Gerber 2010

Drove 1 hour each way + spent less than 1 hour with my boys at Camp Gerber = priceless memories.

Chinese Cucumber Salad with Tofu

I don't measure things when I cook. Just put as much or as little as you like to your taste.
Shredded Cucumber - slice first then shredded. The finer, the better.

Add Shredded Carrots

Add cooked Chinese Rice noodle - the thin type. Needs only boil for 5 minutes. Rinse with cold water.
Slice firm tofu. Fry them in the pan until golden brown. Then shredded them too.

Add shredded scallions and garlic

Add Asian Ginger Dressing or any of your favorite sauce or dressing.

Toss and serve.

A Valentine's Day Gift!

About 4 weeks ago, we met a dog when we came out of the church. He was a black and white Jack Russell mix, a cute little thing. He was running around with a leash but without a name tag. No one was looking for a dog in the area. With cars coming and going as one church mass was just over and another one started soon, we were afraid that he might get hit by a car. We followed him a while and realized that he had no idea where he was going. In that cold weather, we were afraid that he might get lost in the cold. So we took him home.
As soon as we got home, we put a photo on facebook and on craiglist. We also posted it on telephone poles in the area where we found him. It took about 9 hours until we found his owner.
The dog went home, but the subject of getting a dog in our family resurfaced again. For the longest time that our kids had looked to have a dog, but our busy life style prevent us doing so. This lost dog re-sparked our interest in getting a dog. We struggled what kind of dog we want. Sue found a Jack Russell online she fell in love with simply because it looked just like the one we had found. Unfortunately that did not work out due to some unexpected delay in paper work and change of character of the dog that made him because unsuitable for family with small children. It is hard to look for a dog simply based on colors. There are thousands rescue dogs online. We even could not agree if we want a big or small dog as Joshua likes bigger dog and the girls wants puppy dog. Daddy is afraid small dog barks too much and big dog requires too much exercise....
As we were struggling with our search, our friend Elizabeth found a dog that fits just what we want. Elizabeth had a Border Collie/Spaniel mix dog - Luke. He is a very beautiful dog. Sue had always said that she wanted a mini Luke. A lady just divorced and moved to a small apartment. She could no longer provide the room and care for her Border Collie/Sheltie mix dog. He looked like a mini Luke!
After meeting him, it was not difficult to make the decision taking him home. We have had so much fun since we had him. He is definitely a keeper!

His name is Rex. We think we will keep this name though Mom/Dad think Max would be a better name. Our friend Elizabeth thinks we should call him Wolfgang or Wolfie because he really looks like a wolf when he plays rough. He weighs 20 lbs. He is 9 months old. I am told that he will not grow any bigger so I think he is just perfect to fit everyone's desire - not so big or not so small. On top of this, he does not bark! He does require a lot exercise - but that has been fun. I think it is good for us physically to have an active dog to keep Bert and Sue in shape:)

Do they say, dog is man's best friend? I think dog knows that. Rex follows Bert around everywhere in the house. Happy Valentine's Day to all, especially to Daddy!

Meet Rex. 20lb. 9 month. Border Collie/Sheltie Mix

Rex with Anna and Jenny

Playing in the snow

Rex and Luke

Rex and Luke playing in the snow

So tired!

Man's best friend:)

Swimming Time

We started the winter competitive swimming season short after Thanksgiving. Anna and Jenny have been practicing and competing since. They normally practice three times a week with one hour long of swimming back and forth in the pool. I got exhausted by just just looking at them!
After three dual meets, they have both achieved their personal best record. They both make into "A" meet for their final competition in two weeks.
Way to go, my girls!

Anna's best time:
50 Free 36.72
50 Back 47.57
100 IM 1:40.99
100 Free 1:28.07

Jenny's best time:
25 Free 18.68
25 Back 22.48
25 Fly 21.01
50 Free 42.21

Where did the time go?

Has it really been that long? My last post was right before Christmas. Now it is February already and I had not posted a single post. I guess if I tell you that our Christmas tree is still standing and Christmas lights are still on, you would just forgive me not writing for all these times. Christmas is still no over yet at our house. So the story continue from there:)
We left our house on Christmas day early morning at 4 am. It was no use to sleep anyway after all the excitement of opening the gifts. It was a wet and slurry cold day. It took us nearly three hours just get out of Michigan, normally it would take only a little over an hour. However, once we passed Michigan board, everything was better. With out timing, we zoomed through the most traffic area of Atlanta in the right time without any jams. We stayed a night in Macon, GA - just over an hour south of Atlanta. We arrived Sanibel in the afternoon the next day.
The condo at Sandal Foot we rent is right on the beach, about 1 mile away from the light house. It has three bedrooms and 2 bathroom with living room and a full kitchen. The weather was no too warm, about 73F on the day when arrived. Besides the beach, kids also love the heated swimming pool, the shuffle board game or simply hitting some tennis balls and throwing a football. We were so relaxed and enjoying each other's company.





Sanibel beaches are full of birds and sea shells. Each morning, Sue and Bert would take a long walk on the beach and collecting shells. We also visited a sea shell museum where we learned more about the names and characteristics of these shells. By the time we were heading home, Sue already has a big box of shells. She has all the crazy idea what she wanted to do with them. Unfortunately, once we got home, the reality sank in. When would she have the time to do anything with them? Truthfully, they just look good every you don't do anything with them.

The island is truly a place to relax. We enjoy the fresh air and nature very much. The Ding Darling Reservation is a great place to take a bike ride or a walk. Although we were told that there are a lot of alligators, we saw only one. I think it is because the weather was not warm enough. We did not go out eat too many times, but we indulged ourselves with great food. One of the highlight of the trip was celebrating Bert's birthday and New Year eve with our friends, the Meiser's in Miami.








We will go back there again!

Here are more photos and memories....

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.....