Baseball. America’s favorite pastime. Nothing beats sitting in your favorite ballpark, watching your favorite team on sunny day, with a hot dog smothered with all the goods in one hand and an ice cold beer in the other. This scene is symbolic to American culture. We did this today, except there was no beer.

Today was Hello Kitty day at the SF Giants game. This is our 3rd year attending this promotion day. This year, they gave away a hello kitty hat to the first 20,000 fans, and a hello kitty backpack if you had a special event ticket (which we did of course!)

We wore our hello kitty gear!

And we all got hats!

View from our seats

Group photo after the game. Oh yea, the Chiu cousins were there too!

After the game, we had dinner at Pearl’s Deluxe burgers. I had read somewhere that it was ranked the #7 best burger place in the nation. So we went to try it. While it was good, I’m skeptical that it’s #7.

When the baseball game ended, all kids were invited down to the field to “run the bases” so we went and the kids ran the bases. It was cool to be able to stand on the baseball field. A first for us!

Today’s my younger brother’s birthday. He and his family stayed over Saturday night and we had dim sum this morning for brunch. Afterwards, the kids played at home and then jumped into the pool. Natalie and Tyler always have fun when their cousins come over and always want them to stay longer!

Nat made Uncle Way this cake since he loves golf so much

Here’s a time lapse video of today’s pool fun

The kids came back from camp yesterday afternoon. They had a really good time at camp and would be interested in going back next year. They were happy to be home too.

I think (I hope) Tyler missed me because he made me breakfast this morning.

Got an update today from Nat. Sounds like camp is fun and they are getting a lot of volleyball practice. She says the food is just OK. She said Tyler is the smallest boy there, but he’s having a good time and making friends. I’m a bit relieved to hear he is having a good time. I worry about him too much!

Tonight, she called us on FaceTime and we got a report of their day.

We dropped the kids off at volleyball camp today at UC Santa Cruz. They were pretty excited to go to the camp and experience living on a college campus. Tyler was nervous and excited to see who his roommates would be. Nat had signed up with one friend so she felt more comfortable. They’ll be there for a week. Hopefully they’ll have a good time and learn some good volleyball skills!

Registering and picking up t-shirts

Tyler’s room. He was the first one to arrive so he got to choose his bed.

Same with Nat

Nat and her roommates

We ate dinner at our favorite crab restaurant in San Francisco tonight and Nat re-created a picture she took here 10 years ago. 4 years old vs. 14 years old.

I brought Tyler to All Saints Church again today to serve hot lunch. He volunteered to work the window again. I think he likes to meet and greet the people that come through to get food.

What do you do on 7/11? You go to 7-11 and get a free slurpee!

It’s easy to remember my birthday thanks to 7-11. Nat made me this flamingo birthday cake

For dinner, we went to Le Papillon, a French restaurant not far from our neighborhood. The kids enjoyed the “fancy” dinner experience but didn’t really appreciate the food. Next time, I’ll leave them at home with pizza.

All of us chose the soufflé for dessert since our waiter said it was the best dessert there, but the kids didn’t like it!

Our last day here.

Tyler headed down to the beach one last time. He caught a few crabs this time.

And Nat got in some last minute shopping with the beach vendors

Bye room

At the airport

After yesterday’s long day, we slept in this morning. Then we spent about 5 hours at the pool. Tyler kept going between the beach and the pool. David and I are sunburned and the kids are a few shades darker. All of us have a bunch of mosquito bites too!

In the afternoon we took another walk to the marina. Nat bought a few more souvenirs.

For dinner, we ate at the ceviche and tequila bar in our hotel. The restaurant overlooked the pool and beach. There was a nice cool breeze. We shared some ceviche and short ribs tacos.

After dinner, we walked around and enjoyed the sunset from the beach

Favorite part of the day:

Ty – swimming and playing at the beach

Nat – buying stuff from vendors who walked up to the pool edge with merchandise. She’s getting good at negotiating.

David – watching Tyler play at the beach

Me – watching the kids bond and enjoy their time together