Happy Birthday Nick!

After Stephanie and Jessica's birthday party, I headed downtown to Big Daddy's Crabshack for Nick's birthday dinner. The first question he asked on my arrival, was if I made him any of his favourite cookies. I told him yes. He absolutely loves my chocolate chunk cookies. Apparently he savours each one by slowly eating them, one a day with his coffee until he runs out. He told me they are like gold. Dinner was lovely. Good food, good friends, good conversation. You can't ask for more...maybe one more cookie. Happy birthday Nick.

Stephanie and Jessica's birthday bash.

Sunday was a beautiful day for a birthday party. 40ish family members convened at my aunt's place to celebrate Stephanie's 5th and Jessica's 14th birthdays. The food was good. I made the Winnie the Pooh birthday cake as well as the WS Vanilla bundt cake my family loves so much. Everyone had such a good time. After the party, Stephanie told her mom that she wished everyday could be like her birthday. I can't blame her :).

Winnie for Stephanie.

After watching the new Winnie the Pooh movie with Stephanie, she asked me to make the Winnie cake for her birthday. She wanted the balloon to be purple and the cake had to be chocolate. At least I got to use my Pooh pan again. I think it turned out even better than Elijah's cake for his 1st birthday.

Driving in a cocoon.

We stayed an extra day in Maryland to give the kids a little extra time to be together. Since we were planning a birthday party for Stephanie and Jessica for Sunday, that meant we had to drive back on Saturday. I woke up 4:10am to shower and finish loading up the car. By 5:10 we were on the road. We actually made fantastic time getting back into the city by 2pm. To say the car was full would be an understatement. Everything you see here, including 6 people and 2 reusable bags full of stuff I left by the car, a violin case and kids knapsacks, is everything we packed into the minivan. I started the drive in the middle seat (for the first nap). I felt like I was in a little cocoon. Miraculously, the kids were great on the drive. Considering they couldn't have been very comfortable, they were real troopers. (We even had a stop at Costco on the way. We had to carry things on our laps the final few kilometres home)

Memories from Maryland

There are so many fond memories I'm going to have from this trip to Maryland. Going to the pool with the kids and totally passing out after lunch, only to wake up just in time for dinner. Having a "special" day with Stephanie, where we went to California tortilla, then watched the new Winnie the Pooh movie. "Helping" Steph win her first game of Monopoly...she totally killed her brother Michael and Hosie. She was the "doubles" queen. Cheering for Gracie and Hosie during their swim meet. Laughing and just spending time together. The kids are growing up so fast. They are such good kids. Funny, smart, beautiful. I'm proud to be their aunt.

Trip to Washington.

One of the special things we did on our visit was a trip to the Department of the Treasury in Washington DC to check out how money was made. For obvious reasons, photography on the tour was prohibited...They were in the process of making $64000000 in $100 bills. Kind of awesome. It was another gorgeous hot day. Some incredible sights of the city. The kids were pretty cute too.

Hoseok in concert

Catherine and I took Gracie, Michael and Hoseok to an introductory guitar lesson. Basically, it was a 15 minute private lesson to get a sense if the guitar might be something they would be interested in pursuing. While in the car, after the lesson, Cat asks each kid how it was. The first thing the instructor asked each kid was "what kind of music is your favourite?" Gracie-"Pop music" Michael-"Classical" Hoseok-"Baroque...and 20th century impressionistic". Cat an I burst out laughing. Hoseok-"What's so funny?" Cat-"Nothing...that's great...what did you think about the guitar?"
While Hosie was waiting for his turn, he played this for me totally from memory...he played a few other songs too. It was like having my own personal concert. He is just amazing. Michael and Gracie too. They played music while they waited. They are all just like Stepford children...just too talented and amazing.

Swim meet

Early on Saturday morning, Hosie and Gracie had a swim meet. They have really improved over the summer. Hosie and Gracie competed in 3 events each. Gracie even won 3 "first place in the heat" ribbons. It was a gorgeous morning, not a cloud in the sky. You could feel the exciting energy. Congratulations to both Hoseok and Grace for new personal best times!

Congratulations Hosie!

I arrived in Baltimore, just in time to join Cat and Hoseok for his Maryland PTA awards dinner. Hoseok submitted a piano composition for this year's national Reflections contest. He won first place for the state of Maryland. Wow! It was amazing to see all the winners. These amazing children and their wonderful work. Congratulations Hosie!

U2...finally.

We purchased these tickets 2 years ago. The original concert date was cancelled last year after Bono injured his back. They were better than ever. An amazing evening with friends and music.

Happy Birthday Sooky!

Now that Sooky lives here full time, her mom decided to throw her a birthday celebration. All the cool kids were there. It was a lovely family gathering. Good food, my chocolate pavlova and so many cutie pies to kiss...yumminess all around!

I'm at the end of a long line...Each truck's line was about this long!

At least while we waited, there was a band playing. They were pretty good. When Nelson and I finally abandoned our line and rejoined our group, this is what we saw.

Sabrina really likes her gelato. At one point, she was eating 3 bowls.

The atmosphere at the Queen Margherita was much nicer. Cool, quiet, airy and yummy. Sabrina and me. She came over to my end of the table for a cuddle.

Uncle Nelson, hamming it up.

It was a beautiful day. Gorgeous, warm and sunny. Dave, Vivian, Gar, Nelson, Pippette, Rena and Sabrina decide to join me at the Distillery District to sample the yummy eats. We arrange to meet at 12:30pm. The crowd was crazy. The majority of our group decides to find somewhere to sit and eat (as a nearby restaurant or bar) while Nelson and I chose to wait in line to get food. The crowd is so crazy, when Nelson checks ahead to figure out which line we want to chose to get food, he finds out that by the time we get to the front, they are going to run out of food. Ugh!

I purposely did not eat breakfast because I didn't want to ruin my appetite. While Nelson and I had been waiting in line, the rest of the group had been looking to sit in shade and get something to eat. Unfortunately, everything was so full (from the overflow) that they were all sitting on a bench eating gelato. Hungry and disappointed, we decide to stay in the general vicinity and go to Queen Margherita for lunch. I was the only one who had been there before. We all had the prix fixe menu. Appetizer, pizza and mousse or gelato for $20. Not a bad deal at all. Since I had been there before, I knew which pizza I wanted to order. There were too many comparisons with Terroni's and Pizzeria Libretto. This place is somewhere in between. I like the airy atmostsphere. But they all agreed that the pizza at Libretto's was better. I can't speak for the others but my pizza was delicious. After our very late lunch, and a quick stop at Sweet Bliss for a red velvet cupcake, I did a little grocery shopping. Then I stopped at home for a little wind down then out again to Willie Stout's for UFC. The whole card was pretty good. Some amazing fights. Carlos Condit over Dong Hyun Kim, Dominick Cruz over Urijah Faber...the only disappointment was witnessing Tito Ortiz's submission over Ryan Bader. I like Ryan, and can't stand Tito...The old guy staves off forced retirement for another day.

3rd Welcome back dinner and Maryland sendoff.

It was a lovely evening for dinner outside.

Jenny finally made it.She introduced us to Sadie. Her 3 month old Yorkie. What a cutie!
Jess hamming it up for the camera.Monkey see, monkey do. Doctor Hanna can be wacky:) Enjoying a little post dinner cuddle before these cutie pies had to go to bed.

We were served our tea in these fancy "Bacon and Egg" mugs. They were awesome!Michael drew this moustache on with a "non-toxic dry erase pen" using the oven door as his mirror. He was determined to be our "waiter".
In addition to the tiramisu Meredith requested, I made these meringues, vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce for the kids (kid friendly, non boozy alternative). However everyone had some. We all enjoyed 2 dessert courses. Mad suggested that next time we should just have a dessert dinner. Forget about "real" food altogether.

Tiramisu is Meredith's favourite.

Finally Hanna, Jenny and Justin were able to make it for dinner (Although Justin arrived later, after work)....the night before the Kim clan leaves for Maryland to visit Cat, Gracie and Hoseok. Mark and Mer made delicious grilled chicken and steaks. Mad provided grilled vegetables. Jenny brought a yummy broccoli salad. I made tiramisu and meringue cookies. Phillip brought ice cream. Since everyone was leaving before the crack of dawn the next day, we met early. The weather was perfect for an outdoor patio. Another lovely evening.