Browse Category: outings

Lights and Kids

Boy, Light-up Night has really changed in so many ways.  Lightup2010It used to be a night of friends, cocktails, and hijinks. This is a photo from 2010 when Brother, Joy, and Mommy joined us.

IMG_3113Now it’s about wrangling kids, taking family photos, and getting home at a reasonable time to put everyone to bed.  Regardless, it’s still fun to be out there at the Embarcadero Center to see the buildings light up and watch the fireworks go off.  It’s my official kick-off to the holiday season since it always occurs the Friday before Thanksgiving.

IMG_3138This year, it was super convenient for me since KK’s school is just down the street from there.  What I’ve been used to is scrambling to get out of work on time, braving traffic across the bridge, parking the car at home, and then catching the train as quickly as I can to make it on time.  Last year, Jes was in France and this year was no different.  The difference for me was that I was lugging around TWO kids now.  I don’t know how those single moms do it!

IMG_3145This year, Ranee and Stephanie were on board and met up with us in time for the fireworks.

IMG_3067It was disappointing that the Hyatt did not have their usual lighting of the atrium but we still went over there to see the tree.

IMG_3144Get your fat pants, pumkin-spiced everything, and shopping lists out ‘cuz the holidays are here!

Disneyland 2015

IMG_2389On the day after Halloween, we went to Disneyland and it was Peanut’s first visit!!

IMG_2282 IMG_2288We were there early enough to go on a bunch of rides in the morning, which worked out great for the two little girls.

IMG_2337Brother made a reservation for lunch at Big Thunder Ranch and it was pretty tasty! IMG_2323IMG_2371It’s all-you-can-eat BBQ served family style and the ribs, beans, and cornbread were my favorites.

IMG_2339 While the kids were taking their afternoon naps, we went over to the Grand Californian to cool off, rest, charge our phones, and get a drink. IMG_2343We found a little nook in the corner that even had a charging hub. Perfect.

IMG_2360Now that KK is older, she seems to understand and appreciate more.

IMG_2398She loved the Dumbo ride in the morning so when she saw the rocketships near Main Street where we were waiting for the parade, she was fired up to ride it.

IMG_2420 When KK saw Elsa and Anna, she was so happy and waved to them.

IMG_2418The Light the Night Parade really is like the Electrical Parade on crack.

IMG_2436It was like a Disney rave and Peanut loved it.

IMG_2434We also had a great seat for the fireworks and it was the first time I had a view of the castle during the show.

Huy!!

IMG_1090Huy was in town this weekend and it was so nice to get caught up.  It’s been at least a year since we last saw him – maybe longer!!!

IMG_1093We spent the day with him and To out along The Embarcadero and the weather was perfect. FYI – Epic Roasthouse is surprisingly kid-friendly.  There’s a changing table in the bathroom, KK got crayons and coloring pages, and they gave us blankets to use on the patio if it was too cold.

IMG_1086It had also been a while since we last saw To and she has recently moved to Oakland!  She’s also expecting a baby boy in December!  Yay!  We took this funny picture of Peanut battling bellies with her today.

Birthday Weekend

On the weekend leading up to my birthday, the rest of my family came up to hang out and celebrate.  It’s always nice when Brother and I can celebrate out birthdays together.  This weekend was especially cool because it was my 40th.

IMG_0194IMG_0006They flew up on Saturday and they finally got to meet Peanut for the first time.

IMG_0010 For lunch, we walked over to Taco Bell Cantina.  It had just opened earlier this week and we ordered a feast on Mexican Pizzas, crunchy tacos, and bunch of random other stuff.  It had been a long time since I last had Taco Bell and it was delicious. 🙂

IMG_0296In the afternoon, we all went to the SF Zoo by train.  We had a couple meltdowns by Miss KK but it ended on a happy note. Phew.

IMG_4314For dinner, we went to Hog Island.  That too was a feast. I had the clam chowder and a couple raw oysters.

IMG_4306IMG_4313Brother ordered a few other things and the crudo was my favorite dish (pictured below).IMG_4310IMG_0012The waitress managed to get a pretty good photo of the whole group with the bridge in the background.  Jesse is missing because he was home sleeping with a case of jet lag.

IMG_0023The next day, we met up with Jason and Jia for brunch at Little Skillet/Victor Hall.  It was a great venue for our big group since we didn’t need a reservation and they have lots of big tables.  We took over the back table in the corner, which had lots of room for the strollers.  It’s crazy now with 3 infants and 2 little girls.

IMG_1175For dinner, we had reservations at House of Prime Rib.  I’d rather be at Lawry’s but this is the second best thing.

IMG_0067Despite the early reservation time, they still made us wait.  As a consolation, we got free desserts!  Dinner was a little hectic since Peanut was not in the mood to nap.

IMG_0051So, he sat in my lap for most of the meal.

IMG_0071On Monday, our actual birthday, we drove up to Napa for the day.

IMG_0096After lunch, we went to Sterling Vineyard and everyone enjoyed the gondola ride up.  IMG_0188This is one of our first family photos together.  Too bad Peanut was sleeping.

IMG_0196On the way to dinner, we stopped at Bouchon Bakery to pick up some treats.

IMG_0153Brother and I ordered like we were at Taco Bell again.

IMG_0172Dinner was at Ad Hoc and they were serving fried chicken that night.

IMG_1668We had a ton of food, which got packed up to go after dinner.

IMG_1666There was enough for us to have another feast the next day for lunch!

IMG_1667 IMG_1670 What a fun weekend and birthday with the family!!

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Go Beak Go!

IMG_0191After Peanut turned 6 weeks old, I decided to give jogging a try for the first time since January.  My doctor said to take it easy so that’s what I did.  On Tuesday, I met up with Ranee and we pushed our strollers around Lake Merritt together.  I jogged most of it and we went around the whole 3-mile route.  Despite some soreness in my quads later that evening, I felt pretty good.  Thanks for running with me, Ranee!!

IMG_0337On Friday, I went out for a 2-mile stroller run on The Embarcadero and it was so nice to be back out there in my running shoes.  I managed to run a 12-minute/mile pace and I wasn’t sore afterward.  Yay me!  Hopefully this is the restart of my running habit.

Shoe Sale

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On Thursday morning, I went to the Toms Warehouse Sale in San Mateo with Peanut and my mom.  The doors opened at 10am and we arrived just before 10.  The line had already snaked around the building but there was plenty of shade and we weren’t too far from the door.  The wait wasn’t too bad and I had time to feed and change Peanut before it was our turn to go inside.  At 11:00, we got wristbands and then waited another 30 minutes.

IMG_0034Once inside, everything was surprisingly calm and organized.  The shoes were organized by size in clusters of 6 boxes.  They had lots of classic styles and colors with lots of inventory.  I had everyone’s shoe sizes recorded in my phone and sent photos and messages to everyone for their color preferences.

IMG_0036I ended up getting a pair for everyone in the family including 2 for me, 2 for KK, 1 for Jes, 2 for Alice, and 1 pair each for Jia, Jason, Brother, and Joy.  The women’s slip-ons were $24 each, mens’ slip-ons were $19 each, and tinys were $15 each.  Not bad.

IMG_0037While I shopped, my mom got in line to pay, which saved us a lot of time.  There was a station where the staff counted up the shoes by style and category and then zip-tied the bags.  They also made sure that we didn’t have more than 15 items (their limit per customer).  The last step was the credit card line, which was pretty quick.

IMG_0039We were out of there by 12:30 at the latest with 14 pairs of shoes in hand.

IMG_0040 My mom offered to pay for all the shoes so I treated her to a lobsta roll!!  IMG_0042So yummy.

IMG_0109Here are KK’s old pair next to her new pair.  She made good use of the old pair so they went in the trash today.

The whole experience was not as painful as I had expected.  This may keep me coming back every year if I have the time.