Victoria Xmas Trip

For Xmas this year, dinner took place at Winnie and YJ's place.  It was nice to just hang out and relax.  I realize that we didn't take enough pics this year...likely from all the drinking!  From memory, I think the boys (Gavin included) finished an entire bottle of Tequila?  

We also went to Oak Bay Rec center to take advantage of the free Xmas ice skating and did the secret santa gift exchange.  Drewsie picked out really wonderful scratchies this year.  I won $70 on the scratchies.  

Little Josh had a rash attack this trip and that prompted me to try to find out what caused it.  I suspect it was from cat hair.  I'll have to follow up with the allergist and do some testing.

We managed to visit Mom and Dad's place for 30 minutes this short trip.  Thanks Lin Family for hosting.

Victoria Fun - Girls Trip

It was Easter weekend and I had 2 stat holidays off from work and the girls also didn't have to go to school so we thought it'd be a perfect getaway to visit Victoria.  R had to work so he couldn't come along and I wasn't about to take all 3 kids on my own.  So it was just me and the girls.  

On the way to the ferry terminal, I thought I timed everything perfectly...until I found R's cell phone in the car!  So that meant that I had to drive all the way back home to deliver this cell phone to the owner and then restart the trip again. Wasted about 15 minutes.  And because of that, we missed the 4pm ferry.  Boo.

Luckily there were sailings every hour so we didn't have to wait long.  The ferry was not busy at all so the girls ran around in the play area as they pleased.  By the time we got over to Win's place, it was almost bed time so we did the bedtime routine and they were in bed by 9:30pm.  YJ, Win and I spent the rest of the evening yapping and drinking wine.  I spilled wine all over my shirt and didn't bother cleaning it since it was a sleeping shirt (guess what though?  The shirt came out completely clean after a normal wash!).

The next morning, Auntie Win took K, J and J to the park nearby.  It was so sunny but so COLD...brrrrr.  All 3 kids had a great time soaking up the sun.  Uncle YJ cooked a healthy congee for lunch.  We couldn't go out to eat since the girls had all these food allergies.  Thanks YJ for cooking!  

After lunch we met up with Gong Gong and Po Po for a small bite to eat at Wendys. Technically we just hung out.  We also visited Great Po Po at the cemetery on the way to the ferry terminal.  We were slow to go and missed the ferry so bought fruit smoothies from McDs to enjoy while we waited.  It was a terrific trip.

Victoria Thanksgiving

Is it Thanksgiving already?  For some reason, it feels like we were in Victoria just a few weeks ago.  We celebrated this long weekend in Victoria, at the Lin's household.  Thanks for hosting W and Y!  We reserved the ferry coming home already but didn't reserve going to Victoria and it was all fine.  Wasn't busy at all.  The kiddies had fun playing in the playground area and eating their buns in the cafeteria area.  

We stayed 2 nights this time since we arrived late at night, we basically put the kids to bed right away.  Yay!  The joys of parenthood; we are happy when the kids are in bed.  The next morning, we went out for dimsum with PoPo, Gong Gong, Lin Family and Yee Yee and Go Go.  We also visited Great Po Po to say hello.

Thanksgiving dinner was awesome.  Because of food allergies, we decided to make foods that were free of dairy, egg, soy, gluten and nuts.  So everything was made from scratch!  So healthy.  And everything tasted fantastic.  Since we were cooking in the kitchen starting at 3pm, we started filling up the beer mugs and wine glasses then too.  By dinner time, we were all having ALOT of fun.  Hee Hee.  

We caught the 12pm ferry home on Monday.  Thank goodness we have a reservation.  By 11:30am, there was already a 2-sailing wait.  I guess the weekend tired everyone out because the 2 younger kiddies fell asleep during the car ride home.  What a fabulous weekend.  Can't wait to get together again.

Thanksgiving in Victoria

We went to Victoria for Thanksgiving dinner this year (thanks YJ for cooking everything.)  It was great seeing the family.  The kids loved riding on the ferry and chasing the cats around the house.  Of course, they really enjoyed playing with cousin Kyle, who they don't see often enough.

We stayed at Parkside hotel, a 2 bedroom suite for 1 night.  Wished we could have stayed longer as it was really nice inside, around 1000sq ft. and they had this indoor pond with live gold fish.

The 2 girls were easy to travel with but for Josh, not great.  Because he wasn't used to staying in a weirdo hotel, he woke several times during the night so I ended up carrying him all night long.  Because of this, I don't think we'll be traveling much til Josh is a little older.  Til next year...

Christmas in Victoria

We spent Christmas eve with the Wong family and travelled to Victoria to spend Christmas with the Leung family. We managed to catch the 11am ferry without too much trouble (arrived at the terminal an hour early). The kiddies were excited to be travelling and in a good mood. They especially liked the fries and playing on the small playground while on the ferries.

We arrived at Winnnie's place around 2pm and finally met our new nephew, Kyle. He slept most of the time and didn't fuss much, even with people handling him back and forth. What an angel.


Because we are having dinner at Winnie's place and she has a newborn, we decided early on that we will have pre-made food for dinner which Lisa drove over from Vancouver. Dinner was served at 6:30pm and everyone had a fabulous meal together. Even the kids enjoyed sitting around the table (they usually do not sit well). Momo was sitting under the table, enjoying the scraps that Julia dropped on the floor. Haha, just kidding. Momo was actually scared of the kids and tried to stay as far away as possible... The kiddies were chasing him all over the house, under the table, over the couches, from the living room to the kitchen and back around again. There's just no place to hide! HELP, says Momo. Here, you can see Momo trapped in Jas' arms.

As with every year, the family had a great time together, spending time with each other and catching up with all the stories. Thanks Win and YJ for lending us your home for this special occassion. Merry Christmas everyone!

Baby Shower for Win

I am expecting a nephew in the next 4 weeks. So exciting. Lisa and I went over to Victoria, to host Win's baby shower. It was a quick 1-day trip so we left on the 9am ferry, walked on as foot passenger and arrived at Win's place at 11:30am. The party started at noon so we had 30 minutes to prep the house (which we did nicely by the way).

People arrived promptly at noon and home-cooked food was served. I can't believe how much food Win and YJ had made! Around this time, my skin started acting up, getting all itchy and rashy. I suspect it was from the kitties they had. Didn't matter, a party was taking place!

We played lots of baby games like pin the sperm (that was a funny one), drawing a baby on your head, guessing how large Win's belly was and baby rhymes... Thanks Lisa for organizing all the games! It was very fun. After all the prizes were handed out, Win opened all the baby gifts. She has such awesome friends. Everyone gave such wonderful, generous presents. After that, we went back to the food (yes, we eat alot) and just chilled. By this time, my face and neck were practically swollen so I had to take a Benadryl. Within 20 minutes, the meds took effect, which calmed my skin but it also knocked me out. Literally. I fell asleep at the table! Must have been a funny sight but I just couldn't keep my eyes open.

I then moved over to the couch and took a snooze. When I woke up, the party was over. Everyone said their goodbyes and grabbed goody bags. YJ tore all the decorations down in - like - 2 minutes. I guess he really didn't like how the house looked with all the balloons and ruffly stuff.

All in all, it was a fun day. Thanks again Lisa for organizing everything!

Christmas 2010 in Victoria

We spent 4 days in Victoria celebrating Christmas with Gong Gong, Po Po, Yee Mah and Ko Fu. It was a very enjoyable and relaxing time. Due to the kiddies eating and napping schedules, we didn't go out much at all. We spent lots of time just talking and playing mah jong, as well as fixing dinner at home. Every meal was home cooked delicious and super healthy.

Everyone stayed at Winnie's condo (can't wait until she moves into her new house at the end of January!). It was cozy. Thanks for hosting Win! Here are some pics we took (click on the picture to enlarge):

Christmas Morning - trip to the ER

Something awful happened this Christmas morning. We were heading over to Victoria for a few days so I was in a rush to pack everything and was trying to leave the house to catch the 11am ferry. It was already 10am and we were still loading up the car when I noticed that Jasmine was still in her PJ pants! So I wanted to dash upstairs quickly, grab Jasmine's jeans and then dash back downstairs. Bad mistake.

Jasmine was walking up the stairs slowly with me and stupid me, I thought that it would be quicker if I carried her instead of her walking on her own. I picked Jasmine up and started going up the staircase. I slipped (I was wearing socks, another stupid thing to do in the house) and fell, Jasmine landed face first into the stair case. Jasmine smacked her chin open. Ikes!

Unfortunately, the cut was pretty deep and definitely needed to be stitched up. We drove to the Children's hospital and arrived there by 10:30am. Surprisingly, the ER was not busy and we got in after an hour. I guess most parents don't want to be at the hospital on Christmas morning.

Jasmine was always scared of the hospital, probably from her first experience when she was strapped down to do a head x-ray (when she was 15 months old). It took some convincing for her to sit on the bed and lie down. Good thing we brought her favorite blankie with us. The wound was about 2.5cm and required 5 stitches. I am very thankful that no needle was needed to do the stitches. The nurses used a topical gel on the wound, which took 30 minutes to work and Jasmine didn't feel a thing. Thanks goodness.

Now, we are only waiting for the wound to heal. So sorry Jasmine! Mommy has learned her lessons.

Lesson 1 - don't wear socks in the house
Lesson 2 - don't run up the stairs
Lesson 3 - wake up extra, extra early when traveling so there is no rushing

Christmas in Victoria

We spent Christmas day with Granpa and Grandma Wong, and then went over to Victoria on Boxing day to spend time with Granpa and Grandma Leung. I visited Auntie Winnie, Auntie Lisa and Uncle Herman. All of them bought me really nice presents and they kissed me and hugged me all the time. I even got to jump on Cousin Momo! Momo always makes me so happy; I chase him all over the house and he never gets angry.

Too bad I am still scared of the flash on the camera so it was hard to get a nice picture of me. It blinds my eyes so I try to stay away... Maybe next year, I'll sit on Santa Claus and take a nice picture.

Bonk Again - Ferries

On our ferry ride back to Vancouver on Sunday, it was super busy at the terminals. We arrived at the terminal at 1:30pm and made it barely, onto the 3pm sailing.

As always, the children's play area was packed with kids. Jasmine loves the slide and marched right up to it, along with all the bigger kids. Unfortunately, we weren't watching her closely enough and one of the kids nudged Jasmine off the staircase...and she fell onto the ground, head-first. I saw it as it happend and screamed. Jasmine hit the ground with a thump and screamed loudly. Poor beeps.

In Memory of Grandma Ho

Very sad today, as Grandma Ho (Mom's Mom) passed away today on Thanksgiving Day. Everyone in the family is very sad.

Grandma was a very personable person and seemed to enjoy other people's company. She was very well loved by everyone around her. Grandma liked to play MJ and have dinner with family all the time.

Grandma - We love you dearly and will miss your smile.