Jim and Emersyn were to arrive in San Francisco on Friday morning. After sitting on the plane for 5 hours, they were told their flight was cancelled. They had to de-board, gather their luggage and rebook for the flight tomorrow. Jim gathered luggage while Emersyn took care of rebooking. Jim had comment Emersyn took controlled and managed the situation like an adult. They went home for dumplings at Din Tai Fung at the WFC and foot rubs.

Saturday was a retry with them arriving at the airport to sit at the airport for 5 hours (better than the plane) to do it all over again. Jim gathered the luggage and Emersyn took care of the “counter issues”. This time Jim booked new flights for the next day to guarantee they would leave Shanghai. Back home for another night out for sushi and another foot rub. There is a new massage place across the street offering discounts since it just opened.

Sunday they finally left Shanghai which was good as we had a busy day planned. Erica, Kathy’s exchange student from New Zealand, was in town visiting. Erica spent her senior year with Kathy many years ago. She brought her three children for a visit. She is “extended family” from New Zealand. The last time we saw Erica was when Jim and I went to New Zealand in 1997.

Giselle and Scott had just moved into their new home in Oakland. They hosted a family bbq. I was impressed how much they had put away in the short time they have been in the house.

Nicole arrived with her boyfriend, Michael, with fun news. They got engaged this morning! Now, the fun begins in planning a wedding and a future together.

We were celebrating Kathy’s birthday early since Erica was in town. It was a lovely family gathering.

We couldn’t stay for dinner as we were meeting Hong Kong friends for dinner in Palo Alto. They would be in the area for two weeks, but this would be the only time we could see them. We were off to Tahoe on Wednesday as it is one of those crazy summers. A quick family photo before we left.

We were meeting Maia, Emersyn’s friend from Hong Kong days. Maia moved to Manila when they were three. Emersyn was not very pleased. She would tell people Maia moved to Vanilla (cute for a 3 year old). Over the years, we have seen Maia and family when possible. We were meeting them in Palo Alto for pizza. They were staying in Palo Alto as the girls, Maia and Asha, were going to a two week camp at the International school to learn Spanish. It was fun to see them…no photos as we were too busy talking. Anne and Collin looked the same, but the girls had grown up so much. Maia is 12 and Asha is 7. We invited them to dinner at our house on Tuesday…what were 4 more people!