Let us give thanks!

We Give Thanks

Our Father in Heaven,
We give thanks for the pleasure
Of gathering together for this occasion.
We give thanks for this food
Prepared by loving hands.
We give thanks for life,
The freedom to enjoy it all
And all other blessings.
As we partake of this food,
We pray for health and strength
To carry on and try to live as You would have us.
This we ask in the name of Christ,
Our Heavenly Father.

Yuen Lui Studio Pictures 2009

Trick or Treat 2009

Happy 9th birthday Ryan!

On Ryan's birthday, we hung out at the resort for the rest of the morning, Dad and Ryan played pingpong and foosball. Ryan requested another trip to Dave and Buster's so he can play some more video games. For his birthday cake, he asked for Dairy Queen's oreo blizzard cake.

Happy 9th Birthday Ryan!! We are so proud of you.

p.s. Ryan qualified to be entered into a national math contest (only 3 from the 4th graders were entered). We are sooo proud of him.

Legoland Brick or Treat

I think everybody in San Diego decided to attend the Brick or Treat event at Legoland this saturday. The lines were so long but was still fun because they had tons of entertainers along the lines so we didn't get bored. They setup a trail with little houses and the characters were giving out treats to the kids.

They also decorated the whole park with halloween decorations. Ryan and dad stayed later while mom and Jack headed back to the hotel.

Ryan meets Jeff Kinney.. the wimpy kid

To start Ryan's birthday celebration, we headed to La Jolla to meet Jeff Kinney, the author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kids series. When we got there, the line was so long, I think there were 300 kids all waiting for a chance to meet, talk to and get their books signed by Jeff Kinney. We decided to have lunch somewhere close to the beach. After lunch, we headed back to the car and passed by the bookstore.. there was no line!!!! So, we just waited for Jeff to finish his lunch break.

While waiting, we met Jeff's older brother (Rodrick in the series) while he shared pictures and stories on the making of the Diary of the Wmpy kid the movie. Ryan was the 2nd kid on line and he got to talk to Jeff and ask him questions about book. Jeff also drew on his book (he's also the illustrator).

Joanne and family here in So California

Joanne, Jay and Justin were here in California from North Carolina for a visit. They drove up to Monterey and explored the cities of the central coast. We met them for dinner at Dave and Buster's and the kids had fun playing at the Midway.

The following night, Mom went out with Joanne and Geraldine to Downtown Disney for dinner.

First day of school 2009-10

Today is the first day of school. Jack is back in preschool at Trabuco Mesa while Ryan is in 4th grade at Foothill Ranch Elementary School. Dad drove Jack to school and mom walked Ryan with the other neighborhood kids.

Jack is back in Ms. Kim's class again. This time, he's the oldest (not necessarily the biggest) and there are only 4 of them. As more kids turn 3 yrs old, more students will be added throughout the year (last June, there were 17 kids). I like this time because he gets more attention and focus from the teacher :). His school starts at 8:45 am and ends at 11 am.

Ryan's 4th grade teacher is Mrs. Gross whom we met last tuesday during the PTA's ice cream social. He has some kids knows from 2nd and 3rd grade classes but most of the kids are new to him. He is also in a real classroom (yey!) and not a portable one.

We are looking forward to a great school year!