Sunday 9/25: Two races in one day!

Race #1: Susan G. Komen

Linh ran the Susan G. Komen 5K at Fashion Island in memory of his friend/roommate who died of brain cancer and my dad who died of Leukemia. 

The whole family (incluing Deanna and Wilson) woke up at the crack of dawn to go with Linh. It was a hectic morning getting the kids ready and out the door. As we got on the freeway, Linh mentioned that he was going to bring the camera, but didn't because he thought I would have too much on my hands with the kids. I was so bummed! So, I resorted to using my camera phone and the photo booths at the race, LOL.

Linh and Nathan before the race.

Excited to go get free samples!

Linh ran the 5K with Wilson, Alfred, Thong and Ali, while I collected free samples with Deanna and Kim. Once we were done, we took Nathan to the kid zone for some kid friendly activities. Nathan got a balloon sword and cool shark tattoo. 

 Feeding Ryan before heading to the booths.

Ryan was such a trooper and did not cry once!

I <3 UCLA! The banana in his hand was the first freebie that Nathan got.

 The loot! We actually got a bunch of other stuff that we ate along the way.

Photobooth #1

Photobooth #2

Photobooth #3 (the background on this one is pretty cheesy)

 Cool tattoo!

Trying to do the hang loose symbol with his fingers. 

Since I had everyone's cell phones, we waited at the kid zone for everyone to come back. I start to see people trickling back...then come Wilson and Thi...waiting...waiting...waiting...still waiting. Where the heck is Linh? I get tired of waiting and the kids are getting restless, so we leave the kid zone. Unbeknownst to me, Linh and the boys (minus Wilson) went to the car to drink some beer after finishing the run. His mistake...he incriminated himself when he came strolling back with beer in hand. I was beyond LIVID! He was so in the doghouse. His reason for the beer..

Linh: "We were celebrating finishing the run." 
Me (incredulous): "For a 5k?"

Race #2: Eating Marathon

After the race, we headed up to Manhattan Beach for a BBQ at Aunt Terri's house. A BBQ at Aunt Terri's house always means an abundance of delicious food, drinks and good company. But, let me tell you, it was literally an eating marathon. We seriously had to pace ourselves to eat all that food.

Nathan tried scallops for the first time and LOVED it. He better not get too attached though...we can't afford to feed him scallops, LOL. He even got to drink his first carbonated beverage (not soda, just carbonated juice). The surprise of the day for Linh was when I drank a mimosa...my first alcoholic beverage in years!

Thanks to Aunt Terri & Uncle Dave for being such amazing hosts! I feel intimidated by the thought of having them over now. The bar has definitely been set very high.

Yummy!

 Cheers!

Below is all the delicious food we ate (in order of appearance). This was after excluding BBQ chicken and tacos from the menu. 
1) Raw ahi tuna seasoned with sesame oil 

2) Seared scallops with a caprese-like salad of heirloom tomatoes, basil and roasted onions.

3) Spicy bean sprout salad (pictured with the corn below)

   

4) Trung ga lon (similar to a balut). Nathan's favorite! He ate 2.

5) Roasted corn with Parmesan cheese

   

6) Artichokes
7) Chao ca (porridge with fish) 

8) Pho ga (chicken pho)

9) Che chuoi (banana dessert)