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Thanksgiving in NY – 2022

Last year, we attempted to spend the Christmas holiday in NYC and Rye, but we abandoned our plans midway through the week. Things are thankfully different this year, so our Park Thanksgiving was again planned for Addy and Charles’s house. 

Like last year, we spent the front end of our trip in Manhattan. We didn’t have any firm plans, except to see family and friends. Our first night, we saw a big group of summer camp friends in Koreatown. Liv was especially excited to see her cousin, Sara, who stayed with us for a night at the hotel. Thanks, Liz and Clarence for a great dinner!

It was bitterly cold those first few days. Addy and Charles came into the city for lunch at Quality Italian, which is always a must on our NY trip. We also got to see Jeanah for ramen. It was a long way to come see a movie, but Wakanda Forever was worth the trip.

One of the things I wanted to see was the 9/11 Memorial. I haven’t been down there in almost 20 years. Olivia and Lucas weren’t alive then, so I can appreciate that they don’t have the context of remembering it as we do. Still, it sparked a lot of conversation. I think it’s something I need to go see again alone and when it’s less crowded.

We met Grace’s parents and family for soup dumplings on Monday after they arrived. Afterwards, we walked over to Times Square, as Olivia really wanted to see it. We ended our last night in Manhattan with dessert at the hotel.

Tuesday, we headed out to Addy and Charles’s house in Rye. We haven’t all been there for a holiday since 2016, though Grace and the kids have visited more recently. It was mostly quiet time before Thanksgiving.

The Parks were kind to also include the Rhees (mom, Jen and Blue) for Thanksgiving. It was nice for all of us to be together again. I love Thanksgiving dinner and this one was prepared to perfection. Thanks to all the cooks! Sandor was hosting 30+ nearby and was also kind to invite all of us over for dessert for long overdue meeting of the clans.

On Friday, Ana and Bobby brought the family from Ridgewood to Rye to meet up for brunch. This was our first time meeting baby Courtney. She is such a cutie!

On Saturday, Jen hosted a big crew for the U of M vs. OSU game. Big props to Sandor for bringing the boys dressed for the occasion. They have much more spirit than Olivia and Lucas. Jen was dismayed that our flight time conflicted with the game. We missed the last two Donovan Edwards TDs just as we were getting into our car. Is it bad that we’re most thankful for this win?!?

Thanks again to everyone who hosted us this trip. It was really great to be back in NY and see so many family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Summer Trip to Michigan – 2021

Our family made our first trip to Michigan together since 2019. I was thankful to visit my parents back in June. We also haven’t seen Jen and Blue since then, so it was a great reunion for our family.

The first week, we spent some time with Grace’s family in Ann Arbor. Delaney was still in town for school and Addy joined to help her move apartments. Grace and the kids spent time at Youngjoo and Il’s house, where they had the best time on the lake.

We didn’t get to see too many friends on this trip, though we did have a nice dinner with Frances and Jon in Ann Arbor. We had a great weekend away in Chicago at the end of our first week. The following week, my aunt and cousin’s daughter, Sara, joined us in Michigan. This was also the first time my mom has seen her sister during COVID-19.

We were super happy that SJC was back on this summer, though it was quite different experience, starting with the drive-through drop off. It was great to catch up with lifelong friends at Dairy Queen before heading our different ways for the week. Thankfully, everyone has been surviving the pandemic and now our kids were spending a week together as second-generation campers.

Grace and I headed straight from Higgins Lake to Traverse city. We dropped off Jen at her friends Jen and Dan’s house. We checked into Grand Traverse resort and got in about 10 holes of golf before heading in to meet Jea and Eddie’s family. While it was great to finally meet their newest addition, Bella, it turned out she wasn’t welcome to stay at the resort, so our couple days of golf and hanging out were blown up. We had a quick dinner together before the mosquitoes came to eat us alive. We were mostly able to avoid the rain and got in a couple rounds and a nice dinner at the resort before leaving for home. We met Jen and the Lipfords for lunch in Traverse City and then drove home before the Haus started arriving.

Myung and Millie arrived in style as Myung piloted a single engine plane from New York, with a stop in Ohio. They took went flying around Michigan and up to Mackinaw Island and now have been to more places than me. Andrew and Clarence drove from NJ. We spent some time exploring Detroit and reminiscing about how our uncle terrorized us in the glass elevators at the Renaissance Center.

Halle, Liz and Mochi flew in on Friday. The main purpose of their trip was to show Halle U of M and show Andrew what he missed out on. We will probably never let him live that down.

On Saturday, Clarence and I went to pick up the kids at camp. We brought Zoe home with us and dropped her at her grandmother’s house. It turned out that everyone, including Lucas, had the best week/year at camp. I’m so glad Olivia and Sara were able to spend this precious experience together. I hope she’ll be back.

It was now a full Hau-Rhee family reunion, like so many we had in the 70s and 80s. We made full use of my parents’ back yard with some serious kickball and whiffle ball. This is the last time we’ll ever be able to do this as my parents will be moving next year.

My mom shows her love in many ways, but especially through cooking. While we told her to take it easy, she was set on cooking her delicious food for us. We went on yet another tour of U of M. Clarence and I overlapped while he was in graduate school and we had a lot of fun reminiscing about our time together. He knows a lot more about electrical engineering than I do. We gave them the full experience with a stop at Zingerman’s and the Big House.

We took a lot of family photos and had one last meal together at Benihana. We celebrated my Eemoh’s birthday and the big ones we weren’t able to celebrate together during the pandemic. We had such a great time together and it would have been even better with Lou and Sandor’s families. Hopefully we’ll all be together again soon.

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Eemoh’s 80th Birthday Party

My aunt celebrated her 80th birthday Saturday, August 18th, in New Jersey with many family and friends. I took the red-eye solo to represent our family for this important milestone. She is the rock of the entire Hau clan.

I arrived very early in the morning and stopped by Bobby’s house to see the family. We had breakfast together in Ridgewood, which is a super cute town. Afterwards I made my way to the party, which was on the Hudson River. My parents had come from Michigan and were staying with Jen.

There were many toasts and speeches by the children and grandchildren. There was entertainment from live action, live music and music videos. The Haus are incredibly theatrical!

Afterwards, we went to Ellie and Sandor’s beautiful new home in Rye, not far from Addy and Charles. There, I finally got to meet #4, Spencer. They were kind enough to put me up for the night. On Sunday, I drove into Manhattan with  Eemoh and met up with my parents and Jen for my first viewing of “Crazy Rich Asians” and lunch at Quality Italian. It was a super short trip, but important and memorable family time.

Happy 80th Birthday, Eemoh!

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Liz and Clarence’s Family Visit

Liz and Clarence brought the whole family for their first California vacation. We were glad they and their cousin, Christine, were able to come over for dinner. The cousins had a lot of fun together, especially the slime-obsessed ones.

It was great spending time with the Tenafly Haus.

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NYC with Family and Friends

After Christmas, we decided to spend a few days in NYC. We enjoyed meals with all the Parks and Rhees Bottega and Quality Italian. With met up with Clarence and his kids at the Time Warner Center, which was where we were staying. I had wanted to watch Rogue One, but the kids insisted on seeing Sing and Moana first. My dad joined us for the former on his 80th Birthday.

On the way back from Moana, we looked around Times Square for a bit and decided to take the subway home for fun. We popped out right at Columbus Circle and I saw this dude wearing my coat. Then I notice that this dude is Danny, one of the only people I know who lives in Manhattan. What a small world.

On our last morning in NYC, everyone slept in a bit, so I went out for a walk in Central Park, which we never do. We met up with Ana, Bobby, the boys and my sister and parents for lunch in Koreatown for one last meal before heading out to the airport.

The holidays are always nice in NYC. We’ll be back again soon, I hope.

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Spring Break in NYC – Day 6 – Cousins!

Sunday was our final full day in NYC. After a late night, we had to wake up early for breakfast. Ana, Bobby and the kids came into Manhattan to meet us at Ai Fiori. Colin and Caden are growing up fast and all the kids had fun together.

We were just a couple blocks away from Dave’s place, so we stopped by. He moved into a two-bedroom in the same building with Charles while he has been commuting from the Bay Area. The 270-degree views were amazing, but I have to admit the windows at the floor gave me a bit of vertigo. I had to retreat to the interior of the apartment.

Ellie and Sandor graciously hosted all the families, including Dave and Grace’s parents for lunch. Sunday was Dave’s actual birthday, so we got to celebrate 4-0 again. This was our first chance to meet baby Lily and baby Max. Both are super cute. Each of us, including Olivia, took our turns with the babies. We spent all afternoon together, including a marathon session in the play room and basement. In the small world department, I ran into a high school friend, who happens to live in the same building.

Afterwards, we headed straight to Jen’s, who hosted everyone for dinner. Liz and Clarence joined us there as they had sports all day. I tried to turn down the magenta on Clarence, but it turned out it was just his sunburn. All of these cousins wore each other out some more. It was a great family reunion.

We went home to pack and get in a few hours of sleep before our 7:30am flight. The kids weren’t too compliant for their 5am wake-up, especially because we stayed on West coast time all week. We bid farewell to our hotel. Ironically, we had the amazing Central Park view, but didn’t enter the park once. Until next time, NYC!

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NYC For The Holidays – Day 5: Brunch at Jen’s and Christmas at Haus

December 25, 2013

  • Jen hosted Christmas brunch at her place with my parents
  • Sam (the elf) mysteriously found his way to East Harlem to make sure Santa delivered all the presents to Jen’s
  • The kids received too many presents from Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jen, and Santa
  • We went over to Liz and Clarence’s house to spend Christmas with all the cousins
  • The kids received even more presents from all of our generous cousins and eemoh
  • Grace won the speed poker tournament
  • Dinner was amazing and all my favorite holiday foods were represented
  • Our white elephant gift exchange was as dynamic as ever with a big group and a three-steal maximum
  • Sandor had the last laugh with his hodgepodge of crap (DVDs, books, crap) – there should have been a $100 bill in that bag of crap. But, there was at least a wrapped Kindle in there. Ha!

Thanks again, Haus, for hosting all of us. Merry Christmas!

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NYC For The Holidays – Day 4: More Shopping and Christmas Eve Dinner

December 24, 2013.

  • Spontaneous trip to Shake Shack with Dave for lunch. It was great, but it’s a little stressful to get a table.
  • My dad graciously offered to come pick up the kids in Manhattan and take them back to Tenafly to play with their cousins (so Grace and I could finish our shopping).
  • We powered through it and even braved the Apple Store and FAO Schwartz again
  • Grace and I went up to Jen’s to wrap gifts and finish cooking food Jen was bringing to dinner
  • We headed over to Liz and Clarence’s house for Christmas Eve dinner
  • There was a brief white-out on our way over, which almost made for a White Christmas. The kids took full advantage of the accumulation.
  • Video games kept both adults and kids entertained
  • No holiday is complete without arm wrestling Millie

Thanks for hosting us, Haus!

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NYC For The Holidays – Day 2: Lion King and Family Dinner

December 22, 2013

  • Lucas modeled his new glasses. Usually he only offers a big toothy cheese, so this was a breakthrough.
  • Had a quick lunch at Le Pain Quotidien off Bryant Park
  • Watched Lion King with Jen, who treated the kids for Christmas. It was really amazing and glad the kids were able to experience it. Thanks, Jen!
  • My cousin, Gina, from Korea, is spending a year in Seattle with her family. They came to NYC for the holidays and just happened to be at the same Lion King Show.
  • We all went over to Ellie and Sandor’s place for family dinner with all the cousins. Activities in his “gym” included: golf, ping pong, indoor golf, ropes, and greco roman wrestling. Activities to try next time: rock climbing, basketball, squash, bowling and billiards. Neither Emily nor Xavier allowed me to hold them – also next time. After a 10-hour drive from Michigan, my parents also joined us for the holidays. Thanks, Ellie and Sandor, for hosting all of us!

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Cousins

Clarence and Hallie made a last minute trip to Michigan to surprise Andrew at camp. We spent our time together showing the kids how we spent our youth, including a visit to my elementary school, which is right behind my house.

Clarence attended U of M for a year of graduate school. It was great for us to be there together and I always marveled at how he actually understood what I was learning (enough for him to try to explain it to me at the UGLi). He wanted to show Hallie the greatest university in the world, so we went to Ann Arbor on Saturday for lunch and a short tour. The kids didn’t tire of M-Den and we all got some more gear.

After Andrew and his friend, Alex, got back from camp, we hung out at home. Andrew and Alex are on the same baseball team back in Tenafly. Clarence and I decided to school them on the finer points of backyard baseball with a game of whiffleball. All of us played many games back there over the years (baseball bat and tennis ball). The big tree at the back of the yard was 2nd base – we improvised and didn’t know better.

In Michigan, summer nights last until well past 9pm, and we made use of every ounce of daylight. It’s a blessing to be able to not only relive your youth, but to also visit it from time to time. I’m also thankful for all the great cousin time we’ve been getting this year.

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