Alexis is putting the playground in good use

We go there so often. Here are all the photos in the last few weeks.

Alexis first time on Carousel on her own

We took this when we went to Happy Hollow 2 weeks ago. Lei

Alexis first time on big swing and slide

Alexis loves the new playground near our house. We probably go 5 times a week. So she is now a pro on the swing and slide. Lei

My Parents Last Minute Visit to SF

My parents decided to visit last weekend since Isabel is going to school for the first time and we were able to borrow our friends place for them to stay.  Overall they had a blast.  I was impressed that they walked every day in the morning and can still walk quite a bit every where.  I am glad they are continuing to move and exercise even though they are getting older.  I hope to always stay active in my life as well.

Here are some photos.

Isabel's First Week of Kindergarten

Dawn of a new Era - my baby girl Isabel is a kid now who goes to Kindergarten 5 days a week. Ahhhh! Where did all the time go?  I cry 3 times in the last month thinking about it.  It's hard to thinking she is growing up so far.  Even with all the preparation mentally, the first week was still quite a transition

• Isabel went from a preschool of 12 kids to attending Starr King which has 300+ kids 
• Our commute went from 30 min mornings and another 30 min evenings twice a week to 90 minutes mornings and 90 min evenings 5 days a week.  Let's just say that Jaime and I are still adjusting and looking into carpool option.  
• The longer time is partly contributed to the fact Starr King is farther away (about 20 min drive without traffic one way).  
• But also because Isabel is still adjusting and we have to stay with her for 25 min until assembly is done and we walk her to classroom
• Also with giants games, the longest time it took one way can be 45 minutes. - Yikes
• It's great she is going to school with friends she already know - Weston is from her preschool and is now in her class Room 114.  Isabel is also making new friends fast - Danika, Lucas, Leah, Emily, etc...
• Isabel is also learning that she should not leave her lunch bag out on a bench to play.  She forgot about it.   Thank goodness she already ate.  We did find the bag but the rest of the food and the topperware were gone
• We learned that white shirts may come home with paint all over it. Blue tops may be better and last longer.  Starr King has uniforms - white and blue collared top and blue bottoms.  
• We are learning to put Isabel in bed earlier than 9 as her days starts at 7:40 wake up 8:40-2:40 school.  2:40-5:30 after school,  then dinner, bath, games, and bed. 5 days a week.  She is pretty tired after that as are we with all the extra commute.
• On Friday, I got a call from the school that Isabel fell on the pavement and bruised her face.  I found out it's a complete accident from Isabel. She just ran into another kid her age and fell.  Her shiner is recovering very quickly.  Kids heal so far.  
• I took the bus to pick up Isabel on Friday 30 min to get there and 45 min to get back.  The seat was not that comfortable but at least I didn't have to drive and I had seats in both direction.  Isabel liked it and actually took a nap on the way back.  

All in all, still adjusting but going well.  I guess I should treasure this time while she clings to us still as soon enough she will run to school and not even look back to say goodbye.   Letting her go a little at a time is something we must do but it's definitely not easy.  I am glad I get to spend enough time with her to see her grow into such a multi-faceted little girl.

Here are some photos and video.

A fun day at happy hollow

I took the day off on Friday to take the kids to Happy Hollow.  We arranged so that her good friend Alina will also be there as well.  We had a blast.  Happy Hollow is a small amusement park, playground, and zoo. Ling rode her first carousel.  She liked it.  Isabel of course was a pro.  I rode the rollercoaster 3 times with Isabel.  caught some air time on the first drop.  Impressed that Isabel wasn't too scared.  It's a smart rollercoaster.

The playground was big with tons of these netted bridges etc..  Isabel loved going through them and it was a good workout for me.  We also saw a puppet show, a live animal demonstration (which was really good) and walk through the zoo.  

All in all, a great day.  I wanted to take her somewhere before she starts Kindergarten which is next Monday - yikes.  Traffic back was surprising okay. We left at 4:10 took 280 back and only hit traffic at the ballpark in SF.  Got back by 5:25.  Life is good!

Great educational websites for young kids

My friend at work just told me some great educational websites for kids

• www.ixl.com - teaching/ practicing math and logic by grade level starting pre-K
• www.starfall.com - teaching kids phonics and how to read
• www.pbskids.com - games intends to teach kids spelling etc...  Isabel already loves this.  

I bought Isabel a leapfrog game she wanted for math and it was Horrible.  It was a little pony's game.  Because it's multiple choice, she just tries every option until it's correct.  No teaching at all.  These other sites seems better.  can't wait to try the first one with Isabel.

Lei

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"Vision without action is a daydream; action without vision is a nightmare!"

My First Ever Timed Race - 5K Giants Race 2013

Even though I have been running for exercise for over 15 years, I have never been in a timed race before.  Thanks to Agnes who signed us for the Giants Race this year, I was able to finished my very first 5K race with official time of 29 min 45 seconds or 9:31 per mile

It even amazed me how fast I ran given my regular pace is around a 10 min mile or more.  I think it was really because of all the energy in the crowd.

• There were over 7000 people running, jogging, and walking in the 5K.  some with stroller as well.
• Sometime it was like an obstacle course to get around people that were walking in the middle but for the most part it was just awesome to see so many people running
• The powerade or gatorade midway definitely helped
• On the way back to give myself more of a boost, I put my hand out for high fives with strangers still going toward half way mark.  Remarkably, every time I did that, I got a bit of an energy burst.
• I had to stop once to loosen my left shoe as my left foot was going numb from tightening the timer to my left shoe too tight.  First time rookie mistake I guess.  I needed the break anyway.  Each mile was not easy.  I never got a runner's high, but seeing everyone else running motivated me to keep going
• the best part is we end up inside AT&T park for the finish which was awesome.  I have never been on the field before.  Agnes and I were able to stretch on the outfield grass - really surreal and a great feeling.  We also took some funny photos near the dug out and home plate which was fenced off.
• We then all came home and headed to Chinatown for a decadent meal of crab, shrimp, fish, pork, and beer.  YUMMY!

All in all, a great day.  My sister and brother in law also ran although they were way ahead in the line.  We got there just at 11am when the starting line started.  We didn't actually cross the starting line until 11:10am.  Good thing for these sophisticated timers which times you only when you step on the mat crossing the start line.

I am pretty sore now.  Was very sore to begin with as I took a TRX/ViPR work out on Friday and did like 80 squats.  not smart.  I was surprised I could even run as getting up from the couch was painful.  Although once the muscles warmed up, it was actually less painful running than walking.  I will pay for it tomorrow I guess.

Today, I am just enjoying the high of finishing my first official race ever.  Agnes says next year it will be the 10K - YIKEs!  next race probably the 5K on Turkey day.

See our photos here

Lei

A dream come true

3 years ago, when my neighbor suggested that we band together and build a playground in the neighborhood, I was skeptical but hopeful.  20 months after speaking at city hall to help over-turn the ordinance that prevented a permanent structure from being built at sue Biermann park, I can't believe we have a gorgeous playground built 2 blocks from our apt (see video).

This past weekend was the carnival opening hosted by zynga. The kids LOVE the new playground. It cost $900k and is completed funded by private donors, grants and nearby businesses like Zynga, SalesForce, Bay club etc.... Can you believe it took at least a year for us to convince the government to let us donate a playground to this area?


 We are glad to be part of history and you can find a little plaque on the side of the playground honoring our minor participation. We all got up early to help set up the festivities. Now we can go everyday. Lets PLAY!.

Lei

Agnes' Birthday celebration

Happy Birthday Agnes!!  She came up with a great idea and we and my sister in law's family (Em, Roy, and Gabby) all spent the day at Antioch water park

It was an awesome 88 degrees in Antioch and surprisingly not crowded. We had yummy pork porchetta sandwiches from the ferry building. The girls (Isabel, Lexi, Gabby) had a blast in the water and on the kiddy slides. While the adults also had a blast on the bigger slides. I even tried to the lily pad challenge - not easy at all but I made it (see video). The drive back was surprisingly easy - no traffic. Took only 55 min. We ended up having a decadent dinner at Osha Thai - lemongrass seabass, a lamb dish with egg on top, crispy ponpano, crab and chicken fried rice, papaya salad. YUM YUM AND YUM :-)

Now Jaime will take Agnes out for some drinks so they can both celebrate their birthday. Jaime's birthday is tomorrow - July 14. I am pooped and am off to bed with the kids. Thanks Agnes for all that you do for us. I hope you had a blast on your birthday today. I know we did. :-)

A Very Happy Birthday to Me :-)

I was surrounded by good friends and family.  It was a nice, breezy 88 degrees in Burlingame on July 4 - perfect weather to hang out and watch the kids play in the backyard. The BBQ cooked by Brett was divine - tri-tip, sausage, corn, zucchini - all SO GOOD.  Kerry made the best Guacomole - we finished it in no time.  Thank you both!  It was nice to also have Roy finally move to CA.  Everything was right that day.

Finally we had a chance to fully put the huge backyard to good use.  The inflatable pool was the perfect size for Gabby, Isabel, Alexis, Riya, and Sloane to play in.  They had a blast.  The adult also played sling shot water ballons and ballon toss.  All in all, a perfect 4th of July and birthday celebration.

Thanks honey for pulling it together;  Thanks Brett and Kerry for leading the charge on the BBQ; Thanks mom and dad for letting us having it at your house and the very funny bday card and nice gift.  Thanks sis for another great card and gifts.  I will need more help from you as your card suggest, as July should be a month of bday celebration. :-)  You know what I am talking about.    Thanks to Rain, Shai, Ronen, Asha, Mel, and Riya for making it although it was so last minute.  Finally the patriotic cupcakes from Em and Roy were awesome.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching Alexis devour a whole one all by herself (see video).  She loved it.

Ling is feasting at Delancey

I love the way she eats.

Reno Family Trip - June 2013

Even though Jaime calls Reno the "armpit" of ..., we managed to have a great time there with the family. Here are the photos and highlights

• We stopped by Sac on the way up to break up the drive.   Drive up to Reno after ward was only another 2.5 hours
• We went to Funderland which was great.  a small place with a ton of rides just for small kids.  What's great is you can pay a la carte instead of one entrance fee.  So we played there for 90 min and had lots of fund
• Lunch at Akebone nearby Funderland in Sac - I highlight recommend.  Great Tonkatsu Chashu ramen and sashimi as well.   It's 4 stars in SF standards which is high praise
• We stayed at the Peppermill Casino and it was okay in general but we loved it because
• I was able to get a cheap rate - We had 2 joining rooms for $260 for 2 nights + lots of hotel comp credits and free arcade play.  It was very good value.  
• 3 pools and perfect depth for the kids to play (Pool food was good just pricey.  good thing we had comp credit)
• arcade was very modern - we spent hours here - morning are the best as there are not a lot of people.  so much so Isabel won almost 1500 tickets to get a new princess backpack.  I love the motorcycle game here, Jaime played football and Agnes / Isabel played everything
• beds were super comfortable, comparably if not better to Westin's heavenly beds.  We stayed at the Peppermill tower and it was fine.
• club edge is in the hotel - it was an okay club.  we went to ladies night where there were free drinks for me until Midnight.  can we say another Mandarin tonic pls? ;-).  Music was really good even though the crowd was somewhat trashy.  The funny thing is Jaime knew the DJ playing that Friday night.  They haven't seen each other for 15 years.  We get this a lot in SF as Jaime grew up there but what a coincidence for Reno.  Best part is it's so convenient
• Don't need to go through casino to get to the pool.  Jaime doesn't gamble and I don't really so it was nice we don't have to trek through there to get to Pool, Arcade, or Club.
• Not smoke filled - we stayed on a non-smoking floor and it was great.
• Duck house and Naan & Kabob outside the hotel are where we ate for dinner Friday and Sat night.  Food at the hotel was rated overpriced and subpar by Yelp so we yelped and found two 4 star ones outside.  Duck house is Chinese and nothing special.  Food was decent enough.  We got fried rice for late night hungers.  Naan & Kabob was quite yummy. My seabass was pretty divine and so was the Safron ice cream dessert :-)
• Circus Circus - good old reliable entertainment.  We drove and spent 90 minutes there.  I think the adults had more fun trying to get the stuffed animals for the kids.  We all loved placed the race games whether it was shooting water or rolling a ball into a set of holes with numbers.  We ended up with 6 more dust collectors, I mean stuff animals - a fuzzy ball that Ling loves to throw, a fish called Lori by Isabel, a Minion, a shedding dog, and two others. 

Will we be back?  Not sure.  the drive back was a little bad.  5 hours due to two traffic points. Jaime drove the whole time except for the last 40 minutes.  Thanks honey.  We will definitely visit Funderland and Sac again as that's only 1.5 hours away.

Lei

Our PV Zip line Adventure

This is what I posted on TripAdvisor + photos just for the family blog

We really enjoyed this adventure and will definitely recommend it to others. I will tell you the few hiccups at the end. Here are the highlights.

1. Fun begins right away. Unlike other adventures where the fun doesn't begin until you get to the destination, our fun started right away with the fast boat ride starting at the marina terminal. The boat was truly fast. I felt like I was in Miami Vice racing toward Havana 
2. Transfers were quick – no long wait. Our transfer to the 4 by 4 was super quick and after another 20 min was by base camp. Then we were on our Mules after getting all the gear and first set of photos taken. Whenever we transferred, we never felt like we were waiting forever 
3. We loved the many varieties of adventures – fast boat, mule ride, ziplining upright, upside down and propelling off the cliff wall along the water fall, rope bridge walk, and the final waterslide were all exhilarating. Both hubby and I love the varieties we were got in one adventure 
4. Took shorter time than expected – We left at 1:30 and got back to the Marina by 7pm. I love that even though the website said 6.5hours which would make it 8pm. Getting back early meant we had the whole evening still to enjoy and have fun. 
5. Accommodating guides – We are not allowed to bring anything on the 2.5 hours adventure in the mountains but I mentioned that I have low blood sugar and they carried a small snack for me in their back pack. 
6. Divina – I initially talked to Divina about the adventure. She is very responsive and helpful and always can be reached by email. They even moved the Tour for us by a day since we discovered a conflict once we arrived in Mexico. 
7. WE felt very SAFE – all the guides knew their stuff well and we felt safe at all times. I will definitely recommend this adventure to others.

Here are two areas where they can improve

• Guides could have interacted with the adventurers more - While the guides all knew their stuff – not all of them seem outgoing and comfortable interacting with the adventurers. It was a little strange to see them joking with each other but not with us. I have done zip lining once before 7 years old. On that tour, every guide was very intent on entertaining us all along the way and knew how. Vallarta Adventurer guides seem very trained on the safety stuff but was less trained on making small talk. At one point, we were transferring from one repel line to another zip line and all of us were kind of lost as to where to go. None of the six guides stayed with us. They were either ahead or behind. When 3 of them finally caught up to us, they were just joking with each other in Spanish. It was kind of weird. 
• Rash guard should be optional - We were all made to wear their rash guards for the ziplining etc… They smelled a bit and frankly I would have liked to wear my own if they told us beforehand it was necessary. I think they do this for their marketing as well since all of them say Vallarta adventure on them. Their website photos didn’t indicate this either as everyone looked like they wear their own t-shirts. I disliked forced over-marketing at the expense of the adventurers.

Our review of the PV Hotel - Now Amber

This is what I posted on TripAdvisor.

Overall, we had a fabulous fun filled vacation. Our hotel was more than what we expected and we definitely plan to be back. There were a few hiccups but nothing major.

 ROOM - gorgeous 10th floor room 2061 with stunning ocean view. We booked the lowest room category but ask for a free upgrade given we went for our anniversary. I guess it never hurts to ask ;-). Our king bed was heavenly, perhaps even better than the heavenly bed at the Westin. The shower easily fits two people and had good water pressure- very important to me. and the separate jacuzzi tub was nice too. I loved the modern open design of the bathroom. Hubby loved the TV with plenty of free channels including HBO and SHOWTIME I think. The balcony was nice. We slept with the balcony door open most nights. There is nothing like falling asleep to ocean waves.

Hiccups: 1. screen on balcony door was not fully attached. We called to have it fixed but no one ever came. Luckily May is not rainy seasons so very few Mosquitos. We never got any in the room. 2. Intrusive calling - while they meant well to check how our room service etc were. It was weird to receive calls especially when we were napping.

FOOD above average although can vary a lot. Overall we love it as we quickly learned what to order and what to avoid. We love the fact none of the restaurants needed reservations except for teppanyaki. We love the convenience of 24 hr room service and stocked minibar. Our favorite a la carte restaurants were Bordeaux - French. Service was good and food came quickly. Felt like a $$$ restaurant but free ;-). French onion soup and steak with fois gras sauce were our favorite plus the trio sorbet for dessert. Himistu was a good second favorite. Being Asian, I am pretty picky about Asian food but I was pleasantly surprised. Their salads were flavorful. The salmon sashimi were the best and the eel roll was good. Teppanyaki show was also good. We never tried capers, castaway, or market cafe. Buffet breakfast and lunch were good. 6+ fresh juices in the morning and freshly made to order scrambles were my favorites. Grilled meats and seafood were very tasty for lunch and the barefoot grill was handy for pool time snacks

Dining tips: avoid hamburgers. We had it for room service first night. Horrible. Most of the sushi maki was not good and shellfish in general was not good. Shrimp was ok but prawns seemed not fresh. Avoid Tamarindo - service is slow and food was over salted. Ask for fresh cracked eggs for the made to order breakfast. Their pre- mixture and pre-made eggs always tasted funny to me

 HOTEL ENTERTAINMENT - Daytime activities were plentiful and more than expected. We kayaked, tried the water trampoline and inflatable ice berg - much harder than they looked. We did rifle shooting, archery. I also did yoga on the beach, water aerobics, Latin dancing and lessons. Hubby did water polo and music trivia. All were fun. The entertainment staff is always smiling, energetic and created a fun atmosphere. We especially loved Alejandro, Juan Carlos. Best of all, everything was included. Night time shows were just ok. We missed several. I think the best are the ones on Saturday - Caribbean night and Friday - fire show

NIGHTLIFE- We came to party since we didn't bring the kids. We like to dance, drink some and enjoy good music. We don't like techno though. There is a club on site but it was dead most nights. On Thursday we were surprised it was not dead and played some good music and had a small fun crowd. Just when we were getting into it, it shut down as it closes at 1am - bummer. Not to worry as there was plenty of nightlife on Malecon - along the downtown board walk lined at least 4-6 clubs. We had a blast on 3 different nights - Sunday at la vaquita - very casual bar with fun swings and wet Tshirt contest Sundays. Monday at Mandala - no cover and got the best seat on the balcony right in front of dance floor and Friday at Roo.

 I am including this in the hotel review because the hotel offers to bring guests to go out for nightlife every night by the entertainment staff. We had both a good and bad experience with this. The deal is $15 for cover or $40 for open bar including cover per person - both include cab fare there which is usually $6. This is a great deal on busy nights like thurs to sat especially if other people from the hotel go as it facilitates meeting other cool people in a fun way. it is more of a scam on other nights especially if you just paid cover as actually Sunday to wed there is no cover in most if not all clubs. We went with the hotel on Sunday and Friday. Friday was totally worth it as we ended up getting bottle service and had the best table in the club at Roo and partied with 10+ cool people from the hotel. Sunday turned out fun more because two other cool couples went. We were happy we ventured out on our own on Monday and Tuesday as places where entertainment team would have charged us cover or open bar, it was free to get in and we got much better liquor a la carte.

ALL INCLUSIVE - overall very worth it. Hubby got great premium liquor free and service was good. We did tip generously although we still prefer the club med experience better where no tipping is allowed. Figuring out how much to tip and bringing enough cash can get stressful. POOL AND LOBBY - our favorite pool was the one with the swim up bar. Loved the blue floating mats that we can just get on and tan in the water. We LOVED the lobby on 3rd floor - stunning grand with beautiful sunsets and awesome breeze. Overall, we really enjoyed ourselves and for the price we paid $2450 for a week at Now Amber including direct flight from SF, it was truly a luxurious vacation. ;-) We look forward to returning