winter in july

or not?

We were so excited to call up friends and relatives to come join us at the Zoo for this "Winter in July" last weekend. I think I was expecting a little bit too much... like they would make man-made snow throughout the park or something like that. But it turned out they were just putting piles of ice into a certain animal areas and one ground area for kids to play with. Oh well. We really enjoyed seeing some good friends though, besides the heat and super sweaty condition... it was all worth it!

(Be prepared to see all the messy hair pictures, I wasn't kidding when I said SWEATY.)

Eli with his cute little friend Brenden sitting bravely in front of a big lizard (statue).

Playing at the ice area with his buddy Mila.

... but he really didn't like the idea of playing with ice in the middle of hot summer.

An "extra large size" turtle coming towards us. We were amazed how slow it could get. We think the shell really slow it down.

And then we ran into a peacock thinking that he was so pretty himself and could get away with doing anything he wanted...

Like, trying to take Eli's snack (and of course Eli was guarding his with his life) but Eli just gave him a dirty look.

 Mila was more generous, she offered her drink instead.

Then we were off to learn how to milk some cow...

Then had more fun petting some goats.

Here's our prize and joy, sitting pretty in a clam shell like a pearl (when he gets his snack you are more likely to do anything with him... him and the peacock are totally the other way around):

Mila and Eli inside of the turtle shell sitting area

(since when he looks so mature?)

Eli and our cousin Brie, whom we got to hang out two weekends in a row. Yah! (Eli was playing shy in this picture.)

This is a rare one (a family picture... with me in it!)

What a "hot" trip!

treasure every moment.

On Memorial Day we were invited to a pool party. We were just chatting, eating, and playing games. When we were about to wrap up, Eli decided to hopped back into the pool and no one noticed until he made the splash. (Maybe he slipped?) My friend who was standing the closest to him at the moment grabbed him from the water.

He was under the water for about 5 seconds, but he was such a trooper. He actually held his breath until he was being picked up (good thing Santino has been training him a little bit). He didn't panic or struggled and was just floating in the water like a watermelon standing vertically. According to other friends, his eyes were wide opened, too.

When I got him in my arms I felt horrible instantly, that I didn't watch him closely enough. I felt very blessed that he was perfectly fine. He didn't even get a single drop of water inside him. He was probably just a little bit shocked and so he was whining for just a little while. I held him so tight like I would never let him go again. When he finally calmed down he laid his head on my shoulder and held me back really tight also. I assured him that he was fine. And then...

He looked up at me while he was still in my arms, stared for a brief moment and then a big grin on his face, then followed by a series of violent slapping on both of my faces!

I think that was the happiest "being slapped" moment I have ever experienced in my life! I have no idea what was going through his little head but I was so happy when he slapped me. I was just happy that he was back and that was the reassurance that he was really fine.

I keep thinking about the moment when I saw him under the water. We could have been rushing to the emergency room, or worse. That evening after I put him down to go night night,  I was so looking forward to the morning to see him again and hold him. I just learned a lesson to treasure every moment with people I love. I thank God that He allowed me to learn it that way, and not the hard way. And yeah, we really love Eli.

And here's Eli "treasuring every bite" on a Oreo cookie custard sandwich:

what happened to my child?

Sitting still is an extremely unusual thing for Eli. (If he does, usually means that he's sick or something.) But this time is an exception...

He's watching Ponyo ! He loves that show. It's the newest Miyazaki animation. It's such a cute story and I hope Eli will be a good kid like the boy in the animation. I have seen it at my library recently, you might be able to find it at yours, too.

p.s. I just love how Eli found his lounge chair to enjoy his show, while swinging his feet and sipping on his drink and just looking so relaxed (and hunched like a ball). What a funny boy.

... and it was all yellow...

So, this is the tree in front of our house (if you remember last year when we bought the house we mentioned about it.) The whole tree turns from green to all yellow flowers in the spring time. And when the wind blows the flowers fall off the ground like snowing. It's a very beautiful sight, as long as you don't mind where the yellow flowers go to. :) I actually don't. Every morning I opened up the blinds in our room and the tune of "Yellow" by Coldplay comes to my head.

beause...

A few years ago I read a talk by one of the Elders in my church named Russell M. Nelson titled "Nurturing Marriage" which ended with this poem (below). I love it so much that I wrote it down in one of my sketch books with ink and pen. I just came across with it last night again. It's so beautifully written and I thought you would love it, too:


Because you come to me with naught save love,

And hold my hand and lift mine eyes above,
A wider world of hope and joy I see,
Because you come to me.

Because you speak to me in accents sweet,
I find the roses waking round my feet,
And I am led through tears and joy to thee,
Because you speak to me.

Because God made thee mine, I’ll cherish thee
Through light and darkness, through all time to be,
And pray His love may make our love divine,
Because God made thee mine.

by Edward Teschemacher (1902)

What a beautiful way of illustrating a husband and wife relationship along with God. Being able to express feelings through poetry is one of the talents that I wish to possess. 

tomato pork chop recipe

I know I usually only blog when I have a picture, but recently I gave my friend a very yummy Tomato Pork Chop recipe, and it's really rare that I write out any recipes, so I thought I would share my "hard work" with you all. :) And I do make it all the time but it's always in my mouth before I had a chance to take any pictures. Yes, it's that yummy! It is also one of my favorite 30-min meal (well, minus marinating time... unless you don't care about getting THE BEST flavor in the meat.)

Hong Kong Style Tomato Pork Chop

Ingredients:

3-4 Roma Tomatoes in slices

1/2 or 1 medium size Onion in slices

2-3 stalks green onions, chops into about 2 1/2-inch length

4 pork chops

2 tbs sugar

2 tbs oil

1/2 tbs minced garlic

2-3 tbs ketchup

1 1/2 tbs oyster sauce

1 cup cool water

1 tbs corn starch

salt

Marination:

1 1/2 tbs sugar

pinch of salt

pepper to taste

2 tbs soy sauce

2 tbs sesame oil

1 1/2 tbs corn starch

optional: 

3 ginger slices

1 tbs Worcestershire sauce

-- marinate pork chops for about an hour (at least half an hour) or even overnight

1. Heat a pan in medium heat, put 1 tbs of oil in pan and garlic and cook for about 15 second. 

2. toss in onions and green onions in pan with garlic, spread a pinch of salt evenly and cook until they are about to turn transparent, then put aside (try to keep oil in pan).

3. toss in tomatoes in pan, add about 1 tbs sugar and a pinch of salt (spread evenly on all pieces), cook until it started to become soft, then put aside.

4. put 1 tbs of oil in pan, heated, put pork chops pieces in pan and make sure all pieces lay flat. Wait until one side turn golden brown and turn to the other side and do the same. then put aside and keep warm.

5. when chops are being cooked, prepare sauce by mixing 1 1/2 tbs oyster sauce, 2-3 tbs ketchup, 1 tbs sugar, 1 tbs corn starch and 1 cup water together, mix well in bowl. 

6. bring sauce mixture to pan, toss tomatoes and onions in pan and cook all together, let the sauce cook the tomatoes and onions 'til desirable softness. Remove from heat and pour on top of pork chops and ready to serve.

It tastes great with just plain rice. At restaurants in Hong Kong, they put that whole thing in a baking dish on top of fried rice with tin foil covered. It's truly "yummy in my tummy"! So, if you do try this recipe, please share with me what you think of it, and can also I assure you that you will be 100% satisfy!

smile is contagious.

Eli was in a great mood and enjoying his snack, I thought I would share this picture and spread the smile.

Have a great day my friends!

happy easter!

We took Eli to a neighborhood Easter Party this afternoon. We got Eli a fake tatoo (with a Christian saying on it) on his leg, checked out the interior of a firetruck, and he played the Cake Walk (but more like daddy did the walk, he just wanted to walk away). He was most interested in the inflatable jump house, but that would probably gives us a heart attack to try to watch him with 100 other kids in it. We missed his age group Easter Egg Hunt and so he joined an older group... we did find him the most remote spot, but you can see that in the video later on everyone found their way towards us later on. It wasn't just a new experience to Eli, but also me. That's a fun thing being a first time mom.

Eli's first Easter Egg Hunt!

We are so grateful for so many wonderful things in life. And we are especially grateful for our Savior's resurrection, which gives us all the meaning in life to live.

Happy Easter, and we love you!

frozen yogurt at Woody's.

with the Galloways! Woody's was a really cool place, even the surfing theme decorations on the wall made it looked so cool and a friendly place to hang out. You can pick your own flavors and toppings. Oh, and here's the best part: you can try out any flavors before you decide which ones you want (we were already half way full before we filled our cup)! We've been to a frozen yogurt place like that in SoCal before, and so glad the Galloways told us about this place by their house.

Everyone looks picture perfect except Eli. He looked like a drunk person, but I promise that he was just having a raspberry flavor frozen yogurt.

He wanted to take over the whole thing, and ate like his cheeks weren't chubby enough.

And he almost did... his left hand didn't leave the cup until it was empty, and then he picked it up with both hands and trying to drink it up. The cup was over his entire face.

Look so cute and pretty even with a little cookie n' cream crumbs.

I wish Eli could have some charm like her.

Pretty mommy and daughter.

I promise Cohen that I would take a picture of him playing with the cars.

Thank you, it was really great! We all enjoyed it a lot, especially the company!

a tribute to the trees and flowers.

I still couldn't get enough of San Diego. One thing that really takes my breathe away every time I visit there is the beauty and uniqueness of their plantation. It's so green and colorful everywhere. I wish I have more photos to show but here's a few. They will just make you feel that being alive is so wonderful.

Cactus bushes at Old Town San Diego.

Is this a liliac tree? Does anybody knows?

Even a plant with just leaves still catches my eyes.