Indoor Inflatable

The weather had been questionable all week, so my friends Isabelle and Matt decided to blow up an inflatable moonwalk in their house for their son, Maverick's, third birthday. The girls are not too big into moonwalks, but they warmed up to this smaller one quickly and had a wonderful time jump, jump, jumping!

Kids at play

An aerial view of the moonwalk

All the boys, including Mav, were afraid of the moonwalk, so only the girls played in it. Flower power!

Farewell to friends

Friday night we had a girls' night out at McCormick and Schmick's to say "good-bye" to Susanna; her family was moving to California. Then we had the entire family over the next night for steaks. It was a fun year and a half, hopefully we can stay in touch.

Ethan, Susanna. and Henry

Texas Tragedy

We were in Houston the weekend following the plane crash into the Echelon building, so I didn't see it until today. It's weird to actually have a tragedy in my own city where I can physically see the damage; the events on the news almost seem surreal. I heard that the building still has a sturdy foundation and will not be torn down, so it will be a constant reminder of what happened that tragic day.

Snow in Austin!

A few weeks ago, parts of Texas got snow, even some parts of town got it, but we didn't get a single snowflake. Then unexpectedly, it started raining and snowing after I dropped Lydia off at Mother's Day Off. After a little while, only snow kept falling down...it was very exciting!

Sophie enjoying her first snow

Catching snow

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Houston Weekend

We went to Houston this weekend to see Mike, who was in town for work and a conference. We had our usual hot pot Saturday night and my mom's delicious home-cooking Sunday night.

Sophie walking with Uncle Mike


How many Lee's does it take to grill garbi, Korean short ribs?



An inexperience Mike grilling one of the many dishes for dinner


We also went to Houston to pick up our new car. Some of you may recall seeing it at our wedding as our getaway car...well, it's now ours. :) The last three cars that we've had have been purchased from my brothers, what can I say, my family has good taste.

Private school or no?

Ever since I heard that the state law deadline for public school is September 1st, I have been wondering what I could possibly do to get Lydia, whose birthday is September 5th, one grade ahead. After some initial research a few months ago, I was very disappointed to find that even private schools, who abide by their own set of rules, have started using the September 1st cutoff date. I then accepted that Lydia would just start school later and be the oldest in her class.

Recently, we found a private school that did not abide by the September 1st cutoff date, but rather, a first come first serve basis. Trung and I went to "Meet the Principal" on Wednesday and apparently, Lydia will have no problem getting into their preschool program in the Fall. We would jump at this opportunity if not for the tuition. $6,500 may not seem that much right now, especially since Mother's Day Out is already $1,700 for only twice a week and for two hours less, so it is comparable. The real kicker is that Lydia has to be in private school for kindergarten and at least one semester of first grade, if not the entire year, before transferring back to public school...$7,700 each year. Why? Public school does not really consider kindergarten a grade level, so they would make Lydia retake it after her kindergarten year in private school. BUT, they "probably" won't make her repeat first grade after finishing first grade already. I know this is a bit confusing, but basically, it's all about how old she is that school year in public school that puts in that grade.

So, what it comes down to is...is it worth $22,000 for Lydia to get one grade level ahead, or should we save the money? Right now, we're thinking to minimize costs and still get Lydia one grade ahead, we'll just try to be at the top of the waiting list for kindergarten, hope she gets in, and then transfer her after the first semester of first grade to a public school ($12000). Even then, should we just save the money for her college fund? I've been told there are different ways to could get around the cut off date, but they require testing and petitions. I guess it's a good thing we've got until October to be put on the waiting list to decide.

BTW, please feel free to contact me if you are aware of a way around the cutoff date, especially if it doesn't require going to private school.

First Dentist Visit

We took the girls this morning to their first dentist appointments. Lydia was a bit upset at first, but later felt more comfortable and was quite happy with herself. Sophie was totally chill the entire time, probably because she didn't get her teeth "shined". The office was off of Bee Caves and quite nice, with computer games for the kids to play.

Lydia looking a bit nervous with Daddy

Practicing opening wide. "ahhhhh"

Too cool for the dentist

Valentine's Day with my sweethearts

I celebrated this Valentine's Day with girlfriends watching "Valentine's Day" and enjoying a home-cooked meal of lobster and scallops for dinner with my family. What a "love"-ly day!
We topped off our dinner with chocolate covered strawberries and later, raspberries.

Sophie learned that she loved chocolate.

Lydia already knew that she did. :)

"Happy Valentine's Day" from Lydia!

Chinese New Year

We celebrated Chinese New Year early this year with hot pot dinner Friday night at Betty and Jason's place, lunch the next day with family at home, and then homemade dumplings dinner at Isabelle's. We've never celebrated the holiday this much before, but had so much fun meeting new people and eating delicious Chinese food.

Our little China dolls

Striking a pose

Bond girl

The three musketeers

The dumpling wrappers

Farewell, Maxima

After three months of posting the Maxima on Craigslist and five test drives, we finally sold it to a young man from Ft. Hood. He presented the payment in a nice card and his father, a sergeant major, even gave Trung a medal that he gives to his troops. We had many memories with the Maxima: first purchasing it from my brother Mike when he went off to Iraq to work for KBR Halliburton almost six years ago and later bringing home Lydia and Sophie from the hospital when they were first born. It was a great car and we were sad to see it go, but now we look forward to spending less money on maintenance costs and to driving a newer car.

Super Bowl XLIV

We hosted our annual Super Bowl party tonight, potluck style. With good food and even better friends, we watched as the Saints won their first Super Bowl.

The Ly boys with their girls

What's a Super Bowl party without wings?

Yummy food

Jason trying to steal a kiss from Sophie, with no luck. Sorry, Jason, you're a married man now. :P

The big 3-0

I was anxious to see what Trung had planned for my thirty birthday...everything exceeded my expectations, which is definitely hard to do. :) Trung had my girlfriends gather together to have brunch at Mulberry downtown. We had to take several detours due to a parade, but we all thoroughly enjoyed the perfect day and delicious food when we finally got to the restaurant. Then the girls and I headed to my house for scrumptious homemade layered chocolate cake. Later, Trung and I had dinner at our currently favorite restaurant Wink, where they personalized the menu and presented me with a complimentary dessert. I had a wonderful day and welcomed the next decade of my life with a bang!

Enjoying a gorgeous sunny day with my friends.

My meal, accompanied by oysters and a mimosa

Trung's homemade cake, truly a work of art

My loving family

I almost blew out all the candles...the "i" was stubborn

My favorite neighbor

Lydia with my cousin Michelle and her husband, Albert. We'll miss them when they move to California in a couple of months. :(

My Sophie

I love these girls!

And of course, these too!

The greatest husband on earth (doing dishes)

Squaw Valley, Tahoe

This is Trung (you know, Grace's husband) making a "guest" post on our family blog. Grace wanted to me to slap up a post about my recent ski trip. First, let me get out of this out of the way. Best. Trip. Ever.

Now on to the detes. My buddy Jason and I arrived at RNO airport at about the same time on separate flights, and surprisingly.. early. Shortly after, the boyz from Cali (Thomas, Bert, and Jason's bro, Jack) picked us up and we all headed straight to the Reno casinos for a little fun. We promptly skipped the gambling, the girls, and the booze and went straight for the dinner buffet. Yes, ahem, we are well behaved married men... what did you expect? After filling our tummies and slurping down some questionable oysters, we headed to the resort ... Squaw Valley, USA.

Our reasonably priced semi-faux log cabin made for a bodacious little pad to crash at (and web surf) after hitting the slopes.


You can't beat being able to roll out of bed, step outside your door, pick up a grande mocha latte, stroll over to the gondola, head straight up the mountain, and rip off a perfect 3.2 mile run down the mountain... you just can't.

We even squeezed in a few games of that ruthlessly cut-throat yet not surprisingly uneventful board game, Carcarsonne (this word must be pronounced with a strong fake French accent). No pictures of this,.. we were too buzzed off of Belgian beer to operate a digital camera.

How was the skiing/snowboarding you ask? Well, didn't I already say this was the best trip ever?.....



Going up the cable car... Thomas never imagined that snowboarding actually required heights


.... and so he was scared out of his wits. (Just kidding, Thomas. We love you, man, just smile once in a while, mkay?.. again, just kidding)

On the second day, the sun came out, completing the checklist of "Absolute Perfect Ski Conditions". After this shot, we promptly hurled down the mountain at ridiculous speeds, ending up at the bottom even cleaner and more free of snow than when we first started. True story.

Only "Xperts" were allowed to play with this miniature exact replica of the Squaw Valley ski resort.
The name of this photo is "Pure Bliss". Click it and you'll get a better idea of what I'm talking about.