My college friend Amy just moved to San Francisco last month, so Mio and I went to go visit her in the city on Friday. We hadn’t seen each other since she had graduated in 2005, so it had really been a while! We picked up just where we left off, though, and could talk and laugh like old times. We ate oyster po’boy sandwiches at the Ferry Building and then walked over to the artMRKT event (a contemporary and modern art fair) that was going on this weekend, which Amy had tickets to. We couldn’t fully enjoy all the awesome art there because Mio kept needing to be fed, changed, or taken outside to run around, but the art that I did get to see was pretty cool!
The photos I took were from my phone so they’re not the greatest quality, but here’s a peek into some notable pieces at the event…
Life is like a box of chocolates... my kind of art!
LOL
Cake monsters!
Pretty cool...
"Occupy Art Fairs"
Thanks for inviting us to go to the art fair, Amy! I love sharing new experiences with old friends in this beautiful city.
We enjoyed some gorgeous weather this past weekend, with temperatures reaching the 80s on Saturday! We had planned to go the Cherry Blossom Festival in the city, but at the last minute decided against it, since navigating the crowds in the hot weather with a toddler didn’t seem so relaxing. Instead, we stayed in the local area and spent our Saturday on more Mio-centric activities.
Our first stop was the pet store! We stopped by while taking a walk to the farmer’s market, because Mio loves to go to the pet store to see all the animals. Weekends are especially fun to go, because there are often kitties there for adoption, as well as all the dogs that customers bring in to be groomed.
Mio looking at the birds.
Amazed at all the birds.
Watching a snake.
Look at all the fishies!
Also got to see a guinea pig...
...and some mice.
Dan bought Mio and I these lovely tulips at the farmer’s market… so beautiful! 🙂
Thanks hubby!
Back at the house, ready to go out again.
In the afternoon, we drove over to North Berkeley to visit Totland for the first time! I’d heard that it’s a popular for local mommies and kids to play, so we decided to check it out!
Scrunchy-faced smiles on the swing.
Mio and I in the sandlot.
Sipping away! Gotta stay hydrated!
Mio made a friend on the playground. Her mom happened to be Japanese, too!
Scooting around...
...with some help from Mama.
Mio is distracted by the older kids around the playground.
Taking a break for snack time!
Mio with a mouthful of fresh fruit.
Back on the swing.
Stylin' in shades! Thank you Matt for the baby sunglasses!
Dan and I couldn't stop laughing at how silly she looked in them!
After a couple hours of playground fun at Totland, we worked up quite an appetite! I’d been wanting some Filipino food, so we drove all the way up to Vallejo to try Max’s of Manila.
Ready to eat!
Filipino-style fried chicken. So amazing.
My first time trying pancit canton... and I am hooked!
They gave us a ton of garlic rice, which was also very tasty!
We also had some lumpia ubod, but Dan and I devoured it before we could take a picture…Â it was yummy, too!
Mio was really happy with a lemon she snagged from my plate.
Her reaction upon having a taste, however, was priceless. She's had it before, but she always forgets how sour it is.
Mio was in such a good mood that day, especially during dinner, which is rare because she usually gets cranky in the evening.
Sweet girl brings so much joy to our hearts.
We hope this awesome weather keeps up! 🙂 It’s starting to feel like summer!
On Saturday, we had a family outing at the Morcom Municipal Rose Garden over in Oakland. I didn’t take into account that most of the roses don’t bloom until later in the spring and into summer, so the blooms were sparse! Still, the landscaping and layout of the garden is beautiful, and it was nice to just take a stroll around the grounds and enjoy the gorgeous sunny weather.
Mio has been awfully clingy these days, especially in the house. I can't leave a room for five seconds without her coming after me and grabbing my legs. I guess this is the beginnings of separation anxiety?
Showing Mio the ducks.
Trying to hand me a rock.
There is a walkway in the garden called the Mother of the Year Walk. Apparently, there’s an annual celebration of a special woman who dedicates tirelessly to the community. Lined in tree roses, the walk features bronze plaques honoring each year’s Mother-of-the-Year.
Mio is so good at walking now.
She's pointing at the ducks in front of us.
Mio and Mama, among the roses...
A video Dan took of Mio walking about in the garden…
Back in the stroller, watching a scurrying squirrel.
A neat picture I took of Dan and Mio at the top of a stairway of fountains.
Mio started getting restless and wanted to get out of the stroller again.
On Daddy's shoulder, watching a squirrel.
Squirrel!
Suddenly, we heard a loud noise behind us!
"What could it be?!"
A fight had broken out between two territorial male ducks, and they were quacking their beaks off!
Mio pointing to all the commotion.
I’m excited that the rainy season has come to an end, and that we’ll get to have more fun outings to enjoy the great outdoors! 😀
For the full set of photos, see the slideshow below.
On Sunday, we drove out to the city to go to Golden Gate Park, where the cherry blossoms are in bloom by the Hagiwara Japanese Tea Garden. Cherry blossoms are my favorite flower, and I love seeing them come in bloom every spring and this year, Mio got to see the beautiful blossoms she was named after. There were a lot of people having hanami (flower-viewing) picnics around the trees in Golden Gate Park — gotta enjoy them while they are still in bloom! 🙂
We captured some lovely photos of Mio, our own little blossom, among the sakura…
Arriving at Golden Gate Park
Cherry blossoms!
Mio with her namesake.
Love that smile!
A cascade of blossoms
Mio with Daddy
A kiss from Daddy
It was a cowboy boots kind of day!
Tickling Mio's cheek with a flower.
Mio clapping her hands in delight.
Mio and Mama
Our family's first hanami
Picnic time!
Happily eating lunch.
Attacking Mama while she dozes...
Mio is so full of energy that we can't keep up!
For the full slideshow of photos of our hanami, see below! 😀
After we went to the park for the first time on Thursday, Dan wanted to go to the park with Mio too, so we went as a family on Saturday afternoon. It was colder than it had been the first time we’d gone, so we couldn’t stay out as long, but we had a great time — here are some of the pictures and video from last Saturday!
All smiles on the swing this time!
Trying out the slide... "Ready?"
"Here we go!"
Back on the swing, with Daddy
It’s rainy all this week in the Bay Area, so it looks like we won’t really be able to go outside for a while. Mio has been getting cabin fever and is itching to go outside! Hopefully the sun will come out again soon.
