Chau's World: vacation

Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts

Sunday, January 31, 2010

San Francisco Vacation - Day 1

The kids woke up late today and our flight was at 9:30 in the morning. We had to quickly get them dressed, pack up their blankets, and get them into the car. Ai-Vy was a little sick so she woke up extremely cranky and refused to cooperate. She threw a tantrum while I was changing her and cried hysterically when I put her in her car seat. She wouldn't sit on it so I can belt her in and there's nothing I can do but use my size and belt her in her seat then try to calm her down with promises of doughnuts and kolache.

I ran in and got them 2 kolaches and it was quiet on the way to the airport. Hieu and I were stressed because Ai-Vy's tantrum set us back 30 minutes and we will barely have enough time to check in and make it to the gate.

We finally got to the airport with 30 minutes to check-in and get to the gate. To avoid the tantrums from our Chicago trip, I told them before we parked that they were to stay in the car and wait for mommy and daddy to get them. They nodded that they understood and Hieu & I launched into action. We used curbside check-in to speed things up and not having to lug the entire luggage in the line. After that is done, Hieu went to park the cars while I get both kids and a stroller to the gate.

We learned from our Chicago trip and not pack any milk due to the painful process at the security line. I managed to get all our shoes off and we walked past the metal detector without a hitch. We got both of them their little carry-on luggage and Miss Ai-Vy would not sit in the stroller but rather walk by herself pulling her luggage. Cute as she was doing it, we were the last one on the airplane.

I also learned from the Chicago trip to not try and get us all to sit in one row. It was hard to manage both kids while Hieu is helpless across the aisle by himself. This time I assigned for us to sit 2x2 in front of each other. This worked out better than I thought because Ai-Vy can play with the tray and kick the chair without me having to worry that she bothers anyone.

The plan was to not pack milk and just get it once we were inside the gate; unfortunately since we were in such a rush to catch the plane, that didn't happen. Miss Ai-Vy was still cranky and screamed for her milk. I had to ring and ask the stewardess for some before we take off. She drifted off to sleep for a while and I got some peace. She was laying on the chair sleeping so peacefully that I really didn't want to disturb her as the plane was descending. The flight attendant came by and scolded me for not sitting her up and put her belt on.

When we landed in San Francisco, it's about lunch time. We had to ride the train for a while before we got to where the car rental place was. I was hoping for a restaurant in the airport so I can get them some food but did not see anything on the way. Fortunately I packed them lots of snacks and they had goldfishes for lunch. Hieu left the entire luggage and the kids with me while he went to get our car. It was a long hour as I try to entertain the kids and keep them safe in the parking lot.

The plan was to get the car, drop the kids and me off so we can rest and Hieu go back to the airport to pick up his mom. His mom was flying in from Kansas and landed 2 hours after us. Of course nothing would go according to plan because not only was the rental car process taken so long, we hit some traffic on the way to the rental house. His poor mom has to wait over an hour before she gets picked up.

The rental house was nice but there was only one bedroom and one bathroom. (We somehow survived the week with that. I guess my kids are tougher than I thought.) I had the foresight to pack some processed food so I made the kids macaroni and cheese to eat. I felt a little better after they've eaten and seem happier.

We started noticing how big a 2-hour time difference impact our young kids. By the time his mom got to the rental house, it's almost 4 p.m. That would make it 6 p.m. our time and the kid's dinner time. The kicker is that no restaurant around there is open for dinner until 6 p.m. That's just crazy!!!

I determined for the kids to have a good dinner because they haven't eat well all day. We went to a little diner in Mill Valley for okay meal. We still had to stop by the grocery store to get milk and some grocery so off we went after dinner. Poor kids were exhausted and fell asleep on the way home. That's how our first long day in San Francisco ended.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

More Arkansas Pictures

Sweet looking right?

Looks can be deceiving. This is how she walks around most of the day..yapping non-stop.

Checking out the firecrackers Aunt Stacy and Uncle Tyson bought.

Aunt Stacy and cousin Emily.

My other niece Brianna.

Aunt Sarah took care of Ky-An most of the weekend. I only had to worry about Ai-Vy!

You think I am just holding Ai-Vy but I am actually keeping her from running downhill and towards the fireworks.

See how fearless she is?

Aunt Stacy and Uncle Tyson bought the kids tons of sparklers but Ky-An had no interest.

Ai-Vy on the other hand, can’t get enough.

Then we spot a scorpion in the grass so we took the kids back the house. Plus Ky-An was getting scare of the loud fireworks.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Trip to Dallas

We drove up to Dallas to visit my sister and attend my niece’s third birthday party. My second older sister and my nephew cam along with us. The trip there was rainy and cold with lots of traffic. Not a great combination with 3 small children in the car. There were two major accidents and lots of traffic so it took us over 6 hours instead of 4. The bad thing about the weather is that we can’t really let the kids out whenever we stop so they are pretty confined. The way back is just as bad and poor Ai-Vy was going crazy. The last hour before we got home is always the longest and the one that the one that stressed me out the most. The good news is that Ky-An did wonderfully with no diapers the entire trip!!! Yeah Ky-An!!

Hanging out with his cousin:

How did I get here?!!

My niece louging around:

Ai-Vy loves to sit in this Play-Doh box for some reason:

Playing with the balloons:

Five little monkies jumping on the bed!!!

She loves that ball:

Big brother making sure little sis doesn't fall off:

Older cousin helps Ky-An out because there was a scene on Monsters Inc that he doesn't like:

Our little couch potato:

The birthday girl, Yvonne:

Her older sister:

Ai-Vy wants to get in the action also:

Playing puzzle with the other kids:

Pinata time:

Ky-An got his lollipop:

The birthday cake:

I get no signal!!!

Why this is fun for kids..I am not sure:

Ky-An loved this Smart Cycle. I may have to get him one..

I just thought this is a fun picture. She was done with her birthday celebration and just want her milk.

My little guy was so tired:

Monday, September 22, 2008

Camping trip to Concan (Not Cancun)

We decide to go ahead with our anual camping trip the weekend after Hurricane Ike. Even though everyone has had enough "roughing it" with the power outage, we braved the trip because we've already put the deposit down and plus my oldest sister from Dallas was looking forward to it. We also thought it will be nice to get away from all the chaos of supply limitation and the around-the-clock coverage of the storm. We hoped that when we get back then things will be somewhat normal.

We didn't have as much fun this trip as last time. I was exhausted from the week's event and staying up worrying about the kids so I was tired the entire trip. The kids and I got the only room with the king size bed because we have the most difficult and the youngest kids. It would've been a great solution but the room reeked of urine. I know it's a cabin and it doens't have all the amenities of a hotel room but I didn't expect the strong urine smell. I am not sure if someone urinate in that room before us or if it's the bathroom next door where you are not allowed to throw toilet paper into the toilet. (Do you know how gross that is?) I brought the noise-maker but the bed creaks very bad so everytime I make a move, it creaks loudly.

Ky-An had so much fun throwing rocks into the river, swimming, and enjoying his first campfires. The campfire is not as much fun as the other ones because instead of a fire ring where everyone can sit around, it looks like a fireplace. I was highly disappointed. I missed the first campfire because Ai-Vy was overtired form missing her daytime nap and took a long time to fall asleep.

We were all suppose to stay until Monday but my parents and 2 of my sisters left on Sunday. I guess they had enough..LOL. We stayed back with my oldest sister from Dallas and the whole cabin compound is literally a ghost town. It was eerily quiet. Everyone went mini-golfing for the day while I put Ai-Vy down for nap so she can catch up on some sleep.

Overall we had fun but I was just so tired from the Ike events that I couldn't wait to be home. It was a 4 hour roadtrip and the kids did okay. They didn't sleep as long in the car as I had hoped and we end up facing Ai-Vy to the front (much sooner than we want) for the roadtrip. She's always wanting to do things much quicker than Ky-An anyway...

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Chicago Trip - Going Home!!!

By Saturday we've pretty much ran out of things to do. We went to visit the tiny Vietnam town on Friday and the kids were exhausted so we went home to let them rest. We had a small feast that night to try and finish up all the food that we bought over the week. Everyone was happy to go home the next day because we are pretty homesick.

Learning from experience on our airport trip here, Hieu reorganized the trip home. Instead of dragging all of our luggage and the kids to the car rental place, then load the entire luggage and the kids on a bus to go to the airport. Hieu decided that they'll drop us and the kids off at the airport first and then go return the car. We headed out to the airport 4 hours earlier than our flight. Hieu and my brother-in-law dropped us and the kids off at check-in. They both then made 2 trips back to the car for our luggage while we wait. After they got the entire luggage then we all checked-in and went through security. They took us to the gate where there is a play area and went to return the car.

We thought 4 hours was plenty of time to go check-in but it was barely enough. We were feeding the kids breakfast when Hieu and my brother-in-law came back from returning the car. It was then almost time to board so a round of bathroom/diaper change then it's rushing time to board the plane. Amidst the rush, Hieu dropped his cell phone and lost it at the airport. We got on the plane and Ky-An fell asleep but Ai-Vy fussed a little before she would. They slept almost the entire ride back, which is a great thing but really bad for our arms.

Overall we survived the trip and the kids had a great time with their cousins. However, they were so excited when they got home and see all their toys that they skipped their nap. What's one more day right?!!

Here are some pictures of our rental home:

This is the courtyard that the balcony overlooked:

There were 3 floors to this house and the stairs were steep! Keeping Ai-Vy from crawling up or down the stairs was a pain all week. This is the main floor: