The Jen and Herman Adventures

The 2011 Christmas Video!

2012-01-01T19:52:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-24T21:42:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!!

Dinner with Lucas

2011-11-20T08:44:00.001-08:00

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

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Waving from the Pony:

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

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High Speed Adventures...

2011-07-17T22:28:00.000-07:00

Here's a collection of Time Lapse Videos taken so far this July...

Watching in real time can be so boring... but when it's sped up, you catch enough to feel like you were there! (But it could also get you motion sick if you're not careful...)

Our Neighborhood Ride to Porto's:

Ever since getting the iBert toddler seat, we've been itching to go on more Bike excursions... and the heat has been the main thing holding us back now. On the 16th we decided to take the bikes and grab lunch. We had to think of something that could just be tossed in a backpack after purchase. So Porto's sandwiches seemed like a good choice and we were on our way! The neighborhood ride was fantastic, and the streets were pretty empty of cars on a Sunday afternoon. We took a slightly longer route to avoid the heavy trafficked streets and it didn't take long at all. Hopefully we'll explore more places to eat when we feel brave enough to actually lock our bikes somewhere.

Our Golf Cart Ride adventure on Catalina Island:

Our Catalina trip was brought on by a Groupon Deal for half off boat fare from Marina Del Rey. Since i've never been to the island, i thought this was the perfect opportunity. I purchased two tickets and we planned to go July 10. It wasn't until a few days before going that i decided to do some research on the boat company on Yelp and also get ideas of what to do there... and read so many negative reviews about the boat ride itself (2 hours each way) and the frequency of delays and non-refunds. Also once there, lots of places only accept cash and things were pricey (as expected) Perhaps such negative vibes helped set my expectations lower and we ended up having a great time. The worst part probably was the 2 hour ride, and more because Lucas was bored and fussy and Herman had to stay out on the windy, freezing deck because even with Dramamine he was feeling sea sick. But it was a gorgeous island and now I can say that I've been there.

Cats go, "Yeow"

2011-06-25T23:47:00.000-07:00

This commercial has been popping up often, and Lucas loves it!

I think in my over-enthusiasm to replay the silly thing over and over again - Lucas gives me the sour face for a bit - but then resumes with his Yeowing towards the end.

And Then... He Saw Her

2011-03-13T23:58:00.000-07:00

It started out as a typical party. Lucas was having a nice time, mingling with the guests and enjoying the festivities.

And then, he saw her. "Who is this cool girl, and how do I get her attention?" thought Lucas...

"I need to work out, let me get a few quick reps in, while she's not looking."

"Maybe I should just follow her around," thought Lucas.

That wasn't working. She just kept walking around without noticing him. "Maybe, I should strike up a conversation," thought Lucas.

"Hi, I'm Lucas. Which Star Wars movie was your favorite?"

"... and so after I realized I hadn't defragged my drives for months, it was obvious that's why my computer was slowing down so much!" Lucas notices her eyes starting to glaze over. Hmm... need a new topic of conversation...

"Hey Isabella, Check out my ride. It's sporty, isn't it?"

"This is the top of the line convertible! It converts into a beer box. Stay alive, Don't Drink and Drive!"

Isabella shows a spark of interest. "Where are the cup holders? Hey, that's some fancy interior!"

"Yay!" Lucas beams, "She notices me! Today's a good day."

And everyone lived happily ever after. The end. :)

OK, so that was all an act and Lucas and Isabella did not meet for the first time (obviously). Here's a few other fun highlights from Taro's Birthday Extravaganza! We were also breaking in the new Canon S95 camera, that got high praises from the Kans!

Lucas Talking On the Phone...

2011-01-15T21:32:00.000-08:00

So Lucas is starting to really impersonate us.

Here he is, talking on the phone with all of his imaginary and gossipy pals.

"Gully, Gully, Gahh!" "Uh?!" "Wha?" "Gully Gully, GAH!"

Yes. From the sound of it, it's a very dramatic issue. Call you later.

Merry Christmas from the Lee's!

2010-12-25T22:05:00.001-08:00

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Here are a few highlights from today...

A time lapse of gift opening! (But Camera ran out of memory before we were done!)

Got some Barklee eyeball action in the shot below...

Our Christmas Gift to Lucas - his first CAR! Hand Made!

Tasty Dishes!!

Fun with the cousins!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Baby Got Beats!

2010-12-18T00:11:00.000-08:00

A nice evening at home listening to a Paul McCartney concert...

It's About The Little Triumphs

2010-12-11T15:16:00.000-08:00

Like father, like son...

2010-11-20T20:28:00.000-08:00

Time to BabyPROOF

2010-09-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

From Lucas

Of course i would be camera-less on this day, but luckily the camera phone was my back up....

Fire Pit!

2010-08-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

After months of anticipation over digging a hole to build a fire pit ... the day finally came...

But before it could all begin, we had to start with a yard with nothing but chalky dirt, weeds and broken sprinklers.

Here's the BEFORE (with Herman's placeholder Fire Pit Layout):

THEN the transformation began...

Aaron and Byron traveled over 300 miles just to spend less than 2 days in town to help Herm:

The resulting masterpiece...

Ready for Smores?

Comic-Con 2010

2010-07-25T21:55:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that just last year at this time, I was fighting the Comic-Con crowds 7 months pregnant. This year, Lucas had a much better view of the colorful scenery!

We even had characters at our motel! Mr. Waffle visited us at the Waffle Spot which was a part of the Kings Inn, where we stayed.

Our first Comic-Con event with a little Lucas was a success! Familiarizing him in the Womb to the craziness of the Con must have helped! Next year, he'll be able to run around on his own two feet!

Happy Dah-Dah-Dah Daddy's Day

2010-06-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

Does this count as his first words? On Father's Day even.

Lucas had it all planned...

From Childhood to Mommyhood...

2010-04-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

It was so great to catch up with my friend Michelle! It's hard to imagine that there was a time we were in middle school hanging out in the Yearbook club... and now we're both moms... and she's got three energetic boys!

Here the boys are taking their first group photo. Jadon (3yr) on the left could barely sit still for the photo. Lucas (6mth) was enjoying all the new company. Josiah (5yr) was making use of his awesome big brother skills by holding up little Judah (4mth) for the picture. Hopefully there will be many more photos like these as they grow up!

And look how the brothers are being so tentative to their new baby brother!

The six of us (wow... i had to recount how many of us there were... six is correct!) then traveled to Portos for lunch. We had yummy cuban sandwiches and delicious smoothies. Thanks to Jadon and Josiah, the following photos were possible:

This one was taken by Josiah:

This one was taken by Jadon:

Mighty fine photographers at the ripe ages of 5 and 3. :)

Our Mazda5 Test Drive

2010-03-27T23:26:00.000-07:00

Our Rental Hunt Story...

Herman's Initial Driving Feedback:

Lucas Gives His Thoughts Too:

Consensus? I think we found a winner! :)

Round N Round

2010-03-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

Thought we'd try out this new 6 month toy a month early! Thanks Auntie Claire and Uncle Rick! :)

The Super Laugh

2010-03-07T20:58:00.000-08:00

You know that one action that can unlock a Super Laugh? We found it tonight!

Hangin' with the fam

2010-02-28T21:33:00.000-08:00

Lucas gets playtime with his Aunties and Uncles! Plenty of kisses, jumping and burp cloth hats for all...

Lucas & Lily's First Disneyland Day!

2010-02-22T22:03:00.000-08:00

Let's Chat...

2010-01-17T17:26:00.000-08:00

gobble gobble

2009-11-26T21:45:00.000-08:00

We had our first FAMILY trip today. The WHOLE family... a Daddy, a Mommy, a Baby and a Doggy!

Although it was a simple Thanksgiving party that was an hour's drive away, we still seemed to pack the car full of 'essentials' that would hold us over for the several hours we'd be away from the comforts of home...

... We had two diaper bags (One for quick travels, and another one for emergency long-term with more diapers, clothes etc.)... a fold up baby swing, baby bjorn carrier, doggy bag with food, leashes, toys and blanket, snap n go stroller, car seat, pies for the party... I'm glad there was room for passengers!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

It's Been A Hard Day's Night..

2009-09-23T23:11:00.000-07:00

Two Years...

2009-09-08T22:37:00.000-07:00

This is what happens after 2 years of marriage...

Comic-Con 2009

2009-07-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

I was trying to figure out how many years we've been going to Comic-Con. A quick scan through my photos, and i can at least trace back to 2003. I can only remember missing one year, and that was to make it to a friend's wedding - but i'm pretty sure we've made it back to San Diego for the other years...

We smartened up a little this year. Here are a few our proud improvements:

1. Parking
The biggest improvement we made was parking.
I actually read the Parking information on the website and learned that you could basically find parking anywhere near a shuttle stop and take it into the Convention Center. And since we always go on a Saturday, we could park at the County Administration Building near the Harbor for free and walk a short block to the shuttle stop in front of Holiday Inn. That's a good 20 bucks a day we could save! And it was so much better than trying to leave a crowded parking lot near the convention center. You get a nice 15 minute A/C bus ride to rest your toes as you wait for your stop.

2. Less Junk
We also cut down on the junk. Are you REALLY going to do anything with that Free Transformer Cartoon Mini Poster? Are you REALLY going to use that keychain of the lastest Bandai character? We had to kindly walk away from the tempting Freebies we knew we'd never use... Believe me, it takes years of practice to not get tempted. We did however snag inflatable swords for some Dragon slaying EA video game... ok, and also some Batman and Catwoman masks. But these are things we could easily give away to coworkers and friends.

3. Drinks and Munchies
Snacks and Drinks were also quite handy to have on hand. I just grabbed a few water bottles, fruit snack packs, caramel nut quaker bars, and simple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for each of us. It wasn't meant to be a meal, but these snacks saved us from splurging on 3 dollar sodas or 5 dollar pretzels. (I'm guessing on the prices, since we didn't even feel tempted to look at the food stands) Then for our real meals, we were energized enough to venture off 'campus' to eat something appetizing and inexpensive.

Leonard Nimoy, Tyrese Gibson, Lou Ferrigno

4. Preggo Camping Stool
Yes, and since this year I knew I had an extra challenge - the 7 month old water bowling ball i must carry everywhere - I had to prepare for extreme exhaustion. I've had good days and bad days prior to this weekend, so I just hoped that my legs could handle the 50 aisle Exhibit Hall hike. This would include the dodging and fancy footwork to maneuver through herds of sword-wielding, cape flapping, tail wagging costumes I might have to encounter. So we brought a 2 lb foldable camping stool that fits in a backpack. Whenever we needed to take a break, I had a fast seat that i could plop anywhere and immediately take a breather. Sitting on the ground is just not good or easy for my pleasant condition. This stool was awesome, and I probably should bring that thing around with me everywhere i go in general.

Unlike other Con goers, we decided not to wait in any lines, so we did miss out on all those preview sessions and fancy giant bags for Mythbusters and Fringe - but we just enjoy walking through the Exhibit halls and buying silly things we think are neat and unavailable anywhere else. I usually scan for the cutest cartoony characters - and hope their t-shirts aren't overly expensive. Herman will find usually find cool artwork or DVDs to help with his work. And you can always count on fun pics that are free for the taking. This year, instead of a t-shirt for myself, I got a onesie for someone else... :)

Red, White & BBQ!

2009-07-05T15:53:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had an awesome July 4th!

I know we did! Family, Friends, Food and Fun - the perfect July FOUR! :)

Some Dim Sum Fun

2009-03-22T20:53:00.000-07:00

Today we had a full table at Hong Kong Palace in Rowland Heights, where we had a delightful Dim Sum brunch!

Round & Round we go... in Time-Lapse:

Let's See What Everyone Is Eating:

Chicken Feet Virgins:

More fun with Time-Lapse:

Celebrating New Year's... well rested!

2009-01-05T22:43:00.000-08:00

At least half of those I talked to about New Year's plans, agreed that they didn't make New Year's eve plans and probably would just sleep through it. This was the case for us too and we were actually quite happy to be safe and cozy at home - not worrying about wearing party attire in cold weather, or fighting for parking at some trendy hot spot, or spending away the last of your savings in a couple of hours.

Wow, is that a thirty-something party pooper talking or what? :)

So - we weren't total hermit crabs though. We had our reasons. We decided to forego the NYE festivities and just have a great 3-day New Year's After holiday. So from Thursday to Saturday we embarked on our San Luis Obispo/Monterey/Carmel excursion... with a Sweater-clad Barklee in tact.

Our pit stop at San Luis Obispo... we had Firestone Grill to go and hung out at a nearby park so that Barklee could stretch his legs after the long drive...

USC vs Penn State was playing on the Big Screens - and SC whooped arse at the Rose Bowl! :)

We stayed in Monterey just a few miles away from Fisherman's Wharf and Cannery Row. But we found some other cool spots to wander, such as the Estero Lake park... where Barklee found a few new friends... or enemies? We can't tell, we just know he wanted to get close... :)

And here are my boys enjoying the Ocean views... watch very carefully... their similarities are uncanny...

We also took a stunning drive into Carmel and ate at Rocky Point Restaurant... that was literally all alone along the cliffs off Highway 1. It was raining/misting that day or else we would have ate outside. But we had amazing views from inside as well...

Later that night we went to Cannery Row to walk off our filling meals - Herman took some awesome shots with his Camera... setting the exposure longer to catch the cool night lights... This photo is my favorite...

On our last morning in Monterey, we ventured to a forested area near a Post Graduate Naval Academy near the Wharf... we scarfed down delicious organic muffins in our car, while healthy joggers ran past us along the runners trail. Then we began exploring and discovered a cool wooden deck that lead straight to the beach! It was an awesome view. And I love these trees... they remind me of Bonsai trees, but bigger. I wonder if they'd grow in Southern Cal?

Other than Barklee having quite a bit of 'accidents' all weekend on the carpet of the poor Motel - we had a great economical getaway and hope 2009 brings many more amazing sights and experiences!

Happy New Year!

A Jolly Karaoke Christmas...

2008-12-28T17:14:00.001-08:00

Enjoy the highlights from our Christmas "Linner" (Lunch & Dinner) at the Ezell's!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2008-12-24T23:18:00.000-08:00

Please Enjoy this special Barklee Christmas Card...

and a Barklee wants to especially thank Merri... for the Delicious Gingerbread Santa Dog Biscuits!!

A Rare Sighting... Jen ... and a hot Oven!

2008-11-26T23:03:00.000-08:00

Not only was I inspired to bake homemade cookies to bring for Thanksgiving - but i chose TWO recipes to tackle.

Not only did i tackle two different cookie recipes, but i spread the cooking into TWO days. One day to mix the dough and refrigerate overnight and another day for the baking. Thank goodness i did so... who knew i was such a slow dough roller?

Soft Ginger Cookies

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Sing along... My Robot Friend....

2008-11-01T00:44:00.000-07:00

Too cute for words, so you'll just have to watch the video:

Happy Halloween!!

I Hope It Wasn't Just a "Saying"...

2008-10-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

Our First Year Anniversary flew by... and a few weeks afterwards, Herman and I stared into our Freezer and realized we had a big Alunimum Foiled Wrapped Cake taking up space.

Yes. The top layer of our wedding cake.

Thanks to Pete for saving the top for us (otherwise we would have totally forgot) - we proceeded to keep it in our Freezer, giggling at the thought that one year from then - we'd have cake to eat.

Cut to One Year later... a giant wrapped ball sits on our dining room table... after defrosting in the fridge for a few days. I slowly peel away the tin foil...

"Still White... No weird growth or strange smells..."

I cut a wedge and scoop a chunk from the inner most core...

"HEY! It still tastes like Cake! It doesn't taste a year old at all!"

Herman was less convinced - but begrudgingly ate a bite as well... for the tradition.

We'll see if we're feeling funny tonight or tomorrow morning! :)

Happii Biirthday Herman!!

2008-10-11T01:54:00.000-07:00

Herman was quite content swinging the Wii Remote around like a Light Saber for his Birthday...

In case you're wondering which game we're wiggling to:

Ten Ten!

2008-10-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

October 10th is fast approaching... and if you're wondering what to get a certain Birthday Boy...

He would love to get gift certificates from here:

Black Forest Industries

... for all the VW Golf car parts he plans to buy for his new pet project. :)

Prehistoric Wow!

2008-09-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

We SOOO lucked out when we were able snag some skybox seats with Rick & Claire to watch a four day only show for "Walking With Dinosaurs". I'm bummed because the remaining shows are all out of state at this point. But hopefully it was successful enough for them to do a 2009 Tour!

Can You See the HUMAN?

If you're flying to Florida later this year - you can still catch the tour!
http://www.dinosaurlive.com/

Traveling Dinner - Tacos and Guitar Hero...

2008-09-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

For this edition of The Traveling Dinner, we decided on Tacos!

We made Chicken Nachos as appetizer, and a table full of Taco fixin's. Folks brought Fruits and Veggie Dips, Sangria, Porto's Cakes and Orange Cream Sodas! It was a feast for 20... and we only had 10! Barklee definately enjoyed the extra attention.

And to help digest, we all took turns battling each other on Guitar Hero...

Our 1 YEAR Anniversary!!

2008-09-08T12:09:00.001-07:00

When does the term "Newlyweds" not apply anymore? 10 years? hehehe...

Today marks our 1 year anniversary - and it's a Monday Work day... fun, fun, fun. :)

We celebrated yesterday by:
1) Taking Barklee to a secluded grassy area by Dreamworks for a lazy afternoon of fetch (since he can't handle dog parks)
2) Huge Foster Freeze treats for lunch
3) Watching a late Sunday Night showing of Tropic Thunder (hilarious)

... and we're so happy for two newly married couples (Both Brides were Bridesmaids at our wedding...) Lizette & Melissa! Enjoy the mini movies below!

Melissa & Jason - 9/06/08

Lizette & David - 8/30/08

Comic-Con 08

2008-08-05T22:15:00.000-07:00

We missed it last year, but we were back in the crowd of Pop Culture Geeks for this year's San Diego Comic-Con in July.

We had professional badges - but I was worried we'd still have to get in a huge ugly line just to get them. It took us maybe 2 minutes to get in and get our badges printed. Turns out the huge ugly line was filled with pre-badge folks - all wanting to catch a glimpse of the HEROES cast session.

For only being there on a Saturday, we had a good share of celebrity sitings... From Richard Dreyfuss, to Hayden Paneitteire, to the dudes from Star Trek and even Harold and Kumar (John Cho and Kal Penn)...

I personally am not there for the Comic books themselves... but to see the cool creations of some talented independent artists and to find cute toys to bring home...

On this day in 2006...

2008-07-03T19:21:00.000-07:00

This day being... July First...

Canada Day? The day Hong Kong went back to China? Liv Tyler's Birthday? My's Birthday?

Actually... it was the day Herman proposed! For my birthday this year - Herman decided to revisit the place where the magic happened... The beaches of Channel Islands in Oxnard... Embassy Suites Mandalay Bay...

But before that, we went to one of our favorite places... More Than Waffles in Encino for breakfast...

Then we were off to Oxnard, and spent a good amount of time just chilling on the beach.

It was nice and overcast so we didn't think much of the burning sensation that was our skin getting toasty! My arms got a bit red by the evening - but Herman was nice and rosy.

Later that night, we ate at a pretty Moraccan place called Marrakesh... As you can see... all we had for the day was my cell phone camera... The food was yummy and unique! :)

Hello New York!

2008-05-31T18:24:00.000-07:00

How do you plan your first trip to New York City - when there's so much to do and so little time??

Well, our first trip went a little something like this...

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THURSDAY May 22
9PM - Catch a red eye Jetblue flight to Washington DC and connect to JFK

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FRIDAY May 23
7am - Arrive at JFK. Rise and Shine! Okay - so we only got about 3 hours sleep total... and we rose, but we were barely shining...

11am - Arrive at the Hilton Garden Inn - Time Square. Home Sweet Home for the next 4 nights!

1pm - Meet Dave for lunch! He introduces us to pedestrian tricks for maneuvering through traffic and gives us insider advice!

3pm - We walked for miles because we weren't ready to try the subway or bus yet... Grab our Citypass from Empire State Building... We stop by the Rockefeller Center for pictures... cool off inside the Public Library... discover the Flat Iron building

6pm - We each buy an unlimited 7 day metropass. Bring on the Mass Transportation Maps! We return to home base.

8pm - Dinner time! We dare to rely on my cell phone GPS navigator and subway maps to get to a highly raved Mac N' Cheese place called S'Mac. We made it there and back to the hotel in an hour... and Herman got to catch his Laker game!

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SATURDAY May 24
9Am - Take the Subway to Central Park. While waiting for the museums to open, we find a little deli called Lenny's for breakfast.

10:30 - The American Natural History Museum opens their doors. We catch a 30 minute Space movie in the Rose Center part of the Museum - and both fall asleep. Refreshed we check out the rest of the museum. Lots of cool stuff to check out.

2pm - Stomach growling. We leave and find a cafe for lunch. Then on to the Guggenheim Museum! We find the hanging Chevy Metros pierced with lights... interesting.

5pm - Just a few blocks away is the Metropolitan Museum. We oogle over the statues and paintings... but have the most fun on the rooftop of the MET, overlooking Central Park.

8pm - While we're in the area... we check out FAO Swartz and the Apple Store. We return to home base to recoup.

10pm - We re-emerge to check out Time Square at night and find dinner. Dallas BBQ calls us in and we grub on ribs and bbq chicken.

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SUNDAY May 25
10am - We make our way to the Museum of Modern Art, aka MOMA. Thinking we'd be more confused then inspired... we discover the museum had a lot of engaging displays. We loved the spectrum room, and at one point we became gray scaled.

1pm - I had looked up the Shake Shack, which is this burger stand inside Madison Square Park - that comes highly reviewed. So well reviewed that the line stretched across the park... and we held fast - and got to the front of the line 2 hours later. Was it worth it for burgers, cheese fries, hot dog, and shakes? I say YES!

5pm - We had to race back to home base to change. We had a Broadway musical to catch! It was Herman's request. Can you guess? We went to Spamalot!

10pm - The show was hilarious and we walk a few blocks back to home base, grabbing some munchies along the way. We're so tired we end up eating the munchies for dinner.

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MONDAY May 26
10am - head to Pier 83 to catch an 11:30 Circle Line Harbor Cruise to see the Statue of Liberty! We use the bus and snag a seat right in the front. Too bad everyone gets up and stands at the windows, blocking your view. But we did get some pretty cool shots and videos.

1pm - Dave highly suggested to try the Steak houses - so we GPS some of his recommendations... Uncle Jack's Steakhouse, Spark's... little did we know... they all were closed for Memorial Day! We started to just call other steakhouses in the area... and one was open... Shula's steakhouse.. as in Bob Shula.. the football coach! :) Herman goes for the New York Steak while i try the Prime Rib Sandwich... Not sure if it was the best thing ever - but it was sure good!

3pm - Proceed towards Battery Park and Ground Zero / World Trade Center site. We almost got lost since there were subway re-routes and shuttle buses - but we managed to still get to it. It was really hard to believe how big the gaping hole was among these giant skyrises... but amazing to see how good the area looks after such a tramatic disaster. It's hard to believe 7 years has past. I still remember talking to Herman over the phone during the 911 events - when we were still barely getting to know each other.

5pm - After hanging out by the port, sipping starbucks and people watching - we make our way back and plan our night visit to the Empire State Building Observatory

8pm - We get in line to go to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. Although we already have tickets, it still takes us almost 1.5 hours to mosey through the security line with almost no real air conditioning... then wait to go up the 15 person at a time elevator to the 80th floor... wind through another line to get to the next elevator to go up 6 more floors... then crowd into the observatory floor and wait for people to leave their spots along the edge so that you can snap some shots. The views were amazing but somehow I didn't get vertigo or feel any sudden fear of heights... But not long after you snap your pictures, do you realize that the line to go back down is now growing longer and longer... so we get back in line... take the stairs down 6 floors so that we could save ourselves 15 minutes waiting for the elevator... then wind through a new line to get to the last elevators that would take you down the remaining 80 floors. There was way too many people up there and the methods to move people were way too slow. This was probably my lowest part in the trip... I was just so relieved to be out of there.

11pm - After all this time, we still did not try New York Pizza! So for dinner we got Famous Original Ray's Pizza on our way back to the hotel. Herman got the Ray's Special (Meatball) and I got a Ham, Mushroom and Cheese one. We weren't totally sure if this Ray's was truly the famous or original one.. but it didn't matter after our first bites... YUM!

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TUESDAY May 27
8:30am - Oh No! Our last day in New York! And the first time we've seen rain in the city! Well, the good news was that we got to use all the passes in our citypass- which means we got our money's worth! For our last morning we decided we should check out Grand Central Station and then proceed to Chinatown. Grand Central was very cool. There was even a violinist playing classical music in the dining concourse section. Also, the rain stops for most of our morning.

10:30am - We have brunch at Big Wong Restaurant. It had good reviews online and it's a pretty standard looking chinese hole in the wall restaurant. I had to try my favorite Beef Fried Chow Fun, and Herman had Roast Duck Noodle Soup because he was starting to get a sore throat. Good food. Even better price tag.

11:30am In chinatown, we wanted to check out a place called the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory - which also garnered a lot of great reviews on the web. Herman ordered Almond Cookie and Red Bean Ice Cream and I ordered Peach and Chocolate Panang. Mine was okay - Herman liked his... but there was nothing 'amazing' in our minds. The gal at the counter was annoyingly eager to get us out of there. "Are you ready?" "Not Yet" 10 seconds goes by. "Are you ready to order now?" "Can we try this flavor?" "You only can try two flavors per person" "That's fine" "Here you go... Are you ready to order?"

1pm - Back at our hotel, we packed and said goodbye to our home base for the last 5 days. Although our flight was not until 6pm, we had to await our Shuttle at 2:30pm to ensure we'd get to JFK in time.

6pm - We're loaded into our plane earlier than expected and start to taxi around the airstrip. The rain is coming down at this point. Then we stop again and we're told we may be delayed another 30 minutes. 30 minutes turns into 2.5 hours. When we finally land in Burbank, we've realized we've spent the last 8 plus hours on the plane... breathing in the nice recycled air... might be why we're both coughing and tending to runny noses all week.

But that was our trip! It was jam-packed with sights, sounds, food and fun. And we can't wait to go back... :)

With a mind to rhyme and two hype feet...

2008-04-22T23:42:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago Fannie & Jeff had a delightful BBQ at their house, complete with fancy chocolate covered fruits! And it couldn't have been planned on a better weekend... despite some cold weeks prior... that weekend ended up in the upper 80s. Gotta love SoCal weather!

It was fun to hang out with the gang... catch up on what's new with everyone...

... and a little Karaoke always livens up any party... Especially with Jeff, Matthew and Allen on the Mic...

Eggs-cuse to have fun...

2008-03-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

It's been an annual tradition to see the nephews hunting for eggs at the beautiful Descanso Gardens in La Crescenta. According to the Garden's Visitor Brochure, most of the blooms happen in March and April...

This gorgeous shot should be a postcard!

I still remember the first egg-hunt we went to with little Aaron when he was still in his stroller... and now as a 7-year-old, his feet are *already* as big as mine! This is Jack's first egg-hunt with his "Eggs-pert" older brother Sam... so it was a total of three boys going crazy for the neon plastic eggs...

Over there Sam! Don't let that other kid grab it!!

Eggs-cellent!

After the 5 minutes of Egg Hunting, we strolled the beautiful gardens a bit and enjoyed the scenery. The boys enjoyed the pebbles and practiced their dance moves...

It was a lovely way to spend a beautiful sunny day in Southern California! :)

Happiness is a 10-second Timer on a camera!

PG for Pretty Gross...

2008-03-09T21:11:00.000-07:00

When we moved into our place, there had been some major renovation that we did that really made the place feel like our own. It's incredible to think that we moved in here in 2002. I can't believe it's coming up to 6 years! I still feel like we 'just moved here'...

Well, I guess it took us almost 6 years to decide it was time to replace the toilet and flooring in our master bathroom. Little did we know, we were in for our 'dirtiest' home project yet...

Here's a 1.5 minute recap of the project that spanned over two weekends and several week nights. If not for our friend Pete who also came over the first weekend with a Power Sander and Miter saw... who knows how long this would have taken!

Escape to nature...

2008-02-18T17:22:00.000-08:00

Another awesome Leo Carillo Camping trip! I booked the site almost 6 months ago because that's how hard to book this spot can be... and we REALLY lucked out with the weather. It was however, the COLDEST camping trip we've experienced. Even when it snowed in Mammoth in the Fall of 2006(?) - it did not feel this bone chilling cold at night. I wore so much on to sleep the first night, i didn't even notice i still had my camera hanging around my neck.

But the daytime warmed up nicely and it was all worth it. :)

Barklee's First Trip to the Snow!

2008-01-28T13:35:00.000-08:00

Our first snow trip with Barklee!

I have a feeling he did not enjoy it as much as we did...

Holiday Cooking Ahead!

2007-12-24T17:28:00.000-08:00

I am hooked on using the Time Lapse Video setting on my camera. You get to enjoy the highs and lows of a whole day's event... in a few minutes... :)

Enjoy this video of... Our Pre-Christmas Dinner...

This song will get stuck in your head all day...

2007-12-16T23:05:00.000-08:00

Okay... here's my revised Holiday Movie...

Enjoy!

Our First Eco-Friendly Artificial Tree!

2007-12-14T23:36:00.000-08:00

Watch as we put together our Christmas tree in less than 1 minute!!

Holiday Hustle

2007-11-16T18:56:00.000-08:00

So we've been practicing and practicing this dance routine for months... and we're finally able to unveil our slick moves...

We thought it might be a good idea to jazz up the performance with some festive costumes too...

Hope you like it...

Click To Watch

Here Comes The Video...

2007-10-26T09:01:00.000-07:00

Gulp.

After some trials and tribulations with my editing software and getting a file that actually works on the video hosting site...

It's finally ready!

My personally edited Wedding Video!

Ciao Italia!

2007-10-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

Our 9 day "Italian Dream" tour has come and gone. But at least we have the pictures to remind us. :)

Jen's Top 10 scenic highlights:
10 - The Pantheon Plaza (Rome)
9 - Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli (near Assisi)
8 - Duomo of Florence
7 - Colisseum (Rome)
6 - St. Mark's Square (Venice)
5 - Fountains of Trevi (Rome)
4 - Sistine Chapel (Rome)
3 - Statue of David (Florence)
2 - The Map Hallway of the Vatican Museum (Rome)
1 - The Inside of St. Peters Church (Rome)

Top 10 thoughts on Italy:
10 - You need strong ankles for these cobble roads!
9 - One 12oz Nestle Ice Tea Soda cost us 3.5 EUROs. (almost $5)
8 - The 'church-attire' rule helps sell a lot of souvenir scarves
7 - Dogs are good at walking with their owners off leash around here!
6 - Gelato = never pick just one flavor even if you're only getting one scoop
5 - Most prominent meat is Ham, Wild Boar and other forms of pork
4 - Northern Italy - Watery Coffee. Southern Italy - Creamier/Better Coffee
3 - No Starbucks
2 - Majority of the cars are small enough to park vertically on a sidewalk and fit.
1 - Using nasty, smelly, rim-only toilets will probably cost you 1 Euro.

We definitely hope to go to Italy again, but we'd be more confident without a tour guide. We tested out the train and taxi system on a few our on-our-own nights and have a better sense of how to get around now. So if we go again, we'd stay somewhere more obscure but walking distance from a train station and seek out the less trafficked locations to sightsee. There are definitely more beautiful spots that to discover...

Photos Photos Photos!

2007-09-14T15:24:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about events like weddings... there's cameras Everywhere! THANK YOU so much to all who've sent these links so far! :)

Here's a mini collection of the photo albums that are online now from the viewpoint of...

My Dad's Camera (code: yeelee987)...

Wendy's Camera...

Warren's Camera...

Michelle's Camera...

If you have photos uploaded online, let me know and I'll add it here! :)

Mission Accomplished!

2007-09-11T00:35:00.000-07:00

One Year of planning came to a rapid fast forward as it neared September 8th... and now I sit here with a new to do list of thank you cards & photo sorting & video consolidation and editing... :)

The wedding was as perfect as I could have hoped. We were nervous, but we enjoyed ourselves and we hope our guests enjoyed themselves as well. The weather was beautiful, everything went according to plans... even the spur of the moment changes were able to squeeze in and flow with the rest of the festivities! (Like the First Dance we *weren't* planning to have, thanks to Jen's Dad... and the surprise Serenade that Herman snuck in to Jen's shock and amazement)

And being surrounded with our closest family and friends really made this day all the more memorable. And really, it was a celebration of combining two families into one... I've never had a sister... and now I have 2! :)

I'll post up our Wedding Photographer's pics in a few weeks... but thanks to my cousin Wendy's speedy photo uploading skills, we can relive the wedding festivities instantly by viewing her & Johnson's awesome snapshots!

Click Here for Wendy's Photos!

Stockton Pre-Party...

2007-08-23T21:37:00.000-07:00

You know that feeling you get as the roller coaster clicks up the steep slope and you know what's going to happen... it's getting higher and higher... the air starts to feel thinner and the sounds of the people below sounds so far away and your mind keeps thinking... Here it comes... it's almost here... get ready to scream until you have no voice left....

So according to theknot.com website... I have a nice 15 days left until the wedding. (click click click) The Knot has a nice checklist, and according to that, I still have 73 tasks left to go. (click click click)

Last weekend, we had a mini 'trial' run of festivities in Stockton, California, My home town. My grandma hosted a lovely luncheon to celebrate our engagement with 250 of her closest friends.

Luckily, the amount of planning needed from me for this event was minimum... we almost only had to worry about showing up. (Too bad that couldn't be the case for the wedding...) It got a little hairy when the banquet room was overflowing with people and no room to walk between the tables... but it eventually tapered off, and no one got trampled or set off any emergency exit alarms. :)

Once the lunch was over we hung out with the family the rest of the day... ate even more chinese food for dinner and then hung out in San Francisco the next morning... eating chinese food for brunch. We were pretty chinese-fooded out by that point.

15 days. (click click click) Two more weekends. (click click click click) At least one of them is a 3 day weekend... Mighty well unintentionally planned, I'd say. :)

The Batch Weekenders

2007-08-09T20:48:00.000-07:00

Herman and I just attended our respective Bachelor and Bachelorette parties. In fact... it wasn't just a party, it was a whole weekend event! Herman and his boys zoomed off to Las Vegas, while I was just told to meet up at a specific location at a specific time... and... oh yeah, pack some sunblock!

Turns out the girls had planned a FABULOUS weekend getaway to La Jolla in San Diego. We went on a Dinner Cruise and danced the night away... stayed at the Marriott... and played at the Zoo the next day. Despite the numerous jokes about how this weekend "could" have turned out... I'm so glad they were all just jokes! :)

Sonya even surprised me the night before by claiming we were going on a nice casual dinner... and then out of the blue popped my Cousin Wendy who lives in San Jose! Not only was this her first solo flight... but she's afraid of heights!! And despite everyone's crazy summer schedules, somehow 7 girls all came out to celebrate with me... and I couldn't have asked for a better weekend!! Sonya got some hip white shades in La Jolla... Wendy had some bonding moments with a giant hippo... Claire discovered Cold Beer and Exotic Animals go well together ... Melissa brought Sexy Back to the Dance Floor... Merri almost hopped on the freeway during her morning jog... Aimie perfected her Electric Shuffle... and Niki made friends with a family of Gorillas...

Here's some highlight shots from the weekend:

You gals rock!!!

What? You thought that you'd read about Herman's weekend next? Most likely you'll have to squeeze it out of one of the Bachelor Party participants if you're really curious... :)

FATE or COINCIDENCE...

2007-07-31T21:26:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be fun to dig up some pics from our "Early Days"... and I thought about a picture that was taken at a club called "Metro".

I remember Sonya having 'hook-ups' to this club near Downtown, and so we decided to invite our new guy friends to come out to join us. (Herman being one of them.) It was an interesting night and we all got to dance a lot. A Photographer for the club took a group shot of us, and I remember snagging it off his website. (You had to pay to get the high-res shot.)

Well, here's the historic photo:

But here's the crazy thing i literally just realized as I was preparing this post. The DATE of the picture... 090801.

UM... And our wedding date is when.... ??

WEIRD!!!

Support Long Beach Tourism!

2007-07-25T22:30:00.000-07:00

So this week I have been in "Lodging" mode. The idea is that some guests and most of the wedding party will be staying in Long Beach the night before the wedding... especially those of us that have a 7am wakeup call to get our faces "put on". :)

The location of choice is the Best Western Golden Sails Hotel... they should still have rooms for a discounted rate... and i hear the pool is extra large :) You may have to call in order to get the special rate though... and mention you are attending the Yee Lee wedding!

Engagement Pics!

2007-07-05T16:36:00.000-07:00

Quick Rewind!

In May we went to our future wedding location to take engagement pictures. It was a way for me to make use of my make-up trials as well. (You know me, optimize every opportunity!)

Click Here! Password: yeelee987

That particular day seemed very much like a trial of the wedding day too. Which is sad because it only means the actual wedding day will be 100 times more crazy. Although I felt like we planned everything out in advance, we still ended up underestimating how long things would take, feeling rushed at every step, hitting traffic and forgetting items and totally skipping meals in order to try to catch up. Bringing Barklee definitely added a layer to the delays... and we weren't supposed to bring him into the garden but they made a small exception and allowed us to keep him in the crate in the gardens while we scurried around getting photos... meanwhile the poor puppy was making a scene... whimpering to get out! (or to go out and chase giant koi fish...)

The good news is that July seems to be a calmer pre-wedding month, since most of the big pre-events (wedding shower, engagement pics, major planning) has all happened. Eye of the hurricane is always the calmest, no?

Wedding Shower Luau Pics!

2007-06-24T18:24:00.001-07:00

I hope everyone had as much fun at our Wedding Shower Luau Party as we did!

We just wanted to thank all of you SOOO much for coming and celebrating with us!

Here are some photos from the party:
LUAU PICTURES!

Also few highlights...
The Water Balloon Fights
The Whale Kiddie Pool that the dogs loved too!
The lovely models in our Bride-In-White competition (white toilet paper that is)
The exploding Cake incident (Please submit drycleaning bills to Aaron... Haha..j/k!)
The pool dunking incidents (Sonya got pushed in, who then dragged Jason in, Jen got picked up and plopped in, and Pete said "I'll just get this over with"...)
... if you have other highlights to share, please post them here!

And everyone was so generous to contribute so much with the planning, and the decor, and the food, and the fancy drinks, and the games, and the location, and the general logistics, and the gifts and just being there!! Some of you couldn't make it, and STILL contributed!! We are so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful family and friends... Thank you for making the event so perfect! And a very special thanks to Sonya Lee for hosting and planning the event along with the "Team" of others who helped to plan the games, bring the canopies, provide the 'special' drinks, and the setup and take down folks that helped make this whole event amazing for everyone!

Hope you enjoy the photos!

Yours Truly,

Jen & Herman

Aloha Barklee!

2007-06-23T00:14:00.000-07:00

Ready to hit the Tiki Bar!

Whale of a Good Time

2007-06-20T16:34:00.000-07:00

Hmm.... i wonder why i'm posting this picture.... hmm...

Tiki Time?

2007-06-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

You should have gotten an invite already to our Wedding Shower Tiki BBQ in Pasadena!
It's happening on June 23rd!

If you haven't and want to go, let me know right away and i'll email you the details!

We'll supply the Food & Fun in the sun... But please DO bring your own beverages of choice if you are thirsting for fancier drinks beyond soda and water... :)

How could there only be three more months???

2007-06-10T23:23:00.000-07:00

The sequence of months never felt so crucial as they do this year. How can June really be right before July, which is just ahead of August... which is the month just before our SEPTEMBER wedding?!

I'm trying to keep a cool head around the details and the planning. So far so good, but I am starting to get that constant lingering thought that something crucial is due and I'm not aware of it yet. I guess no matter how much we try to plan ahead, there will be more things left to plan for and we just have to deal with it!

We took some engagement pictures in May. (Where did May go, by the way?) It's fun looking at engagement photos of other people because they look so great and happy and perfect. But when it's yourself - it's really tough! You feel so critical about the way you look or smile or pose or how your hair came out or your outfit choices... We have over 300 photos to scan through... still figuring out what we'll be doing with them all. A few are already on our wedding website. I'm thinking about doing a slideshow for the wedding shower bbq. We could possibly get some nice prints of a few for the chinese banquet we're having with the Grandfolks in Stockton... ah more things to add to the To Do list!

Here's a nice 'candid' shot from our photo session... How could we not have Barklee in some of our poses?

Even if it's only for a few seconds, all stress has subsided with the presence of Mr. Barklee ... :)

Let the adventures... Begin!

2007-04-13T15:18:00.000-07:00