A Few Good Quotes

"There is something so settled and stodgy about turning a great romance into next of kin on an emergency room form, and something so soothing and special, too." ~ Anna Quindlen

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'" ~Mary Anne Radmacher

Sunday, August 24, 2014

2nd Annual Long Beach Transit Adventure Day

With summer drawing to an end this next week, we've been busy completing our "summer bucket lists." Last Sunday, we went to El Torito for brunch, one of Ian's summer picks; tomorrow, we leave for a week in Huntington Beach, something that's always on my summer list. 

Last week, we had our 2nd Annual Long Beach Transit Adventure Day. Last summer, we began this by taking a trip on the AquaLink, a boat that's part of our local transit system that runs just during the summer months. Since it was our first time last year, we didn't know what to expect (or really how the system worked), so we had a long "lay over" once we realized you couldn't exactly go round trip on the boat. =)

But this year, we upped our game. We drove and parked at the Queen Mary (which Ruthie is currently obsessed with, who knows why) and hopped on the AquaLink for our first leg. The kids loved being on the big boat, especially when we got past the slow wake area and starting going fast.

Ian and I love boats of any kind, so we enjoyed ourselves too! 



We took the boat to the Belmont Veterans Pier; from there, we walked a little ways to have a picnic lunch in the grass. Then we walked a few more blocks to catch the 121 bus to Downtown Long Beach, where we walked just one more block and then caught the Passport (free in Downtown!) back over to the Queen Mary. 

As you can see, Ruthie was very excited about the bus too. It was such a fun adventure and the kids did great. We're already planning our 3rd Annual, which might include a ride on the Blue Line! What a fun city we live in! 

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer as much as we are. 

Thursday, August 7, 2014

A Big Fat Mexico Post

I finalized organized my photos from the past few weeks, which means I'm ready to do a big ol' Mexico update. As I was making files for the trip's photos, I discovered that my categories pretty much summed up the whole trip - kickball, eating, pool, Baja Jr (a local restaurant we go to for lunch each year), talent show, beach and spa afternoon. Sounds like a fun trip, right? 

It really was. We had a great time, as always, and eagerly anticipate next year. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for such a wonderful vacation! 

Here we are at Tacos Baja, Jr. Ruthie picked that seat by Grandpa - the girl's smart. She knows who pays the bills (and who hands out copious amounts of guacamole). =)



On the beach day, we let Jonah skip his morning nap so we could join the rest of the family. It was a great time, full of watching the kids dig in the sand and run away from waves. Jonah did a little bit of lounging himself, perhaps to make up for his missed nap.


 A few nights of the week each year, I plan "family activities." Kickball has quickly become a favorite. In front of the condo my parents' stay at there is a nice grassy area where we can divide into two teams. This year, all the Sunukjians were on one time and all the M families were on the other. In the first photo, you can see the Sunukjians, with my mom as the pitcher (you should have seen her on the come-backers - hysterical) and the second photo as the M families - Marsh, Matthias, McCurry. Very fun!

Naturally, we spent LOTS of time at the pool. In fact, our condo this year was literally right across the way from the pool,  so we could run back and forth easily and even leave Jonah napping and use the monitor. It was great, because we could always see which cousins where there! 

Of course, there was the traditional (maybe 9 years running?) Girls Spa Afternoon. It's a pretty formal affair.

First, you start with the foot soak and scrub, which you can see Clare demonstrating. 

 Then you move to the hot towel wrap, which Elena is enjoying.
Then you get your toe nails painted, hopefully by a cousin! Here Ruthie is getting her toenails painted by David and Gina's youngest girl, Kara.

Then you finish with a relaxing cool cucumber eye session. (Though Mary said I over chilled the cucumbers so it hurt more than relaxed you.)
We had a great afternoon and I so enjoyed seeing all the girls together. Here's Sophie, Abbie and Kara together, picking out colors.


 And Mom, enjoying her "chilled" cucumbers - she didn't complain!
Sarah and her oldest, Hannah, at the foot station. Naomi, Sarah's youngest, was napping and missed the party. Next year!
Aunt Sarah also did Ruthie's foot station, which was fun for me. Last year at this afternoon Ruthie acted like I was torturing her and ended up on a walk with Ian, so it was fun for me that she participated and enjoyed it so much!
Here's Sophie and Abbie - Sophie is the oldest granddaughter and turned 14 on the day we arrived. How did that happen?!
Here's the finished product - everyone's toes and hands! Sheila was also at the spa afternoon but somehow didn't make it into any of my photos. Sorry, Sheila! But we did love having you there!
The big finale family activity is the talent night - some people work all week perfecting their talent and others of us, well, we throw it together last minute. But it's always a great time. Here's everyone getting ready to begin, with David as the Emcee.
Speaking of throwing a talent together, here's Grandpa, who recited a poem. I'll spare you the details about how the poem goes.
We did a McCurry Workout Wonder - we actually did work on ours this year in advance and had about 45 seconds of synchronized dancing. I think it's safe to say the crowd loved it.
 I don't have room to put a photo of every talent (and sometimes, my phone was being used for music) but here's another example of the sheer genius that comes forth - Noah is doing a cheesy magic show which had us all rolling.
 And of course, it wouldn't be a story of our summer if we didn't have lots and lots of potty training time. But hey, if you're going to sit on the potty, why not have a great view?
Til next year!