Browse Category: family

Magical Pre-Birthday

On Saturday, I went to Disneyland with Brother, Joy, and Mommy.  Since we were about a week away, we stopped at City Hall on Main Street when we arrived and got birthday pins with our names written on them.  So, for the rest of the day, we were greeted with “Happy Birthday” from cast members and other people in line.

Joy also bought us all Mickey ears complete with our names stitched on the back.  (Thanks, Joy!)  We even had one for Mommy, which looked great on her.

I hadn’t been to Disneyland for almost 2 years so I finally go to ride the Nemo ride and Joy got to ride the canoes for the first time.

We also said “hello” to Pooh and Eeyore but missed out on Splash Mountain, which supposedly broke by the time it was our turn to get on with our Fast Passes.

We did, however, get through all the other rides in record time.

The only hiccup in the night was the threat of cancellation of the fireworks show (again).  But fortunately for us, they went through with the show and it was pretty cool.  They’ve gotten really fancy with their pyrotechniques and lights displays.  Here’s the Star Wars part of the show.

I’d have to say it was a pretty satisfying day with good weather, good company, and short lines. Yay!  Here are photos from the day.

Freeways, Friends, and Family

I must be in Southern California because I drove over 100 miles today. I went to Irvine to visit the neighbors but no one was available. I also went to the birdhouse and our new tenants were in the middle of moving in. So, I introduced myself and even got to go inside the house to walk them through some stuff.

It was nice to be able to check on the house myself.  I sure do miss it.  It was good to see that my Japanese maple is still going strong and everything else was also thriving.  The new tenants are a married couple and two dogs.  They just moved from Florida and they seem like a good “family” that will take care of our house and fishies too.

The next stop was my old preschool. I got to catch up with some old co-workers and hang out with everyone in the clinic. It was fun to see how things have changed and yet so much has stayed the same after one full year. For lunch we went to Lee’s Sandwiches and it was nice to hang out with old friends again.

In the evening, I drove from Irvine to Cerritos, then to Santa Monica to pick up Brother, and then to Beverly Hills for an early birthday dinner at Lawry’s. It’s still as good as I remember and it was a tasty tasty meal.

Noods and Yo

On Thursday afternoon, my mom and I met up with Marie and the boys for lunch at Fukada.  Oh how I miss their udon!  Cole and Brandon were in a pretty good mood.  However, Cole quickly became antsy as Brandon continued to eat and eat.

He’s such a happy eater.

Afterward, we went to The Spectrum for some frozen yogurt.  Ah…another old hangout spot for me and Marie.

Ahead of Schedule

As I’m typing this entry, I’m sitting in Dr. Chamkasem’s chair in his office waiting to get my teeth cleaned.

I just went to the DMV with my mom and got the red carpet treatment.  I went in with my 9:00 am appointment, got to cut in line a couple times, took my vision test and written test, took my photo, and was outta there in 30 mins.  I got my stuff done while she got to chat with her friends.  I also got an A+ on my written test.  Sweeeeet.

So, I’m just waiting for my turn and then it’ll be off to lunch with Marie!

Hot Shower

We’re back in SF and I’m actually happy to be home.  Belize was awesome but there’s something about having a nice hot shower, cold temps, dry air, clean clothes, and my own bed that makes home so great.  Our accommodations in Caye Caulker and San Pedro didn’t have hot water for the showers so bathing was kept to a minimum.  Granted the warm temperatures made it much easier to tolerate the cool water but you just don’t come out feeling as squeaky clean.

Our flights home went smoothly.  We got on the 8:00 am water taxi back to Belize City.  Got a cab to the airport and boarded our first flight at noon.  Two hours later, we landed in Miami where we had a 4-hour layover.  The flight from Miami to SF was a little scary at first considering they’re in the middle of a little hurricane.  I got a pretty awesome lightning show as we took off and started climbing to cruising altitude.  I slept for half of the 5-hour flight and we got home around midnight.  The Sokol-Juns left their car at the airport and we took it home.  That was convenient!

So, it turns out my mom had a fantastic week in SF.  She did some sightseeing, shopping, and a whole lot of hanging out.  It appears that the Magical House had followed her here because the house was clean and the laundry was done too.  Thanks Mommy!!  Koa seemed thrilled to have us home.  When we walked in, he swung the bedroom door open and ran out to greet us.  Funny dog.

Thank goodness it’s only Saturday night.  I still have two more days before going back to work!  Once I sort and upload my photos I will be sure to share.

10 days

Ah…I’m officially on vacation and have solid 10 days off from work.  Seven of those days will be in Belize and I can’t wait!  This afternoon couldn’t go any slower at work as I counted down the number of patients I had and then the number of minutes I had left before hopping on the BART shuttle.

On my way home, I hung out at Embarcadero Station to meet up with my mom who was coming from SFO.  She was brave enough to take BART from SFO and did it like a pro.  We took Muni home together and she has settled in for a week in SF with Koa.  With just a few tips on how to turn on the TV, how to use Google Maps to get public transit directions, and where to find the Safeway, she is ready to go!

So, it’s about 1:00 am, our bags are all packed, and I’m in bed surfing the internet with the TV on.  We’re staying up all night to catch our 4:00 am cab to SFO.  Our flight is at 6:00 am and I’m planning to take a nap on the plane.  We’ll see if I manage to stay up or not.  In less than 12 hours, I will be in Belize, baby!!