Grandma and Grandpa's House

This year I was so ambivalent on whether or not to do a party for Rose's 5th birthday. I kept going back and forth, but in the end we decided to celebrate at my parents' house. Telling Rose we were going to Grandma and Grandpa's sure took the sting out of not having a "friend" party. The kids were so excited. Truth be told, I was a little nervous because I was still recovering from being sick and I had only been home a day since visiting Megan in AZ, and Sevak was also not coming with us. However, it all worked out and we had a very enjoyable time! Here are some pics (all from my iPhone--it's so much more convenient than using my fancy camera):

 We went to a yummy pho place with my dad. It made me realize that the place we frequent here in Danville actually isn't that legit.

 Simon was throwing a bunch of tantrums that day, and he insisted on getting not only his typical "meatballs," but fish. I therefore order a fried tilapia to appease him. It was actually rather yummy. He is so funny; I love how loves seafood.

 We had to pick lemons from Great Grandma Ellery's overflowing lemon tree, of course! (Rose is wearing one of Great Grandma Rosemary's old hats--she grew quite fond of it.)

 And of course we had to juice the lemons and make lemonade!

 Juicing was a little tricky for Simon, but he got an "A" for effort.

 We also had to carve the pumpkin that had been sitting on Grandma and Grandpa's patio since Halloween. The pumpkin seeds were still good and yummy--we roasted and salted them!

 And we carved the pumpkin into something more applicable to the season.

 A truly seasonal activity: dying eggs.

 More of that stuff.

 Finished products

Aunt Megan was also there, and we had a great time visiting the L.A. Zoo with her while she took a break from studying. :) Unfortunately I don't have any shots with her in them!

Jasmine has reached the age where she has become aware of and very excited about animals. Naturally, she got a big kick out of the goats at the petting zoo. 

 Checking out the groundhogs

We had Rose's birthday celebration after visiting the zoo. We celebrated Jasmine's birthday, too, since it's coming up. One of Rose's conditions for her birthday was to have a piñata. Luckily there is no shortage of them in SoCal. My dad took us to a little outdoor Mexican market to pick one up. I also got some Mexican candies to put inside so it would be super authentic. :)

 

And Dora on the front of it? Geez--how much more authentic can you get?

The people in attendance were: Uncle Bill and Aunt Mary, my parents, Grandma Rosemary, Grandma Ellery, Uncle Karl, and Aunt Megan. They all showered the kids with gifts. Even Simon, whose birthday is in August, was showered with gifts! :)

Pretty shirt from Aunt Megan

 Simon helped Jasmine open a present--another way to distract him from the fact that his gifts were slightly less numerous than the girls'.

 Birthday girls

 At first Jasmine was unsure how to go about eating her cake. She didn't want to dirty her hands.

 Then someone gave her a spoon (don't worry...she ended up getting good and dirty in the end).

After the presents were opened, the kids took to the piñata. 

We used Grandma Ellery's sturdy cane as a whacker.

The kids didn't seem to be making much progress, so we instructed Simon to try to pull off a cone with the curved side of the cane. Is this not a hilarious image?

Aunt Megan finally got the job done. I was cracking up. It was also so funny that Rose and Simon were the only two kids vying for the spilled contents. 

Oh, another condition for Rose's birthday: goody bags. So even though they both got plenty of gifts, Rose and Simon also got "goody bags:"

A personal pack of tissues, cupcake-shaped bath fizz, chalk, dragonfly notepad...I tried to make do with the clearance bins at Michael's. 

The next day we went to Aunt Ana and Uncle Brian's house and celebrated a little more. Rose felt very special.

And here is a random snapshot of a show my mom, Grandma, and I watched one night after the kids went to bed: Պարիր թե կարող ես! (Armenian version of "So You Think You Can Dance?"):

Sevak is like the only Armenian in this part of town, so I'm always astonished when I see and hear so much Armenian in L.A. I even heard two construction guys speaking it at the Autry Museum in Griffith Park, where I went with the kids our last full day there.

 Rose got to be part of an old Western film

Jasmine's sitting on the porch of the recreated See family home--an exhibit on a Chinese-American family from the 30's.

 Jasmine enjoyed some yummy pretend food in the pretend Chinese restaurant--look at those chubby little hands.

 Rose was a great cashier

 Jailbirds

We had a great time! Thank you, family, and Happy Birthday, my sweet little five-year-old!