Southern California Holiday Family Photos with Hello Pinecone Photography

I'm excited to share some of my favorite shots from our holiday session with Hello Pinecone Photography at Red Rock Canyon Park. The park is a little tricky to locate but it is gorgeous and so worth the drive. As always, Erin did an amazing job capturing the playful essence of our little family. It's going to be tough to pick the photo that will go on our 2015 holiday card!

On Tuan:

Shirt and Pants - Topman

Shoes - Cole Haan

On Parker:

Jacket - H&M

Shirt and Pants - Zara Kids

Shoes - Target

On Mary:

Dress - H&M

Boots - Louise et Cie

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Themed Baby Shower

Congratulations to Minh & Anh on the arrival of baby Mia! I'm so excited to watch you both grow as parents and to spend time with Mia. To celebrate the arrival of Parker's newest little cousin, here are some pictures from the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star themed baby shower I hosted along with some of my in-laws in July. 

[Minh & Anh. They have no idea what they are getting themselves into.]

[Savory & sweet Popcorn Bar. Popcorn containers from Oriental Trading. Ready to pop sign handmade by Luynh.]

[Susie and Victrine writing down some Wishes for Baby. All paper goods designed by Stress Less Press.]

[My SIL and I went crazy in the ribbon aisle at JoAnn's. The result is a great mix of ribbons for the Measure the Belly game.]

[The Swaddle Stamping Station. Good idea in theory but our execution wasn't great. We had nowhere to display all the swaddles. Learn from my mistakes!]

[What's a party without food? We had a small buffet of all the traditional Vietnamese party food as well as che for dessert!]

[Landon sporting his rad new flash tattoo from the Tattoo Shop.]

[Baby Kiera and my co-host and SIL Loan.]

[Cheesecake from the Incredible Cheesecake Company with custom topper by Luynh. If you haven't had this cheesecake yet, you are missing out on a San Diego gem.]

[Thank you to all our friends and family who came out to celebrate! Welcome to parenthood, Minh & Anh!]

San Diego 4th of July Celebration

I feel like I'm still recovering from the holiday weekend. We had so much fun spending time with family and friends! Here are a few of my favorite iPhone snaps from all the festivities. I posted a few other pictures and videos on my IG @parkerproject.

I ran the Crown City Run 5K Saturday morning with the lovely ladies pictured above. It was a fun, short race on a flat course and I averaged just under 10 minutes a mile thanks for my pacer (Anh) pushing me to not stop. It wasn't very well organized but I would consider running the 12K next year. 

Here's a sweet snap of the patriotic fruit skewers Parker helped me with. They were a big hit with adults and kids at the party we went to. Who doesn't like blueberries and watermelon?

We had a spring roll challenge at the 4th of July party we attended. It was the 4th food challenge we've come up with and things are getting serious! Above is a pic of my brother-in-law Minh's winning salmon spring roll with wasabi aoili. Check out the presentation. He really wanted to win.

Coming in at 2nd place was Casey's soft shell crab and poke spring roll. So good! I love soft shell crab.

Minh's carrot birthday cake from The Incredible Cheesecake Company. I know the picture doesn't look like much but this cake is D E L I C I O U S. I highly recommend it. 

We ended the night lighting up some sparklers with the kiddos while sitting around the fire pit with our bellies full and satisfied. I caught Parker a june bug that he was very excited about (RIP june bug) and we went to bed smelling like firewood. It was a perfect day. We're so blessed to have amazing friends and family.

San Diego Movies in the Park

Looking for some free family fun? Summer movies in the park has just started again. We really wanted to go to one of these screenings last year but unfortunately never got around to it. Now that Parker is old enough to sort of sit through an entire movie, we are totally taking him. 

[Via SD Tourism Authority website]

Things are kicking off May 22 with a screening of Finding Nemo at the Waterfront Park downtown. The event will run from 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM. BYO chair, blankets and jackets. Food will be available from the concessions stand or food truck. Hope to see you there!

Other outdoor movie experiences to consider this summer:

Flicks on the Bricks at the Athenaeum in La Jolla

Movies by the Lake in Santee

Stone Movie Nights at Stone Brewery

San Diego Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum

After years of asking Tuan, "Can we go there?" everytime we passed by the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum, he finally gave in. Score one for me and Parker! Why not right? It's so close to home, admission is FREE and we get to explore a bit of history. Our little aviation enthusiast was stoked to run around among some very impressive and historic planes. He kept pointing out the "baby airplanes" and "BIIIIGG airplanes" and looking for "Dusty Hopper" aka Dusty Crophopper from Disney's Planes. It was a short, memorable visit and I definitely want to take Parker back for one of the open cockpit days. I would definitely recommend making a quick trip to this museum with your little one.

Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum & Historical Foundation

Open 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM (closed Mondays and Federal Holidays)

Admission is always free for all ages

Located on Miramar Road & Andersen Avenue

https://flyingleathernecks.org/

Mom Tips: 

-Don't forget your sunscreen. There is no shade unless you count standing under airplane wings.

-Bring your own water. There isn't a place to purchase drinks and snacks. 

-Wear closed-toe shoes. The planes are surrounded by rockscaping. You have to walk through the rocks if you want to get up close and personal with them. The docent also told us that there have been snakes spotted among the rocks so watch where you step!

[Parker's reaction every time he saw an airplane he liked. Classic.]

[Soaking in some aviation history.]

[His enthusiasm was infectious.]

[This one looks just like Skipper Riley right? Everything from the colors to the bent wings.]

[He kept asking us if he could touch their noses so we let him walk up to the planes to touch and feel. There are no rules against it.]

[Parker really liked this helicopter because it has teef.]

[A UH-1 Bell Huey, the same type of helicopter used to evacuate Americans and select south Vietnamese from the US Embassy in Saigon 40 years ago. Every time I see/read/hear anything that has to do with the Vietnam War it makes me teary.]

[After exploring all the big planes outside, we went inside the trailer to test our knowledge and check out additional war memorabilia.]