Memorial Weekend

Finally, the weather is warmer, and the sun is out, so we didn't waste any time on the long weekend but to have fun every single day.

Friday night, we were invited to join the Joy Group's potluck dinner because their group leader's house is about 2 minutes driving distance from us. At the church, we didn't know the members of this group very well because we only spent little time together, but during the dinner, we got to know each other, and they are really lovely people. Unlike our group, the kids in Joy group are mostly girls, and the age group of the kids are older than our kids; however, Ha, Hee and the other two boys still formed a team and had a great time playing together.

On Saturday, our group had a picnic at Jollyman park. We enjoyed the dishes and each other's company, and Ha and Hee were so happy and excited to spend time with their pals. There were only two girls in this photo, and 6 other boys came after we took this photo. One of the family brought a "rip stick", and it became a popular toy for many adults.

On Sunday, we had an early lunch, and we went to McClellen Ranch for a short hike.

On Saturday, when we were about to left the park, one of the family mentioned that they are going to the beach on Monday, and Ha and Hee got excited before we agreed to go. Before we said yes, they had already packed their sand tools and other toys , and since the weather is nice, we decided to go, too. (before the oil travel to the West shore)

We left the house on 11:45 and had the lunch at McDonald's in Santa Cruz. The traffic was very bad in the beach area, and the parking was so hard. Next time, we should leave the house earlier. Before we left, Stephen helped Ha to get the driving direction, and Ha told us where to go, how to turn in the car. (we pretended that we didn't know the directions)

When we arrived, three other families were there. We dig a big lake, and again, Ha and Hee were so happy to spend time with their friends. It's a perfect ending for the long weekend.

Hee 生病記 update

...接5/24 blog entry:　A Short Night......

Hee 星期一當然沒上學，不過吃了退燒藥，精神比較好，在床上看看書，吃了banana, pear, and small pieces of pancakes, 喝了很多honey drink, 上了很多次廁所。藥效一過，又開始燒，就躺著睡覺。晚上吃了點白稀飯。

星期二還有燒，又在家一天，吃了一些枇杷，pear, bread 。因為他complained 有一點頭痛，有時有點腹部不舒服，燒又沒完全退掉，I decided to make an appointment with the doctor. 她診斷有一點pneumonia的跡象， 需要吃藥，所以我帶 Ha and Hee 去Target拿藥。

晚餐他吃了一些chicken noodle soup, 吃飽後喝了藥, and he's getting better and better.

星期三已經完全沒有燒，不過既然我在家，就再把他留一天觀察一下。他整天完全正常，動得好，吃得好，一點都沒有病的樣子。

所以，今天，他就上學去了！感謝神讓他這次生病來得急去得也快！

旺夫

這是我媽傳的Email， 稍微看一下，我以下4種型兼備， 旺夫啊！

【大公網訊】旺夫這種話題似乎多少帶些相學色彩，一個普通人很難明白什麽樣的女人是具有旺夫相的，只有過起日子以後才能知道。如果一個男人娶到老婆後越來越發達了，我們可以說是這個女人給他帶來了幸運。當然男人的成功還會有很多別的因素。




旺夫第1款善解人意型



溫柔善良、南方女孩。成功男人只求女人善解人意型。



旺夫這種話題似乎多少帶些相學色彩，一個普通人很難明白什麽樣的女人是具有旺夫相的，只有過起日子以後才能知道。如果一個男人娶到老婆後越來越發達了，我們可以說是這個女人給他帶來了幸運。當然男人的成功還會有很多別的因素。



「什麽樣的女人旺夫?」其實，旺不旺夫不能單單從長相說起，誰能說出哪個女人旺夫，哪個女人不旺夫?如果那樣，不旺夫的女人還有人要嗎?如果人人都知道什麽樣的女人能旺夫，那麽我們身邊的男人就沒有窮人和富人了，最旺夫的女人身價也就成爲衡量男人財富的尺碼了。我覺得還是夫妻兩個人的協調和匹配最重要。俗話說：天時不如地利，地利不如人和，夫妻之間更應該講究人和之氣。



「什麽樣的女人是目前你最需要的類型?」那麽年輕商人心里最美的女人花是什麽樣子。「善良溫柔!」對，女人的善良和溫柔最重要，也就是我們說的善解人意，這樣的女人會讓男人活得很輕鬆。越是成熟、成功的男人越對這樣的女人有一種生活上的依賴和依戀。



如果女人稱男人是一座大山可以依靠，那麽男人更想女人是一片靜靜的港灣，可以讓男人停靠。也許在這里用如此俗套的語言形容成功男人的心境，顯得矯情了一些，但這是男人們最真實的感受。相信很多成功的男人都會這麽想，只不過各有各的呈現方式罷了。男人最喜歡什麽地方的女孩子?答：「南方的，南方的女孩子溫柔善良善解人意」。



旺夫第2款親切可愛型



待人親切、支持照顧、孝順父母。



女人旺夫男人幸福!有旺夫運的女人好幸福，她們白天在家做做家務、幹幹自己喜歡做的事，晚上盼著老公下班的時間早點到來，不必爲金錢煩惱，也沒有工作壓力，這樣輕鬆安逸的生活多幸福!可能大多數男人會有此同感，而一些男人則認爲女人旺夫，男人比女人更幸福。



因此，若逮著幸福就不要輕易撒手!男人都想找個能旺自己的女人，女人的旺夫不由外表决定，而是一種綜合素質的體現。首先，可以從女人的臉去讀懂她的心，旺夫的女人會讓人覺得親切，這種親切能給她和丈夫帶來良好的人際關係。其次，事業上全力支持，生活中盡力照顧。



娶一位能和自己的母親和睦相處的太太是最大的幸福。這種和睦友善相處是對男人最大的呵護。旺夫是一種素質，這種素質對于女人就像武功對于武林高手，很少有武林高手因爲武功高强而一生平安，相反真正受益的是被她呵護的人、愛護的人、一厢情願愛著的人。一個男人幷不非奢望富有，因爲擁有心愛的女人會更幸福;不苛求輝煌，因爲平淡才能品味人生的精彩。能够取得成績，是因爲太太的鼓勵，能够爲自己的理想打拼，因爲太太讓你安心開心工作。」



旺夫第3款心比天寬型



真誠、實在、大氣。



男人不是「管」出來是「放」出來的!旺夫是很不容易達到的，對于一般女人來說，最重要的是維持家庭穩定，很少有女人可以既開發出男人的內在潜能，又能穩定兩個人的關係。假日一個男人結婚那麽多年，一直思想活躍、行動自由，即使有事情在外面留宿沒及時通知她，家里也不會翻天，太太的大氣是個很重要的前提。



旺夫的女人需要有天分，天生心寬，這是學不來的。還有就是需要兩個人運氣好，碰到合適的人，怎麽看怎麽順眼，就願意做犧牲。也許剛開始你會對這種類型的女人不是很感興趣，她不是那種眉飛色舞、眉目傳情的女人，時間長了發現這是一個極大的優勢，在漫長的生活中溝溝坎坎那麽多，這些都不重要。多愁善感、心細如發的女人一旦進入生活，可能會很磨人。男人不是管出來的，女性如果跟男性協調好了，生活會更幸福。



做男人要實實在在，我把完全真實的我展現給她，這是對她的認可和最大的尊重。做男人沒必要當面一套，背後一套，玩什麽把戲。如果哪天有人往你家里打電話，說看見你老公在某某地方跟一個女的遛彎兒呢，如果家里不會炸，她還會說「沒關係，這很正常!」所以歸根結底就是那些最基本的東西：人要真誠、自立、有信用。如果真把這些當成行動指南，認真地去做，就能過好，沒有什麽特殊的技巧。當然，如果兩個人能够互相欣賞，生活里有點幽默感，那是更深的層次。



旺夫第4款相依相伴型



可以溝通、不添麻煩、老來做伴。



旺我的女人，你在哪里?大多數男人總是注重感官，想要找一個優雅得體、出得廳堂，入得厨房的女人，這樣的女人有，却不一定讓你碰上。其實想通了找一個可以跟你坐下來聊聊天，工作上替你减壓的女人就行了。「什麽樣的女人旺夫?想找一個什麽樣的女人?」某些人經受不了屢次的挫敗，已經打算終身不娶了，假如你更世俗，也更現實些，不會放弃老婆孩子熱炕頭的溫暖想像，在四處尋覓。你就會發現旺夫的女人不只旺老公的事業，也旺整個家庭，而這些女人大多長相普通，沒有太多欲望，踏踏實實地生活，老公不願意處理的人事都由老婆出面，老婆還要生孩子、孝敬父母、穩固家庭後方的陣地，旺夫的女人是男人後半輩子特別好的伴兒。

A Short Night

Last night, we went to bed at 11pm, but 1am, we were called by Hee: he wanted to go to the bathroom. Fine, but 2am, he called again. This time, he threw up. We didn't know why because he didn't cough. After we washed the sheets, pillowcase, blanket and his clothing, we went to bed. 3am, he threw up again, and we washed the sheets, pillowcase and his clothing again. 4am, he wanted to go to bathroom again, so we were called again. His temperature was 104, but our medicine was just expired; therefore, I gave him some electrolyte solution to avoid dehydration. When I woke up again, it was 7:45am, and I had to get up. I felt that the night was too short to sleep.

8am, Target was open, so Stephen went right away to get the medicine, and I started preparing for the breakfast and lunch boxes, but Ha started having the bleeding noses. I helped him to stop the bleeding while checking on my oven to see if pancakes and waffles were ready. I guessed that he's going to have the cold soon, too.

Now, Ha and Stephen were out to school and work; Hee took his medication and is still sleeping; I am here to write this down, so when they grow up, this is the evidence to show them how wonderful their parents are.

2nd Grade Insect Fair Fieldtrip

I went with Hee's class on the fieldtrips twice, but I haven't got the opportunity to go with Ha's class this year because of the time conflict. This time, their fieldtrip will come back to school around 12pm before Hee's class is over at 12:25pm, so Ha asked me to sign up.

Personally, I am really not very interested in going on the fieldtrip with kids (but I liked to go when I was a kid) because it's a big respobsibilty. In Hee's class, a parent needs to be in charge of 4 to 5 kids, and in Ha's class, a parent needs to be in charge of 6.

Usually, teachers will divide kids into groups based on their friendship; that is, kids will usually be in the group with their good friends. Thank God that Ha and Hee are not wild kids, so their friends are more on the quiet side which is better for me to handle.

Yesterday, Ha's class went to an insect fair in Sanborn State Park. A girl S was in our group and sitting next to me on the bus. As we went uphill, she looked nervous and sounded nervous, and she told me that she has "motion sickness", which is, when she was in the car on the winding roads, she will feel sick. Gosh, another one! I was worrying about Ha, too, but he seemed to be fine. As I tried to comfort her, I started thinking what I should do if she really vomits, and I remembered that I have 2 small plastic bags in my purse, so I was getting ready to take the bags out whenever she needs it. Thank God that Sanborn Park was not too far, and we got there before she needed the bags.

Kids were having fun on this educational fair. Then, we had a short hike which meant that kids could run all over the place more freely to observe the nature, plants and insects and meant that I needed to keep my eyes on 6 kids. I repeated counting 1,2,3,4,5,6 every few minutes to ensure that all of my kids were still there. At the meantime, I also needed to give them some guidance about the nature observation.

I was so happy to see the school bus again because it meant that we were going back to school. On the way back, it's downhill, so kids pretended that they were riding a roller coaster. Every one was so happy, and that "motion sickness" lady was too happy to remember her sickness. When we were back in town, that lady called me again: "The bus is speeding up. It's speeding up, it's speeding up, I can feel it!!!!!" This time, I didn't know what to say because we were on the regular street, and the bus was not very fast at all. I told her that even her daddy or mommy drives faster than this, and I surely drive faster than this most of the time. Finally, she was convinced that the bus was on the normal and rather slow speed, so she was fine again.

Today, I just found out that Hee will have 2 other fieldtrips in June, one to the park, and the other one to the zoo. ( I went with Ha to the zoo when he's in kindergarten.) I don't want to, but I'm pretty sure that I will go anyways.

Being Big

Hee always has fun at school, and he loves his teacher and friends; he also enjoys being with his friends in the church; however, he will cry for one minute when he says goodbye to us, either at school or in the church.

In order to help him get the courage to go into the classroom door with smile (at least, no tears), I started a reward system. If he doesn't, he will get a gummy worm or two gummy cokes, and this rule applies to Ha as well. Ha never cries, so he gets the prize every day, Hee fails half of the time, so he gets less prizes. This week, Hee failed on Mon and Tues but successed on Wed to Friday; hopefully, he will get better and better and be a big kid for the 1st grade.

壁虎功

Actually, Ha learned it two years ago while we were in Sophia's house, but he's getting better and faster now.

Middle Name, Last Name

Hee was calling himself Heehee Huang yesterday when he's playing, and I thought that this name was so cute. He knew that Heehee is his nickname, so he never told people that he's Heehee when he's at school, but he likes this name. I told him that when he was born, we only gave him his first name, and his last name was fixed because he was born in our family; however, when he grows old enough, if he really likes some other names, he can use that as his middle name, or, he may put Heehee as his middle name if he still really likes it when he grow up. Middle name is his own choice.

Then, he's curious about my middle name "Sun".

"Do you really like to be the Sun?" he asked.
Well, Sun is my middle name because before I married to Stephen, my last name was Sun. After I changed my last name to Huang, I chose Sun as my middle name.

" Do I need to change my last name, too if I get married?" he asked another question. "No, only girls need to do so."

"Why?" Why? I never thought about that, so I began to think. "I guessed that it's because in the Bible, God said that the husband is the head of the wife. Husband needs to love his wife, and wife needs to submit to her husband, and changing the last name may represent the submission"

"So, you need to listen to Daddy?" "Yes, I do."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Actually, when I determined to change my last name, I didn't really think about what God says in the Bible; instead, a conversation with my client helped me to make my decision. At that time, I was auditing her organization, and I told her that I was going to get married soon. She told me that she has a happy family, but she didn't want to go through the trouble of changing her last name, so her kids sometimes got the questions at school like: "Did your Daddy and Mommy divorce?" "Why did your Mommy and you have different last name?".... Therefore, she encouraged me to change my last name for the kids' sake.

It really was not an easy thing to change the last name because it involved Social security agency, DMV, passport, other license, credit cards, bank accounts....., but I think that it worths the trouble. Now, we are all in "Huang" family. If I went through all these trouble to change my last name, I'd better put in my effort to strengthen my marriage because it would be a big headache to change it again. In the way, it is a sign of submission, isn't it? It meant that I took off what I had and went with what you have, so we are in a unity. Actually, this was originated from Chinese culture. My 外祖婆婆was 任成氏，my 祖奶奶was 孫鄒氏, and we don't even know their true name.

I never thought so deep about the last name until now. It surely is an interesting discovery.

西洋棋規則

We have a box of chess, and we have been playing it. We followed the basic rules, but we never spent time studying for the special rules and reading through the whole game instruction sheet. Last night, we had different opinions about "knight", so I did the research for it today. I'm glad that I didn't insist that my opinion was always right, and I taught my kids that we couldn't say other people was wrong unless we could prove it ( Ha, Hee and I all thought that Stephen was wrong ) because now, we know that we are wrong, and it's a good lesson for us.

I got the following rules from 中華民國西洋棋協會 http://140.112.10.122/chess/frame.htm


行棋規則：



王(King) 橫、直、斜都可以走，但每著限走一步。

后(Queen) 橫、直、斜都可以走，步數不受限制，但不能越子。它是西洋棋中威力最大的子。

城堡(Rook) 橫、豎均可以走，不能斜走。一般情況下不能越子。

主教(Bishop) 只能斜走。格數不限，不能越子。每方有兩主教，一個占白格，一個占黑格。

騎士(Knight) 每步棋先橫走或直走一格，然後再斜走一格，可以越子 （Stephen, you were right!)，也沒有"中國象棋"中"蹩馬腿"的限制。

兵(Pawn) 只能向前直走，每著只能走一格。但走第一步時，可以最多直進兩格。兵的吃子方法與行棋方向不一樣，它是直進斜吃，即如果兵的斜進一格內有對方棋子，就可以吃掉它而佔據該格。


特殊走法：


兵的升變：

任何一個兵直進達到對方底線時，即可升變"王"和"兵"以外的任何一種棋子。

王車易位： 每局棋中，雙方各有一次機會，讓王朝城堡的方向移動兩格，然後城堡越過王，放在與王緊鄰的一格上。王城堡易位根據左右分為"長易位"和"短易位"。


在下面四種情況下，王城堡易位不允許：



‧ 王城堡或已經移動過；
‧ 王和城堡之間有其他棋子阻隔；
‧ 王正被對方"將軍"；
‧ 經過或達到的位置受對方棋子的攻擊。

吃過路兵： 如果對方的兵第一次行棋且直進兩格，剛好形成本方有兵與其橫向緊貼並列，則本方的兵可以立即斜進，把對方的兵吃掉。這個動作必須立刻進行，緩著後無效。


勝、負、和：


西洋棋的對局目的是把對方的王將死。

比賽規定：

一方的王受到對方棋子攻擊時，成為王被照將，攻擊方稱為"將軍"。"王死則輸"。

出現以下情況，算和局：

一方輪走時，提議作和，對方同意。


其他詳細規定：


１．怎樣判定贏棋

（Ａ）將死對方王的一方獲勝注意：甲方走了一步使乙方無子可動的棋， 而乙方認輸了，後來發現最後一步棋使乙方無不可動；甲方將死了乙方而沒有注意到，然後在一著或更多著以後認了輸，後來發現甲方當時已將死了乙方。以上兩種情況應視無子可動和殺著，同時　　　對局早已結束。


（Ｂ）對方認輸得以方獲勝


２．怎樣判定和棋

（Ａ）行棋著的王未收到照將，但他不能進行任何合乎規則的著法，形成所謂無子可動的局面。

（Ｂ）雙方同意和棋。


（Ｃ）當重復局面將要或者已經第三次出現，每次輪到同一方走棋時，在一方的要求下可以作為和棋。

　　　要求和棋的權利僅屬於：　　

　　　(1)聲稱將要走的一步棋會造成三次重復局面的行棋者。　　

　　　(2)發現眼前的局面已重復出現三次的行棋者。



（Ｄ）行棋者證實，至少在五十回合中，雙方沒有吃過任何一子，也沒有走動任何一兵。對於某些局面，如果比賽開始前已有清楚的定論，五十回合規則的回合數可以增加。王、雙騎士對王、兵的殘局如符合以下條件，五十回合規則可延長到一百回合：　　

　　　(1)兵被馬死死擋住；　　

　　　(2)兵尚未越過下列格子：黑方--a4,b6,c5,d4,e4,f5,g6或h4；白方--　　　　　a5,b3,c4,d5,e5,f4,g3或h5。



３．照將的有關規定

（Ａ）當王所在的格子受到對方棋子的攻擊時，王就被照將，對方稱為將軍"。



（Ｂ）被照將的一方，必須立即應將。如果無法避開照將稱為被將死。



４．關於摸子

（Ａ）行棋者如預先通知對方或裁判員（對方不在時），可以擺正一個或更多的棋子。



（Ｂ）除了以上情況外，如果行棋者觸摸了：　　

　　　(1)同色的一個或更多的棋子，他必須走動或吃掉所觸摸的第一個可以走動或被吃的棋子； 　　

　　　(2)一個自己的棋子和一個對方的棋子，他必須用前者吃掉後者；如果下可能吃，必須走動前者；如果前者不可能走動，必須用其他棋子吃掉後者。



（ｃ）如果走到或吃子不可能進行，行棋者有選走任何合手規則的著法的自由。



５．怎樣判定一著棋的完成

（Ａ）當某棋子移到某空格，而行棋者的手已離開該棋子時。



（Ｂ）吃子時，當被吃的棋子從棋盤上被拿走，同時行棋者已將自己的棋子放到新的格子，並且棋已離手。



（Ｃ）易位時，當行棋者的手把車放在越過王的格子上時。



（Ｄ）兵升變時，當兵已從棋盤上拿走，新棋子已放到升變格並且已經離手時，即算完成一著棋。如兵達到升變格後離手，則這一著棋尚未完成，但行棋者已無權把該兵走到其他格子。

Boating at Vasona Park

Every year, our church has a churchwide picnic at Vasona Park in May, and this year, the weather is the best!

We also invited my parents to the picnic because my mom needed some exercise, and it's nearly impossible for her to do the exercise at home by herself. It's nice to take a walk in the beautiful weather!

Every year, when we come to Vasona Park, kids always like to take the little train ride and Merry-Go-Round, but this year, they decided to go for a padel boat ride. (Yes, my kids are growing up!) It's not very expensive: 4 people for one hour, only $12, and the little train ride will cost $2 or $3 per person for a 5 minute ride.

My dad and Stephen went with the kids, and my mom and I sat on a bench  under a shade to look at them.

They took turns to padel the boat, but whenever they changed seats, my mom got nervous. In this photo, Haha standed up, and it's a big No No for my mom. To me, since they wore life jackets, and they knew little about swimming, and my dad and Stephen were there, and the water was not really deep, I think that it's ok if they really fell into the water. It's better for them to learn the water safety when they are young and in the safe environment than learn it when they are old and in the dangerous environment. Well, they didn't fell this time, and they had a very good time. Ha told me that next time, he wants to try the rowing boat. Mmm...I don't know about that because I never try it myself, either.  I guess that we will try the padel boat for few more times, and after I feel comfortable, we may try the rowing boat. ( My mom said that if we want to try the rowing boat, don't let her know. Of course, I won't tell her, but she will see the photos in my blog anyways.)

Coughing, Coughing, Coughing

The first coughing is for me.
The second coughing is for Stephen.
The third coughing is for Hee.

Thank God, Ha is still well and healthy.

I started coughing in early April, and after coughing for 2 weeks, I passed it to Stephen. After he coughed for one week, he passed it to Hee, and both of them are still coughing, but are getting better.

We tried everything we knew to reduce the discomfort: 龍角散，枇杷膏，honey, honey & lemon, Halls, 杏仁茶，雞湯，黑芝麻茶，中藥，羅漢果紅棗枸杞湯，蓮藕茶，冰糖燉梨. 反正這些東西也都滿好吃的（except for 中藥, which I didn't try. Only Stephen and Hee drank it.), 就算沒效也沒什麼損失。

HOC5 Children's Choir

In January, we learned that our church is going to have a children choir, and we thought about having Ha join it because he loves to sing. Ha didn't participate in any other activities since he's not comfortable to be with strangers, so he didn't want to join the choir at first. However, he really loves to sing and didn't want to miss this opportunity; and most of all, his 2 good friends would be in the audition. Therefore, he agreed to go to the audition and give it a try.


Audition's cut off age was 8, and he was just 4 days away from 8 at audition day, and thanks to the kind aunites, he was able to join the choir.

The practice time is on Sat. night, from 6:45 to 7:40. He was so happy after the first practice, so happy after the second practice, so happy after the 3rd practice, and so happy after every single practice. He listened to the music and watched the Youtube link sent from the teacher very often, and he sang the songs when he was alone in his room. (According to him, the songs are the surprise gift for moms, so he couldn't sing nor show the hand motions to me before their official performance.)

5/9, Mother's day, the choir had their official performance on the 1st and 2nd Sunday Service. 3 months ago, he has invited his grandparents to watch the performance, so they were here, too.

The offertory was very nice since all the kids were very concentrated and giving out their best. They were so cute and the singing was so beautiful.

Since there were many other kids in the video, in order to respect their privacy, I only posted the videos in public setting for 3 days, and then I'll change them to private. If you couldn't see it, let me know, and I can email you the special token to view the private videos. 為了保障其他小孩的隱私，只在這裡放3天，3天之後，如果還想看，告訴我，我可以Email你一個特別的link 去看。
GPS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLxVci3ct7A

母親妳真偉大 http://www.youtube.com/user/yisunhuang#p/a/u/0/dvuyeXQeS0o

Mother's Day

This year, our Mother's Day celebration party was on Sat. 5/8 because my parents came to our house on Friday, and after watching Ha's choir performance on Sunday, they would go home.

Ha had a longer practice this Sat. till 8:30, and Stephen offered to pick him up. I knew that he's going to buy a cake since we have discussed it the night before. However, when he came back, he also got some beautiful clothes; two for me, two for Mom, 是姐妹裝。This is one. (Hee was not in the photo because he had a cold and went to bed early.)

This is the other one. 一個一個看is fine, but when we standed together, 像不像兩個監獄裡的囚犯？

Well, my dear husband said that I can not write too many good things about him beacuse 他會不好意思, so I'll just stop here. He also told me that it's late, and I should go to bed, so I need to stop here. So I stop here!

By the way, the mengo cake was very good, too.

A Busy Saturday -4/22/10

We went on an AWANA outing to Mt. Hamilton Observatory in the morning. The scene was beautiful, but...........

The road was so winding! I am an experienced mom, so when I didn't hear Ha for few minutes, I asked him if he's ok. He said no, so we parked the car on the side, and I found a plastic bag for Ha. As soon as he got the bag, he threw up. Since there's another 30 minutes of  driving before we arrive the observatory, we decided to go home because we didn't think that Ha would make it all the way to the destination. Everything went fine on our way home, and I got off the car first to prepare for the lunch; however, Ha threw up again! And this time, he had given the bag back to me, and he threw up to the mat and to the back of the seat! I guessed that I was not experienced enough yet; otherwise, I would ask him to hold on to the bag until he's 100% ok.

Stephen started to clean up the inside of the car, and I took out all the mats and cleaned them one by one. After the second throwing up, Ha was completely ok finally.

We prepared the picnic for the outing, so we had the lunch in our backyard...to be as close to the nature as possible. I walked and ate in the backyard, and I found some ant eggs on our cherry tree. We took off all the leaves with ant eggs, and Stephen burned them to death with paper and fire. Then, I continued to walk, and I found that there were many other bugs' eggs on our grapefruit tree. The eggs were bigger and were on the branches, it's too big to be burned, so Stephen cut off the branches and put into yard waste bin.

Then, we helped kids to review the Chinese words that they were going to be tested, and at 4pm, kids went to Chinese school. 6pm, we went from Chinese school to my brother-in-law's house directly to celebrate his birthday. 6:35pm, after Ha had few pieces of pizza, I drove him to the church for children's choir practice and to pick him up at 7:40pm and headed to my brother-in-law's house again to have the cake. It's such a busy day!

雜技團新招

上次看了電視上有人表演平衡東西的特技，黃式雜技團團長輸人不輸陣，也推出一系列精彩節目。

一個椅腳撐起整個椅子

平衡羽球拍 （後面的小學徒也在苦練）

一面平衡羽球拍一面搖呼啦圈（還沒完全練到完美）

小學徒自以為厲害，也來秀一腳。

Community Day -5/4/10

Our state government cut a big chunk of education expenses; therefore, many of our school district's teachers received pink slips, and the class size will be increased for the next school year.

"Their Future is Now(TFIN)" is a partnership between the community, the Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation, and the Cupertino Union School District to raise $3 million by 5/15 to keep all the teachers and keep the same class sizes.

Yesterday (5/4) was community day, and many restaurants, retail or service would donate 5 to 50% of the daily sales to the TFIN, so the school encouraged us to shop and to dine in the participating restaurants yesterday. Stephen got his haircut in one of the particpating store after work, and we went out for dinner. We tried TGI Friday first because many Ha and Hee's classmates would be there. The wait was too long. We saw Hee's teacher there, but according to Stephen, “人實在太多，空氣比高山上還稀薄”， and he started coughing hard when he entered the room, so we tried "Elephant Bar" which would also donate 20% of the sales to TFIN. On the street, we saw many people outside on the lawn waiting for the seats, and we knew that it would be a long wait, too. Then, we tried Fresh Choice, which is also nearby. On the parking lot,when we looked through the restaurant window, we saw a long waiting line as well, but at least, the line was inside the restaurant, so we decided to settle down because we believed that the rest of 30+ participating restaurants would be the same thing, and we were too hungry to go to another restaurant.

By the time we got the table, it's 8pm, and the long line was still forming until about 8:40pm. We left the restaurant at 9pm. On our way home, we drove through few other participating restaurants, and they were all still packed, and some of them still had waiting line. It's really the power of the community!