Fun with Family

Thanks Mom for my 1st Birthday Cake!

June 20 (Monday)

We're already into week three of our 6 week temple break. Yesterday was actually Beckham's first birthday, but because it was also Father's Day, we decided to celebrate his birthday on Monday. It's hard to believe that a year has passed by. As we were flying into Hong Kong on June 19, 2015, Beckham was born, so this visit is the first time we actually got to hold and cuddle with him, though he's no longer a little baby.

It was Aubrey's turn to go shopping with Grammy and Grampy. She decided she wanted a big stuffy Tsum Tsum and picked Mickey Mouse. Tsum Tsum's are Japanese styled Disney characters in a unique boxy shape. So absolutely adorable.I think I like them just as much as the kids. After all, I am a kid at heart.

Since Gaylon and MaryAnne Ball live in Boise, we took this opportunity to get together and invited them over to help celebrate Beckham's birthday. Molly made these amazing fall off the bone BBQ ribs. It was great to visit with the Ball's. They were our trainers when we first arrived in Hong Kong.

Party Prep - Addey learning how to fold party hat napkins. 

Decorating Beckham's Cake 

MaryAnne and Gaylon Ball - trainers extraordinaire.

Here ButtButt - have some cake...

Present time with help from Crew and Brayden. 

My new Radio Flyer Trike

June 21 (Tuesday)

We started the day with picking cherries. It was close to the end of the season, but there were still lots of clusters of cherries on the trees. After it was Brayden' s turn to go shopping for a toy.

Just getting started...we quickly filled 2 large buckets full!

The Ball's had invited us to their house to go swimming, but the day got late so we opted out. Maybe next time. Beckham broke out with chicken pox.


June 22 (Wednesday)

We said our good-byes to the Chan Clan and headed south to Jade's. It was a beautiful day for a drive. We're loving our new Mazda. We arrived just in time for dinner...Chuck-a-rama here we come! Our favorite buffet restaurant.

Dinner at "Chuck's"

Rhett, Rhome, my Mom (the kids call her ButtButt). Ellie 

Gifts from Hong Kong

June 23 (Thursday)

One of my favorite things to do in Utah is shop at Ross. Jade and I shopped while John went for groceries to prepare a Chinese dinner for their friends Torrie and Mike Boerhe and family.

Filling for John's famous Lettuce Wraps

June 24 (Friday)

I was hoping to be able to find a new temple dress so we went to Provo. No luck. We went to BYU bookstore to pick up a shirt for my friend CoCo in Hong Kong. Stopped by a Sketchers store and John and I both found new Sketchers on sale...yeah.

A die hard fan.

We had BBQ steak and salmon that night, took the kids to the park. Then John and Mike went to the movie Independence Day.


June 25 (Saturday)

John had made another genealogy friend through email so we met with Toni and Po Cheung for Dim Sum. It was very good. I didn't know this restaurant existed. We'll have to go there again, if we can recall the name.

Mom, me, Toni, John and Po

Jade mentioned that Men's Warehouse had a sale on - buy 1 get 3 free! Had to go with a deal like that. John got a sport jacket, 2 pairs of dress pants, 2 shirts, and 2 ties.

Next it was dinner at another favorite place, Sweet Tomatoes. Then back home to meet with Ah-B and her parents. Her father used to be in the Taiwan Temple Presidency. They are wonderful people and are related to John on his dad's side.

4 Generations - Jade Goodman, May Lee, Judy Chan, Ellie Goodman

June 26 (Sunday)

The Goodman's church service begins at 8:00, so we prepared to leave before then. A long 11.5 hour drive home. It was great to visit our kids and grandkids and see both their new homes. Makes me want to buy a new home, but when I see all the yard work it would require, I decided I'm quite happy where I am. Home sweet home. There's no place like home.

Christmas in June

June 13 (Monday)

Flight - Vancouver to Calgary to Lethbridge. Jasmine had to pick us up in her van since we had so much luggage and it wouldn't all fit in our little Versa. Home at last! Funny how a year flies by. We've experienced so much, and yet when I walked into my house, it felt like we were never even away. Home Sweet Home, There's no place like home.

Waiting for our flight back to Lethbridge.

I started unpacking and sorting and doing laudry. We took all the gifts over to Jas' for the kids. After a pizza dinner, it was like having the Christmas we missed out on as we distributed gifts to the kids. Even though we had seen the family in December, it seems like they've all grown a bit more. I'm soon to be the midget of the family.

Azia and Parker both got me beat.

Bulldog shirt - a must have. 

Basketball jerseys for the boys - "James" for Parker, "Jordan" for Cardiff

June 14 (Tuesday)

Here we go...the start of many appointments to come. I took Mom to Dr. Elke's office to see about getting her new dentures since her old ones are old, about 40 years old! I guess they're supposed to be changed about every 5 years, but these ones are about 40 years. Dr. Elke is on holidays and Ron is the one who makes the dentures. He seems really nice and has many years of experience. I'm sure he'll do a good job.

We stopped by Subway to say "Hi" to the staff. It felt a little strange to be there, almost as if I didn't quite belong. The staff are doing an excellent job of taking care of business. We couldn't have gone on a mission if it wasn't for them...so dedicated and trustworthy.

Tezz, Gina, Judy, Malou, Maricar (The Dream Team) 

Chinese pastry is good, but I miss my Timbits.

June 15 (Wednesday)

I called Kevin McLean at the Museum. He wanted to interview Mom when she got back. We set up an appointment to see him on June 30.

I also called to book a small SUV to rent for our trip to the U.S. It was going to cost us $700.00 so I thought about buying a vehicle and save the $700.00 rental fee. Prior, I had been researching on line for a vehicle. I had pretty much decided that I wanted a Mazda CX 5, so we went to Mazda to check it out. Matt Poytress (son of Shawn, grandson of Chuck, friends of the family), happened to be the salesman. It was an easy sale for him. We had already decided that was what we wanted. So we ordered the car. They didn't have the colour we wanted, so they had one sent down from Calgary the next day. They had it all prepped, polished and shined for us to pick on Thursday. We both love it and are excited to drive it down to the States tomorrow.

Matt Poytress handing over the keys to our new Mazda CX5

We had invited the family over for chicken fried steaks, but because our purchase of the new vehicle took longer than we expected, we ended up just ordering KFC for supper. All is good.


June 16 (Thursday)

Mom had another dentist appointment this morning to fit her molds for her new dentures. They should be ready for her by the time we get back from the U.S.

We got the call that our vehicle would be ready for pick-up today. I was so impressed at how quickly everything come together. They arranged everything, from the registration, license plates, to insurance. Everything went so smoothly. A quick rundown on how everything works, and we were off...zoom zoom. I'm lovin' it.


June 17 (Friday)

We left this morning around 9:00 and arrived at Rylan's new home in Middleton, Idaho around 11:00 pm. It was a long driving day, but a beautiful drive. Mom is such an easy going passenger. She slept most of the way, as did I.

It was fun to fiddle around with all the technology features on our new Mazda. And let me just say, there are a lot of gadgets to figure out how to operate. We decided to get the top of the line model with the skyactive technology package. It includes stuff like bluetooth, sirius FX radio, navigation system and more.

At one point along our drive, there was an engine warning light that came one. Not knowing what it was for, we found a Mazda dealer and stopped to have it checked. It was simply the gas cap had not been tightened. Easy fix, then we were on our way.

It was late when we arrived, but Addey and Aubrey heard us, so they came out to greet us. We're so excited to see the kids. Since they didn't make it over in December, it's been a whole year since we've seen them, and our first meeting with baby Beckham. So Sweet!

Welcoming ButtButt Ida 

June 18 (Saturday)

It was so great to see all the kids. We gave them their gifts. Beckham is such a huggable, loveable, little guy! We went to pick up some groceries. Tomorrow would be Father's Day and Beckham's 1st Birthday! We wanted to do BBQ steaks. We also took Addey and Crew shopping for toys and shopping for Beckham's birthday gift. We take the others on another day. Molly made a marvelous pasta dish for dinner. She's such an awesome cook.

Beckham - Born as we were flying into Hong Kong. 

Crew - Cars Back Pack 

Brayden - Knights and Dragons

Aubrey - Origami

Addey - Chinese Vest

Butt Butt Ida and Beckham

Grampy's little helper - Crew

June 19 (Sunday)

Happy Father's Day and Happy 1st Birthday to Beckham!  This break from the Temple couldn't have been timed any better. Breakfast in bed for John...it doesn't get any better than that for the start of a great day. Their church meetings are all reversed, Relief Society, Sunday School, then Sacrament Meeting. Beckham was needing a nap, so we stayed home with him until it was time for Sacrament meeting. It made it a lot easier for them, not having to struggle with a tired cranky baby.

Happy Father's Day - from Crew - a special gift he wrapped himself.

The Chan Clan #2 - Rylan, Molly, Aubrey, Addison, Brayern, Crew and Beckham (Nina the dog) 

The Chan Clan #2 plus ButtButt Ida 

Happy Father's Day - Father and Son!

Grill Master Chan - Pretty awesome steaks! 

Cool gifts for Dad - Skeet Shooter

Father's Day was topped off with succulent rib steaks which Molly seasoned and Rylan grilled to perfection! Home made apple pie topped off a most delicious meal!

Homeward Bound...

(From June 6 until July 18, we have been on a 6 week break while the Temple undergoes renovations. We will be home in Canada or the U.S. for most of this time.)

June 6 (Monday)

This is the last day to prepare for our trip home. We finished last minute shopping, packed 4 large suitcases and 3 carry-on bags. Got my haircut and a perm, though I didn't see any positive effects of having a perm. Tidy up the apartment...ready to go.

June 7 (Tuesday)

Homeward bound! Up at 7:00. Clean up. Catch a cab to the airport at 8:30. Had McDonald's for breakfast. Our plane didn't depart until 12:05.

Hong Kong Airport posts where to find "Hot Drinking Water". Must be a Chinese thing.

 Bigger seats on the flight made it quite comfortable. I'm really impressed with Korean Air. The flight attendants were so impeccable. They all looked like cookie cutter Korean Barbies.

We snapped this one shot, but were then told we were not to take photos
of any of the staff.

We had about 2 hours to wait in Korean before our connecting flight to Vancouver. There was a beautiful little gift shop that had a little craft activity going on. We were able to make our own candy dish out of special paper and paste procedure. Unfortunately, John's ipod ran out of space and he never got a picture of the finished product. They actually turned out pretty nice. There was a small parade that paraded through the concourse.

The finished product looks like the yellow dish above.

Traditional Korean costumes

Because of the time change, we left Hong Kong on Tuesday at 12:05 pm and arrived in Vancouver on the same day at 12:30 pm. Gin and Mom picked us up at the airport. I had a nap, then supper. I didn't feel much jet lag and went to bed at our usual time around midnight.

June 8 (Wednesday)

Vic bought his old car over so we could use it. So glad he kept it when he bought his new Lexus. Ilona and Keong came to visit for a bit in the morning. 

We decided to go surprise John's Mom and Dad since we've been keeping it a secret from them that we were coming home. We rang the door bell and John's Mom (Ning) answered. Boy, was she ever surprised! John's Dad (Yeh) was not home. We decided to go out for lunch. On our way to the restaurant, who did we see at the bus stop?... Yeh Yeh was there waiting to catch the bus home. There was no parking, so I hopped out to catch him before he got on the bus, and John went around the block to find parking. Yeh didn't recognize me at first as he has very poor vision, and with my broken Chinese, he didn't quite understand what I was saying. Eventually, we did communicate and we walked to the car around the corner. It was a great surprise! Steve joined us for lunch.

A very surprised and happy Mom!

Front: Judy's Mom, John's Mom and Dad
Back: Judy, John and Steve

 That evening we watched a movie, but I don't even recall what it was. Not surprising, 

June 9 (Thursday)

Today we bought lunch to take to Uncle Henry's and Aunt Jane's and to meet a distant relative of John's. Ted Yip is on John's father's side of the family. He used to deliver the morning paper to Uncle Henry and for years they never spoke to each other, each thinking the other was Japanese. Finally one day they struck up a conversation with each other only to find out he was related to John. Ever since they have become good friends. So it was exciting to meet with him.

Judy's Uncle Henry, John, John's cousin Ted Yip 

Mom. Aunt Jane, Lorraine (my cousin), Uncle Henry, John Ted Yip

June 10 (Friday)

John and Mom went for breakfast with Vic. I waited for Ivy (my sister) and Ling(my cousin) to show up. Ivy lives in Victoria and Ling was picking her up from the ferry terminal.We had a nice short visit, but Ivy was anxious to get home since Bob was not feeling well and didn't want to be left alone in case he had any fainting or passing out spells. Left overs for supper and Jackie (my niece), stopped by for a visit in the evening. She just passed her real estate test so is excited to hit the real estate market. I'm sure she'll do well in Vancouver.

June 11 (Saturday)

I finally got a good night sleep and slept in till 10:30! I think I'm caught up now on sleep. We went to buy groceries at a local market for a BBQ tonight: hamburgers, ribs, baked beans, corn on the cob, watermelon. Later we went to the Costco in Richmond to buy a prime rib roast for Sunday dinner. I felt like I was back in Hong Kong! Costco was so congested. We drove around and around looking for a parking space. Inside was wall to wall people, mostly Asian. They say that this is the busiest Costco in Canada and I believe it.

Nephew Jimmy Cameron and wife Tina with baby Ashe

Niece Alice Devonshire and boyfriend Brad Miller

Most of the Vancouver family came for dinner tonight. I find with the nieces and nephews all grown up and working, it's easier to carry on a conversation with them. My how the world is changing. As I hear about them telling me what they are doing and the technical advances being made, it just boggles my mind. From computer gaming techniques, to movies, to driverless cars, it's way beyond what I understand. Melisa and her friend Sherry stopped by later in the evening. They couldn't make it to dinner because of a previous engagement.

June 12 (Sunday)

We went to Church today in Burnaby, Bishop Iwaasa's ward. He is a cousin to Gale Iwaasa who is in our home ward. We had been to this ward before and met a few acquaintances to other people we know. Typically at home Sunday dinner is roast beef. I really missed that in Hong Kong, so we treated ourselves and everyone else to a prime rib dinner...mmm. Great way to end our first week back in Canada. The weather has been great, just comfortable and low humidity. I'm loving it!

John working on another Temple design