Sunday, June 17, 2012

Dads' Day



Decided to skip the last day of the tourney to hang with the fam. Full day of sunshine and caught most of the Open on the DVR anyway, which was exciting down to the end. Even got in a nap and Q'd up some sausages for dinner. Giants lose, Dodgers win. No complaints.

Last One


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Believe it or not, Kevin is the last sibling to finish high school.  The seven of us graduated from four different high schools and attended seven different universities.  Holy tuition.  Kevin we're really proud of you for accomplishing this milestone, and we've seen you excel at everything that you've dedicated yourself to.  Like shredding the dance floor in a grey sweater.  You're becoming quite the young man, and we're really excited to see what you take on next.

Some Grad Pics


Family Tree

 
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Last week, Huelan and Grandma patiently put together this family tree, which is no easy task with our families!

We did a little early Fathers' Day in the Sunset with some pizza and some great cards and gifts. I was late coming from the Open, but still managed to score a bottle of fine scotch and a painted egg ornament. Both handcrafted.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Can't Believe my Eyes

Something I never thought I'd see...

Monday, June 11, 2012

Banteay Srei


PART 1 << Click here if the embedded vid is not working


PART 2 << Click here if the embedded vid is not working




In Cambodia, Banteay Srei is a temple filled with intricate carvings in the Ankor area. In Oakland, Banteay Srei is a youth group sponsored by Asian Health Services dedicated to girls empowering themselves that principally serves the Cambodian community.

More about Bantey Srei, including how to make a donation, here:
http://www.girlsempoweringthemselves.com/pages/index2.html

And for the past four years, the group has been led by my sister, Nhuanh. She works with teenage girls, basically trying to help them stay on the path toward becoming proud, successful, mature young women living in a community that doesn't always model that possibility.  She uses heavy doses of mentoring, art, and plain old listening to make sure that these young women can envision a positive life for themselves, and she does it amazingly well. 

Nhuanh has been planning a big move for quite a while now, and this year was her last with Banteay Srei.  A few nights ago was the final showcase of the girls' art and performances that they've been putting together all year.  It was capped off by the girls' goodbye to Nhuanh.  You can see that she's had a huge impact on them, and that though it's goodbye for now, the effect and impression that she's made will long outlast her tenure there.

Mel's BBQ at our house


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So Melinda felt like throwing a BBQ, and we felt like it would be a great excuse for us to pull a few things together and have friends over, so we dusted off the grill and rubbed up a few tri-tips and had a party.  Side Note- our friends' pot luck fare rocks- from Spam masubis to lumpia, from crab dip to desserts (Happy Birthday Jeff!), and plain old liquor, there was barely a crumb (or drop) left over.

We benefited from a clear, warm day, and the kids entertained each other til almost 11PM.  Not even the Paquaio debacle could dampen the mood for more than a few minutes.....


More Pics here

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

This girl

Loves spam masubi

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Besties












































Huelan met Maggie last week at D&G's BBQ and was immediately enamored with her worldliness stature as a 3.5 year old.  Also, Maggie had a Hello Kitty lunchbox filled with stickers and stamps and a shimmering hula hoop.  All week, Huelan would talk about "Maggie, my friend."

Well today, at the Hardcastle baby shower (we are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of baby LeBron), Maggie was in attendance in all her glory.  At first, Huelan had a difficult time keeping up with Maggie, who has a year on her, but through diligence and charm, Huelan quickly won Maggie over.  Soon, they were popping bubbles, Maggie was helping Huelan bury her hands in the sandbox, and the strolled out of the party hand-in-hand.  Huelan even gave Maggie a little yellow flower.

I could only bear to watch them hold hands for a brief few seconds at a time for fear that my heart would explode from the devastating cuteness.

Playdates will ensue.

More pics here
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St. Brigid Angel
























In San Francisco, eighth grade graduation is kind of a big deal, with considerably more meaning than when I left eighth grade in Garden Grove.  My eighth grade class was probably 450 kids, and 90% of us would go on to the same high school, so no big whoop.  For Sophia and her classmates, totally different game. Her class was 36 students, and about 85% of them had been in the same *classroom* since kindergarden, sharing everything.  They literally grew up with each other, near siblings running down the same milestones contemporaneously, so at the end of grammar school, it's a serious parting of ways.  Students from St. Brigid this year will go on to about 9 different high schools, and only eight will go to Sacred Heart, where Sophia is headed in the fall. 

As bittersweet as that is, it's the natural progression, and we have no doubt that Sophia will make the transition with grace and good humor, as she always does.  We're very proud of you!

More pics here
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End of May













Just like that, May is over and summer is kickin full effect.  Save for one or two days, the weather has been absolutely epic in the east bay, with long days of sunshine encouraging us to make full use of the yard and deck. 

May also saw a little bit of travelling- Liz went solo to a tropical wedding (Congrats Joy and Eric!), and I took a solo trip to SoCal for Jen's USC Grad.  While kind of weird, we both handled our solo trips (and more importantly solo Huelan stints) with aplomb, though there's no place like home.

With a lot of help from our friends and family, we finished the kitchen and thus feel like we are fully settled in the house.  The project list gets shorter and shorter, but still some biggies yet to tackle.  Next will be painting the family room, but trying not to think about that just yet.  For now, bask in the kitchen being complete and getting into a summer frame of mind.  It really is time for you all to visit if you haven't been by.

Some May pics here

Liz's pics from Joy's Wedding
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Graduation Redux



Gosh finally got around to downloading the pics from Jen's USC graduation and taking a look at them more closely.  Reminded me what a great day that was and how incredibly proud we are of her and the young woman she has become.

Not even going to make a comment about USC.  Other than that they had multiple, multiple stations around campus on graduation day with free coffee, snacks, and full on food, which I totallly agree with.

More pics here
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