Pearland, TX

My first visit to Andrew, Jen and the boys in Pearland, Texas was in late September. Andrew and Jen have a very nice and big house in the Houston suburb, Pearland. Thus, there is a lovely and well furnished guest bedroom for their guests.

I had a lot of fun playing and chasing Sawyer around the house. He walked very well by now. Last July when he came to Raleigh and the reunion, he barely walked!. He was very active and sure kept Jen busy all the time. Carter started kindergarten in an elementary school nearby last August. He enjoys school and is a good student.

Walking Sawyer

Busy Working

Carter going to school

Carter at School

Andrew and I were able to go to lunch at Pho Vy restaurant on Broadway, a short distance from the house. Pho Vy's owner is Yen, my friend and my cousin's ex. Yen and I had a lot to catch up since we had not seen each other since Vietnam's 1975!. We also met up with my cousins and their families for dinner one evening in the Vietnamese part of downtown Houston called Bel-Air.

Carter, Tien, Nghia, Yen, Tien, Sawyer, & Andrew

Christmas in Pearland 2012

We were happy to be with Andrew, Jennifer, Carter and Sawyer for Christmas.  This was their first Christmas in Texas.
We flew to Houston on December 20th.  Jennifer and the boys picked us up at the airport.  It was nice to be in Pearland this time of the year.  The weather was great!
The day after we arrived, Andrew had his "Golden Day".  This was the first day he had off in a long time.  We ran errands and did a little Christmas shopping, having to use two cars going to the same destination.  Our first stop was the Galleria, a downtown enclosed mall so Carter and Sawyer could visit Santa.  We had about an hour wait for Santa.  Carter was happy to see Santa, not so much for Sawyer.  It was kind of scary for him.  He was with Santa long enough for us to get a couple pictures.

A visit with Santa

Tien and Carter at  the Galleria Mall

The Saturday before Christmas, Tien's cousins, Son, Nghia and his son, Tien came for dinner.  We had a traditional American dinner (ham, scalloped potatoes).  Nghia commented that this was the first American dinner he had since he arrived in this country ten years ago.

Andrew, Jennifer, Son, Paul, Tien, Nghia, Tien

Since Andrew was working most of the time we were in Pearland, we went down to the hospital one evening to visit him there.  Andrew was able to give us a brief tour of the Neurology ward where he was currently assigned.

Jennifer, Carter, Sawyer, Dr. Landstrom at Texas Children's Hospital.

On Christmas Eve, Carter and Sawyer were able to open a few of their presents.  On Christmas Day, when Andrew came home from work in the afternoon, the rest of the presents were opened.  Carter and Sawyer must have been very good since Santa was very generous with them.

Andrew and Paul with matching Christmas pajamas.

Jennifer and the Boys

Paul, Sawyer, Carter, & Tien (12-26-2012)

Our Christmas week in Pearland went by way too fast.  We look forward to visiting A, J, C, & S soon.
We flew back home to spend New Years in Raleigh.

Thanksgiving in Waltham

On Thanksgiving day, we few to Boston to celebrate Thanksgiving with Michelle and Seth.

We had an early flight (5:40am) out of Raleigh and arrived in Boston at 11am.  The weather in Boston was chilly but bright and sunny while we were there. Seth's Uncle, Bud who lives in Buzzard Bay on Cape Cod, invited us to join them for their annual Thanksgiving dinner.  We enjoyed their hospitality and a delicious meal.  We can see why Seth likes to celebrate Thanksgiving in Boston!.

The following day was not only Black Friday, but it also was Tien's Birthday.  Her one request was to sleep in (at least until 7am) before going shopping for Christmas presents. After shopping, we toured the Framingham State University where Michelle is working on her Masters and had Chinese dinner to celebrate Tien's birthday.

At Framingham State University

On Saturday, we took the bus and train into Boston to do some sightseeing.  The one thing we wanted see that we missed from previous trip to Boston was the USS Constitution.  The USS Constitution and the museum exhibits were superb.  We had a great tour. 

USS Constitution

Cooking dinner

Waltham is a foodie town. A "hole in the wall" restaurant called "In a Pickle" is a good example.  When we arrived for Sunday brunch, there was a line out on the sidewalk and we had an hour wait.  It was well worth the wait.  The food was delicous.  We left the restaurant stuffed and satisfied.

 "Healthy" Breakfast

In a Pickle

Memory - August 2011's Cruise

Mom always said that she wanted to cruise, just to experience all the nice things she heard so much about cruising. Shortly after celebrating her 79th birthday (80th according to Vietnamese calendar), she had her first cruise.

From Denver, Mom was accompanied by Hoang, Tien, Mary, Tan and Lieu on the flight to Miami. I flew from Raleigh and we met at Miami airport. We rented a mini van while in Miami.  We stayed in Miami for 2 days before the cruise. We visited South Beach and some other attractions, and of course, enjoyed eating authentic Cuban food. We also went on a wild shopping trip for our cruise's last minute essentials. Miami is definitely a fun city to hang out.

South Beach, Miami

Playing tourists in Miami.

The hotel shuttle took us to Port of Miami where our ship, Royal Caribbean's Majestic of the Seas cruised to the Bahamas for 5 days. Mom had no problem getting around. The terminal provided Mom a wheelchair for her use during check-in and to get to the ship.

Enjoying a meal before the ship departs Miami.

All Aboard!

 Our ports of calls included Coco Cay (Royal Caribbean's own island) and Nassau, Bahamas. Everyone had a great time.  On Coco Cay, we enjoyed the beach, music and the food.  In Nassau, we took a tour of the island by mini van.  The highlight was stops at Fort Charlotte and Atlantis Hotel and Resorts.

Mom with her "High Tech" wheelchair - Coco Cay.

Ready for the Bahamas Tour.

 The only comment was lack of Vietnamese/Chinese food on board, and the men having to dress for the formal night dinner!.  The women were happy to dress up for the formal. We all enjoyed the cruise. It's a wonderful , fond memory of the first cruise for Mom, Tan, Lieu and Hoang's family.

Dinner in the dining room.

Formal night

Landstrom Family Reunion

We once again gathered for Paul's family reunion. Since 1979, we met every 3 years during the last full week of July. This year, our 33rd reuinon, was the week of July 22-28 in Myrtle Beach, SC. There were 110 people who came for the week or part of the week. Paul's sisters, brother and their families were all there. Jennifer, Carter, Sawyer flew in from Houston, while Michelle, Seth came from Boston. We missed Andrew!. He could not come because of his residency schedule with Texas' Children.

The Maynard clan had the most number of people (24) attending the reunion this time. The Thraens came in 2nd with 22. Way to go, Maynard Mobs!.

Deep sea fishing trip

Floating down the "Lazy River".

Kevin and Sawyer at Myrtle Beach

Sawyer and his grandpa at the beach.

After the reunion, Mark, Gayle, Erick and Emily hang out with us in North Carolina for a few days. We were able to show them our beach condo in Surf City before coming home to Raleigh. We had a good time in Raleigh, including a visit from Linda. It's nice of Linda to come out to visit Mark and Gayle.

Erik, Mark, Gayle & Emily in Raleigh

Mark & Sawyer

It was an enjoyable and relaxed summer in the Carolinas. Good time!. Great company!. Wonderful reunion!

A day a Pullen Park in Raleigh.  Jennifer, Sawyer, & Carter

Carter & Grandpa at Pullen Park

We look forward to the 2015 reuinion. The organizing committee (Dee, Paul, Mark and Mary) needs to get busy...soon!.