Mickey in paradise

We got back from Oahu over a month ago. As it is, traveling with kids, we were definitely more tired after the trip than before. It didn't help that I had to go back to work immediately after we got back and Nik had to take care of two mildly ill, jet lagged kids on his own. Plus, we decided to tack on the annual Valley Crew snow trip to the end of Nik's vacation time.. and then Kai was sick, and then Sora was sick.. so needless to say, we've been busy and tired.

I started off our trip with yet another last minute packing binge (Nik is better at packing ahead of time) and a early morning flight. We packed plenty of food, snacks, and the tablet, and we were good to go. The kids were relatively well-behaved although Sora would refuse to wear even the most loosely buckled seat belt, complaining, "too tight!" Remarkably, the kids eventually both napped with us.. yeah, Nik and I are that good.

Who does this silly kid belong to?

.. oh yeah, that's right. :P (circa August 2011)

Score!

It took a while to pick up our rental car and Nik placated the children with Pocky while we waited. We eventually picked up Korean take out for dinner, eating it in the car while we were stuck in rush hour traffic. We finally arrived at Aulani, our home for the next couple of days. We were welcomed with leis, and went on to check out our room and the resort's many pools.

The kids preferred the water park with the water features turned off 

A tropical fish tank that you can snorkel in? Check!

The next day, we went off the resort to grab breakfast and groceries. Kai the carb fiend loved the flight of pancakes and Sora the carnivore, devoured the ham off the eggs benedict. Satiated and stocked with supplies for our vacation, we headed back to the resort to fully explore the pools. We had a scary moment when Nik and I had a miscommunication and while I was getting food, Nik thought I was watching Sora and I thought Nik was watching Sora. Unbeknownst to Nik, Sora followed him and Kai as they walked across the resort. They paused to watch resort guests taking pictures with Mickey and Minnie, and when Nik said that it was time to head back to see me and Sora, Kai replied, "Sora right here." Needless to say, Nik was surprised and an Aulani employee who had been discreetly following Sora asked if she belonged to him. Aiya.

Sora has an admirer <3

We recovered from this scary incident with rainbow shave ice, complete with Mickey ears, which the kids finished in our room's bathtub (pure efficiency). After a much-needed nap, we headed out yet again to Target to buy Sora a new swimsuit since the 12 month one that I packed for her was too tight. We got Japanese curry for dinner and of all things, the kids loved curry with cheese.

Crashing after the sugar high..

The kids love the Target doggie

The next morning, we woke up early and headed over to Aunty's Beach House, the Aulani kids club. The Beach House was only open to kids ages 3 and up so we opted to not drop off Kai since we figured he would think it was unfair if we dropped him off without Sora; however in the early morning hours, the club hosted an open house where kids of all ages could play with their parents, so we tried to take advantage of that time every morning. The Beach House was fully stocked with craft supplies, books, toys, dress up clothing, and an outdoor play area, the kids loved making crafts although it was hard to tear them away from the TV room!

Everything a kid could ask for.. Disney knows.

We spent the remainder of the morning at the Aulani beach, one of the man-made lagoons of Ko'olina. The kids contented themselves with playing in the sand and surf. In the afternoon, we headed across the street to grab ice cream (just okay and a touch too sweet) and then went to the Monkeypod Kitchen for a happy hour dinner. For a restaurant across the street from Aulani (we were expecting overrated and overpriced), happy hour was an awesome deal with good food and generous portions, Nik and I felt just a tad guilty since we didn't order any drinks.

Silly kids couldn't stand still

The next morning, we headed out to to Ewa for a train ride, but not before stopping to take a picture with Mickey and Minnie! There were already a number of people waiting for the Mickey and Minnie even before they had even arrived, and we queued up accordingly. As soon as they arrived, Sora wanted to watch the spectacle of everyone taking their pictures with Mickey and Minnie, but when it was our turn, nobody wanted to look Mickey and Minnie in the eye, although Sora eventually did give them high-fives. Still, it was more successful than our last attempt to take a picture with Mickey (although that's not saying much).

There is a train track which runs through Ko'olina and immediately adjacent to the Aulani property, I was curious about it and googled it. Turns out, a historical railway society runs a train from Ewa to Ko'olina and back on the weekends. We decided to take this opportunity to get out of the resort and do something a little different. The kids enjoyed playing on the historical steam engine on display at the train station. The ride was fully narrated and entertaining, although the route was mostly unremarkable as we rode alongside irrigation canals and behind strip malls. Once we passed through Ko'olina a short stretch of track went along the coast, which was beautiful. The train then went back along the track whence we came, stopping briefly for ice cream along the way.

Normally, I'd never let the kids play along train tracks.. but the train only runs on weekends.

Balance beam

My little engineer

Dog sitting

For a little over a week now, we've had a dog. Our friends are on vacation and we volunteered to watch their dog, Abbey. We want to help out, but we've also thought of getting a dog of our own in the future.. so this was a trial run of sorts. After this experiment, I can say with certainty that we don't have the emotional bandwidth for it now. I think I would just feel guilty all the time.. also, not growing up with a dog, I am honestly not sure if I'm ready to accept the inherent mess that just comes with owning a dog.

However, the kids are over the moon in love with Abbey. They squeal with excitement when they see her. They love feeding her, filling up her water bowl, walking her, and giving her treats. I'm not sure if the feeling is mutual.. Abbey tends to shy away from the kids when they try to pet her, but she loves hovering under their chairs during mealtime.

It takes three people to walk the dog

Sora is showing Abbey her toy doggie

Sunny and family came over to my parents' last weekend and cooked up a feast. (un)Surprisingly, Sora loved the octopus. The kids enjoyed being part of Nik's workout regimen and helping Gung Gung play Texas hold 'em on the iPad.

Holding a plank is way harder when you have over 50 lbs of toddler crawling across your back

We went out to celebrate Lin's birthday. It was great to see everyone in spite of the rainy weather. We also went out to dinner with the kids midweek. The kids did surprisingly well, perhaps the incentive of a macaroon ice cream sandwich for dessert helped?

Someone's happy

This past weekend, we went to Rebecca's birthday party and a Chipotle party at Anny and Kent's. We arrived a little early and the weather was great, so we killed time at the playground first. Quite adorably, Sora insisted that Kai hold her hand as they went down the slide together. However that moment came and went, and later Sora refused to hold Kai's hand. Both parties were at the same time, so I went to Anny's while Nik took the kids to the birthday party. The kids had a lot of fun and continuing in their adorableness, Kai insisted on catching Sora as she came down the inflatable slide. They certainly have their moments. :)

OMG. So. Much. Thomas.

Nik's been working through the weekend, so I've had to manage the kids on my own in the evenings. Fortunately, they've been pretty well behaved aside from Sora hardly eating a thing. A little TV also helps. :P

And I'll leave this post with one final picture:

That moment when you're trying to admonish your kids while you're frantically trying to take a picture

Chin care

Me: We need to give Skinnay hay.

Kai: Otherwise, he's going to die like Chubs.

Say what?!

Year 10 (AKA V-Day) and snow trip

Today marks the tenth year since Nik and I began dating. Yes, we still keep track of random anniversaries like our dating anniversary.. fortunately, Nik had the foresight to choose Valentine's Day, so it's easy to remember. To celebrate, Nik and I saw La La Land yesterday and then had a lunch date today followed by Rita's. Watching La La Land felt appropriate since (in spite of the traffic and smog) Los Angeles will always hold a special sort of magic for me since a lot of our dating history occurred there.

Over ten years ago (at Griffith Observatory)..

.. and today (we finally have Rita's in SJ!)

Since I last posted, we had a dumping-filled CNY lunch with the Lais and then got together with my family to celebrate the year of the rooster.

The chaos of three toddlers at a Chinese restaurant on CNY

How to Train Your Toddler

We also went on a snow trip with our church friends. On our way up we stopped at the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield. The kids loved it, and were obsessed with jelly beans for the remainder of the trip.

Jelly bean mosaic

That's a lot of jelly beans..

My little horse

We then joined the LSCC caravan, and were duly impressed by the organization and logistical operation of coordinating 11 cars via walkie talkies and group texting threads. Unlike previous years (excluding last year) there was a lot of snow this year. Nik had to install chains for the very first time, so being part of the big caravan certainly helped.

Someone's proud of himself

We stayed at a Christian conference center right next to Lake Tahoe. The kids enjoyed playing in the snow, but weren't too fond of sledding. Aside from a brief field trip to Heavenly Village, it was a pretty low-key trip with lots of time spent just playing in the snow or hanging out, but traveling with the kids is still exhausting and Nik and I were more tired after the trip than before.

Everyone's favorite snow toy: the snowball maker

Mid-snowball toss

Sora-sized snow cave

Heavenly Village

Crazy kids

Superbowl Sunday: kids watching a tablet on one end of the room and adults watching the game on the other end of the room

The snowy drive home

With the days getting longer and warmer, and since we've had a break in the rain, we've been venturing out a little bit more after picking the kids up from school.

Nik and I were giggling at the kids the other day because they were obsessed with "cutting the cheese." Get it? ;)

Kai was briefly ill over this past weekend, but got over it quickly. I hope this bodes well for future illnesses, but maybe we just got lucky this time around. Kai was well enough to help me make banana bread.. he's become quite the expert assistant.

Kai seems to be getting cleverer by the day. He remembers my promises and hours later he will remind me if I forget. He has sound logic and I'm constantly impressed with his reasoning abilities. Next post, I'll try to make a note of an example. His writing is improving and he now can write out his name without assistance. I know it's not particularly special at his age, but it still feels remarkable to me given that he wasn't able to do it only a month or so ago.

All by himself!

These days, Sora is chatterbox. She talks and sings to herself non-stop as we drive in the car. Since Bright Star is a Mandarin-speaking daycare, her English is peppered with Mandarin and sometimes we don't understand what she's trying to say. She loves Thomas (undoubtedly Kai's influence) and insists that we sing her Thomas songs before bed.

Leis layered on top of stethoscopes.. makes sense?

She is still frustratingly tiny, although I think she has finally outgrown most of her 12-month old clothing. She hardly eats during some meals, though when we went to Elysia's birthday party this past weekend, it wasn't a problem. Sora parked herself next to the cereal necklace making station and crammed cereal in her mouth throughout the party.

Happy Valentine's day from my two pint-sized Valentines!

Valentines from Sora on the left, Kai on the right