Kristina and Zach

Kristina and her boyfriend, Zach. He is also a student at Pomona. They look very cute together.

They were playing Guitar Hero on the Wii. Zach was pretty good at it and Kristina wasn't too bad either. Well, Zach won more battles.

Kristina and Zach as animated figures on the Wii.

family get together summer 2010

Every time my brother, Bob, visits the Bay Area, my other brother, Dickson, will try to visit too. (From L to R: Bob, Dickson, Bob's son, Zong-Kang, Me, my sister-in-law, Helen, Bob's daughter, Angel, and Brittany)

The three cousins. Brittany, Zong-Kang, and his sister, Angel.

My brother, Dickson, likes to goof off with our nephew, Zong-Kang.

The girls that night: Helen, me, Brittany, and Angel.

The guys: Dickson, Bob, and Zong-Kang. They tried to look cool.

My two dear brothers and me.

The next day, Dickson's son, Michael, visited us too.

Kristina finishing sophomore year

Kristina finished her sophomore year at Pomona. Whew!

She and her friends drove from Pomona to Jasmine's house at San Diego for two days of fun. Then they drove seven hours to our place. I took them and Brittany out for dinner at Macaroni Grill. Then the other girls headed North to Seattle.

Kristina brought back her hamster, "Kubla Khan". She put Kubla with Brittany's hamster, "Penelope" on the floor. Kubla liked to follow Penny. We eventually seperated them after twelve minutes because Kubla started to bite Penny.

yummy food

Every year when we get Meyer lemons, we mix the lemon juice with strawberries and sugar to make a lemon-strawberry topping. Then we pour the strawberries with lemon juice over angel food cake to make a yummy dessert. It's delicious (:

Logan and I went to Chinatown. We found an imported fruit called Starfruit which came from Taiwan. It's best season is in late spring/ early summer. It has a subtle sourness to the taste but it is still quite sweet. Most of all, it looks very pretty when you cut it into slices.

peach and plum

During early March, I looked out of the window every morning from my seat in the kitchen. The peach tree has been blooming nicely with pink blossoms. Hopefully this year the squirrels will leave my peaches alone.

The plum tree is growing quite tall now. When the white blossoms pop up on the branches, they look like popcorn glued on the tree. It is quite funny-looking. We will try to update the peaches and plums for you all.

winter blossom

Winter is usually gloomy, but sometimes you see the tiniest things around you that make you want to smile and cheer for mother nature.

This little bell-like blossom is called "snow drop." It usually blooms from the end of January to the end of March. The height of the plant is about one foot, and the white blossom is very small (1/2" diameter). Does anyone know the real name (the Latin version)? The "snow drop" is like a tulip,: it grows from bulbs in the ground. It always brings me joy during the chilly winter days.

The other blossom with the cute "snow drop" flowers at our front yard is a purple blossom from the Rosemary plant. I occasionally rub or crush the leaves to smell the herbal fragrance, but I enjoy watching my favorite color bloom in the front yard. Since I don't have any luck with Lavender, I pretend that the Rosemary blossom is Lavender. :)

--edited by Brittany :)

Chinese New Year dinner

We finally had our "Year of Tiger" new year dinner with some relatives in the Bay Area. This is my cousin and her family. Their daughter is a senior in high school and waiting for college acceptance. Their son, Edison, is fond of Pokemon cards.

My cousin's daughter (right), Jenny, and Brittany.

Brittany felt awkward for being very tall among the Chinese friends and families, so she tried to sit low.

Back row: My nephew (Zong-Kang), my niece (Ai-Chi)

Front row: Brittany, My cousin's son (Edison, 6 years old), My cousin's daughter (Jenny, 17 1/2 years old)

They are the busy young generation. They see each other about twice a year for Holidays. They probably visit one another more often on facebook.

From Right to Left: My nephew (Zong-Kang, 16 years old), my niece (Ai-chi, 24 years old, and just moved from Taiwan to Bay Area for post-college education), their uncle Michael on their mom's side.