Whoa that last week of summer vacation is upon us already! Yes, the kids have SAM camp this week and then school starts again next Thursday. Kai isn't really ready for it but Sora is ready to go back to see her friends and Jad is also ready to start Kindergarten. Some pics from the last couple of weeks:
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| Pool time with the neighbors |
really do that more
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| Audrey and the kids also dropped by for a quick visit.. took the kids a minute but then they got to playing together as before |
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| Sora and Evie huddled under the table |
Our friends, Angel and Sujit, are moving to Portugal this summer. They drove down from Seattle to SoCal and dropped by for a quick dinner. It was a nice reunion for the UCLA girls and even Dick came out :) We hope to visit them in the coming year!
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| Nice to see everyone again after many years. |
I managed to get 4 days off in a row so we were considering where to go. Initially, we thought we could go to Vancouver to visit Amy's aunt because it's nice up there during the summer time, but she was too busy and it wasn't a good time. Then we thought we could do an RV adventure to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks but all the RV spaces were already reserved. So we just did a three day road trip there and rented a small cottage in Three Rivers, near the park entrance.
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| The iconic Sequoia sign post |
I remember going to Sequoia when I was really young. It was the only vacation that we could really afford at that time and we'd stay in a small cabin with the five or us. One year, my (maternal) grandmother came to visit and we took her there. I think we really have to appreciate the amazing national parks that we have in the US.. most other countries don't have so much wide open space or large protected land areas.
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| This picture is from maybe 1990 |
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| Hiking the Congress Trail |
Pictures never do these giant trees justice as they are too big to capture in one frame. We tried to impart how amazing these trees are to the kids. They were alive before Jesus was born! Their bark is fire resistant and grows over old wounds! The biggest, oldest and tallest trees are all in California :)
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| The biggest tree in the whole world! |
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| Inside of a fallen tree tunnel |
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| Hiking up Moro Rock |
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| Sora decided to stop 2/3rds of the way up, citing a fear of heights so I stayed with her.. |
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| .. while Kai and Jad went with Amy to the top |
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| Sequoia burn scar |
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| Kai liked the canned bear but was also prudent when he found out it cost $20 |
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| It looks like we climbed to the alpine regions of the park (where there was still snow!) but this was just a facade at the visitor center :) |
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| Also found a nice riverside area where we played for a while, though the river itself was very high from the snowmelt |
The cottage we stayed in was really nice. Small one bedroom but big enough for us certainly and very cozy. The owner had been renting it out for years so it was well equipped and just a few miles from the park entrance. It was amazing that it was 100 degrees plus in Three Rivers and then would drop to 80's as you ascended into the park.
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| Relaxing in front of the cottage |
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| We had stocked up at Trader Joe's on the way so we had a couple of easy dinners in.. |
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| .. but also went to check out the small town vibes of Three Rivers |
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| A nice family picture by the river |
Overall, a good time and getaway for a few days. We did not realize this before hand but the main part of Kings Canyon NP was closed due to the road being damaged during last year's rain and snow so we mostly stayed in Sequoia. That's ok, just means we'll have to come back next time. Hopefully, the kids will remember this when they are older, like I do.
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| This one is from another trip.. I was maybe 9 years old here? |
We did get an update on the kittens. We all went to visit Kiwi at Mia and John's and she is doing great. She gets along very well with Kitty, the cat they already had, and seems very happy.
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| Kiwi sleeping in a cube |
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| We're wearing masks just cause Ethan was sick (with COVID, it turned out) |
We also got to baby sit Shadow and Pepper for three days because the Devries went on a short trip. It was fun to have them in our house again though I am sure Sesame was like, "I thought I got rid of these guys?!" They are both doing well too and seem very happy to be in their new home together.
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| Shadow and Pepper in their new home.. Ethan and Emma are taking great care of them |
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| This is them back at our house.. they purred a lot more than before which is a good sign |
Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of Poppy (though Amy probably does somewhere) but she's doing well. Her new owner is taking her down to San Diego so she'll be a SoCal cat.
Sesame is a great cat as usual but has been bringing fleas into the house from hanging out near the ferals so Amy gave him a bath. Claws out and meowing but at least he didn't attack her. Now, he's all clean and (probably) flea less and back to being the only cat in the house :) He's a good cat.
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| Immediately post bath :D |
One more family picture. We had a nice evening out getting ramen, boba drink and Yogurtland. Good family time!
Almost forgot, we had a VMC gathering, spearheaded by Lin. It was nice to see Wei and QA and their new baby as well as Ray, John, Julie and the kids too. It was at their nice community pool and the kids got to jumping off the diving board. When I was a kid, I was always scared of the diving board because water would always shoot up my nose when I went in and also because I was scared there was an alligator waiting under there for me. The fear of all SE Asian kids..
Til next time!
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