We spent Mothers Day with Iris’ family having dim sum at the Sea Empress Seafood Restaurant in Gardena. We got there early (10:30 AM), which allowed us to get a table right away. When we left around 11:30, the wait for a table looked at least to be an hour long. After dim sum, we… Read More: Mothers Day »
We spent the week up in Avila Beach, a small town just north of Pismo Beach. We reserved a studio unit at the San Luis Bay Inn through our timeshare. The resort is beautifully situated, just across the street from the water, overlooking San Luis Bay to the northwest and Avila Beach to the southeast.… Read More: Spring Break 2008 »
Ron and the two girls ran in El Segundo’s Run for Education, benefitting the El Segundo PTA. This was Stephanie’s third 5K and Morgan’s first. It’s a fairly hilly course (El Segundo has an incredible number of hills for such a small town). Luckily Morgan is a slow runner, so Ron could hobble along beside… Read More: Run for Education »
We got together with Iris’ dad’s side of the family, the Uematsus, represented by Iris’ mom, Sue; Iris’ Aunt Lily; and Iris’ Aunt Michi. Greg & Patty Uematsu hosted this big gathering at their home in Trabuco Canyon. They had put in a koi pond since the last time we visited, and it was just… Read More: Three Aunts »
Happy Year of the Rat! Stephanie and Ron ran the Los Angeles Chinatown Firecracker 5K. This was the second year in a row that they ran together. The weather was much better (it was pouring rain last year). They went with Ron’s co-worker/friend, Tom, and his wife, Aya. Tom’s friend, Paul, also met them at… Read More: Firecracker 5K »
Stephanie decided she wanted to surprise her friends on her birthday by doing a “reverse” snatch. We started off at 6:15 AM and went to 10 different houses, “kidnapping” her unknowing friends. The rules were simple: no makeup and no changing, other than to put on shoes and a robe or sweatshirt. With three carloads… Read More: Stephanie’s Birthday Snatch »
Morgan’s birthday was actually Dec. 18, but we decided to celebrate it during her school’s winter break. Instead of a party, Morgan invited a couple of friends for an overnight trip to Disneyland. We booked a suite at the Disneyland hotel, which fit all six of us comfortably. The four kids took the bedroom while… Read More: Morgan’s 10th Birthday »
Morgan’s basketball team, the Venice Ponies, had their Christmas party last Saturday night at the home of the Akamines. Lots of activities for the kids, including ornament making, card making, karaoke (featuring music from High School Musical 2), gingerbread house making, and a special visit from Santa.
Morgan’s elementary school, Center Street School, had their annual Halloween parade this morning. It’s always a fun time, and some of the costumes are very creative as for the streets they got them personalized for this event and in general thanks to resources online, click here to find more. The teachers always dress up and… Read More: Center Street School Halloween Parade »
This is our second ski trip with the kids. We stayed at a timeshare in Reno and drove two hours each morning to Sierra at Tahoe, a nice family-oriented resort. This was the first time Morgan would be taking real lessons. Last year, she was in the day care facility. On our first day in… Read More: Skiing at Lake Tahoe »