Seal Beach is the place I consider my “hometown”.  I lived there from the age of four until I graduated from high school (as well as the years post-law school until I got married).  Last Friday, D was able to take a half day off of work so we went to Bolsa Chica/Seal Beach to hang out.
Our first stop was the wetlands.  We were only able to see a few birds.  Springtime is probably better for bird watching.
 


Yes, n got a hair cut.

Next we went to Bolsa Chica State Beach for our last use of our state park pass (D used it to go running one last time at Crystal Cove the next day).

Next we went to Sno-Biggie, a fairly new store in Seal Beach that sells “New Orleans” style shaved ice.  It was OK—I used my entertainment book coupon, of course!

Then we strolled down Main Street.  Had to take a picture of n by his name.  We also made the mandatory stop at the shell store which was pretty crowded.  Some of the stores come and go, but the biggest change to me is that there are now three asian restaurants: Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese.  That was not the case back in the day.  I was also able to pick up the latest copy of the Seal Beach Journal.  I always get a kick out of reading the police log.  It’s nice to see that someone reporting a game of “ding dong ditch ‘em” still gets space in the paper.

For dinner we ate at Thai Siam, off of Main Street, mainly because of my coupon.  It too was just ok.  But, the day itself was a lot of fun.  I wonder if k and n will bring their families back to our part of OC with fond memories.  

If you’ve driven on the 5 past the Discovery Science Center lately, you can see that the newest exhibit is called “Wildlife Rescue”.  Through the first week of July (I believe), you can get a free ticket to the OC Zoo and the Santa Ana Zoo when you visit the DSC, a pretty good deal.  Since we have annual passes, I want to make sure we visit all of the rotating exhibits.  It is nice that it feels different and is not just the same thing every time. 

When we went there was a short presentation about reptiles from the OC Zoo.  k and n sat in the front row, and to my surprise, k touched all of the reptiles/snakes (and opossum!) that came by.  n was a little more hesitant, but I think he did touch one snake and the opossum.  I refrained from touching any of the animals, but it was neat to see them up close.

The kids also made frog hats with the help of some friendly volunteers.

Last week we went to a free concert that is part of a summer series at the Tustin Ranch golf course.  We had never been to the golf course so I was curious about what it was like.

The band that was playing was DSB Band, “America’s Favorite Tribute To Journey”.  I consider myself a Journey fan, but apparently I am really not, since I only knew a few of the songs they performed.  It seemed to be a popular event.  We left the house around 6:00 p.m. (it started at 6:30) and the line for parking was slow.  Turns out they were offering self-parking or complimentary valet parking.  We ended up parking on the driving range.  It was a nice night out and a week day night, which is a rarity for us.

Unfortunately, this was the best picture I could get of the band.

That day was k’s 1/2 birthday.  Since her birthday is in December, we like to get her birthday presents in June so she doesn’t receive them all in December with Christmas .  Her HK watch was one of her birthday presents.  D recently bought a new watch since he was wearing a running watch to work before, and it wasn’t “professional” enough for him.

The kids had fun dancing to the music. 

A couple of weeks ago we went to Mrs. Knott’s for dinner.  There is a BOGO in the Entertainment Book.  Since we usually eat out around 5 p.m., we are not used to having to wait to be seated at restaurants.  However, we did have to wait a bit since this place is so popular.  D and I ate one time at the “to-go” annex but have never eaten in the dining room together.  D remembers eating there with his parents once, which was probably over 25 years ago!  We haven’t been to the amusement park part of Knott’s with the kids yet…maybe next year?

The fried chicken dinner is around $16.  It comes with 4 pieces of chicken, 12 biscuits, salad, chicken noodle soup or cherry-rhubarb, mashed potatoes, corn or cabbage and boysenberry sherbet or pie.  That is a ton of food, and we definitely did not have to order separate kids’ meals.

k liked the chicken noodle soup.  We were curious about the cherry-rhubarb, but not curious enough to order it.

n liked the biscuits with butter and jam.

The boysenberry sherbet reminded me of the bumbleberry ice cream we had in Utah.

We took the pie to go.  Isn’t the pie-slice holder so cute?

The fried chicken may not have been as gourmet as Thomas Keller’s, but value-wise, Mrs. Knott’s (especially with the BOGO) cannot be beat!  I am happy to report that Mrs. Knott’s has retained its position on D’s list. 

It’s been a little over a week since k’s last day of preschool.  I still cannot believe that she will be going to Kindergarten in the fall.  k’s preschool had a “June Celebration” performance as a good-bye.  k’s class sang “Dancin’ In the Street”.

k and her teacher.

Next year, n will be up on that stage!

Last weekend we celebrated Father’s Day with my dad at my parents’ house. 

k and n love their “Baba” and I am so thankful he is able to be part of their lives. 

Today we celebrated D’s role as a father.

Before we had kids I wasn’t sure how D would be as a father (no one can really be sure, can they?)  However, I am so grateful that D is a wonderful one, and k and n are very fortunate. 

For Father’s day weekend, one of my gifts from L was allowing me to run by myself wherever I wanted to go. So I decided to go to Crystal Cove a couple of weeks ago. I thought of running along the ocean, but decided against it yesterday after realizing the trail isn’t very long. My co-worker reminded me of El Moro Canyon. I took Jamboree to PCH and then took a left where there is a school and parking for the State Park. The parking lot and facilities are nice and new. Using my State Park pass, which expires this month, the parking was free! I was glad I found the parking and now I just needed to find the trails. After running a little while I ran into a couple of signs and finally figured out where I was going. I ended up taking the El Moro Ridge trail. The trail is really steep at the beginning, but the view of the ocean was amazing. After a steep climb, the trail eases off and it is fairly flat. It was great trail running on dirt and asphalt. I saw a few rabbits that liked to run right in front of you. There weren’t too many people and the weather was perfect; overcast and cool. On the way back, I saw the Laguna Beach mansions on the hills. The downhill was tough on the quads, but the view was well worth it. I think this running trail was the best I have ever been on. It was long and peaceful with beautiful ocean and canyon views. Probably second on my list is Huntington Beach to Newport Beach. It is long and you are right by the ocean; however you are close to a parking lot and it gets crowded. Third is probably 17 mile drive in Pebble Beach. It probably has the best views, but the trail is short before hitting either a golf course or roads. I hope to run this trail again. Maybe an annual Father’s Day tradition. Happy Father’s day to all the fathers out there!

We are winding down on our state park pass, so we wanted to squeeze in a few more trips to the beach.  When we were in the Doheny parking lot, I noticed that the vast majority of cars/trucks had roof racks.  That wasn’t too strange, considering we were at the beach.  But then, as we walked towards the sand, we saw that there was a paddleboarding competition going on.  Now it all made sense!

The race took about an hour.  I was getting tired just waiting for them to return. 

Doesn’t this tattoo look so painful?  As the recipient of two epidurals, I cannot even begin to imagine!

Today was k’s last day of preschool.

Less than two years ago she was headed off to her first day of preschool!

A few days ago I was reading this book to k and n, which I checked out from our church’s library. 

It talks about how we, as parents tend to focus on the “firsts”: first smile, teeth, steps, etc. However, when our kids grow up, we’ll be left thinking about their “lasts”: last time we carried them, last time they crawled into bed with us, etc. When I finished the book, I kind of sighed and remarked, “Isn’t that so sad?” I started to read another book and then I noticed k’s eyes were filled with tears. When I asked her what was wrong the tears spilled out and she couldn’t answer. I guessed that the book made her sad, and she just nodded. I tried to comfort her, telling her that we still have a lot of years left together and she slowly calmed down. What a sensitive little girl k is!

The last line states, “Let me hold on longer, God, to every precious last.”  What a good reminder on those frustrating days that seem like they will never end!

It’s been a while since we celebrated a national food holiday.  Last Friday I took the kids to Krispy Kreme for our free donut in celebration of national donut day. 

We waited in anticipation for the donuts to enter the frosting shower.

I took a risk and ordered the flavor of the month, key lime pie.  Next time I will stick with my tried and true favorite: chocolate frosting with custard filling.

The kids both picked chocolate frosting with sprinkles.

This is how n eats donuts—haha.