Photos: Hawaii Crab Legs

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Lydia is happily munching on a Dungeness crab claw, which her mother called a "crab drumstick" to encourage Lydia to eat it since Lydia loves eating from a drumstick that she holds in her hand.

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Isn't that a picture that accurately portrays some serious eating?



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SiowFong and Lydia are enjoying their Sunday brunch.

The appetizer tray, which is on the left lower side of the picture, includes those cooked Dungeness crab legs.

Note: All of these pictures were taken on March 2, 2008 at the Kamuela Provision Company Restaurant at Hilton Waikoloa Village at 425 Waikoloa Beach Drive in Waikoloa, Hawaii.

Photos: Hawaii, Hilton Sand Bottom Pool 1

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Lydia is ready to play in the sand.

While I was attending the conference during the morning, SiowFong and Lydia did special activities together.

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Wide angle photo of the sandy bottom children's pool with Lydia in the center-left foreground




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Lydia has collected some water and sand to place on the tortoise statue.




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Lydia is continuing to shovel and to drop sand on the tortoise statue.

Note: SiowFong took all of these pictures on March 2, 2008 between 11:30 AM and Noon at the Hilton Waikoloa Village at 425 Waikoloa Beach Drive in Waikoloa, Hawaii.

Photos: Hawaii, Hilton Monorail

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Dad and Lydia are riding on the monorail.

Lydia regularly referred to the monorail as the "choo choo train", and riding on the monorail was something that Lydia looked forward to every day that we were staying at the hotel.

March 2, 2008

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Monorail is approaching our hotel, Palace Tower.

The hotel complex, which consists of three hotels (Lagoon Tower, Palace Tower, and Ocean Tower), is spread over 62 acres, so the tram is a popular way to travel to various places in the resort.

March 9, 2008

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SiowFong and Lydia are sitting on a bench in front of The Palace Tower while waiting for the next monorail to arrive.

March 5, 2008

Note: These pictures were taken at the Hilton Waikoloa Village; 425 Waikoloa Beach Drive; Waikoloa, Hawaii.

Big Island Photo Essay

March 1, 2008


Big Island Photo Essay

Someone once said, "A photo is worth a thousand words". Farcountry Press publishes my favorite series of coffeetable paperback photo books about various locations within the United States in their Impressions series. According to Farcountry Press, the definition of impression is "a strong effect produced on the intellect, feelings, conscience; a notion, rememberance."

With that quotation in mind, the next twenty-two updates to Lydia's blog will comprise a photo essay of our experiences on the Big Island of Hawaii during the first week of March.

Photos: With the Fungs

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Victor Fung is carrying Lydia, who really enjoyed her time with Victor and Ellen, his wife, when they visited us the third Saturday of January.

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Victor, Lydia, and Ellen are sitting on the big couch.

Note: Both of these pictures were taken on January 19, 2008 in the living room of our home.

Big Island of Hawaii

February 29, 2008


Big Island of Hawaii

“If you have enough trouble getting your kids out of the house in the morning, dragging them thousands of miles away may seem like an insurmountable challenge. But family travel can be immensely rewarding, giving you new ways of seeing the world through smaller pairs of eyes.”
(Source: Jeanette Foster. Frommer’s Hawaii with Kids. Wiley Publishing. 2007: page 15.)

Because I am attending a week-long, work-related conference in Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, SiowFong and Lydia are coming along also. “The largest Hawaiian island (bigger than all the other islands combined), the Big Island offers families a diverse vacation, from the sunny shores of Kailua-Kona to the top of the nearly 14,000 foot volcanoes, to the spouting lava flowing into the sea, to the lush tropical jungle just outside of Hilo. The Big Island is just as fabulous to first-timers as it is to repeat Hawaii visitors. It’s not as urban as Oahu and not as crowded as Maui, but it offers its own unique vacation experience.” (Source: Ibid. page 16)

This is Lydia’s first trip by airplane to a destination where the primary reason for going there is for leisure instead of activities with extended family. She is excited about this vacation, and when she has uttered the word “Hawaii” in the last few weeks, she has done so each time with emphasis. Big Island seems to be popular among parents with children. Our dentists, for example, take their two teenage sons there every summer in June after the school year ends. Two of SiowFong’s good friends locally, Phil and Alison Wallace, have two young boys, the older of whom is in elementary school and the younger of whom is in preschool, and they have been there twice already with their children. Finally, several of the children at Lydia’s day care have gone or are going to Hawaii this spring.

Photos: Lydia and Kyvin

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Lydia is lounging comfortably in Kyvin's chair.

February 1, 2008

Living room of Kyvin's home in Kirkland, WA

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Lydia is looking at Kyvin's toys, including the car with which he is playing.

February 1, 2008

Living room of Kyvin's home in Kirkland, WA

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While Kyvin is playing with Lydia's necklaces, a gift from Danyeal Jones, Lydia is playing with the Magna Doodle toy, a gift from Victor and Ellen Fung.

Feruary 23, 2008

Living room of our home

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Friendly milk drinking competition between friends

Kyvin, who has always loved milk, began drinking his bottle after supper, and when Lydia observed that Kyvin had milk, she also asked for her own bottle of milk.

February 23, 2008

Living room of our home

Kyvin and Lydia

February 23, 2008

Kyvin and Lydia


“Look into anyone’s eyes. Of the innumerable varieties in the wonder of God’s creation the most awe-inspiring is the individual human life. Everyone on earth is a unique creation with a distinct personality.” (Source: Randy Hurst. Eternity: Everyone’s Destiny. Today’s Pentecostal Evangel. September 2, 2007. Page 7.)

“What a difference a year makes” was on everyone’s mind tonight with respect to how much Lydia and Kyvin had changed during that time period when our friends, Matt Kaing, Mayfanna Li, and Kyvin Kaing-Li, came for dinner. Last spring was when Matt, Mayfanna, and Kyvin first came to our home for supper. SiowFong was the first to mention these changes tonight after she observed Kyvin and Lydia as they played together. For example, Kyvin, who is two months younger than Lydia, has always had a gentle nature, and he gladly pushed Lydia in her scooter last spring. Tonight was different in that they both wanted to ride in the scooter, and neither wanted the job of being the scooter pusher. Lydia has also changed. Because of her six months of day care experience, Lydia has become more competitive with toys despite her congenial personality, and instances of this assertiveness reappeared this evening. Overall Kyvin and Lydia played pretty well together, and both sets of parents look forward to their children participating in other shared activities in the future.