Through his stories, Derek shares bits of his life with us as a blogger for FCSN Voices. Check out the Blog Project and Derek’s page & stay tuned as we build his page and add more stories!💌
08.29.26 🦭🎉🥗
On Saturday morning Mom, Dad, and I took our dog Bailey to Moss Landing beach.
We wanted to get fresh seafood from a small seafood shop.
We ran into a lot of sea lions at the roadside before we reached the beach.
A sea lion was scratching himself and many sea lions were sticking their necks up and yelling.
A few sea lions blocked a yacht owner from leaving the yacht.
After he got out of the yacht he was trying to chase them back to the ocean with a small stick and then a big wood plank.
It was really funny and many people were taking pictures and videos.
We took a walk at the beach. We then ran into the sea lions again playing in the ocean water.
Then, we bought fish and oysters.
(Summary: It was so fun seeing sea lions being so naughty.)
In the evening we invited Megan, Josh, and Auntie Jen’s family for dinner.
I had meaningful conversations with my family members.
Alicia was entering Harker High School.
She had two trips in summer: one to France, the other to China.
It was fun because she saw the Eiffel Tower in Paris and saw her grandparents in Chengdu.
Auntie Jen’s favorite artist is Cézanne.
Megan’s hobby is playing video games.
Josh’s favorite restaurant is Starbird Chicken in the city of Palo Alto.
Mom’s interests are workout and going on vacation.
Soon, we made finger food.
Mom made seaweed salad, chicken feet, salad, and cucumber salad.
Megan grilled the lamb skewers and prawns.
Dad roasted potatoes and grilled oysters.
I picked some basil in the backyard for a Caprese salad.
Megan made caprese salad with mozzarella cheese, basils, apple vinegar, and balsamic vinegar.
I liked the grilled oysters and Auntie Jen liked the raw oysters so much that she ate five of them.
Josh liked caprese salad and Megan liked grilled lamb skewers.
We had mung bean cake as a dessert.
I enjoyed having a family gathering because we have not seen each other for a while, we had good conversations, and it was good to end summer with a family gathering.
09.05.26 🎤🎶🎸
It was Labor Day weekend.
On Saturday evening Mom, Dad, and I watched a live country music band called Dust Flower at Bubbles & Brew bar restaurant in Downtown Morgan Hill.
One of the songs they performed was “Dark Horse”.
The band was playing two guitars, keyboard, and percussion.
Also there was one man and two women singing.
The stage was decorated with lights and American flags.
The audiences were clapping, dancing, sitting, and drinking.
We ordered quesadillas, salad with salmon and apples, pulled pork sandwiches, and drinks.
(Summary: I enjoyed watching live country music at the bar.)
09.06.26🍝🍳
On Sunday evening I made dinner for my family.
First, I chopped the onions, peppers, and tomatoes while boiling the water.
Next, I poured the pasta into boiling water.
Then, I picked some fresh basil for making pasta.
Last, I cooked ground pork, dried tomatoes, and vegetables.
Finally, I mixed all cooked ingredients in the pasta, tossed cheese, and basil leaves on top.
The pasta was very tasty and looked beautiful and everyone liked it so much.
(Summary: I felt proud and enjoyed cooking because pasta was my favorite dish to make and everyone liked my pasta.)
09.07.26🐠🦈🪸
On Monday Mom and I went to Monterey Bay Aquarium but Dad did not go because he had to stay with Bailey.
We went to the Kelp Forest to see many sardine fishes.
There were anemone, strawberry anemone, abalone, anemone like palm trees, orange feather pens anemone, and sea bass fish.
There were purple striped jellyfish, sea nettle jellyfish, and moon jellyfish.
The black otter and white otter were lying on the rock.
There were many sardine fish circling around.
Mom took pictures of me pointing at the hammerhead shark in the huge tank.
After the aquarium we took a walk at Pacific Grove.
We went there in May 2025 to see many pink flowers at Lovers Point in Pacific Grove.
The crane was standing on the grass next to cars and the sea lions were lying on the rocks in the ocean.
(Summary: I had fun going to the aquarium and Pacific Grove even though I have been there many times.)
fcsnvoices.org 