CHINA! Day 1

It's been about 2 weeks since we returned from our amazing Asian vacation, so I guess it's about time someone blogged it. I only have pictures from our camera, though. If you want to see more from other's eyes, check out Annie's Facebook page...

Sunday, May 16, we left the good ol' USA to head to Hong Kong. We had a 1 1/2 hour layover in Tokyo, where I first laid my eyes on one of these bad boys. No, the picture is not sideways, and yes, that is in the ladies' room. That, my friends, is a squatter. And, sadly, that was not the last one we would see.

We arrived in Hong Kong Monday around 10:30 pm. Luckily, when we were in the vicinity of our hostel, Clarence and Annie were outside waiting for us. Otherwise I think we would have been wandering for a lot longer. This is the door we would have had to find on our own. Yikes!

Our hostel (Hong Kong Budget Hostel) was actually quite nice. Jason and I were able to have our own room and bathroom! Our room was teeny! It was only wide enough to fit the set of bunk beds. We estimated it to be about 8'x9'. And that may be generous. Our bathroom was set up very efficiently though, with the toilet, sink, and shower sharing the same space. BUT, the toilet wasn't a squatter! Yay!

In the morning we got up and went to a delicious bakery. I especially liked the pineapple bun. The really great thing about China was the food. Super cheap, and even more delicious!

We walked down to the ferry and met up with Dad Tang.

Clarence. Jason. Dad. Nancy. Heather. Annie

Here is our destination. Hong Kong Island!

Once we got to Hong Kong Island, we jumped on a bus to go up to Victoria Peak. We ended up at a mall where you could pay $25 HKD to go on the roof. Although a little hazy, it was a pretty sweet view!

After our eyes feasted, we headed back to Kowloon and to the markets to try our hands at bargaining. So fun. I bought a couple trinkets at the Jade market, and then we went to get some fruit.

Lychee! We got some lychee fruit and walked over to Kowloon Park to rest our aching feet and eat a tasty snack. It my my first time eating the stuff fresh. Yummy!

Also at Kowloon park were these cute little buggers. No, they aren't bugs, just teensy weensy frogs. They were about the size of a finger nail. So cute! I would put one in my pocket if I weren't so afraid of it's germs!

Later that night we went back down to the ferry dock to watch the "Symphony of Lights". It was impressive how they had all the buildings participate with their lights and what not, even if the music was a bit lame.

To give you an idea of how exciting the show was, this is the position Clarence and Dad assumed during the majority of the show.

After the show we were thoroughly exhausted and went right home to bed. Up next...New Territories!

Summer is almost here!

We can't wait till it's warm enough to swim in the pool, but for now playing in the hot tub has been pretty fun! I think Jax and Ash are pretty close to swimming by themselves!

Family underwater photo

Jax doing the ring dive

Ash swimming for the camera

(we had to bribe her with 10 jelly beans!!!)

No need to bride Jax though

Jumping off the side of the spa

Underwater angle

Jax attacks!

MANcation

Ever get the urge to pee in a bush?

Go a day without brushing your teeth?

Eat only meat for dinner?

Burn everything you can find?

Well, if you don't, then you are not a man, and you would not have liked our overnight hike to Dobbs cabin in the San Bernardino mountains.

Our group consisted of: (From Left to Right)

Dane Winkelman, his son Jet, Cory Ferguson, Matt Horspool & Jason Tang

Jet is only three, but he still made the trek... of course, that's not too hard when your dad is half man, half amazing. Dane carried Jet on his shoulders for most of the way, with us giving him a break every now and then.

The hike wasn't very long, only about two miles in, but it was a very steep climb. The base of the mountain started out dry, but the higher up we got the more snow, and the more wet we got.

When we arrived at our campsite, we quickly made a fire so we could dry our all our clothes and start cookin' up our meal.

On the menu -- T-Bone steaks a la Winkelman.

What's that mean? Seasoned steaks, skewered and cooked over an open flame.

This one is a la Tang. Cooked on the hot rock. Good if you like your steak rare!

Unfortunately, steaks weren't the only things cookin'. Dane and my shoes ended up a little too well done.

The next morning we did a little fishing, and Dane was the only one that caught anything. He caught a small little trout (I think), and a little lizard that Jet loved.

Going down the mountain was pretty fun too. We did a little shoe skiing.

Looking forward to the next one!

Time MARCHes on

Another month has come and gone. SO, here is another picture-packed post to catch up on all the latest and greatest.....

Building blanket forts with Daddy. I can't remember where I was, but when I got home Jason had built this awesome fort with the kiddos. They were all in there, armed with flashlights and everything.

Visiting new babies. Matt and Melissa McIntosh welcomed little Elliot into the world. She is such a little sweetie and it was so fun to see her on her birthday! Ashlyn still tells us how much she loves her.


San Diego sight seeing. We spent the weekend with Kim and Dane Winkelman and their kidlets down south. We started off with the San Diego Zoo. Jaxon loved playing with this green mamba.
Ashlyn and Jet were inseparable. They had so much fun running all over together.


Ash loved jumping from one platform to another. That girl has no fear when it comes to jumping off things. She stuck the landing every time, too. We have got to get her in gymnastics!

Baby elephant riding. Loved this part of the zoo!

We stayed the night at Dane's parents' condo in La Jolla. This also where Jason and I spent our honeymoon. It is such a beautiful place! Ashlyn loved the "noculars" and trying to spot wildlife. That morning I watched a pod of dolphins from the window. They were hunting. It was amazing! There were tons of them just swimming and jumping in circles corralling fish. Then all of the sudden hundreds of birds came to get in on the action. It was like something from the discovery channel!

A short walk from the condo there are all these seals. It was pupping season, and some of the babies still had their umbilical cords. They were so cute!

Peek-A-Boo!

I just loved this picture of Jet. He's always chasing after something...whether it's Ashlyn or a bird!

Ashlyn is easier to catch though. So, Jet had been trying to hold Ashlyn's hand the whole trip, but in true girlie fashion, she was playing hard to get. On this walk, Jet was just kind if wandering around, seeing what there was to see, and not paying tons of attention to Ashlyn like he usually does. I guess she was missing his affection, so she says "Hey Jet! I thought you wanted to hold my hand!" That boy's face just lit up. He grabbed on so fast! They here laughing and giggling and just being so cute! But then they tripped and the fun was over.

We went to this look-out point (the name escapes me) with an incredible view. I just love how much the San Diego temple sticks out!

After that we went to Ikea, and then home. Thanks for the good times, guys!

Primary Activity-ing. It was Ashlyn's very first primary activity! Jason took her. I don't know how much she liked it, but she did win the candy jar for guessing the closest!

Turtle time! We went to LA to take my mom and niece to the airport, and then spent the rest of the day in Chinatown. While there, we stumbled upon these two little cuties. I just had to take them home. Now every morning, the first thing Jax wants to do is say "hi" to the turtles. It is so funny how excited he gets to see them every day!

Beach Going. Mike and Jason had to go to some meeting in Orange County, so Amber and I decided we wanted to make a day of it. We went down to Balboa, and it was a GORGEOUS day! I had packed all sorts of warm clothes, and as soon as we got there I was wishing we had brought our swimming suits! It was a perfect day...even with the Ruby's debacle.

More beach! Anthony and Valerie Huynh came in from Arizona to take their little guy to Disneyland for his birthday. We met up with them and had a bon-fire at Huntington. It was fun to see them and catch up.

Ashlyn and Tate hit it off, too. Maybe a little too much. At the end of the night Tate pinned her against the wall and planted a big kiss. I think she liked it though, because when we were leaving she asked if she could spend the night. Yikes! Gotta watch her like a hawk when she gets older!

Mmmmm. S'mores face.

I think Ashlyn misses going to the beach so often. That night she asked if we could stay there forever. I wish!

Ice-Cream walking. Tami and I decided to go on a 3 mile walk with our kids. It just happened to be that Rite-Aid round trip is 3 miles. We rewarded ourselves for a job well done with some delicious thrifty's ice-cream. I got root-beer float flavor and it was delectable! I think this needs to become a weekly tradition....well at least monthly!

Andrew and Josh

Tami

Kira, Caitlyn, and Ashlyn. I guess I uploaded the wrong picture. There was one with Ryan, too. Maybe I'll go back and fix it...when the computer with the pictures is free

Jax - eating Ashlyn's cone.