We just got back from the most wonderful little vacation to California. It was all that I hoped it would be and much more. We went for the Family Reunion that had been in the works for the last couple of years and was primarily planned by James' Cousin, Mary. Ben and I hadn't met Mary, her Husband Al and their four Children, Sarah, Jake, Jasen and David, but now that I know them I look forward to getting to spend more time with them.
We started with a detour to LA to meet James' Aunt and Uncle in LA that Ben and I hadn't had the pleasure of meeting and James hasn't seen for about a decade, their enthusiasm to meet us made us feel incredibly loved, I was honored to have received so much warmth and couldn't have been happier that we drove to meet them, talk about feeling like a guest of honor. We also got to see where Mom and Dad live in Korea town since the only home I had ever seen was the beautiful one in Temecula that they sold, wanting to be closer to the Culture and Customs of other Koreans. It was a charming apartment in one of the buildings that they own and it was very evident they are thrilled with the decision they made to be back there, I can understand wanting the familiarity that they feel living there.
We spent two solid days on the beach on Coronado Island, playing in the soft sand, running through the water, eating, playing games and just enjoying the company of the family, it was exactly what the Dr. ordered. Took little trips to the charming and quaint Sea Port Village to do a little shopping, have a bite and riding the Carousel, I could definitely spend more time there perusing the shops and enjoying the gardens. We took Ben to Birch Aquarium which was a lot of fun, got to sea the colorful fish of the Pacific and explore some tide pools and he even touched a Sea Cucumber, eeeew. One of the highlights of the trip was visiting Hotel Del Coronado, having seen pictures and read about it I knew it was a magnificent, historic hotel but until you walk through the lobby and see the shops, have a drink overlooking the beach you really don't know just how glamorous and impressive it is.
I always feel blessed to have met and married James and now I have a new, greater appreciation for the family that I married in to. I was told on the last morning of our trip, when Mary sat me down to have a "talk" that brought tears to my eyes, that I not only married James but I married the whole family and that they are thrilled to have me be part of them and should I ever need anything to not hesitate to ask, to know that family is always there for one another and that although there are Korean Customs I am still learning, that there may be things that make me uncomfortable, that I am experiencing a whole new world, I am loved...and boy do I feel it.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Family
In discussing all of the family members we are going to see for the family reunion we are going to Ben chimed in "And Auntie Ro and Uncle Sam and Auntie Ginna and Uncle Lance, how 'bout that?" Silly little stinker doesn't understand that we have different sides of the family and not everyone in your family gets together for every occasion:-)
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Such a boy
I was doing the letter on the chalkboard I made and wanted our smart boy to start to learn how to write them since he knows them all, well instead of following my lines and tracing them he decided to draw straight lines and say "Look, it's a worm" over and over.... that is such a boy thing to say!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Silly
I made the mistake of asking Ben what we should make for dinner, his response, without hesitation was "Posicuhls"...oh yeah, right, why didn't I think of that?!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
My "rope"
Ben gets all snuggly late at night and he found one of my robes, covered me up and kept saying "Here Mama, here's your "rope", my white blanket, the brown blanket and the stinky blanket" because he and James joke around that his little green blanket is stinky and then they cover each other with it over and over. Who is this kid? He's definitely entertaining!
Could not stop laughing
All of a sudden I heard Ben say "What the hell, Thomas" to his Thomas Train and it took everything in my being not to stop myself from showing him just how funny I thought that was, especially the way he said it "What the Heeeeel"....oh boy, my boy!
The Children's Museum
My friend Craig from CPK has a Son who is 4 and a half, Ethan, so we obviously talk about our boys all of the time and he mentioned having a membership to The Children's Museum and invited us along for their 3rd Birthday Celebration (funny that my boy is 3 and we've been going for ages). We had a blast! Ethan was such a nice young man and Craig is a great Dad and fun to hang out with while we watch our boys enjoy the heck out of themselves.
Friday, June 10, 2011
His words:
Ben always tells us "I have a good idea" and then after we do, give or put on whatever his "good idea" is he says "Das coo", meaning "That's cool". He's big in to "cool" these days and never stops making us chuckle!
Yikes
I got food poising and the only thing about it worth posting is how wonderful my family is. James came home from work to take care of Ben so I could rest and get better, could I be any luckier? Ben kept asking if I was "healfy" and when I told him he was a beautiful boy he said "You beautiful too", I clearly was not but his sweetness made it all better. We took a bath and he said "Mommy, maybe you go Dr. I take you?" He's so thoughtful! Just now I told him that I feel better today and am not sick any longer and he said "Mommy you not puking anymore, you were scared, Mommy, you not puking again?" LOL!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Shaved Ice
I thought my boys would really enjoy some Shaved Ice on the hot Summer days we are about to experience so I bought this little maker, cherry, grape and pineapple flavors (excited to try some of my own, Mango, Lychee, pureed Strawberry?) and cups and we got going on our first batch last night. It was a lot of fun and reminded me of growing up on Maui and having Shaved Ice for a special treat. One of the best parts was when Benjamin saw the machine this morning and asked to get the "Rocket" down from the fridge. Hee Hee...
Happy
When my little man strolled out of his room this morning we hugged tightly and I said "Good morning muffin, how do you feel?", he responded "Happy". Ahhhh, the little joys in life.
The Sanctuary
I won a night at The Sanctuary because on my 35th birthday Linz, Julie, Rachel and I went to "Sunday's in Paradise", music and fun on the lawn, so James and I stayed there on June 5th and Ben had his first sleepover at Auntie Lindsey and Uncle Dan's house, with Aaron and Jack. It was so nice for us to get away, one of the first things James said when he sprawled out on the bed in our Suite was "Ahhhh, no one is jumping on me". We had quite a laugh when we were settling in, grabbing a beer and a drink, cutting up some meats, cheese and crackers and enjoying the view of the gorgeous mountains off in the distance and James looked at me and said "Hey, guess what I hear?" and we said in unison "Silence". Ahhh, silence. We were welcomed very graciously with a handwritten welcome letter, a lovely bottle of Pinot Noir and an assortment of cheeses, crackers, nuts and fruits, what a way to make your "special" guests feel like royalty! After settling in we went for a swim in the largest infinity pool in Arizona, talked, laughed and enjoyed each others company. After our swim we went back to the room and enjoyed the dinner we picked up from CPK, I had 2 free meals so we got James' favorite, Kung Pao with Shrimp and I had Mahi Mahi with Veggies, we watched an amazing Sunset and had a great night's sleep. The next morning I woke up on the early side, any light in a bedroom wakes me up, made me appreciate my bedroom at home. In fact, staying at the resort was a real treat but the painted brick walls, not too nice artwork, ugly sectional, bath products that had a strange smell and some other little idiosyncrasies made me appreciate my beautiful home even more. I enjoyed the view and the space but calling The Sanctuary the #1 resort in the list of top 50 in the Country doesn't seem very accurate to me. When I went to pick up Benjamin at Lindsey's house in the morning they followed me back to the Resort and we enjoyed a few hours at the pool, which was a fun-filled day with our boys but getting service was like pulling teeth, I'm always curious why people think snottiness acceptable behavior, those servers must not care about making money. All in all, I am grateful to have had some time alone and have such wonderful friends to care for our boy, as Lindsey pointed out, I shouldn't complain about the FREE accommodations. :-)
Friday, June 3, 2011
XOXO
We were just making fresh squeezed o.j. and Ben hugged me and said "I love you so much, happily after". Pretty sure I've died and gone to heaven.
Kitchen -Before and After
I haven't liked our cabinets for quite some time and knew when the weather started warming up I would paint them. Did the research, picked the color, bought new hardware for our old, outdated ones and WHALLAH, in one day I primed and painted all of them. I'm very pleased with the facelift I gave my kitchen!
Naked
Ben has this habit of getting "maked" and showing off his "bodeeee" with pride! It can be hysterical, especially when he says "look at me body" and always wants me to "take my off shirt". Ahh, the joys of potty training. At least he is so proud when he pees in his little toilet, now if we could only get him to poop consistently. Soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)