Dan woke Mio and I up on Saturday morning, announcing that he wanted to take us to a beach called Heart’s Desire Beach. I’d never heard of the beach before, but it sounded like such a cute name for a beach and it was a beautiful day, so we quickly packed up our beach gear and hopped in the car to embark on this surprise trip that Dan had planned for us.
The beach is in the Tomales Bay/Point Reyes area, and took us about an hour and half to drive there. We stopped by Drakes Bay Oyster Company before going to the beach, so we could pick up a bunch of oysters to grill for lunch. I’d been talking about wanting to go to Hog Island Oyster Farm, but we hadn’t been yet because it requires reservations and we weren’t sure when we’d want to go. This was a great alternative, and not as crowded of a location — we just picked up our oysters and left to go grill them at the beach.
Arriving at Drakes Bay Oyster Shack
Checking out the oysters!
We decided that for our first time shucking our own fresh oysters, it was “go big or go home” and we got a bunch of the large jumbo oysters!
Oysters in hand, we got back in the car and drove over to Heart’s Desire Beach, which was only about ten minutes from the oyster shack.
It really was called “Heart’s Desire Beach.” Such a cute name!
We immediately set up our picnic table and started the grill up, laying out oysters and corn.
Mio is so happy to finally be out of the car!
She got a hold of the lemons…
Love that smile! It just tickles me every time…
The oysters off the grill — time to shuck those suckers!
Shucking was difficult at times, but we got the hang of it!
Glorious fresh oyster, ready for the eating!
So excited to dig in.
Mio was content eating her corn… for a couple months now, she’s been able to eat it on the cob.
Thank you Dan for grilling us a delicious lunch!
After lunch, it was time for us to play on the beach… this was of course the highlight of the day for our little waterbug.
Mio filling her bucket with water. For her, playing in the water is serious business!
Dan showing Mio how to build a sand castle.
Making fun objects in the sand.
Our little family at the beach.
With our sweet little Mio…
Mio’s biggest smile on the beach came from discovering a piece of seaweed… interesting.
A video Dan took of Mio on the beach.
Drying off on the shore.
Stylin’ in her shades.
Mio had so much fun that she fell asleep for almost the entire drive back home. Thanks hubby for planning such a memorable, fun trip for us! 😀
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 moved to get a closer look at the parade.
Watching the floats go by.
There were lots of cool classic cars in the parade!
Baby you’re a firework! Mio in her Fourth-of-July dress.
A Japanese-themed float representing the Buddhist Temple of Alameda
Paper cranes on the sides
Enjoying the parade in the shade with Daddy
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!
Jason grilling some delicious burgers!
Mio following 4-year old Rishy around.
We also got to hang out on their hammock — it was so relaxing!
Bathed in sunlight
Mio’s first time on the hammock
Daddy and Mio on the hammock!
Dan borrowed my sunglasses… lol.
Mio had a fun time exploring the backyard!
“Peekaboo!”
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! 🙂
Last Sunday, we went to a garden party hosted by Dan’s British coworker Liz, celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee — the 60th anniversary of her being the Queen. We’d never been to this kind of celebration before so we didn’t know what to expect, but it was a really lovely garden party with such beautiful details…
The Diamond Jubilee flag on the fence in front of the house.
Trifle and strawberries with cream.
Loved the presentation!
The little cuties at the party.
Cedar has gotten so big now. He's almost two years old!
I'm a sucker for details like this... so cute!
"Whack-A-Rat" game
Mio eating some fruit.
Delicious-looking cupcakes on display.
More yummy treats!
Mio was constantly running off somewhere and exploring the beautiful garden. It was all we could to keep up with her!
The food was superb, and everything about the party had the designer’s touch! We had a wonderful time. 🙂
As it is with a lot of grandparents, my mom has a tendency to want to pamper her grandchild, and she always insists on buying babygear and toys for Mio that she can use while in Virginia, even though we’re rarely here for over two weeks at a time. (We already have a separate car seat, high chair, and travel crib that will always be waiting for us in Virginia… I do admit that it makes our life a whole lot easier!) She went out for a shopping run yesterday morning and came back with a baby pool! Because it was very sunny and the perfect weather for some splashing around, we took it out to the backyard for Mio to play in it. This was Mio’s first experience with any sort of pool, as where we live in Northern California rarely gets hot enough to be pool weather, so it was pretty exciting!
No diving in the baby pool! You don't say...
Mio testing the water. (My mom bought her some pool/bath toys, too!)
Mio was at first a little stunned...
Obaachan blowing bubbles for Mio
Mio eventually squatted down to sit in the pool.
Pooltime in the backyard
It was the perfect weather for some fun in the sun!
Three generations of Yokoyama ladies!
Having a blast.
I kept putting hats on her, but Mio pulled all of them off and into the water... 🙁
Mio had so much fun, we had a hard time getting her out of the pool!
Here’s a video I took of the pooltime fun!
Hopefully we’ll get several more uses of the baby pool during our stay here in Virginia! Mio has always loved the water (she relishes bathtime), so I can see this pool becoming very addictive for her. 😛
I remember spending many of my summer days as a young child playing in a kiddie pool of our own in the same backyard with my siblings, and I can’t help but smile as I think back on all the fun we had. One of the best parts of becoming a parent is how we are given the opportunity to be a kid again — to relive the best of our childhood memories all over again, except this time with a deeper understanding of just how precious those moments are. I hope that someday, Mio will look back on all those happy moments we’ll share with the same fondness and smile.
Mio and I arrived at my parents’ home in Virginia late Saturday night. My dear friend Hanna is getting married in two weeks, and we’re in town to attend the wedding as well as to spend a couple weeks with my family and friends here beforehand. Dan stayed behind because he has to work, but he’ll be joining us for the weekend of the wedding! Mio and I survived the cross-country flight, despite her staying awake the entire time. We had to walk up and down the aisle a few times and she was definitely restless and squirmed a lot, but she was in good spirits for most of the flight, charming the other passengers and the flight attendants with her scrunchy-faced smiles and friendly behavior. (Mio kept grabbing onto the seat in front of us and peeking her head around the side to smile at the lady sitting in it… thankfully, the woman was a very understanding mother of three, and seemed tickled by her silly antics.) It was only during the last half hour of the flight when we began our descent that things really went downhill — Mio refused to drink from her sippy cup and hence started screaming and crying because her ears wouldn’t pop. I was mortified and extremely stressed out, but she kept pushing away everything I offered her to drink and eat. Thankfully, everyone around me was very understanding and sympathetic, and — probably picking up on my stress — helped me gather all my belongings and even offered to hold Mio when it came time to offboard the plane. I’m just glad that it’s over, and that I’ll have Dan to help me on the returning flight back to California.
Mio has been soaking up the love back here in Virginia. She’s loving all the attention from my parents and my siblings, and is smiling more than usual! She loves all the rooms she can explore (as my parents’ house offers much more space to roam than our little home back in California), and of course the luxury of a big backyard!
My mom pulled out a toy that my siblings and I often played with as kids for Mio to tinker with. I can’t believe she’d kept it all these years, and it was really nostalgic to see it again! I love that as parents, we oftentimes relive our childhood through our children and that we can share and pass on our most cherished memories and experiences…
Mio loves the "vintage" toy that her Mama used to play with.
Fisher Price toy fron the 80s
It's still in good shape after being banged around by four kids!
Here are some fun photos of playtime in the backyard…
Auntie Miwa playing with Mio while Obaachan looks on.
Auntie Miwa is so good with Mio!
Feeling the breeze
Mio can almost get lost in the backyard...
I missed all this greenery!
Mio is a bit of a speed demon lately… her walking is turning into a run, as she can jet across the room in only a couple seconds, especially when she is excited!
Almost a blur as she explores the house.
Mio was not happy with our attempt to get her to wear cherry blossom antennae.
