Adventures in California

Last week we met up with our friends the Guglers of KC and the Wagners from Northern California. (We had to postpone our visit for a couple of days since Sam suffered from mild heat stroke at school.) The vacationers experienced 90 degree weather which fortunately cooled down considerably by the end of the week. It sounds like the Guglers and Wagners had a fabulous time park hopping over several days.

Interesting back story, Todd (Steve's cousin, 3rd from back left) and Cindy (back left) met at our wedding, and the rest is history. Cindy and Steve's families are friends and go way back.

During our time together, Steve and Anna went on the Tower of Terror (I have no shame in saying I'll never go on it). Crazy!


Todd took this great photo during our dinner. It was so fun seeing you all!

Activities at home

Painting a birdhouse, inspired by Mondrian no less...


Painting a different birdhouse with unique posture...


Feeling the cool drops from the sprinkler...


And posing, without meaning to, in new swim trunks.

A Visit with Christie, Carter, and Bob

We were able to see Christie, Carter and Bob during their spring break. They traveled down to Orange County to go to Disneyland and California Adventure. It will be interesting to hear if they have some new favorite rides!


Sam was a little shy but did insist on being in every photo.


Look how tall Carter and Anna are! Fun visit, look forward to seeing them again in the summer!

After the egg hunt...

After church and our Easter egg hunt, we went to the Huntington Beach Central Park. Wow, no one there, we had everything all to ourselves!


Climbing, zip-lining...


Running, laughing...


Drinking from fountains with customized heights...


Horsing around with one of the world's strongest dads...


And searching for ladybugs.


Found one!

Easter, working our way backwards...

So happy, we found the Easter eggs daddy hid in the backyard... and the prize, Sees Chocolate Easter Bunnies!


Sam used a mini-farm as his basket!


Anna found an egg near the airplane!


The kids put the finishing sticker touches to the colorful eggs.

Notes:
- I did not want to start this entry with the last photo, the kids were more into decorating and less into posing.
- Anna's lovely dress is from Nordstrom Rack. :)

March and April Randomness

The beautiful gardens and a beautiful girl at Centennial Farms...


Huntington Beach Pier with the surfers in the background...


Sam the kid petting a kid at the Irvine Zoo...


Michi getting some deserved attention...


Yumi on a reading spree...


Elise's cat (and Unki's lookalike?) Loki...


Sammy starting off in a race car...


And into outer space!

Steve's Birthday

For Steve's birthday (he's 39!) we went to the Irvine Park. We took a stroll, and checked out their small zoo, complete with brown bears and cougars. We also did something we had never done before, rented water trikes and took a tour around the lake.


Sam did eventually let go of Steve and sat in his own seat.


This vehicle is wobbly and Anna and I did feel a little queasy at first, but our uneasiness soon went away. I found out after 5 minutes of hard cycling that it doesn't really make a difference peddling fast or slow, the wind current and weight on the bike are bigger factors.


These water trikes can be rented in 30 minute increments, that was plenty of time for us!
Happy Birthday Daddy! It was a memorable day.

Mari & Rob's Karaoke BBQ

Last weekend Mari and Rob had a bbq in Santa Monica. This is their fabulous backyard view. The hosts served Korean bbq while the guests brought potluck items. I'm especially craving the lemon cake and roasted corn ice cream I ate that day!


This home is meant for entertaining, complete with a beautiful stage. Rob did a great job setting up the stage with colored spotlights and an LCD projector showing the lyrics for the karaoke songs. In this photo Sam looks like he's praying for the song to be over, but in actuality Steve and Anna sounded great singing the Black-Eyed Peas' "Don't Lie".


The yard is complete with a comfy hammock too!


Mari and Steve sang Pat Benatar here. Again, it looks like Sam had stage fright but he'd rather be with Steve than anywhere else.


Mari and I sang "Poker Face" and "Xanadu", no holds barred. As Mari said, "There's no one like us, Mina." Excellent party!