20130907 Mah Mah Time and Kits Beach

Today, CC's mom came over to visit the grandkids just around noon.  R was terrified of mah mah since he does not see her very often.  But Alyssa looks forward to seeing her all the time.  Maybe it is because she always gets gifts from her since we do not see her often and when we do, there is always some vacation she has just come back from or some birthday, Christmas, or some other special event.

A soon came home after she heard that MM was over for a visit.  A is usually sleeping over at grandma's (por por) since she has to get up early for Chinese school with Tzu Chi at Charles Best Secondary School in Coquitlam.  When the grandparents came and dropped off A, they were going to leave again.  But we asked them to go for dim sum at the Wah Lan Restaurant just a couple of blocks away.  So the kids, grandparents including Mah Mah and CF and I had dim sum together.  Surprisingly there was actually a wait at the restaurant. But since the grandparents (with R) got there a little earlier, we did not have to wait long.  The food was good - not terrible anyways.  CF's dad stole the bill before all of the food came so I am not sure what the bill came to.  After lunch, the grandparents left and mah mah visited for a little while longer while waiting for Aunt Czarina and Michael to pick her up.  Once we got home, R was actually playing with Mah Mah.  It was good to see.

A got to show everyone her video of her performance from last week at Taiwanfest.  She also brought everyone upstairs to show them her room and R's room.  After they left, we decided to go for a drive so that R could sleep.  CF wanted to go to some park near Granville Island.  At that point, I decided that we should go to Kitsilano Beach since we had not been there with the kids and I do recall going there with my dad as a kid when we would visit Auntie Cleta and Uncle Bob.

I took A while CF took R in the car since he was still napping.  It was nice and sunny with a light seabreeze.  A had fun in the playground but it was very crowded.  Living in Burnaby, I guess she was not used to the crowded park and was not quite used to having to wait and competing with so many kids to have a turn going down the slide.  The big slide actually required climbing up a chain ladder with wooden rungs - I think she was scared to go up the ladder and so she did not slide on the big slide.  I then suggested going to the sandy beach where we played for a while.  I sent the family a picture of A at Kits Beach and then my sister Monica replied that she was also at the beach.  So I told her that she should come by and see her niece.

A few minutes later, CF and R arrive - he did not sleep much.  Then Monica arrives - on a BIKE?! and full biking gear.  Very strange to see her like that - I did not even recognize her until I saw her actually steering the bike onto the beach from the bike path - a very strange sight indeed since most people would not take their bikes onto the sand (sand and bike gears do not mix well).  After snapping up a couple of pics, CF was worried that R would get cold and hungry so I went back with R to get some clothes and snacks for R while CF, A, and Monica visited for a while.  It was nice to see Monica with her niece and nephew, if only for a short while.  Monica soon left on her bike and the kids went to play on the playground for a little while longer.  A liked playing on a merrygoround with a rope web tent on top.  She could not get the hang of running, turning the merrygoround, and hopping on top to ride it.  But it was fun for her to try.

Dinnertime soon came and CF wanted to take the kids to the "Local" restaurant.  I was not happy at all once I saw that the restaurant was more of a college bar than a restaurant.  But we ordered food.  Then CF decided to take R to the car to nurse him.  At that point, I got really angry since I did not even want to stay at the restaurant and the food was taking a very long time to be prepared.  CF messages me on her phone that there was a lot of restaurants in there area - which I already knew since I had just been back to the car parked near the Local Restaurant.  But it was too late and the food eventually came.  A was so hungry by then that she scarfed down half a hamburger slider - she usually does not eat that many burgers.  CF and R came back soon after the food arrived, but R did not eat much of anything.  So I took R back to the car to get some baby food.  On the walk back, CF and A were walking up the street.  I guess they decided to leave and had packed away the food and paid the bill.  Grr... not a good day.  I don't plan on going back to that restaurant any time soon - at least, not until the kids are teens.

After a quick bath for A, it was bed time.