Halls visiting this week / SAM camp for Kai and Sora / Matt and Nicole visit / Climbing wall progress

Lots of stuff this past week, but the highlight was definitely the visit from the Halls, our neighbors who moved down to Temecula a year ago.  They were in town for a visit and luckily they agreed to stay with us and it was awesome!  Their kids are very similar ages to our kids and they fit right back into the neighborhood like almost no time had gone by.  We spent a lot of time in the Connicks' backyard, eating together and the kids had great time playing, dancing and staying up way too late..

We had dinner and drinks nearly every night..

.. sometimes during the days too

The kids had an impromptu art class with Peggy

They usually played together but sometimes snuck a bit of screen time

Our first run of the smoker.. 

Ribs and chicken success!!

Quite a spread!

In the middle of it all, Audrey asked, "is this how you live everyday?!   Ha, ha, no but thank you for visiting and giving us an excuse to do it :)

Lastly, our kids just got along so well with the Hall kids.  Kai and Isaac, Sora and Owen, Jad and Evie.  It was wonderful to see them together again.  And also with Elysia, Kazu, An-Toan, Paige and Casey!  Lucky, we'll be visiting them in a couple week too!

Bunch of goofball boys..

A couple of smiley girls

Everyone playing late into the night

SAM camp was also this week and Kai and Sora had a great time.  The staff at camp was very caring and they both came home with fun projects that they did.  I think we'll continue to do this as long as we can.

In the midst of all this, it is still important to mention that life still throws curveballs at you.  Amy's aunt passed away.  She was 99 and lived a full life with lots of loving family to miss her.

Of course, she's getting ready for Matt and Nicole's wedding.  They came up this weekend to visit and tie up some loose ends before the wedding (in less than a month!)  

They are always so good about playing with the kids..
The energy of youth :)

Sora got her flower girl dress this week as well.  She's very excited about the wedding and a bit nervous as it's the first time, she'll be the center of attention for any event so big.

Looking very cute!

On the project front, I'm making slow progress on the climbing wall..

Sanding down the sides of the plywood so no one gets splinters.
(Thanks for the sander loan, Charlie!)

Then we moved the wood upstairs to start planning the routes.

Lastly, the kids all got haircuts this week.  Now, the only one left is me.  Til next week!

Short Hair Jad.. he distracted because he has to pee ;)

Kai soccer camp and Sora's art class / Climbing wall progress / Going away dinner with Mei Li

 Kai had soccer camp with Niko and Ethan for 4 days this past week.  Normally, we wouldn't sign him up for this sort of thing (it's really expensive!) but we thought maybe being with his best friends would motivate him.  I don't think it worked.  He had fun but from the report of the other 8 year olds, Kai didn't put in too much effort.  We encouraged him and he did do better towards the end but it makes us question whether these things are worth the effort and expense.  

Joshua, Niko, Ethan and Kai, masked and ready for soccer .. 
or at least goofing off on the pitch

While Kai was in soccer camp, Sora was home with either Amy or I. It felt unusual as they usually do nearly everything together but we signed her up for an online art class which she enjoyed.  She also came to run errands with us :)

You would think she would be more engaged after a year of 
virtual learning but she was as quiet as ever

Sora came with me to get an automatic carwash 

Jad is still at daycare, of course.  He's still rather stubborn so I think teacher Wendy has been somewhat frustrated with him.  He's still our opinionated extrovert :)

During our Thursday night neighborhood hangouts, the kids are
usually running around together plotting some scheme or another

I didn't work too much this week so I had a chance to work a bit on the climbing wall.  There has been a wood shortage so prices are high and inventory is low but I finally managed to find some plywood at Home Depot.  I think I have most of the pieces now.. so it'll only be two more months before I'm done :p

Home Depot is always so cavernous and there's not much assistance..
I was lucky to get two pieces of wood cut.

Lastly, this is the last week before Mei Li moves to NYC.  We are happy that she's starting a new adventure but sad that she is moving away.  We managed to drive up to SF to meet up for a farewell dinner with Lin and Sean.

We went up a bit early and stopped by Bi-Rite for ice cream..
Unanimous approval by all!

We then met up at Outer Orbit for fancy Hawaiian food (not that good..)

..but they did have pinball machines which the kids enjoyed..
for the 15 seconds they managed to keep the ball up.. sigh

We took a quick walk and stopped by a mini park with a panoramic
overlook of the foggy (and cold!) San Francisco cityscape

It was nice to be up in the city again but honestly, we're pretty content with living in the suburbs.  Amy was traumatized with parallel parking twice!  On the drive home we all, including Jad with his best Tokelauan imitation, sang the Moana songs.  The kids initially didn't like the movie but now they love it!

This coming week, the Halls are coming to visit and staying with us!

Just keep swimming / Neighborhood whiskey BBQ / Sora sleepover / Thailand situation

This week:

The swimming continues on these hot summer days. There are no big California fires yet (fingers crossed) but there is a large fire up in Oregon. 

Sora doing side breathing

Joining with Ethan in the hot tub

Last Friday, we had a potluck dinner / whiskey tasting with our neighbors.  Everyone was impressed with the variety of whiskey that we tasted but I was more impressed that our kids all played together and gave the adults time to chat and relax.  

We were very responsible and no adults were hungover
the next day..

Kids having a dance party to "Gangnam Style"

The Hibiki was Amy's favorite.  Mine was the Macallen 15.

This weekend, Sora also had a tent sleepover with Wally.  Kai had initially wanted to join too but we decided to give them some quality time together without siblings.

We all went over and had dinner together beforehand

The BFF's

We also went to Noe's birthday party in the park.  As we sat under the trees, we noted how perfect the weather is here in California.

We're always impressed with Marina's decorations

On a more serious note, the COVID situation in Thailand is getting worse.  My parents are ok and, at least, have gotten their 1st AstraZeneca vaccine but the 2nd isn't due for 6 weeks.  My mom's dementia is worsening and it's harder for my dad to take care of her.  Hoping I can go back to Thailand for a visit soon but it's difficult with the current 2 week mandatory quarantine for travelers.  At least I managed to get a passport appointment with the Thai Embassy so maybe that'll help me get there a bit easier.

Quiet week, lots of work / Wally's moving / David's visit / Sagar and Johanna

 Overall, a pretty quiet week. I had a lot of work so Amy was holding down the fort with the kids at home.  It has continued to be hot so they have been swimming a lot, though it does not bode well for the summer fire season.  

Sprinklers at Wally's house

Sora also finally learned that Wally is moving away.  He apparently asked to talk to her alone then took her to the tree where they often sit together and told her he was moving.  She was sad for a bit and then was happy soon after but the implications of her best friend moving away may have not sunk in quite yet.  Sigh..

We are also sad that our wonderful neighbors, the Chells, are moving out, a double whammy after the Halls moved out last year :(  It makes sense for them and we wish them the best but we'll miss them.  They are in the midst of cleaning their house out and the kids have been pillaging the free stuff out on the driveway all week.

Sora grabbed a couple puzzles

Jad nabbed a bunch of fake flowers and arranged them. 
He said, "This is just perfect."

David came by to hang out for an afternoon with us and the kids.  It was really nice to have him over and the kids really enjoyed it. 

The kids tried to knock David down but his muscles were not having it :)

Sagar and Johanna were also on a 2 week trip down the Western US, so they were able to come by for a quick visit.  So nice to see him and to meet Johanna!

The boys are grayin'.. lucky the girls are still beautiful

Til next time!

The Oregon coast and a long drive home

We continued our Oregon roadtrip with a trip to the coast. We grabbed some lunch at a local brewery (every restaurant in Oregon seems to be attached to a brewery) and then headed off to Cannon Beach. At the beach, there was a commotion since there was an ocean rescue in progress. We tried our best to stay out of the first responders' way and maintain a sense of normalcy for the kids' sake.. but needless to say, I didn't let the kids near the surf for the remainder of our stay along the Oregon coast. Relatively oblivious, the kids happily contented themselves searching in the small tide pools (under close supervision) and burying each other in the fine, soft sand.

Look ma, no pants!

Cannon Beach is famous for Haystack Rock

We then checked into our rental in the nearby town of Seaside. When Joe had presented the rental options, I specifically chose this Airbnb because of the two bunk bed room. It did not disappoint. The kids quickly claimed their bunks and Jad complained that it "wasn't fair" that he couldn't sleep in the kids' room.. he eventually relented and said that he would sleep with the big kids when he was six, like Sora. It was a bit crazy having Ryan, Kai and Sora in one room (Ryan claimed to be up until 11), but it was a lot of fun for them and I think it was good bonding time for the cousins.

The kids enjoyed this table-sized checkers set

Cousin love <3

We opted for easy for our first night at the coast and ordered pizza to-go, and then walked from our rental to the beach for more playing in the sand.

With lots of room to spare, it was nice to have a grownups' table..

.. and a kids' table

Some sensitive artistry by Nik

There were lots of broken fragments of sand dollars on the beach, so Sora wanted to go to the beach early the next morning to look for a whole sand dollar. We searched and ended up finding lots of tiny, albeit fragile, sand dollars. After returning from our sand dollar hunt, we joined the rest of the family who were heading on a walk down "the prom" which runs along the seaside to the small downtown strip.

The Prom with Tillamook Head in the background

The downtown strip was pretty standard, with restaurants serving standard American fare and kitschy tourist shops. There was a small midway with bumper cars and rides, but we passed on them since Kai was too short to ride unattended. We found a smoked salmon store for a healthy-ish lunch and then I walked home to get the van (there was no way that Jad would make it for the walk back home) while everyone else went to the arcade.

Soon, he won't tolerate these silly photo ops. If you look at his expression, he's barely tolerating them already :P

We returned to our rental and after a quick nap for Jad (going back to get the van was a good idea), we went back to the beach to play. The kids enjoyed playing in the sand and much to Sora's delight, we found two large, whole sand dollars in the surf!

Ryan and Kai blinded by sand being blown up by the wind

The haul

It was the cousins' last day together and after another late night, shared room shenanigans, we parted ways and headed for the next leg of our trip to Bend. We stopped in Salem for a hearty lunch, made a spontaneous decision to check out the Detroit Dam (random road trip stops are part of the fun!) and pondered the burnt landscape along the drive. Perhaps distracted by our own wildfire drama, we didn't realize that there had been a large wildfire which had devastated the area last year. It was also interesting to see the lush, green forests I usually associate with Oregon transition into a high desert terrain shaped by a volcanic history.

Bend was a quick pitstop for us to visit friends, but is probably worth another trip to actually stop and explore the city. The town isn't big, but has experienced a recent population boom of people looking to trade their urban lifestyles for an active, outdoorsy one. There are lots of trendy restaurants and so many roundabouts. By chance, Nik had found out that Jean, Anthony and family happened to be vacationing nearby, so we met them for dinner. It was great to see them, though difficult to have a meaningful conversation with young children in a restaurant setting.

We stayed the night in Bend (the kids were bummed that the hotel pool could only be used by one family at a time and needed to be reserved well in advance). The next morning, we met Jess, Micah and family for a Father's Day brunch at their home. Our kids were entertained by the trampoline and the abundance of toys, it was nice to catch up and it was a good way for the kids to blow off some steam before another long day's drive.

The drive down from Bend was uneventful. We tried to stop at a fish hatchery along the way, but were disappointed to find that it was closed. Our next stop was Fall River Mills, a quintessential small town. We tried to explore the very small downtown, but most of the storefronts were closed or vacant. The local museum highlighting the history of the intermountain area and probably would've been interesting if it wasn't already closed.

Happy Father's Day, Nik! Sad that the fish hatchery was closed, but at least we got a good picture of Nik and the kids

Yogurt stop at Klamath Falls

Fun photo op at the Fort Crook Museum

The next morning, we headed off to visit the main item on our agenda: a visit to McArthur-Burney State Park. Nik had read about Burney Falls and really wanted to visit on our drive down, so we made it a priority. For a relatively minimal amount hiking, you get an awesome payout with a spectacular waterfall.

We all enjoyed the benches engraved with inspirational quotes set along the short, loop hike

Kai needed a pick-me-up after the hike. What better reward than soft serve?

From McArthur-Burney State Park, we drove to the Lassen National Forest for a nearby lave tube hike. We were prepared and had brought headlamps and flashlights specifically for this hike. The kids enjoyed the pitch black trek through the tunnel and it was nice to do something so completely different from our last hike.

Sora's light up sneakers were perfect for this hike

After a quick lunch stop just south of Redding, it was time for the long drive home. Immediately after the long and exhausting drive up to Oregon, Nik had forsworn another roadtrip, but I'm sure as time passes the kids will get older and easier and the past becomes rose tinted. Besides, there is definitely more to explore, and between Crater Lake, Lava Beds, and Lassen, I am sure we will visit again. ;)

Quick stop in Red Bluff for lunch