NYC is the place to be!

Hi everyone,

I just got back from my trip to New York with Kiet. It was a marvelous trip, and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. I find myself missing that Big Apple atmosphere already. We did a bunch of touritsty-type stuff while we were there. It was fun, but there where two things that we underestimated: the weather and the actual amount of walking that would take place. Our poor feet! The first day, we explored the SOHO area in miserably cold rain and got lost trying to find it. Also, the umbrella that we bought was really too small for two people. My canvas street shoes were soaked and the back of the shoe did a great job of cutting up my Achilles heel area. So, to compensate for the pain in my left foot, I walked with my leg in a slight tiptoe fashion so it wouldn't rub against the back of the shoe. This caused my calf muscles to become severely sore so I walked with a bad limp for the rest of the trip. In any case, SOHO was nice, but the shops and boutiques were on the pricey side. The next day, we went to Times Square, saw The Lion King Musical (which was awesome by the way), visited Rockefeller Plaza and NBC studios, dropped by St. Patrick's Cathedral, went to the NBA store, window shopped along 5th Avenue, and had a delectable dinner at a Viennese restaurant in East Village called Wallse. We walked through the meat packing district, which really isn't as bad as it sounds, on the way home and saw some interesting bars. Thursday was spent mostly at the Museum of Modern Art. Afterwards, we went to see Grand Central Station, which is actual a terminal where train lines originate and terminate. It has a bunch of shops, a fresh food market, and a humongous food court as well. Friday, Kiet and I hit up Chinatown, the World Trade Center ground zero site, and saw the Statue of Liberty from quite a ways. We wanted to go to Coney Island but were seriously exhausted so ended up going back to Union Square, which is a few blocks from where we were staying. (We saved a lot of money by staying with Kiet's cousin and were blessed by the fact that he lived right in the middle of everything). The whole trip was definitely fun. We spent about 75% of our money on food though. This place seriously has so much to choose from and there is so much to do. We didn't get to see or do everything we planned, but I guess that could be saved for a future trip. In any case, I would highly recommend visiting NYC if the opportunity ever arises.

- Frances (Thoa)

P.S. I am including photos over in the family pictures section of this blog for your viewing pleasure.

sammie

Hi Everyone,

Hope all is going well with you. Just sending out an update on Sammy and family. We are all doing well. Sammy is now going on 9 months old. He currently has 5 teeth and has attempted to stand without holding on to anything. He also took a step the other day and when he realized what he was doing, he got scared and sat down:) This morning he was able to say "ba" on command. "Ba" is the Vietnamese word for three. Every morning we practice counting. This morning was different. After I said "mot, hai, ba (which is one, two, three)" I heard sammy say "ba". I had to share the experience with his daddy, ba ngoai, and di bi. He showed off his new talent to all three people.

Here are the latest pictures of our little monkey. Ron and I had decided to get him a swing set as an early birthday present... (to be honest, it is more for mommy and daddy to enjoy, but Sammy will appreciate it soon enough:) It just got delivered this afternoon. The pictures are of Sammy trying out his new outdoor entertainment center. (photos on the right)

Enjoy,
Ron, Teresa, Sammy:)