Blooming by the Bay – Page 9 – The Endless Stories of Dan & Misono & Their Beloved Mio

California 2015: San Francisco

May 27, 2015 By Misono in Family and Friends, Videos, Wanderlust Tags: California, Dulles Airport, Golden Gate Bridge, grandma, grandpa, grandparents, IAD, In-N-Out, Japantown, Mio, Mirei, Pikachu, San Francisco, SF, SFO

We recently returned from our trip to California! It had been a little over two years since we last visited the West Coast, so it was long overdue and we have really missed the Bay Area, including all of our friends and family there. We were so glad we could spend a week in Northern California, catching up with loved ones and seeing familiar sights and eating all the good food we’ve missed from the area.

We woke up early the morning of Friday, May 15th to go to Dulles to catch our flight to San Francisco.

Riding the shuttle to the terminal:

Mio running towards the rainbow wall at Dulles — Despite how early it was, Mio was hyper and running around the airport. She got especially excited about this rainbow wall at Dulles.

Lying on the floor by the rainbow wall — Collapsed on the floor.

Getting up! — …only to jump back on her feet to run around again!

Waiting to board our flight — Waiting at the gate to board our flight

Goofball Mio — We had told Mio we were going to be visiting California in the days and weeks before the trip, so she was really excited!

We arrived in the afternoon and spent the first couple days of our trip around our favorite city!

Arriving at SFO! — Arriving in San Francisco!

Grandparents came to pick us up! — Dan’s parents came to pick us up!

Â We were pretty hungry when we landed, so our first order of business was of course…

Sharing some In-N-Out — In-N-Out Burger!

Mirei eating In-N-Out fries — She’s so independent now and loves to eat food on her own, whether it be using her fingers, a spoon, or a fork!

On Saturday, we spent the morning in Japantown — probably the part of San Francisco I spent the most time in when we lived in California. So many good memories of shopping around, browsing Kinokuniya bookstore, eating delicious Japanese food, attending the annual, Cherry Blossom Festival there, volunteering with Japanese American organizations like Nakayoshi… it’s really a place that is close to our heart, so I’m so glad we could stop by and visit this time, since we weren’t able to our last trip.

SF Japantown — At Japantown’s Peace Plaza in San Francisco

We also wanted to stop to see the Golden Gate Bridge, so we drove through the Presidio, hopping that the fog would clear…

Mother’s Day

May 11, 2015 By Misono in Family and Friends, Foodie Love, Seasonal Celebrations Tags: family, Kob Kun, mama, Mio, Mirei, mommy, mother, Mother's Day, Oakton, Thai

Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful moms out there, including my own amazing mama! I never fully appreciated all her love, patience, and sacrifice until I became a mother myself. Thankful for our precious daughters who bring me more joy, challenges, and laughter than I ever imagined.

Mother's Day 2015 — My mom with M&M. They are lucky to have two loving grandmothers in their lives. We’re grateful that they can spend so much time with my mother, and we’re excited to go see Grandma in California soon, too!

Hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable Mother’s Day weekend as well!

Anna’s 4th Birthday Party

April 26, 2015 By Misono in Family and Friends, Mio, Recreational Fun, Videos Tags: 4 years old, 4th birthday, Anna, birthday, birthday party, bubbles, cake, Cara, children, cupcakes, egg shakers, Falls Church, four years old, friends, instruments, kids, Mio, Mirei, Mobu Kids, music, party, Pat, pizza, playgym, sticks, video

We were invited to celebrate Anna’s fourth birthday at Mobu Kids playgym in Falls Church! The girls had a blast and we loved seeing and catching up with Anna, Cara, Pat and Theo. 🙂 Thanks so much for inviting us to be a part of sweet Anna’s birthday celebration — can’t believe she is four already!