Step it up

The girls have been taking karate for several months now and after today's pre-testing, I realized that I needed to know the basics too, so that I could help the girls step it up.  I knew that I would have to learn it myself one day, and watching the girls struggling was my motivation.

The girls got through less than half of the kota

Even the 12 basic steps were a challenge

A morning of fitness

Jogging with the girls 20+ blocks to brunch.  They wanted to eat at Amandine, which is in West LA, so just a little too far for them, so Trung drove us the rest for the way.

Afterwards, we dropped by McKinley Elementary for their Bike Fest event.  We didn't think about bringing our bikes, so the kids got fitted with helmets and borrowed the city's bikes.

In line to do the obstacle course

All the bikes were too big for Sophie, so Trung lent a helping hand.

Lydia and Sophie tried rock climbing for the first time

Lydia discovered that she really loved it

She climbed it 4 times!

Cold treat on a windy day

Chef Sophie

While at Catalina Island, Trung and I got hooked on a cooking show called "Man vs Child" where executive chefs cook against kid protege chefs.  On the show, there is a little 8 year old Asian girl named Estie who reminds me a lot of Sophie, minus the crazy cooking skills.  We showed Sophie a few episodes of the show and now she is more willing to learn to cook; she's can't use the excuse that she's too little anymore.  Today we taught her how to make sausage...baby steps.

Sophie's sausages

Veteran's Day

Mid-week day offs are the best!  We get to sleep in and hang out with people we normally never get to because both parents work.  Too bad Trung had to work and missed out on most of the fun.

Free doughnuts at Sidecar Donuts...chocolate!

All ready to skate, but then the Zamboni shows up

"Looks, Mom, no hands!"

Cheers to a fun Veteran's Day!

To spar or not to spar

Master Temple was setting up a spar with four intermediate level students and three advanced level students...

but somehow he conveniently ran out of time.  :P

Hot Pot

Tonight was the perfect night for hot pot with the cold front that came through.  I purchased a groupon a few months back for Little Sheep Mongolian hot pot that was expiring, so we made a special trip down to Torrance.  I personally thought it was worth it; the broth is so tasty and warmed the soul.  :)

Hot and mild

Can you tell which side Trung and I used more?

Thankful for the blankets that kept our extremities warm

Back to the daily grind

The hallway of our hotel, nice and airy

Catalina carts

So long, it's been fun!

Catalina Island Revisited

Since we had limited time to travel due to childcare, we decided to visit a nice place more local.  Trung came up with Catalina Island after talking to co-workers, and we barely visited four years ago as a mini-excursion during a cruise.  We caught an early ferry ride from Long Beach and got to spend the entire day exploring Avalon.

My man of ten years

The famous casino

Gelato!  The girls would be so jealous!

Our ride around Avalon

We had some great views

The Bell tower

Fun stuff!

45 minutes of pulling to make taffy

Our hotel

Buffalo milk, personally a bit too strong for my taste

Surf and turf

Mini vacation

After parent teacher conferences for both girls, I picked my parents up from my brother Mike's house in Orange County and we went out to lunch.  Then they dropped Trung and I off in Long Beach, where we started our mini vacation to celebrate our ten year anniversary.  We didn't have anything really planned for Long Beach, but our hotel was on the same block as a small outlet center, so we did some shopping.  Trung, who hates to shop, ended up buying more things than me!  Then we ate dinner at a local "mom and pop" restaurant, and had a nice stroll back to our hotel.

 Getting our shop on

Downtown Long Beach at night

Eat, swim, eat

The girls' Halloween loot...we all picked out 10 pieces and cashed the rest in at the dentist's office for a dollar/pound.

Fun entertainment as we ate our free lunch...

of tamales, rice, and pastry, while celebrating Dia de los Muertos.

After lunch, we went a few blocks to Lydia's final swim meet.

She swept away the competition on the final race.  Way to go, Lydia!