aloha

we just got back from our trip to Hawaii.. we took lots of pictures, check them out at:

http://funkyphotos.shutterfly.com/200808hawaii

there are 196 pictures.. enjoy!!

taylor's first bday!

jerry (nancy's cousin-in-law) told me the other day that matthew thinks taylor is still clapping. i can't believe my last post was in february. i didn't get to post some of taylor's easter picture, hawks playoff games (yeah we went all three home games with taylor), and CA trip to see jenny & family, destin beach trip.. i posted lots of pictures since then, with the favorite ones on facebook.

time flies.. taylor turned one last week. she refuses to crawl and now is cruising (almost standing without hanging on). we had some pictures taken and took a bunch other from her parties:




here are a few other favorite photos from the last few months:





check out other pictures on shutterfly.

clap clap hands

yesterday taylor knew to clap when both me and nancy told her in mandarin and in cantonese. the night before we went out to eat we told her to clap in english to the people at the next table, but she didn't know to clap. she's going to be so confused. she knows how to wave "bye bye" and congrats too, so we will try to catch her on video next time.

(does anyone know the pin yin for 'clap clap hands'?)



i have updated our photo album to include some pictures from chinese new year.
funkyketchup.shutterfly.com

la paz

finally got to try la paz tonight. nothing special, nancy got the steak fajitas and i got the "arizona" quesadillas. the food is definitely more gourmet than other tex-mex, but the taste doesn't come close to papasitos. at least we got some northwest airline miles from it.

the restaurant is at the vinings jubilee in vinings village near our house. pretty neat place with small boutiques and stores like banana republic, ann taylor/loft, and other restaurants. we will definitely go back there and walk around.

on the way back home, we drove by the West Village (another new mixed use community on atlanta rd). we were surprised to see the number of restaurants in that community. we'll need to finally try five guys burger one day as they have one there.

ho ho ho..

hope everyone have a merry Christmas and happy 2008!

"TIMBER!"

two years ago when nancy and i were choosing between our current house and the one next to ours, we (or more me) chose our house because of the 100+ yr old oak tree in the front of the house. one thing i hate about new developments in Atlanta is that they get rid of all the mature trees before they build. also, it is especially hard to find within city limits with mature trees all around.

well this past summer, late summer, the leafs of our big oak tree in the front started to brown. at first i was hoping that it was not dead because of the drought and wanted to wait till next spring to do anything with the tree, hoping it will come back. during the past month or two the small branches and barks started to fall. the last thing i wanted is to have a lawsuit, or worse, the trees falls to our house (taylor's room faces the front) or to our neighbors.

i asked some friends to see if they can recommend some tree companies. i got 5 quotes around thanksgiving and was ready to hire the cheapest one - found out two weeks later they went out of business. not good. then we went with our 2nd choice and was able to talk the price down (being chinese). they really did a great job - everything was cut down safely and cleaned up nicely. they had to get like 8 men out here, along with a crane and trucks because of the size of the tree. it wasn't cheap, so don't be offended if you receive a small christmas gift from us this year, if any. so sad.. about the tree being gone.

they grinded the stump yesterday, i need to go rake now.

penguins & sea otters

nancy's best friend jenny was in town for a week. taylor finally got to meet her god mom. two fridays ago we took jenny and the kids to the aquarium. it's been a little more than a year since we get to see with our god son tyler too. the kids' mandarin is much better than mine.. wow, i need to take the chinese class 102 after my 101 this past summer. the kids had a good time at the aquarium. hailey's favorite was the penguins and tyler was the sea otters. it would be so wrong if they have them on the menu, but i was craving for some sushi and sashami at the aquarium's food court.

congrats to the chens as they are expecting their third child! i was telling nancy before they left, this may be their last trip for a LONG time to atlanta as it may be impossible for jenny and james to travel with 3 kids! nancy was sad that jenny and family left last wednesday.

after my last posting, many of you have joined facebook, but just a few more! as always, pictures are posted on our new photo sharing @ shutterfly: http://funkyketchup.shutterfly.com