Done!

We started work on the play set on Saturday, June 14 and finished it on Wednesday, June 18. Kong and I did the majority of the project together and we really enjoyed it. I'm really proud of him as his strengths do not include putting things together and/or fixing "stuff".














Between then and now lots has happened.

So on June 20th I turned the big 35. In all my years I have never dreaded or dislike an age but turning 35 was very significant for some reason. I was not looking forward to it. Maybe it's knowing that I've nearly lived half my life or that in five more years I'll be 40. Maybe it's knowing that death is inevitable and approaching slowing but surely. Whatever the case I feel a sense of urgency to enjoy life, change my bad habits and appreciate all that I've been blessed with.

Kong surprised me with a date on my birthday. This is a rarity for us as we have a very difficult time leaving our children with other people. Since we try to spend quality time with each other everyday I guess we never have the need to go out on dates. Anyway, Kong took me out to dinner and a movie. When we arrived at the movie theatre they changed the time of the movie so we ran errands instead. We still had a great time. Ayden's response to us going out on a date was, "I'm coming too, right?"

The day after my birthday Taylor tested for her blue stripe and I tested for my yellow belt. It was a small testing group so PSBN Steffen found a way to make testing excruciating even without small children invoking hundreds of push ups. I felt that this test really pushed me to the limit. Since Taylor was testing for a higher level belt she had to test longer. Watching her push along made me question if I had it in me to keep progressing to higher level belts. I was so proud of her. She even broke a real board. We both received our next belt level. I was also invited into Black Belt club. Yeah!

This past weekend was our 11 year anniversary. It's hard to believe that we've been together for 14 years. It seems like just yesterday we were playing pool at the Memorial Union at UW Madison. We've tried to plan anniversary trips in the past but they've never panned out so we decided not to plan anything this year. We spent the weekend visiting Kong's brother Cheng and his family. Cheng and Stacy made great food and took care of us. The kids played and had a great time. We couldn't ask for a better way to spend our anniversary.

That's it for now. More to come in the next few days as my Mom and Dad are home from their Laos Mission. We'll be having a celebration for his commision as a Probationary Elder in the United Methodist Church and completion of his Masters of Divinity.

First Swimming Lesson

We attended our first swimming lesson yesterday evening. I was the only adult in a class of about 14 kids. You know you are getting old when everyone looks young. The instructor looked like a teenage kid but I'm sure he was probably in college and home for the summer working for some extra cash : )

Taylor was bumped up to my class so we are taking lessons together. Yeah! The instructor said that he thinks I'm a better swimmer than I think I am but it's my fear of deep water that I need to over come. He made us all do bobs in water over our head to help with this. I have to admit I was nervous about this but I did it.

After the lesson we were so tired that we zonked out after we washed up. We'll have to see if we are all better swimmers after the 10 weeks. Keep your fingers crossed!

Father's Day Weekend

Father's Day weekend was very busy for us. We started Saturday with a church picnic then sprinted off to the Super Seminar. It was quite awesome to see our Grand Master in person. It was such an honor to meet Kuk Sa Nim and receive instructions and lessons from him and the team from TX.
I had never been to a Super Seminar before so I did not know what to expect. The training was rigorous and about an hour into the seminar junior martial artist were crying and adults were exhausted. I think many of us were just overwhelmed by the intensity and pace of the training. Exhaustion aside, it was an amazing experience to meet a living legend. I also learned why my right knee is in such pain. I'm not suppose to snap my leg when I do the round house kick. Who knew. I thought I was just getting old.

Kong's been busy building a play fort and swing set for the girls so he didn't get to sleep in on Father's Day. We did however have a fun packed day waiting for him. We bought him three much needed books: The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success (which is really awesome plus it's an easy read), Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and Why a Daughter Needs a Dad. Kong and I spent most of Father's day working on the play set.
This is the tower piece of the play set. Hopefully we'll have it all put together by this week.

Saturday afternoon we headed out to the Excel Center to see Walking with the Dinosuars. We had suite tickets so it was an amazing view of the show. If you get a chance to see it you should. The creatures where huge and magnificient. Taylor loved the historic replay of events. Though Ayden also enjoyed the show she was distracted by the soda, mini donuts and popcorn.

Here is a link if you want to catch a clip of the show => http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/06/12/_walking_dinos/?rsssource=1
We tried to go to Kong's favorite restaurant afterwards but the place was booked (They don't take reservations) so we ended up eating at Burger King for dinner. All in all we had a great time together.
This is a picture from Saturday night. After a long day of building the playset Kong thought it would be appropriate to give Kal-el a beer for all his hard work.

Note: This picture is not distorted. Kal-el's head is that much bigger than his body. This picture does him no justice. He's cute in this picture but not nearly as cute as he is in real life. He's an extremely happy baby too! To bad he's not mine : (

Year of Doing Thing's I've Always Wanted...

So as I said earlier this year, 2008 is the year I'm going to do things I've always wanted to but just never got around to doing it. I started martial arts (Kuk Sool Won) in February, which by the way I will be testing for my yellow belt next Saturday, and starting next week Taylor, Ayden and I will start swimming at the Oxford pool in the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center.

Sad to say I do not know how to swim. I have a huge fear of deep water. I've been thinking about taking lessons for a really long time but after Kong's boating accident last Sunday it just pushed the issue home. Though Taylor is a good swimmer I thought it was important to also put her into an intermediate class as she could use some help with techniques and strength building. Swimming is the one thing you can not be over confident about. Not to sound morbid but I am keenly aware that if you make mistakes or over assess your abilities the end result could be death. I think people forget the real dangers that come with swimming.

Speaking of the Jimmy Lee Rec Center, they renovated the whole building and added a new gym and water play area. We signed up for a summer membership and tried the pool out last night. The girls really enjoyed themselves. Next up, joining a writers group so that I can write a screen play.

Me...caretaker?

I was working in the front yard on Sunday (June 1) and there was a lot of people traffice because of the Grand Old Days celebration on Grand Avenue. Since spring has been slow to come in MN I did not begin planting and yard work until this busy Sunday.

After a long day of sitting in the sun, planting flowers in pots, moving my perennials, planting new perennials, weeding...you get the idea; I looked tired, dirty and dark (yes, I get really dark being out one day in the sun - not sure if it's a curse or a gift). I was finishing off my work watering all the new plants near the front of my yard.

A middle aged couple stopped in front of my house to admire a blooming bush. The husband walked up my front steps, walked through my landscaping and sniffed my flowers. Though this act on its own seems harmless I need to add that I was standing not more than a few feet from this man who completely ignored me and acted as if he had all the right in the world to do as he pleased in my yard without a gesture of acknowledgement. I later learned why.

After a few lingering sniffs by my neighbor I politely interrupted and said, "Hello". Without looking at me or making eye contact he asked me the name of the plant. This is how the rest of the conversation went. K is me and NM is Neighbor Man and NW Neighbor Woman.

K: I'm not sure what it's called. It's been here long before me.

NW: Did you take care of the property when the house burned down also?

K: I'm not sure who took care of the house then. I've only lived here for two years. I am the third owner of this house since the fire.

NW: Oh...how do you like living here?

K: Well, I like it just fine. The house is beautiful and I love it.

NM: Another neighbor has a blooming bush just like this and the flowers are magnificent. You don't know the name?

K: Sorry. I don't.

NM & NW: Oh well. Have a good day.

K: Thanks. You too.

Innocent enough, right? After the conversation something just didn't feel right. The conversation was a bit odd when factoring in the tone of the couple, their body language and their choice of words. It finally dawned on me that these people thought I was the help and not the owner of the home.

For those who are not familiar with St. Paul, we live in an affluent, old and quaint area of town. We are one street removed from the mansions on Summit Avenue. That being said I guess when certain people see a person of color working on a yard I guess they automatically assume they are the help, not the property owner. I'm sure these people are very nice and well meaning but this incident served as a reminder that though we've come a long way as a country as it relates to race, we need to go much further to dispel the stereotypes and myths that have been ingrained in all of us.

Think about it. If these people are in careers where they are in hiring roles how do you think they view a person of color interviewing for a job? Are people conscious enough to check their biases and stereotypes at the door so that it doesn't influence their hiring decision? Is everyone given a fair shot for the same job? Seeing that most people do not believe they are racist or have racial biases you tell me...