update #2 on recovery #2

funny story at the hospital the day of my surgery (over 4 thursdays ago)... i'm at o'connor which was where i had my thyroidectomy done 4 years ago (almost to the date!) and this nurse, mimi helped me prep up. i couldn't help but notice how familiar she seemed. especially as she asked me all of the same questions i'd been asked before. in the middle of it, she stopped and said to me, have i helped you before linda? i tell her that i was just thinking the same thing! it's really nice to be remembered, isn't it?

as far as my current recovery goes, i'm healing well. aside from coughing up this tiny plastic thing which apparently is from the gel form they stuck in my nose to hold something in place. it also seemed to be the cause for the sore throat/ tonsilitis symptoms because after it was out of my system, i was fine. well, except for the congestion. but my doctor pulled the gel form out along with some really gross stuff. my nasal cavity actually felt empty after that. it was amazing. a bit traumatic but absolutely necessary. i can breathe deeply again!

one last thing though. the tube in my eye comes out this coming thursday. i don't really feel it so it's not a big deal. i just hope it doesn't hurt too much!

happy labor day weekend everyone!

august sunset

our view this month on our mountain.

update on my recovery #2

hi all,

thanks for all the messages and concern. i'm recovering well, much better than the last surgery. on friday, as lisa is working from home next to me, she says... i can't believe you had surgery yesterday, it feels like we're just hanging out. after the last surgery, when she came to pick me up, she cried at the sight of me. she said i looked really messed up. this time, it was different. i didn't look swollen, and didn't need help getting into the house. i was up and about on friday. the only thing i'm really having problems with, are my tonsils. they are so swollen that if i don't keep my tonsils down my throat, i choke a little bit. my throat is so sore right now. and it's hard to take any solids down.

otherwise, my nose is fine. my face is fine. as long as my tonsils get better, i'll be a-ok. i'm hoping to get back to the office earlier than the 20th.

xoxo

t minus 7 hours and counting...

i have surgery today, in the morning. hopefully, this will be the last one for a long time. i'm having an endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy done. dcr for short. i'm hoping all goes well as i have a bit of a cough. this should fix my teary left eye, for the most part anyway. and if i'm lucky, i'll leave the hospital with an eye patch. i kinda dig the pirate look. ;)

see you soon! ♥

ps, happy birthday lou! (on the 10th). posts on my mini break will have to wait until later!

august wedges

these were $41, including shipping!

mini break

in anticipation for my surgery scheduled next week, i am going away for a mini break down to southern california starting wednesday night. i will be back early next week with lots of stories and pics to post! ♥

my new cut

i told my hairdresser gina, i just want it short. above shoulder-length. this is what she gave me. now, i look just like my yahoo avatar!

dr. alex!

today, about 12 hours ago, my dear friend alex (muffin) submitted her dissertation. this is a huge deal and very exciting! congrats alex! ♥

my childhood dream come true...

on 07-07-07, a very lucky date for weddings and anything else, my cousin married my childhood friend. in 1984, we moved across the street to nina's family. she and her brother, morris, were the only kids our age in the neighborhood. we became inseparable. nina, my sis, me and sometimes morris. he was 7 y/o. there's only so much a 7 y/o boy can do with 3 girls older than him.

we spent countless days together playing together. then, we had this grand idea. she was the same age as our cousin. if they got married, she would be our cousin too! an upcoming birthday party was the opportune time to introduce them and in 20 years or so, they could get married and live happily ever after. we teased them, ruthlessly, as kids do. kids are cruel, right? we had no idea the effect it made. as a result, they avoided each other like the plague. until high school, somehow, they got together and started dating. it was on and off through the years and about 4-5 years ago, it was definitely on. and so, on july 7th, they married and she is now my cousin.

here is an "after & before" picture of me and lisa in our cheong- sams from our brother's wedding in 2000. the dresses are custom made to fit you perfectly. before the wedding, we had our dresses taken in 3+ inches. as you can see me in the b&w pic, i'm a total fatty. yuk. i was ~20lbs heavier. it's amazing what 7 years does to you. anyway, we wore these dresses to the morning ceremony. we were the only ones in chinese traditional dresses. everyone else wore ao dais (which are traditional vietnamese dresses). our dresses are so similar (mine is yellow-gold, hers is chartreuse with accents of each others fabrics. we were dubbed chinese twins.

the morning ceremony was a traditional vietnamese wedding with family and close friends only. there's a procession where the groom's family bears gifts to the bride's family. my dad was the groom's family representative, who is the head of the procession. i was holding the tray of liquor (to be given & drank with the bride's parents) next to him. it was wonderful to be a part of it. afterwards, we had the traditional chinese tea ceremony at the groom's parents' house. there, we caught up with nina's brother morris. we'd known him since he was 7 y/o. he's 29 now with a 5 y/o son, justin. who looks just like him. it was so nostalgic. we talked about playing house and watching cartoons. and their pet turtle who ended up in our backyard years after they moved.

about a month earlier, i found out that nina's so-called friend released herself from being the day coordinator. as i wanted to help out, i'd wholeheartedly volunteered to be their reception coordinator since they needed someone they could trust. i was the point of contact for everyone at the wedding. it was my job to make sure events were happening at the right time. it was my job to tell the dj to change the song because my cousin didn't like it. ok, i only had to do this once. haha. it was nice to have such power. and the whole event turned out awesome.

it was a lovely wedding. nina's family are good people. the food was pretty tasty despite being banquet food. they had gourmet cupcakes instead of a cake. and they were delightful.

as lisa and i were leaving, we saw nina's parents in the parking lot. her mom says to us, we're family now! it was such a sweet end to an enjoyable night.

more pics to come...

5 years ago...

i had a best friend i now refer to as "smella." she was my best friend for over 10 years. we had known one another since middle school. we went to high school and college together. but five years ago, it all came out. her true feelings of me. she hadn't let go of things that had happened in the past and i realized, she would never let them go despite repeated apologies (for no reason really, she too was at fault) and explanations. i admit, i too hold grudges but once i'm over that hump, i forget about it. the grudges i maintain are incidences i can never forgive and therefore, i always say, i prefer moving forward and not backward. they are things that don't get over that "hump."

it's been five years, almost to the day. i still have the chat archive where i last spoke to her, as a friend. the most i've said to her since is a "hi" in passing. but that's been once or twice. you know how your best friend is your worst enemy? well, she was my worst enemy and i didn't even know it. this came out when i confronted her with an email i received from an ex-boyfriend. he wrote to just "let me know" that he and his new gf was meeting up with her and her bf. i immediately forwarded the message to her and asked if he was lying because it couldn't be true that she would do such a horrid thing. he sent this to me a month after telling me he would not speak to me for at least a year. lame, right?

i went to high school with my ex-bf. that's how she knew him too. they weren't really friends though. they became friends when he and i started dating again in 2001. she turned out to be a bit of a counselor to him. bad for me. apparently, this gave her an opportunity to stab me in the back to my at-the-time-bf. which according to him, he was always defending me. at the time, i just figured he was lying. that she might actually talk shit about me to him, of all people. looking back and knowing how much he cared about me, he couldn't have been lying. it was true. she secretly hated me while i loved her like a sister.

during the years, i'd hear things about her and him, together and separately. that he went to her wedding. and that he got married to that gf. i'm happy for him. that he found someone, someone who wasn't me. i also heard that she missed me. despite that, she didn't want to be friends with me again. this makes no sense to me. i do not miss anyone i don't want contact with, and that includes her. i look back and think how stupid i was, to love someone so unconditionally and all along, she hated me. the friendship was not mutual. she said she was more of a friend to me than i was to her. that i held all these high expectations of her and she couldn't take the pressure. it was too much for her. she couldn't hack being my friend. how does one react to this? how could it possibly be resolved? how does one want to continue this kind of friendship? there was one reaction. i was stupid for thinking she was like my sister. i was stupid for loving her unconditionally. i was stupid for thinking the world of her. and last, i was stupid for hoping it was mutual between us. the only thing i could do was abruptly end the conversation and mourn the loss of a terrible friendship. how could i have been so stupid?

i have not spoken to her since. and would prefer it stays that way. i don't miss her. i'm glad that she is no longer my friend. as a matter of fact, having her out of my life has made my life much better. it's made me realize what friends are supposed to be like.

actually, my best friend kelly, has helped me with this as well. our friendship is not only uncondi- tional but there are no problems with high expectations, it's just a given. there's mutual respect and love between us. it's an ideal friendship. the best part is, we've been friends since 1986 and it just gets stronger.

july wedges

my first pair of donald pliners. i ♥ these!

kindred spirit & scar buddy

most of you who read my blog, know that i was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer back in 2003. this year, i had my fourth body scan which means (as i've said previously back in april) i have one left to go until i can officially be declared "cured."

last november, i received an email from a good friend of mine. it turns out that her childhood friend was diagnosed with a type of thyroid cancer. she asked me to contact her friend to help her with concerns she was having about her diagnosis. so i did. i wrote her about my entire experience. from the symptoms to how i've lived with it. i shared my experiences with my doctors, the surgery, the recovery, the radiation treatment, and my body scan check ups. we'd been emailing one another as well as spoken on the phone (right before her surgery) ever since. actually, we are both on gchat and instant message every now and then. she's a grad student at berkeley and is local, sort of. we'd been playing with the idea of meeting up, finally. to match a face with the voice. last thursday, we met up for dinner at xanh in mt. view. my treat.

it was really nice to finally meet her. when my friend made this request, i didn't think twice about contacting her. i'd been in her shoes. while thyroid cancer is the best cancer to get if you were given a choice of any one cancer to be stricken with, as it is curable, it's still a very scary ordeal. it's life changing. certainly, it's changed my life. it would have been nice to have someone who had gone through it to ask questions and concerns. i was glad to be that person for someone else.

we met up at 6:30 and talked and ate well through 2 hours. it turned out that we had more than scars in common. luckily for her, she did not have cancer. hers was benign. she had a partial thyroidectomy. we were both young, strong, intelligent women with similar views on life, love, and spirituality. it's really amazing how well we got along and how we seem to be on the same wavelength. the dinner would have lasted longer except, i was late picking up my niece and nephew! so we said we would do it again.

and she brought me a little thank you gift. this book, which was really thoughtful and sweet of her. i felt bad that i came empty handed. luckily, i was able to treat her to dinner!

long blondes @ popscene

venue: 330 ritch (popscene)
artist: minipop, nicole atkins & the sea, and the long blondes
who: lou & ro
when: 17 june 2007 (saturday)
doors open at 9p

we got there sometime past 10p and there was this line. ugh, i hate lines. as always, jorge was at the door and so i say to him, hey! what's going on?? he saw right through my attempt at subtlety and asked if i wanted to cut the line. ha! luckily, chris was there and let us in on the other side.

lou wanted to do car bombs and tried to order one from jason. i went to josh to get mine. unfortunately for lou, they no longer serve car bombs. however, i got mine. twice. my second car bomb was with jason. it makes me happy that i get special treatment there.

for some reason, i'm able to spot will out from a crowd or sense his presence. it's really strange and a bit perplexing. so when he came in, i spotted him from the corner of my eye. as i was in the middle of getting my second car bomb, i waited and figured he'd find me like he usually does. but he didn't. just as i thought to myself, i just saw him... he appeared right in front of me. except, he was sitting down and didn't see me. strange, he was sans girlfriend. he seems to be sans her frequently.

lou & ro stayed close to the bar while i hung out with will on the dance floor. then, i spotted adam from australia by the bar all the way to the left sometime before or during the minipop set. i went over to say hello. i haven't seen adam in ages! we chatted for a bit. caught up. he asked me if i was dating, i said no. i asked him if he was dating, he said no. he remembered me telling him about ted. i'd run into him sometime last year, after the break up. i remember he asked if i wanted company. funny. i told him i was sick of taking care of men and that i wanted to be taken care of. he responded, i'll take care of you and put his arm around me. he's really a sweet guy.

when nicole atkins & the sea came on, i went back over to will. she has a really nice voice. not quite the type of music i'm there for but it was good. it was slow and bluesy. lounge music type. she's got this great soulful voice. between her and the long blondes, will and i were able to squeeze some dancing in. which is always fun.

the long blondes are from sheffeld, england. as are pulp. and it turns out, or so it says on the popscene flyer, that fans of pulp should/will like the long blondes. in my case, i would fall under that category. as i love pulp and i do enjoy the long blondes. except, they make me think of sleeper than pulp with a hint of debbie harry. maybe it's the other way around? actually, i think of sleeper as the female version of pulp. there's attitude. a whole lot of it. louise wener is the sassiest britpopster ever. i love her. it's a shame that sleeper broke up in 1997. and i never got the chance to see her live. bummer. i'm pretty sure i'm off on the sleeper thing. i think i just want an excuse to think about them.

back to the long blondes. the music was good. contrary to the normal sucky bands that play live there. i should say, sucky live shows by bands we sometimes even like. their songs are upbeat, have catchy tunes, clever lyrics and best of all, they make me want to dance (just listening to it at my desk in the office). which gave will and me more opportunity to dance. we danced and danced. until the long blondes were done and the lights turned on. it was a great show. all three bands.

after dropping will home, the rest of us went to denny's. like we did back in the day (early & mid-90's). it was so euphoric. especially to be at the berryessa denny's. ah, i miss my youth. i think.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

we are the pipettes

venue: rickshaw stop
artist: the pipettes, smoosh & monster bobby
who: alex, lou & ro
when: 12 june 2007 (tuesday)
show starts at 9p

this was my second time at the rickshaw stop. i saw the silversun pickups there with lou & ro back in october. and yes, there is an actual rickshaw there. the opening was monster bobby who is part of the pipettes, well their back up band (according to wikipedia which may or may not be true). i liked his voice but couldn't really hear him too well.

the second opening was this band called smoosh. they were the female equivalent of hansen, except, they rock! i was so amazed and a bit shocked. they were so cute and talented. it's not everyday that you see an 8 y/o bass player. they also did a cover of bloc party's modern love which was most impressive. i thoroughly enjoyed these young ladies.

the only problem with the rickshaw is, upstairs, it gets really hot. i suppose heat rises but damn, it was damn hot upstairs. and that's where the seats are. so, that's where alex and i was. at this show, almost everyone was wearing polka dots. had i known that was their thing, i still wouldn't have worn polka dots. heh. i'm glad i didn't wear polka dots.

i really enjoyed the pipettes. they are super cool. only the coolest musicians have their own theme song (like tom mullaney, heehee). they also all wear polka dotted dresses that have the same pattern (fabric) with different styles. for example, one is a halter top dress, one dress has sleeves and the last one is strapless. all three sing and dance. and maneuver around and across the stage very carefully. it was immensely entertaining. they sing together as well as separately. it's refreshing to see a band take the time to put on a show for you. i'm so used to bands just standing there and playing their instruments. i enjoy myself so much more when i see bands get into their music. it makes me get into their music. but when they put together a dance routine, that's like the cherry on top!

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ clap your hands if you want some more!

meet my new nephew!

jett was born on friday, june 8 at 4:51pm at 6 lbs and 20 inches.
congrats david & thuy!

the half-yearly @ nordstrom

it's that time of year again! yep, the time women wake up early to get to nordstrom by 7am for some good shopping. i got these shoes (see below) and some other stuff. i went to the valley fair store early in the morning and shopped with lisa. after work, i headed over to the stanford shopping center with the muffins. now if only i can hold off on shopping until the anniversary sale on july 20.

rock & roll marathon

saturday, june 2nd in la jolla

i flew into san diego straight from vegas (see below). since i had pretty much emptied my insides that morning, i wasn't really hungover or anything. and was ready for a nice dinner. my sister-in-law, trang had flown in before me. her sister, jade was picking us both up. since i was arriving an hour later, they decided to wait for me.

it was so nice to be back in san diego. i haven't been back in years. i don't even remember the last time i was there. it's been at least 3 years, that's for certain. i did forget that early june in san diego is quite glooming when it comes to weather. i went from scorching hot weather (in vegas) to slightly cold in san diego. ugh. i'm surprised i didn't get sick from the drastic weather change!

jade is the only one running the rock & roll marathon. trang and i were there for support. initially, both jade and trang (and their mother) had planned on doing it. they trained together but trang hurt her knees. then ricky (my brother) decided to take trang's place so jade would have someone to train and run with. but unfortunately, he too hurt his knee(s). jade and her late brother (dochi) had planned on doing the marathon together. but he passed away last september and she decided that she would continue without him, for him.

since i'd lived in san diego and knew my way around (for the most part), i was assigned the driver. i was a student and poor when i was in san diego. i didn't really know where to go. i usually just went to la jolla. so, that's where we went. we drove around and then found this place called roppongi, japanese asian fusion restaurant. they had all these "best of" awards out front. we decided to eat here. despite a room full of empty tables, they said they were full for seating inside but that there was seating outside available. there were heat lamps so it was fine. it turns out, it was prom night and that's why all of the inside seating were reserved.

our server, jason, was very typical san diegan. he was young and had long blonde curly hair. total surfer type. he had this boyish charm to him which made him quite appealing. we ordered so much... let's see, we had the polynesian crab stack, the crispy buttermilk onion rings (we only had a few), pan seared sea scallops, spicy kung pao calamari, boneless short ribs, grilled filet mignon, and i can't remember the rest. we also had three desserts. we had a sundae, lemon creme brulee, and the warm chocolate melting decadence. there were several servers bringing us our dishes. one asked where we put all this food. jason was quite impressed as well. the food was delightful.

sunday, june 3rd

we checked in at the sofia hotel in downtown san diego. our room was a tiny studio room with a pull out couch. yes, the three of us in a pull out couch. we were very cosy.

jade had to get up at *ugh* some obscene time like 4am so she could get ready and leave by 5. we got up in time and dropped her off. then back to the hotel for a nap. we planned on being at the finish line by 11:30a so we'd wake up at 10a. only problem was... where the hell was the marathon?? we didn't figure that until an hour on the road and all around downtown. there were NO signs! this is the 10th anniversary for the rock & roll marathon but still, proper directions would have been nice.

the marathon participants wore a chip in their shoes where they could be tracked online. so trang had people back in the bay area track jade for us. we were trying really hard to make it to the finish line to cheer her. after driving around the san diego airport for a while, we found a parking lot for the marathon. not the parking lot for the marathon, mind you. we were still a ways away. after we parked the car, trang flagged down a rickshaw driver. he was across the street and she yells "hey, the guy in the green shirt!!" it was hilarious. at $15/person, we were desperate to get there so we got in. he could only drop us half way (if even that) but biked as fast as he could as we told him about why jade was running the marathon.

it was another half hour or more before we finally reached our meeting place. the team-in-training tent. we ran through a sea of people leaving (with blisters and all)in the opposite direction. when we finally found the team-in-training tent, it presented us yet another problem. how do we find jade in this crowd?? so we start wandering around looking for her. after about 10-15 minutes, she finds us. she'd finished in 5 hours and 20 minutes (if you see her, you must congratulate her!). it is quite a feat. when we saw her, we hugged for a while.

the walk back wasn't so bad. since we weren't running or anything. to the right, you see us catching another rickshaw. it was $40 for all 3 of us. and he took us to the lot we were parked in. he was zig-zagging through cars in traffic. it was a little bit scary.

we checked out and headed back to la jolla for lunch. there wasn't much of a choice as most placed were closed. we ended up at crab catcher. trang said the food was like cruise food. you get the gist. afterwards, we returned the rental and flew home. my brother picked us up in san jose. when i got into the car, i saw my chunky and lollipop head. they said they missed me! after such a jam packed weekend, it was such a tender homecoming.

what happens in vegas, stays in vegas?

friday, june 1st
i took the day off to fly out to las vegas for my cousins' bachelor/bachelorette party. i started off my day with slight breezes in san jose, requiring a jacket. as soon as i step off the plane in vegas, i immediately had to start striping off whatever clothes i could. my cousins were shopping at the fashion show mall on the strip. so i shuttled it to treasure island across from the mall. it took like an hour after i arrived. ugh.

the last time i was in vegas, it was late 2000. with my ex, douglas, we stayed at the hilton off the strip and ended up leaving early due some reflux condition he was having. lame. i'd only ever been to vegas with him so i was ready to make new fond memories of vegas with my cousins. with whom i always have fun!

i finally meet up with them around 4:30ish. we're waiting for nina (my cousin-to-be) to check into her room. so we go to where she is staying and hang out until i hear from her. we end up at the house of blues downstairs in the bar with debbie, roger & lily. our waiter comes to our table and says, are we all 21 here? let's see some ids, as he looks straight at me. when he sees mine, he says, wow. and i say, thanks! and so, i order my first drink for the day. a mudslide. then roger joins us and orders a guinness. then a shot of baileys and irish whiskey so he can have a car bomb. you know i can't resist a car bomb. and i order one to join him. and then another. and it was time to head up to nina's room. we hung out for a bit there and i had some more guinness. then back to the cousins's room at the flamingo for a nap.

after our nap, we headed over to the venetian where this club tao is. roger's friend, nader (see below) knew some people at tao and helped hook us up with a vip area on the top floor.

after waiting for people and our vip hook up, we finally go in. our vip section was on the top floor next to the pool. we had two bottles of ketel one with cranberry juice and pineapple juice. our cocktail waitress did a good job keeping our cups filled, during which i'd been chatting it up with roger's friend nader. i don't remember much after my second cranberry vodka. i remember bits and pieces of walking down the stairs to get water with nader. he took very good care of me. what a sweet guy. roger came down to help me too. he's a great cousin-in-law. then, i remember not being let back into the club and getting sick. and going through the venetian, trying to walk upright but basically being carried through. then, there was the car. nader's car. he drove me back. andy met me downstairs at the flamingo. and then i passed out, waking up every so often to vomit.

sadly, i missed nina who showed up sometime after 12:30a. the next morning, roger mentioned that nader thought very highly of me. my response was "even after i got sick?" to which he responded, "yep, even after you threw up on his beige suede shoes!" omg, what a horrible first impression. but apparently, we all got sick. soon after, we got breakfast and i flew out to san diego in the afternoon. despite getting horrendously sick and passing out, i had a great time!

what a night!

love at first sight with voxtrot ♥

venue: gamh
artist: voxtrot, au revoir simone & sound team
who: alex, betty & gillie
when: 30 may 2007 (wednesday)
show starts at 8p

when i first saw voxtrot over a year ago, i don't think i realized the impression they left on me. i've yet to experience love at first sight (that i can remember) with a man but i know, i did in fact experience it with voxtrot. it's sort of this helpless feeling that's come over you. when your jaw drops and you can't pay attention to your good friend who is talking at you because you froze just to keep the moment going a bit longer. right? well, that was me at the elefant show last year.

since last may, i've seen voxtrot twice. so, it would have been 4 times in one year short of 3 days. and more if they played more shows. i can't seem to get enough. their debut album came out last week and they are touring to promote their cd. i love their eps so i'm hoping i'll love the cd. it's still warming up to me.
after work, i got a ride with alex and got ready at her place in mt. view. then, betty and gillie came to pick us up. the show started earlier than usual. we left at 7p so we wouldn't miss au revoir simone and get a balcony seat upstairs. we had dinner there. it was a lot of bad food like nachos piled up a mountain high (a mini mountain anyway), cheesy fries and quesadillas.

au revoir simone were these three very homely-looking girls. alex made them honorary sociologists as they were sporting the hairdos of female sociologists (well stanford sociologists). all three of them sing and play synthesizers. so it was very electronic. there was one with glasses who was really rocking out. she was the only one! alex chatted with her later when we were purchasing our merchandise. she was quite lively and nice.

the second opening band sucked. they were called sound team. there were some tall band members and that's all i remember about them. i hope that wasn't too harsh.

before voxtrot, i went downstairs to pick up a copy of their new cd. and buttons for one and all. they were 50 cents each but he didn't charge me for them! i think it was because i had on a voxtrot shirt from the last show. the band started with songs from the new album. i will post my blurry pics from my camera phone later. their set was as expected. tons of energy. rocking out. arms wailing. jumping/dancing. they are so animated that you couldn't help but move along with them. so we were all up from our seats dancing on the balcony floor and shaking it up!

i can't wait for their next show!

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ indeed.

day at steinhart

i took my nephew & niece to the steinhart aquarium at the california academy of sciences up in sf. last time i was there, i went with my sister (for her 16th birthday) at the golden gate park. there is reconstruction for a new academy there and isn't expected to reopen until end of 2008.

so we went to their temporary location on howard street. their main exhibit is penguins. we went to the feeding of the penguins and it was absolutely packed. it was really interesting. there were about 9 or so penguins. all but 1 or 2 are coupled up. there was one that we thought was fat and lazy (because she didn't swim and just stood there), it turns out that she's losing her baby feathers (still kinda fluffy) and isn't able to do anything (swim or eat) until her new feathers are all in. but about 20 minutes in and after spending nearly 3 hours there, we were tired and left early.

we saw loads of other sea life and reptiles. jaden really wanted to see dolphins and sharks but alas, there were none at the temporary site. much fun was had by all. and during the "who can be quiet the longest" game, they both crashed on the way home...