Tsai Family of the Parklands

On a cold winter night, January 31, we went with second cousin Lester to the Kennedy Center to witness the Winter Lanterns.

Our family spent Christmas in Utah this year. One fun activity was making gingerbread cookies.

Dear family and friends,  In 2021, we weathered several rounds of vaccinations, telework, and lots of school. In the same year, we were blessed with lots of cute children, graduations, and mission to the homeland. In this amazing year, the number of our grandchildren almost doubled. We were honored to witness one baptism and two baby blessings. We drove to Utah for a family reunion. This fall, my mother had a bad fall and two back surgeries, but she’s gradually recovering. On May 30, 1982, I had an interview with my patriarch before he gave me my life guidance and blessings. I told him that I have three big goals that I wish to fulfill in this life which are college, mission, and marriage in the temple. He suggested that I rearrange my goals to first go on a mission, get married, and then go to school. I never knew that really happened. I served a mission and got married in the temple, but my schooling was like putting puzzles pieces together. Afte...

Although we were trying to get to Buttermilk Falls, we ended up in the borough of Jim Thorpe, a quaint little town started over 300 years ago. We toured the town with a trolley and saw the famous Buttermilk Falls.

 Washington DC Temple Open House and Rededication

Baby Trey received his baby blessing from his father.

On a very hot summer day, we arranged for a picnic at Splash Park.  This was a fun opportunity to reunite with our relatives whom we have not seen in a while.

Our grandson, Blake, was baptized on July 1.  Afterwards, we celebrated at his home.

On Memorial Day, we decided to take a stroll to Brookside Gardens.

Our dear friends, now part of our family, came to visit Maryland.  Our daughter's friend met us at Wootton's Mill Park to take family photos.

 On March 11, Evelyn Claire was born at Shady Grove Hospital.  Here is our 4th grandchild at 1 month old.

Dear family and friends,  "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair." Charles Dickens in "A Tale of Two Cities" was describing the disruptive state of affairs in 18th century England and France, but in a different way these sentences also seem to describe with vivid accuracy the pandemic year of 2020. In a very real but painful manner, COVID-19 disrupted our "normal" lives. Initially, many activities were canceled, including Chinese New Year parties (of which we were in the midst of intense preparations for two such parties), musical concerts, choir rehearsals, and travel. In a more intimate sense, even in-person school, work, and church were basically canceled and transformed into a virtual reality of Zoom and...

At 3am on November 3, we all arose to accompany Sister Tsai to the BWI Airport.  It was a solemn occasion.  We will miss her as she dedicates her life totally to serving God for the next year and a half.  Have a great mission!

On a beautiful autumn day, otherwise known as Halloween, we took an excursion to patronize the Philadelphia Temple for Megan to participate in the temple before she departs for the mission field.  The peace and spirit of the temple permeated through us while we were there.  Afterwards, we enjoyed the famous Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches in our cars before going home.

On October 30, my mom treated everyone to Firebird's for dinner in honor of Megan's mission call.  We enjoyed the delicious food, of course, in the comfort and safety of our home.  We took occasion to take family photos and a photo of a future harpist (after she has grown a foot or two or three).