Happy Halloween!

Since Halloween was on a Sunday this year, we were able to cram in a little more fun than usual. D didn't have to race over to church from work, so he wore his Elvis costume (which he already had from a work party a couple of years back).




k was little red riding hood. Yes, for the third year in a row. The cape still fit, and she wanted to wear it, so why not? I think we'll have to think of something new for next year, though.


n was a cowboy. Someone gave us the shirt, so I just bought the bandana. (I didn't think he would wear a hat, though that would have been cute). He seemed to like the idea of putting candy in his bucket.


This year k actually wanted to go into the bounce house, as long as n went with her. n wasn't quite sure to make of it, but k had fun bouncing, just like she does on our bed.


n also discovered the joy of cotton candy.

We got home before 6:30 so we went around our neighborhood for a little trick or treating, too. Then we turned on our own light and handed some candy out. This is the first time we have really been able to do it since a. we lived in a second story condo before, so no one came and b. usually we were still at the church harvest festival until it was too late for trick or treaters. Anyway, we'll see how long k remembers about the candy since she has forgotten about it quite quickly in the past.

Top 5 Races

#1 Surf City USA Full Marathon (Cool, flat, and ocean/park view)
#2 Surf City USA Half Marathon (Cool, flat, and ocean view)
#3 Rock 'n' Roll Los Angeles Half Marathon (Slight downhill w/ downtown finish)
#4 Long Beach Half Marathon (Neat combination of ocean and city skyline view)
#5 Disneyland Half Marathon (Hot and only a little bit of Angel stadium)

Laguna With Out-of-Towners

On Friday, D took off a half day because his B-school buddy and his girlfriend flew out from Atlanta to spend the weekend in southern California. The main impetus for the trip was for D and his friend Chris to run the L.A. Rock-n-Roll half marathon on Sunday. However, Friday and Saturday were spent touring around OC and LA. Chris' girlfriend, the lovely P, had never been to California before, so that was kind of fun. They stopped by In-n-Out on the way to our place (a must for first time California visits!) However, I think they both like Five Guys better. I guess we'll have to try them out when they open up at the District and see for ourselves.

We left the kids with my parents and drove to Laguna Beach. P wanted to see seals, but settled for the tidepools at Laguna. It was a lovely day, especially after all the rain we had the days before.







We walked around some of the galleries and shops. One gallery had an interesting display of the artwork/sculptures of Dr. Seuss.

D then took us to the Montage for one of the "top five views" of our lives. It was pretty grand; unfortunately I left my camera in the car!! The valet parking was $10, but it was nice to just walk the grounds. After all, the parking at Crystal Cove is $15, right? I thought it would be a nice place to get engaged...there were all of these little benches on top of the cliff, overlooking the water, not too many people around, etc.

We didn't spend too long there because I wanted to try to get into the happy hour at K'ya Bistro just down the street. I had made dinner reservations at 6 p.m., just in case. Good thing, because we arrived at 4:40--too late for the 4:30-5:30 happy hour (all food 1/2 off!) They were booked, and we were fifth on the secondary waiting list. Once they sat everyone, we talked in the lounge for a little bit, and then headed to the rooftop bar. Again, we were too late because all of the tables were taken! Wow, we had to sit at a back table which was reserved for another party at 5:30. At 5:20 we headed back downstairs and were seated in the "Crest Room" aka the alleyway at around 5:50. I think the regular dining room was "prettier" and "livelier" but I guess our seating was more conducive to conversation. They have small plates, so we shared BBQ meatballs, bleu cheese slaw, pork won tons, ahi tartare, lobster mac and cheese, a hamburger, and a tomato-basil-mozarella salad. A grown-up meal, and no kids to contend with.

Fall Camping in San Clemente

Well, we made it through our last and final camping adventure of the year. We returned to San Clemente, to the exact same spot we had earlier this spring. It was quite different this time, and not in a good way. We were debating asking other people to go with us, but I'm glad we didn't. I wouldn't have wanted to put anyone else through what happened to us.

The weather was very overcast on Friday afternoon. I didn't mind that too much, as I was glad that it wasn't the scorching heat we had not too long ago. It was kind of nice to return to the same spot, since we knew exactly what to expect. The only difference was the tree had a lot less leaves.


D has become a pro at setting up our tent, and had it up in no time flat.

It wasn't until we were going to start the stove for dinner that we realized we were missing one critical thing: a ligther. (We had assumed it was in the box with all our camping gear). D made a quick trip to Walmart, and picked up a couple of other things that we didn't bring. We decided to go simple for dinner and just had noodles. First, I tried a box of Trader Joe's "Tokyo-Style" soba.

Uh, not so good. I mean it was ok, but everyone preferred the regular Top Ramen that I had brought as back-up. (Added some frozen vegetables and ham for some color).

Afterward, we made s'mores over a campfire, always a hit, and got ready for bed. k and n had a difficult time falling asleep, however. While they were trying to fall asleep, a motley crew of young adults arrived at the campsite next to us. Oh, it was so awful...loud, drunk, swearing, etc. They were still up at 2:50 a.m. (and so was I, as I heard someone say what time it was). n fell asleep, but he kept on waking up and crying. One of our loud neighbors loudly complained about him, but I didn't feel too bad considering what they put us through. Two of them were walking towards out tent until they finally realized it wasn't theirs.

k had to go to the bathroom at 4:30 in the morning, and D kindly offered to take her. Must remember to bring shoes that are easy for her to put on/take off next time. D also made breakfast for us in the mist: eggs, hash brown patties and mango chicken sausage. After D cleaned up, we headed back to the tent to digest. After a while, D went outside and realized that the mist had turned into a light rain. We quickly packed up our tent and went home, getting somewhat muddy in the process.

I know I have made this trip sound awful. It just irks me that your neighbors, who you have no control over, can really ruin a trip. I think next time we need to find a place where the sites are not so squished together. However, there were definitely fun parts: k getting really excited about camping since she remembered out past trips, k and n running around the campsite, laughing at n in the tent when he pointed his fingers to the sky and bounced along to our rendition of Lady Gaga's Pokerface (neighbor's music choice), and the togetherness. When there was some quiet, it was nice being able to hear the crashing of the waves. Plus, when I was young, I used to always pretend with my sister that we were camping and it started to rain. Now I've experienced it in real life (not too fun in reality). Guess it is time to book our next trip, for next year.

Cadillac-Bon Appetit Event @ Irvine Spectrum

Sunday afternoon, D and I had our monthly "date" at a free event sponsored by Cadillac and Bon Appetit. We had been to one of these events a while back (pre-kids) at what is now the Great Park. I was definitely more excited about the food than the cars. We signed up for the 2:00 cooking demo, and arrived about ten minutes early, but all of the seats were taken! D snagged a couple of the mall chairs, and we sat in the back. It was supposed to be a battle of the chefs with the featured ingredient being corn. The two chefs were Neal Fraser of BLD restaurant and Ben Ford of Ford's Fillng Station. Chef Fraser made Fall Succotash with Corn, Fava Beans, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Bacon and Corn Veloute. Chef Ford made Warm Fried Ipswich Clam, Grilled Corn and Bacon Salad. Chef Ford won over the tasting panel by a small margin, and I agreed. The green goddess dressing on his salad was very yummy. The emcee said that we might recognize her from the Food Channel, but she didn't say what show, and I don't think I've seen her before. Too bad we didn't win one of the two $50 gift certificates to the chefs' restaurants. Both are on my list to try one day, but since they are in LA, it might be a while before I do.


Neal Fraser


Ben Ford. Does he look familiar? He is Harrison Ford's son!

We ended up not test-driving any cars, but we did look around:





D liked the dark brown leather seats. I think they remind him of the dark brown leather couch that he wants to buy for our home someday.

Hello Kitty Jack O'Lantern

It wasn't too difficult. I found the pattern online and used the $4 pumpkin carving set from Target. Now I need to think of something to do for next year...

Pumpkins in Irvine

We went on our annual fall trip to Tanaka Farms with my mom's group on Friday. Luckily, it wasn't raining, although it was on the warm side. There were a ton of kids there. It seems to have become quite the popular field trip.

First stop: Petting Zoo.


I knew k wouldn't be too excited about petting the animals, but I wasn't sure about n. Turns out he wasn't too thrilled, either. I was kind of freaked out myself when a goat came up to me and chewed my name tag right off my shirt. I guess we're just not animal people.


Then we took the wagon ride tour around the farm. There was no narration, so I like the strawberry farm tour better in that respect. Then they dropped us off by the corn maze. We skipped it, even though they made it a lot shorter, height-wise this year. Parents could actually see over the top, unlike two years ago, when I was wondering if k and I would ever make it out. Instead, we went straight to the u-pick veggies: 4 radishes, 4 carrots, 4 green onions and 4 green beans per child. k had fun with this part, and n kept on wanting to climb over the rope that we were supposed to stay behind.

u-pick carrots that had already been picked. I think it is good for kids (and adults, for that matter) to learn how vegetables are actually grown in the ground. We become so accustomed to just seeing produced bagged up in plastic in the grocery store.

The last part of the outing was the main attraction, the pumpkin patch, of course.



This is the one we ended up bringing home. The rule is that the kid is supposed to be able to carry the pumpkin she picks herself. They're not too strict with enforcement, but I was surprised when someone actually asked if she could carry it as we were leaving the exit.


n, on the the other hand, seemed to enjoy picking up the pumpkins and dropping them on the ground. Luckily, no damage was done to the pumpkins.


Our Little Pumpkin

We've been to Tanaka Farms too many times to count now. However, D still has never gone with us. I'm thinking we should try the watermelon tour next year. When k saw some of the leftover watermelons from the past summer, she commented, "green pumpkins"!