socal trip, day 5:

On our last day in SoCal, we went to lunch with Manny's parents, and then I went to see my parents.  We had teppanyaki and sushi, although this chef was not as fun as the last one (and my scallops were slightly overcooked).  He was still great, though, and we had a good time.  Thank you, Grandma!

My dad had just finished his cancer treatment, and my mom's birthday was coming up.  I had told them ahead of time it would just be me, but my mom thought maybe the others would come as well.  I felt bad about that.  But I think it was for the best for my dad to have more rest, and for me to talk to my parents about some personal matters, theirs and mine.  As dysfunctional a family as we were, I am thankful that I can talk to my parents about anything, and especially thankful that my parents are still with us.

After I got back to my in-laws' house, we got packed and ready to head back home.  So thankful for this week!

Naomi's rainbow sushi was so pretty.

Onion volcano always a lot of fun.

Love fried rice.

Lucas got it!

Happy birthday to my mother.

socal trip, day 4:

Manny had wanted to take us to places that were part of his childhood.  Since I also grew up in SoCal, we share a lot of the same childhood haunts, but these two places (La Brea Tar Pits and Olvera Street) were places I had surprisingly never been to.  So, I was looking forward to it as well.  We drove through L.A., something I missed, but that means through L.A. traffic, something I didn't miss.  That weekend was the Academy Awards, so some of the streets were sectioned or closed off as they set up.  Pretty cool.

La Brea Tar Pits was interesting and the area was huge, but the museum itself was not a big as I expected.  It was sprinkling and cold, so it didn't actually smell like tar (that's a good thing) until the sun started coming in.  We then went to Olvera Street for lunch.  Manny got chicken and mole and I got lobster enchiladas.  Mine was good but a little too sweet, and Manny really liked his mole, so if I ever go again, I want to try that.  Olvera Street is a neat place to shop, but there wasn't anything we needed or wanted, so we just browsed the stands and got some candy and fruit.  I got one of my favorites, a De La Rosa Marzipan Peanut candy.  There is a Chinese candy that tastes exactly like it.  We took a family photo complete with Mexican Revolution costuming, which was fun (the photo, not the war).  Afterward, we drove back to Manny's parents' house, and we reunited with Nacho and relaxed there.

Entering the museum.

Isaac marveling at the tusks.

So many huge exhibits, but the boys were most fascinated by this small-scale model.

Mammoth skeletons.

Mammoth tusks.

Maneuvering mammoth trunk simulators.

Isaac made Manny take this photo, but I guess it's proof I was there.

That Isaac, so smiley.

And Lucas, smiley but sensitive to the sun coming out, he said.

Heading into Olvera Street.

El Paseo Inn.

Nuestro almuerzo mexicano.  (Hope I got that right; it's been a while since I took Spanish, and not going to bother with Google.)

Dulces mexicanos.

Ropa y juguetes.

Cielito Lindo.  I went by Cielito as my Spanish name in class one year (even though it's not really a name and not feminine), and my friend and I taught the song to the class as our project.

Vestidos.

The cross at Olvera Street, apparently installed in 2017 to replace and old one.  Manny having some fruit with chili powder and lime.

socal trip, day 3:

After buying a few snacks, we headed to Universal for a second and final day there.  First stop was Springfield to get on the Simpson ride.  We went right through the line right at opening, but even in the second ride, the wait became pretty long since it's a low throughput ride.  Like all motion simulator rides, I got motion sickness so had to close my eyes for some of it, and didn't really want to get on a second time.  So while Manny and the kids got on again, I went to the Kwik-E-Mar and got Lucas his choco bacon bar.  The cashier did not say, "Thank you.  Come again."  Felt like a missed opportunity there.  😉  While I was waiting,  I got a photo with Homer and Marge (Homer tried to steal my bags), and our friend Chris showed up to join us for some of the day.  

We had lunch in Springfield and another donut.  This time Naomi picked out the s'mores donut.  Then we watched a BTS Special Effects show, which I found interesting, especially the segment with fire and Foley artistry (dubbed sound effects).  At some point, I did make it on the Transformers ride.  More motion sickness, but worth it for us to all be together on the ride like Isaac wanted.

The boys and I went to Super Silly Fun Land and got on the Dumbo-ish ride and play in the small playground while Manny, Chris, and Naomi went on a ride, and then they met up with us so the boys could both go on with Manny.  Then we did the Minion ride again.  Back to the Harry Potter world.  Isaac got on his first real roller coaster.  He was red and screaming, but he liked it.  We did the wand show (not worth the wait--it's basically a marketing presentation, just as Naomi's friends had said).  After that I think Manny, Chris, and Lucas went to the Kung Fu Panda ride?  Naomi, Isaac, and I spotted a number of characters, but Isaac only wanted to meet Hello Kitty (me, too).  He loves cats.

We then went to watch the Waterworld show, which was pretty entertaining.  I liked the airplane part at the end.  Isaac was nervous with the fire, due to trauma from being in two fires in his short life, but I assured him it wouldn't get to us.  Back to the Animation Studios store, so back to Lucas saying, "Shopping again?!  What a waste of money!"  Isaac has always wanted a Hello Kitty plushie of his own, he says.  Not one of Naomi's.  There was no convincing him to get something more boyish like Keroppi or Chococat, so HK it was.  

Back to CityWalk for dinner at Bubba Gump.  Naomi and traded fish and shrimp tacos.  Afterward, Manny got Naomi and Lucas caramel apples.  Lucas' was traditional, and Naomi's was made to look like Pikachu.  Isaac is not a fan of caramel, so he ate the ears from Naomi's apple, which were made of candy.  Another rideshare back to the hotel, and we packed before we had to check out in the morning and head out for our last day around L.A.

A successful family selfie!

Waiting for the park to open.

Killing time while waiting for everyone else.  The guy that played Homer was pretty fun.

The Silly Swirly Fun Ride.

On the playground.

Roasting marshmallows and probably a banana instead of a hot dog.

Fun Land needs more kiddie rides.

The boys both wanted to ride with Papi.

Us on the giant screen dancing with the minions.

Character spotting:  Gru and one of the minions.

Chris trying out some spells.

After Isaac rode this roller coaster, his first one ever.

Shrek and Fiona.

Po from Kung Fu Panda.

Hello, Hello Kitty!

Happy hugs.

About to watch Waterworld.

More like fire and water world.

Bubba Gump.  I got the shrimp tacos, but I liked the fish ones better.

These I got from Manny's phone, so a little out of order.  This is at the Waterworld show.

Later in the evening, Manny got Naomi a pikachu caramel apple.

How to train your Isaac.

This was the one plushie he ever wanted.

Isaac relaxing.

Lucas with his chocolate (which we felt needed more bacon).