Life at Mars'

Six years ago I experienced one of the saddest moments of my life. The Mars told us that they were moving up to Redmond. Up until then, the Mars had been our closest friends. During their time in Lafayette, we vacationed together to Vegas, Disneyworld and Hawaii (twice). In our countless mahjong games we collected money from the losers (usually not me) that helped pay for dinners, rental cars, and family camp. We celebrated every holiday and birthday together... Man, what kind of crappy life would we have with them gone?? I was truly crushed.

But once I got past the hurt, anger and betrayal, I knew it made sense for them to move. Steve was unemployed and got a huge job offer. Plus he would be reunited with his parents, his son, and future grandchildren in Seattle. And Betty always wanted a bigger (much bigger) house while having someone else pack and move all her stuff. What made it especially painful for me was that Steve was going to work for the evil empire–the maker of Vista and Zune! Of all the companies worldwide, why THAT one?? "Your skills are complete. Indeed, you are powerful, as the Emperor has foreseen."

Shortly after Steve started working for Emperor Gates, he encouraged his son to also join the dark side. "It is too late for me, son. The Emperor will show you the true nature of the Force. He is your master now."

Today, Steve is no longer at Microsoft but Andy still is. "Now, fulfill your destiny and take your father's place at my side!" "It is unavoidable. It is your destiny. You, like your father, are now mine!"

From what I witnessed, the Mars are living a wonderful life that most people could only dream of. Their house sits above a beautiful lake with instant access to beach and boating, where they spend their days lovingly caring for their two grandchildren. They attend Pastor Wayne's church (from Lord's Gate).

For five days, my family was privileged to enjoy the love and generosity that only the Mars could provide. Oh how I missed their company! I cherished every moment with them. Unfortunately, I don't know if we'll ever get invited again because on the last night, Justine pooped in their tub and Dustin puked on their sofa, floor and driveway...

Thankfully, we have lots of photos to help keep the memories alive. Thank you Steve and Betty for the incredible time together! And sorry for the mess. Hopefully the smell is all gone by now :)

Having a ball at the nearby water park with Hudson and Agnes.

Making tong-yuen for late night snack.
They also made law-bok goh for breakfast.

Made from fresh flour, not powdered/packaged. Super smooth. No chewing required.
Perfect food when you lose all your teeth.

No trip to Seattle is complete unless you see the Space Needle. $20 to ride to the top. No thanks.

Greatest water fountain EVER! Absolutely nuts!

Kids and water, what did I say? Great way to kill an hour.

Colby's MJ tribute. I was telling the passerbyers, "...but the kidddddd is not my son..."

Steve offered to take me on campus for a tour and visit the company store, but I resisted.
"You underestimate the power of the dark side."

Nice to have good neighbors. They let us enjoy their private beach and canoe.

Justine's first time at a beach. Now that she's potty trained,
I wonder what her thoughts are on peeing in the lake...

A 6000 sqft. house is downright dinky when your neighbor's house is 15,000.

Feeding the ducks all our stale bread.
I wanted to throw some tong-yuens, but that might kill them.

Lake is really calm in the morning before the drunk party boaters come out.
This was the only day we had sun. Emperor Gates must've been out of town.

I told you we were treated like royalty. This was our final day before heading back to Oregon.

It's hard to believe it's over and I'm back at my lousy desk wasting away. All in all, we had the greatest time at every destination. For 15 days we drove 2,260 miles and packed up the van eight times as we moved from Oregon to Redmond to Vancouver to Nanaimo back to Vancouver back to Redmond back to Oregon back to home. What a trip! Can't wait to do it again!