Thanksgiving in Houston (pt. 2)

Besides the Marine Corps ball, Nick and I have not been on an official "date night" since Mattis was born.

I don't consider the ball a "date night" since it's a mandatory military event, and because there's really no "us" time.

So when we go to my parent's house, we always make sure to take advantage of free babysitting, and go out...just the two of us.

My parents live in the heart of downtown Houston.

They live walking distance to the swanky Galleria mall, high end couture restaurants, and fabulous night life.

Nick and I always joke about how if we had no kids and were rich, it would be a dream to live there.

My parents have no kids in the house anymore, but they're not much into "going out", so I feel like it's such a waste! lol.

Nick and I decided to check out a speakeasy in the Galleria mall called "the Prohibition".

This is our "we're happy to be kid free for a night" face.

 

 If you're not familiar with a modern day speakeasy, they're really neat!

They're usually tucked away somewhere non-nonchalantly in an unsuspecting building, and when you do find the entrance, it really takes you back to the 1920's era.

The speakeasy we went to was hidden behind a wall in the Galleria with a quote from Zoolander on the wall that said:

"Coming Soon: Derek Zoolander Center Center For Kids Who Can't Read Good and Wanna Learn to Do Other Stuff Good Too."

It totally threw Nick off, and he almost went around into the mall to try and find the front of the speakeasy!

We had to go behind the wall, and tucked inside was a door.

When we walked in, it was dimly lit, quiet, and was adorably decorated in a vintage 1920's theme.

The bartenders were dressed in 1920's attire as well with suspenders and everything!

Since it was the day before Thanksgiving, it was pretty low key, and not too many people there.

Our favorite part was the bartender.

The cool thing about this speakeasy is that it is locally owned, and their drink menu is insane.

The bartender's are classified into different levels.

 1. Apprentice

2. Barsmith

3. Bar chef 

4. Mixologist

You can tell who is who based on what they're wearing.

The mixologist that was working that night really liked Nick and I, and he kept testing out new concoctions on us (on the house!).

Yes, the bar is made out of nickels.

My favorite drinks were their extra dirty martinis, prohibition mule (vodka, ginger beer, pomegranite juice), and some other concoction made out of egg whites, vodka, and some other stuff (lol...it's the second drink from the left in the pic).

This is a pic of the "prohibition mule".

We had a great time, and it was so cool!

I love our date nights alone because it just reminds me just how lucky I am.

It was so nice to just have adult conversation, grown up drinks, and the company of my partner in crime :-)

I seriously freaking LOVE this man with every ounce of my being, and I am sooooooo thankful that God chose him for me!

 Here's a short clip about the place!

Perfect for a date night. :-)

Thanksgiving in Houston (pt.1)

As soon as we got into Houston, my mom picked us up from the airport, and we met up with my dad to have lunch at a Korean/Japanese noodle restaurant. 

We were really excited since it would have been my dad's first time ever meeting his new (and only) grandson.

If you can't tell, he was elated (and Mattis looks surprised...lol)!

Afterwards, we headed over to my grandparent's house.

I feel so lucky to be able to give my grandparents to opportunity to see their great grand children.

I know a lot of people don't have that sort of opportunity, so I felt really blessed to be able to do that for them.

My poor grandma had fallen and fractured her foot the week prior, so she was in a boot.

To make things worse, she fell in her bathroom on Thanksgiving, broke 4 ribs that collapsed her lung, and was hospitalized the entire time I was home.

I got to go see her every day at the hospital, but it wasn't the same as going to her house to see her,

Please pray for my grandma!

This is my grandpa (AKA the Rev) holding Mattis for the first time.

My kids and their great grandparents.

My grandma and me

One thing that I do every time I go home is get my hair cut.

I've lived in New England now for a year, and I still have yet to find a hair salon that I really love.

When I lived in Orange County, it felt like there were state of art hair salons in every corner, but after moving here, it's been such a challenge.

I always make a trip to Michaelyndon Salon in Houston to get my hair done with Alvin.

As always, he did not disappoint!

I told him my hair was all falling out due to post pregnancy hormones, and he knew just the hair cut to get me through the "awkward hair stage".

Seriously, you can't find a salon like that up here!

I'll write more about the rest of my trip later!

The Perfect Travel Companions

We're back in Massachusetts, and we haven't even had a chance to breathe since our trip!

Nick went back to work today, and Dannika had gymnastics today.

I really could have used one more day to just unwind, and have Nick around to help with the kids.

But life never stops when it comes to motherhood and the Marine Corps!

Our trip home was absolutely wonderful.

Just getting to spend time with family, relaxing, and eating way too much delicious food was just what our family needed after the last few hectic months.

I was most nervous about Mattis' first plane ride.

Nervous is actually an understatement.

I didn't want to be "those parents" with "those kids" on the plane.

Having always lived away from family, Dannika is no stranger to plane rides.

She's been on a plane more times in her 4 years of life than some adults have in their entire life!

From the time she was an infant until now, she has been the absolute perfect little travel buddy and companion.

I was deathly afraid that Mattis was gonna be "that baby".

I figured I was entirely way too blessed with one perfect child to travel with.

Asking God for two perfect children would have been too much to ask of Him.

THANK GOD though that Mattis was an absolute angel!

Seriously...

People have asked me for advice, but I really have none!

I don't do anything special to keep my kids well behaved.

I'm just ridiculously blessed.

 The only "drama" we had while flying was on our way home.

We had a short 20 minute layover in Newark, and of course the gate we landed at and the gate of our final flight was on opposite ends of the airport!

I'm sure it was a funny sight to see our family sprinting through the airport to catch our flight!

My poor husband was carrying my 4 year old in his right hand, back pack on his back, her back pack in his left hand.

I lucked out and just had to push the stroller.

Needless to say, we barely made it to the gate....sweating our butts off!

 

The only "issue" we had while flying with this little guy was that he decided to poop, and it leaked out of his diaper.

It was everywhere (to include my poor husband's pants)!

I couldn't have asked for a better experience flying as a family of four, and I'm definitely not afraid to do it again!

So Long Texas, Until Next Time...

Today is our last day in Texas.

I'm sad.

It was a gorgeous 75 degrees today and sunny.

It was absolutely beautiful. 

I wish i had packed my flip flops.

I love it here so much.

Every time I make a trip back home, I realize that Dorothy was right.

 There truly is "no place like home."

I realize more and more that there is no other place in this world that I would rather be than in Texas.

I love the friendly southern hospitality of the people here.

I love the delicious southern BBQ.

I love kolaches.

I love Shipley's glazed donuts.

I love queso and chips.

I love the immense amount of pride that Texans have for our state.

It truly is the best state.

Go anywhere in the world, and a foreigner will be able to tell you exactly where Texas is.

Most importantly, I love my family.

As much as they drive me crazy sometimes, they're my kind of crazy.

I loved being able to go visit my grandma in the hospital everyday for a few hours at a time and just sit and talk with her. 

My dad absolutely fell head over heels in love with my little Mattis.

He doesn't have sons, so I think finally having a boy in the family made him happy.

On our last day, we went out to lunch with my parents, and took Dannika and Mattis to the Houston Galleria to get their annual mall Santa photo.

Actually, it's Mattis's first Santa photo.

 Funny story, Mattis tried to nurse on Santa.

Talk about awkward.

Good thing Santa didn't notice.

I can't complain about this picture.

Dannika is smiling, and Mattis is looking at the camera.

Ridiculously over priced mall Santa photo well worth the money….

Back to the cold state of Massachusetts tomorrow. 

I'm excited to see our friends, but other than that, I'm just feeling a little "blah".

I just keep telling myself that our residency there is not permanent.

I do feel extremely lucky that my husband has a job that gives us a chance to explore all different parts of the world and live in places that we would otherwise never think to live in.

We make the best of it :-)

A Kim Family Thanksgiving

Some of my most fondest memories of growing up were the holidays that I spent with my dad's side of the family (the Kim side).

My mom's family all live in South Korea, and I spent many Summers visiting them in South Korea (the Moon side).

Just to give you a little background…

My grandfather is a pastor, and moved his entire family (grandma, my dad, my three uncles, and my aunt) to Houston from South Korea in the late 70's/early 80's because of a job.

My mom and dad were married in 1982, and moved here right after they were married.

Because they have lived here in the U.S. for over 30 years, I like to say that my dad's side of the family is an "Americanized Korean family".

While they still hold a lot of Korean traditions and customs, they have adopted most of the American customs and traditions along with some Texan ones as well!

Koreans don't celebrate Thanksgiving (because it's a purely American holiday), but my family does.

They spare nothing, and they go all out!

We do a traditional Thanksgiving turkey with all the fixins', and we also do a huge Korean feast of Korean BBQ and Korean style side dishes.

Every year, my dad, uncles, and aunt all take turns hosting holidays at their homes.

This year was my Uncle Mike and his girlfriend, Lori's turn to host.

They live in a gorgeous high rise, luxury condo right in the heart of Houston, and they reserved the party room TWO whole years in advance.

Here's the spread…

Turkey, ham, Korean kalbi, stuffing, mashed potatoes, kimchi, tempura shrimp, and all kinds of other deliciousness.

That's my grandpa…AKA…"the Rev"

A short sermon before dinner.

Dannika and my cousins Ashley and Sophie praying.

My mom (AKA Gigi) and Dannika

I'm so glad that my little family got to experience a "Kim Family Thanksgiving".

Being a military family, it's always hard to include ourselves with the rest of my family since we are always so far away.

However, when we do get a chance to make it down to the "Lone Star State", it's always a treat, and we always have a great time.

I hope everyone else enjoyed their Thanksgiving as much as we did!

I'll be posting about our trip soon!