Monday, July 23, 2007

July 21 Weekend: Happy Birthday Mommy!

Where do I even begin! What a crazy few days! It all started with Po-po, Gong Gong and Auntie Sabrina visiting for a few days. As usual, every time Gong Gong visits Vancouver, he absolutely has to eat Chinese food. We went out for a very late dinner. Poor Sydney had to squeeze in as many naps during the day as she could but what a trooper! She was great through the dinner. It was some restaurant on Fraser and 47th and they had this really yummy dessert. Ginger milk custard.....yum yum! Oh yeah, the Lobster&Crab on sticky rice was pretty good too :) They had peking duck but we didn't order it that night :(

Quick note about Sydney's sleep pattern. The theory "the later she sleeps, the later she gets up" does not apply.

We didn't get home until almost 11pm but that didn't stop Sydney from getting up at 6am the next morning! And that is how my bday started!

Early wake up call courtesy of my daughter. A quick drive to Horseshoe Bay to pick up my Auntie #2 (my mom's older sister.....my mom is #13). We had a lovely family dim sum and the Tanaka's finally met my parents and a few of my relatives. The three of us headed back home for nap while the visitors went off and toured Chinatown...again. We were supposed to hook up at 5pm for an early dinner and then catch the 7pm ferry to Nanaimo.
At 3:50pm, we get a phone call from Po-Po saying they were heading to the terminal and catching the 5:10pm ferry! EEEEEKKKKKK!!!!!! We woke Sydney from her nap and rushed out to Horseshoe Bay. We arrived at the booth only to be told that we were catching the 7:10pm ferry! So the three of us parked the car in the line-up and started walking down the hill to get out of the lot to go eat dinner. It started pouring rain. Greeeeaaat......

As we reached the bottom of the hill, an attendant told us that if we were going to Nanaimo, we would have to get back to our car to move it down the hill once the 5pm ferry loaded. At this point, Dave had no patience and was fuming and fussing. At first he wanted to split up and told me to go to the restaurant and he'd move the car. We decided against that and headed back to our car in the pouring rain. Huffing and puffing, we finally made it back to our car. In a few minutes, cars ahead of us started moving. Down, down, down the hill and oddly enough....onto the ferry! We were the second last car to get on! What luck!!!!!!

Anyhow, the day ended with a yummy homemade dinner at #2's, followed by a chocolate cake that took three Chan woman to slice up, and a nice sleep at the Beach house.

On the last day Gong Gong was in town, he had tummy troubles so he didn't eat anything all day. The Chan woman (and Dave) indulged on Flying Wedge pizza! Yum yum!

On Po-po and Auntie Sabrina's last day, we went out to Zen Sushi for a belated b-day dinner. We had a sake sampler and a nice meal. Sydney had rice crackers :)

Enjoy the pics!










Saturday, July 14, 2007

Hawaii: Honolulu/ Waikiki/ Hanauma

Geve's new haircut for the trip (I think she looks amazing) to a lei plant in the lobby of the Royal Hawaiian... Hanauma Bay, Waikiki, Duke's, and Bon Voyage on our trip.




















































Hawaii Pictures: Hilo

Hilo:
Mauna Loa Macademian Nut factory

Volcano National Park

Earthquake warnings (press release and seismograph reading)

Painting of Pele, Goddess of the Volcano