Edaville USA

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Last month (July 1st) we brought Daniel to a great kid-friendly amusement park called Edaville USA in Carver, MA. It took us about an hour and a half to get there. We picked that date because a few times a year they have Thomas the Tank Engine as the lead car to pull the trains around the park and Thomas is Daniel’s favorite show right now. I really did not know there were places like this that catered to really young kids in our area.

Temperatures were well above 90 degrees. We briefly stood in line to have our picture taken with Sir Topham Hatt but it was too hot so we decided to go on some rides instead. We rode the carousel first. Daniel did not want to ride high up on a horse so we sat in what looked like a sleigh. Daniel was pretty calm sitting between Tary and me.

Daniel and I got on a space-themed capsule ride. There was a bar hovering over our laps which causes the pod to go up into the air when pulled towards you. As we sat in the pod waiting for the ride to start, Daniel started to get upset from being in a confined space so I had to distract him with some music videos on my phone. He is way too dependent on that. The ride started and the centripetal force made me feel like I might fall out of the pod. I understand why they have kids sit on the inside now. Since Daniel was still distracted by my phone, he didn’t notice that I held the bar toward us and sent our pod up in the air for the last half of the ride.

It got too hot so we brought Daniel inside a building with various play areas. He loved tossing himself around in the ball pit. He also played with some trains and tracks that were set up on really low tables. Then he ran through a maze but easily found the exit.

We still had another hour to kill before we could ride on Thomas so we stayed inside the building as long as we could. We visited the Gift Shop and bought a few items for Daniel: a Thomas t-shirt and a Thomas-shaped whistle. Daniel kept urging us to blow the whistle and he would pump his arm in the air and yell, “Choo choo!”

After lunch we stood in line to ride Thomas the Tank Engine! While in line we met up with Tary’s coworker and her family. It was fun riding around the park. Daniel had a serious look on his face but I think he was inwardly excited. Toward the end of the ride, the conductor handed each of the kids on board a certificate. Daniel’s face lit up with pride.

After the ride we stood in line to have Daniel’s picture taken with Thomas at the front of the train. The line moved quickly but Daniel was cranky from being overheated and he did not want to stop and pose for the camera. I took a few pictures of just Thomas before we left. I hope he enjoys these pictures and remembers this day when he’s a little older.

Overall I really liked Edaville USA and enjoyed our time there. I’m really pleased to know that such kid-friendly places exist in our area. I liked how there were many other young kids and their parents there. There were lots of low-to-the-ground, slow-moving rides. Food prices were fairly reasonable. I liked being able to temporarily park our stroller anywhere and not worry about someone walking off with ours. I also liked that the park was small enough to explore in a day without feeling exhausted. It’s a bit far but it’s definitely a keeper.

Hampton Beach

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The stars aligned. The weather was perfect. It was the weekend and we didn’t have any other plans. We were finally able to go as a family to the beach!

On Saturday, June 30th we took the kids to Hampton Beach. I was surprised at the lack of traffic around the beach but maybe it was because of the route that my phone’s GPS led us on. The main strip was packed so we continued past until we saw a retaining wall to our right. I pulled over and found another less crowded beach just beyond the wall.

I parked the car and fed the coin-operated meters. It was a little expensive at 25 cents for 7 1/2 minutes ($2/hr). I used all of the change in my car and we only had enough for just over an hour.

Once on the beach we set up our new Kelty beach cabana. It was easy to set up with its 3-pole design. The wind made a little trickier because the wind kept blowing the material around. I’m really glad we bought it. It was spacious, provided lots of shade, and had good ventilation.

Now that Daniel is a little older and is more self-aware, he is very cautious about unfamiliar surroundings. So it was unsurprising that he did not like being in or near the water at all! Instead he was content sitting just outside of the cabana and filling his bucket with wet sand.

I brought Matthew toward the water and helped him stand in it. He definitely didn’t mind the cold water rushing over his feet. He also enjoyed rolling around inside of the cabana.

It was a relaxing time. It felt a little rushed since we could only stay for about an hour. But I’m glad we got to take the kids to the beach.

It has been several years since I last visited Hampton Beach but I was impressed with whatever updates were made in and around the area. It was remarkably easy to find our way back home. Once we packed up, we double-backed along the strip, took a right at the Route 95 sign, and followed the road for about 15 minutes to the highway. It was such a pleasant experience; I can’t wait to go back there again!

Mommy and Daniel Playing with the Sand

Red Sox Game

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My cousin from Georgia flew up to visit and was treated to Gabriel’s birth. On the following Wednesday (June 20th) , my brother (the newest dad), my cousin, some friends, and I went to Fenway Park to catch a game vs. the Miami Marlins. (It still sounds weird to me.)

Since the game was on a weeknight, I drove straight to the park from work. It was a really hot day and the dashboard in my car read 103 degrees. I was surprised at how short the drive was along Route 20 once I got passed the local city traffic.

I wasn’t sure where I should park. I knew there were some cheaper (relatively) parking lots if you take a left onto Yawkey Way heading away from the park. Much to my surprise, I immediately saw a guy holding up a sign for $30 parking so I took him up on it. It turned out to be a local church located on Peterborough Street. What a great location and much cheaper than the $40 or $50 from nearby lots!

I got there pretty early so I had to wait about a half hour to meet up with the others. We made our way up the RF bleachers to our seats. We ended getting the very LAST row in RF right next to the Dunkin Donuts section. Even though we were as far away as you can be from home plate, they were still pretty decent seats because the park is fairly small.

It was a great game despite the heat and the Red Sox won in a rout 15 – 5. It was a HR derby with Aviles and Middlebroooks hitting into the Green Monster, Ortiz hitting a grand slam down the RF line, and Saltalamacchia’s blast to CF.

Everyone except for me left late in the game when the game was well-in-hand to go eat dinner. I stayed to watch the final inning before returning home. Everyone had a good time and I enjoyed spending extra quality time with my brother and cousin.

Our View

Gabriel James

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Please join me in celebrating the birth of my first nephew, Gabriel James. He was born on June 17th (Father’s Day) at 6:21 AM, 6 lbs 7 oz,  born 6 lbs 7 oz, 19″ long. I am an uncle!!!

The Proud Parents with Gabriel James!

The day before his birth, we were at the Sons of Italy function for his baby shower. I jokingly thought to myself that my sister-in-law was ready to “pop” at any moment and amazingly her water broke there. It was amazing that she carried on like nothing happened and most of the guests were unaware. She gutted it out and sat in a chair and opened all of the gifts!

It was kind of funny that Tary was starting to get a little frantic while my sister-in-law remained fairly calm through it all. After the baby shower was over, my sister-in-law called her doctor and was told to go to the hospital. I quickly installed the base for the new car seat that we bought them and they were on their way. The following morning they finally got to meet their baby boy! What a wonderful Father’s Day gift for my brother!

One interesting fact is Gabriel was born at 38 weeks just like my two boys. It must a Trinh family thing!

(Wow, I am really behind on my posts but better late than never. It’s good to have them for archival reasons.)

Daniel’s Fun Day

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You never know how a toddler will react to having a new sibling. It can’t be easy going from 100% of our attention to something much lower than that. But Daniel has been as great a big brother as we could have hoped for since Matthew’s birth. So Tary and I took a day off from work last month (June 8th) and took him out for a special “Fun Day”.

We started by dropping Matthew off with my mom. We then headed to the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, MA. We got there at around 10:30 AM hoping to avoid the crowds but were surprised to find several buses unloading kids for a field trip.

It only took us an hour to walk the grounds and visit nearly every exhibit. Half of that time was navigating through various groups of people. The pathways were mostly stroller-friendly but some spots were still too bumpy. We saw a few birds, monkeys, reindeer, and bears. It was a little disappointing that there weren’t more animals.

The Stone Zoo was a little pricey for just an “average” experience. The zoo was on the small size but that makes it manageable for young kids. However the lack of animal exhibits combined with the crowdedness makes this a once-in-a-long-while destination.

We then went to the Rainforest Cafe in the Burlington Mall for lunch. The dining area was mostly vacant so we asked to be seated by one of the aquariums. We ordered a cheese pizza for Daniel. After we were done eating, we asked the waitress to box Daniel’s remaining pizza. As she started to walk away with his food, he thought she was tossing it away so he yelled out, “Hey!”

It was really nice spending extra quality time with Daniel. He is an amazing child. I hope when he is older, we can look back at pictures from this day and think fondly of our time together.

Lil’ Strikers

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Daniel completed a 6-week soccer class for kids between 1 1/2 to 3-years-old at the Tyngsboro Sports Center. It is a parent participation class with about 6 to 10 kids and their parents. The kids work on kicking, running, and jumping while engaging in various group activities. The whole experience has been a mixed bag for me but I’m glad we got to expose Daniel to this.

Each class would generally start with the coaches setting out some soccer balls to kick around. Daniel really enjoys kicking the ball all over the field turf.

We then gather in the center of the field and the coaches and kids introduce themselves. The kids stretch and rotate their arms in circles. Daniel does not like this part and continues to kick the ball around instead. I usually have to carry a crying Daniel back to the huddle.

The kids then line up along one side of the field and run to the other side. Daniel starts running okay but usually drops to the ground and starts crying for no apparent reason. Perhaps he feels self-conscious about his running ability.

Next the kids kick their ball from one of the field to the other with a series of “short” kicks. Daniel is reasonably good at kicking the ball and running behind it. Then they do it again with a series of “long” kicks. Daniel hasn’t quite figured out the difference between the two types of kicks but he seems to enjoy this game.

The next game is called “body parts” where the kids are free to kick anywhere until the coach yells “freeze” and announces a body part to place on the ball. Daniel has the “kicking” part down. “Freeze” and “placing a body part on the ball” are still works in progress.

The kids then line up along the white line around the goal area. They take turns kicking the ball into the net. Daniel is very apprehensive with this game. He usually skips a turn or two and watches the other kids do it before he participates. During one class, they tried a harder version of this game where the kid kicks his ball to the coach, gets a return pass, and then kicks it into the net. Yeah…that wasn’t happening.

In the next game, the coaches scatter orange cones in front of the goal area and the kids had to knock over as many cones as possible by kicking their soccer balls at the cones. Daniel really liked this game. I thought it was cute when he kicked a few cones directly because it was a more efficient.

The coaches then lay out some rope ladders on the ground and the kids hop between the rungs. They also hopped side-to-side with alternating hops in and out of the ladder. Daniel really loves hopping but he only does it in a straight line.

The coaches also set out some tunnels for the kids to crawl through. This is another game that Daniel really enjoys. During one class, I especially enjoyed seeing him crawl through a tunnel as one of his coaches pretended to chase him.

The classes usually wrap up with the kids gathering around a giant soccer ball in the center of the field. Daniel usually ignores the giant soccer ball and would much rather continue jumping with the ladder.

Overall these soccer classes have been really hard for us. Daniel loves to kick the ball but he often cries when you try to get him to join the rest of the other kids as we move between games. I feel embarrassed when literally all of the other kids fully participate in each game and I am constantly chasing Daniel down or calming him down so that he would rejoin the games. It was especially frustrating when he simply refused to participate in any of the games on his last day.

I think the main takeaway is that Daniel simply isn’t ready for this. He is in the 90th percentile for height so he looks bigger/older than most other kids his age. It is easy to forget that he is only 2-years-old. Perhaps the other kids are closer to 3-years-old and are able to listen more. I guess I’ll just have to be patient and wait a little longer before he can “Bend it like Daniel.”

A Very Happy Birthday!

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Last month we celebrated Daniel’s 2nd birthday! I can’t believe our little man is already 2 years old!

The morning of his birthday party was really hectic. We were expecting a few people to help but they were unavailable for most of the morning for various reasons. Tary was stressed trying to get the house ready. I reminded her to relax and that we could only do what we could get to. We needed to ask ourselves, “If I did this, would it make Daniel any happier today?” If the answer was “no”, then it was okay to be left undone.

I went outside at around 9 AM to set up the bounce house. I left it overnight sitting just outside of my basement door. I spread the provided tarp on the lawn where I wanted the bounce house to go. I tried pushing the rolled up vinyl but it was too heavy; it would not budge. I did not care that it was over 200 lbs! I was NOT going to FAIL my son on his birthday!

I squatted beside it and started lifting upward. Slowly I got it upright. I pushed it over toward the tarp. I had to do it at least 3 or 4 more times to get it onto the tarp. Now I know what it feels like to compete in the Tire Flip event of the World’s Strongest Man competition.

I undid the straps and unrolled the vinyl material. I hoped the bounce house would open up facing the right direction. Unfortunately it opened up in the opposite direction. It was so heavy that I had to tug a few feet at a time at each corner until I got it facing the right way.

I hooked up the blower and turned it on. The bounce house was inflated a few minutes later. The inside was really wet from sitting outside in the rain the day before. Before I could dry it with some towels, Daniel saw it from the patio window. He excitedly shouted “Shoes! Shoes! Shoes!” as he scrambled to find and put them on. I wasn’t about to say no to him on his birthday so I brought him outside. He was apprehensive entering the bounce house at first so I went in first and he followed behind. I loved how happy he was jumping around. I also loved that it was just the two of us.

After we went back inside, Tary left with Daniel to pick up the decorations. It was nice that he got to spend some extra time with her. It was also a lot easier for me to watch Matthew by myself. They returned with a bunch of helium-filled balloons and other decorations. Tary shared that Daniel asked for a balloon and cried after it flew away when he accidentally let it go. Tary rushed to tie the remaining balloons in and around the house.

Tary left again to pick up the food after we put Daniel down for a nap. I gave Matthew a bath while she was away. When she returned, we managed to get the rest of the house ready by 2 PM. People started to arrive so I hurried to give Daniel a bath after he woke from his nap.

It was really great that so many kids were able to come to Daniel’s party. Our Godson Andrew was great with Daniel like a big brother. Sometimes the older kids would jump and cause Daniel to get tossed around in the bounce house. But Andrew was always mindful of Daniel and made sure Daniel was safe and had fun.

Daniel also enjoyed playing along our neighbor’s son, Jake. It was great seeing our neighbor Ramo and his son Aiden having fun as well. I haven’t spent much time around his son before but he quickly became comfortable playing with me. It’ll be nice if our kids continue to play and grow up together.

We just let Daniel play and enjoy himself for most of the afternoon. He had fun jumping in the bounce house, hitting balls off the tee, and running around. I shadowed him so he knew I was always nearby. I felt a little bad that I couldn’t socialize with everyone as much as I would have liked but it was Daniel’s day and I loved seeing how happy it made him that I was with him.

I was a little concerned that we didn’t order enough food. My concerns were validated; even though we had some extra prepared food from our parents, the food was demolished. I asked if people were still hungry but I was relieved that the majority of them said they were full.

It was around 5:30 PM and Tary got the cake ready. She ordered a strawberries and cream flavored cake (same as our wedding cake) from Russo’s. I gathered everyone outside. The wind made lighting the candles tricky and it was still light out so it was hard to see if they were lit. Tary held onto Daniel as everyone sang “Happy Birthday”. He was a little shy with all of the attention on him. Tary helped him blow out the candles. The cake was delicious!

Most of our guests had left and only a few of our closest friends stayed and continued playing with Daniel. Our living room was full of gifts. We waited until everyone left to open them because it took so long to open everything in front of everyone at Matthew’s baby shower 6 months ago.

It was a great birthday party! I’m so glad Tary thought of the idea of the bounce house because all of the kids LOVED it. Even some of the adults had fun jumping around inside of it. Daniel was so happy and was smiling the entire day. He did not whine or cry other than when he lost his balloon. So many wonderful moments still swirl in my mind. He kept repeating the words “birthday” and “party” all day.

After the party was over, I held Daniel in my arms like he was still a little baby. He completely wore himself out and fell asleep in my arms at around 7 PM. I held onto him for a while before laying him down to nap on the couch.

To help Daniel go to bed, we often lay next to him in his bed until he falls asleep. That night as I laid beside him, unprompted, Daniel wrapped his arms around my neck, pulled me close, and gave me the biggest kiss. We love Daniel so much and it is such a special feeling knowing how much he loves us in return.

Happy Birthday Daniel!

Ghetto People Suck

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A few weeks ago (April 24th), Tary called me from our home phone (which we never use) to tell me that her iPhone was stolen while shopping at Walmart. We don’t normally shop there but she was in the area and was picking up some anti-itch cream for Matthew. She said that it must have happened when several ghetto people tried to forcibly and rudely squeeze between her and a worker stocking shelves. They must have seen her on her phone earlier and watched her place it into her open jacket pocket.

I told Tary about a recent story in the local newspaper about how the police used some iPhone recovery apps to recover a stolen iPad. Tary used the “Find My iPhone” app to remote lock the phone and triggered a sound to be played. The app also indicated the phone’s last known location was still Walmart. This means that either the thieves turned off the phone at some point and it was no longer updating its position or they were spooked by the sound and dumped it somewhere in the store.

Tary was content with her iPhone 3GS and was willing to wait until the iPhone 5 came out whenever that was. However, Tary bought an iPhone 4S to replace her stolen phone that same night. It really sucks wasting hard-earned money to replace things that were stolen.

I really hate Walmart. Something about it just feels off. Something about extremely low costs attracts a certain kind of shopper and unfortunately Tary ran into a group of them. We are never shopping at Walmart ever again. We definitely prefer Target which still has low prices, is a cleaner store, has better workers, better items, and less ghetto-ness.

It really sucks dealing with ghetto people and ghetto problems. We’ve already had our home broken into and our electronics stolen. We’ve also had our rims stolen in the middle of the night. Now the phone. Sometimes I wish we could afford to move to a city where petty crimes like this don’t typically happen. C’est la vie.

Update: Two days later, Tary called Walmart and they found her phone! They said it was found in a basket somewhere in the store.

Instant Noodles Expire?

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The other night I wanted something completely random for dinner. I looked up on top of my fridge and there were several boxes of various American and Asian flavored instant noodles. I grabbed a pair of Tom Yum-flavored packages and fired up the tea kettle. The first package had a moldy smell to it. Maybe it was just a fluke. Unfortunately the second package had the same smell. I looked all over the wrapper and could not find an expiration date.

There was another box of instant noodles that were a different flavor. It had the year 2010 on it! *Bleep*

The only thing left was a box of Ramen. Beef flavor won’t fail me now! I must have bought this recently, maybe within the past year. Nope, 2009! Really?! I was starting to feel like an instant noodle hoarder.

I cannot believe instant noodles have expiration dates! Even my trusty Ramen noodles! I thought these things could survive everything from asteroids to nuclear winters. Instant noodles do not qualify as survival food for a zombie apocalypse. I guess the only thing you can reliably eat remain Twinkies.

 

It’s All About Principles

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While driving home from the Boston Children’s Museum the other day, I was stopped at a red light while waiting to take a right turn. The light just turned green but I had to wait a few moments for some pedestrians to finish crossing the street. That’s when some jerk in a Chevy SUV honked at me. What? Seriously?!

After we both turned right, he races up beside me while we stuck at another set of lights. He angrily yells stuff at me and flips me off. Unlike him, I was smart enough to roll down my window first and yelled back that he’s a “stupid idiot” and that there were pedestrians on the crosswalk. The light turned green and he zoomed off.

Normally it’s not worth my time to get into shouting matches with other motorists but in this case, it was all about principles. It’s one thing if he didn’t see the pedestrians and honked at me because he thought I wasn’t paying attention. It crosses an entirely different line when he tried to intimidate me and cuss me out. I hate the “American” mentality that just because you’re bigger/taller and drive a larger vehicle that they can just push you around. I’m not going to just “take it” when I was trying to do the right thing.

My only regret is that Daniel was pretty scared after the incident; he is not used to hearing me yell at someone. I hope one day he reads this and learns that it’s okay to stand up for yourself. Bullies are everywhere, not just in school. And sometimes it’s okay to give those knuckle draggers a piece of your mind.