D took a day off on Friday so we went to Splash! La Mirada Aquatic Center.  It was overcast with even a few sprinkles.  I thought that might keep the crowds away, but it seemed like several field trips were there, so it was still pretty crowded.  We did find a $2 off admission coupon on the internet, but it was still a little pricey in my opinion.  D managed to go on all of the big slides (I was only brave enough to go on one).  However, we spent a lot of time on the lazy river with the kids on the inner tubes.  k and n also enjoyed the smaller slides.  (I did not like the big pirate bucket that periodically dumped tons of water on the people waiting for the slides.  You just have to time it right to avoid it).  They also had fun being in the “regular” pool with their life jackets and their new-found buoyancy (I liked it because the water was so warm!)  We brought our lunch and ate it in the car, and then went back in for more fun.  We also rented an electronic locker for $5 that malfunctioned (one of the managers had to use the master key to open it up).  Ever since living in Southern California, D has wanted to go to Raging Waters.  I think we should wait a few years until the kids are older, but this park was a good stand-in for now.    One thing I did miss, however, was a wave pool.  That used to be my favorite attraction at Wild Rivers.  I think k and n would really like that.

Afterward we stopped in Starbucks to try their new Refreshers drink that they were giving away.  It’s supposed to use green coffee, or something like that, and contain more caffeine than regular coffee.  However, I found the taste to be too medicinal, and not very refreshing.

For dinner we went to Chick-Fil-A to take advantage of their dress like a cow day.  k and n cut out the spots by themselves and received a free kid’s meal for their efforts.  D and I just printed out an “Eat More Chik’n” sign, taped it to our shirts, and we were able to get free chicken sandwiches—nice. 

Free food=family fun for this family.

On Saturday we returned to the Discovery Science Museum just to see the dog show.  There was a stage set up in the parking lot with bleachers.  Also, it was so crowded that D ended up having to park at Main Place! 

The most impressive trick was when two kids from the audience picked a block with a number on it, the blocks were thrown into a pile of other blocks with numbers, the trainer told the dog the number that was picked, and the dog picked out the block with the number from the pile.  According to the trainer, this dog has performed for the king of Morocco—wow.
At night we went to the new Red Robin that is opening at the District (the one in the Marketplace shut down).  As a Red Robin Royalty member I was able to get an invite to the sneak preview where each person could get a drink and entrée and each party could share a mocktail (i.e. shake) for free!

We rarely order drinks at restaurants, so this was a real treat for us.  I can’t believe that Red Robin only serves whole milk.  This isn’t the midwest, you know.

We upgraded to parmesan garlic fries just because we could.  The kids liked the mac and cheese and mandarin orange slices.

k is so tan now from all of her swim lessons.

Of course, n enjoyed the mint brownie shake.  One of D’s co-workers also took advantage of the deal and we ended up being seated at the table right next to his.  It’s funny because the last time we saw his family out and about was at the Marketplace Red Robin—RIP.  I hope something good replaces it. 

My second cousin was in town last week to visit Disneyland with her family, so she organized a family dinner.  I’m not sure if it qualifies as a “reunion” as that implies we’ve all met each other before.  I only have two cousins, but apparently I have a lot of second cousins that I’ve never met.  It was fun to meet two of them for the first time, and k had fun hanging out with her third cousin again.  D was even able to share the List, which is always a good conversation piece. 

Since the 4th of July was on a Wednesday, I didn’t feel like braving the crowds and staying out late to watch fireworks.  Instead we swam, rode bikes, and had a bbq in the backyard.  D perfected his turkey burger grilling skills.  For dessert in the afternoon we went to Mochilato in Irvine.

We had a junior size Mochilato Way shaved ice.  I told them to go light on the red beans, but I don’t think they listened.  Like Sno-Biggie, it was just ok and kind of expensive ($8).  For that amount I expect a bigger scoop of gelato in the middle.  We were more excited that they also serve Beard Papa cream puffs.

At night we went to the top of Citrus Ranch Park.  It turned out we were not the only ones with the same idea.  It was cool that you could see fireworks all along the coast, but it was so far away and not too impressive.  I thought we would be able to see the Tustin High fireworks pretty well, but that was not the case.  Oh well, at least we tried.  One tip: don’t stand in the areas with plants unless you want to be sprayed with water when the sprinkler system turns on.  That didn’t happen to us, but we saw it happen to many others. 

Last weekend my mom and I attended a baby shower for my second cousin on my dad’s side.  It was at Il Fornaio in Pasadena.  It was the fanciest baby shower I have ever attended!  It was quite evident that there was a lot of thought and preparation that went into planning the event.

We are so happy and excited for the arrival of baby Reese (I think that is the spelling?) who will be making her debut next month!

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.