i always love visiting the chens. matia is now three and still super cute. it was fun taking turns playing doctor, although matia had to instruct me on how to put on a stethoscope. thanks for my shot dr. boo!
on canada day i went to visit jp and louisa… who surprised me with a belated birthday party. yay! we may be over 30, but you can never be too old for hawaiian leis and yellow bday balloons. pre-dinner activities involved eating gummy bears and making a pooh bear. we made bbq pizza from scratch read more
yay, another visitor! i got to play with liz for a couple of days in chicago this week. here we are in front of ‘cloudgate’, the big silver bean in millenium park. after bit of debating (museums vs. shopping) and despite some erratic weather (ranging from cold rain to hot and humid), we explored downtown read more
the last couple of weeks have been pretty much a blur with a lot of work, which was good. i had a couple of opportunities to play a bit including kevin and stacy’s wedding: joe’s head was of course directly behind the camera flash. and a mini reunion with mike ediger who was visiting from read more
our gracious hosts, kimu, angie and boo, before a steaming hot pot. we got to open christmas crackers which had a christmas hat inside. here is auntie sherwin, in baby heaven. boys being boys. group pic. it was a happy night, seeing our friends with their growing families.
this week has gone quickly, especially the time we’ve had to spend with our families. joe’s brother derek and his family were also in vancouver over christmas from california. here is uncle joseph teaching priscilla and jadon how to make alligator hands before they had to leave to catch their flight home.
we took advantage of the huge snowfall this week and had my mom try on cross-country skis for the very first time. she practiced outside the house along the sidewalk, and since the snow was so thick, there was no fear of falling or hurting herself! later on, we were in need for some groceries, read more
my first christmas party in vancouver was at jane and rich’s place. it was so great seeing old friends…some i haven’t seen for over a year. we filled our bellies with potlucky food, then laughed until our bellies hurt over games. finally we exchanged white elephant gifts (i got sushi magnets!) before playing with laser-shooting read more
we spent american thanksgiving over at tom and anne’s place. they made an impressively juicy turkey while the guests each contributed a side dish. we brought a “spinach and cheese puff”, which was a spinach casserole recipe i found on martha stewart recipes. anne’s mom baked an amazing pumpkin roll cake… i wish i wasn’t read more
our next stop was Cinque Terre, a group of five small towns on the Mediterranean coast. we stayed in Riomaggiore from where we explored the neighboring towns. there is apparently a Department of Good Taste, which keeps the paint colours looking good. again we tried to use the local ingredients to cook every night. the read more