I was expecting a big line, but there weren’t all that many folks (it was in the middle of the day). Guess I’m too used to weekend traffic. After buying my tickets underneath a giant whale, I set off to find my niece and nephew. I got a call from Stacey saying they were in some kid’s play area, but couldn’t reach her via phone. Once we were inside the museum, our cellphones were pretty much shot.
Stacey let Liz and I sleep in a bit, and by the time we got out to the living room… the opening of presents was fully under way. After a while, it was hard to spot the toys underneath all the torn paper. Shane, Stacey and Liz watch on as the kids get more and more excited. Jahnu got a…
Liz and I left for Indianapolis late in the morning (a little later than we intended), but made decent time along I-65. While in the car, Liz was working on some hand-made presents: two knitted dinosaurs. These were gifts that she had started a few weeks ago, and was finishing up the legs and eyes on our trip. I snapped…
On Saturday, the Hutte family (Stacey, Shane, Jasmine and Jahnu) made a trek up to Chicago for the day. They were planning on meeting some Chicago friends at the Lincoln Park Zoo, and Liz and I joined up with them around noon. L to R it’s Jasmine, Shane and Jahnu. It was a beautiful day outside – sun and clear…
Amazingly, given the late night we all had last night… everyone slept in on Christmas Day. I figured the kids would be up at the crack of dawn, but it was closer to 11:00 AM before everyone slowly started to rise. I heard some rustling in the hallway, and found Jahnu sitting patiently by the gated-off door between the bedrooms…
The first night in Indianapolis, Liz and I worked on cooking a big holiday dinner. For several days prior to this, Liz did a ton of work prepping food, as we had a pretty good spread planned. In the kitchen, Liz and Jasmine prepare the green beans. Nesta is also helping out, keeping everyone’s ankles warm. Dinnertime! To eat, we…
Jasmine, Stacey and Shane are heading to see Shane’s family tomorrow, so we decided to have Jasmine open some of her presents a little early this year. Fun time, hanging out and just watching her reaction to each gift. Jasmine, who apparently doesn’t need to learn how to unwrap gifts. This Elmo bean bag game was a HUGE winner. Shane…
The next day, a bunch of the family were invited out by my uncle Charles for an early lunch. A ton of folks set out from the hotel down to Fisherman’s Wharf – we expected a brief walk, but ended up walking a good thirty minutes or more, before we got there. Along the way, I spotted the usual stuff…
Flew in to San Francisco today with Liz, and it’s been pretty nonstop since the AM. We took the Blue Line to Clark/Lake, hopped on the Orange to Midway, boarded a plane to Oakland, hopped on a bus that took us to a BART station, hopped on BART, got into downtown San Francisco, hopped in a cab and arrived at…
Jasmine, looking cute as ever during our meal at Club Lucky. I’m not sure if this is a Chinese thing, or just something with our family, but there’s always been a big rush to grab the bill. This is something that’s stemmed from back when I was a kid – and all the adults (uncles/aunts) all vied for the priviledge/honor…
Today was my dad’s birthday, but we all ended up spending a lot of our time focused on Jasmine again. Today, Shane’s mom Bobbi and his step-dad Dave drove down to wish Jasmine a happy birthday. Of course, we had dim sum at the restaurant. I swear to you – I spent half of my vacation here. L to R…
Fast forward a bit to Stacey and Shane’s new house. We spent most of the night in the living room, watching a sugar-fueled Jasmine play around. Here she is with my cousin Haley. Nesta, one of the nicest doggies in the world. Around now, Andrew, Jordan, and I accompany Shane to go visit the house where all his fish are…
My oh-so-cute niece Jasmine turned one today! I can’t believe it’s already been a year since she arrived. Here are all her presents – tons of stuff from uncles, aunts, grandparents and great-grandparents. The birthday cake (I don’t think Jasmine’s really had all that much sugar before today). Jasmine poses with Grandma Mary. Look at all those presents! All during…