Wednesday, January 28, 2009

new years o' fun!

today begins the 3rd day of the traditional 3-day celebration of the lunar new year of the OX and so far, it has brought us folks here in big-d a lot of.. ice & sleet! so besides still having to work, at least it'll be in comfy sweats with the cracklin fire only steps away! but its supposed to all melt away by noon so the 3 days will end up with lots o'sunshine - metaphor for the year? we is not know! anyhoo - last year, rmd was only 8 days old so we didn't get to go all wild and crazy but this year, he got to take part in lots of festivities - watched a lot of dragon dances (both professional and mini-ghetto ones), went to lots of hoi cho's and played lots of bau cua games! what can we say - it was a new years o'fun!

new year, new do...
















rmd last year on new years




















and this year!














we wish everyone a new year of much health...




















wealth ...




















happiness....




















and prosperity in all your endeavors!!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

roadtrip!

it's 4:40 am saturday morning and still half asleep, we're literally throwing everything into our suitcase and driving out to the airport! our flight was to take off at 6:10 am - and the alarm didn't go off. yup, we are running late, crazy late! but whew.. thanks to the fact that everyone else in their right mind is still fast asleep, we made it to curbside checkin, through security and to our gate as they were calling group 3 to board.. we were group 5. so thats how our trip started.

i know, call us crazy but daddy found a potential car in cali, so we bought a round trip ticket (just in case), said yes to the car, then got to enjoy the rest of our weekend, visit some friends, family and then headed off on our way back home and rmd's longest roadtrip yet!

our first stop - la! rmd got to meet co phuong, chu bryan, tawnie and juliette for the first time. we got to hang out at little saigon mall where everyone's getting ready for the new year!




























as we walked outside, we were greeted, or more like ambushed, by the "wonderful" aromas of the best smelling possible weapon ever - durian!














"PIN--KBE--RRY... PINKBERRY!"















what happens when we try to get the kids to sit still for a photo...















we also got to go down to laguna beach and rmd got to visit and meet for the first time, co lindsey, chu evan, and cousins michael and miya! their house was really unique - it's literally down the street from the landslide of a few years ago. very cool to see that even with the lack of land out there, it still had a great garden filled with fruit trees and a wonderful view of the hills and the ocean! rmd loved this curious cactus plant from their garden.















and then we're off! we got to stop in phoenix
to visit chu tuyen & co oanh.















rmd did really well and got to sleep most of the way..














a boy and his glow-worm. don't laugh, this little gloworm got us through many miles!















we then got to stop at this rest area that mommy had also stopped in back over 17 years ago on her first road-trip out to california. it was amazing with all the huge rocks in the background.















who would have thunk mommy would be standing here in the same area with this little dude in her arms years later? how time flies!















mr. bee-mine that helped pass the time,
complements of chu tuyen and co oanh.















so rmd got to log about 20 hours on the road this trip and we're relieved everything went well! this is the last pic that mommy took of the moon - yeah that shaky white thing in the background... this is right before getting pulled over for speeding! luckily, the occifer noticed that rmd was not happy in his carseat, so sent us off on our merry little way with just a warning! yay - good trip!

Friday, January 2, 2009

merry christmas and a happy new year!

ok, even with the week-long holiday break mommy got, the time really just flew by cause it seems like for-ever since we've posted! its definitely been a holiday to remember as rmd got to celebrate his first ever christmas and new years!!

christmas eve with mommy and daddy before mass. (ok, we're horrible parents cuz no santa pix but oh well, maybe next year?! we did however get to go out and see lots of christmas lights that we hadn't done ever before so guess it makes up for it?? haha, i tried!)

































christmas morning with mommy and daddy. we then headed over to spend the rest of the day with ong/ba ngoai, then ong/ba noi and the families!

































day after christmas... rmd so distracted by all the cool new stuff, he wouldn't even turn around for a pic!














the day after the day after christmas!
just a lazy day relaxin, and lovin it!














this one gives mommy and daddy quite the crick in the ol' back but totally worth it! we're outta here for now -
hope everyone has a fabulous 2009!!

Saturday, December 20, 2008

oatmeal baths

for the last few weeks, rmd's been battling another rash so to help calm the itchies, daddy's been giving him daily oatmeal baths. he's been much better this past week and we're hoping to knock it out soon!

wouldn't be bathtime without mr. duckies...





























oooh, magic powers...




















aaahhh, finally sittin still in the soothing relief of the murky oatmeal waters!

Friday, December 12, 2008

ouch!

this is what rmd learned when his noggin encountered the table...

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

happy birthday daddy!

we got to celebrate daddy's birthday with lots of friends and our family! thanks daddy - for all you do! you're the bestest!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

hangin with mommy

storytime...


and some ball handlin skills ...