Although our time staying in the East Bay was short, we were glad we could see some of the faces we have so missed since moving away! There were new babies to be held and kissed, delicious restaurants to be visited (both old and new!), and a lot of catching up to do with dear friends.
Lunch in San Leandro with the Kims! Our two girls + their two boys was a crazy mix! It was great seeing them and how much Jinwoo and Sunwoo have grown!
Can’t contain our excitement over Burma Superstar!
Mio and I while waiting for our table and for Uncle Ted & Auntie Jackie to meet us
We so missed their samosa salad! Just seeing this photo of it makes me salivate…
Garlic noodles and shrimp
After our dinner at Burma Superstar, we drove over to Castro Valley to have some ice cream with Aileen and David!
Mirei behind the wheel at Knudsen’s Creamery in Castro Valley
With Aileen at Knudsen’s Creamery. It was so great seeing her again, and we have to also thank her for bringing us to this delicious ice cream parlor!
We finally got to meet Aileen’s boyfriend, David! He’s the first other Yokoyama I’ve met (beyond my own family and relatives). Yokoyamas are all awesome, naturally.
This wasn’t exactly meeting up with a familiar face, but we have definitely missed our favorite taco truck! We had to make a stop in Oakland to get our fix of those amazing al pastor, chicken, and carne asada tacos (plus lengua for Dan).
Revisiting our favorite taco truck!
While we were shocked to see how much their prices have gone up in the past two years, the tacos definitely hit the spot!
Up there among our top most-anticipated moments of our visit was seeing a couple of our dearest friends, Tarrin and Jason, and their newborn son Theo! He was only two months old when we got to see him, and I was euphoric holding that teeny baby and sniffing his head. That newborn smell is so intoxicating! (Before you write me off as a complete nutcase, I urge you to try sniffing a newborn head sometime — I’m pretty sure you will agree with me.)
Meeting baby Theo for the first time. Tarrin and Jason make a pretty cute baby!
After eating dinner at Mintleaf, they took us to a new (to us, at least) dessert place in Alameda called Cookiebar!
Vietnamese coffee ice cream at Cookiebar. Amazing.
Mirei was loving the ice cream!
Going in for another bite!
We miss you guys so much! You can bet I had a hard time letting that baby go… I almost carried him off with me to our car.
Selfie with Mirei when she refused to go to bed that night.
On our last day, we spent the evening with Dan’s family after we came back from Fairyland in the afternoon. Mio had fun helping Grandma prepare dinner for everyone!
Mirei at the San Lorenzo house, after we came back from Fairyland on our last full day in NorCal.
Mirei thoroughly enjoying her yogurt.
Yogurt-mouthed little lady.
Helping Grandma making California rolls for dinner
Mio and Grandma in the kitchen
Family dinner on our last night. Dan’s mom prepared quite a feast!
Mio saying goodbye to Grandma. She misses her so much!
…as she does Grandpa, too.
Mio messing with Mirei. I think she wanted Grandpa all to herself!
Saying goodbye to the grandparents
Saying goodbye to Uncle Ted the morning we left for Los Angeles. Thank you Ted & Jackie for being such great hosts for us during our stay!
We grabbed an “It’s It” at a rest stop on our drive down. We couldn’t leave Northern California without eating one!
Last Sunday, we took Mio to Moore’s Pumpkin Patch in Castro Valley — it was of course Mio’s first time at a pumpkin patch, and the grandparents (Dan’s parents) came along for the occasion. (This was the primary reason I had dressed Mio up as a pumpkin — so she could match the pumpkins there!) Mio was a bit cranky because she’d just awoken from a nap and was already tired from being out since early that day, but we got some cute pictures out of it!
Pooh Mio and Piglet Mama... Mio was not too happy about this.
Mio and Daddy with the pumpkins.
The pumpkin was bigger than Mio!
Family picture!
Our little family's first time at a pumpkin patch! ♥
Hugs for the Mio... she looks indifferent.
Mio grabbing Grandma's nose!
Mio with her loving grandparents!
Three generations of Allens.
Mio as Minnie Mouse.
The grandparents bought Mio mini pumpkins!
Mio and I went on a train ride together, and she seemed to have enjoyed it!
Leaning out of the train...
"What? Over already?"
Farm animals! It amused me that they were all thrown together in the same pen. Chickens, pig, rabbits, ducks, geese...
At the end of it all, Mio was tired and ready to go home!
The pumpkin patch was more fun that I’d expected, and I’m looking forward to going back in future years. Maybe Mio will be able to go on more rides next year! 🙂 Excited about all the memories we’ll make together in the years to come… ♥
Last Sunday, we spent the afternoon strolling around Lake Chabot with Dan’s parents. It was a beautiful, sunny day and we enjoyed some quality time with the family and got some exercise while walking for about four miles around the lake. (I couldn’t handle the full seven mile trek around the lake, even in flats….)
Mio and Mommy upon arriving at Lake Chabot
Daddy calls her "Chubby Cheeks"
Mio got to spend some quality time with Grandma!
Now that it’s summer, we’re looking forward to getting out more and enjoying the outdoors with our little Mio!
