Branson Family Reunion

Each year, Eunice's family gets together for a reunion. This year, we all met up at the Lake of the Ozarks near Branson in southwest Missouri for a week of quality time. We flew out from the Bay Area and picked Terry up in St. Louis. Jennifer, David, and their three kids drove up to meet us from Dallas.


It sure was fun to have all four cousins together for a week! This was the first time Spencer and Paxon had met. Less than a year apart, they're destined to be great friends. From left to right: Ryan (holding Melody), Eunice (holding Spencer), Terry, Jennifer (holding Paxon), David (holding Valerie).


We rented a fantastic 3-bedroom, 3-bath condo right on the lake near Kimberling City. To escape the 105 degree heat, we spent a lot of time in the water (playing in the pool, learning to water ski, being pulled around in an inner tube by a speed boat, exploring the lake in a pontoon, or taking the kids out canoing) and a lot of time indoors (challenging each other to rounds of ping pong in the rec center, cooking yummy meals, and playing games back at the condo).


We did manage to venture beyond our condo and lake, including exploring Branson Landing and taking a tour of the "Talking Caves" where this family photo was taken. The Tangs went to a quintessential Branson show to see the Heygoods perform, and Ryan and Eunice took advantage of superb babysitting services (thanks grandma!) for a night out on the town for their 6-year anniversary. Throw in a family celebration of Terry's 62nd birthday, and we'd say it was a packed, fun-filled reunion. Can't wait for the next family get-together!

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Trip to St. Louis

Three years after our last visit to St. Louis, we returned for a family reunion with Eunice's mom and Eunice' sister's family. Before heading to our reunion destination (Lake of the Ozarks in Branson, Missouri!), we spent a few days catching up with family and friends around St. Louis.


Our first stop was a day trip up to Springfield, the halfway point between St. Louis and Peoria, Illinois, where Eunice's cousin George and his family live. We met up at a Chinese restaurant for lunch. From left to right: Ryan, Spencer, Jairus, Lindai, Kiana, George, and Eunice.



After lunch, we headed to the Lincoln Museum where the kids posed for a photo with the Lincoln family. Spencer's look says it all: who are these people and what planet did I land on?


Kiana plays dress-up with Lincoln.


Back in St. Louis, Terry treated a group of long-time family friends from church to a dimsum lunch. This was everyone's first time meeting Spencer, who was in fine form running around the restaurant saying "hi" to all the guests. Mrs. Kwon (back right) is the owner of the restaurant. her son, York (standing next to Ryan) is a professional musician with an orchestra in Spain, but was back in town for the summer. York and Eunice went to the same school, were in the same Chinese class, and played the violin together when they were kids. <\span>