Colorful Spring Birthday Party

here's a picture of an "unfinished" cake table i worked on this morning. it took me two weeks to plan my niece's and nephew's birthday. it turned out really fun. i'm exhausted and will blog more later. enjoy. xoxo.

Corona Del Mar Beach | Corona Del Mar, CA

It was such a beautiful day that we couldn’t resist not going to the beach. We love going to “little” Corona Del Mar Beach because it’s small and makes us feel as though we’ve tucked ourselves away in our own paradise. Normally, we would head to Huntington Beach (to be specific, we like Main St.), but we didn’t feel like dealing with a large crowd that day. Plus, we love gawking at our dream home that we hope to one day afford.

I love being there with my boys, too. I mean, they really, really love the water. Dilly couldn’t get enough of it. He’s our little risk-taker, dare devil son who appears to be fearless.  He kept running into the water and running back to shore. It was so fun watching our boys laugh and cavort in the waves though. Plus, Aiden had his never-ending commentary for everything. It was hilarious.

I love how the beach makes me feel. It embraces this inner tranquility that I can’t seem to adore. I love spending time with my family, too, and cherish every moment. It’s the life I’ve always wanted. Honestly, motherhood is like mixing a whole bunch of chemical together that permanently changes you. It has changed my views tremendously. It’s a new discovery.  I always say, it’s not easy, but the reward is worth more than any sum of money.

Love my boys. XOXO.

Santa Ana Zoo | Santa Ana, CA

We were looking for something inexpensive to do on Sunday after church. We decided to head to Santa Ana Zoo. I haven’t been here since my college years. Honestly, this is not the world class zoo with lions and bears, but for $8 dollars a pop (kids under 3 are free), it was actually worth our money and I can’t complain. It was really a great place for our boys because they love animals and the zoo had enough animals to entertain them. Ideally, I think this zoo is great for kids under 5 due to their short attention span.

OK, so it might not have been the safest thing to have our boys sit atop an 8-000 lb elephant and it will probably be the last time they ride one. I realized after they went on that the elephant was in a cramped zoo enclosure, which didn’t allow much room to walk. I know, I know. I felt guilty afterwards....... forgive me.

Overall, we had a pleasant time looking at all the animals, but our favorite would probably be the monkeys. They’re quite entertaining and really funny to watch. Love my boys. XOXO.

 

my little helper.

Here’s a video I snapped of Aiden and Dilly while they were playing together the other day. I wanted to see what Aiden would do and didn’t say a single word towards the end. I’ve watched this video so many times. Aiden is the biggest sweetheart ever. It makes me proud to see him try to do what he’s doing. As a parent, you feel good inside because you know you did something right. What a great little helper. Love my boys. Enjoy. XOXO.

P.S. Aiden is bilingual and speaks English and Vietnamese. In part of the video, he's saying that he needs to help his brother.



Toy Story Mania | Anaheim, CA

Our day didn’t turn out what we expected and I couldn’t get my VPN to work from home, so we decided to take our boys out to California Adventure, in hopes that the lines would be short. WRONG! I totally forgot that it’s Spring Break for most kids. It was jammed pack. We’ve been annual pass holders for several years now and it’s one of the best investments ever. I like how we can just go whenever we feel like it. It’s highly recommended if you have a family, married, or “just because” you love Disney.  I’m telling you, it’s totally worth your money!! Please go buy one.

Anyways, we’ve always wanted to go on Toy Story Mania, but I swear, every time we’ve attempted, it’s either way too long or was closed. Today, we sucked it up in the heat (drenching in sweat) and waited 50 minutes so we can wear our cool yet dorky 3-D glasses to play the video game that is embellished with 3D graphics. I got to sit with Dilly (what a lucky man), who didn’t do much. He held on to me tightly. I think he got scared. I got to shoot twice. Once at Woody’s Rootin’ Tootin’ Shootin’ Gallery (I remember the name because it was so cool and the final game). I was shooting away as fast as I could in excitement but I had no opponent. HAHA. So, I won! I turned to look at Aiden and Papa.  Aiden was so giddy. He enjoyed the game and wanted to go back in line …….

In sum, we wanted to model promise-keeping. We told Aiden that if he finished his lunch quickly and is a good boy, we would take him to Disneyland. It’s really hard being parents and one of the primary things is to have trust. We have to keep our promise to build this trust. We’ve always delivered what we promised and if it was broken, it’s normally because Aiden didn’t listen. We want him to understand and Dilly, too. You’ll be surprised at how much they know or remember.

Love my boys. XOXO.

here's dilly waiting in line.

aiden is checking out mr. potato head. haha. he's a pretty cool dude (in my eyes).

our family and our cool 3-d glasses.

IPA Spring Festival | Irvine, CA

My utterly awesome crazy cousin (thanks a million) gave us tickets for free admission to IPA (Irvine Police Association) Annual Spring Festival. I believe its one of the perks for working for the city of Irvine. It was held at Hidden Valley Park (which is behind Wild Rivers). I was familiar with the park because my mom’s company’s annual picnic used to be held there. We had an awesome time. I loved the DJ. I witnessed a mother with two kids toppled into the water because they lost balance. It was sad, but the mom was laughing hysterically.  Aiden got to ride on his first paddle boat with Papa Dang and a few kiddy rides several time. Dylan didn’t meet the height requirement so he got to watch Aiden. How fun. Both our boys were really excited to be there.

On our way out, Papa attempted the ultimate challenge and failed. I was scared for him. It looked like he was about to do the split. He’s not flexible at all. Haha.

Here's Aiden on his first boat ride with Papa.

Aiden had too much energy. I asked him to stand for a picture and he kept jumping.

Poor Dilly had to watch Aiden on the ride as he waved to the crowd. He didn't meet the height requirement.

There's comfort in images when Aiden is obviously in his element and totally happy. He makes shooting so much easier. Can you tell?

one word: failed.

Jabbawockeez (MUS.I.C) | Las Vegas, Nevada

We took a quick one-day (approx. 30 hours) family trip to Vegas to hang out and watch Jabbawockeez together. It was our first road trip together as a family without anyone tagging along with us. Our boys were very well-behaved in the car. We decided to go and have been planning it because Aiden loves Jabbawockeez. It was supposed to be his birthday theme this year, but since it didn’t turn out that way, we took him to watch the show instead as his final birthday gift from us. Did you know he was born on the day Jabbawockeez was crowned their title on ABDC? Maybe, our not-so-little anymore cutie pie, Aiden, will be a future hip-hop dancer. Haha.

The show was amazing besides the fact that Dilly made the entire crowd laugh hysterically when he screamed (in delight) before show time. He wanted to steal Jabba’s thunder. Haha. Anyways, Jabbawockeez knows how to put on a show with their amazing dance skills and their story line was very inspirational.  Good-times as always.......... love my boys.