Pumpkin Patch

It's an Isaac family tradition- we go to the pumpkin patch every year on Grace's birthday!  Here are a few pictures from our visit. 

Jeremy's 4th Birthday was a Blast!

With every birthday that our kids have had, I have tried to make each one special and memorable.  Now that they're older, they definitely have an idea of what they want!  Jeremy told me a few months ago that he wanted to have a "space" birthday party.  I searched online for all kinds of ideas- thank goodness for the internet!  We feel incredibly blessed to have many friends who have boys all around Jeremy's age. 

As soon as the boys arrived, they had "Launch Preparation" in which they decorated paper rockets with stickers.  Afterwards, they had to "Gear Up" by getting ready with jetpacks that Jason and I made for each boy.  We headed towards the empty lot next to our home to the "Rocket Launch."  I am lucky that Jason is so handy- he found directions online on how to build a rocket launcher using an air compressor.  We had the boys take turns launching their rockets.  Unfortunately, since some of the rockets had been made with Scotch tape as opposed to packaging tape, some of them exploded in the air due to the air pressure- some boys were on the verge of tears!  Oops!  It was very cool and exciting to see some of the rockets launched into the air.  Boys young and old enjoyed themselves!

After the rocket launch, the boys played a game called Alien Attack using nerf guns.  While waiting for our "Pizza Planets" to arrive, the boys got a chance to play while we sat and chatted with friends.  

Here is Jeremy with his rocket cake.   He absolutely loved it- in fact, he had gotten up first that morning, and had tried to sneak some of it.  When I saw it a while later, parts of the frosting and outline were missing and I had to do some rocket repairs! 

We are so thankful to have this amazing little-big boy in our lives!  Our Bear is a goofy jokester with a great sense of humor, is passionate, intelligent, caring and endearing.  We love him so incredibly much- happy 4th birthday to our Jere-Bear! 

Silverbacks' Soccer

This fall, we decided to sign Jeremy up for the City of Fresno's 3-4 yr. old soccer league.  Since we know several boys who are around the same age as him, we invited them to sign up as well.   We requested for our boys to be put on the same team, so some of his teammates are his friends, Jackson, Jacob, and Luke.  Coach Frank was Jeremy's t-ball coach, and we were thrilled to find out he would also be coaching Jeremy's soccer team.  Jeremy has scored several goals and has been playing so well!  It has been a lot of fun cheering on the Silverbacks!

Fresno Fair

It's not a secret- Jason has expressed on many occasions that he is not a fan of fairs.  It was somewhat surprising that he agreed to chaperone for Grace's field trip to the Fresno Fair a few weeks ago.  I guess it was ok for him since the kids didn't get to go on any rides and it wasn't as crowded as it can be later in the day.  Her class ended up having so many parent chaperones that Jason ended up with only Grace and one other classmate, and they walked around with Grace's friend and her dad.  The girls got to explore the farm animal and rainforest exhibits, and even did some gold panning.  Fun times at the Big Fresno Fair!       

Weekend Getaway

I was just talking to my hairstylist yesterday about the latest weekend getaway that Jason and I took.  She commented, "I don't know anyone who gets away as much as you guys do!"  To that, I must admit that she's probably right!  Jason and I sure haven't let having kids stop us from seeing and doing things we want to do.  We are truly, truly lucky that every time we go, Jason's mom has been very willing to be with our kids.  I am so grateful for the alone time that Jason and I get to spend together.  We continue to have so much fun, and he really is the best travel companion for me!

So, our latest weekend getaway took place the weekend after Labor Day. We went with Jennifer and Dan to the Bay Area for the weekend.  On Friday afternoon, we left and headed to Berkeley to see Ray LaMontagne in concert.  We had an AMAZING dinner in Berkeley at a restaurant called, "Angeline's Lousiana Kitchen."  There was a short wait, but it was totally worth it.  The food was so good, I hope we'll get to go back some time.  After dinner, we headed to the Greek Theater for the concert.  Jennifer and Jason love Ray LaMontagne, but I will confess that I'm not a huge fan of his, and seeing him live didn't make me a fan.  I actually started getting sleepy after a while!  He has a great voice and his music is easy going and really mellow, but for me, it starts to sound the same after a while.  I jokingly told Jason that the next concert we go to is going to be my pick (which is unlikely to happen- I'm definitely a "top 40" fan and I can't see Jason at any of those types of concerts!).  After the concert, we drove in San Francisco. 

In the morning, we walked towards the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building.  This was a highlight of our trip and I absolutely recommend the experience! 

We've visited the Ferry Building before, but not during the Farmer's Market.  The sights, sounds, smells... Fantastic!  (I took a ton of pictures, but haven't been able to locate them on my computer- gasp!)

We walked from the Ferry Building to AT&T Park where we went on a guided tour of the ballpark.  We had actually gotten tickets to see an afternoon game, but it got moved to an evening game.  We still decided to visit the ballpark just for the tour.  I am not a baseball fan, and yet I really enjoyed the tour- it was really interesting!  Jason was on Cloud 9!  Here are Dan and Jason in the visiting team's dugout (the Dodgers were in town that weekend). 

Since we were full from sampling foods at the Farmer's Market, we had a late lunch.  We took the bus from AT&T Park to North Beach.  One of our all-time favorite restaurants is there and we had to visit while we were in town.  It's called "Sotto Mare" and I've blogged about it before.  If you enjoy seafood, we can't recommend this place enough.  Here we are with our oysters!

North Beach isn't that far from where we were staying, so we decided to walk back through Chinatown.  It's usually crowded, but more so when we were there.  We soon discovered that it was due to the Moon Festival- there was barely any room to walk, though the atmosphere was very festive.  By the time we made it back, we only had a few minutes to get ready to head out again for the Giants game.  They didn't win, but it was still a lot of fun to be with all those Giants fans!

The next morning, we had breakfast at another wonderful restaurant called, "Honey Honey Cafe & Crepery" before spending some time shopping around Union Square.  There was one thing that I had really wanted to do before heading home.  Off we went in search of a food truck!  We found Kung Fu Tacos using an app on Jason's iPod.  They were near Haight-Ashbury, so after we located them,  we found a nearby park to sit and enjoy our meal.  Yet another wonderful meal!  

Gosh, this post has been mostly about food- we sure love to eat, especially when we're on vacation!  This was our first trip with Jennifer and Dan- we had such a good time, we're looking forward to the next one!  Hmmm... where should we go next?!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

It is an annual family tradition- we celebrate Jason's dad's birthday together by releasing balloons and having dinner together at Yoshino's.  If you'd like to read about the significance of this day, please click here:  Dad's Birthday .  We had a wonderful time together... It has been 4 years... Some days, it feels like it was long ago, and other days, it feels like it just happened.  We still miss Dad so much... Happy Birthday, Dad!

3rd and 4th Tooth

Grace's third and fourth teeth took forever to come out!  It was pretty disturbing to see the teeth hanging on- it looked like she had buck teeth for a while since the teeth seemed to be sticking straight out.  One of her teachers at her afterschool program even tried bribing her with candy to get those teeth out.  Her new teeth were already coming in but it was like "pulling teeth" to get her to wiggle the loose ones. She freaked out every time Jason asked to see them, for fear that he'd just yank them out.  Thankfully, he finally did!

I Hate Goodbyes

I keep saying that we need to stop becoming friends with people who aren't from this area!  J/K, though joking aside, we've had to say a lot of goodbyes over the years! Our very good friends, De and Jed, moved back to Winnipeg a few months ago, and we sure do miss them!      

Our Family's New Toy

We didn't do any major remodeling to our house this year, but we did make a big purchase recently: a diving board!  When we bought the house years ago, we noticed that there was already a U-frame installed.   This was the first summer in which both of our kids enjoyed being in the pool.  We saw them both jump off our friends' diving boards and decided that it'd be a good addition to our backyard.  Since the U-frame was already installed, we had no choice but to get a 12 ft. board.  It has been so much fun watching Jason and the kids jump off.  The weather is much cooler now, but I look forward to a lot of fun times in the pool next summer!

First Days of School

It was a hard decision, but we decided it was time for Jeremy to start a new daycare this year.  We call it "school" just so he can feel like a "big boy."  I was extremely nervous about how he'd adjust to this change, and I can confidently say that he LOVES it.  He has made friends and really enjoys learning.  It is amazing to see and hear the things that he has learned in just a few short months! 

 Grace started 2nd grade this year.  We were a little apprehensive when we found out that she is in a 2/3 combo class, but in the first week alone, we were assured by different people who knew who her teacher was that she was in good hands.  Even though she's in a combo class, this is the best start she's had!  She has done really well and loves school.

Family

We often spend 3-4 weeks in Edmonton every summer.  It's pretty much the only time we can really see my family since that's when Jason and I have extended vacation time.  It's too hard to find time during the rest of the year.  Three weeks gives us enough time to do everything we want to do, meet with friends, relax, and spend time with family without feeling rushed.  We'll see what happens next year, since we're planning to take our first road trip to Edmonton next summer! 

Edmonton Eats

It has been so long since I've updated our blog... Anyone still reading this out there?!  Part of the reason why it has taken me a while is because I couldn't figure out exactly how to document about a very important part of our trip- our eats!  There are many things that I absolutely savor during my once-a-year trip to Edmonton.  It's not only because it tastes good, but they bring me back to my younger years.  I crave them even more since I don't get them in Fresno. 

Korean BBQ, Vietnamese Pho Ga (chicken), anything from Oodle Noodle, Vietnamese Pho

Vietnamese Banh Mi (subs), A&W Mozza Burgers (not available at any A&W I've been to in this area), Old Dutch ketchup chips (has to be Old Dutch!), and of course, boba tea!

We love going to A Taste of Edmonton whenever we're in town.  This year, we actually tried some Indian food (ok, so it was only butter chicken) and liked it!

Our favorite event in Edmonton during the summer is Heritage Days.  Over 65 cultural associations set up huge tents in one of Edmonton's largest parks, Hawrelak Park, to exhibit their cultures through food and performances.  We had a great time- in fact, we walked around for 5 hours sampling food and watching dance performances.  Oh, the diversity!  The most unique dish we tried this year was from Yemen- we had our first camel (tough and chewy)! 

Jason and I celebrated our 12th anniversary at The Blue Pear.  We treated ourselves to dinner at a gourmet fine dining restaurant.  The food was AMAZING!  I can't remember the names of everything, but it was certainly a treat!

One of these days, I should blog about my favorite Fresno eats to share with all my out-of-town friends!