April!?! // Socal Trip // Soccer season starts // Misc

 Why is it April already?!?  Happy April Fool's day :)  I've been falling behind on the blog a bit, I think because for a while there wasn't too much going on but then, the last few weeks, there was too much going on!  Anyway, I'll try to catch up..

Girls Scout Cookie season ended (finally!)  Amy is so good / OCD about the bookkeeping that it takes her forever, which takes a lot of time.  Now that it's over, she has more time for other things.  Their troop sold about 3000 boxes of cookies so that means prizes and about $3000 for the troop to spend during the year! 

I think they are selling out of the back of the van at 
our local library here :)

One of the booths in front of Safeway

For our February /Ski week break, we decided to drive down to SoCal as it has been a while.  We started off the visit with Brian, Sue and Ophelia in LA.  It was a short visit but was nice to catch up with everyone.  Anne came by for dinner as well so it was nice to see her too.

Versailles.. so good!

The next morning, we dropped by the Getty Center.  We haven't been in several years and I forgot how spectacular the place is.  The tram ride up and the view of Los Angeles, the marble covered buildings, the art galleries, the garden, the sheer number of workers from guards to landscapers and more.  I mean, this place must have cost a billion dollars to build ($1.3b actually when I looked it up) .. and it's all free (aside from parking)!  It really made me feel like, this is what billionaires should be doing with their money (instead of trying to make more money for themselves or take over the government so they can make more money for themselves).. sigh, so sad about the state of our country.

Jad standing in a rainbow
in the main foyer

Exhibit on a cool Victorian era microscope

The gardens are such a nice complement to the galleries

Frolicking in the grass

Sora standing next to a $50 million Van Gogh

After the morning, we drove down towards Temecula to visit the Halls.  It turns out that their house flooded (leaky toilet flapper with plugged toilet upstairs) so they had to rent an Airbnb but they were so generous that they still offered to host us.  It was so good to see them and the kids had a lot of fun together.  We still miss them as our neighbors but are very happy that they have found a good place in Temecula.

A quick lunch with Siavosh on the way

Jad and Evie doing a science/craft project

The rental had a pool table and 7 TV's .. overkill probably
but the kids didn't think so :)

Some soccer/outdoor time as well.

After two nights in Temecula, we headed off back to OC to visit Matt, Nicole and Lucas.  They bought a small condo and are doing well, though at a busy stage in their life with career, school, baby and home.  Amy and I remember that time in our lives as well.  They do have a lot of help from Nicole's family which is great but it does seem very exhausting for the moment.

We went to dinner at The Mercado Northgate Market.  I was expecting a 
version of the markets in Spain or Portugal but this was a much nicer
combo of shops and eating area.  Very tasty :)

Very clean and modernized.. fresh torillas!

Also fresh churros .. yum!

Went out to Laguna beach near the Rivian Theater (an old theater they converted to a showroom,
which was ok, fun when they have a free movie showing, I think).  The beach was great though
so warm even in Feb.. I miss SoCal beaches..

After staying with Matt for a night, we went to visit with Viet and Dina in Brea.  They too have settled quite well since moving back from Boston a few years ago.  Their kids are also just a bit younger than ours, so they all got along great.  It was really nice to see them and talk with Viet in person, rather than our usual gaming time chats.

Ninja rope in the backyard

  Plants vs. Zombies GW2 fest :) Videogames for everyone!

Taco time!  We did have a lot of Mexican
food while down there :D

Jad and Gracie got along very well

Kids playing hide and seek.. Everyone missed
Marko for a while

On our last full day there, we went to meet up with Mauri and go to Downtown Disney to meet up with Amy's college friends.  We saw a lot of friends this trip, didn't do any theme parks or anything but it was really nice to see everyone.  

Sushi lunch with Mauri and sons

Randomly stopped by a festival 

Sharing a giant Oreo CrazyShake at Downtown Disney

A quick picture of the crew .. and blurry jad, I think.. was really good to see everyone there

Disney is very good at designing spaces for kids.. they ran around
for hours in this little area

Viet, ever the scientist, designed a taste experiment
for the kids on their last morning together

Back home, we carried on.. There was an incident with Kai in Mid March.  He was in a gmail chain with a bunch of kids from both middle and his old elementary school.  One of the kids got mad at something and then sent a middle finger emoji, which Kai thought was directed at him so he sent back a really over the top string of curses and vulgar emojis.  He was reported for it, of course, and then got pulled to the Principal's office.  He feels pretty sorry for it and we had a some long talks with him.  We still think he's a good kid, very smart, but trying to fit in at middle school can be really hard (he says kids curse at each other all the time).  He got no video games for a month, which he's been good with, and we will try to continue to support him and model good behavior.  Anyway, it has made us less complacent and we'll have to more carefully monitor device use in the future too.

I've been trying to be good about exercise (so I 
won't die :) .. 20-30mins on the garage elliptical
everyday and more exercises while at work

Sora has some mild near sightedness so 
she tried on some glasses.  She is not a fan
so we're doing atropine drops now.. we'll see

Sesame resting on Kai

Soccer season started .. Kai is doing U12 rec and Jad is doing
U8 comp.. makes for a very busy week

Sora had a piano recital which went quite well

I hosted the Girl Scouts at work and
helped them get their First Aid Badge

Kids are back to doing Friday Art with Peggy

Amy is still running.  She's planning to run a marathon in Korea
in Oct so has signed up for a couple of halfs in the
next few months.  Pretty amazing.. Go Amy!

Matt brought Lucas and Daniel, Gabby and Ellie came to visit

Jad loves fooling with the younger kids

Play that piano, Lucas!

That's about it for the last few weeks.  It's been busy but we're keeping on .. Hope everyone reading this is well.  Til next time!

You know, despite it all, Kai is still
a great, silly, awesome kid

Life musing // Early 2025 // VMC Snow Trip 2025

 It's hard to believe that it's already mid Feb.  Time does seem to fly faster and faster as we get older.  Everyday is busy so it seems like you just keep going but all that time adds up.  I know this blog is mainly happy but I also want it to be a place where I can record thoughts, think about things and, much, use as a reminder of these years of our lives.  I turned 47 last year and, for the first time, really thought about how I've probably lived half of my life already.  I mean, we all know that we aren't going to live forever and that we'll become less healthy as we age but that's all in the abstract and very hard to grasp in reality.  Perhaps because my mom passed away a couple of years ago, Amy's parents' illnesses, my own health slowly changing, etc, I thought about it and realized that I probably am not going to make it to 95.  And, even if I do, I don't think I would be in any great shape at that time.  That realization has made me think a bit more about how to spend my time and what I want to do with the life that I have. I've cut down on work quite a bit over the last year and I'm happy with the amount of work that I'm doing now.  Amy isn't working and dedicating her time to our family (including her parents, as well) and I think in that respect, our priorities are in the right place.  Our relationships, within our family and outside of it (friends, neighbors, church), are what we want to focus on.  We're both trying to stay healthy, I'm trying to get some exercise at least 5 days a week and Amy is still running and keeping up with her PT.  We want to focus on experiences over things or money and I think we're in a good place there.  There has been some anxiety over the recent political developments but we're doing our best to be informed (not too much though because it's very stressful), learn where we can and be active when possible.  We're both reading more.  Me, mostly fantasy and sci-fi which I have really enjoyed getting back into, and Amy some history, currently The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich 8)  I am trying really hard to squeeze the joy out of life, whether it's time with the kids or cooking something new for dinner or spending time with Amy.  I think we're doing generally well though always striving to improve and adapt.  All right, that's it for the contemplation for now :) onto the pictures!

A smorgasbord of things in Jan and early Feb .. 

ps. I remember being in Sweden and learning what smorgasbord meant, basically a table full of various food offerings, and it has come to mean a collection of many different things :)

Sora and Elysia are enjoying their ice skating class. 
They don't need the buckets anymore :)

Jad has joined competitive soccer with friends, Mojo, Colton, Ashton
and Orion.  It's more time and more cost (coaches, uniforms, registration)
but we're going to give it a go for at least one season.

The moms went out to afternoon tea for Kristina's birthday

Our small group made Chinese style stew for the BYF
Friday dinners.  We want to support the youth whenever we can as
BYF is a place where they can make some solid dependable friends.

Jad (Kai and Sora too) went to their first
orthopedics appt.  We found a nice not too aggressive
orthodontist that we like and feel much better :)

Celebrated lunar new year with neighbors and some sparklers.  I tried to go to Vietnamese town to
buy some firecrackers but the lady looked at me and was like, "those are illegal, we don't sell them
here"..  I should have brought a Vietnamese friend 8D

Sora is selling cookies again.. aiming
for 300+ boxes this year

Our garage is, once again, full of cases of cookies :)

Went to watch the Dog Man movie with Jad's soccer friends.  We rarely
go to the theater now so it was a treat for all of us.  Movie was
surprisingly touching and (with Raja's recs too) made us want to read the books

This past weekend, we went to meet up with my intern/medical friends in Tahoe.  This is the 19th year we've done this trip since intern year in 2006!  That's pretty good for a group of friends who were mainly together for one year :) Viet has moved away and Lin and Sean haven't come for a few years now but we'll keep them going as long as we can.  Thanks especially to Ray and Mukesh who pushed to get things organized this year.

The drive up was so slow.. some traffic, stop at In-n-Out and chain control
made it a full 6 1/2 hour drive.  Next time, we'll have to pull the kids out 
school at lunch to get going earlier!

The house we rented was very nice.  We stayed with Mukesh
and Lin while Wei, Ray and John went to the other house.
Certainly a step up from two rooms at the Peppermill!

Honestly, we spent most of the time just chatting and catching up with each other, while the kids watched TV, played games or just ran around.  A few people went skiing or boarding but most of us just went to the nearly sledding hill and played in the snow there.

Jad had some good rides

Sora too!

Kids watched all three How to Train Your Dragon movies
in two days :)

Breakfast time

It's harder to get everyone together now, everyone has responsibilities and kids (boy, are we glad to be out of the really young kids phase), but it's really awesome to make it together.  

That's a wrap for now.  We're planning a trip to SoCal next week to visit friends that we haven't seen in a while.  And hopefully a Costa Rica trip in the summer!  Til next time!