After our weekend in LA, we flew up to San Jose to stay with Dan’s parents for the rest of the week! It was a short five days that flew by, but it was so nice for Mio to see her grandparents again and spend some quality time with them. When she got off of the plane at SFO, she was really cranky and crying, but as soon as she saw her grandparents who came to pick us up, her face broke into a huge smile and she reached her arms out to them! She remembers them from all the times we spent together while we lived in California, as well as all the video chats they’ve been doing via Google Hangout since we’ve moved out here.
Here are some snapshots from when we had a family outing and lunch at Edenvale Garden Park in San Jose…
Mio trying on Grandma’s hat.
On the swing… her favorite!
Hanging out by the trains.
Love is the coal that makes this train roll.
She’s looking so grownup these days. I can’t believe she’s almost two!
We spent the past week visiting our family and friends on the West Coast! We first arrived in Los Angeles the first weekend of March, before flying up to the Bay Area to spend the rest of the time with Dan’s parents before we flew back to Virginia this past weekend. We really wanted to make the stop in Los Angeles while we were in California, because some of our closest friends that we’d made in Bay Area had relocated to Southern California in recent years, and we couldn’t imagine making the trip out West without seeing them! Our dear friends Megumi and Daniel graciously opened up their beautiful home in Alhambra for us to stay in, and we have Estella and Brent to thank for picking us up at LAX and shuttling us around everywhere the first day in their spacious car. It’s not easy to host and take care of a family of three (especially when one is a jetlagged toddler), and we can’t express how grateful we were for all their thoughtful preparation and warm hospitality!
As usual, we took so many pictures throughout the trip, that I’m going to break our trip up into separate posts. Enjoy our snapshots from Day 1, below…
At Dulles: waiting to take the shuttle to our terminal.
Mio only fell asleep for the last 5 minutes of the flight. Of course.
After getting picked up at LAX by Brent and Estella, we met up with Megumi and Daniel for lunch at Shinsengumi Hakata Ramen.
My friend Mariko had first taken me to Shinsengumi a few years ago, and it’s since become one of my favorite ramen places in SoCal! So delicious. 🙂
I got a side of spam musubi to go with my ramen. I was so full afterwards!
After lunch, we headed over to spend the afternoon at Manhattan Beach… while it had been 28 degrees when we left DC, it got up to 85 degrees in LA that day! Life is not fair… made us wonder why we didn’t just move down to SoCal instead of to Northern Virginia! 😛
Sunny skies at Manhattan Beach
Mio was asleep in the stroller, and we couldn’t take the stroller through the sand, so the guys carried her out onto the beach. Princess status!
Megumi is glowing! A true California girl ♥
Mio sleeping peacefully on the beach.
Friends relaxing on the beach.
Mio woke up, but was not in the best mood… I think we discovered that she is not a fan of sand. She would cry every time her feet touched it!
Reunited and it feels so good! We missed them so much.
A family picture at Manhattan Beach ♥
Everyone trying to cheer Mio up. 🙂
For dinner, Estella and Brent took us to an awesome Taiwanese place called Kang Kang Food Court for dinner. They’d introduced us to delicious soup dumplings before up in NorCal, but this time they took us to eat crispy soup dumplings! So good!!!
Pan-fried soup dumplings!
Dinner with our favorite people!
So much delicious food!
Our family of three at dinner!
After dinner, Megumi suggested we go get dessert at Fluff Ice, which serves fluffly Taiwanese style shaved ice! True to its name, it was so fluffy soft and light, and we loved it! 😀
I got green tea flavored fluff ice with red bean and mochi!
Special thanks to Megumi for the picture!
Mio was jetlagged and exhausted, but was such a trooper and in good spirits, staying up until about 9pm Pacific Time!
When we got back to Megumi & Daniel’s we put Mio to bed, and stayed up playing board games together while munching on delicious desserts that Megumi had prepared! You can see the rest of our stay in Los Angeles in Day 2, which happened to land on Hinamatsuri!
December marks a milestone for both Dan and I, as we’re both turning 30 later this month! (Dan on December 13, myself on December 25 — we are only a couple weeks apart in age.) The thirties sound a little daunting but mostly exciting — we can’t wait to see where it’ll take us in both our family life and professional careers — our twenties were memorable, but we have a feeling our thirties will be just as, if not more, wonderful. As I wrote before, I’m dedicating my 30th to charity: water and so we have no plans to have any big birthday party for ourselves, but Dan still wanted to take me out to a nice dinner to celebrate what is a big milestone for both of us!
Dates are hard to come by when you’re parents, so we were really grateful that my parents volunteered to watch Mio while we got to get a little dressed up to enjoy the evening as a couple. Based on several friends recommending 2941 Restaurant in Falls Church to us, we decided to go there for our celebratory dinner.
The handsome hubby, who will turn 30 this week!
Loved the decor inside the restaurant!
It’s nice to carry a simple clutch instead of a huge diaper bag for once!
Getting started with some small plates and appetizers.
Spiced duck samosa with honey and harissa
American wagyu steak tartare with parmesan cheese and peanut vinaigrette and crostini.
Crispy pork belly with black garlic aioli and celery-pear salad.
All of the appetizers were delicious. The steak tartare was some of the best I’d ever tasted, the duck samosas had just the right amount of kick to it, but the crispy pork belly was definitely our favorite! It was so rich and flavorful, and practically melted in my mouth!
Dan had venison loin with smoked heirloom potato, Savoy cabbage, and juniper jus.
Ready to eat!
Ever the seafood lover.
And of course, there’s always room for dessert with us! 😉
We shared a chocolate Napoleon with huckleberry compote, Manjari panna cotta, and coffee gelato.
Happy early 30th to us! Here’s to another great decade together.
Koi in the pond outside 2941.
By the koi pond. Part of me wishes we had gone when there was still daylight so we could see the beautiful landscaping around the restaurant, but I guess we’ll just have to go back another time! 😉
It was the perfect romantic evening, and the dining experience at 2941 was both delectable and unforgettable! Thank you to everyone who recommended it to us. 🙂 It was a lovely way to celebrate this special occasion, and we’re feeling great about turning 30 in the coming weeks! 😀
On Tuesday, Mio and I drove over to Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna with our parents for an early afternoon stroll. My parents used to take my siblings and I here all the time as kids, and we always called it “duck pond” because of all the ducks and geese we’d see there every time we went. It was really nostalgic to revisit the park for the first time in almost twenty years, and share one of my childhood memories with Mio and make it hers, too. 🙂
The entrance to Meadowlark Botanical Gardens
During the holidays, large nutcracker dolls flank the path to the entrance.
Snowflake decorations hanging from the ceiling. So magical!
An experiment in exposure…
A second picture, a moment later. Such a different look! I love playing with different settings on my phone camera.
We could see the water shimmering at the end of the winding path.
Geese crossing the path! Mio immediately started quacking at them.
Instead of hitting the malls and going shopping on Black Friday, we spent the day meeting up with friends who were in the area! It was food-and-fun-filled holiday weekend — this is what the holidays are all about! 😀
Lunch date with Akiho at Sushi Yoshi. She has just finished her PhD and is now a licensed psychologist!
We met up with Aiko, my friend of 25 years, and her husband Anthony. They were visiting from Boston and got to meet Mio for the first time.
Hanging out at the park. I’ve known Aiko since we were 5 – I can’t believe how much time has passed since then!
Later in the evening, we went to Honey Pig in Centreville to celebrate Liz’s birthday!
With the birthday girl!
It was our first time seeing newlyweds Luice and Jeremy since they tied the knot in August. They’re the cutest couple!
Dan and Mio chowing down
So much good food!
On Saturday, Mio had a playdate with Joelle and Clara. Here are the cuties together!
And I shall conclude with our adorable burrito Mio!
