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.

A "Green" Marathon

 I always enjoy having people over because it forces me to clean the house.  This morning, Trung took the girls to soccer practice, so that I could concentrate.  I tidied up the place, got some laundry going, and put the corned beef cooking in the crock pot.  Around 2 PM, we walked over to Ocean Ave to cheer on Snow, Elizabeth, and Linda as they ran the final stretch of the LA Marathon.  Around 5:30, Weiru and family & Jessica and family came over for dinner and plenty of alcoholic drinks.  Too bad the main guest Snow couldn't make it because Linda had to go to the hospital ffom malnutrition.  Running a marathon really isn't as easy as it looks...hoping she gets better soon!

 Elizabeth and Snow running towards the finish line

 Just this last stretch left to go!

Enjoying a celebratory Irish dinner complete with corned beef, Irish soda bread, and Irish creme ice cream

Lalaine's Baby Shower

 Lalaine, who's son Pierre goes to school with Sophie, is expecting her third child, a little boy at the end of April.  Someone how I was put in charge of her baby shower, probably because she knows that I'm responsible and get the job done.  With Lydia working the last two days, however, I wasn't able to think about the shower, much less prepare for it.  So this morning, I managed to buy a cake, put together party favors (thanks to my family), and make a diaper cake.  Lalaine picked me up and we gathered with six others for lunch at El Cholo, a local Mexican restaurant, and enjoyed margaritas and good food.  Lalaine had a good time and to be honest, that's all that really matters.  I always seem to complain about the small things, but knowing how appreciative people are afterwards, I feel silly having complained in the first place!

 Most of us were Washington West moms and the rest were Lalaine's co-workers

 

My usual diaper cake gift, since almost all the baby showers I attend now are for the second or third baby

Now we're talking

A little over five months ago, I signed Lydia and Sophie up with Kids Management to do some extras work.  Since then, the girls have each gotten roles on network television shows, but not until today did I really feel that we were taking a step forward.  Lydia was picture-picked for this particular job, but was to work for two days, which she had never done before.  Even though it was just for a pilot, I felt like there was a real opportunity for her, so I took the job.

Yesterday was the first day out in Burbank at Warner Brothers Studios and to my horror, the Infiniti wouldn't start after I moved Lydia's car seat over, so I to move everything back into the minivan.  We arrived on set about 20 minutes late, which was a first, but thankfully it wasn't a huge deal.  The kids polished off four hours of school the first day and when we finally got on set around 3, we discovered that Ken Jeong, the crazy Asian guy from Hangover, was going to be Lydia's dad and
"Susan", a recurring character, was Lydia's mom.  So, this might mean that if the show gets picked up, they might ask Lydia back again!

Lydia really connected with her "grandfather" Dan Lauria, the dad from The Wonder Years, and did well on set.  Plus, she got along well the Gavin, the little boy who played her older brother.  Today, we were told that there would be a live audience, so Lydia got to "perform" in front of them and do the curtain call at the end.  We didn't get home close to 7 both days, but it was well worth it.  Wow, what a cool Hollywood experience!  Oh, and Sullivan and Son is a great comedy with Asian humor, check it out on TBS!

 Warner Brother studios

 Very cool grill-in-a-car

 On set in Stage 10

 Passing the time away

 Lydia's pretend family.  Yes, that's crazy man Ken Jeong from Hangover (Lydia's dad) and Wonder Year's dad Dan Lauria (Lydia's granddad).

I saw Vince Vaughn on set and ran into him again outside.  When I asked him for a picture, he said "if I start, it won't stop, but she's young..." meaning that he only took the picture because Lydia was with me.  I'm fine with that.  :P  Apparently, he's the executive producer of the show.

Swimming past the chill

A cool 65 degrees, hopefully the rash guard keeps Sophie a little warmer

You can see the heat from the 85 degree pool.  It's nice and warm in the water, but the moment the kids step out, it's freezing!