Independence Day

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…

Fourth of July Weekend

July 6, 2014 By Misono in Family and Friends, Seasonal Celebrations, Videos Tags: 4th of July, family, fireworks, Fourth of July, holiday, Hyo, Independence Day, Mio, Mirei, misono, Miwa, sparklers, summer, video, weekend

Here are some photos from Fourth of July weekend! We spent it quietly at home, but Dan’s sister came down to visit from New York, and Ted & Elisa also came over so we had a lot of great family time together.

M&M on Fourth of July — The girls in their red, white, and blue!

Here is Mirei on all fours, bouncing and rocking back and forth. She’s definitely getting ready to crawl!

Fourth of July fireworks — Mio with a sparkler for the first time (with some help and supervision from Daddy, of course).

Fourth of July — Mirei making more attempts to crawl.

I made sidewalk ice chalk for the first time.

Dan’s sister Hyo took some great photos of the girls too, so I’ll go ahead and share them here as well.

Hanging out on the porch — Painting with Mama on the porch.

Hope everyone had a great Independence Day and holiday weekend! 😀

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! 🙂

4th of July Weekend

July 5, 2010 By Misono in Wanderlust Tags: camping, family, Independence Day, July 4, July 4th, weekend, Yosemite

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!