Long flight to the US. Teary farewell with the kids at Perth airport. Lots of waiting around in Perth, and then in Sydney. Lucky to get an empty seat next to me on the flight to LAX. Had bought a neck pillow, managed to get some sleep. Took ages to get through immigration, then car ride to Mark’s place in Laguna Beach. Afternoon in office; rode in Mark’s Tesla (Marci, his wife, has an identical one). Impossible burger for lunch. Met the team, then home to a pre-prepared chef meal for dinner. Rained all day, but beautiful clear day the following morning. Stayed awake until 9pm and then slept until 8:20am. Was the first day of Hanuka, so gave Mark, Marci and their kids the presents I bought over. Fixed a production issue while drinking coffee in Mark’s kitchen. Going in to the office at 11am.
Long sleep last night. Took kids to school, then a good day at work. Eliza went to Zophia’s house after school. Jack and I went shopping, then played together before walking her back homa again. Cooked spaghetti marinara for dinner. Set up some rechargeable candles for some serious hygge after dinner :)
Jack to North Shore in the morning, then we packed up picnic things, grabbed some food from the IGA and headed to King’s Park. The spring festival is on at the moment, with live music. We picnicked and then let the kids play while we listened to the music. They made new friends, naturally. Next was a walk throught the park to see the wildflowers, ending up at the DNA tower. I threw Jack’s new soccer ball from the top to Eliza and Jack waiting below. They also enjoyed getting wet at the fountain. Home for a rest, then Eliza and I made barbequeued lamb skewers for dinner. Early night; I was in bed by 10pm.
Dzung at wine walk. Took kids to karate, then to Garbo, where Eliza bought a magazing of puzzles after seeing the ad for it at mum and dad’s last night. Jack spent his $10 KMart gift voucher (on a small soccer ball). Bought pies for lunch, which we took home and ate, before playing outside for a while. Dzung came home slightly tipsy. We chatted outside in the sunshine, then played handball with the kids for a while. Lots of laughs! She then retired for a nap, emerging a few hours later to prepare dinner. We ate in front of the TV, watching an episode of Blue Planet II. Van and Kiet off on a holiday to Singapore and Vietnam today.
Dzung out to see the ballet. Dinner with the kids at mum and dad’s. Jack had a jumble sale at school today; we gave him money to spend, and he ended up spending it all on presents for his cousins. What an angel! Mum doted on me quite a bit at dinner, not sure what’s going on there. We had a good time chatting and snacking.
Productive day at work. Chicken macaroni soup for lunch. Delicious!
Great day at work; finished a sprint and shipped to production. Process going well, lots to do. Jack’s school sports carnival (Finlay too) so, although Dzung and I very busy at work, we dashed in to the school three times to watch events. He went well, and ended up winning a gift voucher for the best decorated cake box.
Dzung took Jack to swimming after school. Eliza had a viola audition for next term, but she wants to stay in string orchestra anyway. Mix up picking up Eliza and Zophia; I forgot I’d told Eliza I would pick her up from the school. Dzung waited for her in the park. Neither was happy with me.
Dzung took Jack swimming. I made chicken macaroni soup, including a big new batch of garlic oil. Absolutely delicious. Ended the night curating podcasts and making up stories for Jack.