This is a scene we often see in the morning at D’s parents’ house. 

We ate breakfast at Bouchon Bakery.  The key is to go early in the morning to avoid lines that go out the door.

D and the kids practiced their golf swing.

k and n had fun on these swings at the local park.  Because the chains were so long, they were able to swing HIGH!

For lunch we ate at downtown Napa at a Japanese restaurant called Eiko’s.  There is also a location at the Oxbox Market, but it is just a small sushi bar there.  k thoroughly enjoyed her bento box!

k taking a picture of her food with her new Leap Frog watch from Grandma and Grandpa.  I guess she takes after me!

The last weekend of our summer vacation we visited D’s family in northern California.  For lunch we stopped by a Lee’s Sandwiches, which was the nicest Lee’s we’ve ever seen.  The prices reflected the fancier atmosphere, too, but the food tasted the same. 

For dinner, we ate with D’s parents at Fume, in Napa.  This was our second time, and it was surprisingly hopping for an early Thursday night dinner. 

Given that my second cousin had twin girls a mere six weeks prior, I was surprised to receive an invitation to her daughter’s third birthday party.  I know that I would not have the energy to leave the house, much less plan a birthday bash!

There was a stuff your own stuffed animal station.

D and I both were able to hold one of the babies.  So tiny and precious!  I think they slept throughout the entire party!

There was a fantastic cake, as usual.

k and n had lots of fun at their third cousin’s party!

n is all concentration when working on his Legos!  And yes, that is a living room that has WHITE walls in the background.  It only took D and I about six weeks, but our high-ceilinged living room is no longer band-aid color! 

The ice sculpture exhibit was cool, pun intended. 

We found our friend’s photograph in the gallery.

Charlie’s Chicken plate o’ fried food.

The kids read books for free ride tickets.  I like this ride because it saves you some walking.

I don’t feel the need to go to the fair every year, but we had free tickets, so why not?  We also parked at Experian for free and rode the shuttle.  It was very convenient—highly recommend it. 

Last month we celebrated my mom’s birthday at a park in Irvine.  My brother-in-law made yakitori, roasted peppers and rice balls.  We brought lemon pie.  My mom is such a blessing to me, and the kids love their Zaza dearly! 

I needed a couple of more weeks of vacation, but alas, school has started.  No fancy Pinterest signs for us, just our trusty IKEA whiteboard. 

It is funny how n and k dressed alike.  I don’t think it was on purpose, but they don’t mind. 

k is half-way done with elementary school.  How can that be? 

We had Back to School Night the night before school started, which was a new thing.  k has not been sick one day this summer, but after we returned from Back to School Night, she had a fever!  Later at night she had a stomachache and her fever was worse.  I was having nightmares of her missing her first day.  Thankfully, some children’s Tylenol did the trick and she felt better this morning. 

Last month we went to the Grand Opening of Ugly Pie Co., yet another pizza assembly line joint.  The pizzas were good, but the regular prices seemed kind of steep in comparison to Pieology and Blaze.  They were a bargain when we went, $4? (can’t remember, it was too long ago!)  We took our pizzas to a Baker Ranch community event where they had a free concert, drinks, popcorn and slices of pie.  Yep, it was a classic Friday night for the Lim’s!

Last month k’s girl scout troop took a tour of the Yakult factory in Fountain Valley and n and I were able to tag along.  It was quite fascinating and informative.  We were able to see a lot of the factory in operation, which was exciting.  I love automated processes, so this tour was right up my alley!  I am always reluctant to buy Yakult because of the high sugar content, so I wrote on my feedback form that I would prefer a product that tastes more sour, with less sugar. 

Summer is almost over and I just finished blogging about the trip we took the first week for summer.  Oops.  Well, let me rewind to July 4th.

We ate dinner with my parents the day before July 4th.  My mom made these cool-looking red-white-and blue drinks.  Next year I want to make red-white-and blue ice cubes.  Let’s see if I remember!

On July 4th we went to the Irvine Police Department firework show at Irvine High School.  We were ill-prepared and should have brought the umbrella and more drinks/snacks.  Mazda was a sponsor, so D accepted a plaque on Mazda’s behalf.  n fell asleep during the firework show again!