Tang given notice of layoff; Will move back to mainland

Honolulu (TANGNEWS) - The vacation is over. The Tang family is moving back to the mainland. Recently KHNL News 8 Sports Director Jason Tang was given a 60-day notice of layoff from his job of almost two years.

"It's definitely sad that we have to leave, but we're choosing to look at it positively," said Tang. "We get to be closer to family."

Tang is one of almost 70% percent of the KHNL news team that was given notice of layoff. KHNL, the NBC affiliate in Honolulu recently agreed to a shared service agreement with KGMB, the CBS affiliate in the Islands. With the merger, only one news team will be needed as the newscast will be simulcast on both stations.

"It's sad to see so many good people getting laid off at KHNL, but it wasn't a surprise. They laid off two of three of our news managers and kept the ones at KGMB, so their news team obviously had the upperhand," said Tang. "But they were also the station that had the most momentum in the ratings, so from a business standpoint, why ruin a good thing I guess."

With his 60 day notice, Tang's last day at KHNL will be on Monday, November 2nd. However, if he finds a job before, he'll move his family as soon as possible. But he's keeping tight lipped on the progress of his job search.

"I have a lot of good people in my corner, including my family, and while I don't have a job offer as of right now, I have some pretty solid leads. Stay tuned as they say in the biz," said Tang.

If he doesn't find a job before November 2nd, the family of four will move back to California and shack up with Tang's mother-in-law.

"I think she would prefer that to me finding a job," said Tang jokingly. "But seriously, she wouldn't mind us moving in for a little bit I think."

As for his family, his wife Heather, and two small children will definitely miss the Island state. Well, most of it anyways.

"I will miss the beaches, the weather, the people, and even the plate lunches," said Heather. "I won't miss the cockroaches, or the high cost of living though, and luckily Jaxon is too small to understand the move, but I think it'll be hard on Ashlyn. When we sold our table and chairs, she broke down in a crying fit. And that was for a table and chairs."

The Tang family is excited to move closer to family, and buy a house when they land a new job. That's right, they're saying "when", none of this "if" business.

"Come on! He's Jason Tang. You think he's not going to find a job on TV? Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pleeezzee, HE'S SEXY!!!" said Jason in his best impression of Heather. Heather did, however, agree with at least one part of that statement.

"Yeah, we're confident he'll find a job, but that's all I'm agreeing with," said Heather.

I know I promised pictures from the trip, but unfortunately the majority of my pictures are still on a computer in Yucaipa. So, to help make the wait a little easier, here are the most recent Jax Stats as of August 25:

Age: 9 months 3 weeks. (we were a little late on his check-up because of our trip)

Weight: 20.5 lbs (25-50th%)

Length: 29 inches (50-75th%)

Head: 47 cm (90th%)

He is one active little boy with a giant head. "Well, that's a huge noggin. That's a virtual planetoid." (what movie?)

And he got 4 teeth this month! The bottom 2 came in the day before we left, and the top 2 poked through sometime while we were in CA. He likes to show them to people by biting them on the shoulder. It's great fun. He even left marks on Ashlyn with the new chompers the other day. He bites and then laughs. Don't know what I am going to do with that kid. Gotta love him!

We are going to Grandma's house...

What fun it's going to be! The beginning of August all of the Horspool kids were going to be together with the exception of Matt (who is on a mission) and me. Unbeknownst to my mom, we were able to join in on the festivities! It was hard work keeping it a secret, but her reaction made it worth it. (Jason's Edit --- CHECK IT OUT!!!! She did cry, but I left it out!! :) Taylor had a pretty good reaction too)

It was so much fun seeing everyone and having all EIGHTEEN grandkids together for the first time. And the family is still growing! Taylor and Aubree will have #19 this October!

Front row: Andrew (2), Grace (4), Raegan (3), Josh (11 mo), Caitlyn (10), Alexandria (10), Jack (8 mo), Ashlyn (2), Jaxon (9 mo), Ryan (5)

Back row: Staci (5), Riley (5), Madison (2), Emilee (12), Kira (6), Spencer (7), Brooklyn (2 mo), Brinley (9)

How do you get 18 kids to stay still for pictures? Why with a little bribery of course!

Stay tuned for a super long picture post of the fun we've been having!

Once there was an... Ashlyn

While going to pick up Grandpa from the airport for his quick layover in Honolulu, the candid camera caught Ashlyn singing, until she busted the cameraman. Her reaction is priceless.

This is the same trip, longer video, and she didn't turn it off this time. Not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing though...

Other rather humorous things Ashlyn has said recently:

"Dear Heavenly Father, please bless that we can watch Word World... (A PBS show)"

After she beat Heather in a game of memory, and Heather declared Ashlyn the winner:

"Ashlyn, you're the winner!" "Mommy... we're both winners..."

And as some of you in the Tang Family know, Uncle Sam (Dai Bak), and Auntie Lily came to Honolulu. We saw him at church and then went to Dim Sum later that week.

It was good to see them, as they were visiting Kenneth Fong, the man who baptized Uncle Sam, and who just so happens to be in the Makiki ward with us.

Hooray visitors! Grandpa pictures to come.

Manoa Falls

For the longest time I have been wanting to hike to Manoa Falls. It's only a few minutes from where we live, and the hike is not hard at all. I don't know why we took so long to finally go. Was it worth the wait? Sure. I mean, the falls weren't that spectacular, but it's always fun to try something new!

The falls from afar

And here they are up close

Since Rick is still familyless, his wife and son are in Utah while he studies for the Bar, he joined us on our excursion. The best part is he carried Jaxon, so I didn't have to carry any kids! Woo Hoo! And yes Alicia, he still studied while hiking (note the paper in his hands).

By the end, the kids were tired of their backpacks. Jax was lovin' his new perch over Jason's shoulder.

little girl BIG TREE

Check out the size of that leaf!

Beach Boy

Jason promised a post about Jax, so here I am, NOT making a liar out of him. This boy LOVES the beach. He is just so happy and content crawling around. That same Saturday out in Kailua was the first time I just let him have at it. He also loves the water. We could not keep him out of it! When I was holding him he was constantly trying to jump out of my arms so he could splash around. I think we have a little dare-devil on our hands!

Some like the sand between their toes, Jaxon loves the sand between his cheeks....yes, those cheeks. That kid eats sand by the handful, and that's exactly where it ends up. TMI? Maybe. But since when has that stopped us from posting something?

Jaxon even did a face-plant, but that still didn't stop him. He was right back doing his thang in seconds.

Here is our little man in action. He has gotten pretty good at crawling. If he is this much fun at the beach, just imagine the good times at home! Let's just say that our bathroom doors are rarely open these days...

This is their newest game. They just yell back and forth. They were doing this the whole way from the parking lot, but I didn't capture it until we were riding up the elevator (hence the beeping). And yes, they are sitting side by side in a single stroller. We have a double, I just don't like it to get sandy :)

Surfer Girl

For the longest time I've been trying to get Ashlyn to ride some waves on the Boogie board, but she always resists -- until this weekend at Kailua beach! This is Ash with Uncle Rick who made the first successful run with her.

And she actually let me take her too! (I guess I destroyed the trust the few times I put her on and just pushed her onto the wave...) To be honest though, she was done after the ride with me. But she did proudly tell her Mom, "I rode the big board Mommy!"

The cruddy part of the day was when I got stung by a Portuguese Man o'War. It was just a small guy put he stung pretty good, even sent my upper quadracep into a short spasm. Heather laughed. Nice huh?

Here' just a couple random pics from the day. We're slowly weening Ashlyn off the water wings, but not in the ocean.

Jax loves the feel of the water, and the taste of the sand. A post is forthcoming about him.

Super mom!