Water and Ice

This is a month of hot sun ended with cold weather in Alaska.
We went to a water park in Freemont. Renee jumped right in and Max was very scared. He held on to me tightly for one round. Once I got him a life jacket, he was able to relax and realized that he could actually reach the bottom.

We went to visit Exploratorium again. This time Max took a sip out of the water fountain that is made of a toilet. Looks weird even knowing that this one was brand new and never used.

We were all excited to found a balcony with extra stuff to look at. Renee did her usual pose here.

In the hot weather, we sought parks with water to play. It turned out that the two we visited had the water shut down because of the drought. Nevertheless, we enjoyed climbing this rock in the park.

Renee and Max have their check-ups at the Doctor's. I hope they inherit their grand parents eyesight.

Max and I are learning from the same Shifu these days. I am learning Taichi and he is learning Kungfu. I hope he performs better in the next tournament.

One interesting discovery of the month is that Renee learned to use the chopsticks! I took a video of it too.

At the end of the month, we took a trip on an Alaska cruise. The kids of different families had a great time together, as they usually do whenever they are together.

This kid hot tub became one of the few places where they spent most of the time while on the boat.

The big slide on the boat was a big winner too, but only for the first couple of days.

This is the young gang with two kids missing in the picture. I cannot remember where they were at the time of this picture.

It was raining the day we visited but the kids were having very good spirit. I am not sure if they got the significant of the glacier though.

We took a train ride in Skygway, where the kids enjoyed it very much. However, I didn't take pictures of them on the train except this one.

Max liked this train very much for some reason. He stared at it for a long time. I just had to take a picture of him.

In the second to the last night, Max and Renee had a show along with the other kids in the club on the boat. Max was in the tiger group. They even each had a tail.

Grrrrr.... at the end of the show

Summer Fun Experiments

This is the summer of experiments.

Max was experimenting with the recycle box that we put in the dining room.

Renee's art class had an art show for all the students. They converted the studio into a beautiful gallery. Inside on the ground, the kids get to paint and Max had a go at it with Renee.

Renee also had a piano recital. It is interesting all the students here are Asian, probably majority are Chinese.

For father's day, Max made a giftcard for me. I always love reading what these two write on cards like this.

We went to the exploratorium the second time. This time we discovered all the things that we missed the first time, including this nifty play structure outside the building.

Renee went with Lianxin to the event they have at work, where the kids get to know what their parents do, and conduct some experiments. It is really well organized. I wish I could do that at work.

Max asked to spend his day with Sophia so we drove over there for the weekend. We spent the afternoon playing at this small water park.

Max is getting ready to have some fun with the water!

Summer outdoor and Exploratorium

We continue the outdoor activities for the summer.

Max had a concert at the Little Bridges. I figured out a way to get all the way to the front and sat with him while he was waiting for their turn.

This is Kanishk, Max's good friend at the school.

Probably influenced by her dancing classes, Renee knows how to pose for pictures these days.

Renee has a concert at school. She controlled herself well when her hat was knocked off by someone next to her accidentally. We both felt that she is growing up now.

Renee looks cute in her cowgirl outfit.

I took Renee to a hike one day during the weekend. I always enjoy the time with them whenever they are in the mood for an outdoor trip.

This area reminded Renee of the scene in the movie Frozen. She was singing "Let it Go" while marking forward.

Here is Renee posing on the rock.

I joined Max' school event to the zoo. He ran to this place and yelled "Ducky!!!"

Max has a couple of good friends where he is more of himself, fun and good natured.

During the Wind and Art Festival, Renee tried the helicopter. The pilot made a comment about how well she sat in the seat not touching anything.

Max had a try at the seat too.

I took Renee and Max to the Exploratorium at Pier 15. They both enjoyed everything there such that I bought an annual ticket when leaving.

We enjoyed the lunch and the view. The lunch was quite expensive. I will pack my own lunch in the future.

Here is the room where everything loses its color. Very cool.

Renee went with Max attending a birthday party of Max' friend, where they learned to make pizza.

On that same day, we went and had a good camping trip at Lake Chabot. We hope to do more camping this yea.