Our favorite 19-year-old, Anthea Piong from Singapore, is starting college at Seattle University. She was so lucky to have her mom, Auntie Lena and big brother Paul, fly over from Shanghai and Texas respectively, to help her settle in. We welcomed the Piongs with a ‘Surf N Turf’ BBQ dinner. Big thanks to Mas, our grill master who helped with the BBQ and Emil, who brought his famous lamb stew to share.
2 Wednesdays ago at 8pm, we bought two tickets to Baltimore and off we went at 8am the following day!
My wife and I flew 2,334 miles from the West coast to the East coast of USA to visit Fr. Edmund Woon who just graduated from Loyola University, Maryland with a Masters degree in Counseling.
We later traveled to Latrobe, Pennsylvania with Fr. Paschal before returning to Seattle.
Our one-week trip was full of pleasant surprises, grossly exceeding our expectations!
Check it out : www.holidaybaltimore.blogspot.com
reported by : Peter Teo / September 23, 2009
Saturday evening, Emil invited us to his home for dinner. Emil whipped up some grilled black cod, sautéed a dozen shishamo (smelt fish), marinated a couple of portabella mushroom, bought some fresh oysters, made several sesame and plum rice balls, arranged some fresh greens with homemade peanut dressing…oh, nothing fancy…
Just another meal at Emil’s!
Saturday morning, Will played a round of golf with Mantje at the beautiful Newcastle golf course which boasts stunning city and mountain views while my parents and I hunted garage sales at a nearby neighborhood. We then met up with the golfers for dim sum.
Kourtney babysat…
Mas bbq-ed…
Will served…
Shelly baked…
Antje too!
It was a happy labor(less) day for me indeed!
I was so inspired by Markus and Evelyn’s camping fun that I wanted a tent of my own. REI had a sale and we found a 4 person tent we liked. Will suggested we do a trial so the 2 crazies camped out in the backyard with blankets and pillows on Sunday night! (Mommy and Daddy in photo below for show only).
Verdict: We love the tent and we are keeping it! Can’t wait to go camping, well, car camping, for real!
We headed down to Mt Rainier on Saturday with Markus and Evelyn. We drove a new route and realized that it takes less than 2 hours to reach the north side of Mt Rainier from our home. We met at Tipsoo Lake and hiked 3.5 miles on the Naches Loop Trail by Chinook Pass. It was drizzling in the morning and the fog was thick. We got lucky as the fog thinned out and we enjoyed beautiful views throughout our 3 hour hike.
Charming little Tipsoo Lake in the background. Man in foreground, not so much…?
Plenty of wild huckleberries along the way. They were small but sweet!
Lunch spot with Dewey lake in sight
A very pretty spot with this unnamed lake
Back at Tipsoo Lake. We made it!
After our hike, we drove about a half hour up to Sunrise Visitor Center but the fog rolled in and we only caught a few glimpses of Mt Rainier. As Will puts it “More reason to come back!”
Tea time at Sunrise Visitor Center. We then headed home while Markus and Evelyn camped out at White River campground for the night.
We took a walk around Seward Park which is surrounded by the beautiful Lake Washington with KC, YC and baby Yihong. Before our hike, we chanced upon a fair going on at the park and grabbed lots of free goodies!
“Errr I thought we were here to exercise…why are we just hanging around, hanging around?”
“Look at me! Am I coordinated or what?!”
After visiting the Space Needle, we took my parents to our favorite Italian restaurant in Seattle, Serafina. My daddy said it was “above expectations!”.
My wife and I last visited this garden in 2007 summer. The garden has not lost its charm since then. We love it!
reported by Peter Teo / August 21, 2009
Antje, our dear friend and even dearer cookie supplier, is out of town. In desperation, Will resorted to baking a cake on his own to satisfy his sweet tooth. Antje, please come home soon!
Will baking cake
Will displaying cake
Will enjoying cake
Well….this isn’t exactly in keeping with our criteria of a ‘new’ hike a month as we’ve been to Franklin Falls a couple of times now. But its new to the parents and baby Yihong! ;) It is probably one of our favorite easy hikes as in just one mile, you get to appreciate Franklin Falls.
“Urm…where are you guys taking me?!”
“What are you guys lookin’ at?!”
“Are we there yet?!”
Yihong and his grandma
“Man! That was exhausting!”
This morning, my wife and I embarked on our second garden project – trimming the tree in front of the Master bedroom. Total 10 man hours.
Before
After
reported by : Peter Teo / August 11, 2009
Friday evening, we met up with Antje and Mas for another tennis game in Seattle. Mommy kept herself busy picking blackberries while I played photographer. We then went to my favorite Japanese restaurant, Maneki, for dinner and called it a night after coffee, cookies and ice cream at Mantje’s.
Never in our combined 80 years of playing mahjong, had we come across an occasion where 1 tile from a player happens to be the winning tile for the other 3 players. My dad threw out THE tile and because I was the next in line in terms of seating arrangement, I was entitled to the winning card. Yesss!
After mending the fence with my wife, Mag and Will yesterday afternoon, I took a shower and got myself ready for a tennis game with Will, Mas and Antje. Alas! I could not locate my spectacles. Eventually, I decided to go for the game with a pair of naked eyes.
We enjoyed the games very much but my heart still yearns for my lost spectacles.
This morning, I suggested to my wife that I should go search for my “lost one” but she vetoed it saying that it is unlikely I would find it, and even if I found it, it would have been crushed. I proposed again and again but she turned me down. I could only resort to buying a new pair.
In the evening when Will and Mag came home, they asked me whether we have found the spectacles. I told Will my desire to search for the spectacle. I was sure I had lost them while mending the fence yesterday. My optimistic assumption was well supported by the “before and after mending” photos Mag took yesterday.
I invited Will to search together with me before it got dark . He instantly agreed but my wife did not. Will explained to her that “ unlike women, it is man’s psychic to want to hunt” and in this case hunt for my lost property. I nodded my head in full agreement.
Jubilated, I quickly changed into my Commando’s suit and raincoat (it was drizzling then). Together with Will, we tore down part of the fence we had painstakingly mended yesterday and started our exploration beyond the boundaries.
Using a rake and with a torchlight in hand, we started ploughing and combing the dense forest which was covered with dried leaves and thorny branches. After half an hour of perspiration, the “lost one” was still nowhere in sight. And dinner was ready. Mag and my wife shouted at us from the kitchen: “Give up!” I was again amazed and amused that both ladies told us to give up. But being men, Will and I persevered and decided to give our last shot.
With an undaunted spirit, Will’s rake suddenly got in contact with a shiny golden object and he yelled “I found something!” My heart pounded and I turned around and screamed “That’s it! We found it!” I was overjoyed and gave Will a spontaneous big hug.
Lost and found – that means I do not have to go through the hassle of fixing a new pair of spectacles. My spectacles, which I missed for the past 24 hours have finally returned to me and sitting comfortably at the ridge of my nose.
I took a nice hot shower cleaning up all the debris on my bodies. We opened a bottle of red wine to celebrate this mysterious and exciting adventure. Such a joy, when shared, multiplies many fold.
What a spectacular spectacle!
reported by : Peter Teo / August 10, 2009
Later in the evening, we invited Mas and Antje for a game of tennis. My dad and Will’s ‘nimble footwork’ (they were all over the place) threw Mantje for a loop but Mantje still won! Looks like the kids had fun.
Hotpot & Mee Siam dinner
Antje made cookies! Yep, they taste as good as they look…
Mahjong after dinner…my kind of evening..
Antje made some dough!
My parents arrived 8/8 Saturday morning from Singapore and had dim sum with Will’s parents, sis Sarah and kids before they got on the road, back to California. The next day, after Mass, we started on our first project of the season…mending the net that fences off the deer in our backyard!
Caught red-handed Sunday morning
Example of the damage they do…
Breaking down the fallen tree branch that had torn the net
Men at Work
Well done!
Will and I got off work early and met his family at the zoo in Seattle. It was our first visit to the Woodland Park Zoo and we were pretty impressed with its accessibility, size and features. We all had a wonderful time, especially the kids…
What are you looking at?!
Whoa! Is that my tail down there?
“I can do it! I can do it!”
A family gathering
Uncle Will fighting for a piece of cotton candy
The 3 Moffatt bros and some strange kid
Just “hanging around, hanging around…”
Yes, I can see you
“Ain’t I precious?”
After dinner, we met up with Johnny, Will’s childhood friend, who happened to be in town for a couple of days. It was great to see the boys catch up. We hope Johnny and his family will join us for a ski trip this winter!
Early Sunday morning, we took the ferry and headed west for the Olympic National Park.
We stopped by Lake Crescent on the way to the ocean, driving through the Olympic National Park. It was a perfect day to play in the lake. It was sunny and the water was warm and crystal clear….
3 mile hike on the boardwalk to the ocean!
We made it to the ocean! (Sand Point)
We will soon surmount that cliff!
View of the 2 beaches atop the cliff
The chef at the diner was a real character. He teased and chatted up the kids the whole time!
Checking for frogs before use..
Bryson never used his goggles under water but he wanted it on as part of his ‘look’.
Massage after hot tub..aahhh…life is good….
After dinner, we took the kids to the world’s #2 germiest attraction. Since the 1990s, people would stick their gum on the wall outside the Market Theatre at Pike Place Market as they waited for their tickets. The wall was scraped clean twice but they just keep coming back! Which is the #1 germiest attraction? According to tripadvisor, its Ireland's Blarney Stone, which is kissed by up to 400,000 visitors each year.
Of course, the evening wouldn’t be complete without ice cream and a carousel ride.
Men’s haircut : $11
Women’s haircut : $13
Children’s haircut : $8
A/C : Priceless
Everyone who got a new do!
Will’s parents, both sisters and their 4 kids are in town for 2 weeks. First activity we did altogether, is a hike to Snoqualmie Falls after dinner. The sunset was gorgeous and it was actually my first time hiking down to the water…
