Six weeks of summer vacation flew by!

For the first two weeks it was great to spend time in L.A. with family and Hong Kong friends (Jinny and her boys, Eric, Jonathan and Ricky; Nick, Zaneta and Fellon) in town - highlights were Magic Mountain, the beach at Santa Monica, and thanks to James and Kath - Maggie's first concert experience - U2, a stop on the 360 world tour at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.

The month of July saw us on the road for an extended family vacation to beautiful South Lake Tahoe. I haven't been there in years and this was the first time hiking and experiencing the outdoors in summer since we used to only go to Tahoe for skiing in the winter. My brother-in-law went skiing at Squaw for one of the last days of the season on July 4th and we got to see fireworks in all directions from our vantage point in the Keys. We took the kids hiking,

From Fallen Leaf Lake and hike to Glen Alpine Falls

From Fallen Leaf Lake and hike to Glen Alpine Falls

horseback riding, fish-farm fishing for trout, on the lake renting a pontoon boat, and in the lake - but very briefly since the water was freezing! It is snowmelt after all...

From On The Lake

From On The Lake

From Various Tahoe

After Tahoe we went to the Bay Area to hang out for the weekend in Santa Cruz with Fellon and Erica and visiting my alma mater - UCSC - who knows, maybe Maggie will go there! The campus sure has grown and doesn't seem as vast as when Paul and I were there. We spent time with my sister, college friend Dan and family, and Paul's cousins and their kids as well before heading north to see my mom.

From relatives in the Bay area and SLC

From relatives in the Bay area and SLC

Redding was surprisingly cool for summer so we enjoyed lots of walks along the many trails that have been built, swimming in Whiskeytown Lake, clamoring up the boulders of Brandy Creek, and even drove to the foothills to check out a lavender farm.

From in Redding 2011

From in Redding 2011

From in Redding 2011

From in Redding 2011

After that we flew out to spend time with the relatives in Salt Lake City, Utah - my 97 year old grandma, aunts, uncles, cousins and got to meet my first cousin once removed - 4 months old.

From relatives in the Bay area and SLC

Finally we headed back to Northridge for a few days to re-group, re-pack and do last minute shopping before heading back to HKG. I'm working with a great team to teach three special kids, tailoring a program that will hopefully lead to their leading independent lives in the future. Alex has started Middle School in grade 6 and Maggie is in 10th grade this year!

The end of this school year is a little bittersweet – Alex will be going to Middle School next year and along with this BIG transition, a few classmates will be leaving HK or transferring schools. Some he has known since his first year at the school. My idea to organize a little end-of-the-year-farewell party to commemorate these transitions started with a few boys who wanted to play soccer. Then some other boys were invited and some girls names were mentioned (by the boys, oh my). We ended up with over 30 kids! Thankfully, several moms stepped in to help plan and provide food and drinks – potluck style. We celebrated a birthday, too! Kids, kids, everywhere – some played soccer, others ran around playing tag and hide and seek, climbing the jungle gym, eating and chatting. The kids and parents all seemed to enjoy each other’s company – and especially for the parents, this fostering of fellowship may be useful in the years ahead as the kids seek independence and learn responsibliity. I have a certain peace of mind knowing who my children are hanging out with and knowing their parents, too.

School ended with a flurry of activities - graduation ceremony, sleepovers for both kids, and several lunches and hanging out with friends before we take off are on the agenda.

The end of the school year is always so busy!

Alex played trombone and sang in his choir as part of the Elementary Spring Concert.

The following day he finished the academic year of HK Youth Football training with a few matches between other teams from different districts in HK.

The next week he went to a Grade 4 and 5 school camp with a high schooler as his cabin counselor. I stopped by briefly on the first day and enjoyed the smores BBQ, too!



Grade 5 had their graduation lunch and invited all their teachers through the years...

Mrs. Hunter – Alex’s wonderful 5th grade teacher


With Montana and Kaito at the entrance


Ryan, Hugh and Alex - good buddies since pre-school!





Maggie has also been busy – playing clarinet in her school band and singing in her school choir; going to Vietnam for Week Without Walls - a 4 day trek and an overnight on Halong Bay. Since she's been camera shy - I had to troll around online to find photos...

I know this goes against the JVN Rules of Blog-Writing but that's okay since I'm writing for those who ARE interested in our life anyway.

For our last day of Easter break we spent a beautiful afternoon in South Lantau. We first enjoyed lunch at The Stoep, Lower Cheung Sha Beach chowing on fish and chips, chili con carne with rice, marinated eggplant salad, garlic bread and a tender spring chicken.

After lunch we climbed over a small headland of rough boulders; Alex made it barefoot, while Maggie and I were in sandals. Paul was reminded of fishing off similar boulders with his grandmother when he was young(er).

From Cheung Sha Beach

We walked Upper Cheung Sha Beach from east to west - the longest beach in HK at around two kilometers. It reminded us of Zuma Beach in L.A. Along the way we checked out a blowfish that had washed ashore and a young cow that wandered down toward the water. There were a few people out, but not even close to the numbers that were at the cable car to the big buddha (haven't been yet) and outlet mall at Tung Chung where we left our car. At the western end we went in the water at the gazetted* swimming area for a refreshing dip, then showered off before catching a bus back to civilization.

* gazetted - another of the strange words, like shroff**, you just get used to after living overseas... Gazetted beaches usually have bathroom, changing room, showers, life guards, shark net enclosed swimming areas, and water quality checks.

** shroff - the cashier's office where you pay for (hourly) parking your car in the "carpark" :)

Maggie took drawing and painting this year and three pieces she submitted were displayed as part of the end of the year HS Art Exhibition - well done!

Maggie’s birthday started with a service trip organized by the school collecting coins for charity.

After that, and lunch, Maggie and friends came back home to make cookies and play wii.

From Maggie's birthday 2011

Later, we went to have appetizers of bubble tea and cold noodles.

From Maggie's birthday 2011

Then sat down for a yummy dinner at a place serving Italian and Japanese food - two favorite cuisines.

From Maggie's birthday 2011

Finally, we had cake in the park with everyone running off energy and excess calories playing tag and climbing the rocks... Whew – a long, but enjoyable day for Maggie!

From Maggie's birthday 2011

Alex has become a better soccer player this year after becoming involved with the HK Youth Football program and enjoys pick-up games with his friends and even secondary-schoolers from local schools when they all go to the public pitch on a Friday eve. Here are some photos from a recent tourney with teams from all over the territory. Shatin Team A took home the trophy - well done guys!

Alex got honorable mention for his science project this year! According to his teacher there was some stiff competition - congratulations!