Browse Category: outings

Lunching with the Ladies

IMG_8289Since I was off this week, Ranee off was today, and Stephanie is still on maternity leave, we all met up in Walnut Creek after I took Kumquat to the dentist.  We had lunch at Tender Greens in preparation for our tasty treat at CREAM, which just opened last month.

IMG_8291Vivian was a good little baby and slept long enough for Stephanie to have lunch.

IMG_4879Unfortunately, she woke up as soon as she got her ice cream sammich.  Here’s a photo of mine.  Just like last time at the Berkeley store, I got double chocolate chip cookies with coffee ice cream.

IMG_4881Sophie wanted a taste of Ranee’s sammich.  I don’t blame her.  They’re delicious.

IMG_8298I wish I had more days off like this.

IMG_4875Oh and I didn’t realize this until Dr. Chang pointed it out at the dental visit but Kumquat and I were matching today.

Cooling off

IMG_4792 It’s been so hot in Southern California this week – especially in Cerritos.  To escape the heat, we went to Brother and Joy’s (in Gardena) for the day.  As soon as we dropped off some of our stuff, we drove over to Manhattan Beach for lunch and then a little visit to the surf and sand.  I had my ice cream in a cup so that Kumquat had something to use in the sand.  IMG_4797Afterward, we hung out with the apartment.  I got this funny photo of Kumquat comparing her tummy to her uncle’s.  I think Kumquat wins this contest.  Thanks for letting us crash at your house today!  It was AT LEAST 10 degrees cooler there.

Race Prep and Expo

IMG_4673On Friday morning, I went to the park with Koa and my dad.  I wanted to give running a week after my surgery.  I tried running a bit and was still sore at the surgical site.  So, I didn’t go very far and ended up walking around the park instead.

IMG_4680When I got home, Brother was there “working from home”.  Cool!

IMG_4682He got to hang out with Kumquat and Koa and we also convinced our mom to make some kanom krok for us.  Score!

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When it was time for him to take his lunch hour, we drove to the local Chick-fil-A and brought home a feast including a buffet of dipping sauces.  Yum. Gotta love suburbia!

IMG_4708In the afternoon, we went to Downtown Disney to pick up our race packets and to explore the expo for a bit.  IMG_4714They were very well-organized and if anyone can handle crowds, it’s Disneyland.

IMG_4716At the expo, Jes bought ANOTHER pair of headphones.  *sigh*  He’s not even running the race!

IMG_4724For dinner, we met up with my cousin Marie and the boys.  It was still at least 85 degrees outside but everyone managed to endure the heat while we sipped sangrias and ate pizza under the umbrellas.  IMG_8117It was also helpful to have such fun stores to go inside to cool off.  Thanks for coming out, Suminos!

 

chaperones

DSC_3114Jes’ parents took the day off so they could spend time with their little granddaughter and to take her to see some fish.  We spent most of the afternoon at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific and we all had a pretty good time.  Kumquat was with Jes’ parents for a good part of the trip and at one point Jes and I found ourselves seated on a bench just “supervising” all the activity.  When she was let out of the stroller, she ran free while both grandparents tried to corral her.  It was very cute.

IMG_8088By the way, this aquarium is as good as I remembered when we used to be annual pass holders the first year they opened.  Our favorite tank was still looking good and it brought back memories of us back in 1998.  Jeepers, that was a long time ago!

 

Southern CA

IMG_4576We drove down to Southern California on Tuesday morning and the drive went rather smoothly for most of the way down.  On our way out of SF, we drove through the eastern span of the Bay Bridge one last time before it would be closed permanently the next day.  It’s kinda sad but really necessary to get rid of this section.

IMG_4578 IMG_4584Our car was also at full capacity with Kumquat, Koa, and my mom in the backseat.

IMG_4585We made a lunch stop at In N Out in Santa Nella instead of Kettleman City.  It looks pretty new and everything was so clean and empty when we were there.

IMG_4591At the 5-hour mark, we encountered some major traffic.  It was in the Grapevine and the sign said there would be an 8-mile backup with everyone merging in to the left lane.  We were at such a snail’s pace.  When I looked at our Google Maps instructions, it said to to exit Quail Rd and take some side streets.  Taking a desperate chance, we listened and totally won!  Part of it was a little sketchy with it being mostly dirt and rocks and a sign saying that we were leaving the maintained portion of the road.  We managed to by-pass 5 miles of bumper-to-bumper traffic and cut in line at the front when we got back on the freeway.  Thanks, Uncle Google. I will never doubt your instructions again!

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The drive took a total of 8 hours including 3 stops.  We were so tired of being in the car that we walked to Don Jose for some enchiladas and margaritas.  This is Jes’ Corona-Rita.

IMG_4626The next day was mostly for errands.  Before taking Koa to the vet, we stopped at Wahoo’s for lunch.  Yum.  Oh how I miss a good fish taco.

IMG_4623Then we took Koa to the vet in Irvine.  This is the place that we’ve always taken him since he was a pup and he was shaking as much as the first time we brought him.  IMG_4631He did surprisingly well during the examination and walked out of there with a bunch of shots.

After that, we went to Pish’s office for my long-overdue check-up and cleaning.  It had been 4 years since I had seen a dentist!! Thankfully, I had no cavities.  Yippee!

IMG_4636In the afternoon, I met up with Holly and Andrew for a little catching up before dinner.

IMG_4643For dinner, we met up with Johnny and Joy in Torrance for some izakaya and beer.  Boy, we had a very productive first day!

Grandstands

On Saturday, the day after my surgery, I woke up in so much pain.  I had to take some meds and Jes had to push me up out of bed.  I couldn’t sit up and I couldn’t even roll onto my side!  It was U-GLY.  Once the meds kicked in, I was up and moving around again.  I’m so swollen that I looked preggo again but whatever…I didn’t care anymore.

That morning, my mom helped get Kumquat ready while we waited for Jason to arrive.  We had purchased grandstand tickets to watch the finals of the LV Cup so once he got to our house, we were on our way.

IMG_4511We left the house at 11 and it was supposedly when the special Embarcadero train would be running.  It didn’t arrive for a good 45 minutes!  Once we were on, it took us from our house all the way down to Fisherman’s Wharf. From there, we walked over Fort Mason hill and down to the Marina Green.  We had a gorgeous SF day and the wind was pretty strong.  IMG_8011We watched the first race up in the stands and it was nice to finally have a good view of the boats sailing over the water.  IMG_4518Unfortunately the meds were making me a little woozy and I had to put my head down.  Luckily, my mom brought some of her magical tiger balm and it totally made me feel better.

IMG_8015The second race was canceled due to high winds so we spent the rest of the afternoon at the beer garden.  Since my medicine included Tylenol, I didn’t get to enjoy a beer with the Masayas who were also there with us.  Oh well.