April 2007
Hi! We're Back!
After roughly 3 1/2 years of letting it slide, I decided it was about time (long overdue) to revisit this page and bring it up to date. Not only have there been so many changes over the years, it was really getting to be too much of an embarrassment. It became a matter of getting to work on it or forgetting about it altogether.
To make it easier to get started, I'll just hit a few highlights covering 2006 to the present, and get to a more usual level of detail in the future. Due to space constraints on the server, I will have to take some of the old stuff off to free up space for the new. I'll do it on an oldest-out-first basis.
August 2006 - Mountain Trip
We had a few days of holiday time in August, so we took a short, three-day, trip to the top of a nearby mountain with some friends. By comparing with the photos from August 2003, you can see how much the kids have grown. Click on a picture to see an enlargement
November 2006 - Sandy is 10!
Sandy turned 10 -- who woulda thunk it could happen so fast. In case you hadn't noticed, she now wears glasses. Click on a photo to see an enlargement.
November 2006 - Class BBQ
The teacher, kids, parents, and siblings of Mandy's second grade class (Mandy is now in 7th grade) get together every year for a barbecue. The place we went to this year had paint ball activities for the kids. The person in the photo of the lone woman is the second grade teacher. Also, check out the novel approach to lighting the charcoal. Click on a photo to see an enlargement.
December 2006 - Holiday Fun
Although the season bears no religious significance for 90% of Taiwan, everyone likes to get into the spirit -- putting up trees and giving gifts. We put up a tree every year -- I think Sandy still believes that it is Santa who brings the presents. Click on a photo to see an enlargement.
March 2007 - Field Day
Sandy's school held their annual field day. For the cultural event, her class put on a square dance -- it was quite good. Sandy ran third in the relay race. Her team finished in second place. Click on a photo to see an enlargement.
March 2007 - Country Visit
Tanya's mother's family live in the East-Central area of the island and we often make a weekend trip down to visit. One of the relatives I like to visit with is Tanya's uncle -- who lives by himself in a little one-room stone hut out in the country. He raises ducks in a pond out back, and goats in a nearby pasture. He also makes moonshine and likes it when I come as he knows I am good for a few bumps and it is a great opportunity to show off his distillation skills.
They also brought us out to see a reconstruction of a European chateau (the German equivalent, thereof). The thing was modeled after an actual site in Germany, and people pay admission to enter and wander the grounds and eat and drink (Taiwanese - not German - dishes, I was disappointed to discover). It is really kind of a strange venue, because they reconstructed the outside of the buildings, but there is no inside! You would think that they would have built the inside in the fashion and with the furnishings to match the outside - but they didn't think that detail was of critical importance, I suppose. Click on a photo to see an enlargement.
And so ends the family update. More to come - on a more timely basis! As always, if anyone has any family news and/or pictures they would like to put up, by all means email them to me.
