Monterey Aquarium

The Tennessee Snows came out for a visit this Thanksgiving. I was fortunate to have the whole week off after working 11 hour days with parent-teacher conferences the week before, and Isaac had a few days off, so we got to spend a lot of family time together.

We spent a day down in Monterey. Aiden LOVED all the fish in the aquarium. We literally had to tear him away from some of the exhibits; he was perfectly happy staring at the sea life for long periods of time.

After exploring the aquarium, we dined at Ghirardelli Ice Cream, stopped at the beach for a bit, and picked up fresh produce at a local farm’s stand.

We ended the day with exotic burgers and a movie. It was a great day.

Birthday Surprise!

This weekend, I thought I was having a girls’ night for three, scrapbooking at Brooke’s apartment in Oakland. When I got there, I found it was a girls’ night for FOUR because Valerie flew in from Nebraska! Talk about a great birthday surprise! Plus, Isaac packed me an overnight bag so we could have a sleepover!

Not only did I get Monday off for Veteran’s Day, and not only was I spoiled by my mom and dad with a delicious dinner and exactly what I wanted, but I got to spend time with three of the greatest girls I know. Thanks to everyone for making it such a great three-day weekend!

A Lesson on Fine Dining

This week I enjoyed some California Rolls from our favorite Japanese place around the corner. I was excited to pull out the beautiful chopsticks I got in “Japan” at EPCOT this summer. Aiden was looking at me with that gleam in his eye that says “Teach me, Mommy!”

So I did.

We may have happened to have picked up a pair of training chopsticks in EPCOT as well. The two sticks are held together by a panda and totally adorable.

They are not, however, as easy as you might think. There’s lots of wiggle room still.

I was really proud of Aiden for being so persistent trying to pick up his bread with chopsticks.

Finally, success!

Happy Halloween!

We went to Perry Farms to pick out a pumpkin again this year, supporting our local farm (it’s about a mile away from us). This was the first time we were ambitious enough to carve it though… AND roast the seeds, which were super good.

Tonight we went to the ward Trunk or Treat, and Aiden did a pretty good job. He said “trick or treat” at almost every car and always said thank you, even if he had to be prompted sometimes. He didn’t eat any candy there, and after we’d gone around once, he said “Done car treat, Mommy,” and he just wanted to sit in my lap and later my dad’s while we handed out candy. Once he got the candy home, though, it was a different story. He wasn’t very happy to find out that he wasn’t allowed to eat as much as he wanted.

He and Larry were practically car-loving twins.

Bonus points if you can guess our pop culture homage here. I couldn’t pass up an easy literary allusion. I was glad so many of my students figured it out.

Bayside Knights of the Round Table

Last weekend was our annual ward RS Fall Social. It was medieval/ Renaissance themed. The very talented Danielle wrote the entertainment guide and script for narrators Gertrude and Archibald to come up with Renaissance S-words (Isaac juggled a little to help himself think).

Jason from our ward and Phil who used to be in our ward before he got married and moved talked about swords/weaponry and culminated the show with a sword fight complete with sparks and humor.

Liz organized a few songs, which included herself, Danielle and Erin singing.

Then a few ward members shared some sonnets and acted out a scene from Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, which section was organized by Erin. Jason and Erin go to Ren faires on the weekends when they can, so they not only put on a great show but loaned us clothes.

My mom and sister Yamashita headed up the food—roasted chicken, vegetables, Artisan bread, grapes, and a tart dessert… it was so delicious. There are so many talented people in our ward, and it was a nice night. We were still in a good mood even after coming home to find that Aiden had gotten into a purple ink pad while we were gone and gotten ink all over his clothes, furniture, and bedding. Hey, it was washable.