First Half of Summer 2024

Oh man, I really fell behind on the blog the past few months.  The end of the school year was really busy and then summer started and there was baseball and swimming and kittens!  So many things, no wonder we were so busy :p

A bit of beach time at Natural Bridges

Sora and Jad did Junior Giants Tball/softball with
their friends.  Lots of fun, very supportive,
free gloves and uniforms..really great program!

They even brought it back to neighborhood with
some street baseball :) look at Sora's stance!

Jad took a week of swim lessons .. he's pretty good now though
I still worry a bit about him in the deeper parts of the pool

We met with friends a few times at Villa

4th of July was jammed packed.  I didn't have to work, which was nice.  We had a celebration at our church then came back for the RCC Annual celebration.  The Connicks were gone in Hawai'i this year so the planning/execution went to Amy, Kristina and Janet.  They did a pretty good job and we had lots of fun, even if the turnout was a bit smaller than usual.  Good times!

The chili cookoff at the LSCC Office.. I was just up there serving,
Amy was the one that made the chili :)

The water balloon launcher!  Jack keeps saying we'll 
have to take over for him but, honestly, he'll outlive us all
except maybe Ed 

There was music and dancing too!

And bounce house fun!

Kai entered but Tam won the watermelon eating
contest this year.. it has been her goal for years

We also decided to foster 2 kittens.  Ever since we fostered the kittens last year, Amy has been on the contact list for the San Jose Shelter.  At the beginning of summer, there was an overload of kittens and the shelter could not take care of them all so we decided to try to help.  We got two cats - a cute feisty gray one that the kids named Felix and a smaller, less active black and white one that the kids called Socks.  They had both been kept in a small plastic box at the shelter and the staff there barely had to time to care for them aside from putting food and water in their tub.  Felix settled in quickly and was quite playful but Socks was very weak and Amy noticed that he had already been losing weight the last few days, in contrast to his brother.  Amy contacted the shelter immediately and started very intensive feeding and care for Socks but unfortunately, he just got weaker and weaker and died less than a week at home.  We were all very sad but we did tell the kids that we did our best and we were able to give Socks a caring home for the last days of his life.  We did find out that Socks had Feline Panleukopenia which caused his weakness and diarrhea.  Felix seemed to be immure and continued to grow quite well become almost too crazy at the end of the month as he would claw and climb up our pants in his excitement.  Eventually, he returned to the shelter and we found out that he was adopted a few weeks later.  Amy and the kids were sad about Socks, especially Sora, but I think with the chinchillas passing away before and fish as well, it helped them to understand that these things are a part of life and all we can do is the best we can. Rest in peace, Socks, and take care, Felix.

Sora and Socks

Amy with Felix.  She's wearing scrubs
because he's quarantined to protect Sesame

There were also various trips around the bay area.. 

Hiller Aviation Museum with the Aoalins

We also took a trip to Rosevile to visit the Casanovas in their new place.  They have such a party pad with games of all types in their living room and a pool out back.  Sure, it was 110 degrees but actually it made the pool nice and warm :)  Sad to have them move away but at least now we have a place to visit in Roseville/Sac area (we call it RCC North :)

The ladies relaxing in the pool

Air hockey!  Skee ball!  Basketball!

When it's too hot in the daytime, then you swim at night!

Sora and Jad also did a week of VBS at CCC.  Kai has aged out but he volunteered ot help and had fun prepping the snacks for the rest of the kids.  Everyone also did one week of sports camp at CCC.  No SAM camp this year but hopefully it'll return next year.

That's pretty much it for the first half of summer.  We were so busy (especially when the kittens were with us) and just trying to make it through to the last 3 weeks of summer and our trip to Portugal and Spain.  Next post about the trip.  Til next time!

Just hangin' around home April-May / Kai's 11th birthday

 It's been a month already!  Mid April to May has been pretty quiet as we took a break from travels and stayed home.  The school year is already close to finishing so there was CA state testing this month.  Sora and Kai have also both started doing an after school Spanish class through their elementary school.  Mostly we've been just hanging out with friends and trying to enjoy the nicer weather.  The pictorial below :)

Jad will still crawl into our bed when he
has a bad dream.  So cute this kid..

Our neighbor, Kazu, had his birthday party.  Bounce house, nerf guns, running around on the streets.. a good time was had by all!

Boys getting ready for street soccer 

Sora and Paige in the bounce house.. Elysia 
ducked out of the way, just in time

There was a balloon person and Kai went
overboard, as per his usual MO :)

Other random moments from home

Jad in his bear hood/blanket.. He's not as good at
reading as Kai or Sora but to each his own, I suppose

I made okonomiyaki one day (from a kit)..
pretty tasty, I'm going to try to get the rice flour seperately

Lots of bikes on the street as the weather warms up

Lots of spring birthday celebrations too!

Sora at her friend's (Celu) birthday at a trampoline place

David's birthday at Dave and Buster's (kids chose :)

Kai's birthday with the old gang.. it was really nice to see all the church kids together

The kids all ate pizza for lunch and then..

.. we had a massive water balloon and gun fight!

The kids had a great time.. Kai here
with his friends Sean and Landon 

Everyone got very wet.. thank goodness it was almost 90 degs out

Noble also had their Spring Carnival, something that happens annually near the end of every school year.  Amy volunteered and made lots of cotton candy while I watched the kids running around.

Amy is a supermom, for sure

Action shot of Kai :)

Jad and his friend, Olivia (though he says she's
not his crush anymore, just a friend :)

Various other good pics..

Sora with her besties on a school field trip

Kai and Jad .. not even sure where this is from.. :p

Kai had a soccer game in an odd one day rainstorm..
his rec team is doing really well this season!

That's about it.  I'm happy in my new work role which is less stressful and allows me more time at home.  Amy is still taking her online lactation consultant class.  Initially, she was trying to finish it by the end of May but the volume of work was just too much so she's going to take it a bit slower.  

I'll end with a pic of my mom (here with my brother Joe).. It's been about a year since she passed away.  My dad is staying busy in Thailand.  Just remembering how good she was.  Til next time, everyone!

It's all about Vancouver - Spring Break 2024

 We had a great time up in Vancouver last week for spring break!  We had started planning for this trip because our friends, Tim and Dali, were planning on going too and we realized that we had not been up there to visit Amy’s aunt and uncle for several years.  The last time we went was actually in 2017 which is hard to believe as Jad wasn’t even born yet then!  It was really fun and relaxing overall, though there was some bickering as usual among the kids, especially in the back of the sedan we rented (made us really appreciate our minivan 🙂

We took the BART up to Oakland Airport for our flight to Bellingham and rented a car from there (cheaper than flying direct to Vancouver and car rental) then drove across the border.  It ended up that three other families from LSCC joined so it was fun to travel with everyone though we spent a lot of time with family as well.

On the BART ride up, the train was almost empty so the kids were able to play around

All four families, except Mindy, at Oakland airport

Quick stop at the Peace Arch at the border

Amy still continued her running streak everyday while we were there!

We went to a nice farmer’s market on the weekend.  There was this stand selling daffodils.. Didn’t know there were so many varieties!

We were able to meet up with Christine, Amy’s cousin, and her daughter Kaitlyn.  Kaitlyn is right between Kai and Sora’s ages so she got along well and really hit it off with Sora.  Then we met up with the rest of Amy’s family and went to dinner at their house.  

We went swimming with Kaitlyn at the Arbutus Club

They had a game room there with a couple arcade booths

As the week started, we hung out more with the LSCC families as Amy’s family was busy.  We went to Capilano Park for the cool suspension bridge and nature walk.  

All the kids!  The park was a bit expensive but worth seeing once :p

The bridge was cool.  It swayed a bit but was anchored
by thick metal cables so very stable

For real this time, all 19 of us :) There was a nice walk with displays and some exhibits on the far side of the bridge though the treetop walk (apparently a highlight) was closed for renovation

I do like how the boards kind of match
their ages: Kai 10, Sora 9, Jad 6

Afterwards, we went over to Granville Island and grabbed some food for dinner.

Vancouver is very picturesque

Took this nice pic (though it would have been cooler if the flag was unfurled)

I like this photo comedy with the murals in the background

We spent a lot of time wandering about town while the other families were busy.  Amy says that she rarely did any sightseeing while visiting in the past because she would just spend time with her family so it was nice to see some of the local sights.  

The Bloedel Conservatory, where they had lots of tropical plants and birds

A fun shot by Amy

One of the macaws could say hello and the kids enjoyed parroting it.. haha :)

We walked around Queen Elizabeth Park and the gardens

It was cherry blossom time and there were trees all over town in bloom

Later, we went to the Ching Kai Shek Chinese garden. 
Snuck in for free as there was no attendant there.. Yeah!

Kai has been exercising a bit and he’s proud to flex his muscles.  Jad and I joined in!

Later, we went by the Olympic park playground, which was small but pretty nice

We went to this nice playground next to our Airbnb several times

One more cherry blossom pic..
Sora’s shirt matched the petals!

We went to Steveson, where there was a cannery museum and
wharf area.  Some photo comedy there as well.

They had a replica fishing boat

A boat came in and unloaded their catch while we were there

Jad practicing hooking some fish

Funny incident, about halfway through the factory, we noticed that Jad was missing his hat.  We searched through the whole factory for it but couldn’t find it.  Clever Sora thought of looking back in the pictures to see where it was lost and we miraculously found it.  Look at the picture above to see if you can spot it… that’s right!  Jad had put it down while doing the hooking and it had fallen into the little crack between the bin and wall behind him.  If you look closely you can see it in the picture, just between his legs :D

They had some cool painted benches
outside along the pier

After that we went to the Asian mall at Aberdeen in Richmond. 
We found a pokemon card vending machine :)

One more day of swimming at Arbutus

Kaitlyn and the kids

David eventually arrived to visit for a few days too.  Here, we're at the Grand Honour Chinese restaurant

Drove up to play in the snow at Mt Seymour, just outside of the city.   Tim says he used to come here in high school to ski

Nice view, just 20 mins from the city!

Went to Stanley Park but it was a cold and windy day.  Stopped by the beach and the kids were just being silly

Paying respects at Amy's grandmother's grave
Jad bowing three times..

Metropolis Mall in Barnaby

Vancouver is famous for good Chinese food but we didn’t really seek out too many places on our own as we were mostly with family and friends.  In general, the food was quite good and the kids were mostly good about trying new dishes. Next time, we'll plan a bit more as Amy is already reading some blogs/reddits about where to go.

Had sushi in the downtown area.  Kai is really starting to like it :)

Stopped at a BBQ place recommended by Will Lam.  BBQ Masters was legit!

The wait at the US border was long...
but better with BBQ in the car!

Border hoppers!

When we landed back at Oakland, Amy and the kids took the BART home while I got a ride from Tim and Dali so I could get the car and come pick them up.  It was nice to be away but also very good to get back home.  Oddly, I had a bit of anxiety/apprehension on return, I think because vacation was so carefree and now, I would have to go back to all the responsibilities of life.  I’m back to work this week and all is back to normal.  

The kids on the train ride back

I’ll leave you with this pic from the Bellingham airport.  Til next time!

Cloudy sun through tinted glass..
very sensitive :p