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August 17, 2008 - Cottage Weekend at Lake Clear

We were blessed with a spectacular weather weekend so we happily headed out to our good friends and neighbours' newly-renovated cottage at Lake Clear near Eganville, Ontario.

We discovered the beautiful cottage life of Lake Clear as we enjoyed  swimming, body-boarding, boating, fishing, BBQ'ing, and plain-old lounging around.  A few naps under the sun, great conversations, watching the Beijing Olympics, and eating fresh fruit and smores kept the energy levels high and yet in an oh-so relaxing, fresh air, sleep-inducing environment.

"Water, water, everywhere."

Thank you Paul, Lyne, and Tyler for an unforgettable cottage weekend.

p.s. Although there were more sightings of the "Driftwood Monster of Lake Clear", the "Marshmallow Eyes Lady" prevailed...

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August 10, 2008 - Boston and Cape Cod Family Vacation

Day 1 - Following weeks of anticipation, an 8-hour drive through Ontario, Quebec, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, we finally arrive at our destination in historic Boston.  We went shopping, checked into our hotel, splash around in the pool, and make our first visit to see good friends, Jagdeep, Jaspreet and baby Meher. We share our first dinner together at a Thai restaurant.  Going on 4-hours sleep from the previous night of driving, Justice starts jumping off tables and other Thai family heirlooms so we wolf down our meal and head back to the hotel.

Justice falls asleep in his stroller on the way back where he ends up sleeping a full 12 hours.  Sweet!

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Let the vacation begin!

Day 2 - We kick off the day with a visit to Franklin Park Zoo, a first for everyone, and get to see an African Lion roaring, a White Tiger bathing, and various other animals roaming, including wild dogs, camels, zebras, and giraffes. Fascinating stuff.  By mid-day, as a measure of good planning, Justice falls asleep on our way to Atrium Mall where we shop at much anticipated stores; Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn.  We cap off this fun day with dinner at the famous Cheesecake Factory where we get really full.

Later on, we join our friends again for a more relaxing evening in downtown Boston and even get to walk on their rooftop terrace where we can view the cityscape and bright lights of Fenway Park, home of the World Series Champions, Boston Red Sox.  We bid farewell to our good friends and look forward to seeing Meher "clap! clap!" again one day.

To view photos of our family vacation, click here

Day 3 - We wake up fully rested with another good night sleep (thank you "Heavenly Sleep System"), put on our good shoes, and get set for a walking tour of Boston (so many attractions within walking distance in the downtown district).  We walk by the various shops of Newbury Street and arrive at Boston Common downtown park where we marvel at the spectacular landscaping, enjoy gazing at the swan boats, and find the promised land for 2.5 year old Justice; Frog Pond, a giant-size wading pool and playground area that is filled with hundreds and hundreds of kids aged 1-7.  After much wading, splashing, running, climbing, and hopping, we drink a lemonade, go by Cheers bar (Norm!), and head back for a bit of a break.  Incidentally, a few people in the streets recognized Phil's Ottawa Senators t-shirt, both Sens and Leafs fans alike!

In the afternoon, we head North about 1hr30min. to Green Acre Baha'i School where we visit the lovely grounds, facility, and bookstore.  Despite the super slow toll booth separating New Hampshire from Maine, which delayed us by half an hour, we hope to return here as a family one day.  We then make a quick visit at the Kittery Premium Outlet Malls, but the prices and layout of the stores is not overly impressive so after only 30 minutes we head back home.  Green Acre, however, was definitely worth the trip.

Back at the hotel, Mommy starts packing for the next phase of our trip while Daddy and Justice make the trek to the pool again where Justice starts jumping into the water all by himself for the first time ever.  We reward ourselves with some "ahhh" time in the hot tub.  Justice turns to Daddy on our way back to our hotel and says,

"That was awesome!"

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Day 4 - Another great night sleep, what a perfect way to start the day.  We are about to shift gears from big city living to country and seaside charm in famous Cape Cod where we go to visit our friends Paul and Kathe, whom we met 5 years ago on another vacation.  Thanks to their generosity, we got to stay in their lovely 5-star home while in the Cape.

We have great conversations and finish the day lounging by their local beach, with Justice playing in the sand, playing with his soccer ball, and throwing rocks at other children (yikes!).

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Day 5 - Sleeping by the ocean air is both relaxing and re-invigorating and really makes a vacation a vacation.  Today, we take on the roles of beach bums and travel along the south side of The Cape and hang out at Craigville Beach for the entire morning.  We spend the whole time in the calm and warm waters splashing around.  It's such a great workout that Justice actually goes for a snooze afterwards.  We stop by Four Seas Ice Cream for a snack, and then visit the famous Christmas Tree Shoppe (unique items, low prices).  We eat our lunch at Panera Bread  (Amelia's favourite place for panini bread) and then head back on the road again and discover yet another beach, Lighthouse Beach in Chatham, located at the "elbow" of Cape Cod.  To complete our adventures, we munch on Cape Cod chips during our travels (of course).

To cap off this beach day, with have a pizza dinner and more great conversations with Kathe and gaze at the clear sky and millions of stars above with a gentle sea breeze blowing in the air.

"Ah yes, this is summer living."

We bid our farewells and return home safe and sound after 10 hours of travel - good thing we had our GPS to keep us on track and our DVD player to keep Justice pre-occupied (although he was great in the car sleeping, laughing, singing, and creating his own games).  We reminisce about the wonderful time we had together as a family and with friends visiting historic Boston and quaint Cape Cod and look forward to our next family vacation...

To view photos of our family vacation, click here

July 31, 2008 - July Highlights

One of our favourite months of the year - highlights included getting a haircut, visiting Ba-Noi, our Taekwon-Do Family Picnic and BBQ at the Beach (Fitzroy Harbour) with Justice's cousins, and Phil's 39th birthday.

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July 13, 2008 - Feast of Words

It was a night of prayer and partying as we celebrated the Feast of Words.

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July 6, 2008 - Quebec 400th - Great Family Gathering

On our last day, we headed from our hotel back to downtown Quebec and the storied Plains of Abraham Battle Park by the St-Lawrence River for the Great Family Gathering, one of the most spectacular family fun events we ever experienced.

Inflatable rides, sports, fun activities, costumed characters, train rides, play structures, giving away of free food and drink samples and even Celine Dion tickets, and best of all, it was all free for the 1000's of family who showed up!  Joyeuse 400ieme anniversaire, Quebec, et merci!

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July 5, 2008 - Quebec 400th - Valcartier Water Park

After a full morning at the aquarium, we sure appreciated our afternoon nap which refreshed us to get ready for our late afternoon visit to Valcartier Water Park, apparently Canada's largest water park.

The multitude of slides, rides, and attractions were very impressive, although Justice opted for simple splashing by the beach of the artificial lake (the awesome Pirate ship and cannon battles were just too loud for him).  We would definitely come back to visit this world-class water park in the future.

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July 5, 2008 - Quebec 400th - Parc Aquarium

After spending the previous day in Old Quebec walking, we thought today would be a perfect family fun day for Justice, so we started off with a visit to Parc Aquarium which featured polar bears, seals, walruses.  Once we got scared off by the salt water fish (which live in the St-Lawrence River, some which reached sizes as long as a human being), we decided to head over to visit the wet lands, play structures in the woods, and splash pad.  The aquarium's location offered us a great view of the bridge.

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July 4, 2008 - Quebec 400th - Old Quebec and Chateau Frontenac

We had been looking forward to this family vacation for months, and it turned out to be just as super-fantastic as we had hoped; perfect weather, extremely friendly locals, and an incredible celebration of Quebec's 400th Anniversary featuring a beautiful city and spectacular entertainment for all.

On our first day, we roamed the packed and charming cobblestone streets of Old Quebec, visited the legendary Chateau Frontenac and Dufferin boardwalk, and even ran into Jaleh and Sepehr in a crowd of 50,000.  No rain showers would deter our spirit nor the Commemorative Show.  In fact, the rain allowed us to marvel at a spectacular rainbow.  Simply awesome stuff.

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July 1, 2008 - Happy Canada Day!

First, we visited Grand-Maman Ba-Noi for some quality time at the park by the Ottawa River.  Then, following Justice's afternoon nap, we continued a family tradition and gathered at the McFarland's Canada Day Pool Party which featured gourmet burgers, pool volleyball, and great family fun.

It's great to be Canadian!

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June 21, 2008 - Summer, Ginger, and Chili are Here

These are the dog days of summer, literally.  Justice is having a blast enjoying the nice weather, along with Gabriel, Zoe-Anh, and guest appearances by Ginger and Chili.

Although we've only had a handful of fully dry days with lots of rainy days, we still get to enjoy the great outdoors with walks by the creek or playing at Tyler's play structure.  Justice also loves playing with dogs, chasing them, caressing them, and occasionally tormenting them with his overzealous enthusiasm.

Let the summer begin!

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Gabriel and Justice, hand in hand.  Ahhh...

June 15, 2008 - Father's Day

With Mr. Lam's spirit still very strong in our hearts, we celebrated this day as a family at Pinhey's Point Historic Site in Dunrobin, Ontario.  The weather was perfect, the petting zoo and play structure were fun, the strawberry crepe breakfast was scrumptious, and the atmosphere was relaxed and mellow, all combining to make it a super Father's Day.  Everything was just beautiful.

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“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back
and realize they were the big things.” - Robert Brault

June 14, 2008 - Bao-Anh's Birthday

All family members gathered around for a great birthday party featuring Vietnamese food and Korean BBQ, general chaos with the kids (especially the ones aged 2-3 years of age), and an eye-opening Nintendo Wii demonstration.

Happy Birthday, Bao-Anh, we love you!

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June 7, 2008 - Valley View Farm

It was a hot and sunny day on this first weekend of June as we had some family fun at the farm.  We went to Valley View Farm where Gabriel and Justice ran amok, fed and petted the animals, and climbed on anything they could possible climb on (train, horses, play structures, etc.).  Yee haw!

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May 31, 2008 - Justice et Gabriel dans l'eau

Justice + Gabriel + puddle of water...enough said.

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May 25, 2008 - Jaleh and Sepehr's Wedding in Montreal

A fabulous party list of 250+ from around the world gathered in Montreal to celebrate the union of two great people and friends, Jaleh + Sepehr.  This wedding had it all; a spiritual ceremony, a classy afternoon tea in a courtyard, Persian food to-die-for, nice speeches, multimedia Powerpoint presentation by Arash, an ultra-hip guest book, a traditional knife dance, and a rockin' DJ and dance floor.  We even raised the bride and groom in the air.

Congratulations to Jaleh and Sepehr, you deserve the best life has to offer!

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May 22, 2008 - Go Diego Go!

Television cartoon celebrity, Diego, came to town, along with his famous cousin, Dora the Explorer, for a live action show at ScotiaBank Place.  Cousins Justice and Gabriel, along with over 4,000 other children and their parents, got the chance to participate in this very interactive experience as Diego embarked on "The Great Jaguar Rescue."

Unbeknownst to us, the "Rescue Pack" is apparently a heavy-set rapper...

It was a super-fun way for the kids to spend the afternoon (and for the parents to spend money on overpriced toys :-).  Later on, Justice and Gabriel got the chance to "re-decorate the basement." Go Diego Go!

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May 19, 2008 - Mayhem in May

Slowly but surely, I'm catching up with my web site with photos and highlights of the past few weeks; Mother's Day, seeing Canadian comedian Russell Peters with the Gatchell's, Grand-Maman time,  visit from Phil's university friend Paul, visit from Ginger, mattress playtime with Vahid and Naim, playing with a new train set, more potty training, and overall mayhem in the month of May.  Whew!

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May 17, 2008 - Feast of Grandeur

It was a night of prayer and partying as we celebrated the Feast of Grandeur.

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May 5, 2008 - Jaleh's Bridal Shower

Our good friends Jaleh and Sepehr are getting married so with some dreaming and scheming, a surprise Bridal Shower was organized for Jaleh by family and friends.

It was a delightful evening of outrageous games, gifts, and bountiful food.

Looking forward to the wedding coming soon!

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May 1, 2008 - Gabriel and Zoe-Anh Visit

While David and Dominique enjoyed "The Police" rock concert, Gabriel and Zoe-Anh came over for an overnight visit.  Seeing Justice and Gabriel in action is both endearing and maddening at the same time.  They help each other, they conspire together, they feed off of each other, they create a lot of noise and mayhem together, heck, they're great cousins.

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April 30, 2008 - April Highlights

After 6 months of winter, temperatures are finally rising, snow is melting, and the people of Ottawa are coming out of hibernation and re-connecting and enjoying the warm and sunny weather.

Some of the events we enjoyed this month were playing outdoors, Girl's Night for Amelia, a play date with the Gatchell's, Minh-Anh's First Communion, and visiting Grand-Maman Ba-Noi.

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March 31, 2008 - March Madness Highlights

I remember there was a time when I would do weekly web site updates of Justice.  Now things are so crazy-busy, here I am updating March highlights in the middle of May.

Its 20 degrees today, but back in March we were still waist deep in snow.  In any case, some of the highlights were fun times with his baby sitter Becca, our good neighbours Tyler and parents, celebrating St-Patrick's Day, shoveling snow, vacuuming, and yes, dare I say it, potty training!

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March 23, 2008 - Naw-Ruz and Easter Weekend

What happens when religious events all occur the same time?  You have a super long weekend and you celebrate non-stop.  It was the culmination of a wild and wacky month of March with fasting followed by Naw-Ruz (Persian New Year) and lent followed by Easter.  It was a terrific opportunity to get together with loved ones, including all of Phil's god-daughters.

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March 22, 2008 - Vargha and Nousha's Wedding

What can we say about Vargha and Nousha's Baha'i Wedding?  It was the most grandiose location at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, one of the best wedding dinners ever, extremely well organized, brief and yet meaningful wedding speeches, everyone dressed in style, lots of familiar faces and new friends having fun partying and dancing to pump-up music by DJ Shariar, and a warm, kind, and loving bride and groom.  We were delighted to be invited to this incredible soiree.  Congratulations Vargha and Nousha!

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March 16, 2008 - (Early) Easter with Grand-Maman

Knowing Easter Weekend was going to be busy, we had an early Easter with Grand-Maman.  As always, the boys fed off each other's energy and fed off the Easter chocolate soccer ball.

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February 29, 2008 - February Highlights

It was a most eventful month, to say the least, marked by Phil's father's passing and funeral.  On the brighter side, we enjoyed Family Day holiday, Ayyam-i-ha, a visit from Dr. J (Uncle Jagdeep to Justice), Justice's multiple 2-year birthdays, all of which made the mounds of snow more bearable.

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February 29, 2008 - Ayyam-i-ha Celebrations

It was just about two years ago, on Saturday, February 25, 2006, that we celebrated Ayyam-i-ha in Kanata with Amelia whooping it up on the dance floor late at night.  We then went home to bed, and then one hour later, Amelia started feeling something in her belly.  Twenty-three hours of labour later, Justice was born on February 26, 2006.

So it was a celebration of sorts as we performed a Taekwon-Do demonstration for the Baha'i community two years later, with Justice attending his first-ever Ayyam-i-ha.

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February 28, 2008 - More 2-Year Birthday Highlights

Just to add to the 2-year madness and mayhem, Justice partied with more family members and friends this week:

To view more photos of Justice at Daycare (February 25), click here

To view more photos of Justice with Grand-Maman (February 26), click here

To view more photos of Justice's birthday Baby Devotional (also celebrating Joey's and Thomas' birthdays) (February 28), click here

February 26, 2008 - Happy 2-Year Birthday Justice!

We can't believe Justice is two years old.  We have seen our son grow into a walking, talking, and laughing toddler who enjoys life to the fullest and provides us with so much joy (and sometimes hair-pulling madness), we can no longer keep up with all of his daily milestones.  No longer can we possibly keep up with digital cameras or videocameras - the best we can do is just enjoy the moment.  One of those special milestones was his birthday, which we celebrated with family.

Family gathered from everywhere, even a guest appearance by Ginger and Dr. J from Boston.  We laughed a lot and had a most re-energizing time eating coconut rum cake (without the rum), mohitos, watching the Sens thrilling comeback victory against Pittsburgh, and playing movie charades.. We know Grand-Papa was smiling down on us and his spirit was alive and well.   Happy 2-year birthday, Justice!

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February 10, 2008 - Mr. Lam - Rest in Peace

NGUYEN, Lam Thanh On Sunday February 10, 2008, at the age of 63. Beloved husband of Huong Nghiem. Survived by his loving children Phil and Amelia, David and Dominique, Huyen and Vu, Thien and Yen, his beautiful grandchildren Bao Anh, Bao Dan, Minh Anh, Gabriel, Justice and Zoe-Anh and his dear sisters Van and Huong. Mr. Lam will be dearly missed by his cousins, nieces and nephews and their families, his many friends, and all of those whose lives he touched.

"As I close my eyes, I know I can do all things through God, who strengthens me.  As I close my eyes, it is the powerful legacy and positive memories of my father that keeps me going.  As I open my eyes, and look unto a sea of faces, with sadness in your eyes and love and compassion in your hearts, it is your support that inspires us." - from Phil's eulogy

Thank you to the 100's of people who came to pay their respects, send beautiful flowers, heartfelt letters and e-mails, and even prepared food for us and supported us in every way possible.  Your love and support truly does make a difference, thank you.

To view some of Phil's favourite photos of his father, click here

February 9, 2008 - Winterlude

How do you break up the winter and make the most of another snowy day?  Go to Winterlude in the nation's capital, of course.

This weekend, we enjoyed Canada's winter celebration and headed over to Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau where we partook in the various activities at the packed Snowflake Kingdom, the largest snow playground on the continent.  We bravely went down on one of the 30 giant snow slides, reveled in the snowy and family-friendly environment (we even saw Natasha and Lara), and of course had to have some world-famous Beavertails.

Oh yeah...

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February 6, 2008 - Torben and Savinna Visit

With the recent birth of their second child, Anisa, we had the fantastic opportunity to visit with Torben and Savinna and meet the new addition to their family.  Meanwhile, Justice enjoyed all things Dora with Maia, who was such a sociable and welcoming host.

Although it was a cloudy and stormy day with a winter blizzard outside, it was a warm and delightful visit with our good friends in their lovely new home.  Thank you for your kindness and graciousness, Torben and Savinna (and congratulations on obtaining your Masters' in Science.)

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February 5, 2008 - Facebook Reunion in Hamilton

Through the social networking phenomenon of Facebook, Amelia reunited with friends from her youth growing up in Hamilton that she hadn't seen in 11 years.

Now, everyone's grown up and many have families and kids.  It was a joy to see old friends and meet new ones.

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February 2, 2008 - Progressive Dinner Party

What is a Progressive Dinner Party you ask?  It's when good neighbours get together and each host one part of an evening meal, i.e. appetizers, salad, main course, dessert, and drinks.

Requisites: a big appetite, excellent conversationalist, and incredible physical and mental endurance (to digest everything without falling asleep (like some people) and be able to last from 4:30pm-1:30am).

Once again, we got together and enjoyed each other's great company and conversations.

Here's to a great neighbourhood tradition!

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February 2, 2008 - It's Snow Fun

While Mommy and Daddy were at the Progressive Dinner Party, Justice enjoyed a snow play date with cousin Gabriel.

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January 31, 2008 - Getting Through January

Although getting through January is always tough (snow storms, cold weather, traffic jams, colds and flus, etc.), we did it, with some good times and continued growth and development for baby Justice.

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January 26, 2008 - Freedom Fight 2008

Over 2,800 MMA fans gathered at the Robert Guertin Arena to watch local martial arts warriors combat other challengers from across Ontario and other parts of Canada.

Thanks to our neighbours Andy and Tanya, we were able to get some incredible ring-side seats for some front row "ground and pound" action.  Although the fights were brutal at times, the spirit of fellowship, the awesome fan support, and especially the spectacular "Ring Girls" seated beside us, made it for a great Saturday night.

To view exclusive ring-side photos of this event, click here