Monday morning started out with Katelyn's last Tippie Toes class. I'm starting to think that she's too old for this class. The age range is for 1.5-3 year olds, which sounded perfect at the time, but compared to the 1-2 year olds, she's huge and much better at following directions. There's only one class left anyway, so I'll be sure to find something more age appropriate next time.
Video of Katelyn at Tippie Toes Dancing:
Maybe a music class...the kids always love to rock it out to the beat and pretend they're playing the guitar.
I was still reeling about the drama from the week before, coming to terms with things and figuring out what was going to happen onward. Tuesday I grabbed coffee with a new mommy friend after drop off and she really helped me figure things out. Later in the afternoon, after picking up Katelyn, we met up with some friends at Woodbury park for a quick playdate. Tyler happily played with Jordan and Aaron while Katelyn had a great time with Kendall.
That night I had a nice saketini night with my friends Sophia and Yoko. Their girls are both in Katelyn's Pre-1 class. Sophia is about to have baby #2! These gals are great, and makes me realize that Katelyn needs more friends her own age, instead of always tagging along with older siblings of Tyler's friends!
Wednesday. More park hunting with Katelyn after dropping off Tyler at Kindergarten. Days like these I really appreciate the extra time I get to spend with Katelyn. She's growing up so quickly and I know her little girl days are numbered.
Video of KK having fun at the park:
Video of Katelyn on the swing:
When we're home for lunch when Tyler is in school, Katelyn loves to sit in Tyler's chair at the kitchen table to eat. Hope Tyler doesn't find out!
Thursday Tyler had his second piano lesson. Worked out perfectly since we were not going to be in town the next day. It's so early in his lessons that I'm not expecting too much. I just need to make sure that Tyler keeps up with his practicing.
Thursday afternoon Tyler had soccer practice, even though he was going to miss the game on Saturday. Katelyn usually sits down with the iPad and is occupied with it the whole hour. This week was different! Emmy, one of Tyler's team mates' friends' little sister, was able to lure Katelyn away! Emmy is always up to play but Katelyn usually is too engrossed, but this week Katelyn put down the iPad herself and ran off to play with Emmy! Super cute these girls! Emmy is almost a year older though.
Friday. Our first road trip with both kids. How bad could the drive be? It seemed like a good idea since 1) we haven't been to the Bay Area since I was pregnant with Katelyn, 2) it was my cousin's wedding, 3) I really wanted to take Katelyn to Berkeley and 4) maybe this should have been first, we haven't visited Kareen/Andy's new place! We took our time getting on the road in the morning, and didn't hit the road until almost 10am. The kids were READY.
First stop was almost 2 hours into the drive, at Tejon Ranch's In'N'Out. Our usual stop for this drive is at Kettleman City, but the drive is much more different with 2 kids. The kids must have been hungry though, because Tyler scarfed down his cheeseburger. Katelyn calls the place "french fry place" and really liked the lemon that was in her water.
Necessary pit stop on the side of the road of the 5. Katelyn needs to #2! Priceless.
Finally, after 7 hours, we finally finally finally made it to San Jose. The number of times I heard "Are we there yet" was ridiculous and so cliche. We went directly to Leah's dance studio to meet Kareen and fam for a 'bring-a-friend' dance class. OMG I almost died from Katelyn's cuteness. I was able to squeeze her into the little dress that she got for her 2nd birthday back in March. Super duper cute! They also fitted her for tap and ballet shoes.
When the class started, she didn't hesitate for a second, and ran right in to join the rest of the girls. Leah wasn't even there yet! She was so excited about her little tap shoes. Parents aren't allowed inside so I stalked her from the window in the door. TOO CUTE. The parents have a video monitor to watch from the waiting room.
After the kids practiced for a bit, the teachers had the parents come in to watch a little performance that the girls had been practicing for an upcoming dance recital. Of course Katelyn didn't really know the moves but that didn't keep her from having a wonderful time. Check out how excited Katelyn and Leah are together!
2 Videos of KK and Leah at dance class:
This dance class made me determined to get Katelyn into an older dance class. The dance classes around here that aren't 'mommy and me' start at age 3. I think Katelyn will be able to pass as 3, especially with her maturity! She enjoyed the tumbling as well.
Mommy and Katelyn!
After class and a Korean BBQ dinner, we finally headed back to Kareen's place. The kids were excited to be at a new place with new toys. It took a while for them to wind down and then they were out for the night. Us adults played a very close game of Puerto Rico!
The next morning, Saturday, we headed up to our old stomping grounds - Berkeley! Our very first stop, and possibly most important, was our apartment. Oh, the memories we had there. When I met Will back in 1998, he had 2 roommates and I lived a block away in a studio apartment with Kareen. Fast forward a couple years and we have the place to ourselves and playing house! It's hard to imagine that we had any idea what our lives would be like 14 years later - married with 2 kids in Irvine. Who knew?!
Then it was off to campus. Memories, memories, memories! Stopped at the mandatory Noah's Bagels. The kids are already enjoying themselves!
Onto Sproul, the kids ran and goofed around.
Future Cal Bears, maybe even roomies? :)
I love that we are a Cal family!
We even picked up some Cal gear for the kids. Gotta represent!
Coming up: overload of photos of us on campus with the kids. We didn't make it too far into campus, just hung out mostly on Sproul Plaza and Sather Gate. I couldn't even fathom walking up to my old engineering buildings - they're on the other side of campus, with lots of uphill walking. We hung out, people watched, and then headed back to the car.
On the way back to the parking structure, we passed Yogurt Park. My first job in college! I worked there for the Spring semester of my freshman year, before moving to DNAI, a local Internet Service Provider. I even got Kareen a job there too. We spent many hours working there, serving yogurt and making tips. Will even spent a lot of time there hanging out with me. :) Yogurt Park wasn't open yet and we were pretty bummed since it was 10:45am. Doh! While we were milling around outside, the owner Marty showed up to start setting up. He looked at us and actually remembered us! 14 years ago we worked there! He even opened up early so that we could get our pumpkin pie yogurt fix.
After our early dessert, we headed to one of our favorite restaurants - Zachary's! Will loves their Chicago Deep Dish pizza. Yum!
After lunch, we headed back down to San Jose and the kids each got a nice nap. We were worrying about rushing to the wedding and dealing with cranky children, but everything went pretty smoothly! Back at Kareen's place, Katelyn slept for a little while longer in the car while we got ready for the wedding. Ready!
The drive to Montara was quite long and windy, but we made it there in the nick of time (even with having to pull over for a quick road side potty break for Katelyn). The wedding was beautiful and on the actual beach. The kids kicked off their shoes and played in the sand. I was able to keep them somewhat quiet during the ceremony with the iPad / iPhone.
Check out Katelyn's cute Burberry raincoat! Will's mom got it for her a couple years ago from China. Authenticity in question, but still super cute!
Super cute beach backdrop.
Doesn't Tyler look like he's very comfortable living in the Bay Area? The kids decided they both really liked wearing my scarf.
After the ceremony, we headed to the adjacent restaurant "La Costanera" for the reception. Katelyn and Leah happily played together at our table. It was Katelyn's first wedding and I was worried that we were going to have to leave early if she became tired/cranky. Boy, was I wrong! She was wonderful! Come to think of it, both Katelyn and Tyler were both wonderfully behaved!
Starting the drinking early for this one...
It's just pineapple juice! :)
Tyler was starting to party too.
Biggest draw for Tyler of the night - the photobooth! Obsessed. He. Was. He loved taking photos in it, was always asking to go back into it all night. Later we found that he had sneaked in by himself a couple times too! He's such a ham, he loves being the center of attention sometimes!
Video of the kids ready for the photobooth:
The restaurant was Peruvian - quite tasty! The restaurant had a nice outside patio overlooking the ocean. Quite beautiful, especially with the sunset. Love that the kids are old enough that we can all enjoy ourselves (translation: I was able to help myself to the open bar!).
Dinner is served! The kids had their own yummy chicken strips and macaroni. Katelyn was hungry!
After dinner the kids got back into the photobooth - they had a small selection of dress up gear. Katelyn liked the little cowboy hat and inflatable microphone.
As the night went on, the girls occupied themselves with various electronics. They weren't too into the speeches. Check out my beautiful cousin cutting the wedding cake with her groom!
Time, to get the party started. The DJ started the music and the kids got really excited watching the Bride/Groom dance.
Look how friendly Katelyn is, hanging out with Kareen and Uncle Andy. :)
Party started. Tyler tore it up on the dance floor. His dance moves even surprised me! I've always known that he loved to dance, but I never knew he had such amazing moves. So many people commented to us how great Tyler was at dancing. He loved it! Leah and Katelyn were dancing themselves as well too.
Video of dance master Tyler:
Here's a photo of myself and Kareen with our cousin Aileen. She's due with her 2nd kid in March and looks absolutely fabulous!
Fun night!
Another photo with a cousin, this one is Stephanie! She grew up in Irvine and her parents still live super close to us!
Back on the dance floor, Tyler was still going strong. Took off his tie and even took off his dress shirt at one point from the sweat. Look, he's even closing out the dance floor!
Must hit the photobooth once more before heading home. We changed the kids to their pajamas before driving home. Once we got home, we put the kids down and all pretty much went to sleep as well. The effects of the open bar was starting to hit me and I knocked out pretty quick. Not such a nice sleep though, Katelyn kept falling out of her inflatable sleeping bag. Awwww.
The next morning the kids woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed. You'd never think they were up late the night before dancing the night away. They were hungry though, and ready for breakfast!
Our time there was limited, and it was nice to see the kids playing together. Leah and Katelyn got along so well! I so wish they lived down here closer to us.
Leah's playing doctor on Katelyn, Katelyn is the agreeable patient.
A shared yogurt drink and then we were off. Hopefully it won't be years until we visit again.
Next stop: Pleasanton. A 40+ minute drive, not in the direction of home either. Grumble grumble. We went to visit Will's friend Michael and his family. I was hesitant about the time it would take, but I am so glad that we decided to go. The kids napped on the way down, and then we headed to a nearby park for the kids to play.
Here's Will and Michael with the kids. It really is nice seeing old friends and catching up.
After a quick frozen yogurt stop with our friends, we hit the road. Sigh. We were not looking forward to the long drive ahead of us. It was already 3pm by the time we headed out! This time we stopped at Kettleman City's In'N'Out for an early dinner.
After a long long long drive, we finally made it home. The kids transferred nicely into their beds and Will and I got some much needed rest. Will was amazing and drove the whole way! What a fun weekend, exhausting and tiring. Not sure when we'll do a next road trip though - perhaps when the kids are older, or somewhere closer. :)
And to end this post, photobooth photos!
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