Peg’s Journal

Happy Friday! Since we couldn’t afford to actually see Hannah Montana live in concert, we were thrilled to find out that they had turned her concert into a digital 3-D movie experience - Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert. We bought the tickets a few weeks ago for this special engagement.

We (along with Grace, Lauren, and Taylor) went to The District early. We were so glad we did, because not only did we get great seats, but we got a chance to meet Emily Osment (”Lily” of Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana fame), for photo-ops and autograph pictures at the Radio Disney booth! I don’t know who was more excited…me or Ashlyn. HAHAHA!

meeting Emily Osment

The concert movie was way awsome! With our ultra stylish 3-D glasses, I felt like we were actually at the concert. It was probably even better than going to the concert, because we would never have gotten THAT close to the stage. It was also great seeing rehersal/candid footage and the backstage action. AND of course, the Jonas Brothers! *squeal*

our rockstar pose

Ashlyn and Lauren’s rockstar pose

my cutie - Summer

It was cute seeing all the little girls in the theater out of their seats dancing and singing along (including my little Summer jumping up and down in the aisle)! We all had a great time (even Aric, but *shhhhhhh*….don’t tell anyone).

It’s showing for one-week only, so click here if you’re interested in finding a theater near you.

Have a great weekend!

Tags: Disney Channel, friends, kiddies, pictures, starstruck

The holidays are over and we’re back to school. Our winter-break, surprisingly, felt longer than it was. We had spent the first four days of our break with my family in NorCal (driving back on Christmas night)….four gloriously fun, relaxing, and gluttonous days that went by much too quickly. Had we stayed longer, I’m sure the remainder of our winter-break would have flown by.

The last two weeks have been filled with time with my family, my in-laws, relatives, friends, lots of food, and tons of gifts!!! Needless to say, my kiddies were spoiled with an over-abundance of clothing and toys this Christmas. Ashlyn must have told everyone in the world that she wanted a guitar, because she got 4! hahaha Summer, who rarely asks for anything, got so much stuff that she’ll never have to ask for anything ever again.

I wonder if I’m the only one who does this, but I only let my kids open up and play with some of the toys they got. The rest, I’ll store away to open up at a later date. They lack excitement, desire, and appreciation when they get to open up everything. I remember after Ashlyn opened up ALL her gifts at her 2nd birthday, she had that look of: “that’s it?…what else can I open?” So now after they unwrap all their gifts, I let them select some and put the rest away. With the amount they both get at Christmases and birthdays, my storage space is turning into one huge toy store and I’m quickly running out of room. I’m not even kidding.
I’m trying my hardest not to raise spoiled children, but the truth is…they are spoiled. Aric and I give them what we never had as children, and our parents give them what they couldn’t give us as children. *sigh*

Anyhow, Ashlyn is lovin’ her guitars, Hannah Montana Concert Stage, her MP3 player, and Jonas Brothers CD. Summer’s having a blast with her Fisher Price digital camera, Gymnastics Divas Barbies, Disney Princess Dollhouse, and Crayola Color Explosion Board. Spoiled, I tell ya!

Click here for more holiday pictures.

As much as I love the holidays, I’m relieved it’s over. We rang in the New Year with our usual group at James and Grace’s. My poor hubby was sick (possible food poisoning from Taco Hell from lunch) that night and spent the whole evening sleeping it off on the couch. New Years Day was spent taking down our tree and decorations, cleaning up, and hanging out with my niece and her bf.

Aric and I have been watching movies lately - “I am Legend” and “No country for old men”, and “The Water Horse” with the kiddies. I love it!

The kiddies are getting back into the swing of things at school…as am I.

Tags: Aric, Ashlyn, family, friends, NorCal, pictures, Summer

Between gifts to deliver, holiday programs at school, errands, last minute shopping, wrapping gifts, kiddies, and keeping house, I have not found the time to give last weekend’s update. Now, as we approach another weekend, I decided to just post a short blurb (since I’m still short on time).

birthday girl & boy

Last Saturday, with a group of our close friends, we celebrated Brandon and Olivia’s 5th birthday at Legoland. With twelve adults and thirteen kids, we made the most of our time at the park and had a blast! Last time we went (2 years ago), Ashlyn and Summer only rode a few rides and mostly played in the playground area. Now they are able to ride all the rides!

making a wish

After the park, we headed back to Olivia’s house for dinner, cupcakes, and more fun!
Click here for more birthday pictures.

Sunday was spent at our in-laws. We had dimsum with Aric’s grandma, then took the kiddies to browse Santa Anita Mall (sheer madness over there), then dinner at Din Tai Fung in Arcadia for dinner.

All in all, it was a funfilled weekend. But I was very disappointed to have missed out on my girlfriend -Emily’s, baby shower and the annual FAB holiday dinner/gathering. But my kiddies come first and they couldn’t wait to go to Legoland. Too bad we can’t have more weekends in December.

Okay….gotta start some laundry, clean up the kitchen, pick up Ashlyn, start packing, wrap more gifts, and figure out dinner before Emily and Ann come over tonight.

1 more day till our NorCal trip
5 more days till Christmas
*bite nails*

Tags: birthday party, pictures, weekend

I flew up to NorCal over the weekend to celebrate my darling Sarah’s birthday. We spent a beautiful Saturday cruising around Napa Valley in a limo, indulging in spa treatments at Mount View Hotel & Spa, visiting a few lovely vineyards, wine-tasting, shopping at V.Sattui’s and Dean & Deluca’s, and enjoying dinner at Napa Vally Grille.

With everyones’ busy schedules, times like this is infinitely priceless. Even though it wasn’t my birthday, I felt like it was. I loved the limo ride the best…being surrounded by my closest girlfriends, talking, sipping champagne and noshing on smoked duck, varieties of soft cheeses, homemade crostinis, fruit, and blood orange juice, taking tons of pictures, and laughing till my face hurt. Pure happiness!!!

Happy 30th Birthday, girl! I love you!

Click here for Sarah’s Napa Getaway pictures.

The rest of my weekend was spent with my parents, Sis, nieces, Eva, and Curtis. I did a bit of Christmas shopping on Sunday at Santana Row and crashed a Christmas party thrown by temple friends.
Click here for misc family pictures.

I flew back Sunday night to big smiles and warm hugs from the hubby and Summer. Ashlyn had fallen asleep in the car enroute to the airport and was out for the night.

Tags: birthday party, family, girlfriends, NorCal, pictures, weekend

My girls participated in a fashion show over the weekend for Nordstrom at The Irvine Spectrum. The word-of-mouth production was not widely publicized… it was just a way for local kids and employees’ children to have some fun. In exchange for our participation, we recieved an additional 15% off the childrens’ apparel and shoe sale. I scored on a pair of Van’s for Ashlyn for $13 (nothing in Summer’s size), and some other great deals. I thought it was a clever way for Nordstrom to draw in shoppers bright and early.

But what I was most excited about was the fact that Summer wanted to be in the Fashion Show too!!! Unlike Ashlyn, Summer doesn’t like to draw attention to herself. Simple requests, like asking her to sing a song for the grandparents, requires a lot of pleading and bribery. HAHA! So imagine my surprise when I took Ashlyn in for the clothes fitting and Summer said she wanted to try on clothes too! By Saturday morning, Summer started looking like she had changed her mind (which I kinda anticipated)….but then we had her walk with Olivia & Erin, and it was all good. Summer smiled brightly, walked confidently, and had a really good time. Ashlyn is currently going through a self-concious phase. She looked scared and shy, even though we all knew she was soooo excited to be a part of the show.

Lauren, Taylor, Erin, Olivia, and Shelby also strutted their stuff in the Fashion show, and they were all so cute!
Click here for fashion show pics.

Saturday afternoon and evening was spent celebrating Karis’ 5th Birthday at Sam and Patti’s. I love parties at Sam and Patti’s…lots of good food and company, and the kids have so much fun running and playing in the spacious home and back garden.
Click here for Karis’ birthday pictures.

Sunday was a lax day. We met up with my father-in-law and some relatives for a late lunch in Rowland Heights. Aric, the kiddies, and I did some shopping at 99 Ranch, then came home to decorate our front yard and put up our Christmas tree. We finally upgraded our small faux tree (that we got for $6 when living in Taiwan) to a 7.5 foot faux cashmere pine (we purchased last year for 50% off after the holiday season…yeah, I’m all about bargains. hehehe).
Like last year, the girls had so much fun decorating the tree. Because they’re both older now, they are better at spreading out the ornaments on the tree…sometimes standing on the arm of the couch to hang some toward the top. hehehe
I used all the little plush toys my kids have gotten from their McDonald’s Happy Meals, or the keychain thingies they get from the dollar gumball machines, as tree ornaments. HAHAHA! I’m not just cheap, but creative, too. HAHAHA!
I ordered my Christmas cards and compiled my shopping list…and it’s really starting to feel like the holiday season is upon us now.
Click for more pictures.

Monday was a really busy and long day for me. Aric had a department dinner to attend, so I picked up Summer from preschool. By the time we got back home, it was nearly 4:30pm. Ashlyn had homework and I was up to my neck in laundry.

Lately, Summer’s been having a lot of “accidents”….at school, at home, and in Aric’s car (hence, the laundry). Yesterday, when I picked her up, she was wearing someone else’s spare clothes again (because she had already gone through her spare outfits last week). This time, she had also soiled her naptime blanket. Summer’s teacher asked if there was anything wrong. Which I replied, “no…everything’s fine”. Does “accidents” mean that something’s wrong? I always figured that laziness is the cause. Whatever the case, I talked with Summer last night and stressed the importance of going immediately when her body tells her to go. Hopefully that helped.

The girls and I ate an early dinner, Ashlyn finished her homework by 7:30pm, the kiddies changed into pjs, and watched “Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas” while waiting for Aric to come home.

Tags: birthday party, kiddies, pictures, Summer, weekend