Here’s some photos that go with yesterday’s post.  As I mentioned, we had brunch with friends expecting twins in September.  We were able to see their new house, and were spoiled with a delicious egg casserole, muffins and fruit.  n enjoyed his toaster waffles, too.

I think he will make a great dad.  He already has chalk and bubble skills.  k and n now refer to him as “The Bubble Machine”.

Back to Napa, on Sunday we visited the church that D’s parents’ neighbors attend.  We felt very welcome and the kids were able to go to Sunday School.  We also celebrated D’s dad’s 70th birthday.  We chipped in for a gift certificate to Morimoto’s new restaurant in Napa.

D

Sons

Grandkids

For belated Mother’s Day we went to The Fish Story. 

I liked how they brought out carrots and celery for the kids and mini banana muffins in addition to the bread basket.

We shared fish and chips and a shrimp sandwich, which were both very good.

Isn’t this sign on the bathroom so cute?

Grandma and k outside of the restaurant

Back at home we had birthday cake.

In the afternoon D and I were able to do a little outlet shopping.  Then it was time for…you guessed it…more eating!

We went to Il Posto, a new Italian restaurant.

Chicken Parmesan

Kid’s pasta with Papa sauce

Bianco Pizza

Yes, there was a lot of good eating that weekend.  But there was also a lot of good visiting with family and friends. 

After Happy Hollow we went to Cupertino to visit D’s cousin’s wife’s coffee + dessert bar, Bitter + Sweet.  We had been wanting to visit ever since it opened last year.  The last time we saw D’s cousin and his wife, I remember her talking about opening a café one day.  She was in the banking industry at the time (and had been there for a long time), so I thought it was just a far off dream.  Little did I know that she was quite serious, and she worked hard to make her dream come true.   

Just like its owner, it is very stylish.

We tried the latte, which was excellent (and pretty).  D gave the latte his highest praise, as it garnered a coveted position on “The List”.

We also tried the ice cream, which is from Humphrey Slocombe in San Francisco.  I love their innovative flavor combinations.  We shared Secret Breakfast (w/ bourbon and cornflakes) and After School Special (w/ chocolate covered potato chips).  Yes, the kids did gobble up more than their fair share of both, (bourbon and all!), so much so that we ordered another scoop of Bittersweet Chocolate later.   

The place was packed on that Friday afternoon so we relocated to the tables and chairs right in front of the store.  It was the perfect place to meet up with one of my old college roommates who now lives in Cupertino, and her younger daughter.  It was fun to catch up and it’s funny to think that we’re both moms now—our college days seem so long ago.  Later on, my second cousin and her family came to meet us for dinner.  Coincidentally, it turns out that she actually works just down the street, and many of her co-workers are regulars at Bitter + Sweet!  Small world!     

I was surprised to learn that Happy Hollow is on the reciprocal Association of Science and Technology museum list.  I guess the educational part comes from the small zoo that is on the premises.

This guy did not look too happy—he was constantly pacing back and forth.

On our way out of the park we came across a sign featuring, quite possibly, the ugliest stuffed animal I have ever seen.

Needless to say, we did not come home with one.

Off to our next stop: Cupertino!

For Memorial Day weekend we went to the Bay Area to visit family and friends.  Our first stop was in San Jose to re-visit Happy Hollow.  Since we bought the Discovery Museum annual pass, we were able to get in free with the reciprocal entry program.  That plus our first visit to the Discovery Museum pretty much paid for the pass!

When we arrived at around noon on Friday, there were a lot of field trip kids so it was a bit crowded.  However, once they went home, the lines were much shorter and we were able to do everything we wanted in less than three hours.

The bathroom in the new parking lot was cute and colorful, so I decided to snap a pic.

Our first stop, just like last time, was the carousel at the entrance.

It is nice how the kids can ride together without an adult on a lot of the rides.

We happily accompanied the kids on the mini-roller coaster that n was not big enough for last time:

Here is a picture of the Danny the Dragon Ride, which is apparently some sort of childhood icon for many who grew up going to Happy Hollow.  However, we were surprised by how many people in the Bay Area have not heard about this place.  

Yesterday we went to a cute birthday party for a cute 1 year old boy.  It was held at a park multipurpose room nearby.

There were coloring tables.

There were delicious tacos.

There were cute centerpieces.  (We were actually asked to take this home with us, so D is bringing it to work.  If you work with D, feel free to stop by his desk!)

There was even…a bubbleologist!

The bubbleologist was taking volunteers to stand inside a bubble.  n didn’t want to do it, but surprisingly, k did.

Once n saw k do it, he wanted to do it too.

And of course, there was cake!

Nothing cuter than a 1 year old eating his first birthday cake.

As mentioned in my Subway post, one of the purposes of our celebration dinner was for our nephew j’s 2nd birthday. 

He was scared of his candles, so n helped his cousin out.

At first, he didn’t seem too sure about eating his cake and ice cream, but in the end, I think he liked it!

(He’s wearing a dish towel because we couldn’t find his bib).

Now that n is potty trained (100% in the day, 75% in the night), we were able to pass along our potty seat.  I can’t say that I’m sad to see that one go.

j had fun playing with the seat, and even brought some reading material along.

Last weekend k’s preschool class was invited to perform at an arts festival held at the church where her preschool is located.  The event was free, and there were a lot of fun activities for the kids: barrette making, cookie decorating, t-shirt decorating, and a bounce house. 

k’s class performed a few of their chapel songs.  For some reason, only the Asian kids showed up for the performance—haha.

A couple of k’s “masterpieces” were on display at the preschool “gallery”.

n enjoyed his cookie creation.

On Saturday my family of origin had a combined Mother’s Day/Dad’s birthday/Nephew’s birthday celebration.  I thought this would be a good occasion to try out Subway catering.  Although D and I go to Subway fairly often as a cheap, relatively healthy meal, I don’t think that I have used their catering service before.  I remember in elementary/jr. high, the three foot sub was a popular choice for birthday parties.  It’s nice to know that some things are still the same.

I ordered the three foot Subway Club (turkey, ham and roast beef) on mixed wheat and white bread.  I tried to order online, but I didn’t see an option to use a gift card, so I called up the store.  The person who took my order was very polite and helpful.  There is a 24 hour notice requirement.  They also take your credit card number, but didn’t charge mine, since I was going to use the gift card in store when I picked it up.  I arrived about 10 minutes early, but it was ready to go for me in the back.  I really appreciated the prompt service.

I also appreciated how it was wrapped securely, and prettily!

It was bigger than I had thought it would be.  There were 18 portions, and our family only ate a little more than half.  One section was plenty for me.  It is way more food than three regular foot long subs.  $2/portion is a pretty good deal. 

Mustard and mayo packets were included separately in a bag.  This was nice so the sandwich did not get too soggy, and people were able to add it to their own portion as they liked.  My mom made a potato salad and green salad, along with a chocolate cake (more pics to come).  It was a nice meal to share, especially since it was our first dinner since my sister’s family came back from Japan. 

Full disclosure: I received a gift card from SUBWAY restaurant, but have not been paid for my opinion/review.

Last week, I ran my third 10k. It started right by my work and it raised money for the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. Kiptyn and Tenley from the Bachelor and Bachelorette were there to cheer us on. I felt I was better prepared for the race than last fall’s 10k; however I actually ran it 7 seconds slower. I am not sure what went wrong, maybe it was nutrition. After the race I felt dizzy and I cramped up so bad that I fell to the sidewalk and writhed in pain for a couple of minutes while people walked by me. Someone did offer me water, but I already had water and just needed a rest. But in the end it was worth it as I am keeping fit.

On Saturday D and I left the kids with my sister and BIL (Yay, they’re back from Japan!) and went to a wedding for the pastor of the Japanese-speaking congregation at our church. 

I think this was the first wedding that I’ve been to that had orange as the “theme” color.  It was a refreshing change.  The ceremony was conducted in both Japanese and English.  Of course, D and I were lost during the Japanese parts, but the people who spoke Japanese seemed to be getting a good chuckle from some of the Japanese-speaking pastor’s message.

I loved the favors—so cute! 

Inside: Mini Japanese chocolates!

I was most curious about the “Hot Cake–butter & maple” flavor.  I tried it and sure enough, that is exactly what it tasted like.  Congratulations to the newlywed couple!