Cny Celebration Day 1: Family Visit

This CNY has been a little busier than usual, ever since my grandma passed away in 2009 (last CNY we had together was at my house, which is also a first lolz). The older generation is usually the pivot of the whole CNY celebration as the young with families mainly come back to celebrate together with relatives only to please the older people (e.g my grandma). 

When she was alive my family would head to her house on CNY eve and celebrated with the rest of my extended family, taking angpaus (wahaha, I got a lot those days), going to my clan house for lucky draws (my family got the first prize many years ago), having dinner together (too many people until we need to take turns because the table couldn’t fit that many), having dessert drinks made by my second aunt, looking out for the CNY lion dance, playing made-up games in the afternoon and firecrackers in the evening, playing with candles at night until the adults got upset and made us watch TV safely in the house.

It was fun. *wistful face*

Unfortunately with the loss of grandma everything happy we lost too, keenly felt during every CNY. Even my cousins felt it and remarked that it doesn’t feel much like CNY anymore nowadays. >.< I don’t know how to remedy that kind of “CNY-sickness” that we all felt but I tried to help staunch it by going to friends’ gatherings during CNY. It would help to ease off the empty feeling.

Anyway, today is a visiting-relatives day so all of us went down to Kedah. The trip was boring as usual and I was apprehensive about the boredom I was going to face later on. I brought Ethan with me! He’s every bit as excited as I am. =D This is his first CNY outing with me.

Ok so it was boring at my first aunt’s place. It was extremely boring because there was no one my age to talk to and play with. There was a playmate nephew (he’s a year younger, so we were babyhood/childhood playmates) but his mother (one of my much older cousins) started antagonizing many relatives since my grandma passed away with her words and actions except her mother (my aunt), so I haven’t seen my nephew for a couple of years or so. To think that we were best friends during childhood. >.<

Mom and 1st aunt

There are children, 7 years old and 10 years old boys. The 10 year old used to play with me when he was little until about a couple of years ago. We were quite close. But he’s older now, and older children change. 

He’s still amiable, but way more interested in the TV and iPhone. Make-believe games that we used to play bore him now. Plus he is starting to become rude (you know how children get influenced at school and such) and talks back to the adults, so they don’t like him much too. He was a great deal of fun when he was younger though.

So I introduced the family to Ethan by taking photos. He’s pretty much interested in all of them. It wasn’t easy taking photos of moving subjects but I got a few clear shots. =D

1st uncle

Bro, Henrick and bro's wife

I also played shapes with Henrick who thankfully recognize all of the shapes. LOLZ. Let’s hope he grows up to be smart ya.

Later we headed to my second aunt’s place. She lives alone, so she has time to tend to her plants. She grows a lot of plants with her green fingers. She also cooks very well, notably dessert drinks. I worship her red bean soup <3. This year though we have black jelly soup instead.

2nd aunt

I took some photos of Henrick in poses. He was so cute to stand there and pose with the basket of mandarins for me. <3. Ethan agrees and captures his cuteness in those photos below.

He is SOOOO cute!

Love this pic

And this! Cute~

Playing with an iPad.

Other relatives came to visit too. First my youngest aunt (there are four aunts). She came with family, a party of 8. Husband, three kids, one daughter-in-law, one soon-to-be-daughter-in-law and one granddaughter, XunXun. 

The wedding invitation for her younger son’s wedding is here. It took so long (he’s 30 now) because his first girlfriend of about 10 years (whom we ALL including grandma met every year during CNY) refused marriage. Very @@ right? I mean seeing as how she came to our CNY celebrations every year and took so many pics as family, we really thought it would be a definite marriage.

XunXun and youngest uncle

Getting know each other~ haha

Next came my eldest cousin. 40 something years old? Four kids, and she’s a known superwoman. Ferries her kids to and fro from school, multiple tuitions (she mentioned 8 tuitions for one day alone), and has her freelance job as a sales dealer with Cosway, Amway, Tupperware and so on. Knows a lot of people, a social butterfly, and also manages to still look fresh unlike many housewives with their sagging faces. 

Rumoured that she had depression due to all the stress for some time but recovered. =) Eldest son is a year older than me, but still my nephew LOLZ. Fortunately we never acknowledge each other as such. :D

First cousin, youngest aunt, cousin's husband, 2nd aunt

I got angpaus from them all XD. As the house was pretty great studio-looking (Ethan said so) I took a few photos of myself in my cheongsam XD. Haha! Can you believe I’m wearing one?! It’s sort of silk, mom bought when my parents went to China last year.

<3 this photo a LOT! =D 

Later we went back to first aunt’s house for a dinner. Which is a good thing because reminds me of those days when we had to take turns for dinner. We still have to take turns (even more so) haha. Dishes are usual ones (nothing changes 10 years ago and now). After that more talking and watching TV. Ethan fell sick (must be all the excitement) and refused to take any more photos, so I let him rest and took photos with my Xperia.

Left: Cousin's kids

Clockwise from front: Youngest aunt's daughter in law, cousin (her husband), first cousin's kids, 1st aunt and first cousin.

LOL, cousin with his baby XunXun.

Another cousin (his brother) with his fiancee. Getting married this March.

Don't they look alike?

Solving a game box. It's a box maze with a metal ball inside. To open the box, the ball has to cross the six sided maze to reach the opening.

Taking photos with a phone is great for candid shots because no one realizes you’re taking their photos unless if you tell them. Haha. I took some cutie photos of XunXun as well. She’s a quiet girl, doesn’t cry or scream much but crawls about happily and opens drawers. LOL.

Later on we finally went home. <3 Which is great because I was tired! And bored. 

Thank God for Ethan and Xperia. <3 Well at least we still go back to celebrate. Just no games or firecrackers. Even the kids are absorbed in TV shows. Oh well, lucky me then. At least my childhood isn’t full of rubbish. <3