First off, Happy Easter, everyone! It is fun now that k can get into the Easter egg hunts and bunnies. However, it will be even more exciting when she can appreciate why we celebrate Easter–Jesus’ death and resurrection!

Yesterday we went to an egg hunt sponsored by the city of Cypress. It was much larger than I expected. For the 0-3 year olds, there was a mini obstacle course. Not surprisingly, k was not too keen on the idea. D did manage to get her to go through the tunnel, though.

At the end of the course, a volunteer threw two plastic eggs on the ground for k to pick up. I was just starting to complain to D about the fact that I thought two eggs was kind of chintzy, when k got really excited that she could hear something inside the eggs. In one, there was a small toy compass, and she squealed with delight. This made me stop and realize that I was setting a bad example of being appreciative. After all, the event was free, so I had nothing to complain about. (Plus, there were free hot dogs and punch!) k is still at the age when she gets really excited about the little things, and I need to try to preserve that as long as possible.

We started out our Valentine’s Day with heart-shaped “toads in a hole”.

D came up with the idea of going to The Great Park in Irvine since there was a free ice skate day. (There was supposed to be snow play, too, but it was postponed due to the chance of rain). We arrived before it opened so we were able to get into the first session at 11:00. I had doubts as to whether k would be able to skate or not since she is so small. The smallest ice skates they had were size 8T, and she wears 7T. However, we never even found out whether they would work since k refused to even try them on.

Aren’t those tiny skates so cute?
I couldn’t go anyway in my pregnant state, so we just watched D from the outside of the rink. Looks like D had fun!

Doing the Apollo Ohno!

Not sure what he is doing here, but this picture cracks me up!

Afterward we visited a few booths that were set up with freebies such as frisbees, and foam hockey pucks from the Anaheim Ducks. We also received a cute penguin and tasteful black knit gloves while we were ice skating. You know how we love the free stuff! There was also a free hot chocolate booth, and we found out that k enjoys hot chocolate (once it has cooled down a bit).

Then we spread a couple of blankets on the grass and had a nice picnic with some sandwiches that I made at home. It was pretty nice out, but then turned cold once the clouds covered the sun, so we went home (after D got a free cup of Peet’s coffee, that is).

Visiting the Queen Mary was one of those touristy things that I have never done, even though I have spent most of my life in Southern California. So, when I saw that California residents could take a self-guided tour for free this month, I thought it would be a good opportunity.

When we pulled up in the parking lot, the Queen Mary loomed before us. It was so large, D said it looked fake. k was impressed, too. It’s hard to believe that something that size could float on water. Truly an engineering marvel.

First we went to the museum display and engine room. The inner workings of the boat were so complicated and impressive! Since we didn’t know too much of the history behind the Queen Mary, we stopped to read some of the displays. We probably would’ve learned a lot more by taking a tour, but I don’t think k would have been up for it, plus we didn’t want to pay extra (parking already was $12!).

Afterward we climbed LOTS of stairs to view the upper decks. The escalators were not working…not cool, especially when one of you is eight months pregnant, and the other has to carry a 29 lb. child.

It was nice to enjoy the views of the Long Beach skyline.

Our “foodie” stop of the day was on the Promenade deck at a place called Land of Fruits and Nuts.* We tried their specialty shake, the California Split, which had dried pineapple, banana chips, strawberries, and chocolate. The dried fruit was definitely unique, but it was expensive for what you get.
*Incidentally, this is how people referred to California when D was in Indiana.

Visiting the Queen Mary has reawakened D’s desire to go on a cruise, something neither of us has done before. One day, D, one day.

To kick off our three day weekend we went to the Asian American Expo in Pomona. The only reason we went was because D was able to get free tickets from work since Mazda was a sponsor.

According to the website, they expected 100,000 attendees over the weekend–crazy! I’m not sure if they hit their estimate, but it was certainly crowded when we arrived at 11 a.m. Our first stop was the food pavillion, of course. There were free samples of soy milk, instant noodles, various crackers/cookies, and coffee/tea. We ended up buying a couple of boxes of soy milk and two jars of Kikkoman sauces for $1 each. It would have been more enjoyable if it wasn’t so difficult to get through the crowds of people with a stroller.

Afterward we bought lunch at a couple of stalls outside. We didn’t know where to go, but I guess we should’ve just stuck with the places with the long lines. A lot of the signage was in Chinese, so it was kind of difficult figuring out what to get. One thing that grossed us out was the “octopus on a stick” we saw people walking around with. Too bad I didn’t get a picture of that.

D took k to look at the elephant rides.

Then we went to the other halls where there were various vendors: steam irons; all- you-can-catch goldfish, $1/minute; beauty products; black fermented garlic and ginseng, etc. One of the samples we brought home was a full size can of white gourd juice and black soy milk…interesting.

Mazda had a display with the 3 and the 6. One of the Mazda dealers (Alhambra, I think), was giving out free tote bags with a Mazda car shade, red envelopes, and a calendar (all with Chinese writing on them). That was probably our best freebie of the day.

The highlight of k’s day was the frozen lemoande we had for dessert. She kept on smiling and saying “Sour!” after each bite.

We were able to listen to various bands, including a high school jazz band and a worship band from a Chinese Christian church while we ate outside.

I’m glad we checked the expo out, but we probably won’t go again anytime soon. It was a bit “too Asian” for us, if you know what I mean.

Didn’t you guys just go to the San Diego Zoo? Yes, but since we were recently offered free tickets that expired in January 2009, we decided to do a quick day trip. It took about an hour and a half to get there. The traffic was not bad since we went the day after Christmas. We arrived before the 9 a.m. opening time.

The Christmas decorations were still up.
As soon as the chains came down, we headed for the Sesame Street play area. There were three rides that k could go on with D. (According to the signs, I wasn’t supposed to go on them since I’m pregnant).

This was taken before the ride attendant told D that k should ride on the inside.


k didn’t have much of a reaction to the first two rides. I think she was still tired from the car ride. She did smile, however, on this last one. It was nice not to have to wait in any lines. We were done with these three rides in about twenty minutes!

Afterward, we went to Penguin Encounter and Shark Encounter.

We also went to the new Elmo 4-D movie. k wasn’t scared, but she didn’t want to wear her 3-D glasses.

Our first show of the day was Shamu’s “Believe”. D got really excited about this one…he’s still doing the Shamu “chant” at home!

For lunch we ate at the Calypso barbecue. We shared a sampler plate and a pint of milk between the three of us. It came with 2 ribs, 2 pieces of brisket, a sizeable piece of chicken, corn on the cob, biscuit, and fries. The food was surprisingly good, and not too bad at around $15, since we all ended up full.

After lunch we watched the Pets Rule! show (“Who let the dogs out?”), and the dolphin show. We also walked around a couple more aquarium exhibits. By this time, k was asleep in her stroller. On our way out we stopped at the ice cream place and ordered what was supposed to be two scoops in a waffle cone. We chose chocolate chip and chocolate, but it turned out to be more like two gigantic scoops of each kind! Again, not too bad for $4.

We left around 2:30 and felt like we had seen everything we wanted to see. The park is much easier to navigate than the zoo (smaller, stroller-friendly, relatively flat). All in all, a nice family outing, but I wouldn’t have wanted to pay full price!

On Saturday night we went to Bella Terra to see the “snowfall” at 7 p.m. There was a concert beforehand that we caught the tail end of. The announcer promised that the snow would be “more magical than Disneyland ever was”. Now, I’ve never been to Disneyland during the holidays (that is one of things on my to-do list), but I’m pretty sure they could out-do Bella Terra’s “snow”. It turned out to be tiny bubbles that were shot out of a machine on top of a couple of buildings. It was fun to experience once, though, and k thought it was funny how the bubbles landed in everyone’s hair.

After church our family headed out to Seal Beach for its annual Japanese Kite Festival. It was our first time, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Since I wasn’t too sure about the food situation, D stopped in at Angelo’s for a sandwich. D and k found a nice grassy area to sit and eat while I checked out the festival food. It turns out there was only a Famima! stand and an In-N-Out truck! Since we had In-N-Out not too long ago, I opted for CA rolls and inari from Famima! I also obtained a free sample of Yakult, which k immediately took a liking to. I think she liked the small bottle. Too bad the second ingredient is sugar!

While eating our lunch we were able to see some kite performances synchronized to music. I’m not sure how the kite masters were able to control the kites with so much precision, since we could only see the kites themselves, and not the fliers. k also enjoyed seeing all of the dogs that passed by on leashes.

Chugging Yakult

For some reason, k wanted to take off her shirt.

k with her second bottle of Yakult from D

Today we went to a funeral in the morning and then to the fair in the afternoon. This may seem like it would be a weird combination of events, but the memorial service was truly a “celebration of life”…aloha wear was even requested by the family. This would explain our outfits at the fair (No, D did not wear shorts and Tevas in the morning. He changed in the car.)

First stop was the petting zoo.

“Pick me up…these animals scare me!”

“That’s better.”

“What am I doing in a petting zoo?”

We watched kids try the climbing wall while drinking frozen lemonade. We didn’t see anyone reach the top. D wanted to try so he could add it to his “adventure” list–haha.

We weren’t too hungry since we ate lunch at church. Instead of indulging in the “mile-long hotdog” or the Australian battered potatoes we snacked on some fried apples. They were lightly battered and dusted with cinnamon sugar, and served with a generous dollop of whipped cream, pretty good. D said we were eating healthy. Um, not quite.

We briefly walked through the garden, visual arts and home arts displays. However, we didn’t catch any shows. I doubt k would’ve sat still anyway. We were pretty tired and called it a day.