Cypress PD Open House

Today's family outing was at the Cypress Police Department's Open House. We were lured by the free hotdogs, chips and soda, but there was some other cool stuff too.

There was a K-9 demo with a dog that speaks Czech. One of the other officers pretended to be a bad guy and this officer pulled him over and had the dog attack him. Too bad I couldn't get a picture of the attack.



Jr. Firefighter


Sampling a blue icee


D was able to test-ride a Segway.

We saw Commander Chuck Street of KIIS FM fame with his Diet Pepsi helicopter.


Finally, we took a tour of the police station. I guess we should've asked how long it was beforehand. I thought it would be a ten-minute walk through, but it ended up being a fairly detailed 45 minute rundown of everything from the records office to the shooting range and jail cells. Although it was pretty interesting, k was definitely getting restless.

Memorial Weekend

Here are the highlights of our lovely three day weekend.

Sat.: D ran over sixteen miles, a personal record. He can elaborate on that one if he wants. We went to a graduation party for two Talbot grad students.

Cake by King's Hawaiian. Food by Ono Ono--yum! Plus, we took home a ton of leftovers; actually, 6.6 lbs--hehe. D went to a CSULB v. CSUF baseball game with some Mazda guys.

Sun.: Church. D did laundry and ironed shirts, yes!

Mon.: Harbor House in Sunset Beach for breakfast.

Blueberry pancakes and Denver omelet. I think the waitress was laughing at me taking a picture. We figured out that k's favorite meal is breakfast, since she LOVES eggs.

Went to Huntington Beach, but only for a bit since it was overcast and we didn't bring enough quarters for parking.


Went to Downtown Disney, and just walked around for a bit. Sorry, no pictures!

Taste of Seal Beach

On Thursday k and I picked up two of my friends from high school and we went to Taste of Seal Beach at McGaugh Elementary, my alma mater. I thought I might see someone from my past, but instead we ran into k's pediatrician. I guess he has a son that goes there. That was random. The tickets were $10, and various local restaurants had samples to taste:
320 Main
Beachwood BBQ
Blackboard Bistro
Bogart's Coffee
Cold Stone Creamery
El Burrito Junior
Finbars
Hennessey's
Islands
Jamba Juice
Mahé Restaurant
Marie Callender's
McDonald's
Naples Ribs
O'Malley's
Patti Bakes
Panda Palace
Pick Up Stix
Rubio's
Starbucks
Taco Surf
Tropical Juice
Walt's Wharf
Woody's Diner
Yucatan Grill
Z Pizza

The standouts to me were Yucatan Grill (I think it was chicken?, rice and plantains) and Beachwood BBQ (mini pulled pork sandwiches). It seemed like too many restaurants did regular mini sandwiches, which weren't too memorable. My friends really liked the clam chowder from Walt's Wharf, but I'm not a clam chowder person. It was also weird that O'Malley's had a really spicy chili (just like the Irish do it?) k liked the cheese pizza from Z Pizza and the pasta from Finbar's.

Sorry this doesn't look too appetizing. This is half way through our first plate of food. We went for one more round of "main" course tastings plus a little dessert.

The one complaint I have is that you had to get all of your food before leaving the gym. Since the plates were on the small side, I wanted to do two rounds, but there was nowhere to sit inside! So we had to awkwardly stand and eat. Then, when we went outside for the coffee/dessert, it had been raining, so all of the tables were wet. I guess that wasn't their fault, but still...it seems like there could have been a better set-up.

The gym seemed smaller than I remembered:



This was the tree where I was punished for not picking up two pieces of trash before going to recess. I don't remember the exact details, but I remember there was some sort of miscommunication and that I did not purposely break the rule. I was so embarrassed, because only the "bad" kids had to sit there. One of the teacher's aides was surprised to see me there and asked what happened--I think she felt sorry for me. Oh, the trauma.

The Fukada Experience

On Thursday, k and I went to visit D at work. After making the rounds at his office, we went to Fukada for lunch. It is a popular place, so we knew that we should get there early. It opens at 11:30; we arrived at 11:21. Of course, there was a line of at least a dozen people already, spilling into the parking lot. My expectations were duly raised. At 11:30, the doors opened, and there was a rush to get a table. No actual pushing and shoving, mind you, but enough to make me feel a little tense.

Fukada is known for their noodle/rice lunch combinations for $8.95. I had the cold soba with mountain vegetables and oyako don (with brown rice). D had hot udon with tempura flakes and crunchy roll. I also talked him into getting the cold iced green tea after reading Yelp reviews. It was the greenest green tea I've ever seen or tasted. I should've taken a picture of it. Just picture swamp juice. Actually, there is a picture on Yelp.

Everything was good, although I guess I'm not one to get too excited about noodles. I don't think my palate is refined enough to distinguish the very best. The decor was fresh and modern and I liked how they brought special tableware for k to eat off of. If I was a Yelper I would give it four stars. Since there were many more people waiting after the first round of seating, I felt very rushed. The service was almost too efficient...the waiter brought the check about five minutes after we received our food!






I always forget to put a bib on k and her clothes pay the price.

A Security...Pedometer?

k doesn't really have a security blanket or stuffed animal. However, she has, as of late, become attached to her pedometer. It's funny, because she always takes off her barrettes and hats and shoes, but she'll wear the pedometer all day. She even wants to put it back on after she takes a bath. If you're curious, k logs just under 8,000 steps a day.

Our Official Hangout

We returned to Bella Terra again last Saturday night. It has become our official go-to place when we want to get out of the house. It has all of the essentials: Barnes & Noble, Starbucks, restaurants, and entertainment. We ate across the street (again!), this time on the other side of Michaels, at Mitasie. I had read a favorable review in the OC Register, plus I had an Entertainment book coupon, so we gave it a go. Again, it was empty, save one person who came in for a take-out menu. We tried the spring rolls, lemongrass chicken and beef vermicelli. I always end up getting vermicelli dishes...they are so refreshing!


Sorry about the smudged lens on all of these recent pictures. I'll have to be sure to clean it!


Afterward we listened to #9, a Beatles cover band. You've got to give them extra credit for wearing wigs (and even more credit to the guy who grew his real hair to match). k wasn't as into the band this time, not sure why. Maybe she was just tired from our zoo outing.

Breakfast With the Beasts

Santa Ana Zoo has a program for children on Saturday mornings where they feed you breakfast (pastries, fruit, cereal, coffee, juice, & chocolate milk (to D's delight)) and then you feed the farm animals before the zoo opens to the public. We went with another family and then met up with my sister and brother-in-law once the zoo opened.

As soon as the kids finished eating, one of the zookeepers brought out a frog and a rooster. The frog was supposed to demonstrate how he eats worms, but he seemed sleepy. Then, the kids were told to hide live worms in corn meal so the rooster could look for them and eat them. Ew. k wisely refused to do this. I don't blame her.


Then we fed some ducks some lettuce. Apparently it is better for them than bread.


k had the most fun feeding the goats.


The zookeeper who led the program was the same one we saw at the Wayzgoose festival. I think D has a better memory for faces because he instantly recognized her. This actually happens quite often.




D just realized that he likes jacaranda trees.


For the most part, k seemed a little scared of the animals, although she did pet a pig. We weren't too impressed with the range of animals, aside from the monkeys. However, I do think it was interesting for k to see live examples of all the animals that she has heretofore only seen in picture books. We'll have to go to LA and SD zoos so she can see the bigger animals, like lions, tigers and bears! :)

Afterward we went to Jerry's Woodfired Dogs. We each got a dog and split two sides among the four of us.

You can have as many toppings on as you want put on, so D and I went all out, as can be seen. I guess the picture makes it look like we had a salad instead of hot dogs. They were quite good, and we all enjoyed the potato chips, which actually tasted kind of like fries, right out of the fryer. Yum.

Mother's Day (Late)

Almost forgot to blog about our Mother's Day. We went to my sister and brother-in-law's house after church for lunch. It was supposed to be a combined celebration with my Dad's birthday (which is tomorrow). k's gift to me was taking an hour and a half nap when we got home so that I could nap too! I also bought a little gift for myself...The Creative Family, as seen in my "Currently Reading" sidebar.

Another Weekend

On Saturday we went to Bella Terra, mainly to go to the big REI sale. We ended up making a major purchase: a Base Camp 4 REI tent! D and I are very excited about it. We have decided to make camping one of our regular family activities. I'm hoping that we can get good use out of the tent, since it was pretty expensive. (We did get a 20% discount during the sale, however). Our first trip will be in July. We tried to set it up in our living room, but the tent was too big (or our living room is too small!) We'll have to try again in my parents' backyard before our trip.

Afterward we went across the street to eat at Sakura Saku. D, k and I shared a CA roll, chicken karaage and oyako donburi (D's favorite). The food was good, but it didn't quite fill us up. Also, no one else came in the restaurant the whole time we were there.

Then we headed back to Bella Terra and heard the first part of a concert by the Rockit Scientists. They're a classic rock cover band, and k really enjoyed herself. She was clapping her hands and dancing even though the music was quite loud. I'm looking forward to going to more free outdoor concerts this summer.

All-You-Can-Eat Strawberries

Today k and I went with our moms' group to Tanaka Farms. It's hard to believe that when we went last year, k couldn't even eat strawberries. Well, k was able to enjoy herself a lot more this time around!

The tour takes place in a tractor-pulled wagon. They give you lots of produce to sample, so I was smart enough to bring plastic bags this time for the leftovers. Another mom came even more prepared, with a container of ranch dressing! (Good for dipping the carrots, lettuce, etc.)




Our Tourguide


Trying an onion


Hey, it's a scarecrow


Have you ever seen carrots like this?

Then, the best part. They let you off the tractor and give you fifteen minutes to pick and eat all of the strawberries you want. (No saving any for later).





k certainly ate her money's worth. She must have had at least 15!

Sunday with the Parents

On Sunday we went to church and it was nice to have my parents with us. Afterwards we went to The Clubhouse at South Coast Plaza. My co-worker said the Kobe burger was the best hamburger he had ever had. So I ordered it.

Here is the description...
Kobe Burger: 17
8oz. Kobe beef burger, Monterey Jack, watercress, tomato, caramelized onion, garlic aioli, brioche bun

It was expensive, but it was made of Kobe beef and my parents paid anyway. ;) The items that stood out were the bun, the onions, and the beef. The beef was tender but also you could tell that it was not processed too much. It beat out Houston's. L forgot her camera, so it will just live on in my memory.

For dinner we went to S Vietnamese restaurant. It was the fanciest Vietnamese restaurant that I had ever been to. We ordered Chilean Seabass, Orange Roughie, Shaken Beef and Duck. The first three were really good, however the duck wasn't.


k was doing squats before dinner.


k's order of S Fried Rice. It was the first time we ordered off of the kid's menu for her, since she couldn't really eat our entrees. Plus, the entrees were on the small side, so it was good that she had her own.

A Day in the LBC

Saturday morning we went with D's parents to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Neither D nor I had ever been there. Fortunately, we were able to use our Entertainment Book coupon to receive 50% off admission. That alone more than paid for the book, which I bought for $15.

At first, k was tired and didn't want to leave her stroller and blanket. Eventually, she became more interested. She seemed most impressed by the diving birds, seals, and the small colorful coral reef fish.




So pretty!


Shark Lagoon


D said this shark reminded him of a Stealth Bomber


Petting a stingray


Lorakeet

We had lunch at Parker's Lighthouse in nearby Shoreline Village. It has a nice view of the harbor. Unfortunately, I took this picture with a view of the parking lot.


On the way home we stopped by the Japanese Garden at CSULB. We couldn't go in because there was a wedding going on. Too bad. D snuck this peek, though.

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Tonight we had chicken taquitos with guacamole, chips, beans and vegetables. k ate a little bit of everything!

We are recovering from a busy weekend with D's parents. They flew in on Thursday night and I dropped them off at the airport this morning. It was nice that they could see how much k has changed since Christmas.

D took Friday off and took them to Fashion Island. (I was at my moms' group). They ate at Cafe R & D, which I hear was good. The restaurant gave k an apple sliced up like french fries. I would have liked to see that. D also took them to Pinkberry, to get the full Southern California experience, ha.

I met up with them Friday afternoon. We went to Huntington Beach for dinner at Duke's, at the foot of the pier. The fish was excellent and the coconut shrimp was very tasty. We also relived our honeymoon experience by getting the hula pie. (We had gone to the Duke's in Honolulu and the waiter gave us an embarrassingly huge piece. Strangers came up to us and made comments. Not cool.)


Afterward we took a quick stroll down Main Street. I took a quick peek in the store my cousin works at to see if she was there. I didn't see her, but D told me to go inside, so I asked one of the employees about her and she was in the back. I think she was pretty surprised to see us, including k, who was much smaller when we last saw her.

I bet no one would ever guess that we're first cousins. :)