Saying Goodbye
This is one of my favorite photos of KK and Koa.
This evening, KK heard a dog barking outside and said “That’s not Koa, right?” I said “You’re right, that’s not Koa”. Then she followed up with “It’s because Koa’s dead and I didn’t get to say goodbye before he died”. It took me aback since today is the 3rd anniversary of his passing. After a long pause, I told her “No, you actually did say goodbye at the hospital.” She looked confused so I found this old video that we took before we let him go.
https://youtu.be/Sovj0Ns60XI
She watched it, giggled a little, and said “Oh.” I’m not sure how well she remembers him but she always talks about him. KK turned 4 1/2 years old today and each half-birthday for KK will always leave a bittersweet feeling for me.
https://youtu.be/fh3BAmLXdlY
He left us on the day she turned 18 months old and I will never forget that day – especially when we came home without him that afternoon. I’m so glad that KK had some quality time with him but sad that he couldn’t stick around to meet Peanut. They would have had so much fun together.
She’s FOUR already!
Today is KK’s 4th birthday and it’s hard to believe that so much time has already passed. Our first-born is quickly becoming a little lady. Jes was having a hard time with this milestone since it was the age in which he had his first memories as a kid. It was a big deal to him. I’m sentimental about everything so I usually take her birthday off to spend time with her and also reflect on my life as a mom. This year was no different. I took the day off so that I could be at her school to celebrate her big day with her friends. Jes and I also parlayed that into a day in which we could spend some time together without the kids. It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to just hang out alone and we made it worth our while with a walking food and drink crawl along The Embarcadero.
The morning started with Mirian coming to watch Peanut while Jes was on a work call and I took KK to school. The birthday girl had a little extra hop to her step this morning as we walked hand-in-hand. Then, on my way home, I stopped at Safeway to pick up her birthday cupcakes.
Jes finished up his calls and then we headed out to drop off the cupcakes at school on our way to lunch.
Our first stop was La Mar. My first drink was sweet and refreshing.
Lunch consisted of cebiche, causa, and empanadas.
We then made a stop at Hillstone for a quick drink at the bar. Jes had a martini and I have a nice cold glass of white wine.
Coqueta is a restaurant that I’ve always wanted to try but was too expensive and not very kid-friendly so it was perfect for a day like today.
We sat down by the open window for a cocktail and some pricey skewers.
Before heading back to KK’s school for her cake party, we stopped at the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant. It’s a 21-and-over kind of place so we just HAD to go there today.
This was the meat platter that we ordered with the wine.
By then, we were pretty relaxed and happy. Heh heh.
After KK’s school party, she asked to leave school with us. So we took her across the street to Waterbar for their $1 oysters. We scored a table on the patio with a view of the Bay Bridge and she scored a dozen oysters.
It was so nice to have a day to spend with my best friend and co-pilot on this crazy ride called parenthood. This relaxing day as just the two of us was long overdue and sorely needed.
Happy 4th Birthday to our Kumquat. We hope you have a fun-filled year as a 4-year-old. And please, don’t grow up too quickly.
morning updates
Ever since I started working again, Jes has been taking KK to school and picking her up everyday. There are some mornings when she’s really good and will get dressed on her own and stay out of trouble while he’s on a call and Mirian is taking care of Peanut and Andrea. Some mornings, she’s been an emotional rollercoaster in the morning. One tiny thing will set her off and she’ll give Jes the silent treatment on the train ride to school. It’s usually because Jes said “no” to something ridiculous like she wants to wear something inappropriate for the weather outside (like rainboots when it’s 70 degrees and sunny outside) or she didn’t get to press the elevator button. I usually get an update after drop-off and today was pretty funny. It also shows how some mornings just don’t go as planned.
This morning, I had bought doughnuts for my co-worker’s going-away breakfast and brought back doughnut holes for KK. She got two balls and some milk while I was packing her lunch. Unfortunately, I forgot to give he the yogurt too and she ended going on a snacking frenzy while Jes wasn’t paying attention.
Back to Tahoe
With so many dry years, we just had to get up to Tahoe once this season to see the snow. Unfortunately with two small children in tow, we didn’t make plans to do any skiing/snowboarding. Instead, we booked a suite at Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel through the HotelTonight app for $139 and headed up on Saturday morning for a 24-hour turn-around trip. The drive was easy and took about 3.5 hours not counting a stop at McDonald’s and a gas station. When we drove on Hwy 50, there wasn’t much snow. However, it was good to see that the creek was full of water.
Once we got to the summit, there was some leftover snow from the last storm. KK said it looked like North Mountain. Then down by the lake and Heavenly Resort, there was absolutely no snow in sight. So depressing. It looked like Spring!! So we checked in, changed into our snow pants, and headed back up to the summit. We tried to go the Adventure Mountain for some sledding but it was at capacity by the time we arrived.
So we kept driving and found a sno-park with lots of snow. It was just enough snow for KK to play and build a snowman. We played right next to the car and didn’t have to do any trekking.
Thank goodness since Peanut is not a lightweight baby. It’s crazy (and sad) that KK is almost 4 and this is her first experience with snow.
For lunch, we went to Verde Mexican Rotisserie that had a really good guacamole and my fish taco was stuffed to the top and really tasty.
In the afternoon, we went to Happy Hour at the hotel. They were serving $2 drinks and had free snacks and drinks for the kid.
Before dinner, I took my little girl ice skating for the first time. What made it even more special was that it was snowing. We both had a good time and I managed to stay up on my skates even after a few drinks. Heh heh.
The next morning, we were surprised to see that the snow had stuck and it covered the whole parking lot and our car.
It was a nice change from the spring conditions we had the day before.
Another extra perk at the hotel was free breakfast complete with eggs, bacon, oatmeal, yogurt, cereal, and all the other usual breakfast buffet items. That was great considering both kids were up early and I was starving.
Before heading home, we took KK outside for one last play in the snow. I love how simple it was for us to find snow just outside of the hotel and KK was pleased as punch.
Our drive home was a little sketchy but we managed to get over the summit with just our all-weather tires on our 4wd car. We thought about pulling over to put on our chains a couple times but we lucked out with adequate road conditions and lots of trunks in front of us crushing the ice in our path.
Our last stop was in Placerville where we found a place called Hog Wild BBQ. It’s a no-nonsense BBQ joint that makes a tasty brisket with a gorgeous smoke ring on the meat. The pulled pork and ribs are also really good. It’s definitely going to be added to my list of places to eat on the way to Tahoe next time.
For such a quick trip, it was very doable. So glad we had clothes for the kids and it was nice to pull out our old gear again after so many years of being in storage. Maybe next time we can figure out a way to get on the slopes. I’ve been itching to break out the skis again and can’t wait to get KK on skis too!!! Let’s hope that El Niño keeps going for a little longer this season.
Also, thanks for the tip on the hotel, Ranee! It’s crazy how cheap it is considering you get a 1-bedroom suite with kitchenette, free breakfast, and it’s literally next to Heavenly and the casinos. You can’t get much better than that!
Can’t wait!!
KK is going to be so fired up for this. I admit, I’m probably even more excited for this movie.
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