Friday, July 11, 2014
We landed in Los Angeles Friday afternoon. The flight got in early, but after the long wait at Avis for our rental car, that more than shaved off any extra time we saved. There must’ve been at least 30 people in front of me; I was afraid they’d run out of cars! While that didn’t happen, I wasn't given many options for a full-size vehicle and got stuck with a Chevy Impala (unless I wanted to upgrade to an SUV or luxury car).
After leaving Avis, our first stop was to look for an In-N-Out Burger. Our trusty GPS found us one less than a mile from the airport, so off we went! Hard to believe how popular this fast food joint was… we couldn’t find parking anywhere (and forget about going through the drive-through!). We circled around a few times before finally leaving the lot and parking down the street. Unfortunately, the kids are not burgers fans, so they stuffed themselves on fries while M and I enjoyed our regular cheeseburgers (no animal style for us).
By the time we left In-N-Out, we hit rush-hour traffic. We eventually got to San Gabriel to see my grandfather, and we met up with all my aunts, uncles, and cousins (at least those who were in southern CA) for dinner. It was nice seeing everyone. My kids were so overly stimulated that they forgot how tired they were. By the time we got back to my 1st uncle’s (Uncle W) house where we were staying, it was probably past 1:00am EST.
En route to LAX:
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Baby M woke up bright and early Saturday morning. I don’t think the sun was even up yet at that point. I managed to keep him quiet until a decent hour to get up. We had dim sum with my grandfather and 5th uncle (Uncle E) that morning, then went to the California Science Center. We had gone there a few years ago, but the place now looks totally different. Other than the main entrance, I couldn’t remember anything else!
M's reason for visiting the California Science Center: to see the Endeavor space shuttle:
Looking at some fishes through the glass window:
One final family photo as we were leaving the California Science Center:
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Big sister K kept asking to go swimming, so when she woke up Sunday morning, I let the kids go into the pool at Uncle W’s house. I was surprised baby M was actually willing to put his feet into the water.
Afterwards, we drove to San Gabriel again and met up with my grandfather and Uncle E to visit my grandmother’s grave at Rose Hill Cemetery.
My cousin KT opened up his house for a cousins’ barbecue reunion Sunday afternoon. We were only missing three cousins (one in Hong Kong, one in San Francisco, plus my brother) out of 12, so it was a pretty good turnout. Big sister K and baby M loved the kiddy pool they set up in the backyard. It was less than a foot of water, but was connected to a slide, so they had a blast going down the slide and landing in the water. We even ended up staying for dinner while the kids watched Frozen (for the umpteenth time).
Cousins playing inside after all the outdoor fun:
Cousins picture!
The boys sharing a chair while watching Frozen:
Monday, July 14, 2014
We met up with my cousin JT for breakfast Monday morning. She cooked way too much food for us. There were pancakes, bacon, tater tots, eggs, fresh fruit, and some other yummy food that I can’t remember because it was two weeks ago and I had forgotten to take pictures. After breakfast, we spent some time playing with her two Labradors Noodle and Madison, before making the long drive down to LEGOLAND in Carlsbad, CA.
The kids with my cousin JT... I love this picture!
LEGOLAND! We made it!
Weather truly is unpredictable in California. It was a bit chilly when we got to Legoland late morning and I almost regretted not taking anything long-sleeve with us, but by early afternoon, we were sweating bullets and ready to jump into the water (unfortunately, our swim gear was packed deep in the suitcase in the trunk of our car). I told big sister K she’d have to wait until Friday to explore the Water Park.
I feel like this park is catered more for the younger age group. It was perfect for my kids, but any older than that, they would’ve been bored (and even big sister K didn’t want to do some of the kiddy rides).
Spent $20 on games and these two Minions are what we have to show for it:
Check out big sister K's pose!
More pictures with Lego men!
Kisses from my two babies!
The one roller coaster ride they had was so small that they allow you to go two rounds. Baby M was just a bit shy of the 36-inch minimum height requirement, so we had some concerns over his ability to get on. I didn’t think he’d want to go on a roller coaster anyhow, so I was going to sit it out with him, but to my surprise, he wanted to go on (probably because big sister K was so excited about it). I told him to tippy-toe when we got to the measuring stick, and he actually listened, but the staff member saw and made him stand properly (fortunately, his fluffy hair gave him the few millimeters boost that he needed and he made it through). Baby M did okay during the first round of the ride (was quiet the whole time), but when we slowed down towards the entrance, he expected to get out. As the ride started up again for the second round, he freaked out and it took all of me to restrain him until the ride ended. My poor boy… traumatized for life by a kiddy roller coaster.
We left Legoland around closing time (at 8:00pm) and made our way back up north. It was a late night, so the kids fell right back to sleep after we checked into the Wyndham Anaheim Garden Grove Hotel.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
After breakfast at a local diner across the street from the hotel, we took advantage of the free shuttle that brought us to right to Disneyland. It saved us $15 in parking, but that wasn’t enough to offset against the hotel resort fee we were charged with.
All of us donned in Mickey t-shirts... can you tell we're going to Disneyland? =)
Monkeys... what a fitting description!
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
We took it easy on Wednesday and spent the day recuperating from two days of running around theme parks. Big sister K spent the morning swimming in the outdoor pool at the hotel. Baby M dipped his feet in the water, but didn’t last long in the water. M took him for a walk, and apparently, he told M he had to go poopy, but he never made it to the toilet (very rare for him to have an accident like that; not quite sure what happened). We ended up doing laundry at the hotel, dumping his swim trunks and Crocs in the wash (fortunately, they had machines right on our floor, which made it quite convenient).
After cleaning the kids up, we took the shuttle to Downtown Disney and had a late lunch (so late that we even skipped dinner!). We got some more collector pins for big sister K (including a Frozen one that she was eyeing since we got to Disneyland), and even started baby M on his own collection (though it was a total waste since he wanted nothing to do with the lanyard and pins after the first five minutes). We also hit the Lego store, where more money was spent for M to expand on his already overly abundant Lego collection.
M looks like he had food coma after the late lunch.. kids were excited and ready to go shopping!
Showing off their new pins (this was taken within the first five minutes of getting baby M his own lanyard):
Big sister K's Lego Friends... her favorite!
Baby M: "Wow! This guy is big!"
Baby M: "Wow! This one's even bigger!"
Posing with Buzz and Woody in the back:
Enjoying a pretzel and lemonade at downtown Disney before heading back to the hotel:
Thursday, July 17, 2014
It was back to the theme parks on Thursday, where we visited the California Disney Adventure Park. As recommended by everyone I spoke to, our first stop was to get a FastPass for the Cars Radiator Springs Racers ride. We got there about two hours after the park had opened, and by then, our FastPass time was already 6:45pm… it was a good thing we got them when we did, because an hour later, all of the FastPasses were gone.
We didn’t have a set agenda on what we needed to see or do, so we just explored the park and went on rides where the lines weren’t too long. We actually got to do a lot that way, and by the end of the day, I don’t think we missed out on anything (it’s definitely not as crowded as Disney World in Orlando). Big sister K even got to dance with some of the street performers.
Me and my girl in matching shirts as we waited on line to go on Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, our first ride at California Disney Adventure Park:
There's that pose again!
On the trolley... it just went around the park but for some reason, the kids loved it.
The whole family on King Triton's Carousel!
Big sister K loved getting on Mickey's Ferris Wheel. We were ascending as M took this picture. Can you tell that baby M is about to freak out?
Big sister K is calm and cool as ever:
After baby M realized there was nothing to be scared of (though he still refused to sit by himself):
I think baby M preferred to enjoy Mickey's Ferris Wheel from afar:
Big sister K showing off her moves in Phineas and Ferb's Rockin' Rollin' Dance Party:
Photo with Dug from the movie "Up":
Running through the rope obstacle at the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail:
Zip-lining! What fun!
A long awaited photo with Baby M's favorite... Lightning McQueen!
Caught up with Pluto and Goofy for one last photo opportunity before leaving the park:
Friday, July 18, 2014
After checking out at the Wyndham Anaheim, we made our way back to Legoland. This time, I packed all the swim gear for us and the kids. Big sister K loved being in the water and probably could’ve stayed in the same pool the entire day if it weren’t for us pushing her to go explore another part of the park. We spent a few hours in the Water Park before drying off and going back to the main Legoland section. It was a lot more crowded than when we had gone earlier in the week (probably because it was a Friday), but since we had already done most of the activities, we didn’t bother going on anything that had a long line. I had gotten the park hopper tickets that included admission to the SeaLife Aquarium, so that’s where we went late afternoon. The kids were excited to see the sharks, but baby M got very cranky from being overly tired.
All of big sister K's Lego Friends:
Do they actually look like the figurines above??
Me and my boy at the Water Park:
A Lego replica of the US Capitol... quite impressive!
The kids showing off their new Lego caps:
Picture of a picture taken of big sister K and daddy on the roller coaster ride:
Saturday, July 19, 2014
We had dim sum with my grandfather Saturday morning, then started the long drive up to San Francisco. The kids did really well; they slept for the first half of the ride up, so M and I got about three hours of peace and quiet… it was bliss! We stopped for a bathroom break and some food when they woke up, then made another pit stop to fill up on gas about an hour before we got to San Francisco.
We reached MC’s place (a friend whom we were staying with) a little after 6:00pm. He lives in Pleasant Hill, almost an hour northeast of San Francisco. The kids warmed up to their host family immediately. We had dinner at a Moroccan Restaurant nearby that night, equipped with live belly-dancing entertainment. Big sister K had her eyes glued to the belly dancer that she barely ate; to her delight she got a chance to go up and dance too.
The boys making funny faces.. love this picture!
Sunday, July 20, 2014
MC played tour guide for us on Sunday. His wife had to work so she couldn’t join us, but he packed the four of us plus his two boys into his Honda Odyssey and off we drove to the Golden Gate Bridge.
Made a pit stop to capture a scenic view of San Francisco. Boy was it windy there!
At Fort Point. Big sister K probably wouldn't be hitting the keg like it was a drum if she understood what was inside!
The four musketeers! This has got to be one of my favorite pictures from the trip!
At the Golden Gate Bridge!
While we were there, M received a surprise call from PL, an old friend who had just moved to San Francisco from Hong Kong a few days earlier (we had made plans to meet up at the Jelly Belly Factory the following day). They happened to be crossing the Golden Gate Bridge at that moment (what are the odds?), so they exited off to where we were and got together with us briefly.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Big sister K had been looking forward to this day for months now: a visit to the Jelly Belly Factory!
It was a long wait to get on the tour, but once we did, we got stuck in the back and couldn’t hear what the guide was saying anyway. At least we all got a bag of jelly beans at the end; that was probably the highlight for me. Big sister K enjoyed sampling all the different flavors of jelly beans (though they only let you try three at a time).
We also met up with PL and his family there and afterwards went to a local farm nearby. The intent was for the kids to pick some fruits, but there wasn’t anything left to pick so we just ended up buying fruit from the market.
We met up with my cousin TT that evening for dinner at a Burmese restaurant called Mingalaba in Burlingame. I was worried about what the kids would eat, but fortunately there were enough Chinese food options on the menu for them to choose from.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Big sister K was in the mood for some waffles, so we started off the day at Denny’s for breakfast before heading out to San Francisco. After parking in the downtown area, we took the trolley to Fisherman’s Wharf (kids have been asking to go on the trolley since the first time they laid eyes on it). Our first stop was to Boudin's to pick up M’s favorite sourdough bread. Then we made our way to Ghirardelli Square for our sample of chocolate and picked up some gifts. We didn’t spend too much time in the area since we only paid for three hours of parking. We took the trolley back to where we parked the car and then headed to Chinatown before making our way back to Pleasant Hill.
Waiting for the trolley:
Enjoying some sourdough bread at Boudin's:
We took it easy after getting back to MC’s house. The kids played out in their backyard for a little bit while we waited for pizza to be delivered. After dinner, MC convinced us to go to a drive-in movie theater (Planes Fire and Rescue was showing). It was our last night in San Francisco, so what the heck? Off we went! Big sister K sat in the car totally engrossed in the movie. Baby M would watch it for a minute or two (while sitting on my lap), then struggle to get out of the car, sit with MC’s family, then come back and ask to sit on me again. This pattern repeated every few minutes until finally I made him stay in one place. Both kids lasted until the end of the movie (when it was close to 11:00pm) and were knocked out once we started driving back.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
We woke the kids up early Wednesday morning. Our flight wasn’t until 10:38am, but with us going through San Francisco during rush hour, we were warned to leave by 7:00am so that we wouldn’t get stuck in traffic. We had to stop for gas before returning the rental car. I never thought I'd pay $5 a gallon for gas, but that's what we ended up doing near San Francisco International Airport (short of driving around looking for another gas station that may or may not be any cheaper). Talk about highway robbery, considering we were paying $3.43 back in the east coast! The measly four gallons we filled up on cost me over $20!
One final picture at the airport shuttle train going to the terminal:
For those of you who’ve been keeping up with this blog, you would’ve seen a separate posting about our flight back. This entry was a long one, so if you've made it down to the end here, thank you for reading!
