You know what summer means to me? It is a grim reminder that my wife throws footballs better than me. From last weekend’s summer camp to this past Saturday’s picnic, my decent throws were proven to be no match for her perfect spiral throws each time. It should be no surprise though. My wife was the athletic type in high school. She was a tomboy by her own admission. I was the nerdy type that got his lowest grades in P.E. We chuckle now at how she would never have had given me the time of day if we were the same age and went to the same school.
The picnic we had this past Saturday is a yearly tradition started by my parents that lands on or around Father’s Day. Our relatives from my father’s side gather at the San Pablo Reservoir to have a mini reunion. We weren’t able to make it last year because we were in the Philippines at the time.
Left: The fathers. My dad, second from right, appears to be as tall as me. It may not be obvious but this shot was taken at a slope and, unfortunately, I happen to be at the lower end of the slope (Ha!). Right: My brother with his friend from Holland.
Left: The United Triplets of Benetton. Right: My cousin Rikki and I.
A funny thing happened as the kids were playing at the playground. My second son came up to me and said that he’s met two boys who have the same birth date as he does. He brought them over to our picnic table and we were able to confirm that this indeed was true. They are pictured above with their faces blurred to protect their identity. What I’m more amazed about, however, is the fact that my son, who is normally shy, was able to make friends so quickly and ask his new friends effortlessly something personal as their birthdays! Kids…
My cousin Rikki pictured above (not to be confused with the other Rikki) was recently interviewed by fiction and photography site HeavyGlow for his photography work. A couple of our cousins from his branch of the family also excel creatively. There’s Nikki, a PBBY-Salanga Prize winner for her story “The Yellow Paperclip with Bright Purple Spots.” Betsy is a producer and director of commercials and films in Vietnam. Her brother P.E. Dy-Liacco’s amazing photos can be found here. The ballet photos of our uncle Conrad (from a different branch of the family), who himself is a ballet dancer, can be seen here. I eagerly await for the photography site of another one of our cousins, Marco, to be up soon.
Parent Hacks is a two-month old collaborative weblog for parents of kids 0-18+ years old. I wish it was around the past eight years. I could’ve benefitted from some of its practical parenting tips when our kids were babies/toddlers (well, one of them still is). I have a few “hacks” I could’ve contributed as well, if I still remember any of them. I just remember winging many things and finding, to my surprise, that they work. I’m still learning anyway. The site will be beneficial to me and the wife in the next, oh, 16+ years.
(via Boing Boing)
Whew, four posts in a row. While my wife was out doing some last-minute Christmas shopping, I was home doing some last-minute blogging. I have a few more things to write about but it’ll have to wait until the weekend’s festivities are over.
We’ll be zig-zagging across the Bay Area the next couple of days. Tomorrow Later, we’ll be at my sister’s place in Hayward, then we’ll be back in Fremont to celebrate the rest of Christmas Eve at my wife’s brother’s house. On Christmas Day, we will attend church service in Union City, then stop over at the pastor’s place in San Leandro, then head on out to Vallejo for the “extended family” get-together.
Have a Merry Christmas y’all!
Mark posts a bunch of mangled Christmas songs sung by neighborhood carollers back home. Here’s my contribution. It is a version of Jingle Bells that my then two-year old brother used to sing.
Jingeh Beh
Jingeh Beh
Waaaay!
Oli Pie
Retauan
Choo-choo-choo-choo-choo train
Hey!
I think our Mom still has my brother’s rendition on tape (the wound-up reel type) somewhere. I’ll digitize it someday.