Beckman Orchestra Concert

Last week I took the kids to Beckman High Orchestra’s free spring concert.  I am not super into classical music, but I’ve always admired people who play string instruments.  I used to want to play the cello for some reason.  In high school I did have stint in a “studio orchestra” playing trombone.  Unfortunately, we had to leave a bit early because I had a coughing attack that could not be stopped.  k seemed interested, but n—not so much.

I had to try to stop his snoring at times so as not to distract the other members of the audience. 

One interesting thing I learned is that Beckman has a Korean PTO and Chinese PTO.  Who knew?  Is this the norm in Irvine?

She Lost It

This morning, k lost her first baby tooth.  She was eating her breakfast, watching Caillou with Nathan, and exclaimed, “I think part of my tooth came out!”  (Turned out that the whole thing did come out). 

I gave her this tooth pouch that I made a while back with this tutorial.  This one is pretty cute, too.  I guess I should start making one for n too.  Growing up so fast…sniff…sniff!

Fire Station Field Trip

Last week k went to our local fire station with her girl scout troop.  Siblings and parents were invited so I brought n along too. 

k was called on to demonstrate the strength of the fireman’s steel toe boots.

I think it was good for the kids to see what a firefighter looks like with all of the gear.  It might make the kids a little less afraid if they ever need to be helped by a firefighter.  Can’t imagine wearing 60 pounds of gear in raging heat.  Thank you, firefighters, for all you do!

Unfortunately, the truck was getting new tires, so the girls only had a brief look.  Our tour guide was very enthusiastic and really seemed to enjoy interacting with the kids.

KBF is #5

Here are the top five theme parks in California based on attendance... #1 Disneyland (16.1M) #2 Disney California Adventure Park (6.3M) #3 Universal Studios Hollywood (5.1M) #4 SeaWorld San Diego (4.3M) #5 Knott's Berry Farm (3.7M) D+L have been to all of them. k has been to all except Universal Studios. n has only been to Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm. We need to bring n to either SeaWorld or California Adventures soon!

Baba’s Birthday

May and June are busy in terms of celebrations for our family.  We combined Mother’s Day and my dad’s birthday last weekend.  We brought the Tuxedo cake from Costco. 

It is not easy to wrangle the grandkids for a picture.  This was the best I could do.  Happy birthday, Baba!

k + n’s First Baseball Game

A couple years back I started subscribing to the OC Register only on Sundays for two cents a year.  I thought that deal couldn’t be beat.  One day I answered the phone and someone from the Register asked if I would like to be upgraded to seven days a week, no charge.  It sounded too good to be true, and the person assured me that there were no strings.  A few weeks ago, I saw an ad in the paper that seven day subscribers can get free tickets to Angels’ baseball games.  Again, it sounded too good to be true, but I signed up.  So, this is how k and n were able to watch their first baseball game for $15 total (including $10 parking).  (There is a $5 service charge).

Looking at the seating chart, I was not sure which seats to pick (only certain ones are eligible, of course).  I ended up picking a row of just four seats in section 135.  I thought that would be good so we wouldn’t have to climb over people to go to the restroom, etc.  It was also ground level, so it would be fairly close to the action.

This is the section that fans hang out in before the game to catch practice balls and try to get autographs.  Not bad, right?  Except this was our view to the right:

Talk about obstructed view!  (To be fair, there was a warning when I picked the seats, but I thought it was going to be a measly pole, or something).  Basically, we could not see center field or left field.  We also could not see the water fountain, and one of the jumbotrons.  Lesson learned, I guess.  It turned out friends of ours were also there that night, so we ended up sitting with them for the last two innings.  (They had a much better view). 

Right in front of us was a family with two kids around k and n’s ages.  The kids turned around and started chatting up k and n.

The night we went there was a cow milking contest (in honor of some Dairy Association) and it was Big Bang Friday, so there was a fireworks show immediately after the game ended.  The fireworks were pretty spectacular.  We had a good viewing location right by the flag poles on the outer ramp.  During the finale, my entire field of vision was filled with the bright lights from the fireworks.  The kids really liked them too.  If we don’t end up seeing fireworks this year during 4th of July, I won’t even be sad, they were that good.  Oh, and the Angels lost to the Chicago White Sox, by the way.  It almost seemed like an afterthought, though, since this was just all about the “experience”.     

Date Night in Woodbury/Woodbridge

For our date night last weekend D and I ate at Oceanic Grill in Woodbury.  We had a BOGO coupon (of course!)  The place was pretty empty, which does not bode well for this fairly new establishment.  It appears to be trying to duplicate the success of California Fish Grill.

We chose tilapia and white fish, both of which we enjoyed.  The service was a bit slow (especially considering that we were the only ones there), but the staff person was apologetic and we were not in a hurry!

 

For after dinner drinks we redeemed our coupons for a free Caramel something or other coffee at Seattle’s Best.  I’m not sure if I’ve been to a Seattle’s Best since going to one in Seattle back in the early 2000’s.  D said Starbucks bought the chain and is now marketing it as the cheaper alternative.  Works for me.

Our third stop was to park in the Woodbridge shopping center and walk over the bridge to walk around Woodbridge Lake.  We’ve passed by the lake by car before, but have never walked around.  It was quite pretty, and nice and peaceful.  We admired all of the homes around the lake—very nice.  We only walked around one part, and it did not take too long.  D estimates it is about a mile according to his internal pedometer.

Nice playground—we’ll have to bring the kids.  D also spotted a koi fish swimming in the lake.  There were plenty of ducks and geese.

Our final stop was to check out the new Korean store at the Woodbridge Shopping plaza: Assi Natural Market.

I am not sure about the correct pronunciation, but it is an unfortunate name for a store in the US, IMO.  Although they aspire to be a Whole Foods for Asian food, sadly, it is not.  Again, I’m not sure how long this business will last, given that there are other better alternatives.  We picked up some bulgogi that D grilled the next day for Mother’s Day.

This miso soup machine caught my eye.  That’s something you do not see everyday. 

So that was our mini tour of Irvine.  I’m always amazed at how big Irvine is (and still growing). 

Southern California

It is pretty amazing to think that I have lived in the Los Angeles metro area for 10 years now. I lived in L.A. for 1 year just after college and have been living in L.A./Orange County for the last 9 years. This metro area has been home for longer than any other metro area in my adult life! Since I have been in SoCal for so long and I do enjoy living in the O.C., I have felt compelled to start rooting for SoCal sports teams. Here are my official favorite teams by metro area: S.F. Bay Area: Cal Golden Bears, 49ers, Giants, Warriors. Los Angeles/Orange County: Angels, Clippers, Chargers. Indianapolis Metro: Indiana Hoosiers. The Angels baseball team is a easy choice as they play in Orange County. Choosing the Clippers is a little tougher since they play in L.A.; however they did play in Orange County in the 90s. For football, I am hoping L.A. gets a team, but I am not holding my breath, so for now the Chargers will have to do. I still like the city life in NorCal better (i.e. S.F. vs L.A.); however I do enjoy the suburban life in SoCal better. (e.g. beaches & bike paths). So I will consider the battle a tie. I have come to realize that my favorite metros are S.F. and L.A. (sorry Indy and Sacramento). Indy gets my nod for third place as it has a nice downtown and is a great sports town.

Another KBF Trip

I know what you’re thinking—again?  Well, we are determined to get our money’s worth, and the kids are not sick of it yet, so why not? 

Sombrero Hat ride—KBF’s version of the Teacups

D was able to go on the Ferris Wheel for the first time.

We also saw Schroeder.  D accidentally called him Linus (because I accidentally called him that), but the helper corrected him.

We have not seen very many of the shows, so we watched the Wild West Stunt Show. 

D wanted us to sit in the “Splash Zone”, front and center.  It was actually refreshing since it was warm.  It made me think about the fact that my parents would never have us purposely sit in the splash zone at Sea World, or wherever.  Maybe when k and n grow up they won’t want to sit there and they’ll tell their kids, “Grandpa used to make us sit in the splash zone!”. 

This is n after being splashed. 

Keurig V500 House Party

Last month I was chosen as a host for a Keurig House Party.  I’ve done other House Parties before, but D was particularly excited about this one.  We’ve had the same coffee maker that we received as a wedding present 9+ years ago.  It still works perfectly fine, but now we are on the Keurig bandwagon.

This is the new Keurig V500 (there is also a V700 model) that we received.  D has dubbed this the “nicest appliance” we own.  It uses V cups, not K cups, (though I’m not quite sure of the difference), has controls for size, strength, and temperature and can do hot or iced beverages.

We were also provided with a nice assortment of varieties to try.  (I also purchased some using a nice discount).  We now have enough coffee to last us a year.  We had a tasting party with our small group.

Fun Friday

Last Friday was busy, but fun.  After dropping off k at school, n and I went to Tanaka Farms with my moms’ group. 

We haven’t been in a couple of years, so I think it was still “all new” to n. 

Not too sure about the sugar snap pea…

Happier with the strawberries!  I think the Tanaka Farm tours have become increasingly popular, as the strawberry fields look much more “picked over”.  We did manage to get our fill, though.

After picking up k from school I helped chaperone at a Teddy Bear Carnival for her Daisy Troop.

 

After picking n up from my parents’ house we went home and hosted our small group. 

Mother’s Day 2013

Thank you mom, for modeling how to be a wonderful mom!

School Pictures

One thing that has changed since I was in school is that there are two school picture days, one in the fall and one in the spring.  In the fall, you pick your package, pay, and hope that the one picture that they take comes out well.  In the spring, you don’t pay, and they send you 5 sheets of pictures.  You pay for the ones you want, and return the rest to the school.  I wasn’t planning on buying a second set of pictures, so I guess their tactics worked on us.  However, we only paid for one sheet of small pictures that we can distribute to grandparents, etc.  The backgrounds are a real crack-up.  To wit:

That doesn’t look unnatural at all, right?    There was also a waterfall background and some sort of European castle background. 

Home Depot Kids' Workshop

The first Saturday of every month, Home Depot holds a free workshop for kids.  (Lowe’s holds something similar, but you are supposed to register online, and it is always full when I try.)  This past Saturday the kids made a planter. 

Even though I like to do crafty things, I don’t like the mess.  I have a hard enough time cleaning without major crafting going on.  Being able to make a mess and have someone else clean up is a major bonus.  (Tip: bring a cardboard box to transport crafts home that still have wet paint!) 

Teeth

k has an adult tooth coming in and I wanted to memorialize it by taking a picture.  Sorry if this grosses you out, but I can’t believe how far in back her adult tooth is compared to her baby tooth.  k’s baby tooth came in really crooked, but I think her grinding her teeth at night actually straightened them out.  Hopefully the same happens with her adult teeth!

n did not want to be left out of the picture-taking:

An Impromptu Trip to Knott’s

Yesterday, after picking up k from school, I decided to take the kids to KBF.  It was a bit overcast, which was nice (no whining about the heat is always a good thing).  This was our first trip without D, but now that the kids are getting older, it is more manageable. 

It is so nice when the lines are short.  We never had to wait more than one “rotation” for any of the rides.  At this skateboard ride, the ride attendant was just waiting for people because no one was in line!

We were also able to ride the ferris wheel in Camp Snoopy for the first time.  It was not operating all of the other times we have visited.  The kids said it was their favorite ride of the day.  It fits three people, so it worked out. 

This ride also worked because k is tall enough to go by herself and n and I went in the next car.

We also watched the Calico Saloon show for the first time.  Tip: if you don’t like audience participation, I suggest you not sit at the table directly front and center of the stage.

Couldn’t resist this photo op.  I guess we’ll have to get one of the whole family someday.