Permanent!

I have been waiting and waiting for Finn's baby teeth to fall out coz my 1st one fell out when I was 7. His teeth aren't even wiggling yet ... except for one bottom one that's kinda wiggling. Then this afternoon he said that he can feel it moving so I was gonna check it and lo and behold ... I find this big tooth coming out inside! I'm happy that it's finally showing but kinda worried too coz his baby teeth doesn't seem to want to go yet. And not sure about the placement of the permanent one either. So I made an appointment with our dentist for Wednesday. Good thing it's only a 4-hr session in school that day since it's their first day. Oh boy, Finn is in 2nd grade already! But that's for a different post. Let's hope Finn's teeth will cooperate and won't cause any problems. Cross your fingers!

CA Friends

Last Saturday, our friends from CA came to visit us. The other boy, N, was Finn's first best friend and they were both very sad when they had to move to CA. It's been 2 years since they last saw each other and they're still good friends (^_^) The kids swam in the afternoon while Jojo started grilling pork barbecue and ribs for dinner. We ate by the pool. When we were done, it was dark already and mosquitos started annoying us so we moved indoors. They left before 10pm and as expected, the kids didn't want the day to be over. A playdate was set for Tuesday so they'd have all day to play with each other. Here's a few silly shots from Saturday:

Mario and Luigi

The boys

GHIII

I've been meaning to make our own personalized skin for our Les Paul wireless Wii guitar for some time now. It's only today that I finally made it and look ... it's us! I like it (^_^) Finn thinks it's cool. The guitar came with 2 sticker sheets but I didn't want to put them in front, that'd be boring and unimaginative. So we put them at the back of the guitar and some on the neck and head stock. That way you see something interesting on both sides. What do you think?

Hershey Park

Woke up very early on Saturday to prepare for our drive to Hershey PA. Last time we were here, Finn was 2 I think so he didn't really appreciate it then. This time he was excited.

Hershey Park doesn't open until 10 and we were there before 9am. Good thing Chocolate World opens at 9 so we went there first and took the Great American Chocolate Tour where they show how they make their chocolates (^_^) After the tour and the gift shop, we walked to Hershey Park. Finn rode on a real rollercoaster for the 1st time! The kiddie coasters are boring for him so he was really glad he can ride a real one now. We rode on the Comet first. It's rated as a 4 which is a high thrill ride and I guess it shocked him. He got scared after the first drop but he was still smiling ... clinging tightly on to me but he didn't panic. After the ride he said he thinks he doesn't want to ride rollercoasters anymore or he might puke =P. So we walked around first and found another rollercoaster that's only rated 3, moderate thrill ride. We said he should try riding again coz it's usually just the first time that gets you. So he did and he loved the Trailblazer! We rode it again right after we got off (^_^) He said he'd like to try the one with the loop next time since that one is rated 5.

After a snack, Finn wanted to go to the Boardwalk already. So we rented a locker, got changed, and headed for the Shore first. Since my camera isn't waterproof, no photos the whole time we were getting wet (-_-) We wanted to go on the lazy river after but the line was long so we skipped that and headed for the Roller Soaker. This ride is cool! The line was long here too but you can't ride this anywhere else so we waited. Below the coaster there's a lot of "water guns" that others can shoot the coaster with. The riders also have their own water they can dump to people below (^_^) Fun!!! There are 4 seats arranged 2x2, back to back. Finn wanted to ride alone so he faced the back, Jojo and I faced the front (which gets wet more since you get hit with water first).

We had a late lunch and then headed for the East Coast Waterworks which is a huge water park in itself. Had lots of fun here too and this is where we stayed the longest. After all that, we decided it was time to dry off, get changed and see other parts of the park.

We went to the Kissing Tower and saw the park from above, then to the SkyView. Finn wanted to create his own slushie flavor by mixing cherry, blue raspberry, green apple, pepsi, strawberry, and orange .... o-kay. Had dinner at this Texas BBQ stand after that. It was getting late by this time so we headed for the gift shop but not before buying a smore (very messy and sticky but oh so good!). It started drizzling too but we were leaving already since our drive takes about 3 hrs.

Next time we plan on staying overnight so that we can ride all we want one day and stay in the boardwalk the next. But that's for next year (^_^)

NY weekend

A college friend of mine, Issa, stayed with us for the weekend. She arrived noon of Saturday and since she's only here for a few days, we had to maximize her stay. After I picked her up from the airport, we took the bus to NY. Had lunch at Port Authority and took the subway going to Coney Island. She said she didn't really want touristy stuff so taking her to the beach in NY counts right? This is also my first time at Coney Island so I wasn't really sure what to expect. Needless to say, we were overdressed. When we got there, we strolled on the boardwalk, played fashion police on the beachgoers, had ice cream and sat on the sand. We walked to the fair which Issa commented was "stuck in the 80s" and got duped by this side show. Trust me, don't waste your money on side shows (-_-). So anyway, we just walked around and when we were on our way back to the station, there were these breakers. They were dancing on bare asphalt! I can only imagine how painful it must be. So after watching them, we went back to Manhattan, went to Toys R Us, M&Ms World and then had a light dinner at Jamba Juice. Took the 9.30 bus home.

The next day we went back to Manhattan, had lunch at Chipotle and walked to the Brooks Atkinson Theater to see Rock of Ages. It was awesome!!! Like watching a concert, only better (^_^) Too bad it wasn't Constantine but Jeremy Jordan was great too! Had so much fun watching it. We even had a free drink. After the show we went to Central Park, strolled along while singing "That's how you know" .... not! As we got to the east side, it started drizzling. We didn't have any umbrellas with us so we just thought of going to the Met to avoid the rain. It got stronger and thankfully, we reached the doors of the museum ... which was already closed since it was 6pm already. There were a few others taking shelter from the rain there as well. There were a few guards inside the museum and I was mouthing to one guard to open the door for us since the rain really starting pouring hard. He said he can't do anything about it coz the doors are already locked. I even made puppy dog eyes at him but he did the same to me (-_-). By now we were getting packed in the tiny alcove in front of the doors. Good thing Issa and I were at the doors and therefore somehow shielded from the rain by the others in front of us. But we still got wet since the rain would once in a while spray us with these weird gusts of wind and water. The freak storm lasted for more than 10 mins. When it finally let up, we saw a rainbow and there were blue skies once again. We walked back to the subway station and got off at Times Square. Had our dinner at Ruby Tuesdays and took the 9.30 bus home again.

Monday is Issa's last full day and we spent it at Jersey Gardens to shop of course! We finished off her list of to-buys and went home before 5pm. Jojo made reservations for dinner at Matsushima but before we were seated, we stopped by Mitsuwa first to do some Jap grocery shopping. Dinner was great! We also had a great view of the city. A very nice ending to a hectic 3 days.

Early the next morning, I took her back to the airport. I hope next time she'll be able to come back on a much more leisurely visit (^_^) Thanks for coming Issa!

Summer Vaca

We're back from a week's vaca in Vancouver (^_^) Stayed with my brother and his family in their new home and they showed us around. I will try to upload all ... well maybe not ALL but most of the photos (I have almost 3K of them) soon because I think they will better show off the places we went to instead of me describing them (not much of a writer). But here's what happened:

July 3, Friday - Left NJ and arrived in BC via Houston before midnight. Good thing there were no delays although they goofed at the airport. We were supposed to board at gate 102 but their monitors said it was 120. So all passengers were at gate 120. Then at boarding time, they announced that they made a mistake and that it was in fact going to be at gate 102 (0_o) Aside from that, all went well. That photo is of a big wooden sculpture in the arrival area of the airport. No idea what it means. Even my brother didn't know what it was. My brother and one of my nephews (M) came to pick us up. Didn't sleep right away when we got to their new house. I think we went to bed before 3am. Finn slept in one room with one of his cousins (G) who's 2 yrs older than him.

July 4, Saturday - First stop for the day is the Richmond Olympic Oval. The Speed Skating competition for the 2010 Winter Olympics will be held here. Then my brother and his family had a party to go to for lunch so the 3 of us hung out at the mall and had lunch there. Finn bought a bunch of DBZ toys at this anime shop. After lunch, we all went to the Fisherman's Wharf. Too bad we weren't able to come back to this place to buy fresh fish to grill at home. We then had some bakudanyaki from Tenku (^_^) This is one street food I would like to have here. Sooo good! It's like a gigantic takoyaki with different flavors ... mmmmm. After that we went to the night market. Bought myself 2 anime 1000 pc puzzles and Finn bought a Super Mario lanyard for his DS.

July 5, Sunday - Had lunch at a mall then went to the Aquarium. They had a new baby dugong so there was a special viewing. We were also able to touch a green anemone. Aside from the usual aquarium stuff, they also had a small area with monkeys and birds and sloths. We were lucky to see a sloth eating (^_^) After the Aquarium we went to Stanley Park, and then had dinner at Mr. Pickwick's. We were fortunate to have Mr. Pickwick himself as our chef. Fish and chips were delish!

July 6, Monday - Had fun at Science World in the morning. There was this game called Mind Ball where you strap something to your head and it measures your brain activity. The game is to push the ball towards your opponent by clearing your mind! I lost my game to Jojo but Finn was so good at it his chart was almost flat! He won the game against G (^_^). After that we had street food for lunch from JapaDog. Yummy! I wish this was available here along with the bakudanyaki. Then we went to Canada Place and walked around the area. Before heading home we stopped by Granville Island to go to the Kids Market. We weren't kinda in a hurry coz they were gonna close at 6pm. Looked at some boat houses before heading home.

July 7, Tuesday - Cried my eyes out watching the Michael Jackson memorial in the morning (T_T) Had take out for lunch and just ate at home and didn't go out (good thing coz my eyes were really swollen). Rest day!

July 8, Wednesday - Drove to the port to take the ferry going to Victoria. Cool experience with the organized car-to-ferry process. Had breakfast at the ferry cafeteria. Trip was around 1.5 hrs. When we arrived in Victoria, we decided to look for a hotel. We were so lucky coz we found in downtown that's fully equipped with a kitchen including cookware and tableware! All for the same price as a basic room at a hotel that's a bit far from downtown. Here we didn't need to bring the car and worry about parking since everything is walking distance (^_^) Had lunch at The Old Spaghetti Factory and then went to the Miniature World. I love this place! I love miniatures (^-^) Took tons of photos here. Then we walked around to see the shops. Had ice cream at Rogers. OMG, love their Mystere flavor!!! Why aren't you available here!!! Really, it was so good! Mystere is a dark chocolate ice cream with 70% cocoa ... mmmmmmmm. For dinner, Finn requested 7-11 :P hehehe. While we were walking back to our hotel, there was a street performer and so we decided to watch for a bit. Then he asked for a kid volunteer and Finn was chosen! His task was to catch one of the diablos (chinese juggling thingy) in his net. He did successfully and got $5 for helping him out (^_^) Woohoo! He was very happy about that.

July 9, Thursday - We went to the petting zoo in the morning. I didn't realize how cute goats were, especially the kids! We stayed quite a while there coz we were all waiting for the kids to climb up our backs =P They kept eating our jackets too. One chewed on my hair, one nibbled on Finn's ear, and then my finger when I intervened ... hehehe. Back to the hotel to clean up after that adventure, checked-out, then forgot where we had lunch. Butchart Gardens is out next stop. This is such a beautiful place! Took tons of photos here again (hence my almost 3k of photos). Really gorgeous flowers! And amazing landscaping! You have to see it to really appreciate the work done to this place. Back to the ferry after the gardens to go home.

July 10, Friday - On the way to Whistler, we stopped by Shannon Falls for lunch, then played by the stream. Stopped at Tantalus overlook and took this picture. So picturesque! Wonderful snow-capped mountains. Then Whistler itself is a quaint little place. It feels as though you're walking inside a theme park much like Disney with all the cute little shops and pedestrian only streets. Lots of outdoor activities here from mountain biking, skiing, even rafting. Whistler by the way is the venue for the Winter Olympics in 2010. So of course we visited the Olympics Store. Lots of cute items and there were big plushies of the four mascots on a sofa ... photo op! So we just walked around till it was time to leave in the evening.
Had dinner at McDonald's on the way back. Here's something I found out that's very interesting. Did you know that in their condiments section, you'll find vinegar beside the ketchup and mayo and other stuff? They actually dip their french fries in vinegar! I tasted it, it wasn't bad. But I find it odd, don't you? Oh well. I bet you're gonna want to try this one the next time you buy fries =P. Let me know what you think.

July 11, Saturday - Our last day. Had to pack so Jojo and I stayed behind while the rest, including Finn, went to a picnic with others. Before heading to the airport, we stopped by Tenku again for some bakudanyaki. This time, Jojo and I each had 2 (^_^) The chili mayo and their special for the day which was the sweet chili. I prefer the chili mayo but they're both good. See how big it is? That is a regular chinese take-out carton ... and the bakudanyaki fills the box! Mmmmmmm. I miss it so! When we got to the airport, we checked-in and then had coffee at Starbucks with everybody before saying our goodbyes.

Thank you so much to my brother and his family for letting us stay with them and for showing us around (^_^) Till next time!

Blooming

Not me, our garden. The cauliflower was harvested on June 20 and we gave the 2 heads away, kept one for ourselves. See the bald spot on the left of the garden pic? That's where it was (^_^)

Today I took the other photos showing our wild flowers. Pretty!!! And our zucchini is almost ready! See how big it is now? And I can see a little one growing right beside it. Our tomatoes are plentiful too. Still green but there's a lot! I took a photo of Finn beside it to show you how tall they are. They're as tall as I am =P

I don't have photos of the flowers in front yet but our pink rose is blooming now. There are more wild flowers out there too. Maybe next time (^_^)

Farm Town

Yes, I'm addicted to the Facebook app Farm Town but I'm gonna talk about our real "farm".

You know we've already harvested our lettuce and italian parsley a few times already and have given away some as well. Last week, we picked our first couple of strawberries (^_^) You might notice that it's still a little green on the ends but this is sort of a trial pick (yeah right, we were just excited =P). The other photos of the strawberries show the others ripening and this Monday, we picked 4 more. This time, they're juicy red! Soooo good! And there are more strawberries growing (^_^)

Jojo also picked a few cayenne peppers yesterday which he already mixed in with his dinner. The tomatoes are growing well too. Do you know how tall our tomato plants are? It's up to my shoulders! Didn't realize they could grow that tall coz our previous tomato plants weren't as tall as this.

Do you see our cauliflower? It's getting big too. And our zucchini squash has lots of flowers as well. I was telling Jojo I could put up a stand outside selling these veggies (^_^) We got excited in planting that we're growing more than we can use so we have to give them away. Next year, we know how much we need so that it's also not so crowded in the veggie patch.

On a different note, we have new pool toys! Finn has that boat with a squirt gun attached that gets its water from the pool. The boat has oar locks but no oars, so when we find small oars, we might get them so he can row the boat. I have that small aqua lounge and Jojo has a bigger aqua lounge. They're so comfortable you could fall asleep in them. There's also our floating basketball ring (^_^) It's been raining the past few days and the temps are a little on the cool side. Hopefully it'll start getting warmer again so we can enjoy our toys. And since Friday is the last day of school, Finn would want to swim more often. Wanna join us?