Trung, Grace, Lydia, & Sophie's Blog

Shopping & a Chick Flick

2016-04-29T21:21:00.000-05:00

After an entire day of relaxing, we were ready to hit the outlet. The snow was a bonus and made our shopping experience that much more interesting. Afterwards, we watching a movie that none of our husbands would want to see, "The Huntsman" and got our fill of Chris Hemsworth. For dinner we went to a pho place across the street and were surprised how decent the food was.

Snow shopping

Definitely a first for our girlfriend getaway

At the movies

Allegria Spa

2016-04-28T23:46:00.000-05:00

Spa day!

Ready to spa!

Watching the snow as we have lunch

Waiting to be called for our treatments

Aqua Sanitas

The waterfall felt like a shoulder massage

Group pic

Hot tub

After a relaxing day, we enjoying a sushi dinner.

Denver!

2016-04-27T20:14:00.000-05:00

After almost an entire year, my annual girlfriend getaway had arrived! Trung and the girls dropped me off at the airport before school and I took a quick two hour flight to Denver. I arrived first, and Cora and Wendy arrived shortly after at another terminal, so I met them at their terminal and we went to pick up the rental car together. We did a last minute upgrade on the car since increment weather was predicted for the next few days and we had to go far enough west through the most dangerous parts of the highway. Then after a stop at Sprouts for some basic groceries, we were finally on our way to Beaver Creek for the next four days for some much needed R & R.

We were greeted at the hotel by this handsome fellow

We got a complimentary upgrade to a village view

Our prix fix meal...albacore crudo

Steak

Creme brulee...so yummy!

Wendy's doughnut dessert was very interesting

Crepes for kids

2016-04-22T22:18:00.000-05:00

The girls' friend, Isabella, joined us for the evening, but I needed to take Trung to the airport, so we hung out at KC Crepes for dessert after we dropped him off.

Amazing design in the sky tonight

Waiting patiently for their crepes

Everyone was stuffed!

3 Times a charm

2016-04-19T22:14:00.000-05:00

Lydia did the "Life Cycles" play in 2nd grade two years ago, then Sophie did it last year in 1st grade, and now she's doing it again in 2nd grade. Even though this was our third time watching the same show, it didn't get old as new kids gave it a new twist.

Getting ready to start

The farmers

Sophie, the true actress with her tongue sticking out at me.

Our third and final time watching this adorable play

The cutest little farmer that I ever did see

Swimming to Sophie

2016-04-16T21:00:00.000-05:00

Today was a busy day! We started off the morning with Trung and the girls walking Penny back to her home, while I picked up a Waivecar. Trung and the girls took too long though, so I had to just grab Lydia and take her straight to her junior lifeguard try-out. Despite not having the support of her father and sister (I cheered extra loud), she easily qualified for the program, clocking in 13 seconds faster than the requirement.

Yay!

The long line to pay

Lydia was nervous, but also kind of knew that she would qualify

After lunch, we headed home to set up for Sophie's belated birthday party. I was hoping to get away with not having a party this year for her, but she insisted on having one since Lydia did. So, I got Trung to organize a treasure hunt, while I made the cake. The guests made their own pizzas for dinner, so all in all, it was a pretty easy party and Sophie seemed happy enough.

Kylie

Addyson

Tate

Penny the Pug

2016-04-15T14:42:00.000-05:00

Trung's co-worker Ryan and his wife Sara were taking a trip to Texas and they asked us to watch their dog for a few days. The girls were beside themselves because they have been asking for a dog for the longest time and this was the closest they have ever been (or will ever be) to that. Each girl walked Penny to school each day and afterwards, I met my friend Irene with her French bulldog, Lola, and we went walking for about 20 minutes. Penny was a good dog, but I realized that walking her was very time consuming, but could also be good exercise, especially for the girls.

Walking to school

Penny and Lola

We took Penny outside to pee later in the day and bumped into two other people walking their pugs. The one on the left was 9 years and the one in the middle was only 9 months old. So cute!

Baby Reggie

Penny was bored sitting in her crate and came upstairs to keep me company. It's hard to do anything with this face staring up at you.

Adventures of Flat Stanley

2016-04-12T23:03:00.000-05:00

Sophie had a school project where she needed to take pictures with Flat Stanley doing whatever she did the last few weeks. She didn't tell me about it until just a few days ago, so we quickly put together what we could.

Stanley at karate

Stanley get a free cone at Ben & Jerry's

Mommy gets to have fun too

Mike turns 40!

2016-04-10T20:02:00.000-05:00

We hadn't seen Mike and his family in quite some time, so we decided to pay them a visit to celebrate Mike and Caleb's upcoming birthdays. We had lunch at Brodard and picked up a birthday cake at the neighboring 85 degree bakery. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out Mike's family. His kids had changed so much, and it was quite entertaining watching them react, or rather, over-react to everything. I'd forgotten how funny kids are at that age...2 and 4. We had hot pot for dinner with quality beef, during which, Sophie lost "Tim 'Buck' 2". What a wonderful evening of fun and surprises!

Playing Hungry Hippos

Hot pot at its finest

Sophie's loose tooth coming to Mike's house

Uncle Mike cheering on "the pull"

Another tooth bites the dust

Cousin quality time, watching TV together

Caleb loves the new hat we got him

Celebrating Mike's 40th birthday; he's as fun as ever!

Yes, you!

Food Kitchen

2016-04-09T17:08:00.000-05:00

My friend Tom had posted pictures in the past when he volunteered at a food kitchen, so I asked him to let me know the next time he went because I thought it would be good to show the girls how to help others. Today we helped put together sack lunches with three kinds of sandwiches and handed them out to the homeless. I believed the girls learned a lot, and so did Trung and I.

Assembly line

Chicken and tuna salad station

Putting together the snacks for the brown bags

Sandwich, anyone?

Organizing clothes while waiting for the window to open

The window where the lunches are handed out. and the table full of pastries donated by local grocery stores.

Max at Movie night

2016-04-08T22:37:00.000-05:00

Tonight we reached the maximum number of kids ever to join our monthly movie night...18! The kids usually have pizza, watch a movie, have dessert, and then play. With so many kids though, it got really crazy really fast, so I had to put in another short film to kill time.

Watching the "Peanuts" movie with their own personal popcorn container

18! Count them if you can!

Trung goes to work

2016-04-07T16:36:00.000-05:00

Trung recently purchased a long board to take to work. It's slightly faster than walking, but slower than biking, so it's just right.

Celeb Sightings

2016-04-03T22:21:00.000-05:00

We haven't seen many celebrities lately, but we recently went to Disneyland as extras and Taylor Swift happened to be there that day with her friend. We got a glimpse of her twice and if she didn't have bodyguards surrounding her, I might have had the guts to ask her for a picture since it was Sophie's birthday on Friday

Tay tay

She walked right by us

Another lesser know celeb, Eric Braeden from The Young and the Restless, we sat next to at brunch today.

Sophie's Love Affair

2016-04-02T21:30:00.000-05:00

Sophie seriously has a love affair with Benihana. Trung doesn't care for the place, but we went anyways because we didn't have anything planned for the Sophie's birthday. She didn't like our cook as much as the last one, but she was still happy. Happy birthday to my sweet little girl!

Trung looks like a Warcraft character

The same ole menu, but it still serves its purpose

Back on Home Turf

2016-03-30T23:41:00.000-05:00

We drove back to the good ole US of A and went straight to Pike Place Market for lunch and to explore. Then we met Jason and his family at an amazing park next to the Space Needle. The kids finally got to enjoy "free" time at the playground and even met a new friend. We were all going to have dinner together, but no restaurant could really accommodate our families plus Jason's friends, so we decided to split up since we had a flight to catch. We grabbed dinner near Pike Place Market at a tasty fusion Korean restaurant, but the menu selection was very limited for kids.

Home sweet home

The line wasn't as bad as before

We'll miss the mountains

Fish throwing

Lobster & crab rolls and chowders for lunch

Some restaurants are hard to find because they are in alleys

Wilbur

The park next to the Space Needle

Artistic museum was right next door, with a train running through it

Sweeties at the Space Needle

Spirit Airlines had a two hour delay, so we had plenty of time to chill at the airport. We were very precise with our luggage and barely made the 40 pound weight limit. No excess baggage fees for us!

Vancouver

2016-03-29T22:56:00.000-05:00

After breakfast and leaving our home for the last four days, we went to Vancouver's Chinatown, where we heard had some good Asian eats.

Our room

The kids took turns in this little "hidden" room because they loved it so much

Great views on the drive to Vancouver

Just gorgeous

Dim sum for lunch...we were starving and lucky they stopped serving at 2.

Buns buns everywhere

Supposedly the best boba in town

Revisiting the lighthouse where Trung's passport was stolen last year

Vancouver skyline

Unique Japanese food for dinner

A Perfect End

2016-03-28T22:53:00.000-05:00

Thankfully, we had gorgeous weather on our final day and we tried to make the most of it despite how tired and sore we all were.

I met Jason and Bert at the same camping trip where I met Trung over 13 years ago

Trung photobombing his daughter's picture

Gangsta

Jason's new Facebook profile picture

My snow bunny

Yoga on the mountain

Last run in the Enchanted Forest

Good-bye, Whistler, we hope to return some day

Waiting for dinner

Mongolian BBQ because the tapas place Trung raved about from last year was closed due to a power outage

Zero Visibility

2016-03-27T22:39:00.000-05:00

Today we woke up to a very foggy day and it was even worse on top of the mountain. Everyone had a full day yesterday, so it was actually nice to take it nice and easy today, especially since we couldn't see anything.

The gang

Peak to Peak, notice how foggy it is

Olympic hopefuls

Probably the only time I'll ever be atop the podium

Maybe the girls have a chance

Happy Easter

Blue girls

Of course, Sophie gets a turn

Lydia hanging out with Uncle Jason

The girls fell in love with the Enchanted Forest, weaving in and out of the trees

Yay!

Welcome to Whistler

2016-03-26T23:13:00.000-05:00

As always, the first day at the ski resort had a slow start as we had to get our passes and adjust to the weather. We were on the lifts in no time here at Blackcomb compared to the other places, however, as our rental was right across the street for the village and almost everyone had their own equipment.

First time skiing with Uncle Jason and second time with Uncle Bert

The Ly's on Blackcoomb

Lydia's signature pose

Lydia and Daddy

Sophie and Daddy

Sophie, just a spot on the mountain

Our first time using a bubble on the lifts

On the Peak to Peak Gondola

A Seattle Morning

2016-03-25T18:25:00.000-05:00

We all had a good night's sleep and grabbed breakfast a couple blocks away from the hotel. Just as we placed our orders, Trung received a phone call from Spirit Airlines saying that our luggage was at the airport and that we could come retrieve it. Fortunately, the rep met us right at the curb, so the delay didn't end up being that bad. Then off to Canada we went, hitting Costco after a quick lunch. The drive up to Whistler was gorgeous and we arrived at our destination just in time to greet the property manager and make dinner for Jason and Bert, who arrived about an hour later.

The view from our hotel room; not great, but at least we could see the Space Needle

Crossing the border

The kids were super excited their first time leaving the country

Hello, Canada!

Lunch in Vancouver at a cute little Chinese restaurant

Quite the scenic drive up to Whistler

Spirited Away

2016-03-24T21:14:00.000-05:00

We booked tickets for our Whistler trip with Spirit Airlines flying into Seattle for a crazy low price and were a bit worried because we heard such bad things about Spirit. Everything went so smoothly that I was posting on Facebook just a tad bit too soon...we found out at baggage claim that our two ski bags had not left LAX with us. We were supposed to give the airline five days to find the luggage, but our three days of skiing would be over by then, so we were very unhappy to say the least. We left the airport and headed to our hotel, keeping our fingers crossed that our luggage would be recovered before we left for Whistler the next morning.

Seattle bound

We were on Spirit Airlines' first ever flight to Seattle, so cake awaited us at the gate

So far, so good

All in good "spirits" just before the craziness at baggage claim

Eating the way through LA

2016-03-23T18:46:00.000-05:00

Trung's cousin Amy and her family came to visit and we showed them all the best places to eat around town. I'll let the pictures do all the talking...

Tasty seafood at The Boiling Crab

We love this place no matter how messy it is!

After dinner treat at Diddy Reese

The next day we had lunch in Monterey Park at Newport Seafood. The girls had a dentist appointment in the afternoon, so we rushed back to Santa Monica, but later met Amy's family again for dinner at The Fig.

For breakfast the last day, we went to Sidecar Doughnuts and picked up a half dozen of their delicious doughnuts.

So many flavors!

Happy Amy

Venice Venture

2016-03-20T15:47:00.000-05:00

The girls had a long birthday party to go to, so Trung and I took advantage of the opportunity and hit Venice. We tried a new restaurant and had no problem waiting for a table because no kids were there to complain. After a nice lunch, we walked around a little bit, each enjoying a special treat...I had ice cream and Trung had coffee. We had a nice relaxing afternoon and got to know a little more about what makes Venice awesome!

Lunch at Gjelina

Dessert at Salt & Straw

Promotions

2016-03-17T19:24:00.000-05:00

The girls each received a stripe during their karate class today. Getting them to go to class has been more a struggle lately, but at least they are slowly improving.

Stripe #3 for Lydia

and for Sophie

Intermediate karate class

How to pull your tooth

2016-03-15T22:07:00.000-05:00

Step by step on how to pull your tooth...

Feel

Stretch

Cry

Ta-dah! So long, Buck! Hello, little Bucky!