From the Ly's to the Lee's

Monday we enjoyed the pool at the Sheraton hotel where we were staying.  The water was nice and warm, and there was a little water slide that the kids loved.  Time went by quickly and before we knew it, we were checking out and didn't have time to pick up lunch or fuel up the rental car.  Fortunately, our flight was delayed 23 minutes and was delayed an additional 20 minutes when we got to the gate, so we made it just fine, but unfortunately, we were guaranteed to miss our flight from Houston to Orange County.   So when we landed in Houston, I went to the United customer service station and waited anxiously as the representative found a way for us to get back home.  

We were supposed to arrive in Orange County around 4:30, and Mike would pick us up to take us to meet Jimmy & family (who was driving in from Houston) for dinner at a restaurant at Diamond Jamboree around 5:30.  With no available flights for Orange County, we decided to fly into Los Angeles instead, which is actually closer to home.  Jimmy drove our car from Mike's house after seeing baby Alexis and we were able to change the destination for the checked-in carseats.  Everything worked out just fine, though it certainly was a rush!  Now for an exciting week with the Lee family!

Tuesday after breakfast at Amandine Patisserie, Jimmy and family went to Universal Studios while the girls and I took the time to rest and get situated.

 Wednesday we visited the Farmer's Market and Santa Monica Place.  Then we drove to Little Saigon for lunch at Brodard.  Of course there was a wait, so I order spring rolls to go for everyone to snack on while we waited for our table.  Afterwards, we killed some time at South Coast Plaza before heading to Mike's house to visit the baby. 

The Lee grandkids

 

 Thursday we went to Din Tai Fang for lunch and Half & Half for boba drinks

Then we met Jean and her kids at the Griffith Observatory.

Sophie hung out with Cora and I while everyone else watched a show at the Planetarium.

Teddy, Sophie, and Albert

Group pic

My sweet girls

Posing with the Hollywood sign

Sophie getting a lift from Jocelyn

 

 Today Jimmy and family went to the Getty Center in the morning and then we all hit the beach in the afternoon.  The water was cold as always, but no California trip seems complete without a visit to the beach!

  The Lone Ranger

 Running from the waves

Sophie and Jocelyn's creations...the triple towers

 After dinner at Santa Monica Seafood, we went to watch Rio in 3D on the Promenade with Snow's family while Jimmy's family went back home to rest up for the second half of their road trip.

The Final Four

Wednesday we hit Siesta Key Beach.  This time we spent more time in the water since the beach was a bit nicer.  The Tran's also purchased "skim" boards, so a bunch of us experimented in skim boarding, which was pretty difficult in my opinion...it's all about timing.  After the wonderful day of fun (and mosquito bites), we had a decent buffet for dinner.

Fiona, Lydia, Ryan, and Sophie

Trung and Tai ready to skim board.  Check out the dark clouds that slowly took over; we left just minutes before the rain came.

 

Thursday we went to Glazer Children's Museum where the kids had endless things to "discover"

 

Fiona and Sophie in the ball pit

Paging Dr. Sophie

My little shoppers

Friday we took the girls to watch Ice Age 4.  Trung, who had been working for a couple days during the week, couldn't get his work computer to charge anymore, so he joined us for a rare family movie day.  Saturday we took a short trip to the mall where we ran into this little girl...Abby!

 

Today we went to Downtown Disney in Orlando to get out of Tampa and to be closer to our flight the next day.  It was raining when we arrived, but we quickly ran into the nearest store, the Legos Store, and the kids immediately got busy building things.

Buzz, Sophie, and Woody

A groom and his "Minnie" brides

First five days in Florida

We flew out of Orange County on Friday the 6th in the wee hours of the morning for Orlando, with a layover in Houston.  The flights went quickly and the girls kept well occupied with the laptop and Ipad.  Trung's oldest brother Toan picked us up at the airport around 5 and we headed straight over to my in-law's house in Valrico (near Tampa) for dinner.  An's family was already there to welcome us with their two boys, who are around Lydia and Sophie's ages.  That night, we slept at Toan's house and caught up on some much needed sleep.

 

 Saturday we just hung out at Toan's pool while the last two families arrived

 

 Lydia showed off her swimming skills

Trung got some exercise

 

 Sunday the entire Ly clan hit De Soto Beach

 9 of the 12 cousins all cleaned up after the beach

 Monday we celebrated Ma's 70th birthday with a tea ceremony and delicious food

 

If there's one thing the Ly's know how to do, it's how to eat

 

 The complete Ly Family Clan + three relatives

 

 The originals

 Burning off all that food

Ready for take-off

Today we said our good-byes to An's family as they prepared for their road trip back home to Maryland.  We took it easy and hung out around the house.  The older cousins taught the younger ones games like "Bubble gum, bubble gum in a dish", which brought back many memories for me.

Happy Fourth

We had a late start this morning, but still made it in time to Main Street to catch the start of the annual Fourth of July parade.  The girls never seem interested at first in watching parades, but once they get going, they really enjoy themselves, waving at the people and trying to catch any goodies.  Afterwards, we went home to pick up my Dad who flew in from Texas on Monday to see my niece Alexis and was in town for the day.  We went back to the Artisan Noodle House for lunch and then walked through Farmer's Market.  Trung took us to his office, which was my first time to see inside his work place.  

After picking up some smoothies at Jamba Juice, Trung and my Dad went to hang out at the Apple Store while I took the girls home to relax.  We chilled at home for a few hours before driving over to True Food Kitchen for dinner.  It is good, but very expensive there, but I had a 25% off your entire purchase coupon, so we ordered the most expensive things...shrimp and fish.  Yum!  My Dad headed back to Orange County after dinner.  It was nice to see him and Sophie told me at bedtime that she misses him.  See you in September, Dad!

 Snow and family in the parade with the Girl Scouts group

 Beach Barcycle

 Awesome hydraulics

 Me and my eldest

 Entertaining Grandpa

At Farmer's Market where as you can see, we bought some sugar snap peas

 Being patriotic on the 4th

 Taking a break from showing Grandpa Santa Monica

 Chasing pigeons

 At Trung's work

 

 Strolling along

Keeping busy

 As the first Tuesday of the month, Snow and I planned to go to Kidspace Museum and L'Grande Orange Cafe afterwards for dinner, but not before going to Portos for lunch (and picking up a dozen cheese rolls) and then to Glendale Galleria to hang out.  Just another summer day.

 Chilling at the Disney Store and then the Legos Store while the moms took turns shopping

 Ahhhhh, Lydia, watch where you're biking!

 Feeling sad (for literally a minute)

 Hanging on vines

I was disturbed by the mean little black fish, so much so that I informed a museum employee.

Annenberg Beach House

We went to our first Dollar Splash Monday at the Annenberg Beach House with Snow's and Annie's kids.  The cost covered pool usage, but we also enjoyed the splash pad, sandbox, and play ground for free!  Overall a great facility and a wonderful way to spend a summer morning!

 AHHHHH....water!

 Snacking on sunflower seeds

 Lydia enjoyed sitting on the spouts of water

 Splashy fun

Snow shucking us some fresh oysters for dinner