New Puppy!

Because having rabbits and chickens was not enough, a few weeks ago we decided to get a puppy!  The prospect of being stuck at home for a few more months made it seem like an ideal time to plunge into this new adventure.  Also, Elvin is working from home some, so that made the timing even more appealing.  

We wanted a dog that would be good with kids.  We settled on a doodle so that there wouldn't be as much shedding.  We began to research and found out that in addition to golden doodles and labradoodles, there were lots of other types of doodles now.... Irish doodles (Irish setter mixed with poodle) and bernedoodles (Bernese mountain dogs with poodle).  

And then after emailing a breeder, she mentioned she had a "double doodle", which is a labradoodle crossed with a golden doodle.  She also said that this little fellow had a really pleasant disposition and she sent us a picture...  

We had a few days to make a decision and decided to go for it!  And then began the debate of what to name him.  The kids nominated various names, such as Donut, Pumpkin, Charlie, Jinx, Dusty, and even Nom Nom (that was Gabe's idea.)  But nothing was clicking, or five people would agree to a name, but then the sixth member of the family would veto it.  This dragged on and on and by the time we left to pick him up in eastern Oregon, we still had no name.

So the last weekend in October, Elvin drove out with the two girls the day before and they stayed in a hotel.  They watched TV while eating take-out dinner and this was an interesting life experience for them because at home we don't have 'normal' TV.  When Elvin turned it on, he explained that there are just channels, with things already showing and we have to flip through the channels to find something interesting to watch.  Eliana then suggested, well, then go to the YouTube channel.  Karina asked if there was a Netflix channel.  Elvin tried to explain that TV doesn't have those things.

They watched American Ninja Warrior, but were perturbed by how long and how frequent all the commercials were.  When the show as over, Eliana remarked, "That wasn't really worth it!"  Wow, we are raising kids in an on-demand world.

The next morning the girls were up bright and early.  We grabbed breakfast downstairs which was handed to us by workers wearing gloves and masks.  Everything was wrapped in saran wrap, even Elvin's hard boiled egg.

We met the breeder in the lobby of the hotel and finally got to meet him for the first time!  We still didn't have a name for him, so he was being called "puppy" or "baby" or "sweetheart" depending on who was addressing him.

And thus began our 6 hour journey back home!  

We stopped a couple of times and he went potty for us where he was supposed to.  No accidents in the van, yay!

His harness we got him was too big for him--it kept slipping down to his waist like a belt.  So we put a collar on him.

Here is our second stop.  He was happy to be free to walk around a little.

Time for one picture before getting back in the car for the last leg.

And we finally made it home!  The rest of the family got a chance to meet him.

He gets lots and lots of attention.  Karina is brushing his fur here.  He has really soft and fluffy fur, which needs to be brushed every day.

He also got to meet the girls' rabbits for the first time.  He likes them, as in he likes to chase them.  They, on the other hand, don't like being chased.

His first week with us, he took lots and lots of naps!  Sometimes in funny positions.

We gave him a bath a few days after he arrived.  He did NOT like it very much.  

Getting another brushing on his fur!

We have started training him on getting used to his crate.  He will go in there but does not like spending too much time in there.

When we had pizza one night, Xiao Yu make his pizza in the shape of the new puppy.

After trying lots of different toys, we finally found one that he likes chewing on.  He hasn't like lots of other ones that supposedly are popular with puppies.

He also happens to like licking the plates as they are being put into the dishwasher.  Hmmmm....

He is a fairly snuggly puppy.

And pretty sleepy too, especially after his visit to the vet where he got more vaccinations.

And we'd like to announce that as of a couple days ago, puppy finally has a name!  We all decided to name him Lucky.  Or rather, no one vetoed this name.  So here is Lucky F. Yuen!  (With Fauci being his middle name.  =)

New glasses!

Eliana has been asking for new glasses because she was claiming that she couldn't see things far away very clearly anymore.  Unfortunately, she has apparently inherited Elvin's bad vision genes.  

Xiao Yu has some issues with one of his eyes and the eye doctor recommended having him try out glasses again, to see if that would help things.

So thanks to Costco, they both got new glasses!  

Backpacking with Gabe

This past summer, in August, Gabe wanted to go backpacking just with Daddy.  He had been backpacking before, but before it had been with the girls and other friends.

So we decided to head out to Mount Hood, which is a short 1.5 hours away.  Here we are at the trailhead loading up.

The kids really enjoy geocaching, which is a hobby where people hide boxes or tupperware full of little trinkets, and then through an app, you try to find them using clues and GPS.  Gabe enjoyed doing this and searching for geocaches hidden along the trail.  Here he is using the app on Elvin's phone.

After not being able to find a couple, we finally found one.  Gabe signed his name on the slip of paper in there and took a trinket.  We brought little erasers and left an eraser in there to replace the trinket we took. This geocache was quite small.

We found other caches along the way.

After a couple miles hike, we finally made it to camp.  After setting up our tent and eating a snack, we set out to explore some more.

Gabe is subconsciously attracted to water and found this log along the shore to sit on.

He ended up spending a lot of time making mud pies.  It was nice that the place was not too crowded, perhaps because of the cooler weather.

There was a rope swing attached to a super tall tree.  Gabe enjoyed swinging out and back in, lots and lots of times.

We even went back the next day for him to swing some more.

For dinner, we had mashed potatoes and sausage.  Yum.  Unfortunately, there was a burn ban so no campfire!

Gabe, being part monkey, can't help himself and climbs everything around him.

We hiked one mile up to the next lake and stopped to throw rocks.

There was a cache on the way up.  It was hidden beneath these boulders.

We found more caches up at the second lake.

We made it back to camp and played games and cards really late into the night.

The next morning, we woke up way after the sun came up.  But it was a little chilly.

For breakfast, it was Cup-O-Noodles!

We made our way back down the trail.  Gabe said coming down seemed a lot faster than hiking up.

And as per tradition whenever we visit Mount Hood, we stopped at the Dairy Queen in a small town called Rhododendron for a yummy basket of chicken strips for an early dinner!

Happy Birthday Karina!

Back in August, Karina turned 10 years old!  We were doing a mini-family reunion in the Olympic National Park at the time, so we briefly celebrated with cupcakes and candles.

We sang happy birthday while she was accompanied by cousins from Seattle and Colorado.

She couldn't quite get all the candles out so Uncle Charles helped out.  He shares a birthday with Karina!

Later on, back at home, she got to open her presents.

Gabe decided to be silly with the wrapping paper.

She got a red envelope from Yeh-yeh and Nai-nai.

Eliana was generous with her money and got Karina a little colorful bag, and inside was some make up!  

She also got a necklace with a K on it.  

She also got a new Bible that she could color in side.  She picked it out...

And she also got an embroidery set.

Here she is with all her loot!  There was no party this year, but she all in all she seemed content, especially  because we gave her an extra $50 in compensation for having no party.  Happy Birthday Karina!