Tree House Bugs

The kids got a bunch of Klutz books from their auntie and we've been enjoying them these last few weeks. Today we worked on the Tree House Bugs. They are little fairy bugs made from pipe cleaners, beads and cardboard wings and hats. Quite cute. It even comes with a little tree house that can be decorated with stickers and cardboard furniture. Great fun! (Especially when it's 103 degrees outside! YIKES!)

Mini Vacation

Last week I talked Clark into taking a mini vacation. He had some vacation days he's been wanting to use to I had him take off a few now and a few after Labor Day when we have a bunch of orientation meetings for Bailey's preschool. We called Bachan to make sure they were free and planned our trip. I've written three separate blog entries, but I think they'll be posted backwards so I added what day of our vacation we are on. We left Friday morning at 5am and came home at 9pm on Sunday. We got home in 4 1/2 hours (includes two stops!) Not sure how Clark did that, but we were sure happy to be home. Vacations are great, but it sure is nice to be home.

I only posted a few photos, but you can check our photo slide shows for more. We had such a great time and I think we took over 100 pictures in 3 days!!

Hanging Out - Day 3 of our mini vacation

Today I had lunch with my friend Hyeyon and we chit chatted the afternoon away. I miss her TONS. When I lived in LA we used to see each other almost every day! It was great to be able to get together again and catch up. The kids and Clark hung out with the family and from what I hear, they had a GREAT time. We all had a yummy dinner together. After dinner the kids played and played and played before we hopped in the car for our long trek home. We all had a great time on our little last minute mini vacation. It's good to get away for a change of scenery every once in a while. We'll have to plan another trip soon.


The Katayama Family ~ 8/24/08

Long Beach - Day 2 of our mini vacation

Saturday we took the kids to Long Beach to see the Aquarium of the Pacific. We we planning to meet our friends there at 1pm, but decided to have a picnic lunch in Long Beach before going to the aquarium. We drove down to Gardena (so I could stop off at the 98 cent store) and picked up some food from the Marukai food court to take to Long Beach. I was hoping to find some bento lunches, but they didn't have any so we just got some Japanese food. We drove to Long Beach and found a place to plant ourselves. Lunch was nice and the weather was perfect. So pretty out there! I don't think I've ever been to Long Beach. We had time to walk around after lunch and Bailey got to stick her toes in the sand for a quick moment. The sand was really hot so we told her she had to put her shoes back on. (We got warned from her pediatrician that she may not be able to tell if the ground is too hot for her so to watch out when she walks barefoot - especially on sand) We walked around a bit more and before we knew it we needed to head back to meet Scotty, Riva, Jeffrey and Brandon at the aquarium.

The reason I wanted to take the kids to the aquarium was to see the lorikeet birds that you can hand feed cups of nectar. Oh my gosh! I wish I video taped the place because I can't wait to go back again. Bailey LOVED it. She was so cute with her little cup of nectar. The birds LOVED Clark - climbed all over him (no poops this trip). I tried to feed them, but they didn't climb on me and of course, Gregory watched from afar. The rest of the aquarium is nice too. They have some beautiful salt water tanks. Can't wait to go back again! I'll also do some research to see if they have those birds up here. Maybe at the new academy of science they are building in SF!?!

After the aquarium we went to Grandpa and Bachan's house. We had dinner at Kabuki with Grandpa, Bachan, Uncle Denis, Auntie Lynn, Uncle Rick and Lauren. After dinner we went to our hotel and fell asleep before hitting the tubbers!

Bailey in the sand

Daddy trying to get the bird onto Bailey's arm

The Takahashi Family ~
Jeffrey, Riva, Brandon & Scotty (L to R)

My little goofball



LA Zoo - Day 1 of our mini vacation

On the way down to Grandpa and Bachan's house we stopped by the LA Zoo. Bailey has been dying to see a koala and hippo in person and the LA Zoo has both! We pretty much timed our arrival to the zoo opening. The place is huge compared to our zoo. The animals are all beautiful and plump. The weather was a little hot and humid so we didn't see all the animals, but we did see quite a few.
After the zoo we headed for Grandpa and Bachan's. Uncle Denis came home a little after we arrived and Bailey wanted to pick lemons with him before he even had a chance to get inside the house! Bachan cooked salmon for our dinner. Auntie Lynn, Uncle Rick, Ryan and Lauren stopped by and we played a bit before heading to our hotel for a much needed rest.

Gregory putting his hand in the tiger's paw print.

Bailey's turn.

The KOALAS! So cute!!



Highlight of our trip to the zoo ~
Hanging out in the mister with a cool breeze blowing on us.

Tostadas!

Today we had tostadas for dinner. They were DELICIOUS! Probably because I ate something fried, but I put a lot of tomato salsa and cabbage on top so it was kinda healthy?! :) Bailey LOVED them. She ate seven! Don't worry, they were mini tostadas. I'm writing about them because I thought they were so cute. I cut the tortillas with a flower cookie cutter before I fried them for easy eating. Just perfect for little hands!

Didn't break out my camera until number 4 or so. Yeh, not a great photo of Daddy...sorry.

Not a great shot, but you get the idea. This was number five!

Tostadas

Tortilla Layer: Fry tortilla in oil until crispy. Drain well and lightly salt.

Bean Layer: Heat a can of refried beans in the microwave. Preferably fat free

Chicken Layer: Boil or roast one whole chicken. Shred meat. Cook 1/2 chopped onion in a little olive oil. Add chicken, about a cup of chicken broth, about 2-3 t chili powder and salt and pepper to taste.

Salsa Layer: Chop 4-5 tomatoes, 1/2 of a small red onion, a small handful of cilantro and 1/2 can of jalapenos (I usually use fresh, but I'm afraid of salmonella at the moment), salt and pepper to taste.

Cabbage Layer: Thinly sliced cabbage. Lettuce is better, but I had cabbage in the fridge I needed to use up

Fat Free Sour Cream Layer: Drizzle on top

Enjoy!

Trip to the city

Today, Daddy had to pick up something from his office so we decided to take the kids to Golden Gate Park while we were out there. First, we were going to take them to the Children's Playground, but Clark wanted to see the Japanese Tea Garden so we went there instead. Now a driving trip to San Francisco is quite an ordeal. Mainly the traffic. There's a reason why Clark takes BART to work...he can't handle traffic! AND with my fuzzy brain and great sense of direction, we spent a good amount of time lost. (I used to live 2 blocks from Golden Gate Park!) Well, we finally made it to the park and when we arrived, we saw some type of Renaissance horse parade! We visited the tea garden, had a snack and ran around a bit. The kids had a good time. Clark and I did too.

Daddy's office - well the corner of the building.
His office is quite a bit higher up.

Hoping for a good shot for our Christmas card!

Having a snack



Know what type of flower this is??
They had a whole area full of them. So pretty!



Tori Misoyaki

Tonight we had Tori Misoyaki. I've never had it before, but I saw it on one of my favorite blogs this week and decided to try it. Tasty and something new. Gregory loved it. Bailey preferred the corn. I only marinated it for an hour and I think it would've be tastier if I had marinated it overnight like the recipe suggested. Since I don't think about what I'm having the next day it probably won't ever happen, but maybe 5 or 6 hours would work. :)



Tori Misoyaki

1 T miso for each chicken thigh
1 T sake for each chicken thigh
1/2 t brown sugar for each chicken thigh

Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Marinate chicken 15 minutes to overnight. Grill 4-5 minutes per side.

Visiting Basil

Today I took the kids to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum. We've been there quite often, but today I took both of them myself. When we arrived they had Miles out in the petting circle so we ran over so Bailey could pet him. Right next to the petting circle is Basil's cage, but it was empty! (Her favorite rat she likes to see) I asked one of the volunteers where he was and he brought him back out. They had taken them out for cage cleaning. (Note: I think a skunk must have been at the hospital and sprayed cuz PEUWIE PEUWIE every time they opened the door!) We made our usual rounds and pushed all the buttons (a few times each). Today Bailey said her favorite was the snake and Gregory said his was the rabbit! :)


Miles in the petting circle

Bailey and Gregory in the eagle's nest

Looking at the snake

Listening to the bird calls

Playing in the discovery room ~
actually watching a girl have a tantrum

Basil sleeping on his water bottle

Miles in his cage

A day in Stockton

Wednesday we went to visit Grandma, Grandpa, Hibachan and Aunty Ruth. We got a late start, but we still managed to squeeze a lot into our day.

The kids had a great time swimming, but we cut it short. Too hot! They were starting to look pink so we pulled them out and they enjoyed a popscicle in the shade.





You can drive these boats and shoot water!





Here they are in the perfect snack chair having a treat. Notice they each have a cup holder and a compartment for their snack bag!

Sandi and Stevie

Today the community center had Sandi and Stevie perform their "Insect Songs" show so I took the kids to see them. The kids and I listened to their music clips from their website before we went and it sounded like it'd be right up their alley. Bailey loved the show. She participated, danced, marched around the room, raised her hand when Sandi asked questions - just had a great time. Gregory, I think, enjoyed the show too. But from my lap. He didn't take a nap today so he was kind of pooped and even lied down for a bit. The show started at 4pm (which was a little late for a kids show) and lasted a little over an hour. I had fixed dinner before we left so we rushed home and were able to eat almost as soon as we got home. Good thing! The kids were starving!

Gregory sitting on my lap.

Bailey dancing the grasshopper dance.

Marching around the room like an ant.

More dancing.

More sitting on my lap.

Bailey listening to Sandi and Stevie sing.