Tsai Family of the Parklands

WE had an early start to our Winter Break because there was a water main break. All schools in Montgomery County got out two and a half hours late. I was sad, though, because we (Josh and I) didn't get to perform our marching band tour at Megan's elementary school. We were all very excited to go to Uncle Joe's in Swansea near St Louis on Christmas Eve. We woke up at 6 am, and left at 7 am. We drove all the way to Joe's house with two or three breaks for brunch, and linner. When we finally got to his house around 8pm, we all enjoyed a meal of Neoguri and Shin noodles. Uncle Tim's family arrived not long after, and we all met Cousin Ashley for the first time (except for Jessica and Uncle Joe)! On Christmas day, we all woke up and ate cereal together. We played the Wii and watched many movies. At around 4 or 5, Tsui Fang came and we all had a nice Boston Market dinner prepared by Aunt Joyce and Mom. After dinner, we gathered around the Christmas tree, set up by Joshua...

Last weekend, Josh and I went to the ASCYO (Academy of Saint Cecilia Youth Orchestra) concerts to perform. We performed at Asbury Methodist Village, Damascus High School, and Clarksburg High School. Here is an excerpt from The Nutcracker that we played: The Dance of the Mirlitons. We had a lot of fun doing these concerts, and we can't wait to do them next semester.

Happy thanksgiving to all! Today, mom and grandma woke up early to start making our Thanksgiving lunch/dinner. At around 12 or 12:15, company came. First came Apple and her friends, then the elders. We had a good time talking, eating, and, of course, playing with Michelle. After eating the delicious meal, we went down to play ping-pong and watch "The Other Side of Heaven". Board games were played and much laughter was ensued. After eating a delicious pumpkin cheesecake with whipped cream, our guests left. We wish all a Happy Thanksgiving, and hope your Thanksgiving was as fun and wonderful as ours. Pictures of Michelle playing with us today:

Today the spirit flag at Damascus High School was flown in honor of Josh! This is for his passing an audition for All County Honors Band (band geek!!) but not All State Honors Band (grr). But still, the only name on the sign was mine, and they pronounced my last name wrong on the announcements, so it was really exciting. Congratulations?...

2008 was another year of new experiences and exciting events for our family. In total, we embarked on 3 trips. For Spring Break, we went to Ocean City to relax for a couple of days. Even though it was cool and windy, we enjoyed the relative quiet of the beach front. Jonathan and Joshua are in the front seats to provide the needed manpower in propelling this family bike ride up and down the boardwalk. The long 2 mile ride must have been exhausting, but it was fun. The beach is so awesome that everyone is jumping for joy. Megan is in the air. Our second trip was to North Carolina in the summer during Dad's business trip to San Diego. Jonathan had the opportunity to practice his driving with his new driving permit. The warm sands of North Carolina must have felt very nice and comfortable. These kids are jumping for joy. Our third trip, we took with Grandma to Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Our trip in Tennessee began at the picturesque city of Gatlinsburg, the gateway into th...

It's finally here! After much discussion and struggling for just the right blog name, we have bit the bullet and started our family blog. By the way, we actually do not live in Damascus but in Gaithersburg a block away from Damascus. But since most of our lives are spent in Damascus, and since there probably is not another family named Tsai in Damascus, we have chosen this title. Besides keeping up with the Chen's and Wang's in jumping on the bandwagon, we really do have a purpose for occupying up room on cyberspace. We start this blog site to show how richly blessed by the hand of God our family has been in our daily lives. To this end, we would like to share some of our prized accomplishments, miraculous moments, joyful events, thoughtful aspirations and feelings, and incredible ways we have grown. So, here it goes. Enjoy!