Tsai Family of the Parklands

My brother, Joe, surprised our Mother, by meeting us at the Traders Seafood Steak & Ale Restaurant in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland.  It was a beautiful evening.

In great need of a vacation, we decided to steal away to Virginia Beach for a short trip. We left on Thursday afternoon and ran into bad traffic. After many hours on the road, we arrived at Days Inn in Newport News. The next day we went to Virginia Beach and hit the beach. We found the pleasure of riding the trolley bus up and down Virginia Beach. In the afternoon, we rode to a shopping district for some Mongolian Barbecue. The next day, we drove to Jamestown and discovered their really nice gift shop. It was a greatly needed break! We came back on the Fourth of July just to watch the fireworks from our own neighborhood.

On June 15, the last day of school, we drove to Kennedy High School for the promotion ceremony for Parkland Magnet Middle School. Megan sat on the stage as one of the 3 or 4 welcomers. She gave her welcome in Chinese. Besides her diploma, she received several awards. Way to go, Megan.

In 1940, Ezra Taft Benson was called as the first stake president in the Washington DC Stake. Now 75 years later, the Washington DC Stake decided to celebrate this milestone by creating an exhibit room with historical details about the stake and by holding a ceremony on June 13. Key speakers were chosen to share remarks about this celebration. Refreshments were served at the end. The exhibit will remain in the Visitor Center for a few months.

My dear sweet wife has had this vision of organizing a Cultural Music Exchange by inviting choirs from the Chinese community to come to our chapel to share songs. The result was a smashing success on April 25 with 6 choirs participating and over 100 singers sharing songs. Before the concert, the choirs rehearsed in various rooms throughout the chapel. We came together for a final combined rehearsal in the chapel, and then we shared a simple meals together in the cultural hall. At the concert, each choir sang two songs, and at the end for a finale all six choirs combined sang two songs. Brother Thomas Jeng conducted the concert. I offered a few words of remarks at the end. Then we enjoyed refreshments, and socialized some more. My wife worked extremely hard, and it paid off. More details are available at the blog site of the Montgomery Chinese Branch .

Starting April 23, the eyes of the whole world focused on Jonathan (and thousands of other honorees). We descended upon Utah, as did tens of thousands of others, to celebrate his grand achievement of completing all of the requirements for graduation with a Computer Science bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University. The University Commencement took place in the Marriott Center. Grandpa Paul joined us in attending the conferrals of degrees by the university president. The next morning, we went to the Wilkinson Center, joined by Uncle Jackie and cousin Joanna, to see Jonathan receive his diploma. It is official. Jonathan has graduated. He will start a new job soon. Congratulations, Jonathan!

We celebrated Megan's 14th birthday at Ruby Tuesday. At the end of the meal, they surprised Megan with a birthday cupcake, specially delivered by the chef. We did not get to keep the plate with the frosting, but Megan enjoyed her cupcake. Happy birthday, Megan!

Happy Holidays from the Tsai family, 2014!  Dear family and friends, Another wonderful year has just passed. In February, our daughter's family pleasantly surprised Li-Fang by flying into town on her birthday. In March, Melinda departed to begin her full-time missionary service in Australia, while Joshua arrived home from Australia in June. During the summer we took a quick trip to the Hill Cumorah Pageant. In August, we enjoyed a really fun trip out West, featuring special tours of San Diego and Las Vegas. We were able to visit some really good friends from our past in Taiwan and Missouri and enjoy a fun reunion with our Chinese Branch friends. But most of the time, we relaxed with our families in California and Utah. We actually managed to hold a couple of Family Tree gatherings. Once we recorded the answers from Grandpa and Grandma in response to questions posed to them about their past. Another time, we learned how Li-Fang's brother traveled to China ...

One of the greatest joys in life is being with family.  This Christmas, all of our children came back, except for Sister Tsai.  But we were able to Skype with her on Christmas Day for an hour.  During these three weeks, life was busy but fun.  Our little grandson, Blake, filled our lives with energy and laughter and smiles all the way.  Right after Christmas, we performed baptisms in the temple as a family. That was a special experience.  We also went through Amish land and the Hershey Sweet Lights.  We invited some missionaries to our home for dinner: Elder and Sister Fillmore who knew Jessica from Colorado, and Sister Crosbie who knew Joshua from Sydney.  Most important, we were able to find a lot of quality family time.  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

This year, we witnessed the turning on of lights at the Washington DC Temple Festival of Lights.  We attended the lighting ceremony, wherein we heard a seventy speak.  The Mormon Choir of Greater Washington sang, along with Alexi Walker.  Alexi took a photo with us and signed a letter for Sister Tsai in Australia.  Outside the Visitor Center, we were surprised and honored to have our family photo taken by our own Brother Johnson.  What a great way to start the season.

Thanksgiving was a blast again in the Tsai home.  We hosted six missionaries, Brothers Cheng, Nian, and Cunningham, the Huang's, the Jeng's, and the Ye's.  We enjoyed the turkey meal with all the fixings and dessert.

Taking advantage of a surprise visit from the Cannon's from Utah, we arranged a dinner for the Cannon's, our previous bishop in Schenectady, and the Fillerup's who also lived in Schenectady.  My mother was the most surprised to see them in our home.  It was a fun reunion.

For Megan's science project, she had to take apart a mechanical device, in this case a hair dryer donated by a friend.  The parts of the hair dryer were physically attached to a large poster, showing the functions of each part the process of hair drying.  Thanks to friends and family who assisted in small ways.

We had a really fun trip out West this year.  We accomplished missions, experienced surprises, and enjoyed the hot but arid weather of the West. It all started by a very early personal limousine ride (thanks, Da) to the bus stop, followed by an hour bus ride a 5-hour plane ride. In Los Angeles, we rented a minivan at the rental place, where these two patient siblings keep an eye on each other. It took over an hour in the afternoon LA rush hour traffic to reach the resort home in Corona.  We were fortunate to have the Huang family join us for a couple of days.  Here the two youngest folks enjoy the iPad activities in one of the three very comfortable living rooms. The very next day, we journeyed to the church Mormon Battalion Historic Site and ... rode on the wagon and ... posed with the soldiers and ... of course, panned for gold and ... were inducted as honorary members of the battalion.  You have got to see this visitor center.  It is co...