Welcome
everyone!
November 28, 2008
Getting lazy. Haven't updated for some time (obviously). Things are moving fast around these parts. Janet's pregnancy is moving along well, despite some early troubles with her medications. We've also been using facebook a lot for photos and updates and the like. Xander's new advanced class is proving to be a bit of a challenge. Jacky has taken to her preschool like a fish to water. Have had lots of visitors, and family events. Thanksgiving dinner went great, with Janet preparing her first solo turkey in a while (a rosemary based recipe) when we couldn't find a spiral cut bird. Everything turned out great, though. Boy. Too much to remember. Lets just get to the media.
Here are some more rock band clips of some new inductees to the rock band cult: the Kong family, and Some of our visitors:
September 3, 2008
Summer has come and gone. It seemed pretty short. The last few weeks of summer were spent locally, for the most part, although we did take a spur of the moment trip to disney for labor day weekend. The trip had a bad start, though. We parked at long term parking at JFK (which was pretty convenient, actually). As we approached the Jetblue terminal from the airtrain, we noticed a huge mass of people around the ticket counter. It turns out that all the Jetblue computers were down, so there was no kiosk service, and everyone was trying to get on the line for the counter. There was a lot of pushing, shoving and angry folks. I stood on line for about 2 hours, when the kiosks came back into service- good thing we didn't have any bags to check. All in all, we were only delayed for 2 hours or so.
We stayed at the Caribbean Beach resort, which was so-so. But we hardly spent any time in the room- did 3 parks on sat and 2 parks on sunday. the highlights- Typhoon Lagoon's wave pool, torrential rains at Epcot and Xander's love of motion sickness-inducing rides. Xander's faves: space mountain (3 times), test track and space mission (epcot rides), and the aerosmith rollercoaster. His absolute worst: the haunted mansion- kept his eyes closed and his ears covered the whole time. We also did the tower of terror, which I always assumed was a one trick ride, but it was done quite well. Overall, a very good trip.
On the home front, there's the latest ultrasound of the babe (about 15 weeks now). Xander has gotten into the delta program at his school, so he will be changing classes. Jacky also started preschool. She didn't cry. Janet did.
Here are some videos of the kids at the hotel pool:
Here's the huge wave at the wave pool (every 90 seconds)
and here's jacky showing her love of "its a small world"
August 14, 2008-UPDATED below
Wow. My parents 50th anniversary party came together quite well. Janet put a lot of work into it, and it was definitely a success. In all, we raised around 25000 dollars for the FSH society. The presentations went off smoothly, and mainly because Janet put us through the paces in our pre party walk-through. The only downside is that because we were all so busy during the presentations, nobody had a chance to take pictures (and the photographer didn't, either). Other than that, it has taken me almost a week to recover from the week long festivities. I still haven't resumed my usual running schedule. We were able to surprise everyone with the announcement of Janet's pregnancy- she is just about at 12 weeks right now- due feb 27. Morning sickness was significant this time around, but hopefully she'll get to feeling better soon.
Since there was a whole bunch of pics, I'll embed the whole slideshow here- included in the show are pics of Janet's opening night purchase of teh new Twilight book, and some pics of the activities at the Lee household.
and here are some videos- jacky got her swimming video last post, so here's Xander's- notice how he always veers to the left
And here is a dark, grainy video of the dancing fool in action
A video I forgot to post- Xander and I playing guitar for my parent's 50th anniversary. We had been taking lessons once a week for about 2 months prior to this. Actually, because of rock band, Xander wanted to take drum lessons. Not wanting a drum set in the house, we convinced him to take guitar. I didn't want him to lose interest, so I started taking lessons with him. He really surprised me here, though.
July 29, 2008
Boy, the summer is flying by. Xander and Jack are finishing up their July activities, and there's not much on the schedule for August. It's been plenty hot, and luckily we're pretty friendly with our neighbors, who happen to have a pool. We had a good July 4th at the above mentioned neighbor's house. We also had some old high school friend's of Janet's over one weekend. They reconnected over facebook, which is Janet's new time waster. The last weekend in June saw another Yung family get-together, where we finally got to meet the mythic male companions of Linda and Betty.
Here's Jacky modeling the latest in princess dresses (she must have 5 or 6 by
now) 
.
Xander hanging by the pool 
.
The next two are of Sophie and Nancy's visits, with some awesome rocking out
.
A meeting of the minds 
.
JoJo want to play with Jack, but Jack is not having it
.
Finally, we have evidence that Betty actually has met someone who can stand
copious amounts of abuse 
And here is Jacky in her swimming class- please pay no attention to the whale in the background
July 1, 2008
Summer is in full swing, with Xander and Jacky's activities getting underway.
We went to Jacky's Preschool orientation. Jacky did not say a word and
constantly shushed us. When it was time to leave, she threw a fit. She
wanted to stay so bad and screamed at the top of her lungs "I can't take it
anymore!". She certainly is becoming a willful little girl. Someone
keeps wanting me to put pictures of this little chubbers on the site:
Anyway, since I am running out of storage on the site, I have decided to do some other things with pics. Oh, and congratulations to Tracy and Bobby on their new little girl Pressley (I think that's how you spell it). I guess they are going to keep pumping them out until they get a boy.
June 20th, 2008
hmph. Almost 2 months has gone by without me posting. A lot of things going on, with summer starting, some household maintenance issues and the like. Jacky is really getting to be a big girl. Now she wakes up in the morning and goes downstairs by herself. If I am out jogging, she'll just sit on the sofa in the dark until I get back. Since there have been a few things going on, I'll split the pics into months. May saw the weather turn warm, and the start of summer activities, such as the Memorial Day BBQ:
. It was also a time for general outdoor fun around the neighborhood, as
well as another trip to Yankee Stadium
June is almost up- Xander is excited to get out of school, and has this delusional belief that we will let him play video games all day during the summer. We had some people visit so far, as well as going to a local amusement park. Jacky continues to enjoy playing the princess. The first pic is of jacky playing minigolf- she got impatient and just deposited the ball in the hole
As for the videos: #1- xander rocking out with his clasmmates, #2 Baby Zen reeeeaaaly likes to eat out #3-Xander and Aidan's new celebration "the Jolly Golly Dance"
April 30, 2008
That was a good trip. It has taken me almost two days to get back into the swing of things here. It didn't help that it was rainy and cold when we got back. There are a ton of pictures to post, so here goes:
The trip there was actually not too bad.
Dave and Courtenay have a big house and a minivan- they went out and got us leis
for the full Hawaiian experience
The kids got along immediately
The view from their house.
Monday, we took a trip out to the water
park, which was good fun, although I definitely overdid it in the sun, getting
burned and a little sick
Jacky before the lazy river "happy!"
after getting stuck under the waterfall- not so happy
Tuesday- Jacky starts throwing up
everywhere
The boys still have fun
Wednesday, Jacky feels a little better
We take in some scenery
and go to a local beach after dinner
Xander and Milo dig up a coconut
Cole has so much fun he goes back into the water after he changes into his
underwear
Thursday- out to the Dole plantation.
Pineapples are freaky looking.
Then to the North Shore, where we saw a large turtle, and the waves were fierce
After that, some shave ice (a local specialty), and monopoly
Friday- to Waikiki for some shopping,
then hitting the touristy beach- very crowded.
Dave and I took out some longboards- my first time ever. I was able to get
up a few times
Xander and Milo try some boogie boarding
That night, we hang out and eat at Costco, cause vacation is not complete
without Costco
Saturday- I play some basketball in the
morning, where I overdo it again. We head to a tranquil, family beach
which Jacky really enjoyed
Dave and myself, worn out by a week in the sun and morning basketball with giant
white folk, do our homeless person impersonations
That night- luau. Good fun for everyone
Last day- final meal at Zippy's (local
chain), then back to the grind
Finally, some video from the week- Dave doing some boogieboarding at the water park
Janet and Xander at the waterpark
Xander trying to bodysurf at the North Shore
April 16, 2008
Almost time for Hawaii! We'll be leaving in a few days, although I am dreading the 10 hour plane ride with Jacky. What's worse is that it seems the kids are starting to get sick. Anyway, a few notable events in the last 2 weeks. First, we took the kids out for more studio pics (along with baby Zen). Second, Janet celebrated her birthday with a rock band party- and if you look closely at the pics, you'll see that she got her black belt as well. Congrats!
I know these videos are kind of geeky, but I got a smile out of both of them: First: ROCK ON!
Next is a bunch of people with waaaay too much time on their hands (although the security guard at the end was the funniest part)
http://view.break.com/487616 - Watch more free videos
April 3, 2008
Spring has arrived, and thankfully, the weather is starting to get warmer. Xander and Jacky are growing by leaps and bounds. April is going to be a good month for us- hopefully Janet will get her black belt (wish her luck!). She's really excited for her birthday/rock band bash. She made CDs and labels for all the invitees. Then the next week... Hawaii! W00t!
A few pics from march, including some from Corey and Lisa's wedding.
February 25, 2008
Just a quick update- had about 7 inches of snow, which is mostly melted 2
days later. Xander took full advantage, though
.
Really wanted to get this picture out there, though
.
Anyway, looks like Connie has also hopped on the youtube bandwagon.
Here are some of her entries
February 11, 2008
Quick update- had a long Chinese New Year's gaming weekend. Also was
Paw paw's birthday
But really wanted to embed some videos- Jacky and Aidan rocking out
Here's the transcript, courtesy of Janet
J: ...in the refrigerator
A: Me and Jacky
J: Me and Aidan
A: We play me
J: We play music tonite
A: With Jacky
J: And then we're at Pawpaw's house
A: With thumpy
J: And with Cookie Yeeyee
A: Play with thumbkin and me and you we play thumby
(Some stuff I couldn't understand)
A: Cocoa
J: Nainai
A: Chocolate milk!!
More translation from Janet
|
J: Old McDonald had a farm EIEIO |
The lasts one is Aidan on his own
February 7, 2008
Happy New Year. Year of the rat. Boy, that means I'm going to be 36 this year. Moving out of the mid thirties and entering the late 30s. Xander is just getting over a recent nasty bout of bronchitis, which thankfully has avoided the other members of the family. Jacky is getting to be such a big girl... time really flies. Noting really momentous this last month. Bobby and Tracy came to visit sans kids (shocker). We had a good time with them. Got tix to see the gazillion bubble show on broadway. Jacky was entranced, and still talks about it. It actually was quite lame (Xander concurred with my assessment).
Here's a picture from cousin Jenny's wedding. After I took this
picture, my camera battery died
Here's JoJo, who is growing at an exponential rate. She looks quite
alarmed in this one
We took the San Fran clan to the museum of natural history- spent half the
time in the cafeteria
ROCK STARS
Our new
car
Jacky in her
New Year's oufit
My cuties
More
ROCK STARS
January 17, 2008
Where has the time gone? Holidays and events flying by, with memories starting to fade already. Christmas was spent with just us 4 (family either had to work or was away). New Year's was spent with the Lee clan getting together for cousin Jenny's wedding.
Looking back, 2007 was a year of growth for us. Jacky has started to develop some strong personality traits- she don't take no guff from noone. Just recently she has started taking instruction/discipline a little better, although she still gets angry with us. Xander has moved further along in his happy-go-lucky life. He loves to dance, and seems to be able to get along with anyone he meets. The two have a special bond, Xander can sit with Jacky and make her laugh for 30 minutes straight. These year end posts always make me reflect on my current situation; I guess I could sum it up by saying I'm happy :)
Anyway, let me put up some pcitures: Xander's birthday with the kids 
Janet's first place in both
grappling and kickboxing at her tournament 
(video of this to
follow). Janet and Betty going to see Hok Yau 
.
Some new year's picks of arts + crafts, kids, and rock band 
Some videos: first, an assortment of rock band videos- xander on the drums
Jacky and Zen also get into it
Next, Janet during her last tournament; kickboxing
and grappling
November 26, 2007
Time has been flying by, and the updates are getting farther apart. Well, many things have happened in the last two months, so I'm sure I am going to forget a lot of it. We've had Jo Jo's baptism, Zen's birthday, my recent conference in san fran (Xander came along too). Also, been playing a lot of video games, with halo 3 and rock band taking up most of our time. Well, since my memory of these things is fuzzy, I'll just go with the pictures.
These first few are from Jo Jo's baptism. A nice afternoon affair. Check out the picture of Xander and Jacky spinning- she's doing some weird exorcist-like spin with her lower body
. Here are a couple
from Halloween and Zen's birthday:
Jacky's new thing now is to take
all of her toys, and spread them out on the carpet. She calls it her
"home" 
Here are
some shots from my recent trip to San Francisco. It was pretty warm,
although the pool was freezing. Xander did get to try out the new homemade pool
slide, though (and went ice skating later). 
Most recently I played in a Stuy alumni ultimate tournament. A good
turnout, and lots of fun. Here are some pics of old friends, Janet
pulling, and Norman scoring. 
. Finally, the last
two pipcs are of us playing rock band- we are going to be the new Partridge
family! 
.
Here's a first- I'm going to try and embed some youtube videos on the site: the first is Xander rocking out with Bill and Simon
Next is Jacky teaching her mom how to dance like a pro.
Here is one from this summer, where all the kids get into the dancing (it was posted before, but some of you may have trouble viewing it)
Anyway, that's all for now- plenty of things planned for the next few months, so I'll have to clear some space on the site, I guess.
September 10, 2007
This site is brimming with pictures, and my server capacity is reaching its limit. I'm going to have to prune some of the archived posts :(.
Congratulations to Connie and Victor on the new baby!! :)
Ah, well. The summer has come and gone. Xander is back in
school, and things are starting to settle into their usual rhythms. It
was a busy last few weeks for us. First up, some pictures that I didn't
get to earlier, courtesy of Betty. The girls dressed up for granpa's 80th
, and a pciture of the two baby
girls all gussied up 
.
Our Labor Day weekend was spent in Boston... the first road trip for us in a
while (mainly because Janet had Saturday off). It was good fun, full of
xbox, baseball in the backyard, and nerts (of course). Here are a few
pics: we took a trip to the Franklin Park Zoo, which the kids enjoyed (surprising,
cause my kids don't like animals) 
. We also spent time with
Linda, as she got adjusted to college life at Tufts. The kids had fun
whereever we went 
.
The majority of the time was spent watching the kids run around in the backyard
(not sure what's happening with
Xander and Aidan in that one) 
(good
form by both Xander and Yee Yee) 
(the two girls trying to make a
funny face). Jac and Mac do get along together very well, aside from the
occasional squabble 
. Also in our time in
beantown we were able to reconnect with some old friends (Louisa and her
family) 
. Finally, here is cute
video of the two girls playing ring around the rosie, although all you can hear
is Aidan 
(this is in MOV format, so some of
you may have trouble- I can't get my camera to record in any other format,
though).
Back in NY, Janet has been playing with Jacky's hair a lot. When its
tied back, I don't even recognize her 
. She did start karate
kessons though, and she is supercute 
. We also got in one last
hurrah at the Staten Island beaches with baby Zen 
.
Last but not least, born Thursday, September 6th- Baby Josephine Chong
.
Don't forget to wish Janet good luck on her black belt test!
August 27, 2007
2 updates in 1 month... Well the last two weekends were quite busy, with the
Yung 80th birthday party happening last weekend. We forgot to bring our
camera, of course, but Jacky was quite clingy, so I was preoccupied most of the
night. The thing I think I will remember about that night is the Miss Q
dancers, and the face changing magician. Not sure how a group of scantily
clad teenage girls got a gig for an 80 year old's birthday. Janet also is
working on her own face changing routine, for those of you who haven't seen
it. That weekend we did get someone else into nerts, though
(Linda). We also introduced it to Wendy and Todd, whose wedding we went
to the next weekend. I didn't forget my camera for that one,
though. Janet prepared for the wedding by dying her hair 
. She actually did a lot for
the wedding: invites, placecards, gift tags and the program. Here we are
showing off some of her work 
. It
was all good fun, and Wendy really had a good time, it seemed 
. Back on 28th street, it was
nerts, nerts and more nerts (with some settlers). Connie looks like she's
about to burst with the next member of the Yung clan
. At the end of the weekend,
we were able to drag the kids away from the TV/wii/xbox long enough to play the
question game that we do from time to time with kids. Here are two videos
of it (22-36 megs). In the first, I ask Jacky about the color of the
Wiggles' shirts- she surprised me with the details of her answer 
. The second is the kids
doing a dance and naming it- Mac had the best entry, I think 
. Back at home, Jac, mom and
Xander did some summer clean up, and even washed the car 
.
August 13,2007
Ahh, the dog days of summer. How quickly time flies. Its been a busy month, with even more stuff going on later on this month. But I've got a buttload of pictures to put up, and I don't want to be overwhelmed. Lets start with Connie's baby shower. The baby is ready come out, and her baby shower was held at the new townhouse. I was a blur of rain, Domino's pizza, friends, family and wild kids. The highlight, though, had to be Lily getting stuck in the bathroom, which required some major hammering to get it open (after a failed attempt at a front kick by Janet)
The next weekend I had my annual company picnic, which was a pretty large
affair. It was a t the same place, and the kids had a very good time 
. Jacky spent some
time with coworker's families 
,
and Xander even entered the hula hoop contest (he reached the finals, but lost
to the older kids- click the pic for a 22 meg vid of it) 
. We did enter and win the
"flickn chikn contest" which involved a rubber chicken, a lacrosse
stick, and a laundry basket 
.
The bulk of this past period was taken up by our trip to Disney World.
It was the first time for the kids, and they were very excited. The trip
had some technical issues at first, but it was pretty smooth sailing for most
of the week. It was hot. Hell hot. We got around to see a lot
of stuff, but the weather and the young kids limited us to 1, sometimes 2
activities per day. We were able to hit the magic kingdom (meh), MGM
studios (kids loved- so did janet for the high school musical show, which she
saw twice), typhoon lagoon (just me and xander), disney quest (xander
loved). The folks checked out epcot and Nancy and Janet had a spa
day. Xander swam in the pool with Jacky and Zen everyday. All in
all a fun, if exhausting vacation. I'm just going to put the pictures up
without explanation (except this one 
, which is a link to a video)
Back at home, we are unwinding, and getting ready for the next few weekends
of activity. I got this rad shirt, while my son plays "ninja
warrior" 
.
Here's some video footage of what a happy baby Zen is 
.