Bahamas

This will be the last post regarding the summer since Halloween is almost here! Praise God for granting us such a fun-filled summer. We're truly thankful for His grace and providence at all times. The highlight of the summer was our trip to the Bahamas which wouldn't have happened without the generosity of our good friends Cailee and Kyu. They invited us to join them at their timeshare in the Bahamas. They even gave us the bigger side of the lockoff since we have two kids. Thank you once again for your generosity and inviting us along. It was one of our best family vacations!

So here is Atlantis. It was quite impressive. It reminded me of Las Vegas but even better. The grounds are immaculately clean and beautfully maintained. I could see why they charge an arm and a leg to stay at the Atlantis.

Good thing for our friends, we stayed at the Harborside Resorts at Atlantis (we were in a 1 bedroom suite). It was literally a 1 minute shuttle ride to the other towers of the Atlantis. It worked out great because you can't really stay in 1 room with 2 kids who go to bed at 7:30pm. Plus it was lots of fun playing Settlers with our friends every night. Too bad I didn't win a single game.

Even some ceilings were painted with such detail. It's so much more impressive in person. The picture doesn't do it justice.

The boys loving the Aquarium and exploring marine life. This tunnel has a see through glass ceiling where sting rays and other fish would swim above your head. It was very cool. Justin on the other hand enjoyed running back and forth in the tunnel.

So we got to know the local Bahamian people and they are so friendly and welcoming to tourists. We met Kenva (a front desk person aka our own personal tour guide) took us outside of the resort to this hole in the wall stand to get the best fresh conch salad. She kept saying how conch (pronounced konk) is an aphrodisiac and that we had to get one. I think the locals just say that so the tourists will try the shellfish because it seemed like it was ubiquitous.

Here is the man whacking the conch shell open with what I think was a machete.

Here he is pulling out the conch out of its shell.

Chopping the conch with tomatoes, peppers and onions.

All the ingredients get mixed and they squeeze like 10 limes to get rid of the fishy taste and it acts like a bactericidal. Thank goodness because I don't think I saw the man wash his hands once but I don't think the Dep't of Health comes to inspect so what are we to say anything. We were definitely going for the local experience.

Here's the final dish...fresh conch salad. It was the best thing I had in the Bahamas. Sort of like ceviche...not at all fishy. I highly recommend it.

The boys were fascinated by this stilt walker...actually I think Justin was scared. He never sits that calmly. =)

To continue our culinary adventure, our local guide Kenva would bring us local fruits to try. This is called a sugar apple which is sort of a misnomer because it's neither sweet nor related to an apple. It doesn't look that appetizing but it's actually pretty good. It tastes like persimmon and wasn't too sweet.

Look who we ran into at Atlantis! It's NBA star Kevin Durant. He was very gracious and his mother was even more gracious when she took this group picture. The Miss Universe Pageant was also being held there the same time. We tried looking for Miss USA and Miss Korea but no luck. I think the husbands were disppointed...haha.

This pic was taken at the exclusive Cove Tower where only celebrities stay and they have swimming with the dophins. It felt like we were in Hawaii. We'll have to save money for the next 10 years to go and swim with the dolphins.

Hanging out at Marina Village (overpriced shopping area in Atlantis for people who don't want to travel downtown)

When you ask Justin what he did in the Bahamas he will make a swimming gesture and proudly say "schwimming!" I think his favorite time was snacking afterwards while lounging in the chairs.

So basically we went to the kiddie pools and lazy rivers everyday. The kids loved every minute of it as well as the parents.

Cailee and me at Marina Village.

Did I mention the kids AND parents loved the kiddie pool? Nice random person offered to take our family picture. People are so nice when they are on vacation.

The boys at you guessed it another kiddie pool. I must say, it is a very family friendly place but if you're going to pay that much money you should go when your kids can go on the rides and slides by themselves. Dare I say it? It may be better than Disney World since you're not walking around the whole day and waiting on lines for rides. However Tyler wants to go back to Disney and the Bahamas. What a lucky kid that he can even say that.

Date Night - Thanks C & K for babysitting while we went out. We had Nobu but it's not as good as the one in NYC but it was so nice to enjoy a meal without yelling at two kids to sit down and eat their food. So nice!

This was probably one of the best family vacation we have been to. It was so relaxing and fun and we had great traveling buddies. FYI - if you need to bring food out of the country just freeze it and check it with your luggage. Thanks again C & K. We must travel together again. =)

Ring Master

Tyler was asked to be a ring boy in Daniel (Eugene's cousin) and Sally's wedding this past August. At first he was a bit hesitant and he actually wanted to walk down the aisle with Eugene instead of the flower girl. But he watched an episode of Little Bill (cartoon on Nick Jr about a little boy produced by Bill Cosby) and all his fears were laid to rest. Tyler likes the show because he can relate to the little boy since they are similar ages. He saw an episode where Little Bill was a ring boy and saw how easy the task would be. He somehow got the notion that the title of the position was "Ring Master". So we all had to refer to him as the ring master including the bride and groom. Here is the pic of Daniel, Eugene and the hansome Ring Master.

Tyler actually did a great job except he didn't finish walking down the aisle. Eugene told him to walk down the aisle to me and give me the ring bearer's pillow. I didn't know this and sat three rows from the front. Tyler obediently walked down the aisle until he saw me and threw me the pillow and sat down and I had to get him up and walk down the three rows to the front of the sanctuary with him. Kids are so funny. Tyler did a great job! The flower girl didn't make it past halfway down the aisle so I'm quite proud of my little ring master.

I love this pic of me and Tyler. I love a man in a tuxedo...haha. Thanks for the pic, Iris!

Thank you once again Daniel and Sally for including Tyler in your wedding party. He had so much fun and loved staying up past his bedtime to celebrate your marriage. He also thanks you for the ring master gift!

P.S. - I just noticed Tyler is holding hands with the flower girl. I don't think anyone asked him to. Do I need to be worried already? =)

Hamptons Getaway

I really need to speed up my summer blog posts so that I can try to stay current so here's to breezing through the past summer. We were really lucky to go to the Hamptons with good family friends. We have been going away once a year pretty much since I was pregnant with Tyler. The kids love playing with each other since they have known each other literally since birth. It was a wonderful time for both kids and parents.

The house we rented had a pool and hot tub and the kids were in the pool for hours every day. Tyler finally had the courage to go inside the pool with a floatie. Peer pressure does wonders when you're the only one not in the pool. Tyler quickly got over his fears and loved playing in the pool with his friends.

Justin and Eugene

So we went to Cooper's Beach in South Hampton, rated #3 in the USA as the best beach in America. I could see why it's rated so highly. They even have a plstic mat lining the path from the boardwalk to the middle of the beach so that you don't get your feet burned. I felt like a celebrity..haha. The beach was beautiful and not very crowded (maybe it had something to do with the $40 per car parking fee). It was very Hampton-esque.

The boys couldn't get enough of pouring water out of the watering can. I think this kept Justin occupied for a good hour. Gotta love that! So, we basically went to the pool every day and then a couple of beaches during our stay. All in all, it was a wonderful time had by all.

4th of July Fun

Oh my gosh! Where did the summer go? It was such a fun-filled season that I've been really behind in updating the blog. I don't want to make excuses but summertime is when I work the most and I had been sick quite often so let me try to catch up since autumn is almost here. Yikes! I can't believe I'm posting about the 4th of July weekend but I couldn't resist the pics and it was the starter to our busy summer. We went to Long Beach during the day and the boys loved playing with the sand and dipping their feet into the ocean for the first time this year. The first picture was actually taken at an eatery which I will talk about later in this post.

I'm beginning to like taking pics of the boy's feet while they are still small and cute.

Justin loved the waves crashing back and forth and almost pushing him down the sand.

If you're ever near Long Beach, this outdoor eatery is a must (Jordan's Lobster Bar). You order before you sit down at the picnic style benches. The food is amazing and fairly priced. We love the casual and laid back atmosphere. It's my biggest reason to go to Long Beach.

The boys loving their fried food.

Yummy crab cakes

I don't love lobster but this was quite delicious.

Goal!!!

Tyler has taken a soccer class for about a year now. He loved learning the drills and the rules about a new sport.

Here is Tyler in action dribbling the soccer ball. He is a very focused and controlled player.

Here is Eugene trying to distract Justin while Tyler was in soccer class. They look like they are having fun, right?

Justin will be all ready by the time he's old enough to play.

Tyler doing a drill and of course Justin has to follow his older brother. =)

Tyler decided on the last day of soccer that he no longer wanted to play soccer. I guess he needs a break. There goes the possible dream of Tyler becoming a "David Beckham". There's always Justin. =)