We celebrated an early Christmas and Dan and my birthdays with Dan’s family yesterday, since we are leaving this Thursday for the East Coast to be with my family back in Virginia. We enjoyed a delicious dinner cooked by Dan’s mother, a nice gift exchange, some classic board game fun, topped with a red velvet birthday cake for the two of us. It was a delightful evening spent with family. 🙂
I loved this Christmas ornament that Dan’s sister got for us — usually you would get an ornament to commemorate the baby’s first Christmas, but since ours is not out yet, she still got us a handmade, custom ornament to celebrate her anticipated arrival….
She also got us some adorable baby goods: a Baby Soy onesie, matching no-scratch mittens, and a pair of cozy fleece-lined Crocs! Too cute!!! Our baby girl is already getting spoiled by Auntie Hyo! 😀
We’re so glad we got to spend some time with Dan’s side of the family before we took off for our annual trip back East. Merry Christmas from the Allens! 🙂
My family was in town a couple weeks ago, and we got to spend some quality time together. It was the first time that all of us Yokoyama’s were together since New Years, so I was ecstatic to see them all again! I took a Friday off to spend a day with them in San Francisco, and then we drove to South Lake Tahoe for the weekend. Here are some photos from the Yokoyama reunion! 😀
My family making their way down the steps of Lombard Street
Me with my mother and siblings.
Ramen lunch at Tanpopo in Japantown.
For dinner, we went to Zabu Zabu in Berkeley, a shabu shabu restaurant.
Dan and I treated the family to a delicious shabu shabu all-you-can-eat dinner.
On Saturday morning, we headed out in the morning to drive to South Lake Tahoe. I’ve been to Tahoe before, but it was in the winter when there was snow, and it was the northern side at Northstar, so this was a whole new experience to visit the southern side and in the summertime!
My parents with the mountains in South Lake Tahoe.
Dan's got the blues
Miwa advertising her canned green tea.
I love my parents!
At night, the siblings came together for game night in our hotel room.
The next morning, at Heavenly Ski Resort.
The Yokoyama ladies
Miwa and I with our parents.
After breakfast, we rode the gondolas up to the lookout point.
Me with my sister and brother on the gondola.
Arriving at the lookout point.
The Yokoyamas at South Lake Tahoe
A gorgeous view of Lake Tahoe!
We ended our weekend in Tahoe with mini golf, a Yokoyama family tradition.
It was really hot in Tahoe, so we cooled down with some shaved ice. (They claimed it was Hawaiian style, but it just didn't compare....)
I had a wonderful time with the family, but as always, I wish I could have made it longer! It’s so hard when you live across the country from your family and loved ones. I can’t wait until the holidays, when we can go visit them back East! 🙂
We went on a three-day, two-night camping trip with the in-laws at Yosemite this past weekend. Saw some gorgeous sights and it was nice immersing ourselves in nature.
Probably would not pick the same weekend ever again to go camping though — some moments were a bit stressful with all the people and cars in the park.
Hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable Independence Day!
Our family drove up to New York City this weekend and spent a short but fun two days in Manhattan. We visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Rockefeller Center, the Manhattan Center, Times Square, met up with family friends, ate a whole lot of good food… and more! I was born in Queens, and although we moved to the DC area soon after, there’s something about New York City that resonates with me. It’s too busy and fast-paced for my taste and I could probably never live there, but it’s still part of my roots. I spent most of my childhood and adolescent years in Northern Virginia, but we used to take annual trips up to New York City during the holidays as a family so it was really nostalgic to be up there with the family for the first time in almost a decade. Here are some photos from our short trip:
Eating ramen lunch at Sapporo in Manhattan
Sapporo Special
the parents
New York subway
Brother harassing the hubby.
The clusterfuck that was the Met that day.
Entering the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
samurai exhibit at the Met.
Sculpture garden at the Met.
Renoir painting.
We stayed at the Skyline Hotel.
sushi rolls for takeout.
Rockefeller Center and its huge Christmas tree.
St. Patrick's Cathedral
The ginormous New York Macy's.
Madison Square Garden
Empire State Building
So sunny compared to the previous day's torrential rain.
sweet treats at a Chinese bakery
First time seeing Sylvia in years! So good catching up!
Miwa, Mari and I at Tick Tock Diner. I've missed you Mari!
Merry Christmas to all! Hope that everyone is having a relaxing, enjoyable time with their families and friends.
Christmas Day also happens to be my birthday, and today I turn 27. We arrived in Dulles airport last night with no delays and a relatively smooth flight. Once I got home, my friend Angel picked me up to go have dinner together, since she is leaving for China and Thailand tomorrow and I would not see her for the rest of the holidays. We were going to have a quiet late dinner at Tachibana, a Japanese restaurant in McLean. Once we got there, I was greeted by some of my closest friends, great sushi and cake, and ton of colorful birthday balloons. I was stunned speechless, and it was totally unexpected. Dan and one of my best friends Hanna had apparently put the whole thing together and coordinated it. I was really touched because with my birthday being on Christmas, I rarely get to celebrate it with friends since everyone is with their families, and things are just so busy in general over the holiday season. There were so many thoughtful presents that my friends had gotten for me, but honestly the biggest gift to me was that they had all taken some time to come out on Christmas Eve to celebrate with me, especially after I’d been away for so long and I had missed them so much. So a heartfelt thank you to all of my friends who came last night, as well as to those who wanted to but were unable to. You guys are the best, and I love you all!
Surprise birthday dinner at Tachibana in McLean
The cutest birthday cake ever.
up, up and away!
Dan had also gotten me a Tiffany necklace for my birthday! I immediately felt guilty for bugging him about getting a Kitchenaid stand mixer for the past couple months, because when he gave it to me he said, “You can trade it in for a Kitchenaid mixer if you really want it.” As much as I want the mixer, I am too much of a Tiffany fan to give this darling up. The mixer can wait. 😉
Tiffany necklace from Dan for my birthday
It's good to be home!
Christmas Day has been fun and relaxing so far. In the morning, we exchanged gifts among the family, and we siblings have been spending much of the day playing board games and on the Wii. My mother made some delicious hot soba noodles for lunch, and we’re going to have a sashimi dinner tonight! Not the traditional Christmas dinner, I know, but I’ll take raw fish over ham any day. 😉
Christmas morning
A Wacom tablet from my parents and brother!
And the snow! Although much of it has been shoveled off the roads or has started to melt, there is still over a foot of snow blanketing the ground. This is the first white Christmas I’ve seen in years and I’m loving it. The white landscape is gorgeous and makes for a true winter wonderland. Time for snow angels and snowball fights!
snow in our backyard
We’ll be taking a weekend trip up to New York City tomorrow, but we’ll be back in the DC area on Monday. Looking forward to all the fun times ahead with our friends and family! 😀
