We had dinner with Uncle Jason, Auntie, Jia, Toni, and Thomas this evening.
Cousin Lunch
We had lunch with Dada’s cousins and family this time.
Ellie’s Birthday
This evening, we celebrated Ellie’s birthday.
It’s also Ellie and family’s last night in Buena Park. What a great group photo!
Chinese Food
For lunch, everyone went out to San Gabriel for some tasty Chinese Food.
Looks like the kids ate well.
Love this photo of Ankong with all the kids. So cute!
Day in SF
Uncle Jason is in town this weekend for a work conference so we went out to the city to see him. We picked him up from his hotel and went to Chinatown for breakfast at Washington Bakery. We hadn’t been there in a while and they’ve gone through a renovation!
Then we walked to Mongkok Bakery for some buns. Peanut had his first pineapple bun and LOVED it. Uncle Jason has some competition now.
Then we went back to Uncle Jason’s hotel, which is an old but very fancy hotel. We hung out in their lobby/bar area while Dada took a work call. The kids played cards and the waitress gave them some balloons too.
For lunch, we went to Hog Island Oyster Company for some tasty oysters and squid salad.
There was a wait, as usual, but the kids made the most of their time in line.
Peanut had his favorite grilled squid and Janie enjoyed a bunch of raw oysters.
Then it was time for some soft serve with gummy bears!
Since it was a nice day outside, we decided to stay in the city longer and hung out at some of our old hangout spots. Uncle Victor and Auntie Susie were also home so they joined us!!
It was fun to hang out at some of our old favorites and the kids took an updated photo in front of the bridge. They’ve grown so much since our city days!!
Pool Day
This morning we gathered at Uncle Jason’s house and then headed to their pool.
We had water guns that we bought at the Dollar Store yesterday and the boys battled.
It looked like it was gonna be too cold at first but the sun came out shortly after we got into the pool and warmed us up very quickly.
July 4th in Cerritos
Last night we drove down to Cerritos for the long weekend.
In the morning, Peanut and Leela went to the park. We also experienced an earthquake as we were getting buckled up in the car.
Back at Yai and Ta’s house, we had a barbecue and Peanut gobbled up a bunch of Thai BBQ chicken that Yai made.
All the cousins were at the house and Ta gave them all plenty to do. They had water balloons, regular balloons, and a sandbox too!
They also went on a little “hike” in the backyard jungle with walking sticks and all.
In the evening, we all went across the street to ride bikes and scooters.
As the sun went down, we drove to Uncle Johnny’s house to watch the fireworks from his backyard.
Happy Birthday, America!
Alaska Cruise: Day 6
It’s Day Six of our Alaska Cruise: Ketchikan, AK
We are in Ketchikan today and had just enough time to have breakfast before heading outside.
Our window is always close to the port so we placed the friends at the window so they could see out the window while we were away.
Auntie Jia got each of the littles a polar bear that hugs your arm.
Janie got a harbor seal.
We booked a trolley ride today and hopped on for a quick ride around town.
Peanut got a front seat so he could see all the sights with an unobstructed view.
We stopped near a stream and the boys enjoyed watching Ankong play with the yo-yo he bought in town.
We also went looking for bears but they were all hiding today.
Back in town, we went to Creek Street to browse the shops built right over the creek that usually has lots of salmon running.
At dinner, Peanut played a mean game of Uno with Ankong but started to make up his own rules. He also had two servings of cocktail shrimp this evening!
Here is our towel animal for tonight. Is it a duck? A gorilla? We don’t know.
Alaska Cruise: Day 5
It’s Day Five of our Alaska Cruise: Sitka, AK
This morning, we woke up in Sitka and saw lots of fishing boats out the window during breakfast.
Mama and Janie went out to the deck to get a better look at the view.
At the port, there was a free shuttle that takes you into the town.
It’s a cute little fishing community.
We walked to the Raptor Center, which was a little over a mile away. The kids started out well but then 3 of them ended up on shoulders for part of the way.
The kids also stopped to pick dandelions on the side of the road.
There was a mini walking trail through the forest next to the center and there was so much to see. We saw a carving of a hawk sticking out of a tree and different flowers and plants.
At the end of the trail, we found a stream that is supposed to fill up with salmon later this season.
We only saw baby fish on one side and the other side was good for skipping and throwing rocks.
Before heading back to the ship, the kids played at the library. They had a cute kids section and they also gathered flowers for the grownups.
Once back on the ship, Mama and Janie went to the back of the boat to see what the wildlife expert could show us. We saw sealions and jellies in the water as he set sail for the next town.
If you look carefully in the water, you can see little white discs floating in the water.
At dinner, the kids had a fancy watermelon sherbet.
Here’s our towel animal for the night. We couldn’t agree on what it is.
Alaska Cruise: Day 3
It’s Day Three of our Alaska Cruise: Juneau, AK
This morning, it was business as usual. We had breakfast at the Lido Bar and then we went back to the observation deck to play.
The kids loved the “water elevator” on the ship.
One of the chess tables was free so Janie played a game with Dada.
For lunch, we ate at the taco bar that was by one of the pools.
Then there was just enough time to get in a hardy nap before we arrived in Juneau.
When we docked, the kids were excited to see where we ended up. We had been at sea for almost 2 days.
When we disembarked, we got a family photo while waiting for our dog sledding excursion to begin.
We all rode in a van up into the deep forest and arrived at a summer camp built for dogs training for the Iditarod Race. Look at all the dogs!!
Our driver and guide, Brittany, took us on a little tour and described how they train the dogs, how they get their care, and even fed us cookies and hot chocolate!
Then it was time to meet some of the dogs. There were 12 chosen to pull us today and they were all so excited to get started. One gave Peanut a giant kiss on the face.
Then we all got into a cart and off we went!
After the ride, we went to visit the puppies.
Dada held one of them while the kids said “hello” and petted him.
They also enjoyed feeding him treats!
We were all wet by the end but it was so much fun!
Back in town, the kids took one last photo together and then it was back on the boat!
