April 2026 (Naomi's birthday, Michael, dinner dates, Frenchie puppies, Artemis launch)

Naomi had her big milestone birthday in April, and we got to make up for our Hello Kitty Cafe celebration for my birthday by celebrating hers. Her friend joined us, and then they went to her celebration at the escape room where her friend works. Naomi's college friends also threw her a party where everyone dressed up as her favorite things. I thought that was such a cute idea. I usually don't post her pictures anymore, but I'll include some here from her birthday. And then she also celebrated at home, and I got her a medley of different cupcakes. Manny and I also took her to a wagyu sukiyaki house.

I also got to do my make-up birthday yoga with puppies event. I saw an ad for it, and I got so excited at the idea of with golden retriever puppies. The company claimed that runs the puppy yoga says that their puppies are not from puppy mills and are adoptable puppies. I ended up signing up for corgi puppies, which was cancelled at the last minute, so they called up a Frenchie breeder and we get Frenchie puppies. On the one hand, it felt healing to see little Frenchies and remember our sweet Nacho. On the other hand, I don't like the way Frenchies are bred. I wasn't sure anymore where these puppies were coming from, so I decided I wouldn't sign up for one again, maybe unless they are rescue puppies.

Manny went to a Warriors/Kings game with Chris the same day. His car battery died on the way home, but thankfully we have AAA. We went out to a ramen place owned by a Mexican-American family, and the portions were huge. We also went to an Irish restaurant the following week. We go out to dinner more often these days.

Also in April, we took Lucas to see Michael. Michael Jackson's nephew really embodied his uncle, and it felt more like a concert than movie sometimes. After doing some research, I am even less convinced the charges against Jackson were valid, but I don't truly know. At least for the years covered in the movie, from his unconventional childhood to the start of the Bad tour, it was a time of nostalgia for Manny and me. And while I liked the Jackson 5, they were before my time, so likewise Lucas can appreciate Jackson's performances, but the pandemonium was also before his time. 

We played soccer in April for Lucas's sport class. I coached again and played goalie as well when we were short a player. My shoulder really bothered me so I couldn't really throw it in well. Another mom also had a frozen shoulder, and she convinced me to inquire about physical therapy.

Last but not least, I watched the Artemis II launch online. They were the first crew to do a flyby of the moon. For some reason I thought we'd cut back on the NASA launches, so it was special to witness. Victor Glover, a Christian navy captain and astronaut from the crew, talked about his faith in interviews, how he did not see science and his faith conflicting. I feel the same way. We make it conflict depending on perspective and motivation.

Escape room party

Michael

Spring soccer game

Pot pie and shepherd's pie at an Irish restaurant

A big bowl of ramen

Manny got the even bigger bowl.

Manny and Chris at the basketball game

Puppy yoga: she fell asleep

Puppy cuddles

Cupcakes from one of our favorite bakeries (three of us, anyway)

Time sure flies!

Wagyu master

We sat around a huge wooden counter with other patrons.

We have liftoff!

Here for the countdown, by myself. I tried getting my kids into space stuff, but it just didn't take off (pun intended).

With M. at Hello Kitty Cafe for Naomi's birthday and my belated birthday.

March 2026 (Walk For Life, Double Date with Pastor, Isaac Birthday, Project Hail Mary)

Two things you might notice--we don't do things as a complete family as much anymore, and at the same time, Manny and I go out more often. It's more challenging to align schedules, with the kids getting older. At the same time, Manny and I are more able to get out together more now. We're of course also going out alone to have some quality time. We had Peruvian food for the first time together (I've had it maybe two or three times before way back in college), and then Mediterranean which we have often together.

Our pastor has been a big part of our healing journey. He and his wife suggested we go on a double date, so we went to a nearby Chinese restaurant. He said later that he had wanted to try out my "go-to" Taiwanese place if I had one. I did, and I was about to suggest it for next time, only to find out that after 28 years of going there, it has closed. I'm really bummed about it! I took my mom and aunts there, college friends, of course went as a family, but alas, it is no more. Anyway it was a good time, but I find that I open up fairly easily to him and his wife, and I probably said a lot without time for context. 

This year is a big one for blockbuster releases. Included in that was Project Hail Mary, based on the book. I'd read it last year, or listened to the audiobook actually, because I seldom can sit down and read without interruption. I had also read The Martian by the same author, which you probably know was adapted into a movie starring Matt Damon. This one starred Ryan Gosling. I really liked the movie. Sci-fi is one of my favorite genres. Certain scenes were well worth watching on the big screen. I cried during certain parts of the book and then during those same parts in the movie, so I guess the plot and heart of the novel translated well.

Manny and Lucas participated in the Walk For Life fundraiser again this year. I usually stay home with Isaac. Raising money for crisis pregnancy centers is not about politics for us (and shouldn't be), but about raising funding for women who need or want prenatal and postnatal care and providing options for them that won't come down to money or hardship. 

The big deal for March was that Isaac became a teenager! There's a lot I want to say, but I'm trying to be more mindful of the kids' privacy. I will say the eating program has been working, and he started wanting to build a PC (but still hasn't completed buying the parts yet). He wanted a black and white chocolate drip cake. I thought about attempting the drip icing, something I've never done before, but decided to just buy the cake in the end. Naomi came home for the weekend, and we all went to Olive Garden to celebrate. The waiter folded origami gifts for us, which was sweet. They went to Isaac for his birthday. 

Lucas and Manny at Walk For Life

Out for Peruvian food after church

For some reason it won't let me upload the photo of us with our pastor and his wife at the Korean bakery, so here's our wonton soup from the Korean-Chinese restaurant lol

For Pi Day I wanted a small wild blueberry pie, but only found a frozen gluten free one, which wasn't bad.

Mediterranean food with Manny

Coach sleeping on Pluto

Birthday berry shake for Isaac

Squeezed into a smaller table at Olive Garden

paper swan and I think a cat

Huge drip cake

Birthday boy

Movie date

Had some okay beef noodle soup after the movie

July (Lucas's Birthday, Indoor Skydiving, MJ the Musical, Superman, Colonoscopy, Craft Fair, Outings, Superman, Hello Kitty)

We've been really busy again, so here's July update in December. For Lucas's birthday, I was looking for something new to do with his siblings, and I saw a Groupon for indoor skydiving and thought, would he be up for that? But he said he would try it, so I went ahead and booked it for a weekday as that was cheaper as well. That meant Manny could not go, but we celebrated with him at home on Lucas's birthday. I sometimes miss the old pool parties we used to do for Lucas's birthdays, when we could just invite family and kids from his classes and they would come. I did ask if he wanted to invite anyone, but he just wanted to go with his siblings. Naomi opted for the stationary skydiving, but the boys did the extra high-flying one and spun I think 30 ft up. You can see it in the video below. They enjoyed it.

I also took the boys to see Superman that same day. Kind of funny to fly around and then watch Superman. The only showing we could go to in the afternoon also was the only one with enough adjacent seats available for us. I found out why once we got there. It was an experience showing, way too loud for me and Lucas to where our seats were shaking from the sound. Isaac didn't mind it. These days I like it quieter with subtitles. The movie had some great scenes, especially with Krypto the dog, but I didn't like the backstory change (or retcon as it's called). Manny saw it later and didn't like it. We grew up with the story of Kal-El/Clark's parents that we enjoyed. But it was still nice to see a movie again. 

I joined this homeschool teen group that had planned social gatherings for the kids, so we went to our first event, a craft fair, and while Lucas did have a nice conversation with another boy, no real connection was made, I guess. Then soon after, due to low turnout, the group was discontinued and merged back into the general group. It's too bad, but at least Lucas still has other things he's participating in, and I'm proud of him for getting out there and trying. The craft fair was huge, and it was so loud and crowded in there, which was hard for both of us. 

Manny got tickets for us to take Lucas to see MJ: the Musical. I thought it was a good idea since that would be a musical where he knew some of the background and was familiar with the characters and the song. Lucas didn't say anything other than it was good, but I think he was really happy he went and brought it up with his homeroom teacher at school.

Manny planned a family outing to Red Robin as well, but the one we usually went to closed. There is still another one open, but it's not as nice. We live in an area with high rental costs, and many restaurants around us did not recover after the lockdowns and now with rising food costs. It's a shame. However, we do also get new places as well, like the Hello Kitty Cafe that opened. I went on opening day 45 minutes before opening, but the line was already so long, and I had to leave before I got to the front for a planned lunch with Naomi. I met someone in line who'd driven an hour to come to the opening, and she and I struck up a nice conversation with her and we exchanged numbers. She volunteered to buy something for me and hold it (some of the items were only available that day), but I didn't want her to have to stay and wait for me, so I declined. I will go back hopefully around my birthday with Naomi for their tea option.

Naomi went to a concert on her own, a Japanese singer. I was there to drop her off and pick her up, and she met a couple of other girls and just hung out with them. She didn't want me to go with her, because while I love Japanese music, I'm not a huge fan of the scream rock stuff, and she'd have to be concerned about it being loud or unenjoyable for me. I'm the same way about a lot of things. I'd rather go along than feel like I dragged someone to something. But I made sure to be in the area 40 minutes early for pickup and have a clear designated spot. How did our rides do this back in the days without smartphones? I guess we would just say we would be at a certain spot at a certain time and be there. And then use a payphone otherwise and hope the person's line wasn't busy or that they had call waiting! 

My friend O. and I tried a new (to me) restaurant, Left Bank, and they happened to be decorated for Bastille Day, so that was kind of fun. My fish was really good. I also took my young friend A. from church, who was in between jobs at the time, out for hotpot. All that good eating was done by the end of July, though, when it was time for my colonoscopy. My first ever. Because there is a lot of cancer in my family, including my dad having it twice, and my maternal grandmother passing away young from it, they said I should go in a little younger. Now they have lowered the age to 45 I think. Colorectal cancer used to be an older person's disease, but now it's become alarmingly more common in young adults. 

I have a friend who is a gastroenterologist and I did not take advantage of that connection and went with the colon prep that they prescribed. She told me it was one of the worst ones of all. I think I figured that out after the first 30 minutes. I had to drink 4 liters over two sittings, and it was a lot. It helped for me to chase down the awful flavor with some frost (cherry-flavored) Gatorade. It's white, which is okay. You can't have anything that is red, blue, or purple and should just try to stick to clear liquids up until you have to stop consuming liquid as well. I'm glad Manny was able to pick me up. I was so out of it.

I don't remember much about that day. I remember Manny getting me a salad from Chik-Fil-A. And then I was saying weird stuff to Naomi, like how cute the little car was in the Grubhub app and how she shouldn't go to London because they don't speak English there (yeah no English in England). I was just goofy. My doctor friend said it shouldn't affect me much, but I was out of it that day and the next. It's the anesthesia, which I generally do not take well to, as well as painkillers unfortunately. I am allergic to vicodin and don't do well with acetominophen, but also something I was giving for Naomi's birth which was not disclosed to me for some reason). I can take ibuprofen. 

Waiting for the doors to open at MJ: the Musical

They had earplugs, which Lucas and I wore. No photos allowed in the theater.

We miss our old Red Robin, but at least there's still another one within driving distance.

HK makes an appearance. The line was too long for me to get in before I had to leave.

Fourth of July food. It's been a long, long time since I made a trifle!

This man had a pet golden duck that just followed him everywhere.

Hotpot with A. in the middle of summer!

Naomi at the Ado concert

Bastille Day with O.

Naomi

Isaac

Lucas

They look so excited. 😄 

Craft fair

Lucas learning how to screenprint

Happy birthday, Lucas!

Grandma always sends a sweet card with a generous gift!

Tip: If you can get your doctor to prescribe something else, please do it. Specifically ask for Suprep, Plenvu, Clenpiq, or Suflav if your insurance covers any of them.

My first meal after the colonoscopy. Thank you to Manny.

Window cats