Pickleball double date

Belated Bday double date with Jen & Steve - pickleball, Banana Leaf lunch, then Hey Tea Mango Sticky Rice drink for dessert.  So fun to hangout, especially on a weekday :) 

Election night - cheering on our neighbor who ran for mayor. Unfortunately, she's in 2nd place so it's not looking so good. 

Had to pick up our visa in SF on Thur so turned it into a foodie hop. Chinese food followed by Japanese in J-town. 

Mewies invited us over for a belated bday dinner for Mark. So nice to catch up in the comfort of their home with a yummy meal. 

FFF - Mari had interviews to conduct for Philippines candidates, so instead of going out, we ordered Vietnamese takeout and had a chill night together at home. 

This weekend Mari didn't have social activities so we got to hangout a lot. We watched "You can see everything" documentary on Sat. On Sun, we went to T&T supermarket and got lots of yummy food. 

Taiwanese burritos and crepes for lunch, so tasty! 

Mari brushing Teddy's teeth. Luckily, he was pretty cooperative. 

Got my flu and covid shot on Friday, was feeling sluggish on Sat.  Luckily, back to normal by Sunday. 

Halloween 2026

Our little bumblebee buzzing around with her friends. 

Waldos Halloween party hopping over 2 evenings, so fun! 

Rivermark parents' party sans kids. Most of us knew each other when our kids were born; now most kids are in college.  Many are empty nesters.  Quite fun partying without the kids.  

Rivermark moms all dressed up. 

Free burger at Habit calls for a neighborhood meet-up. 

Yummy burger, sides, and drinks. Thanks, Habit! 

Mark and bball buddy Daniel catching up before he moves to Texas soon. 

Dinner with our friend's daughter who's on SCU track and field team.  Our girls use to have playdates together. 

 

Weds hookie day from school for Mari annual Dr. checkup and sushi. Fun girls' outing. 

Oct siblings dinner to celebrate Jen's bday. Bday girl picked Burmese. Managed to get home just before midnight. Always so fun chatting; we don't want to leave. 

FFF - Vietnamese noodle soup to keep us warm as the weather cools down. 

Epic win against Ohio State, who WAS ranked #2.  Can you find Ethan and Tyler? Trojans stormed the field for the first time since 2013 to celebrate the big upset. ✌  

SCHS Homecoming 2026

SCHS Homecoming dance. No boys needed, just girls and their DIY bouquets to take photos at Santa Clara University then dance in school gym, late night eats at Santana Row. 

Neighborhood girls. 

Sophomore float theme: Monsters Inc.  

I helped with paper flowers, and Mark helped put the float together.   

Yay for a football win against Pacifica.  The only W we got this weekend (USC and 49ers lost big time)

Celebrating Jen's bday ... bday girl wanted salad. 

Mari made yummy chicken curry for our dinner. 

Korean soup hit the spot with the cold weather. 

Family Fun Friday -  slumber party in our room. Sometimes she wants to cuddle with us. 

We restocked on matcha so Mari's back in business ... come on over to visit if you want some of Mari's yummy matcha! 

Safari in Tanzania!

Finally home to blog after an amazing African Safari experience, such a unique trip. I've been wanting to go for some time. Mark and I had such a magical time. We found the Big 5 and so much more, including witnessing how cubs are made! Highly recommend. 

Leopard napping while keeping an eye out for lunch. 

Sunrise hot air balloon over the Serengeti. Elephants looked like ants up here! 

Saw so many animals roaming around in their natural habitat; breathtaking. 

Got to visit a Maasai village to learn more about their culture and way of life. 

Our tent in the Serengeti wilderness wasn't too shabby.  Saw a few animals but nothing too big. 

It was surreal to be so close to animals. We're the ones in the cage while they roam free. They are self-sufficient - need to figure out their pecking order and hunt for their own food. I will never look at a zoo the same again. 

Our driver/guides were so knowledgeable, friendly, and fun! 

My favorite was seeing babies with their mama and watching animals cross the road like they own it, guess they do!  

We traveled with 24 friends from the Financial Independence community. Most are early retirees and some are almost there. So fun learning about how everyone is living with such intentionality all around the US and Canada. Such a fun group to hang out with. 

Good night, I'm going to bed, got a nice 6 hours under that blanket :) 

Made it home from Africa in time to celebrate Mom's bday.  

Sister's night out til almost midnight bc we can't stop yapping. 

Bros celebrating Ethan's 20th bday. No longer a teen!  So grateful for all our neighbors and family who fed Mari, drove her around, and didn't report us to child services for leaving her behind to hang out with wild animals.  

Marriage Conference

This weekend we went to a marriage conference. Learned a lot of practical tips, including that there are not only 5 long languages but also different dialects within each language.  Was awesome to see Francis and Lisa Chan in person for the first time. I'm in awe by their Faithfulness. 

Sept siblings dinner and dessert. As always, we miss sista Tracy.  

Popo took the kids out for dim sum to celebrate sister Nancy's bday. 

Midweek Raman Nagi date at Valley Fair Mall, no line! 

Try to go about 5x a week to get my butt kicked. 

Family hangout because Royston's visiting us from Singapore. 

Tough loss to the Ducks. 

After church lunch. Royston knows how to order in Vietnamese! 

3 of the 5 Wang bros enjoying Molly Tea. 

Boys outing - Mark, Uncle Russ and cousin Bryan enjoying Jazz festival in Monterey.