Philadelphia

Our second stop on the trip was Philadelphia, PA. I haven't been there since college, and Sandy had never been there. I must admit, I was a little bit nervous about going to Philly. Let's just say that I didn't have the fondest impression of the place.

We had to see the Liberty Bell which little did I know was such an important symbol of our freedom and democracy.

We also stopped in to see Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was debated and ratified. George Washington actually sat in the chair up front. It was quite an inspiring place.

We went on a big bus tour with the open top deck. Lots of crazies in Philly, watch out!

Philly was surprisingly a beautiful and scenic city with a lot of impressive buildings and architecture. One of our favorites was City Hall.

I had never seen a statue of Joan of Arc before. Nor had I seen a statue that was actually covered in gold.

We also went running up the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rocky style.

Sandy was the champ. It was hilarious how everyone and their mother was doing the exact same thing.

Amidst a super busy and hot day, we managed to take a break for some popsicles.

And a dip in a fountain.

You could feel the LOVE. Or at least see it.

We even had an authentic Philly Cheesesteak with an authentic Philly experience of being yelled at. Although the lady at the counter lady apologized and was nice to me. It wasn't very authentic after all.

Philly ended up being a very nice city for the Lee's.

Baltimore, Maryland

We had the privilege of returning to the east coast for the first time in 14 years (for Sandy) and the first time ever for the boys and girl, for a family vacation. It was exhausting but awesome. The first stop on our 17 day journey was good old Maryland.

If you didn't know, Baltimore is famous for it's blue crab. Don't ask why the crabs they sell are red.

We visited the Inner Harbor on a blazing hot and humid day...good old Maryland.

We took a cruise and saw the global headquarters for Under Armour, founded by a University of Maryland alumnus.

We also saw Fort McHenry, where during the war of 1812, it was the inspiration for our national anthem. It was a very poignant moment of many on the trip.

And last but not least, we took a trip down memory lane and visited our very first home - the Plum Tree Apartments!

After living here for 3.5 years (that's what we're doing in the pic), we left the Plum Tree apartments for California 14 years ago. They don't look that much different though I think we look A LOT different!

Hi Ho Cash!

Why? You ask? Because the horse's name is Cash.

Matt and Emz started horseback riding lessons. I am very proud of Matt because he is naturally hesitant of animals. And considering how ginormous a horse is compared to any human being, let alone Matt, he has done well to control his fears and learn to enjoy these fine animals.

Emery is drawn to all sorts of animals so she's having a blast as usual.

Track

Andrew tried out track this year for the first time. It's gone pretty well. I'll post more on this later, but for now, he has enjoyed this intense one month of a track season.

He's done the mile, the 800, and the 200, but his favorite so far is the 200.

He's also done some relays - the 4x100 which is a lot more action and the 4x400 which has some moments like the one above.

Here he is doing the long jump.

Speed...

Infinity 500

At our Wed night children's program  (Generations to Come or GTC for short), we have an annual derby car race. Last year, Matt won in the first heat but lost in the semi-final heat. This year, we were determined to do better. Although he won in the first heat, he lost again in the semi-final, this time by just 0.01 seconds. It was a razor thin margin. His Verizon car didn't quite have enough juice.

Emery decided to go for style points and try to win for best style. Unfortunately, she didn't win either but hers was super cute and creative in my opinion.

Oh well. Like I always say to the boys and girl, God makes the winners and losers. Your cars were still great!

8 - 0

Andrew finished up his probable last Upward basketball season and what a way to go out - undefeated. The last game was a flurry too. Down by 6 with a couple of minutes to go, the team made a furious rally to win by 6. It was exciting!

His little bro and sis were very proud of his undefeated season. Whenever they went to his games, they kept stats. He probably averaged close to 20 points and over 10 rebounds a game. He became a power forward and a scoring machine this year.

Of course, it is easier to score when no one guards you and you can make lay-ups. :)

Every point wasn't an uncontested lay-up. He did make some jumpers too.

And some free-throws too. Congrats on a great season Andrew!

2014 Year In Review

To be completely candid, 2014 feels like it just came and went. Life is a blur at the moment, and I haven't put much thought into evaluating this past year. It makes me feel pretty sad right now to think of what I used to do to lead our family and to purposefully learn more about the greatness of God in our lives. But as we have recently moved (again!), started a new school for Andrew and started gymnastics for Emery just to name a few things in 2014, life has only gotten faster.

Again, we did not have the Lee Family Retreat, and thus have no goals to evaluate from last year. I know that one of my major goals was simply just to heal from the past. I don't know if I've made much progress on that, but hopefully, we'll have the Lee Family Retreat this year and put some perspective on the last couple of years and start planning for the future better.

We did manage to accomplish some Bible reading and memorizing in 2014.
Books Read:

• Esther
• Proverbs
• Genesis
• Exodus
• Leviticus
• Numbers
• Deuteronomy

Andrew's 2014 Verses:

• Jams 1:2-5
• Psalm 62:5-8
• 1 John 2:15-17
• Romans 11:33-36
• Deuteronomy 10:12-13
• Deuteronomy 7:9
• Psalm 84:10-12
• Psalm 37:4
• Psalm 7:24-27
• 1 Peter 2:11
• Romans 13:13-14
• Romans 6:12-14
• Matthew 5:27-30
• Philippians 3-4

Matt and Emery's 2014 Verses:

• James 1:2-5
• Psalm 62:5-8
• 1 John 2:15-17
• Romans 11:33-36
• Deuteronomy 10:12-13
• Deuteronomy 7:9
• Psalm 119:9-11
• Romans 12:1-2
• Romans 10:9-10
• Philippians 3-4