Visit Home (Seattle, WA)

The next stop on our West Coast visit entailed a 4 hour drive up to the Seattle area to visit our friends and Chris' family. Here is the (now-5-year-married!) couple at Magnolia park at a Chris' mom's side family reunion picnic.










A view from Chris' mom and Dave's Grand Banks of Mt. Rainier and a Puget Sound Ferry boat off in the distance.









Nanny Heather (Chris' mom) and little Reid on the flying bridge of their 46' yacht.












Captain Dave enjoying our cruise.














During our stay on Bainbridge Island (Chris' old stomping grounds) we attended a gorgeous wedding of Chris' best friend Bjorn and his new wife Kelly. Chris was actually in the wedding while I chased Reid around the yard in high heels and a strapless dress. I did however witness enough of the very sweet and sentimental ceremony to shed a few tears while doing so.

The boys and good friends, Jon, Tait, and Chris at the wedding.

The girls...(from left) Amy, Lynn, Gunna, me, and Ksenya. So nice to reunite!

Our little family at the wedding.

Our sporty little man Reid at Bjorn's wedding.

We departed Bainbridge Island for another family reunion with Chris' dad's (Dean) side of the family. Included is Chris' 2 brothers and their families.

Back to Magnolia Park, Chris' mom's side family reunion...here is Nanny Thelma and Grandpa Bruce (the ones responsible for all of these folks!). As you can tell, they are some super cool grandparents!









Here are the beautiful twins, Brooke and Hailey, who attached themselves to Reid for the whole day! It was awesome. They are Chris' bro, Corey's, 2 girls. Too bad they live in AZ!

Uncle Corey assisting the wagon ride with the cousins.

Captain Chris on our boat! Our 24' cruiser...too bad it lives in Seattle and we live in Jersey. Anyone want to buy it?

Reid, ready for a boating journey!

We spent the night on Blake Island with some of our friends. Here's a daddy and son fishing moment on the dock.

Chris and Reid with good friend Shannon.

Our precious little guy, swimmy diaper on, gazing at the sea.

Whoa that's cold!













Hey, where's Reid? I swear I just saw him when we packed up our camping stuff...

Refreshed from some boating and camping, we made our way back to the Seattle side and stayed with our good friends Tim and Karrie. Here is their one year old boy, Collin, hanging with Reid.











My dear friend Karrie and I and our little guys. Getting ready to hit Redmond Town Square and then say our goodbyes (for now).

Great trip to Washington...once again beautiful weather, jam-packed with good visits and good people, and we love you all too!

Visit Home (Portland, OR)

The first stop on our West Coast visit was in Portland, well Hillsboro actually, (my old stomping grounds). We arrived July 3rd, settled in, recovered from the 5.5 hour flight with a squirmy almost 2 year old on our laps , and a 3 hour time difference. Believe me, there was no complaining (think 24 hour journey and 16 hour time change traveling from Hong Kong). The next day was the 4th and having missed celebrating July 4th while in HK, we enjoyed a good ol' small town parade this year.



Reid sitting on one of his favorites a fire truck (or "wee oo wee oo" he might say, the sound the siren makes) with 2 of his cousins from AZ, Kayla and Josh.

A Chris artistic flag shot.

Reid and I at my dad and Valerie's house, in front of their pond and "Buck Island" (an island named after their dog Buck who frequently enjoys a good swim there).

Reid and the boy cousins. piled on the John Deere tractor (for kids).

Grandma Valerie and silly Reid at the 4th of July feast/picnic at their place.

Grandpa John with his grandboys (Reid and my brother's boys, Kaleb and Jayden).

Here is my favorite dog in the world, Buck! Isn't he handsome? He is forever young and full of spirit.

Uncle Ty giving Reid a piggy back (my bro).

All of the cousins from me, my bro and Valerie's son and daughter. They all had such a blast together.

A day of fishing, swimming, and paddle boating at a pond near my dad and Valerie's house.

The grandparents took the kids and all the adults went out to downtown Portland! Ten of us, friends and family were able to enjoy a sushi dinner and Spanish coffees at Hubers. Here is a shot of four of us girls.

A trip to the zoo with the cousins. Here is Reid and Kaleb (my bro's youngest, only 6 weeks apart!).

We played one day at "Out of this World", an indoor kids play mecca where adults could join in too! Cousin Jayden is helping Reid with the intricacies of the perpetual motion scooters.

Happy as clams these 3!

Good old Hare Field, the sight of many of my brother's and my track meets. We reunited for an all comers track meet in which all of our boys could participate! Here is my mom, Ty and his wife Abby, and our 4 boys.

Reid and I enjoying the track meet atmosphere and making our way to his next event.

The softball throw, for 2 and unders. Reid just stepped right up and threw that softball.

Reid and Kaleb sharing a post-race moment after they ran the 50 meter dash.

Ahhh, Uncle Chris relaxing at Ty and Abby's house with Jayden and Reid. It was beautiful weather the entire trip and we had such a wonderful time with my family. We love you all!

More New York City (and a little Jersey)

Lovin' our trips into "the city" and they say in Jersey. One extremely hot and sticky Saturday, we walked through Little Italy. We are definitely going to get a sitter one night and come back for some delish Italian food.















The same day, we made our way into Chinatown, ready for some authentic dim sum (which we found, yum!). The chefs were all from Hong Kong and we grubbed down some of our favorites. Siu Mai, Ha Gau, Cha Siu Cheung Fan, just to start! Ok, Chinatown in NYC is huge! We also felt right at home as it actually did remind us of Hong Kong. This day there was a parade and here are some of the dragon dancers.







When my mom came to visit, we took her to experience Central Park and we came across a cool dude playing drums and singing and let Reid jam a little with him.









A close up...


















The guy also had hula hoops, and well I couldn't resist, so the whole family joined in!











Mom and I and Reid took the ferry to Liberty Island to be up close and personal with Lady Liberty herself. Here we are with the Manhattan Skyline in the background.

(It still makes me sad, and really hits home when you are here, that the Trade Towers are gone)










It was a hotter than "you know what" day, but what a picturesque view to be right at the Statue's feet.















Do you think Reid has any idea where he is playing right now? As far as he is concerned, its just another day in the life of an almost 2 year old. Maybe he'll enjoy this picture 20 years from now. :)















So here's the (and a little Jersey) part of this entry. Check out these roller coasters!! Mom watched Reid while Chris and I had the best day riding some of the world's best coasters at Six Flags Great Adventure.








So happy to have this big kids play date with my hubby! Pure fun.




















Chris artistic roller coaster shot (yes we did it). Yippee!