The Zhao Family

We had an awesome Memorial Day Weekend! We(Brennan) cleaned the house, visited the White House (sorry no photos since we're not allowed to take cameras there), visited Arlington Cemetery, Gravelly Point Park next to the airport, and end the week with having a BBQ at the Changs!


We started with a little Spring cleaning around the house. Brennan was ecstatic to help out and get the weekend started.


First stop: Arlington Cemetery to visit a great friend and pay tribute for his service.







You see how the kids get along so well for the photo op??





Then we stopped by Gravelly Point Park next to Reagan Airport. It was fun!

Clayton's always been tagging along to Brennan's baseball games and other activities so Abbey figure why not give Clayton some fun all by himself! So we signed him up for fishing! The first 25 kids to register gets a cool cane fishing pole. As you can see, Clayton was ecstatic when he got a chance to go fishing! We went to Blackhill to fish at the pier and there was really no fish then we start looking for good spots and boy oh boy did we find a good spot!


Clayton's first fishing trip. I think he's happy.


I love this photo. You can't see it too well, but he's putting the pole between his legs as leverage and position. Very smart idea.


Though the first 30 mins we didn't catch anything, in fact there was nothing biting on the worm but Clayton still love the activity for what it is.


Tried another spot. No good. I guess too many people scared the fish away.


We moved to a different spot along the shore and it seemed to fair better.


In fact it was really good because almost every 30 seconds we'd catch a fish! Right along another pier that people aren't allowed to walk on, the fish were all hiding there and they were hungry. At first they baited the hooks with worms but we quickly ran out and we were using bread and that worked as well. Clayton was catching them left and right. He was real good, except when he start throwing all those pebbles into the water. But he was actually really smart because by throwing all the pebbles other fishermen moved to another area so it was all to us.



Clayton caught these fish all by himself. See his reaction when the fish flaps.


Clayton was very curious of the fish that he caught until they start flapping and he's jump away from them smiling. See video below.



This can't be good for the fish



Given that it's a catch and release activity and we're along the shore the fish aren't very big. Nevertheless Clayton's personality comes out here.

One fish...


Two fish...




This was the awards ceremony where they kids get prizes for the smallest fish, biggest fish, and most fish caught. They had quite a turnout for this activity.







Clayton won!! with the most fish caught! He caught 12 fish! So he got his award certificate and ...


He got a real fish pole with a small tackle box.


Claiming his prize.


Along with a complimentary card for a free boat ride next time we go back! He look very happy and enjoyed the activity!


So here's what he won.


Going home to brag.



Then two hours later we went to Brennan's school for a science fair that the school organized. Mom and Brennan stayed home to create the poster for Newton's Third Law: Laws of Motion.


Here Abbey's teaching a bunch of students about Newton's 3rd Law and Balloon Rockets. At the end Abbey would ask the class questions and Brennan would stutter them out. :)


There are other science projects going on and here you can clearly see what Clayton likes. There was paperwork that went along with this bubble making experiment but that was disregarded. :)


Gears caught the attention of them two for at least half and hour. It's actually pretty cool and they seem to love the motion of gravity.


Here Brennan's making a sundial and...


Learning about the affects of the Sun on Earth and our Solar System and how we keep tracking of time.

While adjusting life back at home the kids did enjoy their toys and were being quite silly. Meanwhile Abbey continues to do a marvelous job of spring cleaning the house and selling/removing anything we do not need.



This is a great picture. Cayleigh's just absorbing everything her brother's do including getting punished. Though she has no idea but when she saw both of them going up to the door pulling their ears, she crawled right up and stood against the door and pulled her ears too. Just adorable.


So do glasses make a 14 month old look more mature?


She totally forgot that we left a hair clip on her. Most of the time she would rip it right off.


Kind of like: "Hi, would you please leave me to alone to play horsie"


"Now this is my kind of ride" Amazingly we got to say that Cayleigh started riding before she started walking. She knows how to use her foot to press the pedal to move the motorcycle before she can even manage to walk on her own. So what are the predictions 15 years later?


Clayton loves to have his photo taken and would pose too!


Here's a fun game that Cayleigh picked up: put hands and feet on floor, scoot up butt and peep through hands and feet! Brennan picked up the game and they just giggle away!


Amazing what TV can do when they only get to watch it like an hour a day.

As a tribute to Mother's day. There not enough words in the dictionary to describe what she is capable of doing for the family. Though I get yelled at by some people why she's so skinny and others admire her weight and shape, she takes on an enormous amount of time and effort to provide the best for the kids and family many times forgetting to care for herself. She is one incredible mother, wife, and companion. Even for the little things I do for her on Mother's day does not compensate for what she do everyday.

So I finally got my laptop back from HK thanks to my BIL and his wife. Yeah! Now I can post the last part of our trip. All in all the kids had a great time even though it rained most of the time we did manage to get to many places. I think the most important part was the kids enjoying quality spoiled time with the grands.


Our last big trip before we left was to visit the Big Buddha! It's big and far to get to.





Hong Kong is all about shopping and cheap eats. So we did manage to take advantage of that and eat while shopping. I'm not much into the shopping but went along for the ride to sight see.


How about eating out of a toilet? Well not exactly like that but a restaurant named: Modern Toilets did manage to attract people like us to literally eat out of the toilet. It was a great experience as much as the photo taking opportunity goes.


One major advantage on our way back home was that Abbey's High School best friend, Peggy Chan, is a flight attendant on our flight! Along with other FAs, the kids enjoyed the 16 straight flight to make it back to US soil. So all in all the kids enjoyed and missed the grands when we returned home.

Wasting time is so easy in front of the computer. After wasting hour and hour purely surfing the internet everyday. I look in the mirror and tell myself, I need to do something more productive.

So what did I decide?? Let's clean up this house.

I am NEVER a "clean" person. This statement means 1) I didn't clean before I was 18. 2) I don't know how to clean a house 3) I don't really clean my house. After having married for more than 7 years, I finally realize "cleaning", if not the most important job in my "wife/mom" title, it is still a pretty crucial part of my job. After avoiding it all these years, I think it's time to put some effort to learn how to do it right!

so I am going to start cleaning and blogging. 1) hope some of you who read my blog will "MOTIVATE" and encourage me to do this wonderful thing 2) hope all you experts out there can give me some hint and tips =)

anyway, the project for the day is changing the bath curtains which we used for the last 5 years. The clear side is all black and ugly and the duckie side has two big holes! Later I decided to clean the whole bathroom.

so there is what I did:
1) Removed the old curtain and took out the rings to clean
2) Cleaned the shower walls and cleaned up all the dust and dirt on the top
3) Cleaned all the shelf and the tub

4) Cleaned floor and toilet
5) Cleaned mirror, light fixture and rearranged the sink area.
6) Put up the new curtains (Colored Curtain and Clear Liner)


after all the work.......like 1 1/2 hr. Brennan walked in and used the bathroom after school......."Wow, mama, the bathroom is sooooooo clean, thank you!"

At night when I was looking at the ceiling, there were some black dots (dead bugs). So I cleaned it up and decided why not clean the vent cover also.

(I don't think anyone ever cleaned this before, it was so dirty=p )

QUESTION: What should I do to clean the tub, after using Comet for more than 3 times, it's still kind of dark at the bottom of the tub. PS: Mine is the plastic type) any suggestions?!!

Next Project: Cayleigh's Room

Dear fellow readers, I've keep trying to update everyone on a weekly basis of our family events, however these coming weeks might suffer a bit since I left one minor item in Hong Kong. Nope, thankfully its not my camera but my laptop that contain pretty all the photos we took in Hong Kong. Not sure how long until I receive the laptop back, but until then, just hold your breath.