Per our summer tradition, we went to The Great Park to watch a movie on the lawn. This time it was “How To Train Your Dragon 2”. Since we have been several times now, we know exactly where to park and set up. However, we were still somewhat ill-prepared for the cold weather. There was quite a strong breeze at night! k bundled herself up like a burrito in a couple of blankets and fell asleep–haha!

After Dwell on Design we went to Chichen Itza, which is nearby. We first heard of this place in a book called “1,000 Restaurants You Must Experience Before You Die”, or something like that.
We ordered panuchos, fish tacos, and a grilled pork torta.

They are known for their paunchos, which is a corn tortilla with a thin layer of black beans inside, topped with shredded turkey, and fresh veggies. The fish tacos were very light and crispy. The pork in the torta was a bit to gristly for me, but the flavor was good. We noticed the autographed picture of Guy Fieri on the wall. It turns out that an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives featuring the restaurant had just premiered the night before!
We also ordered a mango licuado from another stall, but it was just ok. Chichen Itza is definitely the main reason to visit this little food court, and I can imagine it is quite packed during the weekday.

After k’s basketball game on Saturday, we headed up to LA to attend the Dwell on Design conference at the Convention Center.

Our kids, aka Hello Kitty & Thor.

There were some really cool teepees on exhibit. The kids also fell in love with the rock pillows.


D procured some solar-powered coffee.
There were some cool, albeit pricey seating options to try out.

If anyone has about $8,000 to spare, this would be loads of fun for the backyard!


We had access to the not-so-exciting VIP lounge. Perrier and Coke were the only offerings.

One highlight was watching the Dacor kitchen demonstration. We sampled some cookies and a ham/cheese puff pastry dish.

Happy June! Last week we went to the kids’ Open House at school. They were quite excited to show us all of their school work. We’re counting down the days until summer vacation!

We had a relaxing Memorial Day weekend hanging close to home. In addition to celebrating j’s birthday, we went to Yogurtland’s secret free day on Saturday. D’s co-worker N tipped us off since he knows we’re always up for free food. As soon as D received the text message, we were putting on our shoes and loading up the car!
The other highlight of our weekend was a trip to Medieval Times in Buena Park. I won two adult tickets, so it was a pretty good deal. Even though I grew up in Orange County, I had never been. I remember seeing tons of commercials back in the day and was always curious about what when on inside the castle which is visible from Beach Blvd. We decided to keep it a secret and did not tell the kids where we were going until we arrived. D’s only clue to them was “Make sure you’re wearing clean underwear!” Haha! The operator told me to arrive one hour early, so we arrived one hour and twenty minutes early, Lim-style. It turns out this was not really necessary, so we just explored the holding room and courtyard.

We witnessed a few “knighting” ceremonies before the show. This is done for people who purchase special packages to celebrate life events. Mostly it was people celebrating birthdays, but there was one girl who was celebrating “being potty-trained” and another was for a boy “for going to high school”. I could not help but bust up laughing, especially when it was announced in a “royal” voice!

The seating was quite tight. My tip would be to go to the restroom before the show because there really was no way for anyone to get out without evacuating the entire row. However, do not wait until the prior show gets out, because then the line is really long!

The food was pretty decent considering that they have to serve so many people all at once. The kids really liked the garlic bread. The “baby dragon” was a large 1/2 chicken portion. The white meat was dry, but the dark meat was nice and moist. I liked the hot apple turnover for dessert, too!

The fun part is eating with your hands since no utensils are provided!

We cheered for the Yellow Knight, but alas, he did not win.

There was a falconer…

…fancy horse tricks…

{This girl reminded me of Lo from “Laguna Beach/The Hills”.}
…and fighting, of course!


Yes, it was somewhat cheesy, but it was also fun to wear a paper crown, eat with our hands and cheer along with the crowd.

Happy 5th birthday to our nephew/cousin, j. We celebrated last weekend, complete with a baseball glove cake made by my mom.

On Friday, I picked up n a half hour before school let out to bring him to Mazda’s Bring Your Family to Work Day. There was a TK burger truck and Archie’s ice cream. Some employees also brought cars to show off in the parking lot. It was a nice way to kick off our Memorial Day weekend.

n’s soccer team had their last game of the season on Saturday, which they won in a shut-out. I must say, it is a bit of a relief not to have to go to practices two times a week anymore. However, n told us he wants to play again in the fall, so we already signed him up. One weekend of rest, and then on to k’s basketball summer league!

We actually celebrated my dad’s birthday last weekend, in a combined celebration with Mother’s Day. We had Mexican food and pineapple upside down cake, two of his favorites. I’m so appreciative of him as my dad, and that our kids love him as their grandpa!

Since we are in a drought, the rain sounds like such a welcome relief. I just wish there was more of it! We baked chocolate chip cookies and the kids arranged their babies with “stadium seating” so they could watch Berenstain Bears together.