Coral's Birthday Party

We had another class reunion at Coral's 5th birthday party. We got to catch up with Lydia's old classmates and their parents, which was really nice since most of her friends are going to different schools.

Sunflower girls

Happy birthday, Coral!

Sophie just sitting around

All smiles

An afternoon at the beach after the party. It was awfully windy, but the kids still had a great time.

Baby Julian is here!

We dropped by Trond and Guro's place to see their new baby boy, Julian. It's been awhile since I've held a newborn and a blond one at that. I am definitely getting my baby fix with the twins from our New York trip and Julian now. :)

Holding 9 day old Julian

Such a cutie

Big sisters Lydia and Norah

The Balloon Man

The public library has been offering some really great programs this summer. Yesterday, we attended a drum show at the Main Library, just one block from our place, and today, the library on Montana had a balloon show. Buster was quite entertaining and one of Lydia's classmates was even in the show!

Lydia's former classmate Peyton assisting Buster

Buster got himself out of a straight jacket

and into a huge balloon. How?

Like this


Eren from the girls' Spring sports class hung out with us after the show.

Second Swim Session

The girls started their second round of swim classes and Sophie was delighted to find that she had one boy and one girl teacher this time. The girls have significantly improved their swimming skills and are a little too advanced for their classes, but all the other classes are full, so they are stuck for the rest of the summer. At least they get some water time and can improve their current skills. :)

Sophie's new teachers

Lydia's new teachers

Wedgie world

A Show and A Museum

Trung, Sophie, and I woke up bright and early Friday morning to watch Cee Lo Green perform at the Today Show. We arrived just in time to hear Cee Lo perform sing as we were way too far to see him. It was a pretty cool experience, though Sophie didn't think so since she slept through the entire thing. After the show, we met Trung's second cousin Amy and her family, who drove up from Virginia the night before, at a Children's museum. We walked through several animal exhibits and got to watch a show in the planetarium, which Lydia just loved! Somehow I always run into people I know no matter where I am, and this trip was no exception; I bumped into an old college friend Thy Nguyen, who happened to be the one to give us the planetarium tickets. Small world! We had some satisfying Mediterranean food for dinner and went home exhausted.

Cee Lo from a distance

The Today Show experience

Sophie interviewing Pikachu

T Rex


Third cousins playing

Excavating

After the special dinosaur exhibit

Pretty in Pink

Aunt Paula coming Sophie's hair

Time to floss

The next morning, we ate dim-sum with the family and then I met up with an old high school friend Sarah at Red Mango, a frozen yogurt place. We then packed up our bags and headed to the airport to begin our long flight home. Our friend Tom picked us up, but since Sophie's carseat didn't make it to LAX, we had to file a lost item report. We didn't get home until well past midnight, but it is definitely nice to be back.

Amy, Jacob, and Li

Sarah and I

The HiLine

Today we got up a tad bit earlier, but still managed to get a late start sight-seeing because we picked up bagels and ate them at a local playground. What are vacations for if not for taking it slow and enjoying yourself, right? :P We hopped onto the subway and went to see the Atrium, the Freedom Tower, and HiLine Park. Then we had a nice dinner at a family-style Italian restaurant with Tai and Paula near Times Square. What a day!

The girls kept running up and down the steps at the Atrium

The Atrium

The Freedom Tower; I can't believe it's almost been ten years since 9/11

The view of the street from HiLine park, a park built over an old railroad

Awesome architecture

Silly girls

Playing in the water while waiting for Tai and Paula

On our own

Today we were all on our own and we basically wandered around the city. First we had a delicious Taiwanese breakfast in Flushing, though we didn't know it was cash only until it was time to pay and Trung had to run off to the nearest ATM to grab some money while I waited at the restaurant with the kids. Then we took the subway and then the Staten Island ferry to catch a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. After a nice stroll though Battery Park, we met Tai at Washington Park and headed back home. We didn't do much since we had a late start, but it was awfully hot that we didn't mind taking it easy.

Lydia drinking the juice out of her Taiwanese bun

Sophie and her soy milk

Statue of the Liverty, as Sophie would say

Battery Park

Sophie's Tinkerbell pose

Taking a load off of our feed

Washington Park

First days in the Big Apple

After breakfast, we packed up, said our good-byes, and headed to the Amtrak train station for our ride into the city. When we told Lydia that we would be riding a train, she asked if there would be dinosaurs; we haven't watched it in awhile, but she remembered the PBS show Dinosaur Train. :) The moment we walked out of the station, the heat hit us like a ton of bricks. I honestly didn't expect such humidity; apparently we arrived during a national heat wave. After a very fulfilling Korean lunch, we went to Times Square and hung out at the largest Toys R Us that I had ever seen. The store was three stories high and had it's own indoor carousel! Then we met up with Tai and headed back to his place for a good night's sleep.

Lydia reading to Trung and Sophie on the Amtrak

Times Square

Lydia in toy heaven

On the big screen...we are on the middle far left; you can see Trung's raised arm

The next day we took it nice and slow and didn't leave until well after lunch. Tai and the twins took us to the Rockefeller Center and Central Park, where Sophie got a nice bump on her head from the slide. We ate lunch at Grand Central Station and parted ways for a bit as the twins went to their grandma's house for a few days.

Trung and the kiddos


Cousins watching cousins

The Lego store's interpretation of Rockefeller Center

Sophie loves to dance; that girl sure can move her hips!

And bump her head.


The famous Grand Central Station

Waiting for the subway