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Lunching with the Ladies

IMG_8289Since I was off this week, Ranee off was today, and Stephanie is still on maternity leave, we all met up in Walnut Creek after I took Kumquat to the dentist.  We had lunch at Tender Greens in preparation for our tasty treat at CREAM, which just opened last month.

IMG_8291Vivian was a good little baby and slept long enough for Stephanie to have lunch.

IMG_4879Unfortunately, she woke up as soon as she got her ice cream sammich.  Here’s a photo of mine.  Just like last time at the Berkeley store, I got double chocolate chip cookies with coffee ice cream.

IMG_4881Sophie wanted a taste of Ranee’s sammich.  I don’t blame her.  They’re delicious.

IMG_8298I wish I had more days off like this.

IMG_4875Oh and I didn’t realize this until Dr. Chang pointed it out at the dental visit but Kumquat and I were matching today.

Slowest. 5K. EVER.

IMG_8126But it was so fun!!!!  On Saturday morning, I got up at 3:45 am and Brother and Joy picked me up at 4:30 to get to the start line. We wore our race tees, which were 1) not very flattering and 2) not very breathable in the heat.  At 5:00 am, it was already 72 degrees and humid.

IMG_4735The beginning of the race took us backstage where we were running in darkness.

IMG_8134Then the race course entered from Carsland at Disney’s California Adventure.IMG_8139Here we are at the boardwalk and they even turned on the World of Color fountains for us!

IMG_8143Next was across the courtyard to Disneyland!  IMG_8147There were Cast Members ready to snap photos for us at each photo op location.  What fun!IMG_8151Sleeping Beauty’s Castle is so pretty at dawn.

IMG_8154The Dumbo ride was running as we passed through Fantasyland.  Kumquat would love this ride!

IMG_8157In Frontierland, we found the chipmunks!!!

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The last part of the park route was through Critter Country.

IMG_8169Here we are with our medals at the finish line.  IMG_8170It’s a rubber medal with the Alice in Wonderland and the White Rabbit on it.

IMG_4750As a special treat after the run, we picked up some coffee and freshly fried beignets.  Yum.

IMG_4753We also had some time to kill before the Diaper Dash so we hung out inside the Grand California Hotel to watch some cartoons.

IMG_4749The course was super fun and I’m kinda glad that Joy couldn’t run.  It gave us an excuse to just take it easy and enjoy the unique experience of wandering the parks at dawn.  IMG_8167I also bumped into Michelle, my good friend from high school and college.  I think she might be running the half on Sunday.

IMG_6616Kumquat also ran in her first fun run – a 100 meter dash!  For a recap of that part of the morning, click here.

Southern CA

IMG_4576We drove down to Southern California on Tuesday morning and the drive went rather smoothly for most of the way down.  On our way out of SF, we drove through the eastern span of the Bay Bridge one last time before it would be closed permanently the next day.  It’s kinda sad but really necessary to get rid of this section.

IMG_4578 IMG_4584Our car was also at full capacity with Kumquat, Koa, and my mom in the backseat.

IMG_4585We made a lunch stop at In N Out in Santa Nella instead of Kettleman City.  It looks pretty new and everything was so clean and empty when we were there.

IMG_4591At the 5-hour mark, we encountered some major traffic.  It was in the Grapevine and the sign said there would be an 8-mile backup with everyone merging in to the left lane.  We were at such a snail’s pace.  When I looked at our Google Maps instructions, it said to to exit Quail Rd and take some side streets.  Taking a desperate chance, we listened and totally won!  Part of it was a little sketchy with it being mostly dirt and rocks and a sign saying that we were leaving the maintained portion of the road.  We managed to by-pass 5 miles of bumper-to-bumper traffic and cut in line at the front when we got back on the freeway.  Thanks, Uncle Google. I will never doubt your instructions again!

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The drive took a total of 8 hours including 3 stops.  We were so tired of being in the car that we walked to Don Jose for some enchiladas and margaritas.  This is Jes’ Corona-Rita.

IMG_4626The next day was mostly for errands.  Before taking Koa to the vet, we stopped at Wahoo’s for lunch.  Yum.  Oh how I miss a good fish taco.

IMG_4623Then we took Koa to the vet in Irvine.  This is the place that we’ve always taken him since he was a pup and he was shaking as much as the first time we brought him.  IMG_4631He did surprisingly well during the examination and walked out of there with a bunch of shots.

After that, we went to Pish’s office for my long-overdue check-up and cleaning.  It had been 4 years since I had seen a dentist!! Thankfully, I had no cavities.  Yippee!

IMG_4636In the afternoon, I met up with Holly and Andrew for a little catching up before dinner.

IMG_4643For dinner, we met up with Johnny and Joy in Torrance for some izakaya and beer.  Boy, we had a very productive first day!

Grandstands

On Saturday, the day after my surgery, I woke up in so much pain.  I had to take some meds and Jes had to push me up out of bed.  I couldn’t sit up and I couldn’t even roll onto my side!  It was U-GLY.  Once the meds kicked in, I was up and moving around again.  I’m so swollen that I looked preggo again but whatever…I didn’t care anymore.

That morning, my mom helped get Kumquat ready while we waited for Jason to arrive.  We had purchased grandstand tickets to watch the finals of the LV Cup so once he got to our house, we were on our way.

IMG_4511We left the house at 11 and it was supposedly when the special Embarcadero train would be running.  It didn’t arrive for a good 45 minutes!  Once we were on, it took us from our house all the way down to Fisherman’s Wharf. From there, we walked over Fort Mason hill and down to the Marina Green.  We had a gorgeous SF day and the wind was pretty strong.  IMG_8011We watched the first race up in the stands and it was nice to finally have a good view of the boats sailing over the water.  IMG_4518Unfortunately the meds were making me a little woozy and I had to put my head down.  Luckily, my mom brought some of her magical tiger balm and it totally made me feel better.

IMG_8015The second race was canceled due to high winds so we spent the rest of the afternoon at the beer garden.  Since my medicine included Tylenol, I didn’t get to enjoy a beer with the Masayas who were also there with us.  Oh well.

Sunday BBQ

DSC_3072On Sunday we went to the Bangs’ for lunch.  It was a warm sunny day and they had the perfect backyard for a BBQ. Vyl made tri tip and kabobs and we had a fun time catching up.

DSC_3050It was also nice to see Little Isla or “Mei Mei”.

 

DSC_3053We hadn’t seen her since the day she was born and she’s grown so much in the past 4 months.  Vyl says she’s been a pretty easy baby and it looks like she’s got Bang’s hairline right now.

DSC_3068The Bangs also just finished remodeling the bedrooms and bathrooms.  You can see the addition to the left of this photo.  In case you were wondering, Uncle Bang was teaching Jack how to set a volleyball.  Too bad Jack was more into spiking the ball instead.

 

Oakland

IMG_4326I had the day off today to take care of my pre-op paperwork and to get my medical clearance and blood work done with my doc.  For lunch, I picked up a pumpkin croquette with Japanese curry from the lunch truck down the street from the doctor’s office.

IMG_4371I was done by the afternoon so I let Mirian go home early and Kumquat and I headed out to Oakland before the Friday evening commute.  It was so nice and warm outside in the East Bay!

IMG_4347To kill some time, we stopped at my work.  It worked out well since I had to pick up a few things and Kumquat needed to eat.

IMG_4341She also had a really good time playing in the office and everyone was happy to see her.  Here she is messing with Teresa’s desk.

IMG_4359Afterward, we walked over to Marc 49 for Happy Hour.  Stephanie was brave enough to come out tonight so we got to see Vivian and Nathan too!

IMG_4350Kumquat was surprisingly tolerant of the cramped corner and just sat with us.  She snacked, played with her toys, sat on different people’s laps, and just hung out like a Happy Hour pro.

IMG_4367I was so proud of her.

IMG_4368Teresa and Aaron also made it tonight and I got her their first Baby Bump photo.  I’m amazed at how far Aaron can pooch out his belly!  He looked more preggo than T!

Ah…good times…