Quick Trip to SoCal
We had to do our taxes in Cerritos this year so it was a good excuse to go home for the weekend. The drive down on Friday wasn’t too bad (8am-3pm) with two stops.
When we arrived, Alice was there and it was fun to see Kumquat playing with her.
She also enjoyed having tea in the backyard like a regular suburban kid. My mom also had dinner prepared (of course, it’s the Magical House!) so we enjoyed some Chicken Rice and soup.
On Saturday morning, Brother and Joy came over.
After breakfast, we packed up the kids and headed out to Huntington Beach. As soon as we got out of the car, Kumquat cried and was in panic mode for the first 20 minutes.
It was nice just being out there on the sand and enjoying the sunshine and view. It’s funny how neither of the kids were very happy in this picture.
For lunch, I planned a big family gathering to catch up and to also celebrate Kumquat’s 2nd birthday. My mom picked up an ice cream cake and we ordered all our favorite dishes. This picture that Brother took cracks me up.
Kumquat was so cute while we all sang “Happy Birthday” to her.
It was also so nice to see the cousins again.
Later that afternoon, Holly and Andrew came over. Andrew as a little quieter than usual but it was nice to do some catching up.
Our tax appointment was at 6:30 so Jes and I left and it took the usual hour and a half to get it all done. There was a bit of a wait so we went to Starbucks to pick up coffee and went back to finish the paperwork when the office assistant called. Afterward, we had a nice Japanese dinner without the kid. It’s so rare that we get a date night. It’s funny (and a little sad) that tax night became date night.
On Sunday morning, we left relatively early and the drive back was easy (9am-4pm) with three stops. I hate these super short trips to LA but always glad that we did it. I miss my family.
Teresa and I signed up for a 5K and we entered the stroller division. The race was on Sunday so I made it a mini vacation for the family. On Saturday afternoon, we drove down to Santa Cruz, which is only about an 80 minutes from SF. I booked a motel located near the beach and the race start and it was good enough for the night. After we checked in and unpacked, we walked down to the beach. I knew it was close to the beach but we were still surprised at how close it really was.
It was fortuitous that Isla’s party favor was a beach set complete with bucket and three tools. So, we put on Kumquat’s swim diaper and rash guard and headed out. I was curious to see how she would respond to the waves this time and I was so proud of how calm she was this time around! She happily walked down toward the water with me and sat down to play in the sand. She loves sand but usually once she sees or hears the ocean waves, she becomes a hot mess of tears and crying. She was even willing to walk down to the water with me until she saw the water roll in toward her. She never made it to the water but she was able to just say “no” or call out to me without crying. 
It sounds silly but I was so proud.
After playing in the sand, we walked down to the famous boardwalk and it was super cheesy. So, we walked back to the nearest bar and sat down for a couple drinks and a snack.
Ah…it was a nice little getaway moment.
For dinner, we picked up Mexican food from the taco stand on the way back to the motel and we spent the rest of the evening in the room. We watched cable tv and just hung out. Unfortunately, Kumquat was not in the mood to sleep and once she fell asleep, it didn’t last long. She woke up coughing and coughing to the point of almost throwing up. Poor thing had a hard time falling back asleep and I ended up having to put her in the stroller. At 3am, she woke up again and luckily it didn’t last as long as the first time. Unfortunately, we didn’t get much sleep and I almost overslept this morning. I thought I set my alarm but it didn’t go off and the only reason I woke up was because Kumquat started to cry again at 7am.
Well, we both got ready and let Jes sleep in. It was chilly outside but the view was so nice on the walk up!
We met up with Teresa and her family at the lighthouse and then headed up to the start. The race started out really slow because they didn’t separate the walkers from the runners.
Pushing the stroller was harder than usual because I was busy weaving, braking, speeding up, and fighting for space to run for the first 2 miles. In fact, my arms are pretty sore from all the maneuvering. T-Rex got a pretty big workout today. Kumquat did a good job behaving throughout the race and afterward.
She even warmed up to Teresa’s dad pretty quickly. Henry slept through the whole thing and he looked so content in the stroller. What a cutie.
This was such a fun event and hanging out with T is always fun.
Rawr! Yay Team Tiger!
I came home at 5 today and didn’t have a moment to sit down until now – it’s 8:30. I had to go to the store with a sick and impatient toddler, cook dinner with a needy and hungry toddler at my feet, then eat and serve dinner to a less-than-hungry toddler, and then bathe the stinky and sticky toddler. So, I let her play to her heart’s content while I sat on the floor of the bathroom and enjoyed a big glass of wine. By the time I was ready to get her out of the tub, her fingers and toes were wrinkled and her hair was almost dry. If only I had a fancy bathroom with a comfy lounge chair in it. If I did, my kid would be squeaky clean ALL THE TIME.
The St. Patrick’s Day Parade also rolled down Market Street and there were a bunch of people dressed in green and ready to party.
After Kumquat’s nap in the afternoon, we went back outside and had a few drinks at Hi-Dive. We were all in shorts that day!
On Sunday, I went out for a run in the morning and ran past the burned down construction site that made the news last week. It’s crazy how close it was to home.
Later in the morning, we went to the California Academy of Sciences. Then we took a long lunch at Pacific Catch where the rolls and poke were pretty ono. I can’t wait for our trip to Hawaii next month!
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