… Piano! First recital in the books and this boy seemed fairly unfazed. Youngest one and first to play.

He actually started lessons back in TX and had a chance at playing in a recital but told us he wasn’t ready yet so we didn’t push him then. We weren’t sure if he’d be up to continuing but grateful that he’s sticking with it and we found a suitable teacher here. Good foundation for anything else musical later on. Practice is sometimes a challenge but instills discipline and grasping that nothing comes easy — lots o’ hard work required!

Recital sheet.

These two — bruthas from anotha mutha, haha. Play date @ Legoland kicked off Thanksgiving Break.

Silly Willies!

Neighborhood BFF came over and E showed him this Star Wars pop-up Daddy brought back from S’pore.

Some wrestling went down.

Worked up some hunger!

Daddy upped his sticker game @ KubeCon.

He learned quite a bit and how nice that it was right in town!

Some of the Gaslamp restos opened doors and served up food.

Making friends with our photog’s son. She had to bring him (and little sissie) last minute for our family session so we kinda missed Golden Hour but oh well. It was nice learning about her story — she enlisted and will be shipping out next year as a military photographer.

Final pinks as we hung around and just enjoyed the quiet of our trails after we were done with the photos.

Still hard to believe we have mountains in our “backyard.” :)

Checked out this 24 hour donut place not far from us otw back… The workers asked if we had just got done w/ a photo shoot — we weren’t that matchy! :D

Back on another day for a holiday fair. Love all its different “looks” based on time of day and season.

After soccer @ Kate Sessions… #nofilter!

Dropping off his Operation Christmas Child shoebox @ church… Kicking off a season of giving and gratitude.

Off to a Palm Springs kinda Thanksgiving.

Our anniversary fell over Veteran’s Day long weekend (as it always does) so we planned a weekend of whale/dolphin watching in Dana Point and some time in Long Beach, including the Aquarium of the Pacific. The night before we were about to head out, Elias woke up with a tummy ache and then threw up. It turned into a long night of mattress cleaning, laundry, sheets, etc.

He woke up the next day seemingly totally normal and was pretty famished so we let him have some breakfast. We asked him if he still wanted to go and he said yes. So off we went… Everything was booked after all.

Stopped in San Clemente @ a coffee shop…

Where he then started to not feel well again… Nearly seconds after this photo was taken, he hurled ALL over the little nook — pillows, table, cushions and all. We paused for a second to make sure that really did happen and then jumped into parental and apologetic patron mode. The owners/workers were accommodating beyond belief — they helped us clean up his puke with so much grace and courtesy — left a huge tip afterwards but not nearly enough for their kindness. And even the patrons were so empathetic, commenting, “Poor guy” and “Been there”. It took quite a long time to “wash up” E and his clothing in the public restroom. What do you know — the ONE time we didn’t pack extra clothing on a trip. We hand washed his garments and left it on the front dash to dry.

But then after regurgitation #2, he magically felt good again… Smiles as he boarded the ship for the whale watch.

The rocking and billowing waves didn’t seem to upset his stomach.

Amazing display of dolphins! They told us before we departed that the previous tour saw several humpbacks.

Guess they ventured back to deeper waters for our tour.

It was just around sunset as we disembarked. Those colors in the sky — can’t even mix them up if we tried. :) We were cautious about E eating anything so we let him have a few crackers on the ship. However, he was starving again and we *mistakenly* let him have a corn dog after the watch. Afterwards, we decided to stop in Irvine for some TW food on the way to Long Beach and E got progressively worse… Sensing a cycle here?

Mommy and Daddy grabbed a super quick dinner while E was just queasy. We had started carrying a plastic bag everywhere we went and towards the end of this meal, Daddy was milliseconds in time to grab it out where E had another episode. :( Yes, in the resto. Yes, with tables and people eating. But he couldn’t help it, right? At least the bag caught all of it!

We got to the hotel in Long Beach and after no food and a good night’s rest, E felt fairly well again. As hungry as he was, we decided it was better for him not to have breakfast but to stick to liquids. E was sad to miss out on hotel waffles but he knew if he ate anything, we’d have to pay for it later. We asked him again if he’d be okay to go the aquarium and he again was up for it. Trooper!

Mommy wants to eat all of these jellies, haha!

Seeing smiles was a sigh of relief!

The aquarium wasn’t as big or as extensive as like Shedd, Georgia or Monterrey but def worth at least one visit.

Took a walk by the water afterwards. E was feeling closer to normal at this point.

Did a drive through downtown Long Beach and stopped for some drinks and a snack. We let E have a smoothie.

We then stopped at Uncle Fung Borneo Eatery where we had ordered from before and Y had thought it was legit SE Asian food… We ordered to-go and then drove back to SD. E was still on a close to BRAT diet for that evening and the next day but since he had stopped throwing up and was feeling fine, he slowly started eating solid foods and was okay to go back to school.

As we reflected on this particular weekend, we thought (perhaps overly, ha!) how it was sort of a metaphor to marriage and the last thirteen years. There are good, beautiful days and there are hard, rough days… But we just roll with it (‘cuz it pretty much is a roller coaster ride, ha!) and carry on. Pictures sometimes just show an exterior facade but under the surface, there may be more than meets the eye. But ultimately, it all comes down to the heart… Are our hearts aligned with the Lord’s and when it is, we, in turn, grow closer to each other and as a family. But enough philosophical ramblings already…

So, Happy 13th to us! The weekend of celebration was not what we expected but we are grateful for another year… Cheers to the (God willing!) many more to come.

We had a minifig residing alongside us for a few weeks. :P We got use of the costume on more than one occasion and his mind was blown playing a Ninjaaaagggoooo.

“Not So Scary Estuary” at the San Elijo Lagoon Nature Center.

Weren’t allowed to touch this one!

Studio at the Bay opened their doors for family art projects once a month.

Lingered in Seaport Village for awhile.

Probably the only pumpkin pic we got this year?

Using up some PJ credit so checked out the new one in downtown.

Neighborhood costume party.

Meanwhile… Daddy was off to Singapore — surprising mama and bro for some milestone b-days.

Awwww, byebye tears. :(

But glad that he made it just in time for a celebratory family dinner.

Unplanned matching stripes.

Checking out his company office in S’pore.

Niece + nephews.

Got his chilli crab fix.

And of course… this.

Kidney and liver?

E and Mommy stayed occupied in SD… Play date w/ H and T for HOURS.

And these two can never say goodbye.

Daddy missed this super cheesy grilled cheese.

Sunday afternoon mango chia pudding on a grassy green with not a care in the world…

Some rock climbing practice.

So we missed the memo AGAIN (strike THREE, is it?) that E received an award. (That backpack is an abyss, we’re tellin’ ya!) And it looks like he also always gets one when Daddy is away, coincidentally. Anyway, caught by surprise again, Mommy couldn’t scramble to a proper photo taking position… We snapped this after the assembly.

Thank goodness for friends’ parents who were kind enough to share their photos. :)

This time was for Accountability.

This is his “try to smile but not show my no teeth” fall school photos, lol.

Post soccer vibes @ a totally girlie cafe, hehe. Daddy missed out, haha.

Guess who came back in time for E’s storybook parade?

Our neighborhood was quite happening on Hallow’s Eve… These two boys trick or treated their hearts out w/ some other buddies on our street.

Examining the loot, sorting and starting to trade. To be a kid again!

Ninjago/Star Wars mash-up. And they both like both!