Time flies....

We can't believe it's Fall already!! Olivia is keeping very busy with her full schedule. She now has preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 to 11:30 , ballet on Wednesdays at 3:00, swimming on Thursdays at 1:15 PM, and Gymboree on Fridays at 1:15. She is loving preschool and can't wait to go on school mornings. She is learning about the human body this month and cracks us up with all the information she likes to share. Some notable quotes from preschool include:

• "My skull is under my head, and my brain is under my skull!"


• "I have bones, but you can't see them because they are under my skin."


• "All my bones are called a skeleton!"


• "Bon apetit! You may eat!"


• "I have friends, but sometimes they hit me, so I hit them back and that's not nice!"

Here are a few pictures from last few weeks. Ong, Ba, and Cau Truong came to visit for a week and we had fun hanging out with them.

Olivia is exhausted and falls asleep on Ong, with her Halloween costume on.

Cau Truong playing RockBand in his ridiculous hat!

Olivia was helping Mama make a cake for Ong and Ba's birthdays. She had to take a break and pretend she was a pirate!

Helping to blow out the candles...

Olivia put together this outfit all by herself. She calls it her Hercules outfit. Why? We have no idea....

Olivia goes to SCHOOL!

Today Olivia started Preschool! They had an open house on Friday to meet the teachers and let the kids get to know the classroom. Olivia didn't want to go home that day! So today she was very excited. She got a new backpack (which Andre says is bigger than her), and did her homework yesterday. Here are some of her answers to her homework questions:



What is your favorite animal?- Frogs

What is your favorite game? - Animals Fighting (what the heck is that?)

What is your favorite food? - Chicken Nuggets

What are the names of the people in your family?- Olivia, Mama, and Dada. But some people call them Andre and Mary.

What are you going to do at school? - Play with Gak (silly puddy), play tag, and run around in circles.

Olivia with Dada before school!
Look at how excited Olivia is!
Olivia is telling us she is three years old and going to school today.
In the parking lot.
Why would Andre think her backpack was too big?

She was so excited she just took off ahead of us. (We're loading her pack with bricks next time...)

With teacher Mandi. Olivia picked her name out of a stack of name cards!

She didn't even say good-bye! She just took off into the classroom. We are experiencing "empty nest" syndrome...

WHEW! What a month!

Well, August is almost over and we are home!! (Well... we're home for two days, then off to Spokane for the Labor Day Weekend) We had a great August and played a TON! Overall, Andre will work 10 days this month and Mary and Olivia will log a total of seven days at home. We've had our share of weather fluctuations with going from 60's and raining at home, to high 80's in Vantage for our first camping trip in August. Whistler gave us a few cool rainy days, but two days of sunshine and temperatures in the 70's. Then it was off to Sun Lakes where the sun beat down on us and provided us with hot 100 degree temperatures. On the drive home from Sun Lakes, Snoqualmie Pass hit us with a high of 68 and driving rain. Andre was happy he didn't have to water the grass the two days we were home between Sun Lakes and Sacramento! Then it was back to high 90's and lower 100's in Sacramento. What will Spokane bring this weekend? Who knows?

We had a lot of fun in Sacramento on our trip to visit Mary's brother Tri. We got to see his house, meet his girlfriend Lisa, and play a lot! We met Mary's mom and dad there, along with her brother Truong, her cousin Linh, and her niece Emily. The first night we were there we went to the California State Fair where we ate some funnel cakes, saw some Chinese acrobats, and walked by the Air Supply concert. On Friday we all went to the pool (we later found out we had gone to the one located in "the ghetto"). On Saturday went to the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale land, then pigged out at Tri's favorite restaurant of all time....Bucca di Beppo. Sunday was a full day. We took a road trip to San Francisco. We woke up early and our first stop was Fairfield, CA home of one of the JELLY BELLY FACTORIES!!!! It was great getting there right when they opened because the sample station was all ours. Nothing like Jelly Beans in all different flavors for breakfast! We then stopped at the Budweiser factory across the way, but found out it was closed on Sundays :( We arrived in San Francisco just in time to go to Fisherman's Wharf and chow down on some clam chowder. Tri and Lisa took Emily and Olivia to the aquarium and we walked around and took in the sights. We then headed off to see the Golden Gate Bridge. On the way to dinner we stopped at the Japanese Tea Garden. Dinner was Bubba Gumps Restaurant where our old stand by the Shrimpin Dippin Broth was a little too spicy this time for most of us. We got home at around 11:30 PM. (We had left at 8:30 AM). On Monday, Tri went to get eye surgery (Something different than Lasik, he explained it to me, but I wasn't really listening...) and we headed off to see Old Sacramento. Then it was off to the pool again to cool off. Tuesday we headed home and now we are unpacking yet again.

We took a lot of pictures of our trip to the Sac. You can check them out by clicking on the "Our Recent Pictures" link on the right of this page.

August 15-18 Sun Lakes, WA

We just got back from Sun Lakes, WA where the sun was shining, the temperatures were soaring, and the fish were biting! Olivia is officially addicted to fishing now. We checked into our cabin at around 4:00 on Friday and cranked the AC full blast. We think the temperatures were in the low 100's all weekend. Olivia caught her limit in trout, and spent tons of time in the pool. She got to hang out with her Papa and Mema, as well as her Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins on Andre's side. She was happy to get home on Monday to her "princess room" and "princess bed", but keeps asking when she can go back to the "hotel" and catch some more fish! Unfortunately, we forgot our camera, but here are a few shots taken with the camera we borrowed from Mema.

Olivia manages to snag a decent sized trout on her two-foot-long Barbie fishing Pole. (Thanks for the pole Uncle Mike!)

Cousin Nicholas and Olivia ready to hit the lake.

"Get the big one DADA!"

"Thanks for showing me how to fish, Papa!"

Some more pics from Whistler!

We had a great time in Whistler, but are happy to be home. Here are some more random pictures to share with everyone!

I have to make sure Daddy wears his helmet everywhere he goes...

Olivia (yes, that's her in her knight's outfit) playing Prince and Princess with her friend Jessica.

Riding side saddle with Dada.

Olivia's favorite place in Whistler Village was the toy store with the big plastic guy in front.

I love my Dad!

Ready for snowmobiling anyone?

Sitting pretty at lunch with a flower in my hair...

Dinner with Dada.

Check me out going EXTREME!

Helloo from Canada, EH!

Hello From Whistler, Canada- home of the 2010 Winter Olympics! Here's Olivia on the podium accepting her first of many gold medals! We're here for Crankworx, a downhill mountain biking festival. Andre has gotten some good riding in, and Olivia and Mary are having fun wandering around the village and taking in the sites. It's been a little rainy, but the weather is supposed to get sunny tomorrow. We're here for two more days. See you when we get home!

Olivia tells Dada to have a good time and to "BE CAREFUL!" before he heads out for a ride.


Olivia and Mama in the condo.

Hanging out in Whistler Village after lunch.

Olivia likes extreme riding too!

Olympic Bobsledding!

Hello BIG bear!

Ok, you caught us! It is the big stuffed bear outside the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory!

The Elsers: Brenda and Bill

Hey Bren, the drinking age IS lower in Canada, but next time...PLEASE no more Kokanee for Olivia!

Bill and Andre enjoy a cold brew after some runs.

August begins with camping!

This last weekend we went camping with our friends the Gleasons. Friday started out a little hectic since we didn't have reservations anywhere, but we decided to wing it and just drive east to see what we could find. We were going to go to Lake Easton, but that plan changed when the resort we were going to stay at became fully booked at the last minute. Turns out that was a good thing since the forecast for Easton turned into high 60's with showers all weekend. We ended up in Vantage, WA where the weather was in the mid to high 80's. We had lots of fun eating, swimming in the river, hanging out, eating some more, and watching tents get blown over when the evening winds kicked up (luckily, we didn't have that problem). Next trip... Whistler, Canada!

The whole gang! Andre, Olivia, Mary, Jen, Ashley, Ashley's friend Ashly, and Jon.

Mary and Jen complete with baby boys in utero!

Jon and Andre enjoying a refreshing beverage by the campfire. (Do I smell Jagermeister?)

By the campfire.

The Gleasons

Olivia in the tent wearing nothing but the laundry bag.

She is having so much fun in the tent!

She REALLY enjoyed being one with nature.

Hanging out with the big girls. She kept referring to them as "The Ashleys" all weekend.

Boys cooking.

Olivia and Dada giving Brutus loves.