It seems that more and more people are becoming aware of Pi Day as pizza restaurants are publicizing it.  On March 14, Pieology offered pizzas for $3.14.  We have redeemed this offer in years past, but it was way more crowded this year.  We ended up waiting in line for two hours, which is one of the most not-so-smart things we have ever done, according to D.  However, a friend gave us a couple of unredeemed coupons, so we were able to buy four pizzas, which was enough for a few meals all together.  Also, we ended up chatting up the people next to us in line.  It turns out that the family used to live in our neighborhood, but we had never met them before!

I also made a pie for dessert!

Last week we celebrated n turning 8.

D picked out a radio control car for n.  He seemed to have ignored that it was meant for ages 14+!  It goes way too fast for indoor use, so they take it outside.

We had dinner at In-N-Out and treated n to a strawberry shake.

Strawberry seemed to be a theme, as n also requested a strawberry cake by made by my mom.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BR3SPFDAOoW/?taken-by=derek.cal

We are so thankful n and all that he adds to our family.  We appreciate his energy, creativity and thoughtfulness and pray that God would continue to guide him through all of his days.

It has been a while since we have featured n’s creations.  I still see him sneaking some computer printer paper and tape every now and then.  Here are some recent ones that brought a smile to my face.

Don’t you hate when you get a new sticky hand snapper and it does not come with a container so then it gets dusty and dirty and loses its stickiness?  n’s solution was to make his own envelope to protect it–hehe.

He made this over-the-table pen holder so “you won’t get mad at me for having pens on the floor”.  I guess it also saves table space!

Finally, what do you do when your sister received an indoor basketball hoop that fits over the door for her birthday and you want one too?  You make your own!

And you add your own shooting range target underneath, because, why not?

D took n to his second Blue and Gold Banquet.  This year there was supposed to be a dessert competition.  n and I had fun planning our cake for entry.  n made a sketch and we discussed what we would use for each component.  Unfortunately, the competition was cancelled at the last minute due to low participation.  Since we already bought all of the ingredients we decided to make it anyway.

n was presented with some of the achievements he has earned.

While k had an epic sleepover with some of her basketball team, D took n to LEGOLAND last month.  Meanwhile, I was sick in bed at home. 🙁  D and n were able to meet up with another family that has passes, so that was fun.

We’re looking forward to the opening of the waterpark soon!

Last year, n and D entered n’s Pinewood Derby race not really having any clue what to do.  His car ended up in the bottom half of almost all of his heats, but he did win the “most realistic car design” award.  This year, D watched some YouTube videos and enlisted the help of our brother-in-law.  n’s car ended up doing much better–4th place out of twelve cars, placing 2nd in most of the heats.  The races are always pretty close–just a few hundredths of a second makes a difference!  There’s always next year…

n’s car was #29.  We’ll call it a “utilitarian” design-haha.  For the record, the light green car with two black stripes down the middle won first place (for the second year in a row!)

The boys (and dads) really get into it.

Costco is having a pretty good deal for LEGOLAND annual passes.  Since the last time we went was about five years ago, and n did not even remember going, we decided to take the plunge.  We had a random Friday off for teacher planning day last month, so it was not crowded at all.

Our first ride was the Ninjago ride.  This Ninjago themed area of the park was not there the last time we went.  I am kind of curious as to how the Asian food is at the restaurant here.

This ride was pretty fun, but it makes your arms tired.  It is a Toy-Story type ride in that you are shooting at targets, but you just use your hand, not a gun.

We were able to go on rides that the kids were not tall enough for last time.

We had the apple fries again, but I felt a little cheated by the small portion.

I believe this is the Star Wars character n was for Halloween.

n appreciated the little details in the Star Wars land.

I really liked this RV camping scene in Miniland.

Lego Batman was there to promote his new movie.

I skipped this ride (like the Teacups) since I didn’t want to get sick.

We checked out the Xbox room.

LEGOLAND Taj Mahal

I was curious as to how the kids would do at the Driving School attraction.

Scary to think k could be behind the wheel of a real car in 5-6 years!

Loved this hot dog cart!

k and n ended up crashing into each other and needed assistance at the end…

…and they continued on their way.

January has gone by in a flash, but we did have some fun that I would like to remember.  One event was celebrating my youngest sister’s birthday at Tabi-Ji in Orange.  We sat at the teppanyaki table for lunch, which I do not remember ever doing before with my family.

Our chef was very friendly but not too in-your-face, which I appreciated.

Making the fried rice with the egg flip.

The ever-popular onion volcano.

Our nephew j was scared by the flame!  The chef asked n if he wanted to try to catch a piece of chicken in his mouth, but he refused.  D tried and came close!