SF visit for Pearl and Simon // Kidz Bop // Dosa // Dinner with Alice // Nik's 46th

 Oh, man, I'm falling behind on the blogposts.. granted there has been a lot going on the last few weeks.

We went up to visit Pearl and Simon in SF on a random weekend.  It's always hard to convince the kids to drive a long distance to see some family they don't really know but we think it's important to show them that our lives are important too.    It was really nice to see Pearl and Amy was able to catch up with her while Simon and I took the kids to the nearby playground.  Pearl is doing well, taking some time off work and for herself which is really something we all should do honestly.  We had pineapple buns from Pineapple King Bakery (coming to Fremont soon, supposedly) and then went for noodles at Ramen Yamadaya.  Kai got along instantly with Mason.  It's funny how he clicks with some kids and not with others :)  

Ramen in Japantown!

The Lai cats, after a recent hair trimming

Four of the RCC fams also went to the Kidz Bop concert.  What's Kidz Bop, you ask?  Well, basically they get kids to learn pop songs and a mini dance routine and then put on a concert.  It's a thing apparently.  It was a lot of fun and the kids enjoyed doing something different.  Sora and Jad loved it, Kai was more ambivalent but I think he did enjoy a different venue and seeing what a concert was like.  The parents got sauced at the pre-party in the parking lot so everyone enjoyed the silliness.

Kidz Bop pre-party

These are so cute ladies!

Lawn seats at the Shoreline

Sora had a blast but she loves music 
and dancing so it was natural

Jad too :)

The after Kidz Bop party :D

We introduced the kids to South Asian food at Savaranaa Bhavan. The same chain I ate at with Harsha and David when I recently when I went to NYC.  The kids like the dosa but not all the strong tastes of the various items.  Sora ate the most as she's got the most adventurous palate.  Later, we all suffered the rumbles in the bronx.. I don't know if we're going back anytime soon.

The dosa is massive!

We also managed to sneak out one day to see Alice.  We had originally intended to take the kids but they were playing with the neighbors and refused to come so we just went.  It was nice to see her and her two boys.  They are very big now and very nice.  We had dinner at the local Korean place in Milpitas and enjoyed catching up.  It's been forever since we got to see her so it was really awesome.

Alice, Luca and Milo

Lastly (for now), I turned 46 a couple of weeks ago.  It doesn't feel any different though I'm coming to the mid life point where I'm evaluating my career and life to see if everything is in order.  More on that in the next entry but it was nice to celebrate with our neighbors.  The Aoalins' freezer defrosted so there as a turkey that was already thawed so we decided to smoke it and then we had a faux Thanksgiving birthday .. a good time was had by all.

Pretty good for a first time turkey smoker

The eventual spread was delicious

No, we did not get a 4th kid!  I just happened to be
holding Jasper at that time :)

That's it for now.  We just got back from Kaua'i so I will work on that next and then we're off to DC to meet with Joe and Chris and their familes so that should be fun.  Very busy this month!!

School started! // Camping at Portola Redwoods // Odds and Ends // Amy changing jobs // Jad "cracked his skull"

 The kids are back in school!  Yes, the parents have a taste of freedom again in the mornings until 1pm.  This is the one and only year we have all three kids in one school with Kai in 5th grade, Sora in 3rd and Jad in Kindergarten.  It's hard to believe that Kai has been at Noble for 6 years now and we used to drop him off at the same Kindergarten area while towing Sora along in a stroller so many years ago.  They are growing up fast..

First day of school!

Just before school started, we squeezed in a couple of other activities.  We got a chance to go to see Evelyn and William's play.  It was cute and I'm glad we were able to support them.  Sora is also very interested in the dramatic arts.  She is always making up plays and scenes with the other kids though she hasn't gotten over the hump of actually being in a performance yet.  Maybe next summer, they can join the kid theater group too.

Super cute pic of all 5 kids

The Aoalins also hosted the neighbors at their cabin so Amy took the kids up for the weekend.  They had fun hanging out at the lake and playing lots of video games.  I had to work, unfortunately, but got a bit of a break for about 36 hours to myself.  Which also meant video games and some instant ramen for food as well :D  I mean, I can cook, but it's hardly worth it for just one person

Kayaking on the lake with Kai

Kids enjoyed the SUP as well

We also went for our second camping trip of the summer with our friends Bonnie and Tony and their group.  They are just a very nice, low key group of families who camp once a year.  This year, we went to Portola Redwoods State Park which is pretty close but up a lot of very windy roads into the mountains west of San Jose.  The site was nice though and there weren't any yellow jackets so that's a win already.

We were also allowed to light a campfire
(we couldn't do that the last couple years at Napa)

Interestingly, one of the group members grew up on a family farm near Pescadero and they still have the property so she invited us to come visit.  They don't really farm on it anymore but there were lots of fruit trees and vegetables that were still being grown.  There was also a creek the flowed in the back that the kids played in.  Super nice!

Playing in the creek

The raspberry patch was just ripening
so we all got a bunch of them

A few little odds and ends here.

Men's group finished our study of Tim Keller's Prayer book so
we celebrated by going to Topgolf for an evening

I made a succulent arrangement (thanks to
neighbor David for making the box!)

I gave jad a fohawk, per his request

Lastly, Amy recently left her job.  Well, got laid off actually.  Her hospital, Good Samaritan, is run by HCA (Hospital Corporation of America.. can you have a more terrible name?) and when they figured the Pediatric ICU wasn't profitable, then decided to shut it down this summer.  Amy works in the Neonatal ICU, of course, so she didn't think that this would affect her but the nurses who were in the PICU were allowed to move to other pediatric units, including the NICU.  Because Amy is part time, she has lower seniority than the other nurses and when two nurses moved into the NICU, she was bumped and laid off.  It was a bit of a shock and she's still trying to figure things out, whether she wants to continue with bedside nursing or do something else, but other jobs like public health nursing (which she is more interested in) are less flexible with hours, which is something we need with the kids and my schedule.  I tried to make it out to be an opportunity for change but Amy didn't like that so much and I was in the dog house for a few days for not being serious enough about it.  We figured it out though and now I'm trying to be more empathic and better support.  She's taking some time off to figure out the next steps.  Such is the bumps in the road of life..  

Lastly, we did have a scare last weekend.  Jad fell off a play structure and whacked his head.  After 3 hours of obs at home, he was still sleepy and then vomited so I brought him to the ER and, sure enough, he had a small subdural bleed and frontal/temporal bone fracture.   He stayed in the PICU on Sunday night and repeat CT was stable so we went home for close observation.  He is recovering quickly and went back to school Tuesday where he promptly told his classmates that he "cracked his skull".  Almost back to normal now and generally doing well.   Kids fall all the time, just bad luck he hit his temple.  Crazy.. 

It's the little crescent of white inside the skull
on the left side of the CT scan

We had a good time hanging out
in the PICU

Discharged the next day

All for now.  Take care, everyone!

The last days of summer // Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP // Kitten updates

 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:

Pool time with the neighbors

I took the kids up for a bike to Eagle Rock.. we should

really do that more

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

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!

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.  

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.  

This picture is from maybe 1990

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 :)

The biggest tree in the whole world!

Inside of a fallen tree tunnel

Hiking up Moro Rock

Sora decided to stop 2/3rds of the way up, citing
a fear of heights so I stayed with her..

.. while Kai and Jad went with Amy to the top

Sequoia burn scar

Kai liked the canned bear but was also
prudent when he found out it cost $20

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 :)

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.  

Relaxing in front of the cottage

We had stocked up at Trader Joe's on
the way so we had a couple of easy dinners in..

.. but also went to check out the
small town vibes of Three Rivers

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.  

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.

Kiwi sleeping in a cube

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.

Shadow and Pepper in their new home.. Ethan and Emma
are taking great care of them

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. 

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!