Disney

We decided to do 3 days in Disney (magic kingdom and California). It was good as we did nit have to rush through and managed to do all we wanted to do.

Disney is always quite magical, the music and the atmosphere. The rides, many of which becomes stale after having gone 4 times. The fireworks and music still awes.

We (except Connie) did all the roller coaster : California screamin, and all the little ones. ONLY JUSTIN dared to do Mali Boomer !!!

Belated Birthday Photos - Michael

As promised, these are photos from Michael's birthday back in August.

Here is Michael on his birthday with his present from Stephen...I wonder what it is?









It's a pair of sunglasses...and he's trying too hard to look cool.








Here is Michael enjoying his favorite birthday meal - finger licking ribs.











Michael's request for his cake - a cherry pie with ice cream!

Wedding Photos

Hot off the press! Here are the photos from Chris and Jennifer's wedding in Boston. Kathy and I made the trip without the kids. It took 8 - 9 hours driving each way but it was great to be able to celebrate with them.

We have stories of mishaps to tell but I'll save it for a followup post. For now, enjoy a few photos starting with the beautiful bride and handsome groom.












Here's the father and daughter dancing...a tradition in an American wedding.






Here's the tea ceremony...a tradition in a Chinese wedding.










Mother and the bride sharing a moment together.









Here's the proof that we were really there. ;-) We missed most of the wedding but made it to the reception

Belated Birthday Photos - Stephen

Here are a few photos from Stephen's birthday...of course, it was back in July but better late than never. I thought we'd share these with you

This is his birthday cake...not the conventional birthday cake but he really wanted something with fruit...so Kathy made him a giant fruit tart





Here he is opening his present from Michael
and Kirsten...

...he cannot believe his eyes!

It's luna stix.








Here he is playing with his luna-stix and having a grand time.



Happy Birthday, Stephen!


We'll share Michael's birthday photos next....

More Sailing on the Potomac with the Family

The sailing lessons Kathy and I took had a free week of sailing practice. Once Kathy and I were certified for sailing, we decided to take the kids out on the boat. Here are more sailing photos -

Kirsten is ready to go sailing on the Potomac river!







Stephen is very serious at the helm
of the boat!











It's Michael's turn to guide the sail boat.









Everyone back on shore - safe and sound!

The boat is in the background. As you can see, it's not particularly big. It's a 19ft sailboat called the Flying Scot.

You can rent it for about $20/hour. The reason I like it, is that you can spend the morning, sailing on the Potomac for $60. So you get to enjoy sailing without spending big bucks buying a boat.

Sailing

About three weeks ago, Kathy and I took sailing lessons. It was from Monday through Thursday, 10AM to 12:30PM. It was a lot of fun to learn together. Here's a picture of me at the helm of the boat. It's not the best photo but I thought we would share it with you on the blog.

Escorting the football players

Yesterday I took the boys to the stadium. Bryan was chosen to escort the chinese team out of the locker room to the field. What an experience I can imagine. This is the first time being in such a huge stadium and then he gets to be on the field in front of the cameras broadcasted all over ASIA!!

Bryan is 5th from the right. Escorting Chinese players. Bryan's comments, they spit a lot....from the time they come out of the locker to the field. Picture shows officials going to the field to shake their hands.

Malaysia lost 5-1 :<

Our Beach Vacation

We are on the last day of our beach vacation but I thought I'd go ahead and share some photos with you. Here's Kathy in the pool with our friend's (Tito & Marcy Mercado) adopted daughter Kaylin.




This is Kirsten with her friend Charis Okada who came with us on our vacation.




This is a photo of the Yee boys on the beach.



We had a great time with really good weather...not too hot, not too cold. As you can see, the beach house we rented had a pool so we were able to go to the beach from 10:30 - 1:30 and go back and play in the pool. Temperatures at the low 80s with little humidity.

When we get home, we'll post more photos...so stay tuned. In the meantime, Meng, why don't you post some of your vacation photos - we'd love to see them.

Strawberries!

We went strawberry picking a couple of weeks ago. As you can tell, we had a great time... although we probably ate as many as we picked!

More Fishing Photos

Here are more photos from our fishing trip. We had a great time rowing the boat while dad fished.










Hope you enjoy them!!!

A Good Day Fishing

Every year, Michael, Stephen and I will spend a day out together. We call it the Yee Men's Day Out. Most years, we go fishing but unfortunately we seldom catch anything.

This year, however, was different. Last Tuesday, we rented a row boat at Fountainhead Park and spent about 5 hours fishing. The weather was perfect 78-80 degrees, low humidity. And, as you can tell, we had a very nice catch!

Taman Negara

We had 3 days 2 nights in Taman Negara. It took us 4 hours to get there with a brief stopver in temerloh to pick up our guide. It was good to see that there was a National Forest Reserve with untouched tropical jungle. However driving there we saw many logging trucks taking huge logs out from the forest surrounding the reserve. Here is a picture of a virgin forest. Very picturesque!

Part of the canopy walk was closed and so we did 300m instead of the usual 500m. It was enough for me!! I am definietly more afraid of heights now. The trouble is you have to look down in order to see the plank you are walking on.

Photos from My Treo

Here are some photos from my Treo's (mobile phone) built in camera on my trip to Malaysia. There were about five shots but I decided on only three. One of the ones I left out was of me holding a bone...my face was so round, I hardly recognized myself. Why is it that all photos feature food?

The first is taken at Tai Thong on Mummy's birthday. It was not her BIG celebration but it was still a very nice time. We had Australian Shark's Fin...it wasn't as good as we had hoped but the other dishes were pretty good.




The second photo is from Madam Kwan's restaurant featuring Ice Kacang. It was quite good. I certainly enjoyed mine and this is the picture of Daddy getting ready to dig into his.

It was refreshing.










The last photo is taken at Mummy's big celebration. Meng is eating cake with chopsticks?? Is this the way cake is eaten in Malaysia. Perhaps it's a new trend that will catch on. All in all, a good trip. I'm glad for the time I had with all of you back in Malaysia.

Mummy's birthday party

Mummy's Birthday celebrated at home and then Pantai Seafood.

Pinewood Derby --- Part One

Oh....what a joy it is to post, and how much more if there were photos.....but I have not figured that part out yet. We had been working hard these past few days, perfecting these 'vehicles.'

According to Michael, it all went well even though it was hard work. Michael and Stephen each raced their own car....and we entered two cars in the open race. I imagine you are quite anxious to see how they all turned out. Yes.....that brings me back to the photos.....still working on it.

I leave you with this exciting thought......some prizes were won.....but which? You'll have to wait and see.

CNY Eve

Chinese New year eve dinner. We had Roast goose, cabbage stewed with mushroom and Sea cucumber with Black Fungus!!!

The tradition is 1st day morning we go back, The extended family come. Then we go over to Connie's parents for Lunch - We eat and eat there till 5pm. We are going back at 8pm to continue the feast!!!

Chinese New Year

Talking to you guys this morning!!

It's quite amazing - I think it wud have been even better if we got the camera going!!! Thats the next step!

Kong Hee Fatt Choy!

We had a little surprise today when we went to celebrate Chinese New Year at the Fortune Restaurant in Reston. We've been going there for 6 years to celebrate CNY. They usually have a Lion Dance while you eat your dim sum. Today, we were surprised to find out that it had closed down...the restaurant is gone!

We were disappointed, not only because we lost a dim sum place close by but also because it has been part of our CNY tradition. So we went to the sister restaurant, also called Fortune in Falls Church...but it's much farther and takes about 35-40 minutes to get to.

Anyway, we didn't get to really enjoy the Lion Dance this year. The Lion Dance was leaving as we got there but at least we got to enjoy a little dim sum.

Hope all of you are enjoying a wonderful Chinese New Year!

KONG HEE FATT CHOY!

Even More Snow...

We've been under even more snow. It snowed this past Tuesday, followed by a little bit of sleet. Since it's been cold...still below freezing...11 days straight of below-freezing weather, the snow didn't melt but instead it's packed in and become icy on top. Not good for walking, driving anything involving motion.

We're also a little tired of being cooped up. The kids made a little fort or igloo of snow and ice.

But the good news is that it went to 37 degrees today and began melting the snow...and Tuesday, it'll be 47 degrees so I expect that most of this will be gone by Wednesday.

Its blistering hot here...

Yesterday the boys had a hot Sunday out on the football field. Here are the pics. Bryan at the goal mouth and Justin tuning off to the coach!!!

They both played a good game although Bryan lost 6-1 and Justin's team won 7-2.

It's Freezing Here!

Just want you all to know that those of us in the Washington DC area have been freezing for the past week. Brrrrrrr!

Just to give you an idea, the temperature on Monday morning was 11 degrees Fahrenheit! With wind chill factor, it was at 0 degrees F or even a little lower. We did get another couple inches of snow yesterday with low temps but today seems a little bit warmer...but still below freezing.

Well, think of us as you're enjoying the warmth, or despising the heat in Malaysia!

First Snowfall of the Winter!

We had our first snowfall just a couple of days ago, actually beginning Sunday afternoon. Not real big - only 1-2 inches but enough to get the roads slick and difficult to drive on.









The kids, of course enjoyed it the next day...they didn't get to miss school but they did get a late start Monday morning. They also had a chance to play around after school that afternoon. Remember your visit a couple of Thanksgivings ago? It's really a rare occurrence for us to have snow before December so you were especially blessed that year!






Here's Michael with two "apple red" cheeks...

We wish you were here to enjoy the snow with us!

Ellisa's first day at school

Ellisa's first week at school. It was a mixture of melancholy and joy...strange watching her from the gates lining up and going to class. No longer the toddler at Kindergarten......

She is coping well and have made 3 friends in class. She is not they shy type so I think she'll do ok.