May. 22, 2009 - Fort Worth Zoo

Love those gorgeous flamingoes!

Joey got sunscreen all over his face! Poor kid got bitten by fire ants at the off-site parking lot even before we got into the zoo. We were just coming out of the car, and he stepped on an ant pile. He's so nondramatic, since he has such high pain threshold, thanks to his SID/ASD.

Josie, checking out the animals so intently.

Guess what! She's looking at those elephants! Thank goodness she didn't ask to ride them this time.

Josh's all geared up to brave the heat and the animals!

Another word for zebras...... yeah, Marty! (from the movie Madagascar.)

This mountain goat just stood there like a statue begging to be photographed.

The kids enjoyed feeding the birds. These birdseed sticks cost $1 each.

John bought one each for the boys, but Josie got a couple for free because of her smart mommy! :)

They managed to lure the birds down to eat on their sticks.

There were a lot of these birds, but most of them were way up high, not caring to be fed. It's probably because they were full from the abundance of tourists feeding them.

Daddy had to lift Joey up to feed a bird.

We took a snack & water break.

Josie driving away with her animal friends.

I like my 50mm lens and I don't like it at the same time, but I think I've finally figured out how to manually focus my pictures!

Love those penguins! They look like they are having a meeting.

We all had a great time checking out different animals at the zoo.

Story of the Prince Alligator and Princess begins here.

It was love at first sight ............. she saw him, and he saw her.

"Princess, will you give me a kiss?"

"Sure, will do, my Prince Alligator!" -- he didn't change into a prince like a frog prince did, what happened?

Josh, checking out a turtle.

Joey loved the reptile house, "Daddy, look at that!"

The tree monitor said hi!

Interesting-looking lizard. I bet its head would puff up real big if it was mad!

She's enjoying herself thoroughly, even offered to carry the backpack that held the water and the snacks.

In total amazement of seeing these fun reptiles! (I'm guessing she's thinking as long as these are behind the glass, she's safe!)

She's finally in a good mood after getting over the initial disappointment of Daddy not wanting to carry her all through the zoo. (She really needs to walk more, both the boys had to walk on their own since 2 or 2.5 years of age since their younger siblings are only 2 - 2.5 years younger. She already has two extra years of pampering!)

"Would you like to share some of my candy?"

"Too bad, my mommy said you can't have any candy!"

Very beautiful looking lizard!

Josh had fun at the Fort Worth Zoo!

My favorite is seeing the flamingoes.

They seemed to really have their own personality.

Some are nonchalant, doing their own thing.

while some are bickering and fighting for their territory.......................... just like a human society.

May. 22, 2009 - I Dreamed ...............

Yesterday, I woke up with a start. I dreamed that I had cancer and only had a few months left to live. It was a horrible feeling, leaving all that I'm familiar with, leaving my family and friends, preparing for the unknown. Yet, within me, I know, death is not the end. It's a new beginning.

I guess, you could aptly say, what I'm thinking in the daytime, surfaces as dreams at night.

Since last year, we've had friend after friend sharing their struggles and their sorrows with us. First, it's a dear friend's daughter (she's 6) who has an inoperable brain tumor. At first, the doctor's prognosis was not good, saying she has only a few months, but a miracle from God pushed through, and she's doing considerably well for over a year. http://www.carepages.com/carepages/nickylee

Then, we heard that a woman (John knew about their family since they also grew up in Dallas) a few years younger than me (she's only 34) had Severe Aplastic Anemia. It's a disease of the bone marrow, where it stops producing enough red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets for the body. So, all of a sudden, she had to stay away from her children and husband, because she could get sick from them. Her friends, family and strangers heard of her story, rallied and organized bone marrow drives to find a bone marrow match. Recently, Jodie had a bone marrow transplant and is reported to be doing well. Praise God! http://www.carepages.com/carepages/jodiegee

Beginning of this year, we heard from a girlfriend in town who found out she had breast cancer, and Flora's my age (36). They acted really quickly, so she had a mastectomy done within a month, and later started on chemotherapy. I couldn't help feeling for her and her family for what they had gone through in the short months of discovering the cancer. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/flora (password: floralin)

Soon after, we started hearing from John's friend (I think he's younger than John) from college that he had been ill while serving as a missionary doctor in China. At first, they couldn't figure out what he had, but he was in really critical condition, he had kidney failure, lung failure, bone fracture, lung infection, and inability to walk. Then, they flew him out to Hong Kong, and finally the doctors there figured out he has cancer, Multiple Myeloma. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/wayneho He has a wife, and two young children.

All these friends are American Chinese friends we have in the States. All these incidences made me think, "Has cancer become more and more prevalent, even in our generation, or is it just us?" When we talked to our friends in general, it seems like it's just us. Some even commented, "Well, you guys know lots of people!" But, really, we don't. We're not really a 'social' family compare to most of my counterparts, so I doubt we know 'more' people. But these incidences are alarming! Why's this happening? Is it the place we live in? Is it the food we eat? Or is it our genes have gone totally bad? Flora's not my first girlfriend who has breast cancer. My spiritual mentor who's about five years older than me had breast cancer in her early 30s. My girl cousin in Australia died of Leukemia at the young age of 19.

Some days, I feel like I can't bear to read one more update from them. Some days, when I don't get any email updates, I think, "No news is good news!" My heart weighs heavy, but I also see God's faithfulness shines through in all these people's stories. Their faith in God is unwavering, they all know, even in their sufferings and sorrows, God's love is enough. They are letting God carry them on His wings, so they will soar like wings of the eagles.

May. 14, 2009 - Almost Got Quarantined

The Sunday after we got back from the Genting Highlands, Josie told me right before bedtime, "Mommy, I don't feel good." I felt her, she was fine. She's a smart kid who would pretend to cough and then asked for cough drops (to her, it's candy!), so we didn't quite believe her and sent her to bed. In the middle of the night, she got up at 2am with an alarmingly hot fever, crying. After calming her down, she managed to sleep the rest of the night with the other kids. The following day (Monday), she was very hot and lethargic. I just let her sleep in my bed, and helped her feel comfortable that whole day. I'm not the type of mom to get all nervous just because one of my kids runs a fever. And normally, I won't take them to see a doctor for a cold or a fever. I usually let the fever run its course and rarely give them fever reducer because I believe that a fever helps the body fight off infection. They just need to rest and let their immune system do the work.

On Tuesday, my old friends from AOG church that I grew up in wanted to come visit me. I was hesitant because we would be leaving on Wednesday, and with Josie sick, I really didn't want to see any new people. They insisted on coming, so I put up a pretty face and let them come. While they were here, Josie proceeded to vomit and coughed like a barking seal. I knew her airways were constricted, that was why her coughs sounded really bad. Immediately, I knew what she had. She had croup. I did a search on the internet, and knew what I had to look out for. At this point, I pretty much had to eat my words (I just had a conversation with my sister-in-law about us not going to the doctor's much in America) and take her to the doctor's. So, my old friends became angels God sent in disguise to take us to the doctor's. Josie, then, was very upset (because I had company and left her in the room with Daddy), crying because she just threw up, and felt bad due to the fever. A doctor's visit seemed inevitable!

They took us to the Hope Children Hospital. After the nurse took her temperature, she immediately prepared the suppository fever reducer for her. I stood firm and said no to that. Later, when we saw the doctor, Dr. Chong, he also pressured me to give her the suppository. After listening to her coughs and checking her vitals, he concluded that Josie had croup. I knew croup when I saw one because my boys also had it before. The coughs sound like a barking seal, and it gets worse when the child is crying or upset. I wasn't too concerned about Josie, because she was fine, but the doctor put a lot of pressure on me to give her all kinds of medicine. When he found out that we were actually traveling the following day, he laughed straight to my face and said, "Well, if you don't follow my instructions, you probably won't get into Singapore." He then mentioned that with the swine flu pandemic scare, Singapore was especially vigilant in scanning body temperature on all arrivals. That day was April 29th, the world was in the swine flu craze all of a sudden when Mexico declared a national emergency. Dr. Chong prescribed five different types of oral medication for her, one antibiotics, one fever reducer, one for the coughs, one for the swelling, and one for the phlegm. Then, he also prescribed six doses of suppository fever reducer for us to use on air, so she would not be having fever when we land in different airports. By that point, I really started to dislike him. He tried to make me feel panic and when he saw none, he said, "I would have admitted her today if not for your traveling next day." Then, he smiled, and said, "I doubt you guys would be able to get out of Malaysia." Josie got a nebulizer treatment right there and then, and he ordered us to come back again in the evening for a second treatment.

When we came back for her second nebulizer treatment, I saw Dr. Chong there again. I asked him to write a letter for us, proving that all Josie had was croup, and not some swine flu that was going around the world. Once again, he showed me his disdain, "No, it won't work! They will not believe a piece of paper. You won't be able to touch down in Singapore even if you try!" I asked him, "Why not?" He then reiterated that we needed to use the suppository fever reducer on Josie because that was the only thing that will reduce the fever surely and quickly. He added, "Well, that's not good stuff. Make sure you make her drink plenty of water, because it's going to be tough on her liver." Yikes! Why would I give my child something like that voluntarily? Regardless, I knew he was just showing off his medical knowledge and wanting to make some quick bucks on panicking parents, and when he saw that I wasn't panicking, he simply toned up his pressure talk. I didn't know about all the different medicines that we were prescribed until I went to check out at our initial visit. Another thought here: In Malaysia, the doctor's clinic and pharmacy are usually one entity, making medicine prescriptions part of their moneymaking business. In my humble opinion, I think there's almost a guarantee of abuse. What doctors won't prescribe more medicines to boost their earnings?

Let's see here, this is the receipt of our doctor's visit, and the consultation fee was only RM$30, whereas the medication cost us RM$111.70, and the two nebulizer treatments were RM$46, with a grand total of $187.70.

Well, needless to say, the only medication that's of any value to us was the fever reducer. After we got back, and I showed John all of Josie's medications, he was flabbergasted. "All that?" he managed to ask. "Yeah! All that, plus the suppository too!" After I told him about the side effects, John did not want to use it on Josie. Neither do I. I just felt 'pressured' into accepting all the medications. If we were in the U.S., we might take a doctor's prescriptions but we might or might not fill them, depending on if we felt the need to or not. But at Hope Children Hospital, I didn't have a choice. All the medications were all labeled and prepped when I checked out to pay for the bill. I told John that she had croup, and told him to go read up on it on the internet. He too, agreed with me, "It's a virus, why's the doctor prescribing antibiotics?" "Beats me! I don't know either," I chimed in. He was thinking in terms of US dollar, so when I told him that the doctor's bill was RM$187.70, he thought that was cheap, but I knew it wasn't. Oh well, we got ripped off! All I wanted was an oral children's fever reducer.

On Wednesday, we tried our best to make our flights on Air Asia to go smoothly. This was already a tough point, because when I booked these flights, I didn't know that we would need to pick up our luggage in KL, recheck the luggage for the other segment of our flight to Singapore. So, after realizing this fact, the one and a half hour of transit in KL was quite tight. My friends didn't think we would make it. For a while, I almost thought about buying brand new tickets to fly directly from Penang to Singapore, but just couldn't stomach the extra RM$1000 cost, so I didn't. If our kids were all healthy, this would have been quite tough to handle already. Imagine, with two flights back to back, lots of rushing and running to get our luggage and then run to the international counter to check-in a second time, with Josie sick, and me, feeling unwell as well, the challenge just increased its level of difficulty two fold. 

We flew from Penang to KL without any incidence. Once we touched down in KL, we split up into two groups. John took the boys to collect our luggage, while I went with Josie to the check-in counter to check us in, and telling them that our luggage would be coming shortly. First of all, Josie was sick, so she was quite unwilling to walk. Secondly, flying Air Asia meant you would have to walk, and quite a bit of walking to get from the plane to the building at the airport. Thirdly, I had no idea where we were supposed to go. So many challenges! Once we were off the plane, Josie had been crying about wanting to be carried. Not knowing how far we would have to walk, I couldn't risk picking her up, because the longest I could hold a 33 lb. child is maybe 3 minutes top. So, I held her little hand, and with a carry-on bag on the other, we braved the crowd and got inside for check-in. Then, I navigated my way through the check-in counters, only to be told that we weren't at the right one. They pointed us to the international check-in counters on the other side of the airport. So, we trudged over there, all the while, with my poor Josie, crying and moaning on and off, lugging a bag. After checking in, I promised her I would get some cold drink for her. Not carrying any type of cell phones with us, I had no idea how to reconnect with John and the boys. So, it was a bit of 'good luck' that while on the hunt for a cold drink, we bumped into John with all five pieces of our luggage. Checked those in, and we were set! I sat there, saying to myself, "Yeah! We made it!" Almost. Now, we just have to make sure we were all fever free, so we could enter Singapore. I quickly popped some Panadols into my mouth. See, I was beginning to feel sick since Tuesday. Then, I gave Josie some oral fever reducer, and hoped for the best.

We got to Singapore, and sure enough, there was the temperature scanner. We walked towards the immigration counter, while this person who was working on the scanner watched us walk by. A woman came up to us, and make the boys walk again, because somehow they sneaked by the radar. Phew! We made it. That's half the battle. Now, we hoped to make it to Hong Kong and eventually back to the U.S. two days later. We spent two days in Singapore, well, we should all be relaxing! but instead, we were busy meeting up with my old friends. I just kept taking Panadols to keep my fever down, and make my runny nose and coughs better. Josie was still sick, with that bad croupy cough, but she did not have any more fever. On Thursday, Josh started to cough and run a fever. I was like, "Oh no! This is unreal!" I prayed that God will let us back into U.S. safely and quickly. I was already homesick by the third week of our vacation. I told John, "If I ever plan another vacation this long, please shake me and make me come to my senses! This is 'killing' me......."

On Friday, our flight was scheduled at 6:40am. Fortunately we stayed at the Changi Airport's Crowne Plaza Hotel. So, it only took us less than 5 minutes to get from our hotel to the airport. But still, we had to check out at 4am. Our flight to Hong Kong was uneventful, but I was manning the kids' temperature closely, since I read that Hong Kong was on the swine flu alert, and I did not want us to get stuck there. Once we arrived at the Hong Kong airport, we had to go through security again, to get to our connecting flight. We took our time to use the rest rooms, so by the time we tried to line up, we were the last ones in the queue. Needless to say, our party of croupy-coughing kids were faced with suspicion by the other travelers who were spotting face masks, and nervously applying antibiotic hand-sanitizer. Unfortunately, my kids weren't well versed in social etiquette, so they frequently coughed with their mouths wide-open, and their hands were touching things all over. I saw quite a lot of stares and frowns of judgement from other travelers.

We finally got on our second flight of the day, flying from Hong Kong to San Francisco. I heaved a sigh of relief. It was too early to let my guard down. Because almost within a minute of taking off, and that was before the seatbelt signs were turned off, Josh promptly threw up all over the floor before him. Since I was sitting with the boys, I had to alert the flight attendant that I needed something to clean up the mess. They acted quickly, handing over a bunch of wet disposable towels and a plastic bag. Of course, John rose up to the occasion and quickly cleaned up Josh's mess. We knew it was just something Josh did whenever he had a bad cough. He's my only kid who throws up regularly. If he eats too much, he throws up. If he has a cold and a bad cough along with it, he throws up. It's so common that we no longer make a big deal out of it. But, during this swine flu scare, what's worse than exhibiting flu symptoms was traveling with flu symptoms. Immediately, Josh's vomit incident sent people's radar up.

Usually Joey would be able to fall asleep in no time if he lie down on his seat during long flights. But this time, he couldn't get comfortable. Then, I felt him, and he was burning up too. "Oh no! This can't be for real!" I told myself. I have three sick kids, and one sick adult (including myself) in our party. The only one that's not sick was John. Could we possibly get back into U.S. safely, I wondered to myself. So, armed with the kid's Panadol, I made Joey take two chewables fever reducer. I was hoping that it would make him feel more comfortable, and make his fever go away. This flight was going to be a long one, I told myself. It would take us 12 hours to get to San Francisco. That's half a day.

Josh ate the first meal they served on the plane, and minutes later, he threw up a second time. This time, we were well-prepared, and he was actually holding the vomit bag, so none got onto the floor. By this time, the passengers all around us were quite concerned. But, I had no idea their level of alarm until I was greeted by a uniformed gentleman. He knelt down next to me and asked, "Ma'am, are your children sick?" I swallowed hard and answered, "Um...... yeah, my daughter has croup, and my other kids caught it too." He had no idea what croup was. So, I had to explain that it's just a common childhood sickness, and told him that we had Josie's doctor write us a letter proving that she had croup. He informed me that the other passengers were concerned about their safety, and he needed to ensure the safety of everybody on the plane. I asked him, "Are you the pilot?" My mind was racing, entertaining the possibility of getting kicked off the plane. (Too bad! We're already in the air.) He said, "No, I'm the purser. Here's my card. May I have the letter from the doctor?" I handed him the envelope with the letter, forgetting that my receipt was tucked in there too. "Here. We have been staying in Malaysia for the past month." I thought that fact might help us since there was no swine flu cases in Malaysia yet. He pondered upon that fact and assured me that he would have it back after he had a meeting with the pilot, "Ma'am, I'll let you know our decision after I discuss with the pilot what we're going to do. As you know with the situation with swine flu, we really don't want you all to have to go through the quarantine process. That would be a huge hassle!" Wow! He actually used that word 'quarantine'. "Sure, of course! I understand the situation. I really want to get home quickly too." So, he took the doctor's letter and disappeared for a good hour. I had no idea what a purser was. When he first mentioned it, I thought, hmm....... like a bouncer? Haha! I came home and looked it up, oh, it's like a security/safety officer on a commercial flight or ship.

The doctor's letter.

What it said...........

So, we almost got quarantined, if not for that letter. I bet the purser and pilot looked up what croup was during that flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco. I almost wanted to kiss the ground when we landed on U.S. soil. It sure felt good to be home! When informed of our third flight from San Francisco to our home city, Joey grunted, "No! Not another one!" We told him, "We need to. Do you want to get back home?" He reluctantly consented, but made us promised him, "No more! No more airplane!"

Phew! We're back. But what a way to end the trip!

May. 14, 2009 - Genting Highlands Thrills Part II

Second day on Genting Highlands, we went for the Outdoor Theme Park.

The carousel outdoor was bigger and prettier than the one indoor.

Beautiful colors!

I rode the horse with Joey. (The indoor carousel could only hold the kids, no adults allowed.)

Nothing beats having two hotel rooms between us and the kids, I slept so well. We got the cheapest hotel (First World Hotel), but upgraded for RM$10 per room per night to the new wing.

The boys on the Astro Fighter ride.

Josie and me. It had to be a 'green' one! Lately, the kids had been wanting everything 'green'. Green gummies were almost all gone from the huge gummie bears container.

Josie and Daddy on the Flying Dragon rollercoaster ride. We had to beg for a long time, because Josie was just a hair shorter than the height requirement.

Josie was doing very well on the ride.

I had to stay with Joey because he did not want to get on the ride. "Scary!" he said.

Josie tried out the Rodeo Rider children's ride.

It's similar to space shot, except much milder. She looked a little worried, when they moved up and came down suddenly! She's a brave girl to try out the ride, because Joey refused.

Genting should put more of an effort to decorate this old antique car, it just looked ....... so sorry.

The kids were attracted by the fish in the koi pond.

We didn't even buy the fish food, we were just there, and the fish went wild with anticipation!

After going through the Pirate Train ride, Joey took a picture outside.

"Oh yeah!" he totally felt like he was a pirate!

We paid the extra fees of RM$10 per person to ride this Corkscrew rollercoaster ride.

All through the ride, I heard my brother and his girlfriend screaming! Fun!

Then, we for the Antique Car ride. First round, Josie drove my brother and his girlfriend. Joey and I were in another car, while Josh and John waited for their turn.

After we all had a turn, Josie insisted on going again. So, I went with her, while John went with the boys. This was when I realized that Josie wanted to be the 'driver' and 'was' the driver in the earlier ride. I was surprised because I rode with Joey on the first ride, and he did not want to have anything to do with driving. He just wanted to ride. It gave me a glimpse of understanding of my children's personality! (Because we usually feel that Joey's so 'garang' (fierce) and has a temper, he would naturally be very independent and wanted to do things himself, but really, he wasn't as independent as we thought he was. On the other hand, Josie's showing her strong personality more and more as she grew older. Though she's the youngest, her bossiness and domineering personality became clearer. Oh, I hope when she hit adolescence, we would be all right with each other!)

Josie, at the wheel!

Later, we went for the Pirate Ship ride, John stayed with Joey and Josie because they were too short for the ride.

Thrilling! Your heart might skip a beat when the ship paused for a moment up in the air because you feel weightless for a second!

John's turn to ride the Pirate Ship. Josh wanted to do it a second time with Daddy.

Joey and me getting on the Cyclone! His height barely qualify him for the ride.

Yikes! I think I got a bit bruised from this ride.

John and Josh on the Teacups. I disliked this ride with a passion, it made my head dizzy and muggy!

Josie loved this ride so much that we rode this repeatedly later while the others went for the boat ride because she couldn't ride due to her height.

It's fun! Joey loved it too!

I have no problems with rollercoaster rides, nor height. I like fast and rough rides, but I finally found a weakness of mine. Once, when Josie and I were on the Flying Elephant ride together, she wanted to ride it on her own. She stood up to wave at me while the ride was going on, my heart --- stopped for a few seconds! It went weak for a while, and my fear for my child's safety overcame me with trembles down to my knees.

Joey, getting ready for the boat ride! (But sadly, he was not tall enough to ride.)

My brother on the bumper boat.

Josh was having the time of his life here!

He really knew how to navigate and bump other people's boat!

Jackson and Stephanie.

We got caught in a rain, so we let the kids play in the kids' playground here.

Josie finally got a chance to ride on an elephant, even though it's a fake one!

Nobody wanted to try this Space Shot ride with me, except Josh.

Whoa! We were heading up high!

Once we were up on the top, we stayed for a while, before........

it dropped us a few hundred feet in high speed! My heart almost leaped out, but wasn't scared. It was a great ride, but nobody wanted to go again, so we moved on.

We went on more rides till almost the park's 7pm closing time. Everyone was tired and cold by the time we went back indoor for dinner. We all had a good time, and it was good that nobody was hurt. (Well, except that I got this bad bruise on my back and one on my knee.) We probably won't be back, but the kids said they could stay for a few more days.

May. 13, 2009 - Genting Highlands Thrills Part I

Josie's first ride at the Genting Highlands' indoor park.

It's a very smooth, mild ride with different vehicles. This turned out to be her favorite indoor park ride, which later she rode like 10 times in a row when the park was close to closing, of course, with different vehicle each time.

Bumper car fun!

This is Josh's favorite! The boys (including John and my brother) also did this like a gazillion times.

That's me, trying out the bumper cars. It could get quite crazy, and totally not my cup of tea.

My brother, a kid at heart!

John in action!

Joey just loved tagging along the ride.

Getting ready for a rollercoaster ride.

Yes, we are ready!

"Let's do it again! And again and again!" said Josh.

"It's cool!"

Riding in a decorated car across the ceiling.

That's the one we rode in, looking like lots of flowers.

Some decorations all around.

The Incredible Hulk! So tacky!

More tacky decorations! Green Statue of Liberty riding motorcycle!

The kids were excited to ride on the train. (Yeah, Josh, you can turn the head, but can't make the eyes look this way!)

Choo-Choo! Chugging away..........

Hi! Josh!

Hi! John!

The kids also enjoyed the Merry-Go-Round.

They just didn't like taking pictures that much.

We did split up into two camps, John and I took Josie for her favorite ride, while the boys went with Uncle Jackson and Stephanie for bumper car fun.

Now, she's riding a fire engine.

A Police car.

A tractor.

A tow truck.

And an antique automobile.

The Ferris Wheel was a very bright and breezy ride.

Our party was split up into two groups, and we had fun waving at each other!

My sweet Josie, making funny faces!

My happy girl! So many rides and absolutely no waiting time at all! (It's great to go on vacation when everyone's in school.)

There was a waterway around the restaurant areas too, where you could ride a gondola with a fake person.

John and me on the gondola ride.

The kids were amazed at the beautiful lights under the bridge.

They were just randomly waving at people.

One last round of bumper car fun for everyone before we're done for the night.

How do you explain over and over again why she can't ride because she's too short?

Finally, we got her to ride at the Junior Bumper Car section, but there wasn't anyone else.

Then, we did the Merry-Go-Round again for her sake.

It's very pretty!

We had matching jackets from Hanna Andersson. :)

Josie and Mommy!

Oh! We're getting tired since getting up at 6am to catch the express bus from Penang to Genting Highlands that day.

It's something fun to do with the kids, and so cheap! We only spent a little more than $320 for all 7 of us, including express bus rides (both ways), 3 rooms for 2 nights at the hotel, indoor and outdoor park tickets for everyone and food!

Caught a shot of them on the rollercoaster ride while we were on the Ferris Wheel.

Time to hit the sack!

May. 11, 2009 - Penang By the Storm Part III

Taking a tram up the Penang Hill.

My brother and his girlfriend came with us.

It surely felt very squished and stuffy in there. Most people had to stand.

Here's a view of the tram going up. John said he didn't feel very safe.

The view was rather good. We were caught off guard about changing trams in midpoint, and of course lost our seats, since we were last to get on the next tram.

We're there!

We survived the ride! (It was quite torturous, as there were no a/c, standing in a very cramped environment.)

A family shot on top of the Penang Hill Tram Station.

Haha! Do we look like mother & daughter?? (I can't believe people actually ask!)

Josh posing with an antique cable car.

My brother learned how to walk around with Josie on his shoulders.

We found a small, neat playground on top of the hill.

There was a Hindu temple next to the playground.

I wonder if this cannon was ever functional. It was there as far as I could remember.

Joey found tons of huge spiders all around the light posts and telephone lines up high.

Despite the heat and sun, we still had a fairly good time up there.

There was just nothing much to see up there. Penang really needs to learn more from Singapore as far as tourism goes.

City of Georgetown down there.

Northam Beach Coffee Shop view.

My other brother, Jason and his wife, Fern.

We took a ferry ride over to the mainland. The kids were quite amazed!

My friend suggested it as one of the things that the kids might enjoy doing.

That the Penang Bridge that links Penang island to the mainland.

Penang Island.

Then we went to the front where we could see the mainland, Seberang Prai.

John, doing his 'Titanic' pose. Haha!

Joey, enjoying the salty breeze.

It sure was windy!

It was a memorable experience for the kids since we don't get to ride on ferries that often here in Texas.

The kids enjoyed going back to the Youth Park over and over again.

Josie is adventurous in her own right.

Sometimes having two older brothers can really boost one's confidence level.

She really knows what she wants.

The trees made a beautiful cover over the playground and provided shade from the sun.

So long, Penang! We'll be back!

May. 9, 2009 - Penang By the Storm Part II

We went to the Butterfly Farm in Penang. It turned out to be one of the best memories of our Asian trip.

So many butterflies!

The butterflies were attracted to Josie's red jeans.

They seemed to think that she's one big red flower. Josh sort of regretted that he did not wear his red shorts.

We'd never seen so many butterflies flying around before. It was simply amazing!

Joey had no problem coaxing a butterfly to stay on his palm.

We'd had butterflies landing on us without us knowing. 

I got a butterfly on my palm too!

Some species seemed to like pineapple juice, while others enjoyed flower nectar.

Josh posing with a butterfly.

Josh & Mommy.

A green lizard.

Stick insect.

Leaf insect.

We saw a butterfly laying eggs. It's really amazing!

A colorful butterfly sucking nectar with its proboscis.

Of course we had to tell Josh that he's not supposed to pluck any flowers here.

There was a scorpion pit filled with scorpions. Yikes!

I'm guessing that's a moth from how the wings were resting.

After many attempts, Josie finally got a butterfly on her finger.

A millipede pit, and we found one renegade one outside too!

"Oh, the butterfly likes me!" piped up Josie.

"Mommy! I got two butterflies!"

Joey's in paradise because butterfly is one of his favorite things.

"Don't you fly away!" she scolded a little........

"That's my princess hat!"

She finally got two on her hand, that deserved a shot!

What a joyful expression!

Longhorn beetle.

A gecko.

Man-face bug.

Some sort of frogs/toads. They looked very interesting with triangular eyelids.

Joey loved pointing to all the creepy crawlies and calling out their names.

Josie enjoyed seeing all kinds of bugs.

So many butterflies!

Afterwards, we stopped at the Tropical Fruit Farm for some refreshments.

John wanted me to take a picture of him eating a banana.

The kids totally zonked out on our way back.

John's first time driving in Penang. We circled the whole Penang island that day!

Gurney Drive.

It held so much memories for me growing up in Penang.

Josie's favorite guy in Penang, my brother Jackson.

Our family at Gurney Drive, after eating at Coffee Island Restaurant.

A group picture with my mom.

After a huge meal, the kids voted to go to the Youth Park again. My brother suggested that I should take a picture of the kids on this dinosaur. It's been there since our days, and we had pictures of us (me & my three younger brothers) sitting on it when we were little. 

May. 8, 2009 - Penang By the Storm Part I

First stop after we got to Penang was to visit my grandmother.

Here's a picture of everybody.

Mark, Josh, Joey and Josie are cousins.

My mom and her grandchildren.

My kids really had fun feeding my uncle's dog, Cheryl.

Josh showing his cousin Mark how to draw 3D.

My grandma, my sister-in-law, Hong Hooi and Mark were all eyes upon Josh.

Mark had fun playing with Josh and other cousins!

Batu Ferringhi beach is a famous beach spot for locals and tourists.

Joey, busy transporting water to his sandcastle.

My mom helped Mark overcome his fear of water initially.

Josie loved frolicking upon the sandy beach than in the water itself.

I think my kids would be in paradise if they could be at the beach everyday.

Josie loved digging in the sand.

Next time, I think we would stay at the Batu Ferringhi beach hotel for a couple of days.

Watching the sun set.

But really, the water wasn't very clean.

Beautiful sunset!

Mark ate a lot of chicken nuggets and fries.

Hong Hooi, my sister-in-law and Mark.

The kids were amazed by the playground in the Youth Park.

The kids loved climbing up high.

There were also a lot of outdoor exercise equipments to try out.

John showed Josh how this thing worked.

It really wasn't quite that tough!

Having lots of fun! We got really hot and sweaty too.

She's just not quite tall enough yet, but still wanted to do everything we did.

Turn & twist!

We all had some see-saw fun!

Josh + Joey vs. Daddy!

Joey's doing well.

My mom worked till 5pm every work day then hung out with us. She's superwoman!

May. 7, 2009 - KL Frenzy

KL's Petronas Twin Towers. No, we did not go up there. In order to do that, we would need to get there early in the morning to queue up for tickets. But of course we didn't, we weren't morning people.

What impressive buildings! I'm not sure if they brought much economic benefits to the Malaysian economy.

We were content to take pictures from the bottom.

The L's in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.

It's been a while since I saw Malaysian flags draped over building.

A view from the top of KL Tower (Menara Kuala Lumpur).

A great bird's eye view of the city of KL.

KL seemed very packed and busy.

Josie at the KL Tower. She's so sweet and cute, some tourists asked to take a picture of her.

Uncle Ting Ling, an old-time family friend, took us around KL.

They gave us these KL Tower shape water bottles for souvenirs. (I'm sure they charged us enough for the tickets to give us these!)

We saw the Petronas Twin Towers from the KL Tower.

Finally, a couple shot of just us!

Smog! The city seemed quite polluted.

Our tickets to the KL Tower also included horseback riding. Josh went first, while Joey declined.

Josie was getting ready to ride, until she realized she wasn't getting to ride an elephant..........

Josh, very good naturedly, went again.

On the other hand, Josie started having quite a fit, "I want to ride an elephant! I want to ride an elephant! I don't want to ride a horse! No! Not a horse!" Her temper tantrum was still quite fresh in my mind. I think a combination of traveling & some remaining jetlag could do that to a child!

So sad, baby, so, so sad!

Fortunately, an interesting place was close by with tons of cool bugs, spiders and critters to distract the kids. Phew!

Beautiful lizard!

Thankfully, a yellow python distracted her enough, that an elephant ride was soon out of her mind.

May. 6, 2009 - Whirlwind in Singapore Part II

Day 3: Jurong Bird Park

Josh was all ready to draw and sketch again.

Joey liked looking at the penguins.

Penguins was our first stop because it started to rain, and it was an indoor exhibit.

Cool penguins, totally oblivious to our existence.

The kids took a shot with the fake penguins outside of the exhibit.

She's Venyce, my friend Lay Sean's daughter, who met up with us to tour Jurong Bird Park.

Next, we went to see the Lory Loft where these cool birds were kept.

Lay Sean and her family. We got stuck in the rain for quite a while.

She's one of the Four-Gal gang in high school (together with Swee Ing, Shanny & me, of course).

Venyce asked her mom to buy Josie the candy stick that she's been crying for, pretty soon, we all bought them each their own. What a nice, thoughtful girl!

Penguin candy! We all fell for the vendor trap to buy our kids expensive candy at zoos & parks.

Josie was a bit afraid of those Lory birds.

The kids had fun playing with each other.

Josh and Venyce, especially, became fast friends.

After the rain stopped, the kids were let loose at the playground. Look at my 'samseng' girl!

Josh was at one of his dramatic moments again.

Joey took no convincing to plunge in the fun.

Though Venyce was a little hesitant at first. "Do I want to get wet and dirty in this playground?" she contemplated.

Very soon, she threw caution in the wind in the face of tempting fun of playing with friends.

My kids found this purple dinosaur ride fun!

Josie and Venyce shared a ride too!

Later, we went to wait for the Birds of Prey show, and snuck a shot of the new 'couple'.

They were having fun talking about art with each other, I presume. Look how red Josh was! He's feeling the heat.

Finally, the Birds of Prey show began.

The eagle flew up in the air and snagged a fake snake from the pool of water!

It was promptly rewarded by its trainer! Yeah, good bird!

A few other birds made their rounds, wow! They all looked kind of vicious!

The vulture was clamoring for a piece of meat. I wouldn't be so calm if I were her.

Day 4: Sentosa Island

At the Underwater World on Sentosa Island, my mom was all out touching the star fishes, sea anemones, sting rays, etc.

Josie was fascinated by these marine life.

I was quite fascinated too, but really, I'm not hands-on kind of gal, no, not ever!

Josh had been to quite a few aquariums in the States, but he thought this one was state of the art.

Huge octopus! The kids were excited to see it.

Giant crab! They were counting to make sure it had eight legs.

But this one seemed to have ten! Isn't that crazy?

Josh, looking at the jellyfish, he knew about my jellyfish story, so had extra respect for these creatures!

These looked like little mushrooms in the ocean!

Don't you just want to eat them? Um......... maybe not.

Sentosa's Underwater World is like a huge enclosed aquarium where the people are walking right through the middle. Cool!

We saw lots of fishes, sharks, sting rays, they were so close, but we're still safe.

Yeah, my kind of aquarium!

I doubt I would be at ease being in the same water as one of these!

My mom had a great time! We went around it at least twice.

Josie liked the automatically moving floor that took us around the aquarium.

A school of fish going by.

My 2 Kor took some videos of us.

Josie enjoy watching the marine life.

Don't know any of these fish by name, but they sure were interesting to watch.

Afterwards, we went to see a 3-D action movie, then proceeded to visit the Butterfly Park & Insect Kingdom.

After I pointed out this huge beetle statue to Joey, he wanted to touch it. "Okay, Daddy, that's your job!"

"Sure, I do the heavy-lifting!"

Joey, in his element - bugs! 

He enjoyed learning about insect life cycles.

Josh, examining some fossils.

Shocking! Prior to this, I found her 'on top' of said fossils!

There were lots of specimens of various butterflies and bugs.

Scorpions, centipedes, spiders, moths.

Various butterflies.

Crickets, beetles, leaf insects, stick insects.

I thought the leaf insect looked just perfectly camouflaged!

By far, the kids liked the 'real thing' so much more.

More lory birds clamoring to be fed with sugar water (purchased with money, of course, superb money-making scheme).

Josh was quite brave!

Beautiful lory!

Josh, sporting a bird confidently on his shoulder!

My mom looking a little nervous, "What is it doing up there?"

Okay, mom, you can relax and smile now!

Joey, sneaking up to a resting butterfly.

Whoa! A huge lizard just walk up to us! (Really, not sure what it's call, but it's impressive!)

Here, my girl picked up a small dandelion and thought to herself, "Hmmm......... I wonder............"

"I wonder................ would it be terrible if I pull that tail?" Eeek!!!

Okay, Prince Charming came to the rescue, and nobody needed to slay any dragons!

After raining cats and dogs, we were able to go see the dolphin show after the sun started shining once more.

We sure drank lots of water during our trip.

We couldn't wait to see the pink dolphins perform. Yay! We had front row seats!

Joey & me.

Josie, cautiously checking out the beach.

Look there! A pink dolphin!

The trainer was giving it a reward.

It jumped through three hoops! Cool!

Pink dolphins balancing balls on their snouts.

There really are pink dolphins, though it was my first time seeing one.

It was swimming and swinging a ring at the same time. Amazing!

The pink dolphin gave a kiss to a tourist. Great! I was mortified at first thinking they were telling me to go down the water. I knew I didn't raise my hand, so I was relieved that she came up. I didn't want to get wet up to my neck.

Doing more tricks to wow the audience!

It even hopped out of the water. We had a great show!

After the dolphin show, we went to explore the Sentosa beach.

The kids were getting tired, still suffering from jetlag.

It had been a wonderful day at the Sentosa Island.

2 Kor was a great tour guide. John and I were glad that we didn't have to figure things out ourselves.

The hanging bridge that we would attempt to cross.

Joey & 2 Kor walking across the bridge.

It got a bit bouncy, but manageable hands-free as demonstrated by my mom!

It was nothing like those scary hanging bridge seen on movies.

Josie, "Daddy, I need a lift!"

Just a cool shot of those chain links.

We also climbed to the very top of those buildings.

I bet he was wondering if he was burning off all the calories for all the yummy foods he downed in Singapore.

We're done! All done!

Josie, "I guess we don't need these stickers anymore. What should I do with it??"

Josie, "Hmm.......... Daddy's face is a good place for it!"

Yeap, ready to get back on the cable and go back to civilization!

May. 5, 2009 - Whirlwind in Singapore Part I

Our travel started on the first day of April. Though our flight was scheduled at 6:30am, our day actually started way before then. That meant we had to leave our home at 4am to catch the flight, and since we were usually night owls, we barely slept a wink going to bed at midnight. I still had nightmare about missing flights early in the morning, since we did miss it once about 9 years ago, when John set the alarm to PM, instead of AM. So, no sleep for me. (Actually, when I booked our flights, it was scheduled to fly at 8am, but somehow, all United flights to CA were canceled except this one, so we ended up with a 6 hours layover in San Francisco to begin our grueling journey to Asia, not a great beginning!) Otherwise, our three and a half hour flight from Dallas to San Francisco was uneventful.

Understandably, the kids were a bit restless. "How long are we waiting here?" became a constant reminder of this scheduling faux pas that Mommy had made, though I couldn't help much about it. Who knew flights booked 4-5 months in advance could change last minute? Anyway, we made the best out of it.

Armed with a book filled with stickers, at least Josie was content putting stickers on the pages.

Joey entertained us first with some of his goofy smiles.

Then, he found some ingenious position to relax his nerves.

Josh was our calmest kid of all, since he's oldest, and expected to behave.

Later, Joey decided he's had it. He started doing somersaults on airport chairs, running back and forth between the rows.

We were secretly hoping that he would end up expending all his energy and slept for the upcoming long flights. We then flew to Narita for 11 hours, barely made our connection for Singapore, which was another 7 hours. Thankfully, the kids were very cooperative, they either entertained themselves with toys or books, ate snacks or slept most of the way. But, by no means that detracted from the tediousness of taking three flights back to back within a 28-hour time period, including layover. We were glad to arrive at Changi Airport close to midnight on April 2nd, and were met up by my mom and 2 Kor after going through immigration.

Day 1: Duck Tour, Singapore Flyer & Night Safari

On our first day in Singapore, we took the Duck Tour, which is a ride on a vehicle that could go on land and on water. Very interesting!

Josie was filled with fascination as our vehicle made its way into the water.

It was great to spend time with my 2 Kor since our last meeting in St. Paul, MN 9 years ago.

Singapore's icon, the Merlion. 2 Kor was worried that it would still be in repair since it got struck by lightning not too long ago. But it was up and functioning.

The building behind was nicknamed the durian because it looked like one.

Josie and my mom renewed their acquaintance since their last meeting in Canada last year.

The Singapore Flyer, our next stop.

My friendly Josh, who's always ready to share a smile.

I think she's had enough of Duck Tour for a while.

Very soon, we were back to Suntec Galleria, and the kids found some fish to feed.

They enjoyed feeding the fishes and watch them come up to eat the food.

Josie fed the fish very sparingly, her feed lasted a whole lot longer than the boys'.

Josie's doing her 'perfect tourist' pose as we headed our way to the Singapore Flyer.

The view from the Singapore Flyer capsule was amazing. We could see the city in a glance.

My mom and Joey taking a little break.

Josh and Y-Po enjoyed the Singapore Flyer ride together.

A picture of our whole family, though the kids were not interested in looking at the camera.

It's a great sunny day to see the city of Singapore!

Josh posed with the map that came with the Singapore Flyer ride.

That 'double' durian buildings again!

Lots of construction of casinos and hotels!

Some nice, expensive condos overlooking the water.

Before our ride was over, we quickly squeezed in a few more shots.

I'm so blessed to have my mom and 2 Kor with us on this trip.

The kids took some power nap to recharge their battery for the Night Safari later.

Josie, "I'm not tired, Mommy! I'm really not!" Two minutes later, she conked out!

My girl's up and ready for the Night Safari.

The kids were ready to see some creatures of the night!

It was a really great tram ride, which we took to see various animals.

Though, later we also opted to walk around too. I wasn't sure about John, but I was barely able to keep my eyes open.

Josie really wanted to remind us that we still hadn't finished the trails on the other side. Oh well! Mommy's beat!

Day 2: Singapore Zoo

It took quite a few shots to make sure the kids were all looking 'somewhat' at the camera. Joey's yawning just as we got ready to explore the zoo.

"What are we supposed to be doing?"

Okay! There we go!

Josh got his note pad ready for sketching animals that caught his fancy.

Some inside joke?

My dramatic husband who got bitten by a tiger statue!

Look! There's the real white tiger prowling its territory.

Joey felt safer watching from Daddy's shoulder.

Josh was sketching away in his little notebook.

I caught him in action!

John thinks Singapore Zoo is one of the best zoos in the world.

After we had quite a bit of the animals, the kids took a short fun break at the kid's zone.

Josie, testing out her balancing skill.

Joey loved it here, flexing his athletic muscles with ease.

Even my mom took the challenge!

Could there be bolder and more adventurous kids than mine? They found themselves a raft and ....................

before any adults had any time to interfere, they were already in the middle of the water.

Nobody's panicking! They thought it was the funnest thing to do at the zoo. (Okay, I panicked a bit!)

My mom and John quickly ran over to the other side to intercept the kids.

I felt a little better with Daddy on board.

Pretty soon, Josie fell into the water and got her socks and sandals all wet. So, only the boys were left at it!

We just took off her socks and put the sandals back on, and she's as cheery as ever! Totally undaunted!

The kids wanted to do this forever, but we had to move on.

Here's a quick shot with my mom!

Later, we visited an enclosure with butterflies, birds and bats. Interesting combination!

This is Joey's territory! Daddy lifted him up for a closer look.

We could see bats hanging upside down all over. It's a much better view than at the Night Safari the night before because it's not all dark.

My mom's doing some sketches for Josh, showing him some of her art.

We all were getting a little tired walking around.

So, we went to watch the elephant show as the finale of our day!

The elephant trainer showed us how he got up on top of his ride. Cool!

The trainers showed us how strong the elephants were, and how they were able to do real work in a lumber yard.

The trainer rewarded the elephants with fruits and vegetables.

We didn't wait around to ride the elephant, so the kids decided to ride the ice-cream cow as a substitute.

Bye-bye, Singapore Zoo!

May. 4, 2009 - 3Fs: Family, Friends, Food

Ever since some of my friends knew I was making a trip to Asia, they had been urging me to make a list of foods I wanted to eat while in the Southeast Asia's food paradise, Penang. Well, a list I did make, but not on what foods I wanted to eat, but a list of friends I wanted to see. Most of them have been in touch with me, but some took a bit of detective work to track down. All in all, I'm satisfied to end my trip with a triumph. I would say, I've seen most of the friends on my list, missed a few due to bad timing of sicknesses in the family, renewed some old friendships, and even made a few new ones.

On my family's side, we managed to meet up a few times with my grandma, who's 84 years old, she was visibly moved to see all three of my children for the first time. I saw my beloved 2 Kor and her family in Singapore, she has not aged at all. Later in Penang, I saw 3 Kor and Uncle Yok Hin, and their two children. I'm amazed that they are so grown up. I saw Koh Po, my grandfather's little sister, who's 83 years old. She's still able to hold a consistent conversation with me, despite her daughter claims that her absentmindedness' getting worse. It seems like her short-term memory's failing her, but not her long-term memory. Then, I also saw my mom and my two brothers, one has become an important figure in Penang's political world, the Assemblymen for the Kebun Bunga District, Jason Ong and his new wife, Fern, and my youngest brother, Jackson, who is still searching for his path and his very much younger, cradle-robbed girlfriend, whom on a later trip someone mistaken to be my daughter. I also met my first younger brother's wife for the very first time, Hong Hooi and my children's only cousin, Mark. (I have three younger brothers total.)

Family:

My 84-year-old grandma, who became teary-eyed seeing me and my family.

Me, grandma, Jackson (my youngest brother, though not quite that young anymore, he's 32) and my mom.

Jackson, Me & Josie.

My mom and her grandson, Mark, my brother Raymond's son.

The Honorable Jason Ong & his wife, Fern. (It got a bit confusing since both she and I have the same name, because when my mom called, "A-Fern! A-Fern!" I wasn't quite sure who she's referring to. Thankfully, we're just there for less than a month.)

Jackson and his girlfriend, Stephanie. She's only 22.

Me with both of my sisters-in-law, Hong Hooi and Fern, they are both 33 going on 34 this year.

Jackson with all my mom's grandchildren.

Josie took a special liking to Jackson on this trip.

Joey, Fern, Jackson holding Josie, and Jason.

My grandma, my mom and Mark.

Xiang Hui, Josh, Joey, Xiang Yi, these are my 3 Kor's children, my cousins.

Mark, riding on John's shoulder, while Josie's favoring a new man, Jackson.

Stephanie, Josie & Jackson, Jason & Fern, Hong Hooi, 3 Kor, Mom, Mark, Grandma, Me, Josh, John, Joey & Uncle Yok Hin.

Me, Josie and 2 Kor in Singapore. Josie really likes her 2 Kor Po!

Friends:

Me & Mi Mi. We connected on facebook a few months ago, and decided to meet up in Singapore. She flew in from Hong Kong, and we flew in from US the night before. We thought we met each other in primary school, because we remember being friends when we were little, she remembers my face, so do I. Only after we talked, did we realize that we were friends in Kindergarten, because we didn't go to the same class at all in primary school. Memory is an amazing thing, isn't it?

Lay Sean and her family, husband Wei Jang (sp?) and daughter, Venyce.

Lay Sean and I haven't seen each other for 18 years since I left for the States in 1991. She would be forever etched in my memory as my co-conspirator in my Form 4 Physics exam.

Josh & Venyce became fast friends.

My kids and Venyce, blending in!

Thanks to facebook, I befriended two new friends, old high school mates that I didn't know before, Pauline Goh & Yin Yin Lee. We met up for a couple of hours in K.L. and had a great time sharing with each other. Motherhood is definitely a strong common ground to have in common, as our conversations flowed freely, and felt a keen camaraderie with each other.

Yin Yin's oldest boy, Damian is helpful and big-brother like, similar to my son, Josh.

I also met up with Shanny in K.L. We talked for 3+ hours that night.

Yap Shwu Huey (she's MIA for a long time, thanks to facebook connection that I found her again), Wong Fong Yee (we kept in touch through the years through email & snail mail) and Me. We spent all morning, and a good part of an afternoon together, catching up our long lost years.

Pearleen and I kept in close touch since high school, she's my most constant girlfriend. We talked till close to midnight, we laughed and cried together, didn't feel like there's a 20 year gap at all.

Josie enjoyed getting to know Auntie Pearleen!

Lee Ling Ling, Tan Swee Ing, me and Ng Gim Saik, at Saik's house for a small high school gathering!

Ling Ling, Swee Ing, Saik, me and Lee Teik Jen, at the garden.

Gim Saik, Swee Ing and her husband, Yiew Aun cooked up lots of delicious foods for the guests! We are all so full. The most credit went to Saik, who spent all day before the party, and rose early in the morning, the day of the party, preparing all the scrumptious foods.

Me and Yew Lay Theng who came later, we were friends since Junior High.

Still have a lot of food left after we ate, so we just kept on talking and eating!

The two girls on the front row are Swee Ing's girls, and Joey's my son.

19th year high school mini reunion.

Saik & me, we became good friends through our involvement in the girl guide organization in high school.

Yiew Aun (Swee Ing's husband) and his three beautiful daughters.

Ling Ling, Swee Ing and me.

Mr. Goh (Gim Saik's husband) and their youngest daughter (they also have three sons).

Saik and her daughter, who looks very much like her.

It's heartwarming to see how well all the kids play together, all meeting for the first time.

Maybe, instinctively they knew that their mothers are friends from long ago.

I met up with Yen Li in Penang after we re-connected on facebook. We knew each other since primary school, and perhaps were in the same class in Junior High, but lost touch after high school. We had a great lunch at a nonya restaurant, and a great time sharing with each other!

Tan Liat Choon and his family, Ai Li (his wife) and Rou Rou (his very smart daughter).

Liat Choon's like my big brother since we knew each other in Form 2, listening to all my boyfriend problems, or girlfriend problems. Haha!

My boys, Joey, Josh & Rou Rou.

Josie & Rou Rou both were infatuated with my sister-in-law, Fern's dog, Sasha. Rou Rou wanted to take it home with her, and seriously cried about it when Liat Choon announced it's time to go home.

On the returning journey to Singapore, we met up with Peter Su and his wife Ping Ting.

I also saw my friend Michelle, we knew each other since Kindergarten, and really went through both the rain and shine in our friendship throughout high school, and came out closer, tighter, and sweeter!

What fun it was to see old friends, and I'm amazed that they still look the same!

What I'm guessing is, we all change and age, but we still see each other with our memories!

Mar. 30, 2009 - My Kids Are Not Learning Chinese

When my first child was born, I fully intended to teach him Chinese, but alas, after living here for so long, I'm even dreaming in English now, let alone speaking to my child in Chinese. I know this because I'm known for talking in my sleep, and according to John, I've always said things in English. Every time I talk to my mom, she would bug me about this. She would say, "It's so easy to teach them Chinese while they are young. Didn't you learn three languages when you were little? See, how much benefits you've reaped? I hope you see to it that your children reap the benefits of knowing their mother tongue too!" She would then cite examples of so-and-so's child, who's born in Italy, could speak both Italian and Chinese fluently and how wonderful it was.

Now, let me review the facts and try to prove that it's not entirely my fault that I did not teach my children Chinese. None of my kids are early talkers. Josh had great vocabulary when he was young, he knew a few hundred words by the time he was 18 months old, but he couldn't string them together to make a sentence. He would say two-word sentences until he was about 2.5 years old. About that time, Joey was born. And around then, Josh had an explosion in his language capability. He started speaking in long sentences and so many ideas sprouted in his mind. He tried to express himself, but his thoughts couldn't come out as fast as his words, and he started stuttering, quite badly. He was a brilliant child. At 20 months, he knew all the alphabets, and by two, he could count in four different languages, English, Chinese, French and German. He was fascinated with science, and loved Magic School Bus books and videos, and would listen to me read for hours on end everyday. So, when he started stuttering, I was shocked. What happened to my smart boy? I felt so bad for him, he couldn't talk smoothly, he couldn't get his words out. I tried not to panic, I did a lot of research, I asked questions on the Sonlight board. Some people suggested taking him to see a speech therapist, while some said kids would grow out of it. I chose to wait it out. I tried to listen to him patiently, never rushing him. After what seemed like a long time (six months), he finally grew out of it. I was really relieved! That's one of the reasons why I didn't start teaching him Chinese. It seemed like he was barely able to speak English well, I didn't want to burden him with another foreign language. A friend who adopted a little boy from China shared with me that because they talked to the child in Chinese the whole time, he started stuttering when he started preschool and was exposed to English. I thought I'd better not stress Josh out by teaching him Chinese.

That wasn't the end of his stuttering experience. After speaking well for six months, again, he started stuttering at 3.5 years. I didn't know why it happened, but I assumed that he was going through another intellectual growth spurt and his tongue just couldn't keep up with his brains. I tried to stay calm and not panicked. It seemed then that all the research I've done about stuttering was that the condition might become a permanent thing. He stuttered for six months. Again I was patient, and again I was listening to him without trying to finish the sentence for him. It almost killed me inside to see him struggling so much to get his thoughts out. He was so brilliant! In fact, he learned how to read in just a week around the time he turned three. After we did a lot of sounding out and playing with my homemade flashcards, everything just fell into place for him. It clicked, and he advanced to reading chapter books within months. When he started stuttering a second time, I felt so sad. He could read well, without stuttering, but he couldn't talk normally. I thought it was wise not to start Chinese just then.

Thankfully, he grew out of it. It took about six months the second time round. If I had thought that his stuttering issues were behind him, I was wrong. Once more, at 4.5 years, Josh started stuttering again. It just seemed to me that one day he was fine, and the next, he woke up, he was stuttering again. As he got older, he had some friends, and they were imitating his way of talking. Though he never really knew they were making fun of him, it hurt a mother's heart intensely to see her child being teased. I tried to keep him away from those friends to protect him. By then, he was growing leaps and bounds in his understanding of the world. We were cruising through core after core of Sonlight curriculum. Since I did not grow up in America, we enjoyed the books we're reading together. It pained me so much to see him struggle with words. A simple sentence took what seemed like an eternity to construct. I learned tons of patience watching him struggle. It's a battle that only he could fight. If only I could have a magic wand, and waved it all away, in a heartbeat, I would. I was thankful that he eventually outgrew it. That took another six months. So far, it hasn't reared its ugly head yet and I pray that Josh won't ever have to deal with it again.

Now, Joey's turn. Why didn't I speak to him in Chinese? Beats me! While I was worrying myself sick with Josh's stuttering issues, on the other hand, Joey was completely quiet. As a baby, Joey was extremely calm and collected. He would stay in the portable carseat when we were out and about, or eating in a restaurant. As Joey grew older, I started talking to him more, but it didn't seem like he and I were communicating. He was such a beautiful child, I loved looking at him. He was really cute too, that was, until he turned 18 months, started to go wild. For a long time, his first and only word was "No!" said with a vehement conviction. As soon as his legs could carry him far, he would run away from us. He was as far opposite as Josh could be. One was slightly timid and very compliant, the other was bold, stubborn and totally unyielding. Every parenting trick I tried with him failed. He had a mind of his own, and wanted to do his own things. It seemed like our words just bounced off of him like there was an invisible shield in between. He still wasn't talking at three, all he did was cried, had dozens of meltdowns and threw temper tantrums whenever we failed to do his bidding. It was an understatement to say that I was traumatized. In fact, we were all traumatized. I felt like I was a bomb expert. Everyday, I had a live bomb ready to go off any minute, and I was trying my best to diffuse it, and time was ticking away. I tried to share with my friends my worries about Joey, wondering if that was totally normal. They all assured me that their children were the same way, be it termed terrible twos, or terrible threes, relating worse horror stories to calm my fears. They would say, "Josh is so smart, he's beyond the normal scope. You can't expect every child to be just like him! Joey is his own person." I felt so misunderstood. Yeah, they all knew Josh was extraordinary, I knew it too. But clearly, there was something wrong with Joey, but nobody's telling me the truth.

Once more, I turned to the Sonlight community for wisdom. I posted my thoughts about Joey and the things he was doing that were worrisome to me on the Special Needs forum and asked for their thoughts. These ladies told the truth as they saw it. They were not my personal friends, they didn't have to worry about hurting my feelings, they didn't have to reassure me that nothing was wrong if something was clearly amiss. I got more responses than I was anticipating. After so many of my friends brushing away my concerns, I was beginning to think I was an overreacting mother. It felt good and horrible at the same time. It was good to finally have someone agreeing with me that Joey was not acting 'normally' and there were many red flags. On the other hand, it felt horrible to finally be catching on that my child might not be just going through a regular toddler tantruming phase, that he might actually be, (gasp!) autistic. At that time, our whole family was seeing a family doctor, and he suggested we go the public school route for an evaluation. I contacted the Early Childhood school in my district and after a brief interview with me, they agreed to have Joey tested. That took a couple of months, by the time we had a diagnosis of speech impairment, he had turned four. I felt incredibly relieved that the team of professionals from the school did not diagnose him with autism, yet in the back of my mind, I still felt something was wrong. I accepted their diagnosis for Joey eagerly because speech impairment didn't sound as bad as autism. They assured me that with speech therapy and by enrolling him in the preschool, he would improve and learn how to behave socially. By that time, I was so exhausted from dealing with him, his constant temper tantrums and misbehavior that I was willing to try anything they suggested. So, he started going to school Monday through Friday for a couple of hours each day. They even made it easy on me by providing the bus pickup and dropoff right in front of my house. I jumped at the opportunity of being free from Crankenstein (Joey's nickname) for a few hours each day. No doubt about it, I felt incredible amount of guilt, but I felt like I had no choice. At that time, I was juggling with homeschooling Josh (trying to fill his insatiable intellectual needs), dealing with Joey's crying fits constantly and disobedience, and training the heart of a new tyrant (Josie turned two, knew she was cute and took advantage of that!), a few hours away from having to diffuse the BOMB was a welcomed answer.

I wish I could say starting school was a turning point for Joey, but I couldn't. The teachers were full of praises for him, always giving me reports of his progress by saying how well he behaved in school. Though they could tell he didn't care for school much, and though it was more like, "Why do I need to participate?" he was willing to let them guide him to do various things. What they didn't see was the temper tantrums he threw almost every single day when he came home. I dreaded the time the bus came to drop him off. I knew I would be facing a very difficult child, who was tired, exhausted, his diplomacy all spent, and ready to explode. There were countless crying fits, contradictory statements, as in, "Yes, I want it!" followed with a "No, I don't want it!" and then in a split second, he would cry about something else. Yet, at that time, because I was so stretched emotionally with dealing with him all day long, a couple hours of him attending the special ed. class and then come home with a meltdown was still worth it to me. I was that desperate!

The following spring (Spring of 2008), Joey turned five and a half, and had been attending the preschool for one year. (He started in Spring of 2007.) It was time to have a new plan for him. Still unconvinced that Joey did not have autism, I requested a reevaluation. His main teacher and speech therapist were newly minted teachers, probably had no more than a few years of teaching experience under their belts ceded to my insistence to having him tested. They probably felt it was better to be safe than sorry. But the regular preschool teacher who taught the regular kids, who also regularly had the special ed. kids joined her class told me that she thought Joey was completely normal. She really made me doubt myself, because she was an older woman who had taught for more than 20 years! Of course, she said, "Well, if you still want him to get tested, sure! Go ahead, if it might ease your worries." She didn't say it in a condescending way or anything like that, but more matronly. I was sure that teaching at the public school, she had seen her share of overreacting parents, and I want to believe that I was one overreacting parent too. I really want to!

A team of professionals (comprised of a licensed child psychologist, a speech pathologist, and an education diagnostician) tested Joey, while John and I filled questionnaire upon questionnaire to rule out other issues, such as ADD, ADHD, etc. Joey's main preschool teacher, speech therapist, and the aids that worked with him also filled those same questionnaires to get a more general view of his overall behavior. While Joey's teachers had earlier reassured me that he was fine, their input actually skewed him more towards exhibiting autistic characteristics than mine. After the team was done evaluating Joey, they met to make a conclusion, then sat us down to inform us of their final assessment. PDD-NOS was Joey's diagnosis. "Yes, Joey is autistic, but it's very mild." It didn't hit me on the head like being struck by lightning, but for the very first time, I felt some closure. Okay, now, finally they saw what I was seeing all along. I didn't want to see it, I didn't want to believe it too, but it's there, big like a dinosaur, I was dealing with his autism everyday and had no name for it. I felt vindicated. At last, someone saw his difficulties, his struggles, and his special needs too, not just me. But, it wasn't a great feeling. A wave of grief hit me simultaneously, a dream of what I imagine would be his future was shattered beyond repair. Guess I won't be teaching him Chinese anytime soon! He was barely struggling to learn English, his receptive and expressive language skills were both very low, I wonder if he would even learn to speak properly. For his Kindergarten year, we decided to keep him home. I taught him how to enjoy stories, play cooperatively with his siblings, learn self-control (no more tantrums), show love and care towards others, learn basic Math skills, and more, just not Chinese. We still have a huge hump to go over in terms of him learning to read English. He is at the phase of sounding out all the individual sounds of a CVC (Consonant Vowel Consonant) word and then proceeds to give me a sort of enquiring look as though he was saying, 'What did I just read?' If pushed, he might say something like, "C-A-T, dog!" I don't know it would take him this long, afterall, he knew the alphabet and all its sounds since he was two. I'm still persevering in teaching him. Life is definitely like a box of chocolate, you'd never know what you're gonna get! With my first two, I've already experienced two extreme, one started reading early, one still not ready at six, who knows what kind of ball Josie's going to throw at me! But, in any case, I'll be there.

I don't mean to write a whole thesis about my reasons for not teaching my children Chinese, but it's something that weighs heavily upon my heart. Maybe it'll serve as a gentle reminder to my mom that I do love my children, even though I'm not teaching them Chinese. I try, but I just can't do everything, especially with the way life goes around here.

Mar. 22, 2009 - Frisco Park

Josh: Mommy, look! I single-handedly changed the course of the Earth!

Poor Josie fell down running a bit too fast.

I thought the clouds would make a great backdrop, it did!

We took a path through the jungle trail, see Joey's pants are falling off?

Joey's turn to carry the bread for the fish.

"Yes! I've got the bread!"

Josh's moment of insanity?

Inviting tree trunks.............

Daddy's thinking about doing something............

Okay, John, what are you doing?

"See how I can hold my weight, honey?"

Now, all the kids wanted a turn.............

Joey's arms are strong, except his pants are not co-operating.

Josh only lasted a little while.

But Joey did good! (except for his pants, they didn't want to stay up!)

Now, that's Josh being goofy!

Joey made it to the tree.

After that we went to the pavillion overlooking the lake and fed the fish.

Josh enjoyed throwing the bread crumbs to the fish.

Even the adults had fun (I sure did!) and we always brought extras to share with others.

The fish detected FOOD!

They were crowding over and upon each other, splish! splash!

Today the wind was very strong. It's too bad that this beautiful kite got stuck on the tree.

Josie's conducting "Ode to Joy!"

She's singing it too!

After fish-feeding, the kids ran to the super playground.

Off they went!

Josh loves this playground.

Josie wanted to do everything herself.

Joey wanted to swing right away.

Cute shot! Barely saw her face, but I love the clouds behind her.

"I can do it! I can do it!"

"Yes! I can make it!"

"Almost there!" She made it, and quickly ran off to do something else.

Let's see what the boys are up to............

Josh was shaking it all around, haha, hang on tight, Joey!

Josh's making his goofy face again!

Joey's in total bliss! He just loves to swing!

That's my girl, sweet Josie!

Mar. 21, 2009 - Misa's Baby Shower

Today, we had Misa's baby shower with the Sonlight group at Patti's Place Tea Room. It's a historical mansion with superb food and to-die-for desserts. There were six of us all told, and we had tons of fun..... 4 hour lunch!