First post of 2024! Hope everyone is starting of the new year right :)
Post Christmas, after I worked a couple of days, we went to Great America with the neighbors (Connicks and Ngos). It was fun to wander around with the friends and I'm glad they were able to use our gold passes for free parking.
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| Sora, Elysia and Jad on the swings |
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| They also rode the gondola by themselves (w/ Kai) |
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| Funny enough, we ran in to Joanna, Anny and Jen Chen there and they went off on their own to wander around (reliving their teen years at Great America). It was a nice opportunity to catch up without the kids around (I took them for a bit) |
We finished off the year by going on our annual church retreat. We usually have it during new years though, this year, there were definitely less people than usual who attended. That's not a bad thing as it allows time to catch up more with people who were there. Ansel and Yukari and their kids also came this year, even though they have moved to a different church, so we spent a lot of time with them. Our kids also loved hanging out with Evelyn and William. There was very little snow this year and the kids asked, "is this due to global warming?" To some degree, I think, but hopefully it's just an odd year. Still, the kids missed out on playing in the snow which was a bit sad.
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| Our kids and the Shaw kids (minus new addition Elizabeth) were inseparable during the retreat |
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| Went on a hike at Emerald Bay on the first day there because there was no snow play |
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| Ice skating on the 2nd day |
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| There was a lot of time on screens/video games.. so much so that we're electronic detoxing this week |
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| Lake Tahoe (or Lake Takoe as the kids like to say) without snow.. it was beautiful nonetheless |
We returned home on New Year's Eve (easier driving without snow conditions) and hung out with the Connicks for NYE. The kids wanted to stay up until midnight but Amy and I were both tired so we celebrated East Coast New Year's and then got them to bed by 1045p. Amy was out but I played Xbox with Viet until about 1am. A very low key NYE :)
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| Majong New Year's |
On New Year's day, we took it easy at home then went to the last day of Christmas in the Park. Amy likes to go every year and it has become a bit of a tradition for us. The best part was looking around for the Toyon Elementary tree, even though none of our kids go there anymore.
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| Jad has been doing the shaka a lot. Kai with the thumbs up too. |
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| The favorite tree this year was the Mario themed tree |
Jan 3rd is Amy's the Best day for us. It was designated as our engagement anniversary, which was 15th years ago. We considered going to Half Moon Bay but decided to keep it close to home because we woke up late and would have to make it back for Kai's jujitsu (or so we thought, because it ended up being closed... and soccer was cancelled too!) We did make it to Japantown for conveyor belt sushi but had the bad luck of getting a flat tire while there. Still, that's why we have roadside assistance and it was taken care of fairly easily.
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| Kids enjoyed picking things off the conveyor as the plates came around.. next time we have to go earlier in the lunch hour for more selection |
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| We also got Pau Hana halo halo shave ice combo, which was very tasty.. gotta support our local shops! |
Lastly, I'll finish off with kudos for Amy as she has started running more consistently again. She joined a challenge in her running group and it's a good motivator for her. I wouldn't call it a resolution because those always get broken but it's a good start. I don't really have any resolution either but I do have some goals for the year, especially now that I'm on an easier work schedule. I'd like to write more and, in no particular order, finish a draft of a book (so many ideas to curate and winnow down), learn to play ukulele, meditate be more present for the kids and make sure my relationship with Amy is really strong.
