Grandma's and Auntie's Visit

Poa-poa and Terry flew up last weekend to visit us. Poa enjoyed the short flight so much the first thing she said was she could come up every other weekend...then she told us the next time we go home, don't drive the 8 to 10 hours, just fly! Well, now that the boys are older (just one booster car seat, no stroller, Noah can carry his own backpack, etc.) it is a reasonable option, though they have been pretty good in the car for all those hours.

Last weekend we also celebrated Jonah's birthday. He picked out his birthday cake theme: Thomas the Tank Engine. It was a simple cake: vanilla with buttercream frosting. Sometimes the simple cakes taste sooo yummy! I always wonder about those overly-decorated cakes I see on various Food Network shows; they are just "touched" so much...Anyways, Jonah liked his cake a lot; he kept asking to eat it for breakfast!


It was really a fun visit and of course Poa insisted on keeping us fed. I drove everyone sightseeing to the Old Fishermans Wharf where we got samples of clam chowder, but Poa insisted on buying us plates of fried calamari and clam chowder in a bread bowl. Yummy! She also bought some smoked salmon for James, who had to stay home and study.

Noah helps himself to a free sample of clam chowder...

I showed Poa the neen-goh I made for New Years; she was impressed. Although I don't think it was as sweet as Ti-Ti's, but she said Ti-Ti usually used a box of brown sugar for each cake; I think I used 1/2-cup...well, next year. And the week-later-pan-fried method was just as good.

The past few months I have been making chicken broth from scratch, "just like mom's." My broth doesn't seem as rich as Poa's, so while she was here she gave me some tips. Now, each time the boys have soup they call it "Poa-Poa's tong-tong," even though I make it.

We can't forget about Auntie Terry. It was like having a weekend-long slumber party! And her suitcase was filled with fun books and Transformer toys for the boys.

The boys cannot wait until we fly home for Spring Break! I wonder what is more exciting to them: going on an airplane or hanging out with their cousins and getting spoiled by Poa...