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Taipei August 2011

As usual, we spent part of the summer in Taiwan. This year, instead of staying in Dan Shui, we spent three weeks in the old Taipei apartment, the place where brenda grew up. Though we all love living out by the river in Dan Shui, it was really exciting being back in the city. After school and on weekends, we took the boys on outings around Taipei and enjoyed many of brenda's favorite childhood snacks (shaved ice, guai guai, bakery goods, fish "laces"...). Ama moved the entire Dan Shui house to Taipei in order to spend these three weeks with us, Agong cut down his golf outings to a mere once a week, and Azo left Taichung and stayed in Taipei for over a month to get in more time with her "a-sa-la" (great grandkids). We are so grateful for everything you've done to help make our summer so fulfilling and wonderful. Nothing can beat waking up each morning and sharing breakfast across four generations.

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Brunei August 2011

Every year, we drop the kids off with Ama and Agong and take a trip, just the two of us, to celebrate being together. This year - our fourteenth - we went to Brunei. For the first few days, we never left our hotel and it was absolute heaven, talking, relaxing, lounging, doing nothing but being with each other. Our last day, we were lucky to hook up with Doreen, one of Jen's friends, who is a native Bruneian. Doreen's family took us to all their favorite eateries and Doreen took us on a tour of the mosques and river village of her hometown. It was the most perfect 4-day getaway. Meanwhile, back in Taipei, Ama and Agong kept the boys well entertained, taking them to the zoo, to go swimming, to the top of Taipei 101, and for a ride around the Miramar ferris wheel. Mom and Dad weren't missed TOO much!

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Washington, DC July 2011



The final leg of our US trip was two full weeks in sweltering Washington DC while Billy worked out of his office in Arlington, VA. Will attended day camp near the National Cathedral. To cool off the afternoons, we enjoyed frozen yogurt or frozen custard almost every day, as well as almost-daily visits from Kate, the best part about DC. Icing on the cake were visits from Bindy and Deb, cousin Jeremy, and a weekend visit from Billy's law school friends Julie and her family, Sean and Valerie, and Herrin's family. Elaine's family flew in from Atlanta, as well, and Pierce, Will, and Sasha tore up the town, trekking all across the Mall. As if that wasn't perfect enough, Jen also flew in from LA as a total surprise. We so appreciate the effort everyone made to spend time together while we were Stateside. You truly make physical distance seem irrelelvant.

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New York City July 2011



Next stop: four days in New York City. This time, we stayed in Brooklyn with brenda's cousins Margie and Teddy, in their beautiful new Park Slope home, where the boys bonded with baby Ethan. We were in town for brenda's aunt's 70th birthday bash and had a chance to visit the Mons' new home in Westchester, and made a trip to the Bronx Zoo with 7 of the 12 little little cousins. Without a moment to spare, we also visited with Cat's family and Manning's family and brenda was lucky enough to catch her college girlfriend, Melissa's, bridal shower. It was a packed four days, but that is what being in New York is all about - making the absolute most of every moment.

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Maryland and Pennsylvania July 2011



Our three weeks in the US this summer started off in Maryland. We stayed with Billy's cousins, Ed and Chrissy for 4th of July weekend. Besides getting together with Grandma, uncles, aunts, and cousins, Will and Sasha spent all their time in the pool with cousins Lucia and new twins Christopher and Anthony. It was a quintessential American 4th of July, with poolside BBQs every day, backyard fireworks, and icy treats whenever the kids had a moment out of the pool. Extra special Maryland touch were the fresh caught crabs, which Ed steamed right away with National Bohemian beer and Old Bay seasoning. It was Will's first experience eating crab with a wooden mallet off a sheet of butcher paper, and he loved it!

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June 2011

We spent this month settling into our new apartment in Happy Valley. It's an old low-rise on a very quiet hill, just a 7-minute walk from busy Causeway Bay and Happy Valley. From our balcony, we can see the horse races every Wednesday and Sunday night, backed by the HK skyline. The boys made the transition to the new place no problem, spending lots of time pottering around on the balcony, planting red and green beans in old yogurt containers and blowing bubbles. No house-warming would be complete without a Lin-family-style BBQ. It was taco weekend again and this time, Will got a step-by-step lesson from Uncle Gary on how to eat a taco. This month, Will graduated from Sunshine House, and delighted us with an 11-song musical revue with his classmates. We are so proud of you, our little Best All Around Student!


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May 2011

A full month of celebrations and events - Mother's Day in Kowloon, Angelie's 5th birthday/treasure hunt and hike on the Peak, our last BBQ at Serene Court before moving to Happy Valley, Will's first performance in a play - Green Eggs and Ham - as part of the Faust Festival, and a trip to Taiwan to see good friends, Elaine, her kids, and Aileen, as well as to celebrate the 40th anniversary of les enphants.


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Taipei April 2011

Easter break was spent in Taiwan, with Ama and Agong, and for a brief time, Azo. We tagged along on the company outing this year and stayed one night at Leofoo Village, a safari-themed hotel. Our balcony looked right out onto the ostrich, lemur, and giraffe enclosures. Overnight, the lemur became Will's new favorite animal and Sasha has also been toting his stuffed "murmur" around everywhere he goes. Lucky for us, our trip home coincided with a trip home for Jackie and Sophie-Soph, so we tried to see each other as much as we could. After more than a year from their last visit, Will and Sophie still enjoyed the warmest rapport, they seem destined to be friends.

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March 2011

This month, Iron Cousin XI: Battle Sesame, as a sendoff for Pei before she leaves Hong Kong (really?). This time, Will did more than just eat - he helped Billy with his entry (sesame dumplings with sesame dressing) and made up his own score sheet. With his help, Billy's dumplings came in third! The competition proved, yet again, that sweet prevails over savory. The last two weeks of March, Ama and Agong came to town for the Rugby Sevens and to celebrate their 41st year of marriage with a special getaway to Macau. Will went to the last day of the Sevens and came home scrumming and tackling with Billy, Agong, AND Sash. We will definitely get him on the mini rugby team next year. If only they had a mini-mini team for Sasha!

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February 2011

With Gary and MJ in town, our usual Sunday get-togethers now always include the grill. (As well, Sunday get-togethers have morphed into the occasional Saturday get-together, rendering Monday mornings that much more bearable.) Because good Mexican is so hard to come by in these parts, we've decided to take things into our own hands and enjoyed two extremely satisfying Mexican weekends. Funny how context works - Mexican is now comfort food for us. This month we celebrated Billy's birthday - there was much to celebrate and be thankful for (a fabulous new job, a new house), but perhaps we are most grateful that there are no photos from the best night yet of Karaoke singing...


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Kuala Lumpur Chinese New Year February 2011

This year's family trip was organized by Alex and Nanette - after a few days of Chinese New Year celebrations in Hong Kong, we all headed to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the rest of the holiday weekend. We stayed in the center of town, right next to a huge park (one of the best any of us had ever seen) and the Petronas Towers. We ate more than our share of Malaysian food and made good use of the pool at our hotel. Billy was called to Puerto Rico for work and had to miss the whole trip. This was a big disappointment, but it also gave Will and Sasha more opportunity to bond with Agong and Ama. Now, every time Sasha picks up anything that resembles a phone, he says, "Herro? Ama? Agong?"

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January 2011

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Hawaii New Year's 2010/11

Two years ago, when the entire family was in Taiwan for Azo's funeral, we started to discuss our generation taking over the helm of organizing family reunions from the grandparents. Ideas for location and dates were suggested, but we immediately realized, without Azo's presence, without Azo as focal point, it was difficult to agree on anything as there are so many of us (almost 50!) living in different places, with different schedules. Somehow, Emily's idea of Hawaii (midpoint for family living in the US and Asia) over New Year's took hold and everyone started changing plans to make it work. That is the spirit of this family, the legacy of Azo. So we all met in Maui for one week of sun, beach, pool, cooking together, eating together, competing in games, and basking in the absolute joy of being a part of this family. Only a few of us couldn't make it (because of a snowstorm, the imminent arrival of little little cousin #13, and a broken limb), but we squeezed out every moment of every day of being with each other and celebrated what it means to be a Lin. What a way to begin the new year. We cannot wait for our next reunion and hope 2011 brings everyone health, happiness, and inner peace.

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