City of Angels (Los Angeles, CA)

Lynn and I took a five day getaway to Los Angeles all because I wanted an Ohtani bobblehead. Well, that's how it all started... when I bought Dodgers tickets before buying our plane tickets or booking a hotel.  

I've vowed to never come back to LA but I keep coming back. It's mainly due to the horrific traffic but I serendipitously booked a hotel close to the Metro, saving myself from driving in congestion and the headache of hunting for parking spots. 

The Metro is like the best kept secret. I knew it existed but never thought to actually use it. It was never crowded, even during rush hour times.  

Our hotel was in downtown LA, walking distance to Little Tokyo, but also a block away from Skid Row (IYKYK). Just pay no mind to those mentally unstable bums and you should be fine.

July 4th weekend

Traditional picture of the kids but with our new fur babies.

Long hair (again)

Five years ago was the first time I decided to grow out my hair, but that was only the top half. This time around I decided to grow out my whole head of hair, to see how it goes. The goal was to grow it out long enough to tie up, which seemed easier than styling it each morning. 

But long hair is annoying. It took longer than usual to wash my hair and to maintain. Letting my hair down got too hot and felt annoying around the back of my neck. Wearing a cap was an issue unless I wanted to do a ponytail through the hole. No thanks. And I was shedding like a dog so there was a lot more hair in the shower, floors, basically everywhere. 

So in the end, the long hair had to go. It's been a year and a half since my last haircut.

Father's Day weekend

Welcome, Luna and Apollo. 

Their story began on April 14, 2026 when their mother left them and their siblings after birth. Lynn's aunt found them abandoned and brought them in. Out of the bunch, these two were the only ones to survive. But she doesn't have the time to care for them so we happily adopted them. 

So on father's day weekend, we added two new additions to the household.

When deciding on names, Tyson suggested sun and moon. That's when I suggested Luna (goddess of the moon) and Apollo (god of the sun).

Luna is the dark-colored, older sister cat. 

Apollo is the orange/white, younger brother cat.

West Coast (California)

Two-third family picture at Big Sur.

National parks trip III (California)

Since Elliot was a fourth grader (soon to be fifth grade), we had to cash in on Every Kid Outdoors (free admission to all national parks) before it was too late.

I've always wanted to see the giant sequoia trees so off to California we went, where there are several national parks relatively close together.

For this trip though, it was only two-third of the family. Lynn and Andrew were on their own trip in Japan with the other families as a graduation gift.

Kings Canyon would be the first park we visited, then Sequoia National Park on the following day.

We then headed west to the coastal towns of Monterey, Carmel, and Big Sur to avoid the weekend crowd at Yosemite (will post later).

Finally, we finished our trip at Yosemite National Park.

Andrew graduates high school

Another kid graduates high school.

Storms and the end of school

This past week, we got some nasty weather which caused so many disruptions. 

First, I had a work trip to Amarillo on the same day the storm front came through Texas. My original flight was set to depart at 4:30 p.m. but it got delayed multiple times and pushed back so far that I didn't arrive in Amarillo until after 3 a.m. 😵

Mother's Day

Mother's Day brunch at our house.

Elliot's school activities

I got to chaperone Elliot and her friends on their field trip.

Ohtani's in town

Shohei Ohtani, baseball's unicorn (great pitcher and hitter), was coming to town. He is my absolute favorite baseball player and I have to go see him whenever I can. Our last time was four years ago when he was with the Angels.

I bought tickets in right field for that (slim) chance of catching an Ohtani home run ball but unfortunately, he wasn't in the batting lineup. He was the starting pitcher though, and had been lights out lately. He was recently named the NL Pitcher of the Month.

Engagement, prom, and birthday

Brian and Lauren's engagement party.

Soccer banquet

End of the year soccer banquet.

Random weekend pics

Pokemon card hunting at a local card show.

Easter 2026

The chaos of confetti eggs.