A Memorable Christmas

A most memorable Christmas here in Oregon. With nearly 2 feet of snow on the ground (and on the streets), not a lot of folks were traveling! But, Paula and I decided that visiting the kids at their house was a good change from our typical mass riot gathering here at the house. So here is a little travelogue of Christmas day. But first, a picture of the new Rainbow house in the snow! We are putting in the hardwood floors right now. My friend Terry Mecham is my boss, and we are having fun doing so! It is even beautiful in the snow!


We started out the morning at the relatively calm and pristine home of Hoa and Thuy. Lyan, Vivian, Dillon and Mia all waited patiently for Grandpa and Grandma to come to open presents. When we were finished, we got a piano recital! (Grandma by the way is the piano teacher for all the local grandkids, who are each learning how to play!)



First was Lyann who played several Christmas carols.


Next we heard from Vivian who is beginning to really become proficient. (Not to mention how studious she looks!)


Dillan then sat still long enough to prove that he has actually been practicing!


Of course Mia could not be left out. She watches her siblings carefully and is likely to be the best piano player of them all eventually! She had to make sure Grandpa was getting the picture!


After the gifts and the recital, we ate a really good breakfast of Pho (Vietnamese Soup), and then headed over to the crazy world of Nic and Hailey! Hailey by the way gets the prize for the most beautiful Christmas mantle in the family!


In stark contrast to the Pham's where no paper hits the ground for more than 1.3 seconds, the living room at the Vial's looked a bit more like a normal post present opening chaos location. Note the Beaver helmet on Nic, who doesn't seem to remember that his beloved alma mater lost the big one and isn't going to the Rose Bowl.


Here is another one a bit closer up of the very interesting crew!


While there, Nate took a quick run around the block on Nic's Banshee. (Which by the way sounds exactly like it sounds!) Gives you a good idea of what the roads were like and why so few people were traveling.


While most everyone got what the were hoping for, this note left on the piano at Nic and Hailey's certainly made clear Santa's feeling!


There may have been one or two disapointments, but CC definitely was proud of the new outfit that her Aunt Alicia had brought her.


Next stop was the Cuong, Chuong, Chi, and Hui gang with Grandma Su Lu presiding. We met and Cuong and Linh's house and again the children had waited for us to open presents! Grandpa got to be Santa, and had some great help from Kayla.


With so many people in the room, my package delivery system eventually took to the air!


Who would have thought that a girl from northern China would ever have the chance to have three kids. Liyan is really happy with baby Felix, and Victor and Eva are good older siblings!


Everyone was really happy to be together. Chuong and Grandma are having fun!



And Victor looks typically pleased with his haul!


Both Grandma's Paula and Su Lu are mighty proud of the little ones!


Oh and lunch was also Pho. Which by the way is a great Christmas Dinner!


Our last stop of the day was downtown Portland at the Watertower Condo home of Hai, Kyle, Cassandra and Jacob.


Hai is definitely liking this mother job a lot! And Jacob loved the Thomas the Train book which Grandma brought.


Honestly a very fun and memorable Christmas. We love the chance to see the family and being in their homes was especially nice. We hope to see the others soon as well, as we will be back in Virginia and Vermont in January, and down in California for Tyler Do's baptism in late February or early March.

Love to all, Rich

Rainbow Update

Still not in the new house, but it is coming along. These pictures give an idea of how the finish around the windows and doors came out. The structural member are darker, and the paneling is lighter.
The bookcases and the cabinets are also stained in the darker shade. All of the wood is knotty alder except the trusses and the glue lam beams which are fir. All of the black iron is also structural.
Today we had an unusual snow storm. The house is really beautiful no matter what the season!

The front wrought iron is turning out to reinforce the idea that it is a government building. I am still convinced that the doors, some of the commercial applications like the vertical cedar siding are contributing to a sense of security. We are really lucky that we have had no vandalism or any other problems since we started the project.

Finally, can anyone really say that they wouldn't like to sit in this hot tub in this place!

Next up is the hardwood floors. My friend Terry Meacham is helping me do this one ourselves. We spent the entire day yesterday gluing up the stair treads and the bull nose. This will really make the project more fun as we can see the results of our work every day. (I hope that is a good thing.)

Tucker and Alicia?

WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?

Ok, I am not trying to push the envelope or anything but I am thinking that we are at that point here! Anybody else wanna get in on this?


Ok so I am the father of the potential bride, but I am now rooting for this thing to happen. I mean what is wrong with this kind of guy as a son in law?


I mean if Eddie likes him, then who am I to argue?


Besides, She really looks happy, don't you think!


Peace, Out , Dad

A Typical Family Gathering

DOES IT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS? IF SO PLEASE ADVISE HOW!

As the family grows ever larger, it becomes more and more difficult to get together. But, those who can come home for a gathering bring more with them! This year the Thanksgiving time was really special. In this post I have gathered up mostly little children pics. There sure are a bunch of them lately!

This first picture comes from a common activity. Dancing Maddie, Sierra and Ava are showing how it is done.
Soon Maddie's mom from Vermont, Chelle was in on the fun.

And within minutes, Grandma was thoroughly tickled!


Maddie (from Vermont) was missing her brother Anders, but soon got into the fun, and became the life of the party. One of her new activities is dress up. Sometimes in quick succession.

First it was the red checked tights. Notice that at least she now has a top on! Next, she changes into a yellow tutu for a little dance with Grandpa!

Her talents were endless, including a great drummer routine!


She was also not afraid to belt it out when the opportunity arose!


Maddie's little brother Eddie (also from Vermont) was seen doing a little bonding with his Uncle Nathan who was clearly pretty fond of him.


A variety of talents was on display throughout the weekend. Sierra was also an excellent drummer, and Victor proved that Pavarotti has nothing on him!

Naturally a spirited game of pool is a necessity.

And the obligatory family picture is ultimately a must. Lot's of fun adult activities and games also happened, but it sure seems that the older I get the more the holiday's seem to be for the children.