Thanksgiving Dinner 2012 with Turkey

My wife cooks turkeys every year for Thanksgiving even though we only have 4 people in our family.

This year, too, we had turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanksgiving dinner 2012

Here is our dinner that we had:  Turkey, Spam Sushi, fries, macaroni, salads, Swedish meatball and sauces.

They were delicious as always!!  We need to get a turkey dish soon...

Smiling Chihuahuas 2012

My younger chihuahua is very very naughty just like kids.

She is very sneaky and even has sneaky attitudes and smiles.  (smirk)

Smiling chihuahua 1

If you look at her, you always think she is up to something naughty...

smiling chihuahua 2

(photos taken October 2012)

Tim Horton's Halloween Donuts 2012

Currently, Tim Horton's having these cute Halloween donuts on sale for 1.19 each.

I like the designs (I have seen two types so far.)
They do look cute and colorful with a picture in the middle!

Even though they are just sprinkled chocolate donuts, I will have it for night snack!

Laity Pumpkin Patch (Thanksgiving Weekend) 2012

It is that kind of the year already: Pumpkins, Halloween, Holidays, autumn....

It gives a feeling that a year is going to be over soon...
However!  We have awesome weather for fall this year!

I decided to take my kids to the pumpkin patch in Maple Ridge, BC this year.
I have never been there so I thought it would be great for everyone!

Laity Pumpkin Patch Maple Ridge

The weather is so good, and with mountain and blue sky, the picture turned out very good.

They have so much pumpkins in the patch, and it looked endless!
They came in all kinds of sizes, I picked a big one with 91 cm diameter. (26 inch)

My kids also had fun with the pumpkin patch.  They had kids area, petty zoos with animals and cartoon boards...etc

They also had a couple of turkeys on display.

Laity farm turkeys

Here are the cartoon characters:

Snoopy, charlie brown and pumpkins

Winnie the Pooh

Well, those are good ideas to attract families....
You do need to pay 4 dollars per person for tickets.

They don't have good corn field rides but they do have a small corn maze.

We had a good time, and I hope my kids would remember these times.

Carleton Cards: A Pet is Love Christmas Ornament

I collect lots of ornament from Carleton Cards and Hallmark every year.

Too much...I think but here I bought the first one of the year.
I thought I can put my dogs pictures in this one.

A Pet is Love Christmas ornament carleton cards

I think I buy too much of these things....

Super Mario Kart Wii: K'Nex

My best friend gave me a gift card for my son's birthday.

I was thinking what to get....because my son is such a mario fan, we decided to get a Mario Kart set from K'Nex. 

Apparently, you need to buy 4 sets to make a giant track.
However, I don't have space, so I am content with a small set anyways.

mario wii beach set

I bought the beach set, and it came with a cute crab and a motorized toad kart.

I am still debating whether to get other sets because it is not entertaining my two sons as much as I thought....

It is very cute though! (some parts are too small for small kids.)

Old El Paso Taco Dinner Kit

They were giving away free Elso Paso Taco Dinner Kit on the coupon site, save.ca in the summer.

We went to get the free taco box, and my wife made the taco dinner:

Old El Paso Hard Taco

It is tasty but of course, you have make the inside.

Taco dinner

It was delicious along with fries and broccoli!

Tim Horton's Smile Cookies 2012

Tim Horton's produces Smile Cookies every year comes September.

I bought more cookies for my kids, and this time, they are smiling...haha

Tim Horton's Smile Cookie 2012

Last year, the cookie I got was not smiling...see below:

http://bentochihuahua.blogspot.ca/2011/09/tim-hortons-smile-cookie-or-no-smile.html

funny..

McDonald's Paul Frank Figure and Calendar

I can't believe it is October already.  A year passes by so fast.

Paul Frank is famous for designing "Julius" the monkey on its fashion lines.

Early September, if people buy happy meals, they can choose one of Paul Frank's stationary for kids.

We got a cute figure and a desk calendar!

Paul Frank McDonald's Happy Meal toy calendar

I think it is quite cute and in McDonald's standard, well made.
They should be making more of these instead of those rough, cheap, ugly toys.

Restaurant: Sushi California in Coquitlam, BC

Sushi California is a popular restaurant next to Lougheed mall at a very busy intersection.
(North Road and Austin Road)

We went there to buy some take out food to see what they can offer.
First the price is cheap, and the proportion seems big for the party tray for 4 people...see below.

Sushi California Party Tray

Well, this is called North American size, big but with limited content inside the sushi.
Mostly, they are cucumber inside the huge rolls.
And as always, when I apply the chopsticks to pick up the sushi, they crumble.

sushi with mostly cucumber

Again, cheap huge sushi here, does not guarantee artistry or quality.
The taste is not too bad and the sashimi was fresh.

For a take out restaurant with low price (35 dollars for 4 people), I would give it a B+ for price.
However, the outside look of sushi would be C-.  Taste would be B- overall.
In Canadian standard, not in Japanese standard....haha

B'z North American Tour: Into Free 2012

We went to B'z live concert yesterday in Orpheum Theatre in downtown Vancouver!!

It was absolutely awesome!  I cannot believe the energetic, charismatic, cool rocker (Inaba) is actually 47 years old.  He should be 27 years old!!

The voice was absolutely powerful and the performance was impressive.
(I have never been to a live event but the background is sometimes overly loud that I can't hear the singing.)

The experience was absolutely awesome!!  I was even more impressed by the artists after the concert!

Here is the T-shirt I bought that Inaba wore in the concert:

B'z Into Free 2012 t-shirt

 They have so much energy! The theatre was small so we can actually see the band playing in front of us.

Awesome Extended Summer Weather 2012

Here in B.C, Canada, we are enjoying a good late summer weather this year.
Usually, it should be around 15 degrees by middle of September, but we are having great weather this year.

Bright blue sky with no clouds...wonderful.

We did not have a summer this year till the first day of August and the sun came out.
June was terrible and July was so so....with lots of clouds and rain.

I don't mind this late summer weather this year!

McDonald's Canada: New Caramel Baked Pie

McDonald's release the new Caramel Baked Pie.

I would say it is one of the better tasting pie.
(chocolate banana is still my favorite!)

McDonald's Caramel baked pie

This one has a simple taste but it is a safe bet: Caramel.

I would give it a 8.5 out of 10...not bad for a McDonald's dessert.

I would sure buy this again because we love it and the kids love it.

Play-Doh and Very Hungry Caterpillar for Kids

We recently bought Play-Doh for our kids to play with in the winter.

In Canada, the winter is long and cold, so this could be one thing to do for kids.

Play-Doh from Toys R US

My wife made a Very Hungry Caterpillar replica using Play-Doh for my son.

However, my 1-year-old just crushed it with two hands in two minutes....what a pity!!

Play-Doh Very Hungry Caterpillar

Isn't it cute??

Bed Bath & Beyond: 5 Light Floor Lamp

I saw this five color lamp in the flyer and decided to buy it last weekend from Bed, Bath & Beyond.
It is a little short but fits in any room.

5 color lamp bed bath & beyoond

5 color light lamp

It is very easy to install, and it is only 20 dollars plus tax.  Not bad.

Lego Store Vancouver: October Halloween Set

It is amazing that many stores started to sell costumes and Halloween themed items in the middle of summer.
I guess all the merchandise will have to be there for 3 months for these "big" commercialized events.

We went to Lego Store at the end of August because they had a free give away event.
However, when we arrived on time, more than 100 kids already walked away with the free build.

We were like, "what the...people really had nothing to do"...well, it is summer and everyone wanted free stuff.

Halloween set lego store 2012

We thought that we will still get some things.
Lego store released this Halloween set for merely 5 dollars.
I also got a keychain and some mini figures that day.

The weather is getting cooler now.  I can't believe that fall is almost here.

Lego Hong Kong Display in Aberdeen Centre, Richmond, BC

The Canadian Lego Architect has built a replica of downtown Hong Kong in Aberdeen Centre.

It is amazing how he could have done it with a few photographs.  Just amazing....
The imaging ability of his brain must be so exceptional.

Lego Hong Kong display aberdeen centre richmond

I wish I can do that....

lego Hong Kong display aberdeen centre richmond 2

Here are pictures from other angles:

lego hong kong display aberdeen centre richmond 3

Even the backgrounds are made with lego pieces!

Kart Racing in Tsawwassen, BC, Canada

I have never tried kart racing before (only in theme parks), so I decided to try it for our birthdays!

With kids, I can only go on the double kart but we had lots of fun.

The double kart goes up to 50 km/hr but the smaller kart can go up to 80 km/hr.
I seemed so slow driving the double kart with people passing me all the time.

Kart racing tsawwassen

However, inside the kart, it feels fast even if it's 50 km/hr.

I would try it again when my boys are bigger, but the sport is costly.
It is around 25 dollars for 15 minutes...(and how do they measure that?)

The rental karts are basic and run down but some people bring their own fancy karts.
People also race bikes here....

My boy apparently enjoyed it as well even if he looked scared...haha

Summer Festival in Blaine, Washington

One day, before we went shopping for grocery down in Bellingham, Washington, we decided to stop by Blaine, a small border town.

We wanted to go for a picnic near the seaside park.
And, it turned out that they had a summer festival with small vendors selling food and crafts.

Blaine, Washington seaside

It was a grogeous, perfect summer day with blue sky!!
There was a replica pirate ship going around the dock to show the visitors.

blaine wa pirate ship

They also had music bands playing and some model miniature boats on display.

We had a nice time!
It is nice to see a relaxing festival in a small town during the summer time!

My Birthday Gift 2012: Kipling Shoulder Bag

I received a black Kipling bag for my birthday this year.

Kipling is known for its canvas bags and its mascot gorillas.

This shoulder bag with handles is perfect for my work and can fit a lot of things in there.
It also has front, back and inside pockets. (very good for carrying small things).

Kipling black bag shoulder

I like bags with different compartments to keep things tidy.
This actually completes my collection because I have two black bags in different sizes.
I like the monkeys because they look cute to me. haha.