Palm Sunday Picnic at Lake Balboa in L.A.

This afternoon we ventured to the north of Los Angeles City.  We visited Lake Balboa and enjoyed the perfect day for a picnic.  The Lake is kind of famous for its nice cherry trees, which are in full blossom right now. Of course, it is not nearly as exciting as going to Kyoto's cherry blossoms--or even DC's, for that matter-- but it was a very nice Sunday activity.  Next Sunday, Sunny and I will be in Taipei, Taiwan, and we won't be able to enjoy a relaxing Sunday afternoon together until the middle of next month, so we had a great time today.

It was only a 30 minute drive from our place in the South Bay, and it was well worth the drive.  Lots of ducks, children, dogs, soccer, boats, etc. Beautiful area to visit.

See more of our photos at this link.

We are so grateful for good friends and family!  Please come visit us.. we love visitors.  

(we're going to Utah for jonathan's cousin's wedding on April 8th.)

What we're missing this coming week in Spain:

When I was first in Spain back in 2000, I fell in love with Spain's beautiful Holy Week and Easter traditions. One of most exciting is the traditional procession. Here are some video clips of random Holy Week processions:

Sunny in eastern Canada

Sunny departed LAX this morning for Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She will be back tomorrow evening... It is really cold there right now - in the 30s Fahrenheit!

Sunny: 15 hours traveling, 6 hours working: less than 24 hour trip to Georgia!!

In the Charlotte airport (North Carolina) Sunny took this of these very charming rocking chairs available for passengers to relax as they await flights, etc.  Very interesting concept.... only in the South!  Sunny went to Georgia and it seemed only a few hours later that I picked her up again at LAX.... quick!

Consuls at UCLA

Jonathan has been involved in a program called "Consular Connection" at UCLA... this picture is of the most recent event at the end of February.  Here pictured with Consuls General from Turkey, Bangladesh, and Germany.  (I did crop this shot...)

Also, I recently wrote the Wikpedia article about the Los Angeles Consular Corps.

More Panoramic views of São Paulo, Brazil

Whenever we discuss São Paulo around Sunny's dad (he lived there for a few years), he complains about the traffic (well it is worse than Los Angeles), the food (why???), and calls SP a great "concrete jungle".  

But . . . . I LOVE SP!  So excited to return this month.  Enjoy these great shots of the city:

Jonathan's São Paulo obsession

São Paulo is such an amazing and endless city (much like L.A.) .... is and always will be Jonathan's obsession.  Today he got 4 phone calls from people there, and he is getting more and more eager to get down there in 2 weeks! It will a wonderful trip!  Possible baptism, a wedding, lots of friends, good Brazilian food, a meeting or two... lots of alegría.

Unfortunately, Sunny will be unable to accompany Jonathan to the Brazilian megacity.... well, there's always next time!

Downtown Disney with family

We met some of Sunny's siblings, her parents, etc. in Anaheim to eat dinner and enjoy Downtown Disney.  I was pleasantly surprised with the great live music, cool shopping, good eats, etc. Fun place to spend the evening. 

For more photos, click HERE.

GO DISNEYLAND! 

Jonathan loves his UCLA

Sunny going to Georgia

Sunny must make a business trip tonight to Georgia.  Her responsibilities take her to Savannah, Georgia tonight, but she'll be back tomorrow night!  Jonathan must stay home and study, etc.

Sunny going to Toronto, Canada

Sunny is leaving Jonathan in California to attend the funeral of cousin Ming Shin who passed away this past weekend.  Sunny will be in Canada Friday-Saturday.  Unfortunately, Jonathan cannot attend because his passport is stuck in the Brazilian consulate.

Remembering cousin Ming Shin, 1978-2008

Sunny's cousin, Ming Shing, passed away this weekend after struggling with TB and cancer.

Sunny and Jonathan are planning to attend his funeral in Toronto, Canada this coming Saturday.

In the picture above, Jonathan is standing right behind Ming (wearing a necktie).  We enjoyed a pretty close association with Ming during the summer of 2007 that we spent in China and Hong Kong.  Ming exemplified kindness, thoughtfulness, and he was always willing to help anyone in need.  I always admired his genuine concern for other people.  We will miss him very much.  Our prayers are with his parents.

Spain's Electoral disappointment: PSOE wins

Jonathan is bummed that the Spanish Socialists won the national election: 4 more years of Pres. Zapatero.  For the latest election results, click here.

Disneyland: Downtown Disney

This Saturday while Jonathan worked hard on school work, Sunny went to the beach for a massage.... then  in the evening we went to Downtown Disney for dinner at the House of Blues, and then went shopping!  Very fun evening spent with relatives who live in the region.

Relatives visiting, school, gastronomy, etc.

This weekend we attended a performance of the BYU Young Ambassadors, who are on tour in California right now.  They performed at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center, a gorgeous venue for the arts!!  Downtown Long Beach is a lovely place; it's always a treat to visit there.

Also, Jonathan's aunts Bonnie and Linda came to visit their Aunt Rachel in Burbank, so we all got together on Sunday evening for dinner and a nice big family visit.

This evening, we took the missionaries out to eat Korean food at a restaurant on Sepulveda - super authentic, and delicious.  We love Korean BBQ - cooking it yourself, etc.  The elders enjoyed Korean food for the first time!

Jonathan is way busy with school and other projects, and Sunny is preparing for a bunch of travels.

For more pictures of recent days/weeks: click HERE.

Hollywood, UCLA, the Getty, parties, Chinese New Year, etc.

Our good friend/brother Carlos is with us this weekend.  He really wanted to escape Utah's weather, so he is in luck....  We're having a great time with him here... but there is definitely not enough time to enjoy everything there is to see and do in Los Angeles and its region! :) He'll have to return many times yet.  Enjoy the photos of this weekend at the following links:

Click here for pictures of our niece's birthday party this weekend.

For pictures of Chinese New Year party at the LDS Church, click here and here.

Carlos and Jonathan do Palos Verdes in L.A. Photos here.

Around UCLA, the Getty Center in L.A.: photos here.

Photos of Long Beach and Hollywood HERE.

Pictures/Update of the past few days . . .

Hello!

We want to share some pictures with you.  These pictures are of recent events and activities. :)

We were in Utah for the baby blessing of Jonathan's cousin, Melissa. The snow led to a cancellation of church services, so it was done at her parents' home. Here are pictures from that event.

For more pictures of what we did over last weekend in Utah, please see this album.

Also in Utah, President Hinckley's memorial services. Jonathan and his sister and parents participated in the cane salute on South Temple following the funeral.  Click here.

Our Chinese New Year celebrations began this year with the Torrance Chamber of Commerce celebration.  Click here for pics.

SUPER TUESDAY - We voted, and had a party at our house, and enjoyed good food.  Click here.

President Hinckley remembered

We received word of President Hinckley's passing last night during a family dinner at Sunny's parents' home.  

Please visit Jonathan's blog "Who Are Mormons?" to read more about President Hinckley's passing and public legacy.

Minnesota

Minnesota is the coldest place on Earth! We were there for a few days over the weekend with our sister-in-law Katie and her daughter, Ariana (pictured below).

We had a great time braving the subzero temperatures. :)  Also, see more pictures here.

Minneapolis

Ariana Chen, our niece, at the restaurant Basil's in downtown Minneapolis

Visiting with Jonathan's high school friend, Cynthia, and her husband, jared. they live in St. Paul