parents – Page 3 – thosecoolkims

Kim Family Christmas Eve 2010

Ask us a year ago if we would’ve thought that we’d be celebrating Christmas Eve in a new house with a new baby, and we probably wouldn’t have believed it! This has been quite a year, and that made this year’s Christmas Eve dinner even more special.
As usual, we were hosting Ed’s mom, dad, aunt and uncle for dinner. We even have a dining room now! We set our modern table in our signature red and white stripes, and for this year’s place settings I decided to do sugar cookie stars in red and green.

Also new for this year, I made a roast …

I loaded up an oven bag with potatoes, carrots and onions and cooked it for about 2.5 hours.

I did it!

The candles were lit and we waited for our guests to arrive.

Even Ruby got dressed up in her special Christmas Eve dress from Halmoni!

Tonight’s dinner consisted of Ed’s mom’s amazing spinach salad with pomegranate, cranberry, blueberry and almonds … My roast with potatoes and carrots, wild rice, roasted brussel sprouts and mushrooms, and Ed’s aunt brought the cake for dessert!

Even though we didn’t exchange gifts this year, the grandparents couldn’t resist buying a little something for Ruby. Harabuji bought Ruby two sets of pajamas, and Halmoni bought Ruby a special animal print dress since she was born in the year of the Tiger!

After everyone left, it was time for Ed to read Ruby ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Grandma & Papaw Facey bought us our own copy of the book so we could start the tradition of reading it to her before bedtime each Christmas Eve like my dad did for me!

This Christmas Eve was a wonderful night spent with our family in our new home. It just can’t get any better than that! Stay tuned for part two tomorrow! :)

Ed runs the OC Half Marathon!

After months of training and a lot of excitement & anticipation, Ed ran his 1st Half Marathon yesterday! I cannot even express how proud I was of him and his awesome achievement! He finished the 13.1 mile race in just over 2 hours (2:11:21, to be exact). As he approached the finish line, he barely even looked tired – he was smiling and even came to the sidelines to give us hugs and high-fives!

Ed said the course was beautiful. It began in Newport Beach at Fashion Island and ended at the Orange County Fairgrounds. Much of the course was along the water. He even took some photos with his iPhone as he ran! (Check out the photo album here)

We had a nice little cheering squad just past the 13 mile marker to watch Ed come in. Being a spectator at this event was super exciting, and very inspiring! Here’s a shot of Ed’s cheering squad:

Jarod, Danna, Kristen, Kay, Mary Anne, Larry, Carrie & Paul

And here’s Ed as he’s coming in – looking great!

Jarod even caught a video clip as Ed passed by us on his way to the finish line!

Yes – he does!!!

Thanks to everyone who came out – and to those who showed all the love & support even if they couldn’t be at the finish line. This was a great day for him and a great accomplishment!!! GO ED!

Check out more photos here:

Ed’s Half Marathon

Adventures in Downey: A Mid-Century Treasure Trove

This past weekend, Larry took Carrie and I to Bob’s Big Boy in Downey. Doesn’t sound like anything out of the ordinary, does it? After all, most Bob’s Big Boy restaurants are but a shadow of their former selves, looking like generic family restaurants inside and out. And Downey? Just another ho-hum middle class suburb of Los Angeles, right?

Um, no. This restaurant has been lovingly and painstakingly restored to its original glory, down to every last detail. It is an archetype of mid-century Googie architecture. Everything here is as it once was, from the green vinyl upholstery on the booths, walnut-effect laminate on the counters and tabletops, rock walls, and gorgeous bullet and sputnik light fixtures. It even features a drive-in section that is operational everyday after 4pm. You can learn all about it here at the restaurant’s website. And Downey? As it turns out, it is filled with amazing mid-century architecture everywhere, some well preserved, others not. It’s an amazing place to explore. Downey. Downey!!

All of these pics were taken with my iPhone, with suitable vintage photo effects courtesy of two apps – Hipstamatic and Camera Bag.

I had to dine on an old childhood favorite of mine, chili spaghetti. Sounds disgusting, and it sorta is, in the most gloriously delicious way.

The experience was so magical that we had to bring our friends Rebecca and Jody back the next day, meaning that we came here twice in one weekend. And yes, I did get the chili spaghetti the second time too.

Larry also took us to another Downey landmark, the oldest operating McDonald’s in the world. Opened in 1953, this location is well preserved and has its huge sign intact.

Rebecca and Jody learned that Downey was the birthplace and home of The Carpenters. Who knew? We found the house Karen Carpenter was raised in, and better yet, learned that once the Carpenters became successful, they decided to buy and manage two apartment buildings in Downey, directly across the street from each other. Random thing to do with your success, huh? And they named them too. What did they name them? What else?

We passed a Hawaiian apparel store called Exotical…filled with all kinds of vintage Hawaiian kitsch (which I don’t think was meant to be kitschy). Regretfully, they were closed as it was Sunday, but we got pictures of the patina’d sign and some creepy mannequins.

Turns out Charles Phoenix, a connoisseur of all things mid-century, has also taken an interest in Downey and did a feature with the local NPR affiliate KPCC here. Downey’s only 15 minutes from home…we’ve got some more exploring to do, and more chili spaghettis to down!

Happy Christmas!

I can’t think of anything but “happy” when I think of Christmas this year! I can honestly say I enjoyed every second of the holiday season – it seems like I got to do almost everything I wanted to do! I got to bake with my mom, decorate our house, make some handmade gifts and even drink loads of Starbucks holiday beverages. :) Plus, Ed and I also got to hit a few holiday parties, go to Charles Phoenix’s Retro Holiday Slideshow and check out a Cosmic Christmas at the Glendale Planetarium. But the high point was definitely our family combining efforts to adopt a family this Christmas! There was no stress, and at risk of sounding incredibly sappy – now that we’ve spent both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with both of our families, my heart is so full of love and blessings! It was truly a happy Christmas in every sense of the word.

As usual, we hosted Ed’s family at our house on Christmas Eve … and of course, we had an epic meal with Ed’s culinary masterpiece, the Chile-Brined Ham (make sure you check out the whole story on Day One and Day Two!)! Also on the menu was a balsamic roasted vegetable medley with zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, cauliflower & peppers along with wild rice. But this salad made by Ed’s mom was the tastiest salad I have ever eaten-and it was gorgeous, too!

I found a special bunch of flowers at Fresh & Easy (my favorite!) and I was inspired to clip a few to use for place cards at the table …

Ed’s mom loved her placecard …

Uncle loved hanging out with Ricki …

and Ed served the jus accompanying his ham like a pro!

And then today, we were off to The Facey’s! So much of my love for Christmas comes from my parents, and their house is the best at the holidays!!! They liked the picture frame we got for them:

Then the kids arrived, and it was on! Santa brought them Beatles Rock Band this year, so they were representin’ in their Beatles T-shirts:

We are really excited about our gift to them this year – we’re taking them to the Walt Disney Concert Hall for one of the Toyota Symphonies for Youth. Its a really cool thing where the kids can do arts and crafts beforehand, and then they get to see a kid-friendly orchestral performance about Beethoven. Ed and I haven’t ever seen anything there at the concert hall either, so we are totally looking forward to it!

They were so sweet and each of them picked out their own gifts for both Ed & I this year. We loved each and every one. They are so big now!

All in all – it was a beautiful holiday! We love our family and friends dearly and wish you all a very, very Happy New Year!

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