Lakers Life at Staples Center

By KEVIN DING

Here are a couple photos from this season that include me at Staples Center during Lakers games.

I used to sit in a truly courtside seat (right behind the Laker Girls), but the Lakers realized a few years back that they could make literally millions of dollars from my press seat, so they started selling it and moved my seat back a bit. Now David Beckham can enjoy courtside what I used to, while I lurk behind him.

Maven's 1st Dentist Appointment

By MAGGIE WANG

My dislike for the dentist has caused me to prefer Kevin to handle the girls' trips to get their teeth checked out or worked on. Maven was actually pretty excited about getting to go to the dentist for the first time. Kevin got Maven fast-tracked to go only to the pediatric dentist and reassigned to the one Sedona uses, so Maven was looking forward to it ... even though she at home is reluctant to brush her teeth sometimes.  

So here is Maven going for her first appointment with Dr. Pak. Maven looks happy - and it was overall a success except for the fact that she was a bit timid and wouldn't sit in the dental seat b/c "it was too big" for her.

Fortunately, Maven has great teeth. Zero cavities, which is ironic because she isn't as diligent as Sedona about brushing and often requests that she be held while doing it. Sedona the avid brusher had a bizillion cavities. Dr. Pak did say Maven has big teeth for a small mouth and probably will need braces eventually, but whatever the case, I am grateful we don't need to spend another $1,000+ now at the dentist as we did for all of the work on Sedona's teeth!

Kevin and Maven occupied their time in the waiting room taking photos of Maven's cutie-pie face ...

Maven's Birthday at School

By MAGGIE WANG

When children have birthdays at Montessori, they don't do sweets or cakes but rather a birthday celebration: It begins with a poster board of information, then the kids sing: "The earth goes around the sun, sha-la ..." Don't ask me what it means, but the birthday child circles the sun for each year old he or she is.

I visited for the ceremony, and so did Sedona. Maven took a spot on the lap of Miss Valerie, who taught Sedona previously and is now Maven's favorite teacher.



Maven's 3rd Birthday: Adventure City

By MAGGIE WANG

Maven's Birthday falls on the Friday of Spring Break this year, so we got to really enjoy the day with friends.  Riley, Hailey, Landry, Mackenzie and Isabel joined us for some fun celebrating at Adventure City in Orange County.

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This park was small and very easy to maneuver. It felt like the carnivals that swing into town but permanent. The lines were short or non-existent, allowing the girls to go around and around multiple times without ever getting off -- all for a very reasonable price of $13.95 per person. If not obvious from the picture, Maven spent a lot of energy and had a great time!

A birthday isn't a birthday without cakes!



Two Days at Legoland

By MAGGIE WANG

The girls were on Spring Break from school this week, so we decided to squeeze in a Legoland trip as a family (especially before Maven turned 3, as tickets cost $79 per child older than 2). Fortunately, we were able to score some discounted two-day tickets through Kevin working at The Orange County Register and got three tickets that included water-park access for a grand total of only $189. Score!

Sedona was especially excited to go, as she has friends from school who've gone to and loved Legoland, which is about an hour and a half away from our house (between Orange County and San Diego). We made a date of the first day with Mag's family.

Let's see where we should go!

Driving the Safari Trek in Duplo Village.

In many of the lines, they had Lego play areas for the kids while the adults waited in line. Smart!

The lowlight was a bad decision to wait in the longest line for the Sky Cruiser in Fun Town. Not worth it.

The Legoland Water Park debuted in 2010. Sedona had a great time going down all the slides that were just the right size for her. She is growing up so quick!

Sedona driving by herself at the Volvo Junior Driving School.

Maven obediently and confidently lied so she could drive, telling the instructor she was 3, which was the youngest you could be. (Well, she would turn 3 in four more days, so no biggie!) Let's just say Sedona got a certification card for acing the course, but Maven did not. Kevin has some video he'll post later.

Sky Patrol. Boring for us, but girls still happy.

Flight Squadron in Fun Town.

After being there from 10:30 a.m. until closing time at 5 p.m., we headed out for some yummy seafood at Pelly's Fish Market before checking in at our hotel.

We arrived for Round 2 of Legoland promptly at 10 a.m., when they open, and grabbed tons of rides with no lines, allowing us to leave the park at 12:30 p.m. to get home in time for Kevin to cover that day's Lakers game! Efficient family, huh? (Speaking of which, the ride pictured below was slow enough and Kevin separated from Maven anyway that during it he was able to check in on his iPhone for his flight to Oakland the next day.)

Cargo Ace in Land of Adventure.

Beetle Bounce. Sedona looks like she is having fun, but this is just about the point where she realizes this isn't a very timid right and she actually hates it and just has to endure it till it ends.

The Royal Joust in the Castle Hill was more her pace.

Getting ready for the 4D "Bob the Builder" show.

Treasure Falls in Pirate Shores. Sedona liked this one.

Skipper School in Fun Town was good, as I raced our boat against one driven by Sedona and we passed each other a couple times.

Overall, a great trip! We got to do lots of rides, and the girls had a great time. Some of the rides were a tad on the boring side -- Sesame Place near New York was definitely better -- but suitable for their age group.

Twins

By MAGGIE WANG

After enjoying some time with my adult girlfriends, I came home to perfect beach weather to take out my little gal pals! They put on their I-Love-Lakers shirts, and we headed out. Gosh, I love where we live and how quickly we can get down to the beach without hopping in a car! We are so lucky!

Maven was so pooped afterward that she fell asleep on the couch, and Sedona went sneaking in for snuggles while she slept. So cute! I love how close they are. They don't always dress alike, but Maven especially would be "twins" every day, if she could. Someone recently at Funky Monkey class saw the girls interacting sweetly and said, "They really are best friends, huh?"

Girls' Night: SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills

By MAGGIE WANG

I've been so lucky these past couple of years that Debbie has come out to L.A. on business, so she has been able to stay weekends with us. We love having her around.  

But besides the girls' affection for her, I love having her around -- especially this trip, as it was just a fantastic weekend full of yummy food, meditation, hotel fun and drinks.

It has been a hectic first half of the year With lots going on with work, I mentioned to Kevin how I would like to get away for a night, and he is always supportive of me recharging. I told Debbie that I was likely going to take a night away before she visited (if I could fit it in). Within 5 minutes, she texted me to have Kevin watch the girls because she booked the SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills for my birthday! Oh, how I love Debbie. She is truly the best person with whom to travel. She always has a plan, and I'm not required to make any decisions.

Peeping out of the bathtub in our super-cool room.

Kobe beef at Mastro's ... YUM!

Happy Birthday to me! :-)

 Leslie and Anita joined us at the Bazaar Bar for more drinks. So fun!

I'm so fortunate to have such amazing friends!

Things Going Swimmingly

By MAGGIE DING

The weather is warming up, so it is time for swim lessons again. Maven had her first lesson as an-almost-3-year-old, and Sedona picked up right where she left off!