Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I can't believe I have not posted for more than a month! Life is really living the fullest right now. We are so happy and thankful for all we have. I just wish I would have a little bit more time each day!
We started our new year of 2009 in Orlando Florida. We will end this year in Sanibel Island in Florida. We will be on our way tomorrow. Obviously there are TONS of things besides packing to do from now until tomorrow. It is a good things that we have been invited to a friend's house for dinner so at least we don't have to clean up after dinner!
Kids continue to be the center of our lives. Our oldest son Tobias is in college now! We were so proud of him being accepted by many top schools including Johns Hopkins, Purdue, U of Michigan, Michigan Tech and U of Minnesota. It was a hard decision to make on which one he would be going. Many of these school offered very good scholarship as well. In the end, University of Michigan won him over. He just finished his first semester as a first engineering student at the College of Engineering there. He truly enjoyed his new life there. We are very proud of him!
Joshua is the geek of the family. He spends all his spare time besides school working on his computer and robot for his FIRST robotic team. Last year, he and Toby were both on the team. Toby entered a contest on Audodesk design on behalf of his team and won the top 5th place and individual "best use of library" award. Joshua's job was to program the robot using C++. This year's season has not started yet, but he has already spent countless hours design and program basic components whose concept may be used in the final robot.
With Toby being in college, Joshua becomes our help with the girls. Joshua picks them up every day after school and drop them off to the Boys and Girls Club where they stay until I come to pick them up after work. Both girls continue to show talents in their swimming. They had won many medals and ribbons for their events in swimming. They both loved playing soccer in the fall. Anna scored many goals for her team while Jenny was a big helper. They are also taking piano lessons. Once swimming season is over, they will want to go back to dance again.
Both Anna and Jenny had their first communion with Catholic faith last spring. As a family we are participating our church's family program in which our entire family is taking "CCD" classes together. It is a great opportunity to strengthen our faith and meet new friends.
We celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. Bert surprised me with a weekend in Chicago. I surprised myself on staying in love with the same guy for so long and love still continues considering that I had never had any relationship lasted more than year before I met him! Thanks to my friend Elizabeth for taking care of the girls while we were gone.
Too much to write, but I got to go now. There are still tons of things to do before we are heading to Florida....
Love and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!! May the New Year be full of pleasant surprises for you and your loved ones. Let us wish for peace and love to be felt around the world.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is always a fun holiday for the little ones. Anna and Jenny had been excited about this for a while. Choosing a costume is not quite easy for them. Anna always wants to be a cowgirl - that is her favorite choice. Jenny wants to dress up and to be pretty. However this year the weather was not cooperating so dressing up in pretty dress is not an easy task when the outside temperature is in its 30s and very windy. So last weekend, I sat down with the girls. We went through many possible choices. Anna liked one of the cape I made many years ago for Joshua for one of the star war characters (Darth Sedious). She even had the lightsaber for it, but in the end, she gave up that idea because she was afraid that others may laugh at her because that is a boy character. She did not want to be a princess. We browse through some other possible halloween costume ideas and crossed a picture of Hermoine from Harry Potter. Instantly, Anna fell in love with it. We can still use the same cape, we got a tie from Daddy and one of the white shirt from me. With her dark brown long hair, she looked just like Hermoine. She was all set!
Jenny picked her costume based on how the hair looks like. She loved any costume that requires putting her hair up. She debated between Princess Leia from Star War and Pipi Longstocking. When I braided her hair with black pipecleaners and stick it up, she loved it. So there she was, Pipi Longstocking!
Eleanor and Evelyn Timmerman came over and went tick-o-treat with us. It was cold, but the girls dressed relatively warm. After going around our neighborhood, Bert had prepared nice hot chocolate milk for everyone.
Joshua did not dress up, but his friends did. Three of the girls dressed up as Ninjas. Instead of collecting candies in the cold. They went out just got enough candies for their sweet teeth and came back in and played a board game (War on Terrior!) together.
Toby had his party in his residence hall. He dressed up as someone with identity crisis by sticking more than dozen different name tags on his jacket!







More photos

Toothfairy can't open plastic ziplock bags!!

Can you believe it? Both Anna and Jenny lost a tooth on the same day! They were so excited to tell me after I picked them up from the boys and girls club yesterday that they both had very loose tooth, the same tooth (I believe it is their molar). I did not give much thought of it until about an hour later at soccer practice, they both handed me their lost tooth together. Afraid to loose them, I put them into two separate small zip lock bags. I told them to put them under their pillows later when we get home. That was the last time I saw them.

This morning on our way to school. They both told me that the toothfairy did not come last night!! Oh boy! What I am going to say? This Toothfairy forgot my girls again! I wasn't sure if I could cover up this mess the Toothfairy has created. I wanted to say there is no such thing as toothfairy. It is a simple mistake Mom made. But that would require more explanations and answer more "why's". Maybe something in between the truth and the fairy? I had to act on quickly to avoid any suspsions. So I said "Maybe because you are from China and there are no such thing as toothfairy in China. So it will take some time for the Toothfairy to figure things out....". I was not proud of myself for saying this. Luckily Anna turned that idea down immediately by saying "That is not true. I got money from her before. Last time I got a dollar!". Now I had to back on the track with her again. Let's do some troubleshooting to see what went wrong last night. So I started to ask a lot questions. "Are you sure the tooth is still there?", "Did you look carefully?", " what? Jenny put another old tooth in? that would really confuse the toothfairy!", "Did you take it out of the plastic bag?", "What? you did not take them out of the plastic bag? you have to take it out of the plastic bag because toothfairy did not know how to open the ziplock bag!".....

At this point, both Anna and Jenny were so quiet and thinking. While I was still so afraid to be caught of lying or something, Joshua came to the rescue. He said "that is it!! the plastic bag! why did I think about it. I always hid the tooth and hoped the toothfairy could not find it, but it never worked because I did not use the plastic bag! Once I wraped it in a bath rope and the toothfairy still found it! If I had put it into a plastic bag, even she found it, she would not be able to take it out!"

Thank God we arrived the girls school by then. They both promised to take their tooth out of the bag and I promised that the toothfairy will come tonight!

Should I send the toothfairy a reminder just in case?

Anna's Homework

I am signing all the forms Anna brought home. In her homework folder, I found what she wrote today at school. Here it goes...

"Though my idea may change, right now I'd like to grow up to become a scientist because I want to be smart, happy and joyful. I want to work where my Mom worked at. But I have to work hard like her. I hope that I meet and make new friends there. I'll miss my other friends that I have now for a long time. But sometime in my life, I will see them or meet them again."

Isn't she sweet?

Barnes and Nobles

It is Labor Day so we are all home today except Joshua. He is taking dual enrollment class at Hope College and Hope does not close for Labor Day. Before picking Joshua up again, we all went to down town Holland for the annual Truck Parade. Not too much fun for me, but I think Bert had a great time. We then wanted to spend some time in down town Holland, but everything is closed.
So we decided to do something or go somewhere together as family. I gave Joshua the choice to make a decision. With all the choices he can make, he chose to go to Barnes and Nobles!! So we spent a few hours there checking and reading books and had some Starbuck coffee. We then headed to Johnny Carino's for Lunch. Life is good.
We also stopped by Bed, Bath and Beyond to get some coffee for Daddy and some wedding gifts for a friend. For some odd reason, I could not stop thinking of Toby. Maybe because we are having too much fun this weekend at home. I miss Toby even more. I know he is in a good place and having a great time. However, that does not stop me thinking and missing him. I think Daddy noticed my bad mood. He must have called Toby. As I walked by him while he was on the phone, I head the name Toby. Suddenly, I broke into tears. I could not stop crying right in the middle of the shop!!! Bert got a smash wet shirt from my tears. Finally Joshua showed me a UofM blanket he grabbed from one the nearby shelves. We all broke out laughing. Thanks Joshua!! You know how to cheer me up.
Yes, I will have to get used to the fact that Toby is in a difference place and having a difference life...

Family of Five now

I dropped off Toby last Thursday to Ann Arbor. He is now officially a student at University of Michigan. I have to say that I am a bit of jealous of him. What a luxury to be there! He has one of the best dorm on campus with WiFi and airconditioning and connected to the best dinning hall on campus as well. Behind his dorm, there is a huge green field and tennis court. It is situated near the center of everything in walking distance. I wish I had someone to pay me to spend the next four years there!
It is kind of odd feeling to drop him off. I am happy and sad at the same time. I think it will take some time to adjust to his absence at home. So far so good. He is having a grea time there meeting new people and getting to know Ann Arbor. Meanwhile we are having a great time at home to enjoy this long weekend together. Joshua has been a big help cleaning up one of our rental property last Friday. Weather has been great. We took the boat out two days in a roll. We actually caught some fish, some big fish!! The biggest one is nearly 2 lbs! I think they are sheepshead, not the greatest fish I heard, but it was really fun catching them.
Still another day off yet...I think if the weather is good again, we will go out again. We are making up the lost time with our boat this year because of the bad weather we have had this summer!

Fishing

This is an old event. I found these photos from our Labor Day fishing...The camera had wrong date setting.....

What a fun weekend

This was the last weekend Toby home. Next Thursday, he will move into his new dorm in Ann Arbor. I just had to get away from home despite the fact that we are all busy. The weather wasn't coorporate, but we enjoyed our weekend anyway. We were lucky to get a camp site at Muskegon State Park. Someone must have just canceled their reservation right before I spotted it. We pulled out our popup camper and started our camping weekend. It rained a little, more like mist, not even a shower. We got there late on Friday. The site was not even so it took us a little to get our camper setup. As always, when all the Franzes together, there will also be arguement because everyone has their opinion. It is our character.
Saturday morning was nice. After breakfast, Bert and I took the girls for a long hike while the boys slept in. When we got back, we packed our gears and all went to fishing. It started raining while we were fishing. Kids had fun catching small fishes of the fishing pier. We were soaking wet by the time we got back.
The rest of the evening we had to stay in the camper because it just rained too much on and off. We played euchre with the boys while the girls sat on our laps watched. Toby and Joshua claimed that they were the unbeatable Euchre kings among their friends. They were very good I have to say. We played with them before and they beat us a few times. But this time, we beat them bad 10-5!!. That really discouraged them. So no more second round. Instead, we played poker. Joshua and I did not last very long. Between Toby and Dad, we could not tell who was the bigger bluff because they were too tired to finish the game at the end. Needless to say, we had a great time.
The next morning while Bert and I packed up the camper, Toby and Joshua took the girls for another long hike to the big house. We stopped by the ice cream shop before heading home. It was a great weekend for the family.

One more week as a family of six!

One more week before Toby is going to college. I still can't get use to the concept that he is moving out yet. It seems like yesterday that he was just starting to take his first steps on Tianman Square in Beijing! I am not sure if I am a typical mother of sending her first child to college. I am all antsy up with too many details. Not matter how much my mind tells me that Toby is such a wonderful and independent young man, my heart still reminds me contantly that he is still a kid. It is really not fair to him. He has achieved everything a pround mom wants him to achieve. He was an excellent high school student and boyscout leader. He is smart and intellent. Most important of all, he is kind, gentle and sweat. Many adults he works with at school, boyscout or at work speak highly of him. But to his mother, he still is a kid - at least being treated as a kid. I know that frunstrates him. He translated my motherly worry into "Mom, you never think I am good enough!"...No, honey, no matter how good you are, I will be always worry about you.
I really enjoy shopping for college. I am getting excited about anything that is yellow and blue now. Joshua said, I am too much into U of Michigan theme now. To protest, Toby bought some green and orange folders yesterday! It was fun shopping with him too. He has so much sense of humor. When I told him that I would not buy him a bottle opener so he couldn't drink beer. He responded "Mom, I don't need a bottle opener. Don't you know the bear comes in tap now?" He is just so much fun to have around. I will miss him so much!
Of course, there are some fights too and I will miss these as well.
One more week...it will be a bitter sweet moment to send him away.

Where to begin...

I have not posted for so long that I even don't know where to pick up. There were tons of things happened since Toby's Graduation. Short after that, both Toby and Joshua took off to Gerber Camp where they have been working since earlier June as youth counselor for the summer. They came home only occasionally, once every 2-3 weeks on average. The house is so quiet without them. I don't like it at all. I miss them very much. I can't believe my boys are growing up and going away from me so soon so earlier!
The girls keep us entertained. They had a great summer despite the fact that they miss their brothers too. We had our old neighbor Ms. Windenmuller watch them for the first part of the summer. She took them swimming, playing tennis and doing gymnastics. Both Anna and Jenny did great job in their swimming meets. They sticked to their practice and won many ribbons.
Bert and I had been working hard trying to finish the yellow house. It was a house we bought for my parents before they moved to california. We had to refinish it so we can either rent it out or sell it. We actually fell in love with it now that I am not sure if I want to sell it or rent it. I know we don't have choice so we will see in a few weeks what the fate will come to us on that decision.
We did not do much boating or camping yet this summer. With the boys not being home, I feel a little bit lost of having vacation without them. It will take some get used to doing something fun without a complete family. I am not sure if I ever will get used to it though....
However, we did manage camping twice this year so far already. We had our first camping trip this with Anhui families in Wisconsin. It was fun to see these kids and their families again. Our 2nd camping trip was in Indy where Toby and Joshua have their Robotic Team competition there. I hope we can take a few more camping trip before we pack up the camper this year.
School starts in a few weeks. Joshua's school starts before the Labor Day while Anna's and Jenny's after the Labor Day. Toby will move into UofM on September 2. A whole new chapter of our lives will begin then..Secretly I am already planning more and more opportunities to visit him or hang around closer to Ann Arbor...

Congrats to Holland Christian Class 2009!

You are graduated!!! What a wonderful of high school experience. The ceremony was so beautiful. You have all chosen all the right contents for the occasion. Wish you all luck as you continue your journey with God!












To see more photos...please click on the following link.

Girls with Glasses

I can't believe both my girls need glasses!! Jenny always wanted to have glasses because she thinks it is a fashion to have glasses. In order to convince us she needs glasses, she has told us many times she can't see. Our tests have proven that she has no problem to see. In an accident, we discovered that Anna has hard time to see prints in distance. So we decided to take both girls for an eye exam. It turned out Anna is near sighted. She could live without glasses, but it would help with her classroom activities if she would have glasses.
Jenny, on the other hand, had a very interestin eye exam. She started the exam with an obvious lie by telling the doctor that she could not even see the biggest sign. When the doctor put a glass with no prescription on, she suddenly can see everything. That is how badly she really wants glasses. The doctor was quite experience with children. It took a while for the doctor finally determined that Jenny is far sighted. She has no problem to see from distance. She has a problem called stigmatism which does not need immediate correction if she is not reading too much. If she reads a lot, she may get tired eyes.
Needless to say, we have to have a talk with Jenny about lying again. We pointed out that we will get a pair glasses for her because we expect her to read a lot books, nnot because she could not see like she had told us. I don't fully understand why the girls thinking wearing glasses is fashionable. I think they may look up to us because except Joshua, we all wear glasses.
Time will tell. For now, they both get their own glasses. We will see if they can really handle wearing glasses.....

I have to say, they do look cute.

Birthday/Graduation Party

We had another Party for Toby today with our close friends. It is a celebration of his graduation, his 18th birthday and friends and family get together. We are so thankful for so many good friends we have in Holland. Neither Bert nor I have any relatives close by. Our friends have been there for us all these years as we raise our children and live our lives in Holland. We appreciate these supports and friendship very much. You are a part of our happiness and success.

Kids had great time swimming in the pool. Toby and his friends created an outdoor game to play in the field next to the Gazebo. Later on they also jumped into the pool. Little ones also had great time watching Toby and his friends play Rock Bank with xbox 360. While the younger kids went home to rest earlier, the older teenagers settled quietly with a movie (Rush Hour 3).

Toby said this would be his last party at home. I joked that I will have a lot party when you move out of the house. He said "Mom, trust me. I will have a lot more parties than you"...it is a little scary to think about how many parities they will have in college.

Graduation Open House

Today was the last day of Toby's school. Toby and Marcus had decided to have their open house together at our Gazebo. The weather was beautiful. The only problem we had was the wind!!! We had to cover up the beautiful Gazebo to block the wind.
We had a great turn out. I was so happy to see so many Toby's teachers, friends and fellow scouts come to the open house. It was a great feeling talking about all the great times....

Way to go Anna - 5K!

Anna just ran 5K!! It was not a race, but a celebration event of the Girls on the Run program. Over the past 3 months, Anna had been in training for the girls on the run. Twice a week, she stayed in school after school for the training. Thanks to her coach Mrs. Marko, Anna and her teammates all finished their run. After the run, we all went to ColdStone for some ice cream cup cake!
Jenny can't wait to be a part of the Girls on the Run when she is in the 3rd grade!

Park Concert

Here comes the drum line....

What a crazy day! Toby is double booked. His band concert at the Kollen Park is scheduled for 7 pm, but the band members have to be there by 6:30pm. The Holland and Zeeland Foundation's Scholarship Reception is also scheduled for 6:30pm. Trying to go to both events is impossible. What makes it worst is the fact that he can find his black tie for the concert!

Tulip Time 2009

It is Tulip Time again! What it means to us is dutch costumes, parades and traffic. There will be three parades - Volks Parade, Kinter Parade annd Musik Parade. All of our children are a part of this festival. Both Anna and Jenny will be in the kinder parade. All the children in our city of 80,000 population dress up with their dutch costume and match on the street. It is very much fun for the kids and speculators. Toby and Joshua are in all the parades with their school matching bands. In each of the three parades this year, Toby played different drums this year. Joshua stick to the snare drum. They both did a great job.
It has been a tradition for our family to watch the Musik Parade on Saturday. We went out on Friday night around 9 pm to put our tarp out to occupy a spot. Trust me, it is an event itself to get the spot. City police will take your stuff away if you put them before 9 pm. As a result, many residents would camp out after dinner along the parade route just to get the best spots they can.