Holed up

 Since there were more drivers than cars available, the girls and I were stuck at my brother-in-law Toan's house for the most part of the day.  We were totally fine with that though since the day before was crazy busy and everyone was content with just vegging.  The girls played with their electronic devices and messed around the house, while I helped clean up all the "guest" rooms.

 Aunt Teresa teaching the girls some martial arts moves

A small girl with a big kick.

The Best Father-in-law ever

 My dear father-in-law passed away on Easter Sunday from heart failure.  He was 79 years old and lived a happy, full life.  Trung had been in Florida since last Tuesday and got to spend his father's last days with him.  The girls and I flew out on Tuesday and arrived in Tampa around 10 PM.  Wednesday, the rest of the family flew and drove in, and by dinnertime, the entire Ly clan was present.  

 Today was a day of remembrance.  We attended Ba's funeral service performed by Buddhist monks, then watched his burial at the cemetery, and then did more ceremonial rituals at the temple.  I was so proud of the girls as they sat quietly for the entire service, which was entirely in Vietnamese.  They even wanted to see Ba at the casket and I think they understood what was going on as they shed quiet tears.  Ba will be greatly missed, and as my brother-in law wrote, "the journey continues...Ba, rest in peace."

   

 Ba's obituary

 The beautiful arrangement

Ba's pallbearers were the six boys, now men, who he sacrificed for to bring to the US many years ago for a better life...five sons and a nephew.

 

 At the cemetery with the flowers my parents sent and wearing the customary Buddhist white band.

At the temple paying our final respects to Ba.

Sophie's Day

Though Trung wanted us to fly out to Florida as soon as possible, I figured that we would wait until tomorrow so that we wouldn't be spending Sophie's birthday stuck on a plane or at the airport.  No party was planned this year, which ended up being a good thing with Trung having to go out of town, so I tried to plan a day of activities that Sophie would like...I'd like to think that she had a good birthday.  :)

 Lunch at Souplantation with another birthday girl

 I found these twin brothers amusing as they were exercising in unison while we all waited at a light

 I took my two little ladies to get their nails done

 

  The girls got to pick out their nail polish and experienced the whole spa pedicure (and manicure) treatment.  They loved it; giggling when their feet got scrubbed and exclaiming at the varying temperatures.

 After Sophie picked out a toy at the Disney Store, we went to M Street Kitchen for dinner.  Carson Daly happened to be at the table next to us with his family and friends!

Easter 2013

 Though I wasn't quite in the mood to hang out on Easter Sunday without Trung, who has been gone since Tuesday, I figured that the girls would want to dress up and hang out with their friends who we hadn't seen all week.  We met "the gang" at Alpine Village in Torrance for a bonafide brunch buffet.  Just as I was leaving and getting my car from the valet, Trung called with some sad news...Ba had passed away.  We knew it would be just a matter of time and it seemed quite meaningful having happened on Easter Sunday.  Upon hearing the news, I felt like just keeping to myself at home, but Lydia was upset, so we still went to Isabella's birthday party at Colorado Park.  I am glad that we went though because it cheered me and the girls up to be around friends.

 Stuffed and smiling

 Easter egg hunting at Colorado Park

 My princesses

 Prince Pierre and his pick of princesses

Opening gifts was a group effort

The April Fool's gals

Easter events

 This morning we had planned to go to Douglas Park at 9 for their annual Peter Rabbit day, but when I woke up at 8:50, I realized that I wasn't going to make it.  (I actually had decided the night before not to go, so I didn't bother setting my alarm clock)  When I checked my e-mail this morning, however, someone forwarded me information about another Easter event at 10:30, which was much more realistic.  So, off we went to McKinley Elementary school for their annual Easter festivities.  Too bad the marine layer wasn't good this morning, so the parachuting Easter bunny didn't make his appearance, but otherwise, it was a gorgeous, rather hot day.  Afterwards, we drove out to the Grove for the Dora the Explorer "Easter at the Park" festivities.  It was super hot with no shade, so we didn't last long, but it was a cute event with face painting, crafts, and cookie decorating.

  

The "art" of concentration

 25,000 Easter eggs for the taking

 "Hunting"

 Sophie getting a lift from big sister on the monkey bars

 Love Lydia's "proud big sister" stance

 A rather strange looking Dora, but the kids still enjoyed the seven minute performance

I asked the kids what came first, the chicken or egg?  Lydia claims that the chicken did, and Sophie, the egg.  Or are they just saying that because that's the cookie shape that they got.

So it begins

The girls have Spring Break these next two weeks and I have scheduled daily activities to make sure they get out of the house.  If we stay home, all they want to do is play with electronic devices such as the ipad, ipod, etc.  Somehow we managed to get through this first week...

Beading necklaces at the library on Monday

Sophie's five year old check-up and then The Grove on Wednesday

Lunch boats at Benihana's and then hanging out at Santa Monica Place and the library on Thursday

Gavin's birthday party this afternoon

All the boy classmates that attended the party; Sophie was once again the honorary girl.

After the party, we went to the mall to get the girls' ears pierced.  They have been wanting it since watching a TV show back in December about a girl getting her ears pierced.

Surprisingly, no tears, just lollipops.

Dinner at El Torito with a view of the Marina to redeem Sophie's free birthday meal.

Icing on the cake

After yet another sleepless night, we all packed up and checked out of the hotel before heading back to Cafe Pasqual's for brunch.  Weiru was more interested in going to the famous Georgia O'Keefe museum, so she skipped the meal and planned to meet us in about an hour or so.  Cora and I split an entree of pancakes, bacon, and eggs and still didn't manage to finish it all.  Just as I was paying the bill, I noticed a young mother playing with her toddler on the stairs.  I seriously did a double take and freaked out when I realized the mother was none other than Natalie Portman!  What are the chances of running into her...in Santa Fe!  The restaurant is awfully small, so she pretty much brought attention to herself as she chased her son through the narrow aisles.  She's petite and simply adorable, and Cora was completely star struck as this was her first celebrity sighting.  After such a great trip, spotting Natalie was just the icing on the cake!

Just to show you how close Natalie was to us; that's Cora on the left and Natalie in the middle behind the railing.

Cora was able to snap a picture of her just moments after I passed her to go to the restroom.  The aisle was so narrow that she and her son were blocking my way, so I said "excuse me" and pointed to the bathroom door.  She exclaimed "I'm so sorry!" and was so sweet that I felt bad for going to the bathroom!  Well, mainly because I didn't really need to go and I just wanted to get a closer look.  :P

Our last walk through the hotel and into the parking garage.

Cora's flight was leaving from a neighboring gate, so we all got to hang out up until boarding.  Let's do this again soon!

The Artistic Side

Of course, the day that we chose to explore Santa Fe ended up being the windiest, chilliest day ever, but that didn't stop us.  Again, we all didn't sleep very well, so we slept in and took our time getting ready, snacking on yesterday's breakfast leftovers of French toast and bacon.  It wasn't long before lunchtime came along, after which we made our way to Canyon Road to look at the art galleries.  I am not a big fan of art, but I found some of the galleries pretty interesting; it was also nice that everything was free.  Both Cora and Weiru found unique earrings that they liked too, which was quite an accomplishment since they are both super picky.

A simple lunch at The Shed

Inside St. Francis, which is about where Canyon Road begins

Picking out jewelry to try on; Cora purchased her earrings at this particular boutique

A delicious dinner at Coyote Cafe.  I got myself some foie gras as an appetizer since it was banned back in July in California; it was oh so good!

Needless to say, we were freezing in the "high of 40" degree weather.

Ten Thousand Waves

 We had a quick breakfast off the Plaza this morning and arrived a few minutes before the opening of Ten Thousand Waves, a Japanese inspired mountain spa located about 20 minutes NE of Santa Fe.  We all enjoyed getting pampered for the day and soaking in the mineral bath.

 Ready get to get zen-ed out

 We may have looked happy, but we were famished and exhausted.  The high altitude does not make for a good night's sleep.

 Our delicious dessert sampler

 Walking around Downtown Santa Fe because apparently, 7 pm is too early to go to sleep.

 

 Loretto Chapel; we almost stayed at its sister hotel next door

 The walkway to our hotel room

Heading to Santa Fe

 After two months of planning, my annual girlfriend getaway had finally arrived.  Weiru and I left LA around 1 and arrived in Albuquerque, NM just a few minutes before Cora.  We were able to greet her at her gate since it was right next to ours, yes, that's just how small the airport was.  By the time we got the rental car, it was well into traffic hour, so we spent a few hours at an outdoor shopping mall and then took the hour drive north to Santa Fe.  Our hotel, Hotel Chimayo wasn't fancy and anything to write home about, but it was quaint and right smack in the middle of Downtown Santa Fe.  The accommodations were just fine, but we all had trouble sleeping since adjusting to the high altitude takes some time.

 Dinner at Maria's, home of the super chewy tortillas.  It's a local favorite, but we weren't fans.

 Apparently, some people don't know how to follow instructions.  Luckily this car wasn't ON the railroad tracks when the train went by.

Puffy potato chips, I guess being at 7,000 feet above sea level has this effect on everything.