BBQ

4th of July Weekend

July 5, 2015 By Misono in Family and Friends, Recreational Fun, Seasonal Celebrations Tags: 4th of July, BBQ, burgers, chicken satay, dan, drumsticks, family, fireworks, friends, grilling, hamburgers, hot dogs, Independence Day, kalbi, Mio, Mirei, misono, Miwa, shrimp, shrimp skewers, skewers, sparklers, vegetable, watermelon, weekend

Photos from our 4th of July weekend! We started it out by trying Duck Donuts for the first time (since they recently opened their Fairfax location), had a BBQ with my parents’ family friends, and ended with fireworks on Sunday night!

Duck Donuts! — Duck Donuts were delicious! My favorite were the maple bacon ones!

4th of July grilling — When we grill, we do it right… chicken satay, kalbi, and shrimp & vegetable skewersÂ (…in addition to the typical burgers + hot dogs)

Kids making s'mores — Kids making s’mores as Dan mans the grill

Mio eating watermelon — Mio loves her watermelon!

Dan helping with the s'mores — Dan helping with the s’mores

Mio chowing down on s'mores — Mio chowing down on s’mores

Mirei on the Fourth of July — Mirei asking for more food

Fireworks on Sunday night…

Memorial Day BBQ

May 28, 2014 By Misono in Foodie Love, Seasonal Celebrations Tags: BBQ, chicken satay, family, hamburger, hot dog, kalbi, Memorial Day, Mio, Mirei, shrimp

We spent Memorial Day at home, BBQ-ing and relaxing with the family. Of course, we canâ€™t celebrate this day without remembering the ultimate sacrifice that those in the military have made for the rest of us. Thanks to those who make those sacrifices to defend and protect, we can live in peace and we honor them on this day. We are forever grateful for their service.

Memorial Day 2014 BBQ — Chicken satay, kalbi, and shrimp skewers on the grill.

Mirei under the umbrella, getting shieled from the sun.

You can see the umbrella's colors reflected in Mirei's eyes. — You can see the umbrella’s colors reflected in Mirei’s eyes.

4th of July Parade & BBQ

July 5, 2012 By Misono in Family and Friends, Seasonal Celebrations Tags: Alameda, Alameda parade, BBQ, dan, Fourth of July, Independence Day, Jason, July 4, July 4th, Mio, misono, parade, Tarrin

We took Mio to see the Alameda Independence Day Parade yesterday for a Fourth of July celebration. Alameda’s parade is apparently the largest (with 160+ floats) and longest (3.2 miles) Independence Day parade in the country! It was a hot day, but we parked ourselves under some shade and watched the parade go by — Mio had fun watching her first parade!

Mio and I at the Alameda Parade — Mio and I moved to get a closer look at the parade.

Mio and I watching the floats go by — Watching the floats go by.

There were lots of cool classic cars in the parade!

Baby you're a firework! — Baby you’re a firework! Mio in her Fourth-of-July dress.

A Japanese-themed float representing the Buddhist Temple of Alameda

Enjoying the parade in the shade with Daddy

Giggles! — Mio giggling with Auntie Tarrin! 🙂

After the parade, we walked back to our friends Tarrin and Jason’s house to enjoy a BBQ lunch — everything they cooked was amazing! Our tummies got to enjoy quite a feast!

Grilling some delicious burgers! — Jason grilling some delicious burgers!

Rishy and Mio — Mio following 4-year old Rishy around.

We also got to hang out on their hammock — it was so relaxing!

First time on the hammock — Mio’s first time on the hammock

Mio and Daddy on the hammock — Dan borrowed my sunglasses… lol.

Mio with Mama — Mio had a fun time exploring the backyard!

All of us had a great time spending the day in Alameda! After eating all the delicious food and being out in the summer sun, we all took a long nap when we got home that evening. Hope everyone else had a memorable Fourth, too! 🙂

Nakayoshi BBQ

July 3, 2012 By Misono in Family and Friends, Recreational Fun Tags: BBQ, Crissy Fields, Graig, Haruka, Jamie, Megumi, Mio, Nakayoshi Annual Welcome BBQ, Nakayoshi BBQ, Nakayoshi Young Professionals, picnic, Sam, San Francisco

On Sunday, we went to Crissy Fields in San Francisco to attend Nakayoshi‘s Annual Welcome BBQ. We haven’t been able to go the past couple years because we’ve always happened to be out of town, but we were glad that we could make it this year, especially since it’s been a lot harder to go to Nakayoshi’s events since Mio was born. The BBQ picnic was a really family-friendly event, and it was a good chance for Mio to meet all her aunties and uncles in Nakayoshi! 🙂

Great job organizing, Jamie! — Jamie did an awesome job organizing the BBQ! We’ve known each other since she was a freshman at Virginia Tech who joined JCA during my senior year. It’s awesome having a fellow Hokie transplant in San Francisco, and I love that Jamie’s involved with Nakayoshi now! 😀

So much delicious food! — There was so much delicious food that everyone made!

The best spam musubi I've ever had! I loved that it had a spicy kick! — This was seriously the best spam musubi I have ever had.

Happily eating onigiri — Mio happily eating some onigiri.

Mio loves Graig! — Mio reunited with Uncle Graig — she loves him!

Mio with lovely Sam — With lovely Auntie Sam! Thank you for always being so sweet to Mio. 🙂

Nakayoshi Chair Haruka welcoming everyone welcoming everyone at the Meet & Greet.

Mio and I — It was hard to keep Mio from running around everywhere during the Meet & Greet. (><)

Despite the foggy weather, it was a great turnout!

The Allens with Megumi! — Megumi made a surprise appearance — it was so good seeing her again!

Meeting Atsushi and Tiffany — Mio meeting Tiffany and Atsushi for the first time.

Mio giving high fives — Giving high fives all around!

Jason leading all the fun of the Nakayoshi Games!

Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay for the games because it was Mio’s naptime and she was getting cranky, but we heard it was fun! 😀 We’re glad that we could at least be there for the first half and see everyone again, as well as meet some of the newer Nakayoshi members!

With Megumi and Katie before saying goodbye... — With Megumi and Katie before saying goodbye.

Memorial Day Picnic

May 28, 2012 By Misono in Family and Friends, Kitchen Concoctions, Recreational Fun, Seasonal Celebrations, Videos Tags: BAFC, barbecue, BBQ, church, Jinwoo, Memorial Day, Memorial Day BBQ, Memorial Day picnic, picnic

Today we spent the earlier part of the day at Marina Park in San Leandro, picnicking and BBQ-ing with friends. Here are some pictures and video of all the Memorial Day fun! (We forgot to take our camera, so they’re all from my camera phone, but better than nothing!)

Bell bottoms! — Mio sported some fabulous bell bottoms for the occasion.

I baked green tea cupcakes to bring to the picnic…

piped with matcha green tea frosting — Matcha green tea cupcakes with green tea frosting.

Memorial Day fun with friends — Eating at the picnic table.

Fun on the swing! — As usual, Mio had a grand time on the swing.

JinWoo was pushing around his toy car, when Mio (in her typical bossypants fashion) hopped onto the seat. Luckily, JinWoo was a good sport and pushed her around the picnic area, taking Mio for a joyride. It was quite a cute sight for everyone to see!