Cherry Picking!

Dear Logan,

Our weekend has been filled with a lot of fun lately.  Every weekend, there's something to do. This one, we're going cherry picking in Gilroy.  Auntie Rachel has invited us to join her and her friends at Buckley Farm for some end of the season cherry picking.  This was our first time, so we're not quite sure what to expect. I went to the website and found out that June 18 was the last day of the season for some cherry picking.  Right on time!

Auntie Rachel and her friends were running late, so we killed some time at the Premium Outlet in Gilroy.  We were going to stop by after picking cherries to buy your brother some clothes any way.  Now it was even better, as we weren't as tired.  We got to the outlet a little before 10 a.m. and most stores were still closed.  After walking around for a while, the stores started to open. We bought Aidan a new pair of shoes and some summer clothes. I also checked out some school uniform and made a mental note to come back before September. Afterwards, we met up with Auntie Rachel and her friends at the farm at around 11:30 a.m.

When we got there, we saw some people with their step stools and ladders.  Then we realized most of the cherries worth picking were high up in the trees.  Since it's the end of the season, most cherries were gone and the ones that were low enough for us to pick weren't as ripe.  Well, we made the best of our experience and had a lot of fun.  We jumped and pulled, and managed to pick more than 6 lbs of cherries.  I learned that the trick was to look from under the trees, as some ripe ones were hiding under the leaves, and low enough for us to pick.  We all had tons of fun.  Even Aidan were able to pick some cherries off the branches, while Daddy and Mommy were pulling down the branches for him.  I noticed that most other cherry pickers were Asians.  Mmm.... I wonder why.  I bet the price at $2.75/lb was the motivation.  I didn't think they were coming for the experience, esp. when you didn't have kids to bring along.

The weather was perfect!  Usually it was pretty warm in Gilroy in the summer.  I was a little concerned as we were picking the cherries right at midday.  Luckily, it wasn't too hot.  By the end of our adventure and after a not-so-tasty lunch at Applebees, we headed home.  It's good that we already did our shopping.  We would not have any energy left after a day of cherry picking.

Love,
Mommy

Happy Birthday to Mommy!

Dear Logan,

It's Mommy's birthday.  Time flies and I sure am getting older, physically and mentally.  I try to stay as mentally young as possible and your brother definitely helps with that.  This year, I did something different.  Instead of just spending my birthday with Daddy and Aidan, I actually had a pre-birthday dinner with my friends.

I met up with a bunch of friends for a nice dinner of Shabu Shabu at One Pot in Cupertino.  This was everyone's  first time coming to this restaurant and it's actually not too bad.  It may not be the perfect location to have a big group, but will probably come back for our small family dinners.  We tried the American Kobe beef and Kurobuta (pork), with tons of veggies and two different soup bases: House Special (organic soy milk & miso) and Sukiyaki. Lovely! I really liked the House Special, while Aidan liked the Sukiyaki.   After dinner, we enjoyed a lovely birthday cake from our usual bakery, Sheng Kee.  Aidan picked out this Mango Mousse Cake and it was super delicious.

On my real birthday, Daddy took us to Maggiano's Little Italy.  Luckily Daddy made a reservation, if not we would have to wait forever.  I couldn't believe how busy it was on a Tuesday night.  I had the best Linguine & Clams with White Clam Sauce, Daddy got the Spaghetti with Meatball and we share an appetizer of crab cakes.  Food is usually pretty good here, and you know how Aidan loves pasta.  Because the decor and atmosphere were so nice and it "felt" upscale, Aidan declared that we're having a "fancy lunch".  The previous week, his school had a "fancy lunch" where they had a candle-lit (LED tealight) lunch and laid tablecloths on their tiny little tables at school.  Therefore, when he saw the little candle on our table, he thought we're having another "fancy lunch".  Just too cute!

After dinner, we're sooooo full.  But we just couldn't resist dessert.  Aidan and I shared a delicious Berry Tiramisu and Daddy had his usual Creme Brulee.  And when we got home, Daddy gave me a birthday present.  It's not really a surprise since I already knew what it is.  It's a family camera!  Now I can learn to take better pictures instead of using the simple point-and-shoot.  The gift was a perfect end to an almost perfect day.  It would be perfect if you were there with us.

Love and Miss you,
Mommy

First Giants game of the season!

Dear Logan,

The long-awaited day has arrived!  It's finally the day we took Aidan to AT&T Park for his first San Francisco Giants game of the season, after watching so many games on TV.  This time around, the experience was totally different, in a good way (for the most part).

First of all, it was raining!  It was so frustrating and disappointing at first, because we've been waiting for this day to come and we didn't want the game to be canceled because of the weather.  Luckily, by the time the game started (after delayed for 20 mins), the rain pretty much stopped for the rest of the game.

Aidan is finally tall enough to get on the big Coca Cola Slide.  Last time he was there, he's not quite 42 inches yet, so he had to go on the smaller one.  Unfortunately, he was taller than 42 inches, and was unable to go into the small baseball area to hit some baseball with the other toddlers.  We did have a great time walking around, where he pointed to all the snacks that he wanted.

When we watch the baseball game at home, Aidan would try to pretend to be a pitcher, catcher and hitter.  He would swing his bat, run to base and score a home run.  He fully participated in the game.  At times, he would start chanting "Let's go Giants!" and then clapped his hands.  Sometimes I would have to calm him down and told him to use his inside voice.  But today, we didn't have to.  He could shout and chant as loudly as he wanted.  He was an enthusiastic fan, waving his newly purchased foam finger.  He was so cute that neighboring fans were smiling and high-fiveing him.  He totally understood what's going on with the game, and had a wonderful time singing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame".

Best of all for him, he was snacking the whole time!  First we had a hot dog lunch, then Daddy got him hot chocolate and caramel corn.  I also brought some snacks and juice packs from home.  Last but not the least, we had garlic fries!  He wanted cotton candy, but I just had to stop him!

Oh, and did I tell you we're all in our Giants Jerseys?  Daddy and I had the Lincecum ones, and Aidan got a Posey.  Aidan also brought his glove to the game.  After he put his glove on, he said he's ready to catch some foul balls and home runs.  When we had to leave, he disappointingly said that he didn't catch any ball.  Silly boy, it's not easy to have a ball fly up to the View Reserve area
.

We had such a great time at the ball park today.  Aidan had a lot of fun, but he was disappointed that the Giants lost 1-2 to the Rockies.  Next time, maybe I should pick a game against a weaker opponent, so that we would be at a winning game.

On our way back home, he was so tired that he napped the whole car ride home and even after our arrival.  But the problem was, he didn't fall asleep until close to 11 p.m.  He had way too much fun and excitement, and he couldn't keep his hands off the Cody Ross Bobblehead.

We will definitely go back again.  But first, we'll have to visit the San Jose Giants, as I got some tickets already.  Wish you could be here with us.

Love,
Mommy