yikes! i have braces...





to commemorate this occasion kai suggests we read smile as our next bedtime read.  it tells the author's true story of dental drama... when she was a sixth grader!  maybe kai hopes it will be a source of comfort for me :)

 

it hasn't been fun thus far.  all i want to do is bite into an apple, eat a small handful of nuts, and munch on popcorn during a movie but i simply cannot do any of it.  at least i can finally chew most foods - it took almost two weeks - and now i can say bye-bye to mushy soup and hello to salads.  well, at least until the 'tightening'... it's going to be a long year, isn't it?

bye bye cable

print from here

finally, we got rid of cable.  not to say i don't like tv, i do!  it's relaxing at the end of a long day, wouldn't you agree?  my only regret is that we cut the cable before the grey's anatomy season ended and what will i do without ellen!?  but we simply were not watching enough live tv to warrant the monthly fee. 

since we cut the cable stefan and i, after kai is asleep, tend to curl up in bed with the ipad and watch our shows: we recently started homeland (so good!) and we have dexter and breaking bad on the go too.  and more importantly, it means that we are going to bed at the same time which is really nice.  before, i had the bad habit of watching my recorded ellen shows (or sometimes tune into the hgtv channel) late into the night.  it wasn't a good scene.

it will be nice to simply have the space to talk, read (we subscribe to a bunch of magazines - bon appetite, wired, living etc., martha stewart living), play more games, and talk some more.

and kai?  he hasn't asked once if he can watch tv!  it's actually not that unusual since we have always been somewhat conservative about screen time with him. like us, the few shows he did watch (mythbusters, top gear) were recorded so he could watch them at a more suitable time.  now, i guess, we will download them from netflix or itunes.

what do you think, to cable or not to cable?



weekend pics, birthday edition!

each spring brings stefan another year older and the white hairs around the temples more prominent :)  here is a peek at his birthday weekend:

1. coffee and croissants... but of course (here and here)





this one is from thomas haas

 2. the farmers market... i love it how an ingredient (in this case those lovely small peppers) inspires stefan to cook a whole meal for the three of us!  which we will be enjoying today!

 

3. computer time with kai... stefan is teaching kai programming via minecraft.  kai both loved it and found it mentally exhausting.  papa was proud.

  





4. hanging out with lovely friends while trying out a new sport (despite injuries!) and then sharing a meal with them.

 

  



 





kai being silly!





taking a walk along the riverside after a huge and yummy meal.



5. breakfast in bed... i stayed away from cooking anything (i once smoked up the entire house cooking sausages... alarm ringing and stefan ended up cooking his own birthday breakfast, i know.) and instead kai and i prepared a simple dutch breakfast consisting mostly of bread :)  kai loved being in charge of its preparation. 

 



 

6. chocolate prezzies... kai's birthday card to stefan included a treasure map leading to the birthday present.  stefan quickly figured out that beta 5 was his destination... once there he picked up his first box of chocolate goodness (he'll get one each month for a total of six months!).

 



 

7. lounging... stefan loves his cat naps.

 



 

8. a culinary adventure at kitsilano daily kitchen... stefan is quite the foodie but i don't think he anticipated the six course menu (we were not made aware of the items on said menu beforehand) consisting mostly of seafood (he loves a fillet of fish but seafood, not so much).  as each seafood dish came out, we couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it.  he was a good sport and tried things he never would have before... like squid and mussel!

 

 

 
it was a low-key weekend which is just the way the birthday boy likes it.  and kai and i were happy to oblige.

palm springs, part three

the desert is so magical. i loved gallivanting in it.  we hiked two trails in the indian canyon; we visited joshua tree (amazing!); and we visited some desert animals.

so, our first excursion was to the living desert; kai's first visit to a zoo.  he was awestruck at seeing the animals live... zebras, cheetahs, camels, foxes, desert cats, giraffes!  and it was so cool to actually feed one of the giraffes... its tongue felt just like a cat's tongue, except that it was purple!  







 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the indian canyon was beautiful; so peaceful and quiet to hike through.  i especially enjoyed the hike through the california fan palm trees.  actually the indian canyon is home to the most california fan palm trees in the world!  so cool.  the contrast between the rocky gorges and the palms is beautiful.

 

hiking through the canyons, kai enjoyed climbing up the rock formations and pretending he was a cowboy on horseback, and i was pretty happy we didn't encounter any rattlesnakes... just a few lizards crossed our path :)

 

andreas canyon hike

 







 

 

 

 

palm canyon hike



 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



joshua tree does not disappoint; it's gorgeous.  every which way i looked there was beauty and i couldn't stop clicking the camera!  kai and stefan had loads of fun scrambling over the gigantic boulders.  loads of fun!  i think it was kai's dream place to climb around. we especially enjoyed wandering through the rock formations at skull rock.  they are pretty impressive.  the whole place is a wonderland of rock. 
 
we also saw a lovely panoramic view of the coachella valley from keys view and you can see the salton sea from here too.  and hidden valley was a great place to watch climbers; stefan was wishing he had some climbing gear with him. 
 
i enjoyed wandering through joshua tree; it felt really special. it was definitely a highlight of our palm springs get away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

thanks for taking a peek, i did edit down the photos... if you can believe it :)