Photos: Father's Day Gift

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Christmas ornament that Lydia made for dad at her preschool

Living room

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Another preschool arts and crafts gift from Lydia

Note: The teacher cut out the shirt using construction paper, and Lydia decorated it.

Living room

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Lydia is wearing the photo tote bag that SiowFong designed and ordered from Kodak Gallery.

Note: This picture comes from our March 2010 trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida before our dinner with Cinderella.

Upper landing area

Note: All of these pictures were taken on June 20, 2010 in our home.

Photos: House, June 19, 2010

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Switch box for 3 switches (triple gang box)

Hallway next to the garage

Building notes: "Nonmetallic boxes [which are available as single, double, triple, or quadruple gang box sizes] with integral nails are the most frequently used switch boxes in residences. However, these boxes are easily damaged and must be kept within the wall cavity. Metal boxes are rarely used within the wall cavity because of their higher cost and extra labor to install (you must ground the box). However, metal boxes are required for a surface mount in an unfinished basement or garage wall where they take a certain amount of abuse, and conduit must be run to protect the wiring for at least 8 feet overhead.

One important rule applies to all flush-mounted switch outlet boxes (this also applies to flush-mounted receptacle boxes): They must be installed flush or extremely close (approximately 1/16 inch) to the finished wall surface. This prevents a fire within the room from entring the wall cavity -- or vice versa." (Source: Rex Cauldwell. Wiring a House. Taunton Press: 2007. pages 234-235)

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Plumbing box for washer

Laundry room

Note: Inside the box is a wire and two copper pipes. The color of the switch tells everyone that the red is for hot water and the blue is for cold water.

Note: Both of these pictures were taken on June 19, 2010 in our future home that is under construction.

Photos: Farewell Auntie MayLee

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Lydia, SiowFong, and MayLee are standing outside Dim Sum King, a restaurant in the International District of Seattle, Washington where we ate brunch en route to taking MayLee to the airport so that she can travel briefly to Singapore before returning to her home in Melbourne, Australia.

Note: Ma Wee, who also was with us, is not in this picture.

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Farewell hug between Auntie MayLee and Lydia

Note: It is hard to believe that three weeks have elapsed since MayLee and Ma Wee arrived in Seattle. "We are all on this planet for a short amount of time. . .As photographers, we have the ability to capture the true essence of someone within a split second and preserve that memory for all time." (Bruce Hudson. "The Immortal Portrait". Rangefinder. July 2010. page 42)

Note: Both of these pictures were taken on June 17, 2010.

Photos: Exercise with Auntie MayLee

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Lydia and Auntie MayLee are exercising after dinner.

Note: In Melbourne, Australia, Auntie MayLee exercises in the morning at a gym, but at our home, she does it at night in our living room.

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Lydia is stretching her hands to touch her toes while Auntie MayLee observes.

Note: Both of these pictures were taken on June 17, 2010 at our home.

Photos: Ashwin and Grandpa Al

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Lydia is laughing heartily in response to Ashwin's funny face.

(left to right): Uncle Ashwin Rao, Lydia, and Grandpa Al Crane

Note: Ashwin encouraged a "silly picture", and this was the result. Whenever uncle Ashwin is around Lydia, he manages to make her laugh quite a bit.

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Group picture at the dining room table

(first row: left to right): Auntie MayLee, Lydia, and Ma Wee

(second row: left to right): Grandpa Al, Ashwin, SiowFong, and Tom

Note: Ma Wee has been cooking nearly every meal since she arrived a few weeks ago since she enjoys cooking and since it gives her something to do inside the home.

Photo note: Illumination for this photo came from a portable flash fired through a white umbrella extended to 8 feet high (ceiling height) that is located on the right side of the camera. To retain the natural skin tones of all the individuals, light pased through a white umbrella since white would not alter the color of the light. Because the dining room ceiling is maize-colored, bouncing the flash off that ceiling would have caused everyone's skin to have a much warmer, yellower tone. Keeping the umbrella high also minimizes reflections in people's glasses.

Note: All of these pictures were taken on June 16, 2010 in our home.

Photos: McDonald's Outing

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Lydia is eating a chicken nugget.

Note: For lunch today, Ma Wee, MayLee, Lydia, and I went to McDonald's so that Lydia could eat lunch there and play in the indoor playground area and so that Ma Wee and MayLee could get out of the house for about a little while.

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A chicken nugget with a touch of ketchup is even more tasty.

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For Lydia, the food is secondary to the playground.

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McDonald's plastic bags in the play area

Note: All of these pictures were taken on June 16, 2010 at a McDonald's restaurant in MountLake Terrace, Washington.

Photos: Rides at North Bend Factory Outlet

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Lydia is sitting contentedly on the pony carousel.

Note: While Auntie MayLee, SiowFong, and Ma Wee were shopping, Lydia stayed with her dad so that she could spend time in one of the play areas at the outlet mall. We stopped here not only for shopping but also for lunch during our return to Seattle.

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Lydia the firefighter

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Lydia is posing next to the firedog.

Note: All of these pictures were taken on June 14, 2010 at North Bend Factory Outlets in North Bend, Washington.

Photos: Yakima

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Lydia's favorite activity tonight was playing on the slides.

Yakima Greenway

June 13, 2010

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Expansive would be one word to describe this playground.

Yakima Greenway

June 13, 2010

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Lydia and Tiger are standing outside the Yakima office of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service.

Note: SiowFong and I informed Lydia that part of her adoption process occurred here, so we planned to make a stop at this location for some photos before we returned home this morning. When we initially arrived, the security guard looked at us with some suspicion as I had the camera in my hands, but after I explained that we had adopted Lydia from China, he relaxed and permitted us to take the pictures.

June 14, 2010

Note: All of these pictures were taken in Yakima, Washington.

Photos: Darigold Ice Cream Eating

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Tom, Ma Wee, MayLee, and Lydia are holding up ice cream cones.

Note: Ice cream was the most popular treat, but MayLee chose the healthier option, yogurt, since she does not like ice cream.

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Lydia is enjoying her huckleberry ice cream.

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Yummy!

Note: All of these pictures were taken on June 13, 2010 at Darigold Dairy Fair in Sunnyside, Washington.

Photos: Darigold Tour

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Darigold Self Guided Tours sign

Note: "Come to the Darigold Dairy Fair where you can take a self-guided tour and look down on the cheese production process and watch your favorite cheeses being made. When you are done with your tour, you can purchase souvenirs and dairy products in the store. You can also sample some freshly made cheese and ice cream as well as delicious deli sandwiches and soups.
A tour through the Dairy Fair is a great educational experience for those who love cheese or who are just curious to see how their cheese is made." (source: http://www.aviewofamerica.com/Categories/FactoryTours/WA/darigold.htm)

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Ma Wee, MayLee, Lydia, and SiowFong stand beside a Darigold cow who is a cheese maker.

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Darigold cheese making plant

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Informational sign about aging cheese

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Family picture

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Lydia is directing everyone's attention to this Darigold cow, a cheese scientist.

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Lydia is standing in front of a cow

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Ma Wee, Lydia, and dad are posing for a family picture besides this cow.

Note: All of these pictures were taken on June 13, 2010 at the Darigold Dairy Fair in Sunnyside, Washington.

Photos: Darigold Paintings

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Darigold cups

Note: On our return trip to Seattle, we stopped at the Darigold Dairy Fair to take a tour of the facility, enjoy some Darigold treats, and to browse the items in the gift store. SiowFong planned this stop primarily for Lydia as she thought that Lydia would be interested in learning about a dairy plant and how its products are made and as she knew that Lydia would love to try Darigold ice cream.

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More Darigold cups based on the successful, national"Got milk?" campaign

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Darigold cow firefighter

Note: About three quarters of the way up on the Darigold Dairy Farm building is a corrugated metal border with paintings of the Darigold cow in various roles.

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Darigold train

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Darigold greeter

Note: All of these pictures were taken at on June 13, 2010 at Darigold Dairy Fair in Sunnyside, Washington.

Photos: Landscapes, Wallowa Lake

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Wallowa County Park sign

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Placid might be a word to describe this image since this is how I felt when I was sitting on the bank of this lake as I was taking this photo.

Note: During the day, this lake buzzed with activity, particularly boaters and fishermen, but most of the crowds had gone by the time I reached the lake this evening. Although the parking lot still had about a dozen cars and trucks, this part of the lake near the parking lot was calm.

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Early evening reflections

Note: Fortunately landscape photography is a hobby that one can still pursue while on vacation with young children particularly during the summer months since the best images usually occur around sunrise and sunset. During the summer with its longer days, these special times of the day are usually not filled with activities involving the kids; as a result, one parent can take pictures while the other looks after the children. For example, we did not have any after-dinner family activities planned this evening, and SiowFong encouraged me to take some sunset pictures of Wallowa Lake. Meanwhile she, MayLee, Lydia, and Ma Wee were at the Best Western Hotel in Enterprise, Oregon and busy with their evening routines, including eating fruits, brushing their teeth, and taking showers.

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Pink alpenglow

Note: As the sun sets, its warm rays cast a pink glow onto a cloud, whose reflections produced a pink shimmering effect on the water.

Note: All of these pictures around sunset were taken on June 12, 2010 between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM at Wallowa County Park in Joseph, Oregon.

Photos: Games Arcade

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Wallowa Lake Bumper Boats Arcade sign

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In the foreground, Lydia (with a life jacket), SiowFong, and MayLee are waiting for the attendant at the bumper boats attraction to allow Lydia and SiowFong board the ride. Meanwhile, in the background, Ma Wee is resting on a bench.

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Lydia concentrates as she prepares to position her putter to hit the ball during putt putt golf after her bumper boat ride.

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Lydia the golfer

Note: All of these pictures were taken on June 12, 2010 at the Wallowa Lake Bumper Boats Arcade in Joseph, Oregon.

Photos: Bumper Boat Activity

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Bumper boats x 4

Note: While adults enjoy passive activities during vacation like visiting and seeing scenic landscapes, children prefer more active pursuits. To provide a fun, interesting activity for Lydia, SiowFong planned that we would visit the Wallowa Lake Bumper Boat Arcade this afternoon.

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SiowFong drove the boat while Lydia enjoyed the ride.


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Bumper boats gently collide.





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SiowFong's and Lydia's first boat, this green one, eventually sputtered and died.

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As a result, they were placed in the orange boat, and mother and daughter continued to have fun.

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SiowFong and Lydia are waving to Lydia's dad.

Note: All of these pictures were taken on June 12, 2010 at Wallowa Lake Bumper Boats Arcade in Joseph, Oregon.