Category: Family

Facey Kids Weekend!

The Facey kids haven’t spent a weekend with us in awhile, so we made plans to watch the girls’ softball game this afternoon and then we would bring them (plus Ethan) home with us to spend the night. We know we’re biased being their aunt & uncle and all, but they are such good kids, and we enjoy our time with them so much.

For Christmas, Ed & I promised them a cooking lesson, and we bought them aprons that they could decorate themselves to wear to the class. The schedule has gotten pretty busy for them with softball now, so we decided to just give them an introductory lesson ourselves, and once softball ends, we will take them for their real class. The plan tonight was to make homemade pizzas.

The kids did pretty well with their first cooking lesson. They did a great job on the aprons too (as seen above). But of course, Uncle Ed got a big kick out of Jordan’s statement:

“Jordan Rocks … Star Wars Rocks too”. Nice, Jordan!


We taught them the 1st step – “Wash Your Hands”, and after the 2nd step – “Preparation”, we got all the ingredients on the table to begin step 3 – “Execution”. They mostly stuck to cheese pizzas with pepperoni, but Jordan and Kendall surprised us by being adventurous and trying a touch of garlic on their pizzas, with a little bit of Auntie Carrie’s Green Peppers.


I even got to make mine without cheese!


Kendall was in action after the 4th step, and a rule that their Dad & I both learned when we were growing up: “Part of cooking is cleaning up” (Isn’t that right, Mom?)


Yum!

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s adventures … word on the street is we may hit up the El Dorado Nature Center!

(Click the thumbnail to view all the pictures)

Facey Kids Weekend – March 2009

Ed’s visit to Shannon and Mani in San Rafael

Thanks to Toyota, who flew me up to Napa to drive the 2010 Prius, I was able to spend the weekend visiting Shannon and Mani in nearby San Rafael in Marin County. This was the first time I’d seen the new place as they had moved there from Santa Cruz back in late November.

To make a long story short, we had a wonderful time. The new house is really adorable and Shannon has (as always) put her signature thumbprint on it. It’s located walking distance to downtown San Rafael, which is filled to the brim with amazing restaurants and pubs, and just a few minutes to nearby San Anselmo (which I fell in love with) and Fairfax (another neat little town with a somewhat younger vibe). All three cities are surrounded by greenery and all boast wonderful food and retail with a refreshing freedom from chains and franchises.

Here’s Spirit on one of our many walks to downtown. Since he has three legs and is getting older, bringing the wagon’s a necessity for when he gets tired. Honestly, he seems to love the wagon rides!

One of the culinary highlights was Sol Food, a Puerto Rican restaurant that is locally renowned and one of the most popular joints in town. It was amazing – and I’m sad to report I was so engrossed in the food I forgot to take pics. I’m sure the Puerto Rican community might take issue with this statement, but it seems to bear much similarity to Cuban food, which I love as well.

Here’s the new place! Cute, huh?

The best meal of the trip was the dinner Shannon cooked up last night: a noodle soup with wontons and a make-your-own spring roll bar! WOW. Bravo, Shannon!

See all the pics here!

Jedi Jordan’s 9th Birthday!

There are few movies I love more than Star Wars, so hearing the news that my niece Jordan wanted to have a Star Wars birthday party got me truly elated beyond all imagination. But I never expected just how amazingly elaborate this party would be! This party was truly one for the books. Before I go any further, we have to give serious kudos to Shirley for handmaking all of the costumes (yes, really!), Lora’s sister for doing all of the face painting, and Eric for really going the extra mile in terms of getting into the spirit of things (you’ll see in a bit).

So to start things off, here’s a huge 3D Star Wars movie theater poster from the theater that Eric and Shirley both worked at back in the ’90s. Eric saved it, probably not knowing just how handy it would come in years later!

And here’s me with the birthday girl, Jedi Jordan Facey, age 9! Can you believe the costume?

And all of the Facey kids and Taelor! How awesome are these costumes! We’ve got Mikayla as ’70s Princess Leia, Ethan as a clone trooper, Ella as Queen Amidala (SOO cute!!), Taelor as a Jedi, and of course Jordan as the bravest Jedi in the galaxy! And then below, Kendall as Padme.

All of the food was linked to Star Wars in some way. This was one of our favorites: Vader’s Veggies. Don’t you dare even think about not eating your vegetables!!

And no Facey birthday party is complete without one of Larry’s amazing cakes. He just keeps outdoing himself!

We were amazed. EVERY kid came dressed up to the nines! I mean, look at this!! It was so amazing that I had to run to Target to get myself a Star Wars shirt – after all, how could I – a true Star Wars geek – NOT dress up in at least some way?

I unfortunately got gored by Darth Maul (Megan)!

But the biggest surprise of all was when Darth Vader himself arrived!!!

Jedi Jordan did a fine job fighting off the dark side of the Force.

I, unfortunately, didn’t fare so well.

Happy birthday, Jedi Jordan!!!

Many, many more pics here! We encourage you to check them all out; there are some really great ones in there!

Happy Birthday, Ella!

Today we celebrated Ella’s 2nd birthday with an EVE Party, from the movie WALL-E. The birthday girl was very charming! Of course, Dad make the cake and he didn’t disappoint. Shirley & Lora even made little candy Eve’s for the cupcakes!

Here we are with the birthday girl …

To see more pics of the awesome cake & the day, check out the album here:

Ella's 2nd Birthday

Dad’s 70th Birthday!

January 1 of 2009 not only represented a new year, but also Dad’s 70th birthday! We were able to have many of dad’s closest relatives for a great lunch at Peking Gourmet in Garden Grove.

Danny, Janet, and the boys arrived in style – check out Jeffrey and Luke’s snazzy outfits!

Shannon and Mani arrived the day before from their new home in San Rafael, up in Marin County. We’ll have to visit them soon!

Larry and Mary Anne made it too!

Here is part of me and Carrie’s birthday present, a hardbound book that’s a celebration of his long, illustrious, and still-thriving architectural career (he’s currently working on a project in Mongolia!). We are also developing a website for his business which is the other part of our gift to him.

Larry and Mary Anne’s card compiled all of the significant world events from 1939. History buffs will note that MANY important things happened that year, including the start of World War II, Gone with the Wind and the Wizard of Oz hit the silver screens, and most important of all, Paul Ikpoong Kim was born in Korea.

Here’s Shannon saying a few closing remarks about everything that Dad means to us.

And here’s me, Carrie, and dad!

It was a fun day with too much food. Check this picture out … these are the LEFTOVERS!

Happy Birthday Dad, and here’s to a very fresh and prosperous 2009! Click below to see the whole album.

Dad's 70th Birthday