Hi guys,
We are safely back in Sunnyvale arriving late last night.
Everything went well with the second leg of the east coast trip.
The only problem encountered was a luggage inspection due of the slack-line ratchet.
The inspector asked if I had "tools" in my luggage, and I didn't know what he was talking about.
I will be uploading pictures from the trip once I have them sorted out.
Highlights for me this year - tubing, basketball game, bocce and our (annual) obstacle course!
I have already thought of one new game to play next year.
Plus I am thinking about getting everyone a T-shirt (with custom name) because I think this year's group photo was kind of hodge-podge.
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I agree with Laurie that this yr's group photo was terrible (in terms of color scheme)...that I thought of the same that next yr, I'll buy everyone a shirt from China of the same color. but if Laurie has a better idea, I'll leave it up to him.
For me this yr, the highlight was tubing, watching everyone from the big bay windows, and catching up with everyone since we haven't seen others for a whole yr! even the cooking wasn't a problem since it's almost down to a pattern now (Haha!)
I think Margaret and Olivia did so much chores as usual...that I think the older kids gotta find a way to contribute more to the chores without being asked (one can always ask "what can I do to help?" in the kitchen...perhaps each kid say can ask that question 3 times a day, as a suggestion....:-) :-) :-) !!!
However the no waterfront is a bit of a minus for me, that I hope next yr will fix!
Max was so sad to leave Canada since he had such a good get-together with everyone that lots of tears were shed...(it was more like a tap was on)...just to show that he really misses everyone...! He is now happily back to school, but going through the start of school jitters.
For the banquet, I was really impressed that Dad was so well liked by everyone, and so much effort was put together by others for him that nite. Thanks Olivia for organizing this. It must have been so much effort and stress. You are amazing.
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Hello Family!
I'm glad this family trip allowed all of us to reunite once again, before spreading off. Natalie is back in Gans, Adri will be back in Montreal next week, Ching will be in London, Ruby will be in HK, the rest of the Hadleys are back in Beijing, ULP and Aunt Su are back in Cali, dad will be back in HK ... etc. I had a few favourites this trip.. I really enjoyed tubing and the family speeches (as improv as they were). I also found it very amusing when the family would watch others slackline outside, giving their encouragement, critique and applause.
Thanks to Mom and Aunt Margaret for planning such a wonderful trip. Thanks to all the Aunts and Uncles for all the hectic grocery shopping and lovely cooked meals. Thanks to Dad for surviving yet another strenuous drive, and for making the time from his busy schedule. Thanks to Uncle Laurie for the fun games, including the Annual Obstacle Course and slacklining. I really enjoyed playing the games with the adults too, even though they proved to be bigger cheaters than the kids. =) Kidding!
I missed having a waterfront too, but I really enjoyed swimming/tubing in the river. Thanks Rio for lending me your lifejacket! And thanks Jacqs for teaching me to swim without a lifejacket!
I think this year, some of us were too busy to fully figure out and plan the family photo. And I agree that the most successful photos were Maine's (white t and jeans) and North Carolina (white shirt and khakis). For next year, I think either solid coloured top (Aunt Nancy) or a tshirt with "New Hampshire 2012" or something related to the trip/year (ULP). Or if you want, I can plan some sort of t-shirt making activity, like tie-dye, t-shirt painting etc.
And as for the chores, perhaps we can come up with a better schedule next year, that not only includes the preparation and cleaning up of meals but also laundry or whatever else that needs a lending hand.
The banquet was tons of fun and very successful. Thanks Mom for putting in so much of your time and effort. And thanks Aunt Margaret for helping out and being my mom's "muse". Hahaha! If anyone wants a copy of the slideshow, perhaps I can upload it somewhere? Or shrink it so it will fit in an email?
Once again, thanks to everyone for such another amazing trip. When I tell friends about our trips, everyone is always jealous. We have such an amazing family. I love everyone!!!
Antoinette
P.S. Family photos will be sent out asap. I haven't even unpacked yet because I've been so busy with work.
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Rio
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Hello everyone. This is Rio. I really enjoyed the trip. I like having fun with my family. I like the water balloon fight.
I like the idea that Leigh Ann think of for the Kids Club. Thank you Leigh Ann and Morgan for sharing their room with me.
PS. Thank you everyone for organizing the trip.
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Rio, you'r'e so cute. I really enjoyed the walk along the river on the pebbles with you and sitting by the waterfall...I hope your dad showed you the nice picture we had with you. and I hope you bring your brother and mom with you next time.
ANP
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Dear Family,
I had an awesome time just relaxing and spending time with all of you. Since we don't always have a big family gathering due to distance, it was very memorable. I thank Aunt Su for cooking such yummy chicken and dinner, and Uncle Laurie for bringing the slack line, and planning the obstacle course. I thank Aunt Margaret and Aunt Olivia for picking out this house, and putting so much time and effort into this vacation. I also thank them and all the other aunts and uncles for cooking, cleaning and keeping everything in order. I thank Uncle Keith and Sam for barbecuing. I had a really fun time playing basketball with Uncle Sam, my parents, Uncle Laurie, and the kids -- adri, max, and Jacqs, and also when playing water polo and categories with Toni, Adri, Jacqs, Ching, Max, Ruby, Morgan, Leigh-Ann, Uncle Sam and Laurie, and Rio. Playing all those games - say anything, pictionary, boulder dash, and the game with picking out the celebrities names from a hat- created even more memories and I thank ULP and especially Toni, for being the games master. Being in the Kids Klub was interesting and I hope to do that again next year, what's the new project Leigh-Ann? 祖母 (Pops)和我有一個非常有趣的時間打乒乓球。我希望她繼續發揮這項運動，因為她與其他人打得真的很好，享受遊戲。
All in all, I can't wait till next year when we all meet up again, and hopefully Natalie, Matthew, Aunty Ai and Rio will attend.
Thanks for this wonderful trip,
Joey
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Hello Beloved Family Members,
Thanks for the last stupendous eight and a half days in New York! Everyday was so significant to me since we were able come together, bond and share laughter, despite the distance and other struggles. However my hi-lights would be relaxing in the indoor pool, tubing, the talent show, skyping with Nanny and the obstacle course.
As for a token of appreciation to each member: Firstly thank you to all the PARENTS for your hard work since I'm sure this trip added much stress on top of everything else. And definitely to Aunt Margaret and Aunt Olivia for working so hard to find the house. Thanks for the wonderful meals each day- esp. to Aunt Sue since you taught me how to make the onion pancakes. Moreover, thank you mom for bringing us to the outlet malls and celebrating Joey's birthday with cake and a Spaghetti dinner. During the day, I was so glad to see the little kids- Leigh-Ann, Morgan, Rio and Joey working away on the coasters and bracelets for Kids Klub. I'm sure everyone loved their surprise and I surely loved my coaster and appreciated Leigh-Ann and Toni for teaching me how to make bracelets. Also thank you Adri for helping me with some math questions! And who would forget the playful game of basketball? Thanks Uncle Sam, Uncle Laurie, Adri, Max, and my Cheung's for making it so fun. Thanks for planning the 2nd edition of the cat faces photo Toni. As for the nightly entertainment, thank you to the kids and some adults- Uncle Sam, Uncle Laurie, Aunt Nancy, Uncle Keith, Aunt Margaret, my mom and even 公公 for participating. And of course thank you to the photographers-Uncle Sam, Toni and Uncle Alfred for capturing these moments, and Aunt Margaret (in advance) who will be making these memories into something that will be remembered forever.
For improvement, let's remember to plan who will buy groceries. I think the Cheung's would prefer AC next time. And I agree with planning the family photos better next time!
Thanks again! I hope you enjoy the rest of the summer! See most of you in December and hopefully more members can join the summer vacay next year!
-Jacqs<3
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Hi everyone,
Thanks for including us to the wonderful trip we had this summer. We had lots of fun playing with the cousins and talking to adults that we haven't spoken to in a long time. Our highlights this summer would be tubing, cat faces 2nd edition, swimming in the indoor pool, being members of the kids club and swat team, playing games with our cousins and having sleepovers with rio:)
Thanks to mom and Aunt Olivia for getting us this house, everyone finally gets their own room. Thanks to the adults for doing all the work, cooking yummy meals (Aunt Fanny I'm still not convinced that you don't have a special sauce), for participating in this year's games and planning, organizing and grocery shopping. Thanks to Toni and UPL for planning awesomatastic games for us to play, we enjoyed playing Say Anything and the game with picking out the celebrities names from a hat. Thank you to the photographers who took pictures, we can't wait to see them! We also want to give a SPECIAL thank you to Joey, Jacqs and Rio for doing almost everything with us, we had lots of fun with you guys in the Kid's Klub, in the pool, in swat team and in our PJ parties.
We will never forget this trip :D
Leigh-Ann + Morgan
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Dear Family,
Just writing to say thanks for another great family vacation! These family vacations are a great way to spend a week together since we are now all living so far apart. It’s nice that we can enjoy a week doing many activities and have made it a yearly experience. I think I can say for all the kids, that every year, we look forward to these trips and getting to see all the cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents once again. For all those who have Facebook, we start planning activities and reminisce about old trips months before the next vacation. That just goes to show how much we all anticipate and how excited we are for these family vacations.
I had lots of fun playing an intense game of basketball with The Cheungs, Max, Uncle Laurie and Sam, because when else are we going to be able to do that? I loved tubing, playing water polo, volleyball and all the water gun fights with all the cousins. I really enjoyed how all the parents participated in a lot of the games this year, which made it all the more fun! I think Master, Apprentice and the two babies, as well as the Obstacle Course have now become an annual event, or should I say competition. This year’s talent show was full of laughs and even the speeches for the grandparent’s were unforgettable.
Although there may not have been a waterfront directly nearby, AC and a few other problems here and there, I'm sure that when we all look back to the vacation, we won't be thinking of those little things. But rather, remembering all of the laughs and fun we had on this trip. How could we forget, watching all of the family's talents, reenacting a photo 15 years later or keeping your bums up when tubing?
All in all, thanks to all the aunts and uncles for planning this trip, driving 8 hours each way, cooking/barbecuing delicious meals and cleaning up after all us messy kids.
Already looking forward to next year’s trip! Castle, here we come!
Adrianna
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