Three hours in Disney

Since the girls and I are still recuperating from the week's sicknesses, we decided to sleep in and take it slow this morning. Trung and I cleaned the house from last night's monthly potluck, and then we drove all the way to Rowland Heights for some lunch. We went to Disneyland afterwards and hit back to back to back shows, and then left for dinner. A very easy going kind of day, just what we needed!

Still wearing their capes at the Disney Junior show

Watching some kind of dance-off and Mickey

The Aladdin show, where Genie busted out his new jokes

Photo op

The Boiling Crab for dinner...so tasty! The first location we went to had a 1.45 -2 hr wait, so we went to the new location 5 minutes away and waited 15 minutes instead. Lucky for us, the new location just opened on Wednesday.

Shrimp, crawfish, and crab (not pictured) anyone?

Calling all Superheroes

Sophie and I went to a Rustic Canyon park to attend her "classmate" Benji's birthday party. Older siblings were also welcome to come, but Lydia had a headache and decided to rest at home with Trung. We knew the majority of the kids from Sophie's Learning through Play class, so Sophie felt right at home. Benji's mom made capes for the kids for the superhero themed party and Sophie loved hers; Lydia got one too!

Sophie giving "the frown"

Cady and Sophie

Grabbing candy

The Lone Sophie Superhero

Getting Fraiche

The ladies and I went out Tuesday night to celebrate my birthday. Fraiche has become one of my favorite restaurants lately with their diverse Happy hour menu, so we went there. We had such a great time; what would I do without these nights out? Better not think about it. :P

My complimentary chocolate purse bought out by a super cute waiter.

Julie, Elizabeth, Jess, me, Christie, and Snow aka the ladies!

Playdates on my birthday

Since my birthday fell on a Monday this year, we didn't have anything planned for the day. So, instead, I scheduled a couple of playdates for the kids. In the late afternoon, Guro and her kids came over to hang out. We hadn't seen them in months since their Norway trip, so it was nice letting Norah and Sophie play while the mommies caught up. Then after school, Bella and Isabelle came home with us. The girls enjoyed playing dress up and Tickle Monster; it was nice getting a break from entertaining my girls by myself.

Dancing princesses

Sophie, Bella, Isabelle, and Lydia

Pure sweetness

Pre-birthday events

Trung and I started off the weekend with a morning run Saturday morning with Trung pushing the girls in a double jogging stroller. After getting home and getting ready for the day, we left our place too late for our brunch reservation at The Beachcomber, so we ate at Brodard instead. Stuffed and satisfied, we then killed some time at Downtown Disney, messing with legos and sipping smoothies. Then off to Mike's house for about an hour before leaving for my Aunt Monica's house for dinner. She prepared a delicious hot pot dinner and we barely had room for dessert, strawberry shortcake. A great beginning for my birthday weekend!

Build-a-Bears Ursula and Ariel at Downtown Disney

Birthday cake

Sunday morning we attend Saddleback Church with Mike and really enjoyed the message. The church was huge, but yet you didn't really feel lost in the crowd. After church, we ate Japanese Ramen and then headed back to Mike's place to watch the Super Bowl game. Go Giants!

The line outside of Chinese bakery 83 degrees, which was in the same complex as the Japanese Ramen. The bread was okay, but I'm not sure it was worth the 30 minute wait.

Launch Party

Our local mall, Santa Monica Place, had a launch party for their Kids' Club today. Held the first Wednesday of every month, the event consisted of a puppet show, face painting, a craft, and a raffle. It was a bit chaotic, but then again, what kids' event isn't?

A huge turnout!


The new Ciruqe de Sol bug show, Ovo, helped sponsor the event

Sophie helped out with the raffle

Sophie and I saw actress Alyson Hannigan with her daughter at the Farmer's Market on our way home. She walked right by our stroller!

Zimmer Children's Museum

This weekend several museums had free admission "to present the arts and culture to the diverse and myriad communities," so we decided to check out the Zimmer Children's Museum. The museum opened at 12:30 and we arrived at 1:30, only to find the entrance filled with people. There was one line to get a ticket to return at a later time, and another line with people returning to their allocated time. It was utter madness; next time we will just pay for admission.

When we finally got in around 3:30 PM, the kids actually did enjoy the simple things the museum had to offer. There wasn't anything "scientific" as Trung put it, but the girls always found something to do.

One girl show

Our cameo picture

Hypercolor!


Yes, we were too lazy to push the girls, so we got some girl to do it for us. :P

The girls' favorite activity


Lydia couldn't stop laughing

Writing, more like drawing, their wishing for the word

Sticking the wish into the wall

Striking a pose

Captain and co-captain

Hopscotch

Year of the Dragon

Today we went to Downtown Chinatown to watch the annual Chinese New Year parade. We arrived around 11, ate dim sum, and found a shaded spot to watch the parade. The parade consisted of politicians, bands, and dragon dances; and every now and then something interesting would appear. The kids liked seeing The Lorax and Mulan with Mushu, while Trung and I found the Batmobile and Mystery Mobile amusing. Afterwards, the girls made a lantern at a craft table and we just wandered around. I don't know if we'll come back again next year, but it was nice checking it out.

Fireworks!


Watch out behind you!

All about the Benjamins

The Lorax

We rarely go to McDonald's, so I wasn't sure if the girls would know who this was

I found these drummers pretty interesting

The best performance of the parade, too bad they didn't perform closer to us


Sweet Sophie

Getting crafty

The girls will always stop to play with bubbles

Little Scientists

Lydia's school had a science event after school on Friday, so after I picked up Lydia, Xander, and Maggie after gymnastics, we headed straight over. Junior high students from SMASH presented trout and mercury to the kids, and a dozen microscopes were scattered around for the kids to analyze Santa Monica water.

Lydia and Maggie drawing what they see

Sophie looking through the scope her own way

Listening for the ocean

Christine and Sophie

Funny photos