Food in Vegas...

As soon as Jordan's game was over...we jumped in the car, grabbed some food, gassed up and hit the road for Las Vegas. The drive was not bad at all..it was 5 hours to Primm...where we had dinner and did a little shopping. BTW...I loved the shopping!

We had ramen at Cafe Koraku...we love the restaurant in LA Little Tokyo...funny, how it is more expensive and it seemed like the servings were smaller.



I finally was able to make Suga's chopstick holder.


We met the Jangs in Las Vegas...they flew in and stayed at Vdara...we were at Southpoint...off the strip.

Our first food stop...Pop's Philly Steaks...yum!



Kaitlyn's hoagie and the boy's chili cheese fries.


My cheesesteak, Jeff and I split....unfortunately, Jeff was expecting some food from Neil...but, he ATE THE WHOLE THING!



The Jangs...


The kids...


After some outlet shopping...I am proud to say, I did NOT buy the most...can you say Jeff and Jordan? Neil did some damage also....we stopped for some frozen custard. Luv it is suppose to be better than the place we went to in Henderson. But, I like the other place better...besides having indoor seating with AC...I like the concretes better there...


What is Frozen Custard?


After Monday's snack, I kinda forgot to take pictures of food...but, one place worth going to again...Steaks and Shakes at our hotel. Sorry Kathy, we should have gone there for Tuesday night dinner...oh my, it was good.

Of course we went to Aloha Specialties at the Cal and Main Street buffet..but, we always go there...a new place, which had slow service and the food was so-so...was the Grand Lux at the Venetian.

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Cobras!!!

Okay, maybe I am a little biased...but I LOVE the CCJABA Cobra basketball Tourney. Yea, I know it is in Fresno on Father's Day weekend...but look at the bright side...no Tule Fog...and that fog is SCARY! Yes, it is a little hot...but, it's been hotter and it cooled off nicely for the social.

And let's face it, the Cobras put on a nice tourney in nice gyms, and hosted by a nice group. It was FABULOUS seeing everyone, and my 199th cousin Tim was president this year...gotta support family, even if they are pseudo-family.

The 3rd-4th grade SF Hoopsters were short, so they picked Neil up. He really enjoyed playing with these boys. Neil has really improved and it showed this weekend. We were both impressed. He was engaged and the team was great talking to him. Too bad they are so far away...I think he would enjoy playing with them. Luckily he knew Andrew and sort of knew Matthew since their older brothers were playing with Jordan.


Jordan went back to his JYO team And it was nice to see everyone again. Jordan loves this tourney...even more this year because of his nickname... COBRA! This weekend The Cobra showed up, not the Gartersnake...so, if having a nickname works...great!



Neil, Andrew and Matthew at their brother's game...yes, the DS came out.



(hmmm...I think I will get at least one comment...sorry, Joyce...the weekend was full of basketball...we will try to set something up next year -Father's Day weekend...)

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We have 7th and 5th graders in the house!

Tuesday was the last day of school...Neil is now a 5th grader and Jordan is officially a 7th grader. Jeff and I were commenting about how scary "Junior High School" sounds...not the actual school...but the words "JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL"





Here are some pictures of Jordan's promotion...





After a LONG conversation, I picked up a black shirt and yellow tie...he agreed to wear that....and not his current "dress up wear" his Ninja basketball polo shirt...grr...





Jordan with Ms. Jane..the school secretary





With Mrs Hart, his 6Th grade teacher





With Grandpa, Uncle Dean and Uncle Gary





With Aalum, Fahad and Ming Ho





Christina with her parents, Alesia and Peter





With Christina...they were in kindergarten together





Surprise! Ethan and his Mom were there...Ethan and Jordan went to pre-school together! They received tickets from a friend who was in Jordan's class!





With the Great-grandmother's at Rose Garden for a celebratory dinner. The waiter needs photography lessons!- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Hello! It has been a while...

Ok, so once again I can make excuse after excuse...but the result is the same...I haven't posted in a LONG TIME...sorry...

The school year is coming to an end...so, life has been hectic...Jordan has his promotion on Tuesday, so last week was busy running off the invitations and programs. Luckily, some of the other Moms did the layout and approvals and all I had to do was the photocopying, collating and folding.

The big accomplishment was that I finished crocheting the leis for Jordan's class...mental note to self...star earlier for Neil's class...













Neil and I finished his teacher's year-end present...Remember that great deal on planters I came across a while back? Purple pansies --- purple and gold are Warwick school colors.













Finally, my little flower girl is getting married in August...she had a bridal shower today in Morgan Hill. I finished up one of her presents on Saturday...a family cookbook..with recipes that I copied from my Mother's recipe files. I found recipes from her grandmother, her aunts etc...funny how so many of the recipes called for deep frying!












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Uncle Kunio

On our way down to LA for the Tigers Tournament, I received a call from my brother that our Uncle passed away. He lived next door to us growing up...we would have to show our report cards to him ... Preferably before our parents...I remember staying with my grandmother after my grandfather died. My uncle who lived with them, let me stay up late...I remember him counting the number of hours of sleep I would get if I stayed up until 9..."okay, you will still get 9 hours of sleep if you get up at 6." little did he know, I really needed 11-12...or lately more...

Below is his obituary that my brothers wrote, and I edited...tee hee...



Kunio Ikeda, 83, of Salinas, passed away Friday, May 27, 2011, after a short hospitalization.

Born in Gardena, California on July 29, 1927, Kunio moved to Kagoshima Prefecture in Japan with his family in 1936. Due to the war, the family was separated and he graduated from Kajiki High School in Japan. He was unable to rejoin his family until 1951 at the age of 24.

Kunio moved to Salinas and helped run the family business, Ikeda Farms. Following the death of his parents, Yeizo and Satsu, Kunio continued farming with his brothers, Isamu and Don. He was active with the farm until his death.

In addition to farming, Kunio was an avid fan of sumo and a member of the Buddhist Temple of Salinas, Kagoshima Kenjinkai, and the Salinas Valley Japanese American Citizen League (JACL). In recent years he has enjoyed spending time with his close friend, Kazuko Piacentino.

Kunio is survived by a sister, Atsuko (Jack) Obata of Gilroy; brothers, Sam and Don of Salinas.

He was preceded in death by brother, Hiroshi and sisters-in-law, Yoshiko and Joyce.

His family also included a number of nephews and nieces - Alan (Kevin Heath) Obata of Gilroy, Teri (Tom) Hinmon of Gilroy, Yuko (Tom) Ohe of Sunnyvale, Reiko Ikeda of Salinas, Dean Ikeda of Salinas, Sheri (Jeffrey) Minamide of Fremont, Gary Ikeda of Sunnyvale, and Dave (Shizuka) Ikeda of Alameda.

Memorial service will be held Saturday, June 25, 2011, at 4 p.m., at the Buddhist Temple of Salinas, 14 California St., Salinas, CA 93901.

Arrangements by Struve and Laporte Chapel.

Online condolences: www.struveandlaporte.com


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Seems like he just left...

Jordan is coming back tomorrow....Didn't he just leave? But, hey, we missed him, even if Neil won't admit it...but, let's face it, Neil is getting clingy like the cat....so, we KNOW he misses his big brother!


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Mom...1 year

It has been a year since Mom died...in some ways it has been a LONG year, heck, it has been a long week with Uncle Kunio in ICU...but all in all, it has been a healing year.

Dad and Dean are adjusting to life at home...Dad did have a very slight stroke about a month ago...he was really lucky and it only affected his right leg...but, he has been cleared to drive and is doing fine.

Grandma has been coming to my house every afternoon, has dinner and then we take her home.

We are all doing fine, we have survived our first year of "firsts"...we are finding out that we are stronger than we thought.

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