hilo photography

Mission Beach Cafe - Truffle Fries with Parmesan

2010-03-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is why I love food.

Getting together with friends and trying out new restaurants is one of our goals for 2010. There are just so much that our city offers when it comes to food. We hit up Mission Beach Cafe several weeks back and trust me, these truffle fries were gone before I was even done taking my photos. =P

Snoopified

2009-12-07T21:07:00.000-08:00

Yup, it's that time of the year when the Lo's bring out the snoopy Christmas collection. We essentially snoopify our house, our Christmas tree, even our PJs with Snoopy related items (well, snoopy PJs are year-round). It's actually quite fun to bring out 5+ tupperware of snoopy Christmas decorations. Since I've been quite busy with photo shoots lately, we had to push out our Christmas decoration this year to a Monday. Still, with Christmas music in the background, the night was still filled with great Christmas spirit.

Here is a glimpse of the snoopy madness:

This year, we added a new collection item: a Snoopy Countdown display!

One of my favorites of all ornaments.

These are not snoopy ornaments, but Jenny and I bought them during our first Christmas together.

Too much snoopy for Sally to handle.

My Super Adorable Nephew | Baby Nate

2009-11-30T22:02:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is for spending time with family and what better way to celebrate this year's Thanksgiving than doing a photo shoot for my baby nephew. Here a few shots from the photo shoot. Enjoy!

Baby Phoebe | Teaser

2009-11-23T12:24:00.001-08:00

I just love Baby Phoebe's expression. It's priceless.

Iron Chef Night - Pear and Pumpkin

2009-11-17T20:21:00.001-08:00

Our second iron chef night was fantastic!! Everyone stepped up and really focused on winning! Every dish tasted awesome and looked beautiful. It was great for the eyes and even better for the stomach. Just posting these pictures makes me hungry. Can't wait for our next iron chef night.

Our menu for the night

Prickly Pear

Asian Pear

Sliced Bartlett for Pear Wafer

Baking two Japanese pumpkins

Sean's Pear-Pork Dumplings

Carol's ingredients for her Pumpkin Sticky Rice

Shirin's Pear Jello with White Grape Sparkler

Dan's Pumpkin Biscuit with Pear Butter and County Ham

Shea's Roasted Pear Arugula Salad

My beef-bourguignon in a pumpkin bowl

Carol's Pumpkin-Chinese Sausage Sticky Rice

Brandon's Carmelized Pear with Grilled Pork

Steve's Pumpkin Mashed with Pumpkin-glazed Meatloaf

Jenny's Winning Trio Pear Sorbet (Prickly, Asian, Bartlett) with Pear Wafer

Shirin's Pumpkin Spiced Hot Chocolate

Little Ryan Photo Shoot

2009-10-21T12:48:00.001-07:00

I had such an awesome time photo shooting my little nephew. The weather was perfect and we had the entire baseball field to ourselves!

We found out the way to get Ryan to smile was by waving to him. That's why you'll see quite a few pictures where he's waving at the camera.

Here are some of my favorites from the photo shoot:

Baby Yoda and Baby Leia | Teasers

2009-10-12T16:36:00.000-07:00

Ohh, they are just too cute!

Little Ryan | Teaser

2009-10-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't blogged lately. Work has been extremely busy, plus, I haven't had any kitchen fire mishaps at home recently, thankfully. =P. Anyhoo... Here is a teaser from a photo shoot that I did with little Ryan yesterday. More to come soon! Enjoy!

Paula & Aaron Wedding | Eagle Ridge, Gilroy

2009-09-08T21:04:00.001-07:00

Ok, I know I've shot quite a few weddings this year, but none can compare to this one: My first wedding as the primary shooter. This wedding has been on my mind for the entire year, as I've prepared for it. Training with Augie as his second shooter helped tremendously. Though I was still overwhelmed, it was a huge plus to have seen Augie at work.

The wedding shoot was also much easier because Paula and Aaron are so madly in love. You can see their love in the pictures and I am just so thankful that I was able to be part of it.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the wedding...

Paula and Aaron Wedding Teaser

2009-09-01T06:36:00.000-07:00

Paula and Aaron | Church Wedding

2009-08-28T22:21:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, Paula and Aaron tied the knot at St. Agnes Church in San Francisco. They celebrated the occasion with close family and friends. This Sunday, they'll be getting married and sharing their love with friends and family at the Eagle Ridge Golf Club in Gilroy. Can't wait!

Here are some photos from last Saturday.

Aaron reading a card he got for Paula.

Aaron's mom and grandma teared up when he called Paula his wife.

Aaron's dad meeting baby Nate.

Baby Justin and Baby Ashley - Part III

2009-08-27T18:15:00.000-07:00

My my, how fast have they grown. It feels like just yesterday when I met them for the first time. They were just two little 6-pounders. Now they are already weighing in the mid-teens.

Jenny got them each a pair of shades for their up coming disneyland trip and so I figured it'd be neat to capture some pictures of them with the shades. They look totally hip with them and I enjoyed every minute of the photoshoot.

Baby Nate & Baby Naomi | 100 Day Party

2009-08-24T17:58:00.000-07:00

My nephew is 3 months old!!! He was able to spend his 100 day celebration with Baby Naomi, who was born just a day after him. It was an awesome party filled with super cute babies, delicious food (Vietnamese food and Carol's famous cupcakes) and Durian! Mmm, Yum!

Baby Nate!

Baby Nate sporting new shades from Auntie Jenny.

Baby Naomi and her Grandpa (left); Baby Naomi with her pink shades.

The proud parents with their babies.

This is my favorite shot of Nate and Naomi. They look so cool with their shades.

Kitchen Fire!

2009-08-20T21:58:00.000-07:00

Oh no, I almost burnt down the house, again!

I saw this recipe online for lemon chicken and it looked so delicious that I decided to give it a shot. Instead of using a deep fryer, I decided to use a small pot instead. Big mistake. I overloaded my pot with oil and chicken and it overboiled!!! A huge fire started and being a former chemical engineer with 4 years of bunsen burner experience, I did exactly what I expect I'd do - I PANICKED!

Fortunately, this isn't the first time I've started a grease fire. Once at Brandon's house, I started a small fire while cooking. Fortunately, it was much smaller than tonight's. I had no idea you weren't suppose to use water to kill the fire, so I poured a small amount of water and it splashed everywhere.

So remembering the grease on Brandon's ceiling, I tried to think of an alternative to put out the fire. Then I remember my Emergency Response Training that I reluctantly attended back in Honeywell days. Kill the oxygen! So I cover the fire with a glass plate. But since the fire has already spread to beneath the stove, I couldn't kill all the oxygen, but just suppressed the fire.

My rule of thumb in life is always "When in doubt, call for help!" So I called to Jenny for help. Both Sally and Jenny were upstairs relaxing and as soon as she heard me calling for help, she rushed down to find a fire in our kitchen. Being the wise wife that she is, she calmly said "why don't you get the fire extinguisher in the garage?" Lightbulb!!

I've never used a fire extinguisher before, so I was a bit excited! And I have to say, next time a grease fire happens, get a fire extinguisher!! The fire was put out in seconds and I am left with a blackened wall and powder everywhere. Phew, what a night!

Steve and Shirin Wedding | San Francisco

2009-07-31T21:49:00.000-07:00

Two of my closest friends finally tied the knot and I am so happy for them. Here are some of the shots from their wedding.

Baby Phoebe

2009-07-28T18:06:00.000-07:00

I've been looking forward to this baby shoot. As you will see in the pictures, Baby Phoebe's trademark is her hair. It's big, it's poofy and it's super adorable.

Poor Phoebe, she didn't like being directly under the sun.

Steve and Shirin Wedding Teaser

2009-07-21T22:07:00.000-07:00

Finally, after ten years, Steve took a wife!

Sally and Arrow!

2009-07-19T16:25:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been over two months since I last blogged about Sally. Even though she made a guest appearance in S. Korea, we've missed blogging about her.

During the past two weeks, Sally has been sharing her home with her buddy Arrow. Not only do they enjoy chasing each other up and down the stairs, they also love hiding under our bed.

South Korea | Travel

2009-07-18T07:27:00.001-07:00

Jenny and I spent 10 days traveling to South Korea and I have to say, we're now huge fans of Korean food. Besides the traditional bibimbap, sundubu, and korean BBQ, we fell in love with their KFC (korean fried chicken), lettuce/mint wrap BBQ black pig, and gingseng chicken soup, to name a few.

The weather didn't cooperate at all, raining 9 out of 10 days. So we stopped off to eat every chance we got (#1 to enjoy their food, #2 to stay dry). We spend 3 days in Jeju Do, visiting a lava cave, cliffs, and waterfalls. We then flew to Busan, the second largest city in South Korea and known for its seafood, and spent two days shopping, sightseeing, and more eating. We wrapped up our trip in Seoul. We were a bit concerned over the North Korean's latest missile launch but that didn't stop us from visiting the DMZ (demilitarized zone between North & South Korea) and the 3rd infiltration tunnel. It was such an interesting trip from an historical perspective. I am so used to traveling to landmarks that happened several hundreds/thousand years ago. But with the DMZ and the current conflicts, it feels more real.

Singapore Airlines, gotta love the individual TVs.

Jusangjeolli Cliff - Stone Pillars.

Lava Cave

White Hyundai everywhere

We often times used hand motions/writing for communication. This was to tell me to return at 1pm

Always have to check out a McDonald's when you travel! It was Filet-O-Ebi Burger in Japan and now Bulgogi Burger in Korea.

If you haven't tried KFC (Korean Fried Chicken), it's absolutely delicious!

This picture summed up the weather in Jeju Do

We did have one sunny day at Busan. So we quickly packed our stuff and headed straight to the famous Haeundae Beach.

Changdeokgung Palace

The exchange of guards

Kelly and Brandon Wedding - Freedom Hall and Gardens

2009-07-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

The Mason-Leary family has been a part of my life since middle school and it was such a blessing to have the opportunity to shoot in Kelly's wedding several weeks back. The wedding was awesome, great speeches, choreographed dances and I especially enjoyed spending time with the Leary boys (Aidan and Noah), even though they still mistaken me for Billy. =P

Here are some of my favorite shots from the wedding.

The anticipation and the first look.

My middle school buddy Seth and his little boy, Noah.

Seth's older boy, Aidan

The youngest Mason, Ashley

The Leary-Mason Family

My favorite shot!

Oh No! Jenny's Big 3-0!

2009-06-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

Jenny is joining me in the 30s club next week and we celebrated her birthday with our friends on Saturday in the city. We started out with a yummy brunch at Town's End, followed by a short bike ride in Crissy Field/Golden Gate Bridge =P, tried out a new French restaurant called Chouchou, and finished the night off with Carol's signature Lemon Cupcakes. Food, friends and cupcakes: you can't go wrong with that!

These were delicious! Thanks Dan for holding up the basket for me =)

The muffins were so good that the bird is calling his friends over..

Carol just bought a new iPhone. Still trying to figure out the phone.

The newly engaged couple! Great shot Shirin!

Jenny helping us taste the wine.

Oh yeah, they were delicious!!!!!

Audrey & Harsha | E-Session at Half Moon Bay

2009-06-06T08:59:00.001-07:00

Audrey and I go way back. Back to my very first day of undergrad years at Cal. I met Audrey at our College of Chemistry orientation and we've been great friends ever since.

Audrey and Harsha are getting married in September and I got a chance to take some engagement photos for them in Half Moon Bay where Harsha proposed. Here are some of my favorites...

Seattle | Travel

2009-06-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

When the Warren's travel, you expect lots of outdoor activities. When the Lo's travel, you expect lots of eating activities. So when the Warren's and the Lo's travel together, you expect all of the above and a whole lot of photo shooting. That's exactly what we did this past Memorial weekend as we spent three days in beautiful Seattle.

We were so lucky to have picked a gorgeous weekend to travel to Seattle. Blue clear skies, cool enough in the morning for a hot latte, hot enough in the afternoon for an iced mocha. Oh yeah, we also did lots of coffee drinking.

We spent the first day kayaking in Bainbridge Island, a small island 35min ferry ride away from Seattle. After that, we headed straight to Mora Iced Creamery. Check out the website, it makes you want to eat ice cream immediately. We enjoyed the evening eating at Il Bistro in Pike's Place and I had one of the best cioppinos ever! The seafood was so good that even Shea chose Halibut over a vegetarian pasta.

The next morning, we ate a delicious brunch at Volunteer Park Cafe, and then rented bikes and rode for 1.5 hours straight to Safeco Park, just in time for the Giants vs. Mariners game. You read that right, the Lo's rode bikes, and rode them for 1.5 hrs. After the game, we had the best coffee of the trip at Zeitgeist Coffee. It was recommended by Susan, a fellow coffee lover, and we weren't disappointed at all. After a visit to the Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum, we spent the rest of the night soaking in Seattle from the top of the Space Needle.

The highlight of this trip, for the Lo's at least, was the Food Tour at Pike Place. Savor Seattle Food Tour is ranked #1 activity in Seattle and when I saw this, it was a done deal. We spent the two hours walking from one end of Pike Place Market to the other end, tasting the greatest hits of Pike Place. (From smoked salmon, award-winning clam chowder to Beecher's Mac and Cheese and Chukar Cherries). It was definitely the best and most delicious way to end the trip.

The "original" Starbucks at Pike Place Market

(but not the "first" Starbucks according to the food tour)

Shea and Brandon trying to mimic Brandon's t-shirt

On the ferry to Bainbridge Island

These poochies made us miss Sally and Brody.

Ok, the golden made the Warren's miss Brody even more.

Brandon carefully analyzes his pictures

Sometimes you turn around and you can't find Brandon anywhere.

That's because he is laying by the water fountain trying to capture the Space Needle!

Brandon sharing his Mora Ice Cream with us!

Jenny is really enjoying her pear sorbert.

Brandon and Shea looking for some new shades

Volunteer Park Cafe - Food was delicious!

We walked around the entire ball park to find the famous "Ichiroll"!

That's right, sushi named after Ichiro!

Andy helping out at Pioneer Square

Brandon, a guitarist himself, really enjoyed the EMP.

Rachel the Pig ... and her behind!

The morning briefing at Pike Place Fish.

The mini-donuts were absolutely amazing. Perfect way to start the food tour.

The Gum Wall at Post Alley

Just when I was going to buy 12 pack of gum to put my name up, I spotted this. FOBs are everywhere!

You can check out more pictures at http://www.andylo.smugmug.com/

Baby Justin and Baby Ashley - Part II

2009-05-22T23:20:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, I got a chance to see my favorite twins again. I haven't seen them for several weeks, and my, how fast do they grow! After the photo shoot, I realized that I had shot way more pictures of Baby Justin than of Baby Ashley. I'm speculating that my slight bias toward Justin is due to the fact that he and I are both the older twin. Don't worry Ashley, I'll make it up to you next time. =)

I think Ashley is trying to wake Justin up...

and I don't think Justin appreciates it...

Baby Nathan Part II: Joanne or Newt?

2009-05-14T16:57:00.001-07:00

It's usually hard to tell early on whether the baby looks more like the mom or the dad. When I first met Baby Nathan, I thought he looked more like Newt, because of his nose. Now on day 4, I think he looks more like Joanne, with his round face. What do you think?

To refresh your memory of what Joanne and Newt look like, I've also put in a picture of them below to help you.

Baby Nathan

2009-05-11T22:44:00.000-07:00

Introducing my newborn nephew - born on Mother's Day...

Sally Barked!

2009-05-09T08:37:00.000-07:00

Of course Sally didn't bark. She is a howler! A loud, squeaky one, to say the least. However, she was published in the May/Jun 2009: Issue 54 of the BARk magazine. The BARk features a "Smiling Dog" section where dog owners submit one picture of their dog smiling. They then select 40 favorites to appear in each issue of their magazine (published six times a year).

Don't set your hopes too high when you submit your picture; it took an entire year before Sally appeared in the magazine! I was quite surprised when I got an email notifying me that Sally would be a celeb in the upcoming issue!

Baby Justin and Baby Ashley

2009-05-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

Last year, I blogged about how my friend Maggie is having twins in the "Twins are the Best" post. Well, 9 months later, meet Baby Justin and Baby Ashley. They are super cute and I can't wait to take more pictures of them.

Joey & Michelle Wedding - Cinnabar Hills

2009-04-28T21:59:00.000-07:00

What a small world . . . my co-worker Joey got married last Saturday and his photographer happens to be Augie Chang. Augie is this amazing photographer that Newt and Joanne had for their wedding two years ago. Every year, he invites photo enthuiasts around the Bay Area to assist him in his weddings and I was fortunate enough to help him with several weddings last year. A lot of my photographic style stems from his work.

So when I heard that Augie was shooting Joey's wedding, I volunteered to help Joey out and be the second shooter for the day. Obviously, Augie didn't need any help, but I figured it'd be a great learning experience shooting next to a pro.

I love the shoes, especially the ring bearer's.

Joey and Michelle rented a photo booth for the wedding.
The guests were able to make a scrapbook for the couple right on the spot. Check out Joey's expression as he is being "handcuffed" by marriage!

Here is "The Camera Crew" entry to the scrapbook.

Sausalito Day Trip

2009-04-27T22:24:00.001-07:00

After hearing how much Joanne and Newt enjoyed their day trip to Sausalito, Jenny and I couldn't resist. We started the day viewing the Golden Gate Bridge from the Marin Headlands. We then had brunch at Lighthouse Breakfast and Lunch Cafe in Sausalito (the Norwegian smoked salmon was delicious!). When we got to downtown Sausalito and saw all the tourists riding their rental bikes, we were bummed that we forgot to pack our own bikes! We then visited the neighboring town of Tiburon before heading back. On our way home, we stopped by Marco Polo in San Francisco for some Asian-flavored gelato. We shared scoops of Lychee, Green Tea, and Mango!

A Day (or Year) in the Life of San Francisco

2009-04-14T18:02:00.000-07:00

If you recall from a blog entry last year, Brandon and I embarked on a photographic mission known as "A Day in the Life of San Francisco". We set out with our cameras and captured the heart of a city we proudly called home. What we discovered through this journey was that a day was just not enough, not even close. So a couple weeks ago, with new cameras and lenses on our shoulders, we visited the city again, for the fourth time, and captured what is now called "A Year in the Life of San Francisco." It's been a blast sharing this photographic passion with my best friend. We definitely have different photographic eyes and I can't wait for this photobook to be published.

Here is a picture of Brandon working it!

For great shots, sometimes we had to break the law. We did that for the next shot.

Classic San Francisco skyline.

Cable Car: A Symbol of San Francisco

The last time we visited the Palace of Fine Arts, it was under renovation.

Fisherman's Wharf - Crabs anyone?

I love this picture. It looks as if someone is trying to sneak up on the seagull.

You will only fine this in Chinatown: a pearl necklace on one rack and dried salty fish on the other.

The Painted Ladies.

Paula and Aaron

2009-04-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, Newt and I spent the morning taking engagement photos for Paula and Aaron. Paula (Newt's sister) and Aaron met at Genentech, and so what better location to capture the moments than the place where it all began. We had such a great time with the shoot that time really flew by. I was quite impressed by how scenic Genentech is: beautiful trails, awesome views of the water, a nearby pier, and a forklift truck (you'll see!).

Here are some of my favorites from the shoot:

This is my favorite shot of the set

Before they take away the sign and change it to Roche, we figured we better snap a couple shots with the sign.

As we were walking along the buildings, we saw this forklift truck. We said "what the heck!"

Goodbye Toyota.....Helloooooo Subaru!!

2009-04-06T17:21:00.000-07:00

Last month, we got into a car accident. Fortunately, all four passengers weren't hurt, but our poor Toyota '97 Camry absorbed most of the injury. Because the repair cost practically equaled the value of our car, our car was deemed a total loss. We spent several weeks test driving different types of cars, from hybrids to small compact SUVs. Since we've already got a gas-efficient Toyota Corolla, we decided to move towards a bigger car.

The Subaru Forester fit all our needs. It has all the ruggedness that the Lo's will ever need. It's quite a comfortable ride, and Jenny especially loves the giant moon roof and heated front seats.

Our poor camry =(

Not sure if I am fan of their logo. It's growing on me though.

We purchased our Forester in Walnut Creek.
It was a bit of a pain to drive out there, but they gave us a better deal than Redwood City.

After the purchase, we spent the afternoon in Berkeley.

Here is the reflection off the door handle of one of the homes on Etna Street, where both our college apartments were.

Baby Phoebe and Little Christina

2009-03-24T22:29:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, we celebrated Baby Phoebe's dedication at church. Afterwards, we spent a relaxing Sunday brunch with our small group and of course, I took the opportunity to take pictures of Baby Phoebe and Little Christina. Our small group is growing exponentially by the minute. Can't wait for the other babies (especially my nephew) to join us in the coming months.

Here is Christina taking care of Baby Phoebe.

It's no longer Cabbage Patch Kids. These days, kids go straight to the iPhone.

Christina enjoying her grape.

Christina posing with Baby Phoebe.

Introducing Baby Phoebe!

(As our Pastor said during the dedication, she has more hair than her dad!)

Here, she has a puzzled look.

I love her little foot.

Baby Phoebe is pumping her fist and saying "Girl Power"!

After a long morning, Baby Phoebe fell asleep in Cynthia's arms.

Little Mina

2009-03-14T22:14:00.000-07:00

We were invited to brunch at Cousin Pat and Ben's this past weekend. Besides the delicious food, the real treat for me was taking pictures of their 1.5 yr old daughter, Mina. She was so cute, and loved to say "hi hi" and "dog dog". Also, Sally and Bonnie got to play with their dog, Akki.

Yummy smoked salmon frittata

Fresh berries

Mina!

Akki - don't you just love how she sits with her paws crossed?

As usual, Bonnie sits quietly while Sally scavenges for food

Also as usual, Sally made herself at home in another dog's bed.

Jenny's eyes are EYE-Okay!

2009-03-12T18:31:00.000-07:00

Finally, after many years of contemplating, Jenny decided to have LASIK surgery. She went to see Dr. Edward Manche at Stanford Eye Laser Center and we were in and out of there in less than 45 minutes on surgery day. We didn't even have to pay for parking. They were nice enough to allow me to take some pictures and so here are some...

Smiling pre-surgery

Jenny's eye through the monitor

The tech putting in some eye drops

Putting on face masks in preparation for the surgery

All done! Jenny giving us the Eye-Okay sign!

To take care of my wife after surgery, I surprised her with Dim Sum from Joy Luck.

TROUBLE Got Arrested!

2009-03-08T22:11:00.000-07:00

Sally raised the (trouble) bar this weekend by being arrested by the Millbrae Police! Being just a mere 4-year old, Sally is having quite an adventurous life.

The arrest occurred on Saturday when Jenny and I decided to leave Sally in the car while having Dim Sum in Millbrae. Like any responsible dog owner, we parked the car in the shade with the windows open.

When we got back from Dim Sum about an hour or so later, we found a note on the car and Sally missing! Apparently, while we were gone, Sally was howling as usual and someone called the police. The police took Sally with them to the station and left us a note. (Sally does sound like a dying dog/seal when she howls, which anyone that has heard Sally can attest to.)

Sally's Mug Shot

After a long, stressful day at the police station, Sally needed some rest.

New Toys for My Great Passions

2009-02-24T21:41:00.000-08:00

Over the last couple of weeks, we've been actively trying to do our part to save the economy by spending, spending and more spending. If you've been visiting our blog, you'll know that two of my favorite passions are photography and cooking. So being in a buying mood, we (as in Andy =) ) bought a new Nikon DSLR camera, two awesome lenses, a stainless steel All-Clad pan , and a pasta roller/cutter attachment for the Kitchenaid mixer. I think we've done enough for the economy for now. =(

To celebrate the arrival of my new toys, we made fresh pasta on a weeknight. It actually didn't take as long as last time: the purchases have definitely paid off.

Here is my egg well

Fresh pasta being rolled out by the pasta roller attachment.

The finished product. We substituted the Tuna with Tilapia and added some baby broccoli.

Fresh Pasta! Mmm!!

2009-02-10T21:14:00.000-08:00

For Christmas 2008, Newt and Joanne suggested that instead of buying gifts for one another, we should do something fun together. So last Saturday, Joanne, Newt, Jenny and I spent several hours at Draeger's Cooking School learning how to make fresh pasta. Surprisely, it wasn't that difficult at all. I have always had this perception that making fresh pasta requires a lot of time. We made several different kinds of pasta: Agnolotti; Fazzoletti; Farfalle; Fettuccine. We had a blast learning and I look forward to this family tradition for years to come. Now we just have to decide which pasta machine to buy...

Fazzoletti - Little Handkerchiefs

Farfelle - Butterflies or Bow Ties

Garnet Yam Agnolotti

The Lee Sisters rolling out the dough.

Jenny was surprised at how long the handkerchief was.

Jenny sharing the leftover yam filling with Newt.

Andy helping to cook the fresh pasta

Marble Coasters of Little Baby Ryan

2009-02-10T20:52:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago, I saw these awesome marble coasters. You can put any photo you want on them. They are made by Tilano and they make for fantastic gifts.

It was my sister's birthday and I surprised her with 4 marble coasters of little baby Ryan. Look at these pictures! He just keeps getting cuter and cuter.

Happy Chinese New Year!

2009-01-26T10:45:00.000-08:00

Happy Chinese New Year! It's been a bit more toned down this year with my Parents traveling in Hong Kong. But that doesn't mean we don't have Snoopy decorations for this celebration! May everyone have a healthy 2009! Gong Hay Fat Choy!

I Fly, You Fly, We All Flew at iFly!

2009-01-22T08:37:00.000-08:00

A couple Saturdays ago, we did the unthinkable (at least for me, since I am afraid of heights): WE FLEW!!!!

We celebrated Julie's 30th birthday with an indoor skydiving excursion at iFly, followed by a delicious dinner at Buca Di Beppo. This was our baby step to the real deal, sky diving. Ha ha, who am I kidding. It'll be a million years before you see me voluntarily jump off a plane. (Maybe if I can bring my camera, hmm...)

Anyways, it was definitely a fun and interesting experience. I compare it with snorkeling vs. scuba diving. If you never plan to scuba dive, snorkeling gives you a taste of it. But it's not the same.

Thanks to Julie for inspiring us to fly and thanks to Carol for helping us takes all these pictures and videos. The pictures came out amazing!

The Flight Crew

The birthday girl was very excited...

...and delirious.

This is as close to sky-diving as the Lo's will ever get

Safety first

Julie giving us the thumbs up! She is ready to fly!

Julie soaring to her 30s.

You can see Carol in the background capturing Eric in flight-motion.

Mike demonstrating the perfect flying posture

Andrea checking out the instructor to make sure he is watching and ready to catch her!

All of a sudden, Julie remembers she is bidding farewell to her 20s. Hence the pout.

Julie perks up when she realizes there are birthday gifts waiting for her to open.

The birthday girl is diving (no pun intended) into her tiramisu!

Check out this animated gif! I wasn't able to upload the file in Blogger, so I borrowed Brandon's photo gallery to post it. It's a really funny animation of Julie! Also, while you are at Brandon's gallery, check out his work!

A Delicious Resolution!

2009-01-15T08:34:00.000-08:00

One of my 2009 resolutions that I am really exciting about is to do more cooking, and of course take pictures of my dishes.

For those that don't know, I love to cook. Maybe it's because my first love at school was chemistry, and cooking reminds me a lot of chemisty (mixing, heating, burning, and ah yes, explosion!) And besides cooking, I LOVE to eat. Being a Fob, we eat anything and everything. My rule has always been: "if it's on the menu, I'll eat it." So my cooking resolution is a win for my cooking passion and a win for my stomach!

Oh, come to think of it, I guess Sally is a lot like me. She loves food and eats anything and everything. Like daughter, like father! I just hope no one starts calling me "chunky monkey". =(

Here is my first dish of 2009: Sichuan Beef Noodle Soup

Lake Tahoe 2009

2009-01-12T22:11:00.000-08:00

It doesn't get any better than celebrating the New Year in a warm cozy home while snow is falling outside. That's how we spent the first three days of 2009, in snowy Lake Tahoe. We were again fortunate enough to rent out my coworker's house in Lake Tahoe and we made the best of our time playing Catch Phrase, Wits & Wagers, watching Wall-E (Wah wah wah), cooking up delicious food and playing some snow football.

A nice layer of snow buildup on top of the fence

Nothing more amazing than a new coat of fresh snow on your windshield...

...and a fresh dog paw-print on the snow

Yup, our poochies are spoiled:
Bonnie with her red Beag-coat and Sally with her purple Furberry-coat

The Chou Family Photo

Bonnie layered on a waterproof raincoat over the red Beag-coat.

Bonnie sinking into deep snow

Great shot Newt! I love Sally's unconditional love!

Known as a "Torpedo" in the water, Sally is known as "Snow Mobile" in the snow! We love her Bunny ears!

One of our favorite pictures of Sally! Look at her eyes!

As always, Andy messes with Sally by putting as much stuff on her as possible.
Sally, as usual, does not seem to mind.

Steve purchased a new pair of snow boots. His shoe is 1.5x bigger than Newt's!

Andy going airborne!

Brandon doing a Zoolander while diving for his football.

On our ride home from Tahoe.

A Brand New Hair-do For A Brand New Year!

2009-01-08T18:16:00.000-08:00

Jenny cut her hair to welcome the new year.She donated her hair for a great cause to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. Check out her new do!

The Before-After length comparison

After the initial chop, which took 2 minutes, the poor hairstylist spent the next hour cutting and styling Jenny's thick hair.

Jenny was quite impressed with how light and flouncy her hair became that she did a twirl for me.

Little Hannah Banana

2008-12-30T07:29:00.001-08:00

In life, there are certain people/things/places or sounds/imagery that often trigger one's memory of a specific period of time. Like listening to an old fobby tune that accompanied me during my long hours of studying at college, or seeing a picture of the Rialto Bridge and bringing me back to our honeymoon.

Well, little Hannah Lo (that's right, she is one of us!) has always brought back memories of our wedding day and reminds me of how long Jenny and I have been married. Hannah was born within the week after our wedding. It was a great week for the "Lo family"! =) I still remember seeing Jean (Hannah's mom) on our wedding day, almost unable to attend as she was about to give birth. Little Hannah is now 3 1/2 years old and that means I've been married for 3 1/2 years. Wow, it feels like yesterday when we said "I Do", and when little Hannah was born.

It was a special treat this SoCal trip to be able to hang out with friends. Typically, we head down to SoCal for a wedding and that's pretty much it. But this time, we were able to meet up with Jean, Tony and little Hannah.

I took several candid shots of Hannah. It's nothing compares to the ones Jean takes, as I am often in awe of her shots.

Daddy's little girl

Yes, she is watching Snoopy. What did you expect, Mickey Mouse?

I dug this photo from my vault. Here is a shot of the Lo's and Steven on our wedding day.

Here is a shot of Hannah the weekend we picked up Sally last year.

Santa Paws is Coming to Town

2008-12-29T12:40:00.000-08:00

This year, Santa Paws (a.k.a. Sally) took her reindeer to SoCal to spend Christmas with Grandpa and Grandma Paws. It's always been an assumption that Santa Paws drives the sleigh, but this Santa Paws slept the entire drive and relinquished the driving duties to her Red-Nosed Papa Paws and Uncle Paws.

It was quite a windy drive and a dangerous one, to say the least. There were numerous tumbleweeds rolling along the I-5 and dodging these tumbleweeds in the rain was no easy feat. We ended up smashing one and cracked the grill on the Mazda sleigh.

Going home means delicious home-cooked food and this year was no exception! From the famous peanut tofu to hearty chicken soup, Mom's home cooking is Yum-O.

The Mazda sleigh after the tumbleweed. Eeeks.

Santa Paws enjoying her beauty sleep!

I think Santa Paws ate too many cookies in 2008: her Santa suit was a bit more snug compared to previous year's. It looks like 2009's resolution will be to lose some more pounds.

Santa Paws is pondering her Naughty-or-Nice List.

Peanuts Christmas Tree

The acclaimed peanut-tofu. Andy ate 4 pieces!

The real egg roll! Andy helped make this.

Santa Paws borrowed Uncle Paws' sunglasses to block off the glare on the drive home.

The Messer becomes the Messee

2008-12-21T17:36:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, my coworkers decorated my cube with the Little Mermaid theme for my 30th birthday. As promised in my blog entry, I turned the table on Kelly this week and we decorated her cube in a scary Pirate theme. We felt that Pirates are a fitting representation of Kelly. She casts fear on people; sometimes even our boss is scared of her. Being in Finance, money and treasures are no stranger to her. And best of all, Kelly loves to shoot things (like her Nerf gun), so we gave her a pirate gun along with her decorations. Ironically, I am typically on the receiving end of her shooting. =(

Here's Birthday Pirate Kelly!

The Finance group working the mustaches and patches!

Baby Ryan

2008-12-21T17:14:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks, Newt, Brandon and I have been doing a lot of camera talk. Well, mostly Newt and Brandon have been doing the research, and I've just been reading up on their LOOOOONG email exchanges.

Last weekend, I was able to borrow my friend's Canon 1D-Mark II camera for a test drive. It's a full frame camera that professionals use. What better way to test out the camera than with a super cute subject, BABY RYAN! We had dim sum with the Kwans and I quickly took advantage of the opportunity to do some baby shooting.

For those that have been following our blog for a while, do you notice any difference in the picture quality?

Security is holding tightly to your mom's finger.

I love this shot of grandpa playing with grandson.

Uncle Billy loves Baby Ryan

A Trio of Birthday Boys!

2008-12-21T16:50:00.001-08:00

Last Friday, Andy, Billy and Newt celebrated their birthdays with great friends. Shirin and Steve opened up their house for the celebration and even cooked up a delicious BBQ for all of us to enjoy! Thanks everyone for a wonderful party!

The beagle mothers!

Shirin enjoying her burger

Billy and Audrey

Jenny and Brandon

Harsha and Audrey

Andy holding his half-eaten chicken wing and chatting with Dan

Great form Harsha! You just forgot to hit the ball!

My Photo-buddies!

Jolene

Steve is luckiest man alive: a beer in one hand, Shirin in the other!

The Lo twins: do we look alike?

Tired after all the festivities, Dodger found a nice lap to lay on.

Sean shared his miracle berry with the group so that everything tasted sweet.

Here is Jenny enjoying a lemon.

Here is Jolene showing off the miracle!

I think the miracle wore off, look at Jolene's face!

OH NO! The BIG 3-0

2008-12-10T23:49:00.000-08:00

I knew it was going to come back and bite me. To help celebrate my 30th birthday, my coworkers decorated my cube with an "Under The Sea Party" theme, with Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian everywhere. There were Ariel streamers, Giant 3-0 Balloons, an Arial Pez dispenser, Confetti, etc. Why Little Mermaid you ask? Well, this was a result of me singing "Part Of This World" during our LA training last month. Yes, we have gotten too close and I have let my guard down.

NOTE TO SELF (Don't let anyone know I love to sing)

So for the rest of the day, Maggie (my boss) called me Mermaid whenever she needed me. As a die-heart Zoolander Fan, I responded with "MERMAN"!

My group likes to mess with me (well, I get them back quite a lot too).

Look at my long hair in the back picture.

Lisa baked carrot cupcakes for me. They were delicious!

The two culprits: Lisa and Kelly. Kelly is turning 30 in 2 weeks. Wait till you see what we'll do to her cube.

Once a Fob, always a Fob!

2008-12-10T23:22:00.000-08:00

It's been a couple of hectic weeks. No, no, I wasn't busy preparing for a big Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year. Instead, I spent my Thanksgiving celebrating with SAM HUI (I'd like to refer him as the founder of Canto-Pop!) My family and I (excluding Jenny 'cause she isn't cool enough to be a Fob) drove to Reno and sang the night away while Sam serenaded us with his best hits of the 70s and 80s. Yes, he is old. He is practically ancient in the HK showbiz world. But what did you expect from a founder.

During this trip, I also observed the special characteristics of a Fob. I mean, how can I spot a Fob 5 miles away?

Here is my top 5 list of how to spot a Fob:

1) When us Fobs travel to a foreign place, we'll still be eating Chinese food.
2) Of course, us Fobs love to take pictures. So you'll be able to find a camera within our arms' reach.
3) When being photographed, we like to do our "V" sign.
4) Especially in Reno/Vegas, we Fobs love buffets!
5) And of course, our fobby accent gives us all away in a second.

If you think of any, let me know. I'll validate it.

We prepared ourselves for the concert by listening to his music during the car ride.

Here is Peppermill's new Sports Book. Every table had a TV. No wonder the casino industry is going through bankrupcy.

Yes, we found Chinese food before our concert.

Here is my mom posing with her concert ticket.

To doubly show off my fobbiness, I held up two "V" signs!

Sam also plays lots of instruments (Drums, Piano, Guitar) He is playing drums on the big screen.

Who said there isn't any English in a Fobby canto-concert!?!?!

And of course you can guess what song they were singing!

It was a bright and fiery night...

2008-11-25T21:48:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday, we had some friends over for Hot Pot and almost burned our house down. In the midst of setting up the gas stoves, we weren't aware that the butane gas was leaking. When I attempted to start the fire, BA BOOM! Thank God there wasn't any bodily injury (except for Andy's arm hair) or damage to the house. It could have gone a whole lot worse.

The aftermath of the explosion. Check out the plastic table cover!

Julie, Noelle, Shirley and Jenny were making beignets. Yum!

My ride to work...

2008-11-25T20:24:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to blog about my ride to work. Everyday as I drive to Mountain View, I pass by a brand new Google soccer field. This field is about a couple of months old and I still remember the first week when the field was complete, there were 20-30 geese enjoying their new home. Of course that wasn't the intent of the field. Then one day, out of nowhere, I saw this monster-sized rodent and no geese! It caught my eyes that I had to do a double-take. Then I thought to myself - ah, UNAGI (quote from Friends)

The Google Soccer Field - Can you smell that fresh grass?

There were two giant rodents!

It looks quite real! I was a bit scared when I was snapping this photo.
b

I also love to drive through my company's business complex, especially during fall when red leaves are everywhere. Who needs to go to the east coast to witness fall foliage.

Congrats to Susan and Gilbert!

2008-11-12T07:59:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, Jenny and I attended Susan and Gilbert's wedding down in SoCal. Susan was Jenny's optometry roommate during her last two years in school. It's always a treat for Jenny to catch up with all her friends during these wedding gatherings.

Susan is a passionate coffee drinker (one of my kind) and every time I think of Susan, I think of coffee. It didn't surprise me that there were several elaborate coffee tables at her wedding with lots of coffee amenities (Torino syrups, chocolate chips, whipped cream, etc.) Good call Susan!

Here are some of Jenny's friends from Optometry school.

The reception was held at the historic Public Library in Redondo Beach.

The renowned photographer, Andrea Dong-Chiu, was on hand to help us snap a photo. Or wait, is it Andrea Chiu-Dong. We had a discussion about whether she prefers her last name first or Mike's first. Obviously I wasn't paying attention. =P To give proper credit, I watermarked the photos with both names. Maybe she can leave a comment to clear this up once and for all.

Because the wedding reception was at the Library, it was a brilliant touch to use library checkout cards as guest seating cards. Quite honestly, I haven't seen a libary checkout cards in ages.

The couple got their groove on as they entered the reception.

A New Beanie for a New Baby!

2008-11-10T10:19:00.000-08:00

During our road trip to Oregon, Jenny was knitting during our entire car ride. What she was knitting was a little beanie for our new baby nephew. She completed the gift just in time for Baby Ryan's 100 days celebration. Good job Jenny!

We used Uno as our model for an almost-completed beanie.

Here is Sylvia listening to a Baby Snoopy that plays a baby lullaby when you pull Snoopy's tail. It's Baby Ryan's first official Snoopy! Yes, we are spreading the Snoopy love!

Here is the Kwan Family posing with the new Snoopy and the beanie. Can you tell that Baby Ryan is really interested in Snoopy?

Isn't He Adorable!

2008-11-02T08:45:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I haven't blogged about my baby nephew! We just celebrated Baby Ryan's 100-days old party at Hokkaido Seafood Restaurant, a typical Chinese celebration. Ryan is a super cute baby with lots of facial expressions.

Here are some pictures from the party:

Hokkaido Seafood Restuarant - San Mateo

Baby Ryan chillin in his stroller.

Grandpa with grandson!

Uncle Billy and Grand Aunt with Baby Ryan

You can tell Billy has the baby fever!

This shot was taken by Newt. I love it. Great shot Newt!

Grandpa had Baby Ryan's picture on his cell phone background. I had Sally's. =P

Of course, what's a Chinese baby celebration without Red Eggs!

Kobe and Elphie and Mickey! Oh, my!

2008-10-31T21:58:00.000-07:00

It's not hard to explain how cool my job is and how fun my coworkers are. My team and I headed to SoCal last weekend for some boring Finance Training (GAAP refresher and Sales/Use Tax) and some fun watching a Lakers game, Wicked (the musical), and hanging out with Mickey at the Disneyland and California Adventure.

I haven't been to Disneyland in about 20 years simply because I am not a big roller coaster fan. But being with my co-workers, I had to act tough. So I gutted it out and rode The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, and the Matterhorn. If they tell you that I screamed like a girl, I was just trying to fit in (all my coworkers are female).

Also, even though I was against Disney acquiring Pixar, I was glad to see how much of an imprint Pixar's characters have on today's Disneyland. One of my favorite rides during this visit was Toy Story Mania. It's a 3D ride where you compete against your partner by shooting objects on a screen. Of course I let Jenny win. =P

Here are some photos from the trip.

Here is my coworker Kelly answering a question from the instructor. As you can tell by my face, I am not buying it one bit!

The Wicked playbill

View from inside California Adventure

During the Halloween season, Disneyland is decorated with thousands of pumpkins. At the entrance, all of the characters are made of pumpkin. Jenny liked how Minnie's bows leaf-shaped.

Candy Corn Acres

Candy corn carrots!

Birds of Paradise

As a spoof, I told my boss's husband that Kobe sat next to us. He was bummed he didn't know we went to a Lakers game.

Souffle for dessert. Can't go wrong with that!

Sun setting beyond the Mickey Mouse roller coaster. I took this shot while my friends were searching for our car in the parking lot for 10 minutes.

Night time outside California Adventure

The fireworks show at Disneyland

Traditionally, I like to end my photobooks with a shadow shot. Because my boss and her husband weren't around for the shot, I decided to go with the Disney theme:

"Honey, I shrunk my boss!" =P

Road Trip to Oregon

2008-10-29T08:56:00.001-07:00

Wow, it's been several weeks since I've last blogged. A road trip to Oregon and a business trip to Disneyland =) isn't too shabby of a way to spend the last two weeks.

Oregon is a beautiful GREEN state and if you get a chance, I really recommend you to drive. Portland is about a 10-12 hrs drive from the Bay Area depending on the number of viewpoints you stop along the way. =P Here are some of my favorite shots of Oregon!

We left the house around 4 am (my usual time) and took off.

How can you go on a road trip without stopping off at McDonald's?

Thanks to Billy, my iTouch was loaded with movies. Here is Daniel Craig in Casino Royale.

We stayed in this beautifully decorated boutique hotel (Ace Hotel) in Portland.

Here is the main lobby of the hotel. Those couches were comfy!

This was on our way to Tillamook. The fall season brings such colorful landscapes.

One of my favorite autumn shots.

We stopped by a petting farm and for some reason, I really like this shot of the turkeys. Maybe because Thanksgiving is coming up.

Some say spooky, we say Snoopy!

2008-10-11T08:51:00.000-07:00

Halloween is supposed to be spooky. People decorate their homes/offices with skulls, ghosts, witches ....i.e. spooky things!

Just look at what my Finance team did to our office!

I did 0.5% of the decorations. That's why it looks so nice!

As a spoof, I added my co-worker's eyes to the skull. Mu ha ha!

But at the Lo's home, Halloween is about decorating with Snoopy things. Well, not just Halloween. There's also Thankgiving, Christmas, Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, Spring Training, Back to School . . . well, you get the point. The Lo's decorate all of the holidays with Snoopy things.

We just retired the summer Baseball Snoopy decorations for the year and rolled out the Halloween sets.

The Dracula Snoopy's arms move up and Dracula Woodstock reveals himself. Then Snoopy giggles. Probably one of our favorites in the Snoopy Collection.

The Root Cause

2008-10-11T08:34:00.000-07:00

So Jenny and I have been pondering why Chunky Monkey (a.k.a Sally) has gained 15% of her weight since her last vet visit. Being trained as an engineer (ha ha, I laugh every time I see that on my resume. Let's be honest here, I ain't no engineer. Just ask my friends.), I decided to solve this mystery by retracing our steps to understand what really is the root cause. That's right, we are doing a root-cause analysis on Sally's weight gain. Though this may sound like a major effort, it really wasn't and the analysis was quickly completed when we visited Sally's treat pantry. She has lots of treats. Lots!

Aside from her extensive treat assortments, Sally's weight gain is also probably contributed by her lack of exercise. If you have seen her photobook, you'll probably notice that more than 25% of her pictures were in a sleeping/laying/curled up position. (She sleeps in her tent, lays out in the dog park, or curls up in her poang chair, to name a few.)

So what we have done in the last week is less treats and more exercise. Hopefully during her next vet visit (which is soon since we haven't visited the vet for the past two weeks), she'll be back to her slimmer self.

Teagan's Celebration of Life

2008-10-03T14:52:00.000-07:00

I was honored to help my friend Phil take pictures of his daughter's celebration of life last week. She recently passed from her two-year battle with leukemia. She has been a tough little girl even through this difficult journey and has really inspired many of us to live life to its fullest. My friend and his family have also taught me a lot about love, family, and sacrifice.

The life celebration event took place at Nestldown in Los Gatos. It's a beautiful, peaceful place with amazing landscapes. The day was filled with a number of emotions, from sadness to laughter, from emptiness to hope, and from discouragement to inspiration. Though Teagan has left us, her courageous story will stay with us forever.

Phil and his wife have been training to participate in an endurance event (100-mile bike ride) as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. The Team In Training is raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. If you are interested to support Phil's mission, please visit http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/solvFnst08/ppesta and donate for a great cause.

Shirin's "29 Again" Fondue Party

2008-10-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

It's hard to say goodbye, especially to something that we know we'll never see again. That's really what we, as 29-year-olds, are now struggling with these days. Yes, yes, I know. For those of you that are older than 30, you must be rolling your eyes and thinking to yourself "Come on, quit crying like a baby and come over to this side of the fence." And for those of you that are still under 30 (ahem, Stevo), please enjoy your 20's. It's an age where we can do a lot of stupid, meaningless but fun things without feeling guilty and irresponsible. That's our right, privilege or excuse for being in our 20's.

Shirin is the first victim of our Class of 2001 to turn 30 and in our state of denial, we celebrated her "29th birthday" again. Jolene and Neil opened up their home to a fun-filled fondue party. We had delicious food, drinks, desserts and lovely music to drown away the sad, but inevitable reality of turning 30.

One of the many fondue pots we had running

Chicken apple sausage and sourdough bread

The dessert table (grapes, apples, strawberries, peaches and pound cake)

The birthday girl trying to eat her shrimp as fast as possible.

Look at Steve eyeing Sumati's potato

Sean was working all night =)

Lots of people came to celebrate Shirin's birthday, including her parents.

Steve surprised Shirin with 4 tubs of her favorite Baskin Robbins mint chocolate chip ice cream. Steve doesn't even like ice cream. Well played Steve, well played.

4 tubs of Baskin Robbins. Nice!

Steve was serving the ice cream to Shirin's mom and almost dropped it on her lap.

Brandon really likes ice cream. He is going to hit me because of this picture.

The guitars came out and we were treated to beautiful music

Jolene smiled as she gets ready to sing us a song.

Jolene strumming her guitar.

Sumati also sang for us.

Neil, trying to convince us he has super-elastic powers by flicking his hand and making snapping noises as his finger hit his palm.

In his next act, Neil tried to convince us he can dilate his pupil voluntarily.

Twins are the best!

2008-09-24T07:34:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine just found out that she is having twins! I was excited for her, but she was surprisingly quite overwhelmed! The thought of doubling everything (diapers, stroller, clothing, feeding schedule and CRYING, just to name a few) can be pretty daunting. Also, when major life events happen, major life style changes will inevitably follow. This begs the question, are we ready for this change? This led me to wonder how my parents were able to do it, while at the same time raising a 3 yr old and a 5 yr old.

To cheer up my friend on this exciting news (can you tell that I am a bit biased...), I sent her a few of my baby pictures with Billy. Having twins is a photographer's dream and I can’t wait to help do a baby shoot for her. Can you tell who’s Billy and who’s me in these pictures?

I guess at the end of the day, we will always find time to do what we love most. So, when life changes, we’ll find ways to navigate and thrive.

Mid-Autumn Festival - "Moon Festival"

2008-09-20T16:37:00.000-07:00

Each year, Chinese people get together to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. When I was a kid in Hong Kong, my parents would take us to the store to pick out our favorite lanterns. We would light them up and watch them glow and compete with the brightness of the moon.

Recently at the Lo's, we would cut some moon cakes, drink some tea and enjoy the brightest, fullest moon of the year. This year, we celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival with me wrapping over 100 dumplings. I saw Bobby Flay's Season 4's Throwdown with Sohui Kim on Dumplings and was inspired to make some for the celebration. The secret ingredient for Sohui Kim's dumplings was tofu as it provides softness to the stuffing, giving it more juice. However, after tasting them, I liked them without tofu because it took away the texture of the stuffing (normally just pork and cabbage). I also made dumplings stuffed with shitake mushroom and shrimp, and those turned out well.

A tray of fresh dumpling, Yum-O!

Steven helped pan fry the dumplings. Look at the nicely crusted dumpling bottoms!

Here is a photo of the moon under the Foster City sky taken by Brandon with his Telephoto lens. Do you see "the woman"?

1 for Sally, 25 for Joanne

2008-09-20T09:33:00.001-07:00

A couple weekends ago, my friend from work graciously let us borrow her house in Tahoe, and a bunch of friends drove up and celebrated Sally's 1yr Anniversary as a "Lo" and Joanne's "25th" birthday. The house had a huge backyard for the doggies to run around and was perfectly located with beaches 10 minutes away! So we spent our weekend swimming with the dogs, playing lake football, and relaxing in the evening with a delicious BBQ of bacon-wrapped scallops, tri-tips, chicken, and yummy cupcakes from Carol. Newt and Steven also participated in a 72 mile bike ride around Tahoe. Whew, I get tired just by typing that sentence!

Sally's friends came and celebrated with her and Jenny prepared some doggie treats party favors for all of Sally's guests. Also, I surprised Jenny with a photobook of Sally Wally (her nickname) and her one year with us.

Eggs and Sausages...Breakfast time!

The house had a beautiful deck in the back for eating.

Joanne finishing up the rest of the Cheetos!

Sally getting teased by Andy with a dog treat.

Bonnie was another victim.

Sally and her beagle pals

Nothing better than basking in the sun with your cousin.

The poochies enjoyed an afternoon swim in the lake. Well, really only Brody and Dodger did. The torpedo (Sally) and Bonnie jetted back to shore immediately.

Brody, show me what's in your mouth!

Andy messing with Sally again, with rocks on her back. Sally the Stegosaurus dinosaur!

Carol's scrumptious mango cupcakes!

Joanne received the same musical Peanuts birthday card three times, including one from Newt!

The Lo's posing with the Photobook.

After a fun weekend, it's time for lazy Sally to get her beauty sleep.

Sally's Love for the Vet

2008-09-16T14:25:00.001-07:00

Sally's Blog Entry...

"Some of my friends like to go to the park, others like the beach. For me, I like to go to the Vet. That's right, you heard it. I like to go to the Vet!

Since I've joined my new family last year, my dad's already taken me to see my vet 5 times. First, there was the initial checkup. I was nervous at first, considering this was my first visit. But once I saw the bowl of treats at the counter, I felt right at home. Then I had an UTI (urinary tract infection) in Winter. Those were some painful moments. My parents left me for two weeks in the Spring to go scuba diving in Thailand and I had really bad allergies. I had my second UTI soon after that. And if that wasn't enough, I just came back from my vet, diagnosed with anal sacculitis, an infection in my anal glands. =(

That's just great. Because of this, now I have to wear a diaper. That's right, it's even a puppy diaper. I ain't no puppy. At least my dad bought me a denim version to restore some of my dignity.

Here is a picture of me defending my tent with my stupid denim on. How am I suppose to look tough against my intruders with this diaper on? Remember my previous stance without the diaper? I looked more fierce!

To help me feel better about myself, my dad took me out to paddleboard surf. I think my dad is trying too hard to make me feel tougher; I mean, look how big I am compared to Dad and Brandon.

Oh yeah, speaking of big, my vet said I need to lose some pounds. I am 15% heavier since my last visit. No wonder people call me chunky monkey. Good grief..."

Sally Videos

2008-09-01T11:08:00.001-07:00

Crazy Sally on Command

Sally the Torpedo

Dirt Ball

White Water Rafting on the American River - South Fork

2008-08-23T09:50:00.003-07:00

If you think you have clicked into someone else's blog, you are wrong. The Lo's DID camp and go white water rafting in the same month.

We went white water rafting on the American River with Jenny's optometry friends. Thanks Julie for organizing the trip! Most of us had never gone rafting before and we had a great time! We camped near the river the night before the rafting. Considering that we camped the weekend before, we decided to be ghetto and sleep in Billy's Prius. It was the best sleep we've had on campgrounds in two weeks.

Other campsite with LOTS of tents. Hopefully there were no snorers!

Tree Falling! Look Out!

Big chess pieces. It reminds us of Santana Row.

Relaxed and dry before rafting

Ready for rafting. Poor Julie hurt her back so she couldn't go rafting :(

The Raging River

Sung and Jenny posing during calm waters.

The other raft also posing for a group shot.

Andy and Jenny

Jenny and Shirley helping Andy out of the water after his practice fall.

Relaxing in the water

Pretty view

Tired but happy after a day of rafting!

Videos to come soon!

Lakes Basin/Sierra City Camping

2008-08-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

We spent a fun filled weekend camping at Lakes Basin/Sierra City. For the first time, Sally got in the water and she hated it! With her stubby legs, you'd think that it would take her forever to get to shore, but she was like a torpedo!. Check out her swimming video below.

Lazy as a log...

I love the outdoors! Basking in the sun is my favorite thing to do.

I wanted that hammock. Oh well, I'll settle with this chair instead.

Ah, finally!

Classic beagle calendar shot.

Jenny and Sally demonstrating the sit command.

Heading over to a nearby lake.

The scenary was just spectacular!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this is the picture of why I want a Golden as my next dog.

Brandon transporting the cooler with the paddle board.

Andy transporting the Log with the paddle board

If I look concerned to you, that's because I am. Stop mistaking me for a golden or a lab. I am a PURE BEAGLE!

Ah, back to my specialty, sniffing for food! Let's see, what's for dinner?

Hot dogs sound delicious!

Family shot.

It's nice and cool in my tent. This reminds me of my tent at home.

Videos to come soon!

It's her ears. It always has been...

2008-07-29T20:47:00.000-07:00

It's unquestionable that Beagles' charm comes from their floppy ears. That's really what makes them special and unique. I love Sally's ears because not only are they floppy, but they also hold up when you flip them over. During this weekend, I decided to play with her floppy ears and see how many different pictures I could take with her ears. The funny thing is that she didn't even move an inch doing this game!

Cozumel, Cancun and Isla Holbox - Recap

2008-07-25T15:22:00.001-07:00

We spent a good 8 days traveling south to Cozumel, Cancun and Isla Holbox where we dove, snorkled and drank lots of cervezas. Many of you are probably thinking to yourself "didn't they just come back from Thailand?" Well, we love to travel. For me, traveling lets me enjoy two of my passions, eating and photography. I am starting to wonder if scuba diving is becoming another reason for traveling... =)

This trip is unlike many others that Jenny and I have taken in that we really had no idea what we were going to do. Joanne did all of the trip planning and Jenny and I just joined in the last minute. We knew we would be diving in Cozy, snorkling with whale sharks in Holbox, and madly searching for a beagle named Tux in a Holbox grocery store, but that's about it. So it was a nice treat to be able to go with the flow and soak it all in without any expectation.

Kudos to Joanne and her great trip planning skills 'cause we had an awesome time. The dive shop in Cozumel was super friendly (they even gave Andy bigger air tanks because he was always the first to run out of air), the beaches in Cancun were spectacular, and our hotel in Holbox (Posada Mawimbi) was second to none. Maybe going forward, Joanne should just plan all of our trips and keep us on our toes or fins.

Since I've posted my pictures through Ofoto, I figured I'd highlight some of the pictures that I really liked during this trip.

This is the VillaBlanca Pier in Cozumel, right across the street from our hotel. We took a nice stroll to this pier after dinner. One of my favorite times to take pictures is right after sunset. The colors are just incredibly rich.

Being able to take photos under water has really allowed me to enjoy scuba diving even more. I love this shot because the fish looks like torpedoes swimming by.

One of the main reasons we went to Holbox was to snorkel with the whale sharks. It was really an amazing experience. They are the largest fish in the ocean, but luckily for us, they only eat plankton and krill. You have no idea how excited I was when this whale shark started heading towards me. After a long 2+ hour choppy boat ride search for this massive creature, and tossing over several cookies along the way, this picture has made it all worth it. This is by far the biggest sea animal I've see.

I am a huge fan of shadow shots. Every photobook that I've made, I've always end it with a shadow shot of Jenny and me holding hands entitled "love is walking hand in hand" (our wedding theme). For this coming book, it'll be this shot and the title will be "love is scootering together, street to street."

Doesn't this look like a Corona commercial? This is from Mawimbi beach where we relaxed on hammocks.

Of course, sunsets are a photographer's dream. I love the sun's gradients in this shot.

Besides pictures, we captured some videos during the trip. Here are a few highlights..

Here is a video of our night dive where our dive guide picked up an octopus and tried to show it to us.

Here is a video of the nurse shark swimming by.

Here is a video of the giant whale shark.

Here is a video of Newt performing a 360 degree flip in mid-water!

Here is a video of Jenny doing a 270 degree back-flip during her safety stop.

Here is a video of Joanne doing a backflip. She did so well until the last second.

Here is a video of us at the Columbia dive site. This dive contains mostly swim-thrus where we swim in and out of big giant boulders. You can see from the video that the guy in front of me kept kicking me with his fins 'cause it was such a tight swim-thru.

Here is a clip of me back rolling into the water. I had trouble during this entry because I lost my left fin. You'll see in the video that I was struggling and at the 18th sec of this video, you'll see my bare foot!

Filoli Garden

2008-07-05T23:12:00.000-07:00

The weather was beautiful on Saturday and what better way to enjoy it then to visit a flower garden. We visited the Filoli Center (Fight, Love, Live) with the Chou and the Lee family. Though spring time would have been a better season for flowers, there were still plenty of pretty flowers to see.

Here are some of the pictures Andy took during our visit:

The Lo's, Lee's and Chou's.

The group was excited to find Andy who was always lagging behind.

The door knob of one of the entrance gates.

The plants were very friendly.

One of our favorite shots of the day.

Lavender garden

4th of July BBQ

2008-07-05T23:11:00.000-07:00

One of the great American traditions that we particularly enjoy is the celebration of our Independence Day with a barbeque. This year, we invited five sets of families to join us for some good grubbing (The Lo's, The Kwan's, The Lee's, The Chou's and The Li's.) We also got a chance to celebrate Jenny's mom and Newt's mom's birthdays. Happy Birthday!

We had a wide variety of foods, from Teriyaki Salmon, Tandoori Chicken, to Korean BBQ Tri-Tip, and Peanut-Sauce Noodles. For dessert, we had fruit salad, a delicious cake and an attempt on a chocolate fountain.

After dinner, we strolled over to Leo J Ryan park to watch the Foster City Fireworks.

Newt and Joanne loading some corn onto the grill

Andy setting up his charcoal.

We almost had "Smoked Steven" for dinner.

The Big Kids' table.

The Young Adults' table.

The birthday cake for Mrs. Chou and Mrs. Lee

The mothers were pleasantly surprised.

Fireworks along the lagoon

Happy Birthday Jenny!

2008-06-30T19:21:00.000-07:00

We had a great Sunday celebrating Jenny's 29th Birthday at Tomales Bay Oyster Company. There was great food, great friends and great fun for the doggies. Tomales Bay is known for its oyster farms and we enjoyed some raw and barbecued oysters!

Here is the evite invitation to the party:

Master Chef Sally manning the grill

Tomales Bay Oyster Company

Look at those oysters! YUM!

Here's what we bought: 50 Large Oysters, 12 Very Small Oysters and 25 Clams

Billy showing us how to shuck an oyster!

Oysters on the grill

This was not a posed shot. That's how Brandon looked before eating his first raw oyster.

Brandon, the Lee sisters, and the yummy tri tip on the grill!

Teriyaki Salmon

Our Picnic Area

The Grill Master (Steven) at work with his Sous Grill Master (Shirin)

The S Group (Sean, Steve, Shirin, Shea)! They were missing Shirley, Sung, Steven, and Sally.

Sung and Eric catching up.

Newt and Joanne having a good time.

Joanne made Cherry Chocolate Birthday Cupcakes for Jenny! There were de-li-cious!

Jenny wearing her new apron (Beagle hair adds Flavor) from Julie and Eric.

Jenny posing with Andrea and her new green top.

That's right, it's the Edge Brownie Pan! No more fighting for the edges thanks to Joanne.

The dogs enjoyed their outing at Tomales Bay.

Julie giving a treat to Cocoa while Dodger looks on.

Bonnie was brave enough to explore the water!

I've got the stick - come and chase me!

It's my stick, not yours! Mine!

Sally got a bit dirty chasing the doggies around.

Talk about dirty: Brody = Dirty!

Our own Beaglefest

2008-06-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

The hot weather coupled with a long drive were great reasons to bypass this month's Beaglefest in Sausalito. Instead, we took the pooches to Fort Funston for a relaxing stroll along the beach where we met six other beagles! There were quite a few dog chases amongst our girls and of course Bonnie was in the middle of every one. As we walked back to our car, Bonnie was exhausted and we thought that papa Newt would have to carry her!

Arrow leading the chase, Bonnie is the middle of every chase (literally), and Sally (chunky monkey) catches up.

Two against one, though my bet is still on Sally.

Arrow likes to stop mid-chase and lay down on the sand. Sally wasn't done with the chasing and howls at Arrow to get up.

Look at Sally's face...it's hilarious (she's mid-wiggle)!

Bonnie loves playing with toys that we decided to have her carry one. She enjoyed practicing her soccer skills.

At the end of the trail, Bonnie was glad to drink some water.

Arrow, Bonnie and Sally hung out on Sunday and pretty much laid around the pup tent. Except for Sally, the other two dogs aren't fans of confined spaces and so they just sprawled out on the carpet instead of in the tent

The Three Amigos showing off their "down" positions

Looks like Sally is smiling

Wait... 5 beagles?!? Oh, they were just joined by Uno and Mini-me

3 Years Anniversary!

2008-06-22T17:32:00.000-07:00

Jenny and I just celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary this past week!! I borrowed little Sally to help me deliver Jenny's anniversary gift (see pictures below). As mentioned in the previous blog, Sally didn't mind at all having a box tied to her collar. It was Jenny's first Tiffany (Sniffany for Sally's world) jewelry and she loved it! She has worn it nonstop, even to sleep!

We spent our night eating sushi at Mutsu and watching Kung Fu Panda at the San Mateo theaters. The food was delicious, very authentic. We especially enjoyed the chawan mushi, quite comparable to Kirala in Berkeley. The service was a bit slow and there wasn't much of an ambiance to the place. But if you are snobby about your Japanese food, Mutsu is a good place to go. Kung Fu Panda was good. Jenny really liked Po the Panda. There were some very funny scenes but also some cheesy scenes. All in all, it was a great night.

We extended our celebration by having dinner at Chez Panisse this Saturday. We got a gift certificate from Steven as our wedding gift and what a better way to use the gift certificate than to celebrate our anniversary. We had very high expectations for Chez Panisse and maybe it was a bit too high. The food was excellent, definitely in the realm of fine dining. Yet, it didn't blow us away as we had hoped. Maybe we are just too spoiled living in the Bay Area.

Do I have a blue box around my neck?

Jenny putting on her necklace.

Jenny posing with her gift.

A monkey on her back, guarding her home and a Beagle meetup: what a weekend!

2008-06-15T16:31:00.000-07:00

Sally has always been very tolerant of everything that we've put on her: the Bee-gle outfit and the Snoopy costume for Halloween; Santa Paws for Christmas; and even Daisy (the bunny) to name a few. She's never been stressed out or embarrassed by the costumes/animals that we put on her. So we knew she wouldn't mind if we put a monkey on her back, literally. The Anaheim Angel's popular Rally Monkey has now become Sally's chew toy. The monkey has velcro on its limbs, making it easy to strap around little Sally.

Get this monkey off my back!

Sally loves her tent so much that she has abandoned her hound dog mentality and has adopted a guard dog mindset. Here she is showing off her "Begging" trick.

No one gets into the tent without getting through me first!

And finally, the weekend ended with a nice Beagle Meetup at the Foster City Dog Park. Arrow and Bonnie came over and the three amigas headed to the park.

There were over 25 beagles at the meetup. Bonus points if you can spot Sally, Bonnie and Arrow!

The girls with the girls.

Sally in the middle of the beagle pack.

Arrow basking in the sun at the dog park.

Bonnie staying out of the Bay Area heat under a chair.

A New Home for Sally and Delicious Crepes!

2008-06-03T21:51:00.000-07:00

No no, we did not give Sally up for adoption. We actually bought a new dog tent for Sally to hang out in during the day while we are at work. We bought the tent from the REI sale last month, and we finally set up the tent this weekend. Sally loves to lay out on the carpet and bask in the sun and we figure she'll have plenty of time during the day to enjoy a nice tan, and then relax in her tent when she gets hot!

Also this weekend, we made crepes for the first time! We had fresh blueberries and strawberries, and we melted some chocolate chips over the stove for the chocolate sauce, and made some whipped cream by beating some heavy cream. They were pretty easy to make, so I think we will have to make them again soon!

One Happy Dodger!

2008-05-31T07:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend proves that I am a trustworthy friend and a proven dog owner as I am now Dodger's emergency contact while Shirin and Steve are traveling. It got me started thinking about Dodger and how much he has grown this past year.

I still remember the first time I met Dodger, an innocent little pup that was no bigger than the size of my keyboard. He apparently ate some funky food that night 'cause he farted practically every 5 minutes. I think that's how his "stinky" nickname came about. And I specifically remember asking Steve, "Do dogs fart?"

Here are several pictures of Dodger that I dug out of my vault:

Dodger is probably one of the quickest learners I've met. It does help when he is a super food-motivated.

Fast-forward to this month and my favorite shot of Dodger. His expression is so genuine, and as you can see, he loves the beach.

Beagle Fun at Fort Funston!

2008-05-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

Jenny and I were able take Sally and Bonnie to Fort Funston last weekend. As you can see from pictures, the beagles had a blast chasing each other.

Sally chasing Bonnie

Bonnie chasing Sally

Flying toward the camera

Taking a break from climbing the stairs

Wow - such attention! The beagles must be focused on a treat.

Pooped after a day of fun

Bay Area Beagles Meetup - 4/27/08 San Bruno

2008-05-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

The Beagle group meets at least twice a month, one Sunday and one Saturday, traveling around the entire Bay Area. Sally and Bonnie were able to attend the Bay Area Beagles Meetup on 4/27/08. It was a beautiful day and 21 beagles showed up to the event. Being new members of the group, Sally and Bonnie definitely enjoyed meeting new friends.

Sally knows just where to stand for a picture

Jenny and Joanne posing with the smiling beagles.

Bonnie's Favorite Place - The Dog Park!

Stubby legs trying to get some water from the drinking fountain.

Bonnie's alone time.

Howling for friends to come over.

Cousin Sally heard Bonnie's howling and came running!

Let me smell your ears, just once!

It won't hurt, I promise!

First, the stare down!

Then, the howling!

Sally showing just happy she was to scare that puppy away!

Yawning or Sneezing... ?

Studies have shown that dogs like to mimic their owners. Here is a classic example of one of Andy's favorite activities.

A Day in the Life of San Francisco!

2008-05-04T00:23:00.000-07:00

Having lived in the Bay Area for over 20 years, I've often taken for granted just how beautiful San Francisco is. From the Golden Gate Bridge to the crooked Lombard Street, San Francisco has so much to offer.

Brandon and I have always wanted to make a Coffee Table Photobook of San Francisco titled "A Day in the Life of San Francisco." The concept came from the National Geographic Series of "A Day in the Life of ...." photobooks where a group of renowned photographers from around the world gather together for one day to capture the life of a country.

Well, here are several previews of our take on San Francisco...

Golden Gate Bridge - The symbol of San Francisco. This picture was taken on the hills of the Marin Headlands.

A Giant sculpture of Willie Mays stands tall in front of AT&T Park, Home of the San Francisco Giants.

A statue overseeing Alcatraz. This shot was taken at the base of the Coit Tower.

The windy road of Lombard Street, with Coit Tower, the Bay Bridge and the TransAmerica Building in the backdrop.

Light from the setting sun bounces off some Baker Beach homes.

A panoramic view of San Francisco taken from Treasure Island.

Thailand: From Elephants Mooning us in Chiang Mai to An Angry Triggerfish in the Similan Islands.

2008-05-03T23:57:00.000-07:00

We've heard so many great things about Thailand from all of our friends that we decided it was time to jump onto the bandwagon. And you know what, our friends weren't lying. We spent ten days in Thailand, visiting Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Phuket, Khao Lak and the Similan Islands off the coast of the Andaman Sea.

Here are some of the amazing sights we saw in Thailand. These pictures are worth a thousand words, and besides, I am not good with words. So if you want to know more about our trip, visit Snoopy's Crafts... =P

My favorite shot of the trip. It captured the peacefulness of the Elephant Nature Park.

Wrinkly Elephant

Elephants tend to hang out in groups. These three amigos enjoyed mooning us with their behinds. :)

It took us until our ninth and final dive to find Nemo. No wonder it took Marlin an entire movie to find him.

Angry Triggerfish

We didn't realize that we intruded into a triggerfish's nest. Their nests extend conically upward to the surface, which we learned in the pre-dive briefing. We just had no idea during the dive, that we were near its nest. You can see from this shot that this is one angry triggerfish ready to bite off Jenny's leg. Luckily for her, she had no idea how close it was until after the dive when we were looking at the photos.

Here's more info from wikipedia: A few of the triggerfish species can be quite aggressive during reproduction season. In particular Picasso triggerfish and titan triggerfish viciously defend their circular nests against any intruders, including scuba divers and snorkelers. Their territory extends in a cone shape from the nest to the surface, so swimming upwards puts one further into the fishes' territory. A horizontal swim away from the nest site is the most sensible course of action when confronted by an angry triggerfish. In contrast to the relatively small Picasso triggerfish, the titan triggerfish poses a serious threat to inattentative divers due to its large size and powerful teeth.

Ah, Iced Coffee in a bag. A unique take-away method. I loved it so much that I even asked for a take-away coffee while dining in.

Hong Kong

2008-05-03T23:18:00.001-07:00

Hong Kong is definitely one of the most unique places in the world. What I love most about Hong Kong is the skyline. Whether you are viewing Hong Kong from the Peak or along the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui, the sights are spectacular.

Here is the trail leading up to the Peak view of Hong Kong.

Panoramic view of Hong Kong

Scuba - Thought we'd never make it

2008-03-28T18:06:00.000-07:00

After days of practicing mask clearing, pressure equalizing and all other skills that I have already forgotten, we headed to Monterey for our certification run. The weather above water was clear and warm, just plain beautiful. But below water, it was murky and ice cold. Not the best place to enjoy scuba diving.

We survived our four certification dives with flying colors as it got colder and colder each dive. It could have been a lot worse if we didn't spend a gazillion $$ buying wet suits and booties. But all in all, we survived and Thailand, here we come.

Snorkel and mask in front of the Breakwater Cove

Trying to make sure Jenny understood my "Out of Air" signal

Jenny trying to mimic a sea otter

Enjoying dinner at the Cypress Inn Cafe

Spring is here!!!

2008-03-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

Nature has always captured the hearts and attention of photographers and Spring time is one of the best times to take flower shots. The sight of flowers beginning to bloom gives a refreshing start to the new year.

The Poang Chair

2008-01-22T21:29:00.001-08:00

Of all the dog accessories/toys that we have purchased for Sally, one of the best purchases has been the Ikea Poang chair. Not only does Sally loves the chair, Bonnie and Dodger are also big fans as well.

It doesn't matter if you are a big pup or a small dog, you'll find yourself curled up in a poang chair.

synchronized sleeping

Lake Tahoe

2008-01-22T21:15:00.001-08:00

We had a great time hanging out in Lake Tahoe this past weekend with our friends and doggies. It was funny to see Sally walking on snow because her stubby legs would just sink in the powdery snow every step she took.

We were lucky enough to have found an area by the lake that had an awesome sunset view. This was the true color of the scenery, no photoshop-edits.

Brandon went crazy and dove into the lake to catch a football. If you zoom in closer, he even had his "Bluesteel" face on.

Sally howls "Hooo Hooo Hooo! "

2008-01-07T20:28:00.000-08:00

Last year we hosted Thanksgiving, and so this year we hosted Christmas instead. We had a great Christmas celebration this year with the Lo family. Sally played "Santa Paws" and she was of course the crowd favorite.

Here is Santa Paws sitting in her sleigh.

We made our first ever Prime Rib. It was quite delicious and juicy.

We posed for a family photo before chowing down.

Afterwards, we enjoyed playing some Wii with our new TV.

Sally and the Bunnies

2007-12-11T20:09:00.001-08:00

Joanne and Newt are in Cancun this week and the Bunnies moved over to the Lo's. Being that Sally is very possessive of her Poang chair, she surprisingly didn't mind sharing her chair with Daisy.

Sally thinks: Something feels different on this chair. Can't put my paw on it just yet.

Ah, there is a bunny nudging my butt.

Good grief...

Now there is a white one, how many are there???

Domino reaching to give Sally a kiss.

Monterey and Carmel

2007-11-19T06:59:00.000-08:00

Jenny and I took Sally to Monterey/Carmel this weekend for a lil vacation. Actually, Jenny had to attend a Optometry conferences throughout the weekend. So really only Sally and I had a stress-free weekend.

Here is Sally peeking out the window, enjoying some of the Monterey breeze.

It was quite foggy this weekend. This picture of Monterey Beach pretty much captured the mood.

The Marina at Monterey.

Sally showing off her jumping skills.

This is Sally's typical "You ain't leaving without little old me, are you?"

At the beach, Sally enjoyed looking out to the horizon. She just didn't care much for the water.

Buddies.