The end of Summer 2008

Wow, it's been a long time that I have not updated the blog - summer is almost over and the kids are back to school since beginning of September.

The kids and I went to Quebec for 2 weeks during the summer holiday and we had a great time there although it was raining almost everyday in the afternoon. Pauline and Simon also went with us and the kids had so much fun! Marylin and Oliver were also there and we've been able to spend few days in Quebec City. This is the first time that I went to the east after 14 years and I have to admit that Old Quebec has a beauty of its own! My camera was always at work! We met friends and family at Montreal, Brossard and they were all very welcoming - Mirella, Henri, Patricia, Jimmy, Thank you all for your hospitality and it was very nice to spend time with you.

Tyson's grading for Red Belt

Apr 26, 2008 - Tyson is tested for the Red Belt level and he made it, Bravo Tyson!

Western Tae Kwon Do championship tournament

Mar 21 to 23, 2008 - we drove to Kamloops which is 5 hours from home for the tournament. We stayed 2 nights at the hotel and we arrived on Friday afternoon. We met our friends to check out the university where the event would take place and after that, we went for dinner. On Saturday, we had to be in the gym at 8.30 am for the ceremony and the kids waited till about 2.00pm for their turn to do patterns and sparring. The event finished around 7.00pm and all the members of the tae kwon do school along with the parents met for dinner. Tyson and Alison both won medals, Tyson won 2 golds and Alison 1 gold and 1 silver. They were pretty happy about themselves. It was a fun outing!

Spring break 2008

Spring break was full of fun things - a day out at the Science World, trip on the sea bus, sky train, West Coast train. Simon and Alison's friend slept over. Tyson tried indoor karting which goes up to 70 kms! Kids went swimming.

May day Parade May 2008

Photobucket Album

Alison turns nine

Happy Birthday Alison! She had her party at the bowling place.

Tae Kwon Do friendship tournament Feb 09 2008

Jan 26 2008 - Alison moves to Red Striped belt level

Bravo Alison!

You're now a Red Striped - 2 more levels and she will be a Black Belt, a very young one!

Our Christmas & New Year's Eve

The day before Christmas, although the kids do not believe in Santa anymore, they were so excited that it was difficult to fall asleep. They woke up very early on the 25th to open their presents. Ginger got her presents too!

In the afternoon, Pauline and family came home and we had turkey for dinner. They also slept over on the 25 and 26. The kids were most of the time playing video games, either nintendo ds or game cube.

On the 27th, we brought the kids on the mountain for some tobogganing. It had to be within the freezing temperature because cars had icicles! And my feet were frozen ... but the kids had lots of fun going down the slope with their sled.

New Year's eve - we went to a mauritian party until 1.30am. There was lots of sega dancing, disco, Fun, fun, fun... Kids were playing nintendo ds, adults were on the dance floor. The year was ended joyfully! Welcome 2008...

Snow is here!

Dec 01/02 - This is our first snowfall since the beginning of this fall and it's also the first snow experience for Ginger. Kids are enjoying themselves by playing snowfights in the backyard, making snowforts or even sliding in front of the garage door with the sled! We planned to go out today for the christmas party at the dance school and at the taekwondo school but due to the snow, we rather stay home and be safe! Instead, the kids had fun putting up the christmas tree.

Ginger second haircut

Ginger had her second grooming at the groomer yesterday and she was shaved because she was so matted. Combing her hair would be very painful. She used to be fluffy and now, she looks anorexic, this is so funny but the face is still cute!

Halloween

Oct 31: Halloween ... This is one of the days the kids enjoy most. They were looking forward for that day to come and this year, Tyson was an army soldier and Alison was a Spanish dancer. They put on their costumes in the morning for school and they keep it on for the whole day. In school, they had a party with games, snacks and some Halloween treats. At night time, when it's dark, they go trick or treating in the neighbourhood. Each received a big bag of candies and chips.

Skating is fun!!!

Sunday Oct 28 - Kids had fun skating at the Pitt Meadows arena. Simon came along and Alison had one of the best friends too!

Tyson's testing for his Red Striped belt

Oct 27 - Tyson has completed his test for the Red Striped belt. He's doing his pattern requirement in the small clip. Well done, Tyson!

Les musiciens de chez nous

We went to the Richmond waterfront and bought these little instruments for the kids and look who's playing it too!

Tae Kwon Do Open House on Sep 22 2007

How exciting! I think the video can be viewed and you can watch this little clip of Alison doing her pattern with opponents. This is the first time it worked and hopefully, the picture is clear...This was during the Tae Kwon Do Open House on Sep 22. The kids are in the Black Belt Club and they had to demonstrate some of their moves. Alison did her pattern and also some of the self defence techniques. Tyson did a team pattern and demonstrated a high flying kick which was quite impressive!

Back to school and activities

Sep 04 - Kids are back to school and the activities are back to normal. The craziness starts again!!

Last Sunday, we had fish & chips in the park. Ginger follows us almost everywhere except if we have to go to places like library or supermarkets.

Kwok family's visit in BC

Aug 31, 2007 - the Kwok family was in town and we spent the day together. In the morning, we drove Sandy to the airport and afterwards, we went to Steveston Village in Richmond where we had fish & chips there at the Pajo's. We went to the Buddhist temple in the afternoon. At night, we had dinner in the restaurant and we also invited the Leung and the Tse family. After dinner, we headed home for some tea. I did a second trip to the airport to drop Tonton Ah Li that night. Next time, it has to be more than 1 day!

Ginger's first haircut

Ginger has always had her hair & nails cut at home but today, for the first time, she went to a professional groomer to get a full groom. When Alison and I picked her up, she did not look like Ginger at all...