It's mid-May already?!? I really do have to try to keep up with these updates every couple weeks, otherwise it becomes to big :D
A few things happened at the end of March before we had our spring break
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| Sora finished her state project on Oregon.. she put a lot of work into sculpting clay for various props.. turned out very well though she said it was smaller than many of her classmates'. We tried to let her know it was the quality and effort that she put in that counted and we thought it was great. |
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| Jad finally got his glasses.. his vision isn't too bad (just 0.25 in one eye and 0.5 in the other) but the glasses should help him not strain his eyes and keep them from getting worse. All the kids are getting atropine drops now for same reason. Sorry for the poor eye genes kids! :p |
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| We went to the local No Kings protest in Milpitas and met with Jen and Michael and their girls.. Trying to show our kids that it's important to stand up for what you believe in. |
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| Drive in movie to see Super Mario Galaxy.. It was a lot of fun! We brought our clock radio and portable battery and sat in the back of the van. Much less expensive ($30) than going to the theater (probably $100+). |
Then it was spring break! We planned a trip with Viet and Dina. Initially, we thought of going to Hawaii but tickets were very expensive :( even some international tickets were cheaper and for a bit we thought of going to London or Singapore but in the end, decided that a week was too short. We ended up going to Salt Lake City and then driving to Moab to hit Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Overall, the trip was great and our families traveled very well together. We rented a sprinter van so we could all be in one car (great idea, Viet!) and that really helped with the long drives. Lots of "I Just Might" by Bruno Mars :)
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| With the TSA being unfunded, we went to the airport early but got through security pretty quickly.. Amy and the kids went around looking for all the chick displays (while I watched the bags :) |
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| Kids room at our SLC airbnb.. six kids in one room! They got along very well, Kai often pairing off with Marco, Sora with Kayla, Jad with Gracie but often interchanging |
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| Family pic above SLC, supposedly where Brigham Young climbed up to view the Salt Lake Valley and declared "This is the place" |
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| Lunch stop after a hike at a food hall.. we cooked and ate in when we could so saved some money that way. Went to several food halls and food truck parks. |
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| The SLC Planetarium was great.. we spent hours there and even went back the next day. They had a lot of interactive "game" exhibits and even the adults had lots of fun with them |
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| It was also free! What a great resource for the kids that made learning fun and accessible :) |
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| The Airbnb had a hot tub so everyone took a dip |
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| There was a lot of video game time. The switch is very portable with the mini dock.. but only if you bring the right ac adapter! Luckily, Amazon express delivery saved us :p |
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| Park stop with the kids while the Nguyens went thrifting.. We heard that the Mormons have the best thrift shops, not sure how accurate that is |
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| Stop by Mormon Tabernacle Choir where they were tuning the organ and we got to hear several songs |
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| The Salt Lake Temple in Temple Square.. pretty quiet place.. lots of people welcoming you |
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| We found a street art exhibit with signs showing opposite/contradictory things.. pretty cool (except tomatoes) |
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| Had to take a cute picture to make the kids cringe :) |
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| After two days we headed out of SLC to Moab (4 hrs away).. on the way, we stopped at Sheel's a giant sports supplies store with an indoor ferris wheel.. only $1 to ride! |
The landscape of the southwest is very beautiful and different from what we see here in California. The towering mesas, striated layers and deep canyons were super cool. We went to Zion and Bryce 3 years ago and this time, hit Arches and Canyonlands and I'm glad we spaced them out. We overheard one family who had gone to the Big 5 NPs of Utah and also the Grand Canyon and they were all spectacular'ed out by the time we saw them. Maybe in a few years, we can go to Grand Canyon and Capitol Reef NPs .. would be super cool to raft down the Colorado River for a few days!
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| View while hiking up to Delicate Arch, the iconic one that you see on all the Utah license plates.. We started early and hit this one first because it was 3 miles round trip with 500 ft of elevation gain. The kids did great but I got there too, slow and steady |
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| Had to make this picture extra large so you could pick out our family :) What you don't often see in the pictures of Delicate arch is there's a big hole right next to it and you have to walk around it to get there. Luckily, the dry rocks were grippy and we didn't worry about the kids too much |
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| Same hike.. just a view from a window through another rock face |
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| Kids had more energy and were leaving me behind :D |
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| Some pictographs in the background from the Ute and Paiute Native Americans tribes |
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| Sand Dune Arch.. it sits in a medium canyon and there is sand everywhere. The kids spent a good hour digging and climbing around this area. Nice break from all the sun exposed hiking |
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| Sneaking and climbing up a small crack at the end of Sand Dune Arch |
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| Balanced Rock |
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| Good break from the hot weather |
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| Jad has become a pretty good swimmer, though not quite trusting him in deep water yet |
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| Hot tub time for both Nguyens and Udoms |
The next day we headed out to Canyonlands NP with a stop first at Dead Horse Point. I thought the view from Dead Horse Point was just spectacular with the Green River (later joins the Colorado River eventually to the Grand Canyon) winding around. It's hard to capture the vastness and majesty of these landscapes in a picture or video and something you really have to see in person. The information post said the canyons were about 2000 ft deep which already looked huge but then parts of the Grand Canyon are 5-6k feet deep. Amazing!
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| View from Dead Horse Point. This was a separate paid state park but totally worth the fee. We spent an hour walking around and looking at the view |
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| Cool giant cave we found.. haha, jk, it was a small gap that I put my phone into.. looks pretty cool though and almost like a real big wind cavern |
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| Full two family pic over Canyonlands near Mesa Arch |
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| The Upheaval Dome.. pretty cool and it does look like a meteorite hit causing this uplifted area |
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| A view from the Grand View Point hike .. the kids were pretty done by this point so we didn't go all the way to the end but the view was really amazing.. This looks like a giant dinosaur footprint to me |
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| Kids back to swimming.. |
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| ..while adults relax by the fire pit |
The next day, we decided to go back to Arches to hit a couple of the hikes we missed the first day. We heard that Goblin Valley was pretty cool but didn't make it there so maybe save that for next time. We told the kids that these are ever evolving places and next time they come (probably when they are adults), these arches may not be there. Landscape Arch (below) is one of the longest natural arches in the world and lost a large chunk from the middle in 1991.
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| This one may go on the Christmas card :) |
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| Partition Arch which had a great view. You could even walk through to the other side! |
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| On the way to Navajo Arch (pretty cool but not spectacular) there were these holes in the wall where the kids (and dads) had a great time climbing around.. I think if we were strict, we would not have done it but it was really a lot of fun and I don't think much harm was done |
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| We got a huge dinner from a food truck which was basically a whole roasted chicken, rice and veggies. A great deal to feed 10 :) |
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| Viet and Dina have a very similar travel style to us and are pretty relaxed so we got along well |
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| A shot of the inside of the van on the drive back to Salt Lake City airport.. Marko is concealed behind Jad |
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| Airport drop off and returning the car. Thanks, Turo! |
And then we were back home! Sesame was very clingy and missed us while we were gone. I don't know what he's going to do this summer when we go to Australia/NZ
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| Viva Calle shut down the streets again and we rode down Alum Rock almost all the way to downtown SJ |
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| Some photo comedy near Japantown |
After being back home for 9 days, Amy went off to Chicago... What?!? Yes, she has been planning this trip for a while with her high school friend, Vanessa, and they went to visit Suzanne who has lived out there since she finished medical school. The main event was a concert featuring Joe Hasaishi of Ghibli fame so pretty cool.
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| Breakfast without mom.. I drove Amy and Vanessa to the airport at 10 pm so was gone for 2 hours.. luckily, the kids are old enough now that we didn't worry too much about them even if they woke up |
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| That's a nice looking brunch! |
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| Wandering around Chicago landmarks |
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| Meanwhile, I was rushing around to soccer practices, kid concerts and gymnastics lessons :p It's not easy being a single parent! |
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| Amy is especially cute here at the Starbucks Reserve, where they serve whiskey aged in coffee barrels.. she looks so well rested :D |
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| Fancy concert! They said that Joe Hasaishi played some original pieces but no one was really excited until he started playing the Ghibli pieces :) |
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| Meanwhile, at home we made stickers of the kids. I'm impressed it captured Jad's Pokemon shirt so well |
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| See, AI is good for some things.. Sora is very Kawaii here |
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| I think this one of Kai is hilarious |
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| Kids went to Noble Spring Carnival.. it's cute that they can play all day then meet up again after school and don't want to leave even if they'll see each other again the next day |
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| Chris and Mae-Ling hosted the garage party this month and they had an axe throwing toy in the backyard.. glad the neighborhood kids still have fun together |
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| Chris is also into retro games and consoles so he has the Atari, Commadore 64 and NES set up .. Duck Hunt was a favorite |
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| Jad also had a soccer tournament that weekend.. they did great and made it to the finals. The other team only beat them because of an accidental hand ball and penalty kick |
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| Sora and Jad also had a dance performance for a Matsuri in Japantown (between soccer games!) Sora is the oldest in the class but she is also the best dancer there, I think. Thanks for supporting Jad! |
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| 2nd place medals! The kids were still happy because they played really well in this tournament. They have gotten a lot better this season and better with passing to each other and awareness. Very proud of Jad and his team |
See, I told you I was busy. Luckily, Amy returned and everything went back to normal. The end of the school year is always very busy with PPP, track meets, field trips, celebrations and Amy also signed up to help lead Science Olympiad this year 😅 Anyway, we'll do our best to get through to summer (we have to plan for our summer trip too!)
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| AT, Kazu and Jad working on their straw tower Science Olympiad competition. Height x pennies carried all assembled in 15 mins. I think Jad is going to go for a shorter height with stronger base build. |
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| Kristin and Rich were supposed to come down to visit us then go see Les Misérables but their son was ill so they cancelled. We bought the tickets from them and got to see the show. Les Mis is my favorite musical and I wanted to see if it would live up to my memory of NYC Broadway. This production was quite good and they did amazing things with the lighting. Great date night with Amy :) |
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| Sora went off to Science Camp for a week.. She was nervous at first but quickly got over it once she was on the bus.. the house was quiet without her :) |
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| Having a great time with the girlfriends :) She took a digital camera along and took a lot of fun pictures |
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| Slept in a cabin with 24(?) other girls and made lots of friends.. She's looking forward to seeing some next year as many will end up at the same middle school for 6th grade |
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| Back home on Friday. Her eyes are puffy because she cried all the way home because she'll miss her new friends so much.. this girl is all drama 😆 |
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| Sora also had her semi annual piano recital with Dali |
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| She did great (though she says she messed up a few times but I couldn't hear it :) |
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| Later that day, Kai got a haircut and then we went to get Ramen and Yogurtland to celebrate his birthday (13!).. coincidentally, Yogurtland is 20 years old, which is how long ago Amy and I met 💕 |
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| Amy never wants much for Mother's Day so we celebrated with making her Sunday breakfast, went to church then got In-N-Out. Later that day, we went to hang out with Amy's mom before her trip to China. Amy was taking a picture of her mom's passport and realized that her mom did not have a visa for China. Luckily, the tour agent had dealt with this before and we were able to straighten it out (though it was a stressful couple of hours :) |
Ok, that's it for now.. this is already a super long post. Hope everyone is well! I'll leave you with this pic of me eating my burger with tomato. I don't like raw tomatoes and have my burgers without but this was a special effort for Amy's on Mother's Day. Thanks for being such a great mom and wife 💑
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| I look crazy :D |
