Every time I open our page and read the first line of my last entry, I sigh in agreement :
And finally, yes, long overdue...but better late than never, right? 
I wonder if I'll ever continue this project of, if I'll ever have the time to and from there my train of thought is lost on all the other things going on in my life that are more pressing.   I let the other parts of my life dictate what I get done and when I get them done.  It's embarrassing at how long it has taken me to take ten minutes to actually look at this page I started 4yrs ago when I had way more time on my hands and never thought I am where I am today.  (side note: if I had so much more time back then, why didn't i post more?)  But you know what reminds me and urges me to post more or just even today? It is my old posts, the emotions they stir in me.
So where has all the time gone? What are my days filled with and where does all the time go? Well these days I'm lucky to even find the time to check my email, let alone write one back.  I still have an email that I work on sporadically for the last month or so that is for an email I'm trying to reply back to from the summer. Oh my that's pathetic.
We have two boys now. Henry is 27months and Liam is 10months.  They keep me busy! Henry is a "real" boy, as in a handful.  And I don't know if it's because Henry is such an "angel" or that is feels so long ago to have been in the presence of a baby, that Liam is just so adorable to us.  I'm in awe of his baby-ness and how cute it all is.  Except for last night when he kept me up most of the night and I got a total of 4hrs sleep.  Our boys are my life and I don't want them to become another one of my projects that either get neglected or only get looked at with only a fraction of my fullest attention.

So, today's goal was to just start, start with something... at least now when I open our page I won't be glared at by pics of how we used to have so much more time, freedom and sleep.

I try to update our smugmug at least once a month and YouTube will be regular as long as i remember that we've recorded some. But until next time (hopefully soon, can't promise anything...oops i seem to do that a lot)

our Honeymoon!

And finally, yes, long overdue...but better late than never, right?

You can see our pics here.

We went to paradise, Negril, Jamaica and had an absolutely relaxing and wonderful getaway.

(I'm trying really hard to catch up on all sorts of stuff)

In the meantime I look at this to take me away

(by the way you need to be listening to Bob Marley while looking at the pictures, it's the only way to do it mon!)

PS. man/woman/child, everyone's a "mon"

meet Tytus

This is our newest member (although it has already been months). He's now 4months old and "growing like stinkweed," as Ryan likes to say.
We got him a week after we got back from our honeymoon (oooh, that reminds me that I still haven't posted about that yet...oops).
We went over to the island to get him, Duncan to be exact. He supposedly looks most like his dad out of a litter of seven. He comes from Tank, a huge 110lbs pure bred and Tessie a good looking girl around 90lbs, also pure bred. So for sure Tytus will be a big boy, it's already easy to forget his age with how quickly he's growing. Also, his paws are huge!

This is him waiting in the car with us for the ferry back home. You can even see a very short clip of him when we first met him. right here (there is also a clip of one of our first visits with Penelope that I almost forgot about)

His very first bath the first day at home. I think he only fit in that sink for another few days. They get big fast, I can't imagine doing this with him now.

His ears have been cropped and he wore a cone and everything. Now his ears stand up on it's own (for the most part). It is a lot different having a tall dog in the house, his big, pointy nose gets in everything.

I left him in the car for a short bit and this is what I came back to find. He thinks he's small and can fit his nose into every little nook.

Now we really feel like we've locked ourselves down to our home, because who's going to dog sit this guy?

OUR WEDDING pictures are here!

OK, we have been waiting a long time for these (we did get them a week or so ago). I have gone through them and chosen a good selection (out of 1100) and they are online for viewing pleasure. I wanted to include our slideshow but couldn't. My sister did an awesome job at choosing our photos and they included friends from Lethbridge. (Katherine you were in it, in a pic from Kylie&Marc's wedding).

Ryan broke down a bit too, when he saw pics of his grandparents and relatives that couldn't make it for the occassion.

Anyways, until we get a real family picture (including Tytus) I have included just a couple on this blog. Otherwise, feel free to check them out at our smugmug site, the 'falling' link to the right. Our photographer's did a wonderful job and they too have put some online, but a password is required.

So, now that these are up, our Honeymoon pictures to Jamaica will follow... hopefully before the end of the week, but most likely just after the Easter long weekend.

We got a few things going on in the house this week and I'm going to be a bit hectic.

Does housework never end?

cars and radios . . . he's fine

Well, recently I was going to post about some of my annoyances these days. Mainly about POT HOLES! I hate them and they are everywhere in this city! Ever since the rain/snow/wind storms, this city has been terrible to drive in. Also, this frustration partly stems from the amount of claims we had come in to the shop due to all the bad weather we had. We are still catching up on claims from Nov/Dec! But yesterday the city redeemed itself by finally showing us a little light ... a lot of light actually. Out of the whole month we have seen about 3-4 days of non-rainy days and yesterday was the first sunny day. A whole day with no rain! can you believe it? And today was just as blue, but I won't be fooled because it is still verrry, chillllly outside.... and rain has been known to creep up unexpectedly.

Aside from bad weather and bad roads, I was also going to vent about bad drivers. We see them all come in and out of our shop. From the people who are at fault, to those who weren't even in their cars when it happened and those who don't even know it's their fault, until we set them straight (the look on their faces....priceless). But it doesn't make me happy to do this, sometimes I really don't like my job. Mostly because they get mad at the messenger...blah,blah...I don't care, I'm just doing my job. And being the middleman between car owner and big, bad insurance company really sucks...the life out of me. I always have a story to tell when I get home. Anyways, there are a lot of bad drivers out there and some have been our customers. We can spot them as they try to reverse and leave our lot, our faces cringe and we don't wonder how they could have gotten into a stupid accident anymore.

Ryan is not a bad driver. A bit "heavy footed" and more "carefree" than the regular person, yes, but not bad. And to mention, I don't think I'm that bad myself. He even lets me drive sometimes (he hates sitting passenger for anyone!) so that means more than it sounds.

Now for the reason of my post:

This morning I came to work, did the usual and then called my husband. He's doing well and work is going good for him this morning. About 11am he calls me back and asks me where he is and I play along and he says "I'm coming to see you!"

Yeah! he's off early. Then I'm thinking double yeah because he can go home and feed/walk the dogs and then he will come out to see me. While his car has been in the shop (he's working on it and it is getting re-done inside out... he has a thing for cars) he has come out to work with me on his days off. So I work, he works and we get to have lunch together (which is my fave) and I get to sneak a peak at him and his smile whenever I like (my fave, fave). Also, while his car has been here, he has been using one of the shop couresy cars.

But then today, 20mins after I had just gotten off the phone with him, he's calling again.

"Sweetie....I just got into an accident."

At first I was thinking it was a joke and paused for the haha. But no haha here, and then I noticed his speech was so stagnant, I began wondering if he's even ok.

So he finally explains, he was following a Ford Taurus, looked down (for just a second) at the radio and looked up to find the Taurus stopped, slammed on the brakes and hit the Taurus in the rear. Turns out the Taurus had rear ended the Toyota Corolla in front of him and that's the reason for the sudden stop. In turn, Ryan had to come to a sudden stop as well, but his car slid into it. Now the part that really got me was when he told me, "both airbags are blown!" I'm thinking, what the??? what kind of accident did you get into? is everyone fine? For those who don't know, it is Ryan at fault but if they wanted to be jerks (other drivers and/or insurance company), he could be responsible for the accident between the Taurus and Corolla too. To top this with an injury claim would not be nice.

Due to the heavy braking and contact (even little), the airbag sensor went off, for the driver and passenger side. And because of the passenger side airbag going off and strength of it, the windshield was smashed.

Ryan got slapped in the face by the airbag and opened his eyes to broken glass. He was in shock and his stomach hurt... and that's about it. They looked at all the other cars involved and there's just really minor scratches. The other driver's don't even care about their cars, stating that they are old and don't really mind. As for Ryan's car, they were all looking for the imaginary wall he must have run into.

Here is a picture of the car Ryan was driving and the front damage to it.

Pretty minor, eh? Pushed in a bit and scratched (we popped the hood, nothing major going on in there either).

And here is the result of that sudden stop...

This car was originally a write off. We bought it salvage and fixed it up to use as a courtesy and now it's a write off again.

So Ryan's fine, he came back to the shop with me and worked on his car for the rest of the day.

I picked him up from the scene, we fed/walked the dogs, we got to have lunch together and I got to see him smile.

Just to the right of where he is working is our front office and that's where I am. So all I had to do was walk a few steps and there he is.

His car is still in pieces but leaving our shop tonight and that's the end of him coming out with me and using our courtesy... what a way to end. He really goes out with a bang and a pop. I love my husband and I don't mind the way he drives (he is a really safe driver) but this accident doesn't convince his mom or my mom&dad. darnit!

ooh, I mentioned radios... because Ryan's first and only other accident involved the exact same thing, radios. Both times he was looking down, fidgetting with the radio. And eerily enough, just last night I told him to stop fussing with the stereo so much, just to leave it be. What is the grand lesson from all this? Always listen to your wife...because she'll always be right sooner or later.

I LOVE you Sweetie! and I'm just thankful you're alright...and that makes me smile.

*an entry is not an entry without pictures and these were taken with our shop camera, that uses 3.5'disk, quality is not why we use it.

what would we do without our neices?

OK, to distract from the fact that I haven't posted yet about our wedding and honeymoon, I do want to take the time out and write a bit about the wonderful nieces in our lives. They are full of energy, smiles and endless fun (well, there is an end to the amount of fun we can have...but you get the gist).

I guess I'll start with the oldest...

Robyn will be a whole double-digit at the end of this year. Just two days after Ryan's birthday, we will celebrate a decade of her life.

I can't wait.

She loves, loves, loves to draw (and is very talented), also baking (helping out whenever she can), and chocolate (like mother, like daughter). And although I don't like to mention, she does not always like her little sister Josephine. However I do have to mention that when Josephine was away in Korea for more than a month, Robyn did get very lonely at times. To Robyn, my only words from experience, having a sister is something you learn to appreciate over time and when you get to that point, you wonder how you'd ever managed without.

I remember when I first met Robyn, it was the day before my high school graduation. Susan (my sister, her mom), was planning to visit for the summer but made it here early enough just to make the event. I almost forgot the excitement of graduation because of their visit. She is the first niece/granddaughter for our family and will be the oldest cousin to many more additions of our growing families. She has already been crowned "babysitter" and "the one in charge". Her presence/existence has taught us (the auntie's, grandparents and parents) to be more attentive (of our bad habits), more concise (like trying to explain what concise means), and just overall smarter (because you can't get away with anything when you got a kid hanging around). We do expect a lot out of her, but we know she can do it!

then there's the younger sister...

Josephine is ...
actually, let the "many faces of Josephine" do some of the explaining.

This last picture is unfair (and a bit scary) because she's one super, happy kid. When in doubt refer back to the first pic.

Josephine is turning 6 later this month. And Oh Boy! is it gonna be fun. Right? Well of course, look at who the birthday girl is. Even when it's not her birthday, she's the life of the party. And there is no hint of dullness in her presence. When the phrase "bundle of joy" is used to describe Susan's second daughter, God ensured "joy" to the fullest.
She enjoys ... everything! or I should say, everything her sister enjoys, plus some. Although "a handful" at times, and a holler of "Josephine!" can be heard wherever she goes (usually by her mom, but mostly by Robyn), her smile brings a smile to all our faces.
I think back fondly of the days leading up to the first time we met. I was in Korea visiting/helping my sister during the week before Josephine was due. And I stayed there for the first few weeks of her life. (I can also mention that I was in Korea when she was conceived too). Those days I spent there were a lot of fun and an experience I'll never forget. Yes, I had to deal with my recovering sister (who had a c-section) and yes, I had to take care of a young, nothing but cries (for her mother) and complaints (that I wasn't her mother), Robyn, but it was all worth it. Late in the night, when everyone else would be sleeping, was when Josephine would be wide eyed and awake. She came to us a week early and weighed almost nine pounds and her nickname in the hospital was "toeng-toeng ee" (chubby one). And just before leaving Korea, only weeks old, she was trying to lift her head on her own (something babies don't do for months). Maybe that explains her now, rambunctious, never tired, doing whatever she wants-whenever she wants (literally). All our lives would be a lot less boring without her.

I just love her spirit, here she is dancing in a restaurant. I wish I had video taped it.

Next up, on the Sarabun side is Ryan's niece,

Natalia will be 8 in this spring. She is pretty special. She stole Ryan's heart before she even entered the world. And with her in his life, he's had a glimpse of
what it's like to have a young girl around (or in the future, a daughter). From having to deal with taking her to the washroom (which he's never had to fully deal with because I was around) to "having" to worry about her and the boys she'll encounter as she gets older. In which he replies, "Don't remind me about it".

It is endearing to see him trying to relate to a girl. He only has his own childhood to refer to and isn't aware of how some young girls can be scared of things or not be as tough (compared to boys of course, because she does not like to be mistaken for "not tough"). But don't get me wrong I'm not trying to be sexist, I'm just remembering back to a certain sleep over we had...

I thoughtlessly let the two of them go and pick out a movie to rent. They came back with "Frosty the Snowman", a fine choice...a definite kid choice, seeing as it was the middle of the summer. Then there was Ryan's choice..."Gremlins". Now I'm not putting it down or anything , but come on. I asked, "Do you even remember the movie? I don't think she'll enjoy it. I remember..." and I'm cut off by..."I was just around her age when I saw it and I loved it. Come on, it's a good movie and there's not a lot out there to choose from that I want to watch too,"(someones not being selfish). So I reluctantly agreed and gave warning. As soon as the first person died (a teacher half laying from underneath his desk), who do you know is laying right next to me and peeking out from behind her hands,asking "Is he dead?". Then I knew it was time to shut it down and head to the kitchen for a late night dessert. This is the result of exposure to Gremlins, at too early of an age...but still enjoying her brownie-ice cream.

There is nothing like a chocolate dessert to take the bad thoughts away. And does she love, love, love chocolate. Until I met her, I had never seen anyone eat away the chocolate of a marble cake...and she did.

Don't let this story fool you, she has had plenty of "jumping off the walls, get her down" moments. Which is how we knew she would be a perfect match for Josephine in our recent wedding.

She's our little Sarabun and we love her. She loves food and is always up for trying something new (to eat or do). And in all her silliness, messiness, and craziness, she's still our little girl, who loves all those girly things. (I love watching Ryan try to show enthusiasm for her new clothes or hair.

Here are all three girls, at our rehearsal.

And last, as in, save the best for last, is our newest member to the Yang Family, Dayan

Dayan was born on October 4, 2006. Now all babies are cute but other than being very bias, she is the cutest baby out there. It has been a while since we've had a baby in the house (my parent's house). To be exact, almost six years (Josephine's lifetime...haha). And we or at least I am re-introducing myself to baby smell, baby changing, baby head holding, baby nobbly head bobbing...just everything baby. And it is so much fun, all over again.

Bias or not though, this baby is the most well behaved baby there is. She (hardly) never cries. She lets out little squeaks and bits here and there but they only last seconds. She loves it when you talk to her (not baby talk) and she'll respond right back (in baby talk). She produces smiles and laughs more often than us grown babies. And when she does, smile at whatever it is that you are doing, a great feeling of accomplishment rushes over you and all your left with is wanting to do it all over again...there's no better feeling. And as my brother (her daddy) puts it "a smile worth dying for". And if you want to see other sounds come out of her check this out.

Just to look at her speaks for itself.

She is not to feel any less special just because she is last in this entry because she is certainly not the last in our growing family. She still precedes many more nephews&nieces/cousins/grand kids that are planned for the future. She should, actually, enjoy this time to the fullest. Because according to Robyn (and Robyn's dad Tom), she may feel "out with the old, in with the new,"as more members enter in to this full-filling family.
Instead of sucking her thumb, she sucks her fingers.

So, now that you have seen our wonderful nieces and how adorable they all are

you can understand how we can mush all over them.

We are blessed to have them in our lives and are thankful for that. We would not be the same without them.

And to all future nieces/nephews (kids of our own) ... you got big shoes to fill and until you do, you always got someone to help you along.

Can't wait to add more to this ongoing list!

OK, Ok, it has been entirely way to long for me to go without posting. And before I go any further, I just have to say that posting needs to be set up like gmail and have that automatic draft saving, because twice now I have been in the middle of posting and for one reason or another I lose everything that I have written and then that's it. All gone and I lose all interest in trying to write again. So, that is my littel complaint about that.
Update: Since last, Ryan and I had our beautiful wedding (everything went well, and it sounds like guests enjoyed themselves) ... actually we are going to see the video today! We came back safe and sound from our perfect, much needed honeymoon in Jamaica. Yeah mon! it was nice and pics still to come. Our washroom renovation didn't get done while we were gone, but it is slowly coming along... still waiting... patiently. And last, but certainly not least, we have a new addition to our family (not a baby) a boy Doberman, Tytus. We have discussed the possibility of a new puppy and agreed we would look into it as soon as we got back and settled. He would be the right age and size for Penny to bully around and show the ropes to, and after keeping him indoors, he will be plenty big and tough enough for the outside while it is still summer. After looking for one day, Ryan found one on the island and within the week we were heading over to pick him up. He is all black with tan spots and has big paws and a BIG nose. I wanted to call him "shnauser". I will post pics soon. So our house is a potty house again and well, this is the stuff you forget when you think about a cute puppy (or baby, and other wonderful blessings that have the little negative downsides). Your mind erases all the things you hated/annoyed about having someone/thing new in the house.
So, that's the quickest, shortest update I can think of for now. In case you're wondering, I will post some pics. I have a lot of stuff to sort through. Over 3months worth of picture taking that I finally have 2/3 uploaded and only half done going through them. And I've mentioned it a few times now, about posting pics, only because I hate entries with no pics, it is just not as entertaining and fulfilling... for the reader/viewer.
I have a lost list of things to get done, at home and work. As we speak I am looking at a very high pile of paper work and a file caddy just waiting to be sorted and looked after. ugh! As for home, I'm trying to make as many home meals as possible. I can no longer keep using the excuse "Well, we're not married yet", "I have the rest of my life to do that". Also we just finished our Thank you notes and are in the mail.
Ok, this was just supposed to be a quickie and I want to post more when I got some visual going on.