I would've written this blog on Sunday, but I'm just now getting feeling back in my legs, arms, shoulders, and back. Anyway, I played in my first volleyball tournament in over a year - 4-person grass coed. We finished in 2nd place... pretty impressive, right? ACTUALLY, THERE WERE ONLY 3 TEAMS THAT SHOWED UP, SO WELL... WE WEREN'T THAT IMPRESSIVE - BUT AT LEAST WE DIDN'T FINISH 3RD... OR WORSE - 4TH!! Did I mention that it has been the 18th straight day that the temperature was over 100 degrees here in the valley? It's a new record (the old one being 15 days straight). And it looks like the rest of this week is going to be more of the same!! =( So the heat at yesterday's tournament was unbearable - even with all the fans, spray mists, and sprinklers... too hot to play for too long. I actually sent my wife and kids home after about an hour in the heat - they were joined by my cousin and her family who showed up to cheer on this old man. *lol - groans* It was nice of them to come out and support me, but I couldn't let them sit out there and bake (literally) in 100+ degree weather. So they all went to our house and had ice cream! =)
Today with the weather blazing the same 100 degree heat, I took the kids and met with some friends at Zuma Beach in Malibu. It wasn't NEARLY as hot by the ocean (a good 10-20 degrees cooler), and it was only a 30 minute drive through the Malibu Canyon to get there. We were out there from about 11:30 to about 3pm. I got the kids home, cleaned them up and had just enough time to make dinner before HieRan came home. It's almost 10pm and it's probably still over 90 degrees outside... *phew*! I may end up sleeping nekked on our ceramic tile floors (again)!! *hahaha - j/k... bad visual... sorry*
Monday, July 24, 2006
Thursday, July 20, 2006
OWWWWW
The other night I went to an open-gym to play some volleyball. Since I agreed to play in a quads grass tournament this Sunday, I thought it prudent to see just how much rust I need to work out. You know, it's NEVER a good idea to jump in and play after about a year off the courts. =S I can't think of a body part that ISN'T hurting today. It's a struggle to type... ow... owww.... where's my Advil?!?! Seriously, I could've spent all day lying in bed - with a Gatorade I.V. drip. Boy, it's a good thing Jacob need me to pick him up and put him down a lot today. If what they say is true (you know, that where there's pain, there's life)... then there were all KINDS of life in my legs, my back, and my abs! At one point I think I told Jacob to change his own diaper today!! *bad daddy... no... OLD daddy*
Well, at least the tournament is going to be 4-person and not 2. The only downside (like there's only 1 downside) is that I have 3 other people to disappoint, embarrass, and stumble over instead of just one (right, Bertrand?) *hahaha - mine! no, YOURS... ummm... sorry, my bad*
I checked the weather and yep, it looks like another cool, crisp 103 degrees scheduled for Sunday!
So is anyone else watching Ernie Reyes Jr's "Final Fu" on MTV? They actually make the girls point-fight against the guys! It's a pretty interesting format - they have skills challenges that look like a lot of fun. I'm also watching VH1's World Series of Pop Culture! *man, I wish I was on that show!*
Okay, I can feel my spleen cramping up - time for dinner (Advil and Gatorade)!
Well, at least the tournament is going to be 4-person and not 2. The only downside (like there's only 1 downside) is that I have 3 other people to disappoint, embarrass, and stumble over instead of just one (right, Bertrand?) *hahaha - mine! no, YOURS... ummm... sorry, my bad*
I checked the weather and yep, it looks like another cool, crisp 103 degrees scheduled for Sunday!
So is anyone else watching Ernie Reyes Jr's "Final Fu" on MTV? They actually make the girls point-fight against the guys! It's a pretty interesting format - they have skills challenges that look like a lot of fun. I'm also watching VH1's World Series of Pop Culture! *man, I wish I was on that show!*
Okay, I can feel my spleen cramping up - time for dinner (Advil and Gatorade)!
Sunday, July 16, 2006
SUNDAY RECAP:
Had a pretty restless night - it was so hot, even with the windows open, I was sweating like a pig! Not wanting to gross out my wife, I got up and sat on the couch in the family room (by the open window). I cooled off a little bit, then got to watching "Fame" on one of the HD Channels. *sheesh - how desperate was I?*
I think I dozed off for a bit because I woke up in my seated position to Jacob crying in his room. He went back to sleep pretty quickly, and I returned to the couch. As the 5 o'clock hour came about, I checked OLN to see Le Tour de France (stage 14, I think). No Lance Armstrong this year, but there's still an American in 2nd place with a chance to win it all... his name escapes me, unfortunately. =S
I knew we had a ton of laundry to do, so I started the wash at about 8am (didn't want to wake up the house too early). After 3 huge loads all dried, folded, and put away, I saw that it was 11am... and I was getting kinda hungry. A quick shot of coffee and I was awake!
HieRan took Mia to do some shopping while Jacob and I relaxed at home. Oh, I saw a couple movies on the SPIKE channel: "Iron Monkey" and "Shaolin Soccer". The second one starred the same guy who was in "Kung Fu Hustle". Pretty decent choreography and obvious CGI (but it was really creative how they integrated Kung Fu into the game of soccer). Their goalie was dressed in the same yellow jump suit as Bruce Lee in "Game of Death", and he looked a lot like him, too! By the time the movie ended, the girls had come back with some Korean BBQ, and some fresh fruits from the Korean market.
I fired up the grill, cooked the meat, and served it up with all the trimmings (which, in the Korean culture, means KimChi, bean sprouts, fish cakes, pickled cucumbers, black beans... oh, and RICE!). We finished dinner pretty early, so we decided to take a walk around our neighborhood. It was finally cooling down - but I was still a dripping mess by the time we got back home! =S
HieRan cut up some fresh fruit for us all to enjoy in the back yard. A perfect end to a pretty full day (most of which I was able to spend in my pj's by the way). *hahaha - no, not the Superman underoos... I haven't worn those in at least 2 or 3 days!!*
Up... up... and awayyyyy!!!
I think I dozed off for a bit because I woke up in my seated position to Jacob crying in his room. He went back to sleep pretty quickly, and I returned to the couch. As the 5 o'clock hour came about, I checked OLN to see Le Tour de France (stage 14, I think). No Lance Armstrong this year, but there's still an American in 2nd place with a chance to win it all... his name escapes me, unfortunately. =S
I knew we had a ton of laundry to do, so I started the wash at about 8am (didn't want to wake up the house too early). After 3 huge loads all dried, folded, and put away, I saw that it was 11am... and I was getting kinda hungry. A quick shot of coffee and I was awake!
HieRan took Mia to do some shopping while Jacob and I relaxed at home. Oh, I saw a couple movies on the SPIKE channel: "Iron Monkey" and "Shaolin Soccer". The second one starred the same guy who was in "Kung Fu Hustle". Pretty decent choreography and obvious CGI (but it was really creative how they integrated Kung Fu into the game of soccer). Their goalie was dressed in the same yellow jump suit as Bruce Lee in "Game of Death", and he looked a lot like him, too! By the time the movie ended, the girls had come back with some Korean BBQ, and some fresh fruits from the Korean market.
I fired up the grill, cooked the meat, and served it up with all the trimmings (which, in the Korean culture, means KimChi, bean sprouts, fish cakes, pickled cucumbers, black beans... oh, and RICE!). We finished dinner pretty early, so we decided to take a walk around our neighborhood. It was finally cooling down - but I was still a dripping mess by the time we got back home! =S
HieRan cut up some fresh fruit for us all to enjoy in the back yard. A perfect end to a pretty full day (most of which I was able to spend in my pj's by the way). *hahaha - no, not the Superman underoos... I haven't worn those in at least 2 or 3 days!!*
Up... up... and awayyyyy!!!
Saturday, July 15, 2006
A DAY AT THE FAIR:
So we've been seeing the ads regarding the Orange County Fair down in ... well... Orange County! =) Being the hottest day of the year, we thought it'd be a good idea to spend it outdoors - good idea, right? But at least we got away from the 110 degree weather in the valley, opting for a cool 97 degrees at the fair (really, can you tell the difference after it breaks 90? I can't). We were joined by HieRan's sister and husband who live down there (but who interestingly have never been to the OC Fair). It's been ages since HieRan and I last attended a fair - I think it was up in Sacramento (the annual Cal Expo). The main reason we go, is for all the carnival food (corn dogs, funnel cakes, shaved ice, mounds of curly fries, grilled corn on the cobb, chocolate-dipped bananas, any kind of food-on-a-stick... mmmmm boy!). We spent most of the time eating in the shade, which wasn't too bad, really. Mia rode the pony-ride 3 times, and Jacob sat in his front-pack taking in all the sights. I have to say (and HieRan agrees) that our kids were really great today. As hot as it was, they didn't complain or act-up badly while we were out. In fact, I think I complained more than they did about the heat. But we stayed hydrated, and even had a spray bottle with us to keep us cool.
After about a couple hours or so of the fair, we were ready to go. Even though Seal was performing there at night, wanted to find a cooler area to enjoy the rest of the day. HieRan's sister and husband suggested we go to Huntington Beach where it'd be a LOT cooler, so since we were only a few miles away from the beach we agreed to follow them.We drove up the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway, or HWY 1) and soon found ourselves at the beach! The first thing I noticed were the rows and rows of volleyball courts set up!! I really wanted to play, but (lucky for the players out there) I was being the dedicated family man today. ;) *heh*
On a separate note, I've been wanting to get back to playing volleyball. I even signed up for a class at the local community college - but it was cancelled! =( So I got in touch with a friend of mine and he said that there's a four-person coed grass tournament next week. I haven't played volleyball since my best friend's bachelor party in August... almost a year ago! I'm going to try and find an open gym to play in before the tournament, you know... to see how badly I'm going to hurt myself next Sunday. =S
We hung out at Huntington beach for the rest of the day - and through dinner time. Even though we weren't prepared to go and play at the beach, we took Mia out to play in the water. There were a lot of people out there enjoying the beach - and it was about 30 degrees cooler out there, very nice. After walking around the beach, we headed into town and found a restaurant to lounge around in and have dinner. We left around 7pm and had a nice "cool" drive home. Both kids were pretty tired from the day's activities - so after a quick bath for both of them, they were out!
I think they have the right idea - I'm going to hit the sack soon too.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
OUR TRIP TO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA:
WEEKEND RECAP:
Friday, June 30:
We did most of our packing the other night. HieRan had a half-day today so we left as soon as she got home (around noon-ish) – then she finished packing, fed Jacob, got into some traveling clothes, and we were off (around 3:00pm)!!! We drove up to Folsom to visit my cousin for the weekend, and arrived just shy of 10:00pm. It wasn’t a bad drive at all… not much traffic coming out of Southern Cal this time. Besides I was enjoying all the good tunes pumping out of my iPod! What a difference it makes driving with an iPod! No need to mess around looking for different CDs… all my favorite songs were there at my fingertips! My older brother and his family were already there, along with my cousin, Stacey, and her husband, Miguel, who made the trip from Mexico. Tami was with them (Stacey’s younger sister), and that pretty much filled up the house for the evening. As usual, we were all up pretty late catching up and stuff. Everyone was doting on Jacob (the family’s newest addition), and Mia, Kyle, and Tim spent the last of their seemingly endless supply of energy running around playing “superheroes”.
Saturday, July 1:
Well Jacob and I got up pretty early today, so we decided to go out and wake up the rest of the house! *hahaha* Tami was sleeping on the couch in the family room, so I put Jacob on her tummy and that pretty much got her up with a smile. (Seriously, how could anyone be mad at this face waking them up?)
My cousin, and host of the annual pool party, was up soon after – it was time to start getting things ready for the rest of the guests to come. Before too long the weather had warmed up nicely and it was time to jump into the pool. The kids just eased their way in while we “bigger kids” jumped in and got started on the horseplay!! It wasn’t long before the little ones were splashing around – both Mia and Kyle had found inner tubes that allowed them to go wherever they wanted to in the pool… with confidence. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well Mia took to swimming around. Usually she freaks out when someone splashes water in her face, but not this time. I’m sure by this time next year she’ll be jumping in the pool head first! =S
Edwin was cooking up a storm at his grill. Every once in a while he’d jump in and splash around before having to return to his cooking duties. There was plenty of food, and more than enough company to keep us all busy. Soon there were other family members arriving – if I had to guess there were at least 30 of us there. Family came from the Bay Area, and from the surrounding Sacramento area – it was nice that they could all see Jacob, too (finally). It wasn’t long before we found a ball to toss around. And quickly a game of “3-flys-up” ensued. When we were kids this was a game of agility, speed, position, and finesse. As adults it became a game of brute force, mild violence, and an occasional pulling of one’s shorts. In the pool, as soon as the ball was in the air, it became a contest to see who could climb on top of one another, and who could (inevitably) swallow the most water. The combatants… errr… contestants included me, my older brother, Paul, and cousins Edward and Alex. Tami stood at the opposite end of the pool and was the official thrower. After what seemed like hours of this game, we were all at the pool’s edge huffing, puffing, and coughing up some of the pool water. Edwin joined us and with fresh legs in the pool we had ourselves a 3-on-3 water basketball game. We used a floating inner tube as the hoop… adding to the game’s difficulty. My team included 6’3” Edward, and the quick and nimble Tami. We pitted our skills against Paul (the Wiry One), Alex (Double-O-Shoe), and Edwin (All Heart Baby). We battled to a 21-18 halftime lead… only to be too thoroughly exhausted to continue. We called the game and vowed to play the second half same time next year (I’m calling for a 12-month Time Out). This time next year… GAME ON!!!
The day soon turned to night, and as guests arrived and said hello, they were soon on their way again come nightfall. Feeling the aches and pains of all the physical activity, not to mention my accelerated age (groan), I thought it’d be a good idea to suggest we play some tennis in the morning. *hahaha – I didn’t think they’d take me seriously*
Sunday, July 2:
7:30am… *knock knock knock* (Edwin)… hey dude, are we still playing tennis? (Me) Huh… mmmm…. (owww… my aching back)… sure! I’m there! Give me a second.
I checked to see if Paul was able to come with us, but he was no-go. So I had my “breakfast Advil” and got myself together enough to crawl into Edwin’s (new) Lexus IS. Nice ride there cuz. ;) Oh man, this car has everything!! So many bells and whistles, so many kewl features… sensory overload!!! We headed to Kenneth Park in Fair Oaks (my old stomping grounds when I worked in Citrus Heights and played tennis with some co-workers afterwards) where we found the courts surprisingly empty! Of course with the long weekend, there was no one in town… just us! We unleashed out thunder sticks (tennis rackets) and began to bang away. I noticed Edwin was a step or two off his game – no doubt he was feeling the affects of yesterday’s activities too. Still, there was some fine hitting going on (the great ones never really do lose it, right?). ;P We started to play a set, but after 4 games, Edwin had to retire. I was more than happy to join him on the bench… but then Edward showed up (darn his bad timing). So as true champions often do, I called up my reserve energy, dug deep to find that intestinal fortitude, and plowed my way to a 6-2 victory over the young up-and-comer (blast your youth, Edward!). Yep, my game was firing on all cylinders (much like the Geo Metro’s 3-cylinder sports car). With the match completed, we stopped by the local Starbuck’s before heading back to Edwin’s place. The girls had decided they were going to go shopping at the Folsom Outlets, leaving us to tend to the 3 kids. No problem. Paul popped in a DVD and we all took turns taking naps!
We spent one last night at chez Edwin & Joyce – they had work the next day, so we agreed to take off in the morning.
Monday, July 3:
After saying good bye to my cousin, we headed south to the Bay Area. We stopped in Vallejo to see our first house on Penny lane. Not much had changed in the neighborhood, but no one was around for us to say “hi” to… so we continued on to Oakland where we stopped by the Korean market to pick up some groceries for HieRan’s dad who lives in Union City. It was still early in the day, so we hung out with dad for a while before checking into our hotel room down the street. Dinner came around pretty quickly and we were joined by my two brothers (plus the kids) and my mom at TGI Friday’s. Service was pretty bad, and my kid brother had a few words with the manager… got his meal for free, too!! We called it a night and walked back to the hotel (just next door) to catch some Z’s.
Tuesday, July 4:
We were visited by HieRan’s mom this morning. We had a Korean breakfast (which is more like lunch since they really don’t have “breakfast” type foods). Then my mom and her sister stopped by to see the kids again. We had already made plans to see our friend in Dublin later in the day, so we thought we’d stay put as long as we could. Unfortunately, we have a 4 year old in Mia and she was getting bored just sitting around (which is understandable, I suppose). I suggested I take her over to my brother’s place where she could play with her two cousins, Kyle and Tim, again. She was quick to agree with me, and we headed out for her impromptu play-date. When we arrived, the World Cup was on, and I was able to see Italy defeat Germany in the last 2 minutes of the game (haha – sorry Maria). It was close to 3pm when we left – just enough time to get back to the hotel, and get ready to go to our friends’ place.
We drove out to Dublin to see Bertrand and Kimmy (the newlyweds), and enjoy their company for the next few hours. They just completed their kitchen renovation, and I have to say that they did an incredible job! They added granite countertops, and new tile flooring to really class up the joint. Their home looks like a model home – every room is color coordinated, and immaculate (they obviously don’t have any kids… yet!). *hehe* The weather was perfect for an out door BBQ – and Bertrand served up some delicious brontosaurus burgers (with all the fixins too). I was stuffed!! I wish we could have stayed longer, but it was getting dark out, and we needed to get the kids to bed for an early departure on Wednesday. Man, we didn’t even get to have any PIE!!!! *grrrrr!!* Yeah, I totally spaced on that one… I was sooo in the mood for some after that meal, too!!
So we got back to Union City and watched some intermittent fireworks here and there. I was too tired to go searching for a firework’s show, plus the kids had a long day themselves. We hit the sack and called it a night.
Wednesday, July 5:
It was about 7:30 when I got up. I agreed to meet my kid brother for coffee at the local Starbuck’s. Apparently an 8am meeting was a bit too early for the young entrepreneur – he was a no show. So I picked up a couple cups of coffee for HieRan and me, and headed back to the hotel. Check out was at 11am, so I started to pack things up while the kids were still asleep. We eventually got out of there by about 10am and headed to IHOP for our breakfast. We were on the road back to Woodland Hills by about 11am. The drive down highway 101 was a nice one. We made a stop for gas, and then once more in Pismo Beach for dinner. We pulled into our driveway around 7pm. I unloaded the jeep and then helped HieRan get the kids ready for bed before crashing myself. Our journey was officially over. *phew*
Friday, June 30:
We did most of our packing the other night. HieRan had a half-day today so we left as soon as she got home (around noon-ish) – then she finished packing, fed Jacob, got into some traveling clothes, and we were off (around 3:00pm)!!! We drove up to Folsom to visit my cousin for the weekend, and arrived just shy of 10:00pm. It wasn’t a bad drive at all… not much traffic coming out of Southern Cal this time. Besides I was enjoying all the good tunes pumping out of my iPod! What a difference it makes driving with an iPod! No need to mess around looking for different CDs… all my favorite songs were there at my fingertips! My older brother and his family were already there, along with my cousin, Stacey, and her husband, Miguel, who made the trip from Mexico. Tami was with them (Stacey’s younger sister), and that pretty much filled up the house for the evening. As usual, we were all up pretty late catching up and stuff. Everyone was doting on Jacob (the family’s newest addition), and Mia, Kyle, and Tim spent the last of their seemingly endless supply of energy running around playing “superheroes”.
Saturday, July 1:
Well Jacob and I got up pretty early today, so we decided to go out and wake up the rest of the house! *hahaha* Tami was sleeping on the couch in the family room, so I put Jacob on her tummy and that pretty much got her up with a smile. (Seriously, how could anyone be mad at this face waking them up?)
My cousin, and host of the annual pool party, was up soon after – it was time to start getting things ready for the rest of the guests to come. Before too long the weather had warmed up nicely and it was time to jump into the pool. The kids just eased their way in while we “bigger kids” jumped in and got started on the horseplay!! It wasn’t long before the little ones were splashing around – both Mia and Kyle had found inner tubes that allowed them to go wherever they wanted to in the pool… with confidence. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well Mia took to swimming around. Usually she freaks out when someone splashes water in her face, but not this time. I’m sure by this time next year she’ll be jumping in the pool head first! =S
Edwin was cooking up a storm at his grill. Every once in a while he’d jump in and splash around before having to return to his cooking duties. There was plenty of food, and more than enough company to keep us all busy. Soon there were other family members arriving – if I had to guess there were at least 30 of us there. Family came from the Bay Area, and from the surrounding Sacramento area – it was nice that they could all see Jacob, too (finally). It wasn’t long before we found a ball to toss around. And quickly a game of “3-flys-up” ensued. When we were kids this was a game of agility, speed, position, and finesse. As adults it became a game of brute force, mild violence, and an occasional pulling of one’s shorts. In the pool, as soon as the ball was in the air, it became a contest to see who could climb on top of one another, and who could (inevitably) swallow the most water. The combatants… errr… contestants included me, my older brother, Paul, and cousins Edward and Alex. Tami stood at the opposite end of the pool and was the official thrower. After what seemed like hours of this game, we were all at the pool’s edge huffing, puffing, and coughing up some of the pool water. Edwin joined us and with fresh legs in the pool we had ourselves a 3-on-3 water basketball game. We used a floating inner tube as the hoop… adding to the game’s difficulty. My team included 6’3” Edward, and the quick and nimble Tami. We pitted our skills against Paul (the Wiry One), Alex (Double-O-Shoe), and Edwin (All Heart Baby). We battled to a 21-18 halftime lead… only to be too thoroughly exhausted to continue. We called the game and vowed to play the second half same time next year (I’m calling for a 12-month Time Out). This time next year… GAME ON!!!
The day soon turned to night, and as guests arrived and said hello, they were soon on their way again come nightfall. Feeling the aches and pains of all the physical activity, not to mention my accelerated age (groan), I thought it’d be a good idea to suggest we play some tennis in the morning. *hahaha – I didn’t think they’d take me seriously*
Sunday, July 2:
7:30am… *knock knock knock* (Edwin)… hey dude, are we still playing tennis? (Me) Huh… mmmm…. (owww… my aching back)… sure! I’m there! Give me a second.
I checked to see if Paul was able to come with us, but he was no-go. So I had my “breakfast Advil” and got myself together enough to crawl into Edwin’s (new) Lexus IS. Nice ride there cuz. ;) Oh man, this car has everything!! So many bells and whistles, so many kewl features… sensory overload!!! We headed to Kenneth Park in Fair Oaks (my old stomping grounds when I worked in Citrus Heights and played tennis with some co-workers afterwards) where we found the courts surprisingly empty! Of course with the long weekend, there was no one in town… just us! We unleashed out thunder sticks (tennis rackets) and began to bang away. I noticed Edwin was a step or two off his game – no doubt he was feeling the affects of yesterday’s activities too. Still, there was some fine hitting going on (the great ones never really do lose it, right?). ;P We started to play a set, but after 4 games, Edwin had to retire. I was more than happy to join him on the bench… but then Edward showed up (darn his bad timing). So as true champions often do, I called up my reserve energy, dug deep to find that intestinal fortitude, and plowed my way to a 6-2 victory over the young up-and-comer (blast your youth, Edward!). Yep, my game was firing on all cylinders (much like the Geo Metro’s 3-cylinder sports car). With the match completed, we stopped by the local Starbuck’s before heading back to Edwin’s place. The girls had decided they were going to go shopping at the Folsom Outlets, leaving us to tend to the 3 kids. No problem. Paul popped in a DVD and we all took turns taking naps!
We spent one last night at chez Edwin & Joyce – they had work the next day, so we agreed to take off in the morning.
Monday, July 3:
After saying good bye to my cousin, we headed south to the Bay Area. We stopped in Vallejo to see our first house on Penny lane. Not much had changed in the neighborhood, but no one was around for us to say “hi” to… so we continued on to Oakland where we stopped by the Korean market to pick up some groceries for HieRan’s dad who lives in Union City. It was still early in the day, so we hung out with dad for a while before checking into our hotel room down the street. Dinner came around pretty quickly and we were joined by my two brothers (plus the kids) and my mom at TGI Friday’s. Service was pretty bad, and my kid brother had a few words with the manager… got his meal for free, too!! We called it a night and walked back to the hotel (just next door) to catch some Z’s.
Tuesday, July 4:
We were visited by HieRan’s mom this morning. We had a Korean breakfast (which is more like lunch since they really don’t have “breakfast” type foods). Then my mom and her sister stopped by to see the kids again. We had already made plans to see our friend in Dublin later in the day, so we thought we’d stay put as long as we could. Unfortunately, we have a 4 year old in Mia and she was getting bored just sitting around (which is understandable, I suppose). I suggested I take her over to my brother’s place where she could play with her two cousins, Kyle and Tim, again. She was quick to agree with me, and we headed out for her impromptu play-date. When we arrived, the World Cup was on, and I was able to see Italy defeat Germany in the last 2 minutes of the game (haha – sorry Maria). It was close to 3pm when we left – just enough time to get back to the hotel, and get ready to go to our friends’ place.
We drove out to Dublin to see Bertrand and Kimmy (the newlyweds), and enjoy their company for the next few hours. They just completed their kitchen renovation, and I have to say that they did an incredible job! They added granite countertops, and new tile flooring to really class up the joint. Their home looks like a model home – every room is color coordinated, and immaculate (they obviously don’t have any kids… yet!). *hehe* The weather was perfect for an out door BBQ – and Bertrand served up some delicious brontosaurus burgers (with all the fixins too). I was stuffed!! I wish we could have stayed longer, but it was getting dark out, and we needed to get the kids to bed for an early departure on Wednesday. Man, we didn’t even get to have any PIE!!!! *grrrrr!!* Yeah, I totally spaced on that one… I was sooo in the mood for some after that meal, too!!
So we got back to Union City and watched some intermittent fireworks here and there. I was too tired to go searching for a firework’s show, plus the kids had a long day themselves. We hit the sack and called it a night.
Wednesday, July 5:
It was about 7:30 when I got up. I agreed to meet my kid brother for coffee at the local Starbuck’s. Apparently an 8am meeting was a bit too early for the young entrepreneur – he was a no show. So I picked up a couple cups of coffee for HieRan and me, and headed back to the hotel. Check out was at 11am, so I started to pack things up while the kids were still asleep. We eventually got out of there by about 10am and headed to IHOP for our breakfast. We were on the road back to Woodland Hills by about 11am. The drive down highway 101 was a nice one. We made a stop for gas, and then once more in Pismo Beach for dinner. We pulled into our driveway around 7pm. I unloaded the jeep and then helped HieRan get the kids ready for bed before crashing myself. Our journey was officially over. *phew*
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