set 2 of 5.
These were all from our first day (Sat). We went to some great touristy spots -- old time canal town out in the burbs and a temple in the heart of the city. The kids didn't do so well in the car, which prompted grandpa to cancel any mini-trip plans we may have tried later in the week. ;-)
/d
June 03, 2006
Ni hao ma?
We just got back from Shanghai on Thursday morning. I've got five sets of photos to upload, and here's the first one: Shanghai - Set 1 of 5
Our Internet connection in Shanghai was really slow, and I couldn't access my blog anyways. www.dukeya.com is blocked by the Chinese government!
I'll upload more pictures soon.
/d
May 14, 2006
Happy Mother's Day!
May 05, 2006
Photos by starnie
May 03, 2006
Kids in May
Here are some pictures of the kids.
Natalie has her hair tied up tonight, and Kaitlyn came to play last Saturday.
/d
April 28, 2006
The Wiggles!
Last week (April 18) we took Jaden to see The Wiggles! But I couldn't figure out how to get the pictures out of my camera phone until yesterday. (Thanks Carleton!)
Phones don't take very good pictures, but here they are.
Too bad Jaden wasn't feeling well that day. He managed to wave good-bye to The Wiggles, but he didn't dance during the concert. Normally he loves The Wiggles. (Ok, so do I.)
/d
April 23, 2006
Parking Lot Carnival
We went shopping today and couldn't resist the travelling carnival in the parking lot.
Jaden got onto the crazy high swing with me without any problems, but he almost didn't make it onto the demolition cars because he was half an inch short of the requirement. Cindy had to stare the operator down for an exception. Photos here.
We also took some cute video tonight of Jaden teaching Natalie to clap her hands. He's being very helpful with his little sister nowadays. Here is Jaden helping with Natalie's bath. Natalie loves bath time!
/d
April 18, 2006
Happy Easter!
Happy Easter everyone!
We actually made it to Church on time for Easter service -- and no kids or clothing left behind.
Afterwards, we had a nice Easter brunch at the San Jose Fairmont with both my brother (Andy and Lisa and Cindy's brother (Tony and Nhi). Food always tastes fancier when served with ice sculptures and two grand pianos. And of course we all gourged at Grandpa Hoang's expense.
Hope you had a happy Easter weekend!
April 16, 2006
Happy Birthday Ethan!
Pictures from Ethan's one year birthday party.
Ethan just turned one, and he is already walking around on his own! But will he ever dance like Jaden?
/d
April 06, 2006
Miss Natalie at 7 months
March 14, 2006
Photo Backlog
I finally went through the backlog of photos we've taken the past few months. Please consider getting a Flickr account, because I may start limiting access to friends and family. But for now, these are open to the entire world:
Pictures from the past few months
Pictures from Jaden's 2 year birthday party
Regards,
/d
March 06, 2006
Jaden Likes Cameras
Jaden gets a hold of my camera all the time, and he seems to be getting better at taking pictures. So I've given Jaden the honors of the first photo set we share on Flickr. Click here for some shots he's snapped over the past few months. The world's a pretty big and colorful place.
Enjoy!
/d