Photos: At the Guos

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Timothy Guo, Lydia, and Alex Guo

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SiowFong and Ma Wee are listening to Amy Guo, one of SiowFong's colleagues and friends, describe how she makes her homemade Chinese dumplings.

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Homemade Chinese dumplings

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What a spread -- Alaska king crab, Chinese dumplings, and cucumbers !

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Lydia is "tickling the ivories".

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Lydia has informed us that she wants to learn how to play the piano.

Note: All of these pictures were taken on July 31, 2010 at the home of Amy, Timothy, and Alex Guo on Mercer Island, WA.

Photos: Whizz Kids Picnic 2

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Lydia and her friends are watching the guitarist perform.

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Lydia and her classmates are watching as Jada, one of her schoolmates, jumps up and down.

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Reese, one of Lydia's good friends, hugs Lydia.

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Ma Wee, Lydia, SiowFong, and grandpa Al Crane

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Alice Wei, Lydia's teacher, and Lydia

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Lydia and Reese pose for the camera.

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Lydia and Reese are eating strawberries.

Note: All of these pictures were taken on July 30, 2010 at the annual Whizz Kids Summer Picnic held at the Nile Country Club in Mountlake Terrace, WA.

Photos: Whizz Kids Picnic 1

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Lydia is waiting to get her face painted.

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After dinner, a number of the kids were listening to this musician as he played his guitar and sang songs.

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Lydia with her schoolmates

(left to right): Alexa, Reese, girl not in Lydia's class, Gabrielle (with her back turned to the camera), and Lydia

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These five girls are looking and listening to the musician.

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A warm summer day is a perfect day for a picnic.

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Lydia and Erin, one of the teacher assistants

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Erin, Lydia, and Sarah (another teacher's helper)

Note: All of these pictures were taken on July 30, 2010 at the Nile Country Club in Mountlake Terrace, WA during the annual summer picnic sponsored by Whizz Kids.

Photos: House: July 29, 2010

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Burnham Insulation's blow in cellulose truck

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Blown in cellulose insulation fills the wall cavities and vaulted ceiling cavities in the foyer and living room.

Note: Current minimum R-values for exterior residential walls in Washington state is R-21. Our walls are R-30 (R-5 for 1 inch of rigid polystyrene foam insulation on the outside of the exterior plywood sheathing + R-13 for 2 inches of closed spray foam insulation on the inside of the plywood + R-12 for 3.5 inches of blown-in cellulose insulation on the inside of the 2 inches of spray foam).

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Unfaced R-30 fiberglass batts fill the space between the first and second floors to reduce sound transmission between the two floors.

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3-inch mineral wool (rock wool) batts fill the interior wall cavities of the downstairs bedroom to reduce sound transmission to that room.

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Two Burnham Insulation trucks sit outside our home; the yellow truck contains cellulose, and the white truck contains fiberglass.

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11 and 1/2 inches of blown-in cellulose also surrounds the plumbing manifolds in the garage; this insulation prevents the pipes from freezing when the outside air temperatures drop below freezing and dramatically reduces the level of outside noise entering the house from the garage.

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Large sheets of drywall (sheet rock) were delivered to the house because drywall installation will begin right after the insulation of the exterior walls, space between the floors, interior walls, and vaulted ceilings.

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SiowFong, Lydia, and Ma Wee stand beside the sheets of drywall.

Note: All of these pictures were taken on July 29, 2010 at the site of our future new house.