On the Road Again, Spanish style

A new PBS series I had heard about finally debuted--Spain, On the Road Again documents a road trip by Gwyneth Paltrow, Mario Batali, Claudia Bassols, and Mark Bittman around Spain, sampling its culinary delights. Makes me want to go visit Justine and Fernando in Spain.



The first episode is free for download via iTunes the week of September 30 to October 6, 2008.

post by David

’Til da Break o’ Dawn!

Alexander unleashes his Arsenal of Awesomeness for Jasmine at Justine and Fernando’s wedding last August.


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Lynce and Jack Kihara's Wedding

Another one of Armilyn's cousins, Lynce, got married this past Saturday. The wedding was in Long Beach, but the reception was aboard a boat in Newport Harbor. Armilyn and I had never been on a boat in the harbor before and were impressed on how big the harbor was.



When you have a huge bridal party, a limo won't do


The wedding reception boat from Electra Cruises

The honeymoon suite docked next to the reception boat. Just kidding! This saucer looked like it could fit 4 people max!


Us on the top deck at sunset


The flower girls

The reception boat just sailed along the harbor towards the Corona del Mar jetty and we saw the beach where we went to with the Spences when Steve and Melissa were here in July. It was a 4 hour cruise, so the boat did a few laps. A very unique reception.

post by David

Back to School night

This past Thursday was Back to School night at Plavan. David was excited to be able to check out more of his old school.

Here is the inside of the Plavan. David said not a whole lot has changed aside from the paint. They are still using the same metal folding chairs he sat on as a kid. Click the picture for the full size:


Next door to Alexander's classroom is the class of his former pre-school teacher, Miss Jill. Last year her dad built her a jungle hut for her class, for her room's "Welcome to the Jungle" theme. This year she chose Peter Pan as her decorating theme and her dad built her this AWESOME pirate ship out of wood and plywood

Even the gangplank folds up and sails fold down. How cool is that?!

post by Armilyn

My Two Nieces - Double Trouble

Awe! So cute. This is Jasmine (2) and Leila (1).
This is how I get my girlie shopping fixes - they're my
excuse to go to the little girls department to shop for
cute dresses and shoes!

I love being an Auntie!- Auntie Armilyn

Grandparents Day September 7

A belated Happy Grandparents Day to my
Opa & Oma and Mom & Papa!

Love, Alexander

Leila's First Birthday

Yesterday we celebrated Lougene and her daughter Leila's birthdays. It was Leila's first birthday, so we had an Alice in Wonderland themed party. Here are a few pics and movies:

First Day of School

Wednesday, September 3rd, was Alex's first day of kindergarten. About 2 weeks earlier, we had been informed that he would not be going back to Newland Elementary, where he had gone to preschool for the past 3 years. Instead he would be going to Plavan Elementary, which is the elementary school I went to a long time ago. Alex was familiar with the school since we go to the playground all the time, and he went briefly for summer school during his first year of preschool.

So of course we had to bring him to school the first day. Alex's Oma showed up as well. We all met Alex's kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Knutsen, who we found out had helped to teach Alex during that summer school 3 years ago.

Alex and Mrs. Knutsen

Alex was a bit overwhelmed with all the activity--it was very crowded with all the parents dropping the kids off--but he just checked out the playground. He also ran into some old friends, as we found out his entire preschool class had been transferred from Newland to Plavan as well. So many of his old classmates and his teacher, Miss Jill, were there to our surprise.


Alex checks out the playground before class

We went in and I got to check out my old school. It had been 22 years since I graduated, and 11 since I was last inside. It looks pretty much the same, with just different paint. The library is still in the middle and they even have some of the old furniture. I can't wait until back-to-school night so I can explore some more.

post by David