Miles the Great's Boring Website

Big Head…

2012-01-30T02:37:00.000-08:00

I think it is just the angle of the picture but I just thought Stacy had such a big head.

This is where I found Stacy when we were playing hide-and-go-seek.

Gordon…

2012-01-27T04:26:00.000-08:00

Stacy loves Gordon the Gecko. She wants to see and watch Gordon every day. The funny part is I went to the pet store to buy Gordon some crickets. Then I realized there are a ton of crickets at my parents house. I told my mom to ‘catch’ some so my mom will go searching for crickets around the house.

Personally, I dunno how my parents deal with the crickets. They are all over the place and noisy. My mom started catching the crickets and giving it to us in a jar. My sister also has crickets at their new house (not as many) but they are there, so now she is catching crickets for me as well.

This has been great for us because now we no longer have to buy Gordon his crickets AND now my sister and parents have less crickets to annoy them at their house. Sadly, like greedy people we over harvested and now it seems like we have a cricket shortage at the Yoshioka houses. It might be time to go back to the pet store for crickets.

Gordon was a lot nicer before we gave him live food. Now he is really aggressive and even tries to bite my hand when I clean his tank. I wonder if he has just gotten used to having live food. I swear he has gotten bigger as well.

In any case, we recorded Gordon eating his last meal:

Shafted…

2012-01-26T02:20:00.000-08:00

So Jack got this great 6th birthday party but then Stacy’s birthday rolls around and nothing. In all fairness, we didn’t have a 2nd birthday party for Jack either but it just seems like on the heels of Jack’s birthday, Stacy gets nothing.

Actually we thought about taking her to Disneyland but my parents took her to Adventure Land and she didn’t like it. Strange because about 7 months earlier she went and she sort of liked it.

Well, that just saved us $500 bucks, no Disneyland this year. Instead, I bought her a balloon:

Not just any balloon…a Thomas the Train balloon. Every Sunday Stacy see’s the balloon at the market but I never get it for her. Since it was the day before her birthday, I figured I would get he a balloon but the flower shop at the market didn’t have helium so the only Thomas balloon as the old ratty one we have seen for the past few months.

So not only did Stacy not get a party but she got an old balloon with old helium that hardly even floats!

Basketball…

2012-01-25T02:11:00.000-08:00

Jack’s basketball season is nearing the end. He has two more games left. Over the weekend Jack probably had one of his worse games.

It wasn’t that he played that poorly, it was the first time he didn’t score a basket for this team. I told Jack to pass I just didn’t think he would pass every single time.

We played a pretty bad team so instead of Jack scoring double figures like usual I told him to pass so some other teammates could score for the first time. As a coach I was happy to see the other kids score. As a dad, I was sad that Jack had to play a lesser role. Oh well, Jack still had fun.

Faces…

2012-01-24T00:04:00.000-08:00

Stacy is such a good listener and she likes to say what we say or copy what we say. The other day I was making faces at her and she was trying to copy me. Here is mad face:

Sad face:

Stick your tongue out:

I know people will think I taught Stacy this but this is straight from Jack, it is called, Stacy Pick-De-Nose. I think Stacy can’t say the so she says DE.

Snowman…

2012-01-23T01:06:00.000-08:00

Jack’s homework last week was to build a snowman. Jack and I went out and got the supplies and Aya and Jack worked on putting it together:

The project wasn’t due for a few days but Aya and Jack tried to do it all in one day and it was funny to listen to them argue about who is suppose to be doing the work. In the end, the snowman came out pretty good:

My contribution was adding the carrot nose!

ABC’s…

2012-01-20T00:11:00.000-08:00

I can’t remember when Jack could do the ABC’s but I know it wasn’t as early as Stacy. Not only can Stacy sing the ABC’s but she can sing a lot of other songs as well.

Hoarders…

2012-01-19T02:36:00.000-08:00

Ever watch that show on A&E or Lifetime, called Hoarders? I see Aya watching it sometimes and I usually just think these people are lame to let the situation get out of hand like that…until now. It start innocently enough with ONE stuffed animal, Stacy’s wow-wow. Now, it has slowly morphed into a hodge podge of random stuff:

1. Elmo Book

2 . Various Thomas the Train books

3. Barney

4. a braclet

5. Elephant

6. Sunglasses

7. Elmo

8. Lamby

9. Blanket

10. Wow-Wow (not pictured because Stacy was holding him)

The thing is I put the stuff away but then Stacy remembers and will ask for it at night. It’s like she can’t sleep with the clutter. Hmmm, I wonder if in 20-30 years, Stacy will be on the show Hoarders?!

Happy Birthday Part 2…

2012-01-18T00:22:00.000-08:00

So the night before we had dinner with my family, Aya, Jack, Stacy and I went to korean BBQ for dinner. We had gone in the past but we are always leery because the grills are hot and the kids move around so much that we just don’t think it is worth the risk to take them. Now that they are getting older they know, hot and cold and can sit still a bit more.

Well, our bbq grill got a little out of control and we had some large flame shooting up. Nothing to be scared about for us…but apparently it freaked out Stacy. She didn’t like it at all. She was saying, “No, No it is hot. Hot. Hot.”

Aya and I got a good laugh…didn’t really think much of it….until we celebrate Stacy’s bday at Grandpa and Grandma’s house. When we lit the candle on Stacy’s cake she freaked out again thinking it was like Korean BBQ:

It was a little funny and a little sad. We had to sing again once Stacy calmed down and we did it withOUT the candle the second time around.

Happy Birthday Pt1…

2012-01-17T02:12:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. I have been lagging on my posts a bit. Not that you care but here are the reasons why:

1. I have been working on a photo album for Jack and Stacy.

2. I was lazy, so instead of doing it every 6 months, I had a whole year to do…for EACH kid.

3. When I do the photo album, my eye balls get tired of looking at all the photos and since I do it for each kid, the thought of doing the blog as well TIRES me out!!

4. I got a new camera courtesy of Dawn and Bryan. I was testing it out…but like an idiot, I didn’t test downloading…so all my recent pictures have the timestamp…which I don’t like.

In any case, I am all done with the photo albums and out of courtesy for Stacy’s bday I am posting this week and hopefully next week will be better.

Sadly, Stacy caught Jack’s cold and was sick on her bday but she was a trooper and was able to make it out to dinner and have some cake:

Stacy loves her sunglasses:

Happy Birthday Stacy!!

I wonder if this is going to be our thing now. One normal picture and one funny picture:

Seems like the funny pictures are just way better!

Present…

2012-01-12T00:05:00.000-08:00

Jack was so excited to give us the present he made for us. He kept telling us to be careful because it is fragile. When I opened it this is what I saw:

Waiting for me to tell you what it is? Well, keep on waiting because I have no idea what this thing is!! I have no idea what it is. Aya and I actually saw it at school when we went to our parent teacher conference and I told the teacher, “Oh they are making ashtrays!” Jack’s teacher said, “Oh, you were the smoker…Jack was telling me someone smoking and it wasn’t good.” Um, no, I am not the smoker. We figured out Jack was talking about Aya’s dad…he was a smoker. Needless to say, we ruled out this being an ashtray because smoking is not healthy and that is not what we want to promote to children.

Oh well, guess I will have to wait for a better present next year!

Park…

2012-01-11T01:00:00.000-08:00

Dawn and Bryan got me a new camera for Christmas. I was testing out the new camera and still using my old camera but today I had neither on me…but luckily I had my cell phone. Hmm, the cell phone isn’t half bad! Jack squeezed into the baby swing so he could swing next to Stacy:

Then the ice cream truck came and it was all over…I had to get them some ice cream:

You would think Stacy would only eat part of it and I can eat the rest but that little porker ate the WHOLE thing!!

Santa…

2012-01-10T02:56:00.000-08:00

This year Santa brought Stacy a Thomas the Train toy:

I am not sure why, but Stacy loves to watch Thomas.

Jack got a Ben10 Mark 10 car:

Decorating the tree…

2012-01-09T00:04:00.000-08:00

After we decorated our Christmas tree we tried to take some pictures. The kids didn’t want to take a picture:

Aya got into the picture to try to ‘calm’ the kids down but Stacy wouldn’t look at the camera:

Then we tried to take some nice pictures but they didn’t come out well so we goofed around and wouldn’t you know it, that was our *BEST* picture:

Almost 2…

2012-01-06T00:49:00.000-08:00

Stacy is almost 2 and she is growing up so fast. She continues to just follow Jack around and do everything he does. I think that is why she is able to do some many things faster than Jack learned. Stacy is climbing up robe ladders at the park and climbing around the jungle gym:

She is scooting around the tricycle fast:

And she still has the big eyes that remind me of the girl in the Despicable Me cartoon:

Bloody Nose…

2012-01-05T02:46:00.000-08:00

One morning when Stacy woke up this is what I saw:

Apparently, Stacy got a bloody nose in the middle of the night and it was on her clothes, sheets and all over her face. At first I thought she somehow ‘snuck’ food into her crib but upon closer look I saw it was blood. Luckily I was at home because Aya said she would have freaked out if she saw that.

After we cleaned up all the blood Stacy was as good as new!

Gingerbread…

2012-01-04T00:42:00.000-08:00

Aunty Dawn bought a gingerbread train for Jack to build. I don’t know who had more fun, Jack, Dawn or Bryan:

Obviously no one believes in taking a ‘normal’ picture:

The train is almost done:

I offered Bryan $20 bucks if he would actually 'eat’ the train…but he chickened out:

Good times

All done:

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-03T01:38:00.000-08:00

I guess this is the year the world is going to end, so hopefully 2012 is great for every until doomsday! Just before Christmas vacation, Jack’s class had a trip to the Senior Center in Culver City where they sung a few songs. We hosted Christmas brunch at our house and Jack (with backup from Stacy) performed one of his songs:

Santa Claus…

2011-12-23T00:04:00.000-08:00

This year Stacy recognizes Santa Claus so I thought Stacy would be good visiting Santa but sadly, right when she saw Santa she started to cry.

Luckily this year, Stacy was okay if Jack held her but she definitely did not want Santa to be that close!

Teeth…

2011-12-22T01:12:00.000-08:00

When it rains it pours. In the past few weeks Jack has had two more teeth fall out:

Missing top tooth and missing bottom tooth:

A week later, Jack’s other bottom tooth fell out:

My very own Jack-o-Lantern:

‘

Actually, Jack was a little sad because Jack thought he looked ‘funny’ with so many missing teeth. I felt bad for him so normally the tooth fairy only gives $1, but now Jack for a raise to $5 since he has so many missing teeth right now.

Jingle Bells

2011-12-21T02:09:00.000-08:00

Say 'Cheese’…

2011-12-16T00:40:00.000-08:00

While Jack’s smile is some god awful open mouthed smirk, Stacy has learned how to smile when you tell her, ‘cheese’.

Unlike Jack, Stacy actually has a nice smile and she loves to ham it up for the camera:

It is amazing how Stacy tilts her head or poses for the camera like a girlie girl:

22 months old:

I guess smiling is the only girlie thing…Stacy loves to play with Jack’s action figures and his guns!

Goggles…

2011-12-15T00:37:00.000-08:00

Stacy loved Jack’s goggles so much in Hawaii that I finally bought Stacy her own pair of goggles. Sadly, it was a day late and a dollar short…now it is too cold to go to the pool so Stacy has to use it in the tub:

Stacy…

2011-12-14T03:31:00.000-08:00

I don’t know what it is but it just seems like Stacy is growing up so fast!

She is so different than Jack. She talks better, her vocabulary is better, her fine motor skills is better, she sleeps better, she listens better….unfortunately she whines more than Jack AND she is meaner than Jack….a lot meaner.

Hmm, I must have forgotten to take pictures at Thanksgiving…this is the only one I took:

Jack’s REAL Birthday…

2011-12-13T00:03:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Jack’s birthday but eating all the foods Jack wanted to eat. In the morning it was sausage and tater tots:

For lunch it was McDonalds and then at dinner time we got take out from Gaby’s Express. Jack’s loves that place!

Grandma made Jack a chocolate cake:

Grandpa & Grandma:

Aunty and Uncle…Bryan was trying to copy Jack’s smile:

Happy Birthday to my little man….6 already….where has all the time gone?

Jack’s Birthday AGAIN…

2011-12-12T01:26:00.000-08:00

For those t hat missed Jack’s birthday party, we celebrated AGAIN at Thanksgiving:

Jack and Aiden:

Yes, that is Jack attempting to smile. Seriously. That is him doing ‘cheese’. It’s horrible. Oh well, good thing it wasn’t a good picture because Aiden is in the picture too and we are not trying to ‘add’ any more kids into the mix.

Birthday Part 2…

2011-12-09T02:22:00.000-08:00

Hmm, can you sense a theme…I like donuts:

Yup, instead of a cake, my friends got me a giant donut:

Yup, it was pretty darn good too. It took me 2 days to eat it but I powered thru it!

Birthday Part 1…

2011-12-08T00:20:00.000-08:00

I celebrated my birthday with donuts with the kids!! I think they enjoy it more than me.

Later that night, Aya and I went to Cut in the Beverly Wilshire for dinner. The two most expensive places I have eaten at has been Wolfgang Puck establishments. Spago was expensive and now Cut is the most expensive steak house I have gone too. It was very very good…but it is hard to justify twice the cost of Mastro’s. Still it was a great dinner.

WHAT?! Look who is in the picture! Yup. Finally, I am in the picture and not just taking the picture’s. Bryan and Dawn got me a mini tripod for my camera so now I can be in the pictures more often!!

Missing tooth…

2011-12-07T01:16:00.000-08:00

Jack’s front tooth was coming in and I think it started to push his other baby front tooth out. We were watching TV in the morning and ‘plop’…Jack’s tooth fell out:

Hurt…

2011-12-06T02:14:00.000-08:00

Crap. Wouldn’t you know it…I got hurt coaching Jack’s basketball team. Ugh. It isn’t even a good story…injured while playing with 5 year olds!!

Dawn treated me and then I went to the doctor for an MRI. The results were not as good as I had hoped for. I was hoping for a sprained knee but the MRI shows:

1. Bone bruise of the mid lateral femoral condyle and posterolateral tibial plateau.

2. Moderate effusion

3. Torn anterior cruciate ligament.

4. Small peripheral vertical tear of the medial meniscus.

5. 5 mm region of marrow edema in the subchondral region.

Today, it is the day that I have my consult with the surgeon and schedule my surgery.

Venice Pirates…

2011-12-05T00:11:00.000-08:00

Jack is doing much better in the Sureshot league. He is more aggressive, he seems more focused and confident:

I like the fact that he at least is shooting the ball:

Sometimes he shoots too much. He has lead the team in scoring in 2 of 3 games so far.

Castle…

2011-12-02T01:08:00.000-08:00

Uncle went to Germany and he brought back a princess castle for Stacy!!

She loves it!! She plays in the castle, sits in the castle and reads…naturally she always wants us to go into the castle as well:

Oh yeah…Stacy got her face painted at Jack’s birthday too:

Jack’s Birthday Part 3…

2011-12-01T00:06:00.000-08:00

Of course no party is complete without a face painter. Jack with his usual Batman:

Since we were paying, it seemed like a waste for the face painter to not be busy all the time so I got my face painted:

Uncle got his face painted as well:

All the cool people:

Out of all the face paintings you can pick from, Dan went with the cowardly lion!! Classic:

Jack’s Birthday Part 2…

2011-11-30T02:02:00.000-08:00

Jack invited his school friends to the party. Cameron:

Montana and Ian:

Cousin Aiden:

Winston:

Finn and Ry:

Madelyn:

Taylor:

Chance:

Madison:

Owen and PJ:

Jack’s Birthday Part 1…

2011-11-29T01:59:00.000-08:00

Aya and I were debating…have Jack’s party at a park or some place indoors? The problem with bdays in November is that you don’t know if it will rain. In the past, the weekends have been great…but we didn’t want to take a chance and good thing because it rained on Jack’s birthday party.

This year Jack made the guest list and we had his birthday at Giggles n Hugs in Century City.

Spiderman Themed party:

Make a wish:

Jack also requested a cotton candy machine for his party:

Venice Pirates…

2011-11-21T03:24:00.000-08:00

We jumped right from one team to another team. Now Jack is playing for the Venice Pirates:

Unfortunately, by joining the Pirates that means now I have to coach Jack’s team. Jack is now on a Kindergarten team with 10 boys. I feel like we didn’t have enough time to prepare for the season. I just got a boy added the day before our first game. I was a bit nervous because 1/2 the boys can’t throw the ball up into the 8 ft basket and Jack played HORRIBLY in the last season. Even though I was nervous I had a good feeling about the boy and Jack for our first game. We scored early and two boys who never reach the basket in practice scored the first two buckets.

Jack came in to lead the second group and Jack played like a champ!! He scored his FIRST basket ever!!!

Granted we played a girls team but Jack kept attacking and ended up leading the team in scoring with 10 points!!

The Venice Pirates 2011:

Fury…

2011-11-18T00:15:00.000-08:00

Jack had his last game with the Fury. Jack played in the first grade division (he is on the younger side for first grade) and we held Jack back so he is in Kindergarten. Unfortunately Jack didn’t do very well with the Fury. Jack wasn’t as aggressive as the other kids. Jack was happy dribbling and passing the ball but was never aggressive on offensive to shoot.

He was way to rough on defense as he got 4 fouls in 5 minutes. He should have fouled out 3-4 times but the referee didn’t want him to foul out in the last game.

At least Jack took this ONE shot in the last game….umm….yeah….not good:

Oh well, at least they all get trophies and snacks, that made Jack a happy camper!

Halloween Part 6…

2011-11-17T00:08:00.000-08:00

It seemed pretty quiet in my parents neighborhood for Halloween this year but that didn’t stop us from being the first ones out:

Jack and Stacy had a great time. Jack couldn’t wait and was off from house to house gathering as much candy as he could. Stacy was trying her best to keep up and insisted on walking the 3 blocks just like her brother:

Aunty Dawn and Uncle Bryan went out with us during our trick o’treat run:

Not a bad haul for a few blocks!! Way too much candy for these 2 kids!!

Halloween Part 5…

2011-11-16T02:04:00.000-08:00

We got a pre-trick o treat at work as EA lets you bring your kids to work the Friday before Halloween to get candy. It is a good 'practice’ run to dress up Stacy and have her get candy from ‘strangers’. Stacy was great and had no problems walking up to people to get candy. She was dressed up as a ‘wow-wow’ (her stuffed animal dog) this year:

Jack dressed up as Swampfire from the Ben10 cartoon. No one knew who Jack dressed up as:

Afterwards, Jack came and hung out in my cubicle for a bit:

Stacy got jealous and she wanted to sit in the chair and ‘work’ too:

Halloween Part 4…

2011-11-15T01:59:00.000-08:00

We all gathered at Grandpa and Grandmas the day before Halloween to carve our pumpkins. Grandpa helped Jack carve his Jack-o-Lantern:

Hmm, who knew….I had a timer on my camera and we took a great picture on our first try!!

Displaying all of our masterpieces:

I think my Elmo and Scary face look the best:

Halloween Part 3…

2011-11-14T00:55:00.000-08:00

We couldn’t leave the pumpkin patch without getting our faces painted. Jack went with the usual Batman:

Stacy got her face painted for the first time as well with a small flower. She was more afraid of the face painter than the animals!

Happy Halloween!!

Halloween Part 2…

2011-11-11T01:52:00.000-08:00

The local pumpkin patch had a small petting zoo. I didn’t think the kids would want to go, but Stacy really seems to like animals and she wanted to go and pet them. Jack didn’t really want to go but when he saw Stacy go then he came as well. Jack showing Stacy the rabbit:

Stacy was following around the chicken, yelling ‘bok-bok-chicken’:

Jack was a little nervous feeding the animals:

I dunno what this animal was:

Stacy and the goat:

Stacy was following the rabbit all around the cage. She didn’t want to leave. I really was amazed at how much Stacy took to the animals and really liked feeding and petting the animals. We could have stayed in the petting zoo all day…but Jack didn’t like the animals and I thought they smelled so I was glad to leave the petting zoo too.

Halloween Part 1…

2011-11-10T00:43:00.000-08:00

Man, going to the pumpkin patch brought back flashbacks from last year when I stubbed my toe and broke my big toe nail. Needless to say I was very careful when walking around this year.

The Giant Pumpkin:

Mini Giant Pumpkin:

Wheeeeeee…..

Pumpkins!!

Vacation Part 12…

2011-11-09T02:36:00.000-08:00

It may seem like Jack was the only one in the pool but Stacy was out there trying to do everything brother was doing. Unfortunately she was not allowed on the water slide but Stacy just liked being in the sun:

Striking her pouty pose:

Making her own pool:

The good thing about travelling during school and off peak times…less people! Stacy had the whole kiddie pool to herself:

Make in rain:

No real dolphin but at least nice pretty painted dolphins!

Ahhh…vacation!! So sad to come back home….but it was great 2 weeks!!

Vacation Part 11…

2011-11-08T01:31:00.000-08:00

So I found out my limit….12 straight buffets is all I can take. There were mornings I would wake up dreading to go to the buffet…but I couldn’t pass it up because it was free! Big breakfast and big dinners….it was the vacation were we just ATE and ATE!
We went to one of our favorite place Sarrento’s:

It wasn’t that good but really, it is super hard to pass up eating 20 feet from the water during sunset. I think that is the main reason we continue to go:

We went Nicks the next night:

At sunset they come around and light the tiki torches and Jack tried to creep close to the guy so we could get a picture:

One night we were tired of going out so we just got pizza and stayed in and ate on our balcony:

This was our view:

It ended up being one of our best dinners. Just low key with a nice view.

Now this might be our NEW favorite place on Maui. We went to Mama’s Beach house in Paia. Not really close to Wailea but it gave us another reason to drive past Kahalui…to get guri guri and Malasadas!

We had a great time at Mama’s and I will definitely being going back here:

Vacation Part 10…

2011-11-07T00:22:00.000-08:00

I have no one to blame but myself. Jack and Stacy loved to be outdoors at the pool. Jack loved the fact that they would address him as Mr. Yoshioka and bring him cold towels, fresh pineapple, water and his lunch:

Sadly he got all too ‘comfortable’ just saying I am in room 604 and charging everything to the room!

Jack and Stacy even slept pool side:

Vacation Part 9….

2011-11-04T02:17:00.000-07:00

Well if a picture says 1000 words then a video is…more exciting!

Every day we went to the pool and rode the water slide!

Vacation Part 8…

2011-11-03T00:15:00.000-07:00

Water slide!! I totally forgot that our hotel had a water slide. It was Jack’s first time on a water slide and I am not kidding, I think rode went on it about 80 times the first day!! I thought I would be smart and I bought a crappy underwater camera. I took quite a few pictures on it but Stacy got a hold of it and hit DELETE ALL. I didn’t realize it until we got home…but luckily I was taking pictures with my other camera:

Of course I had to try it out as well:

Wooooooo!!!!

Vacation Part 7…

2011-11-02T01:11:00.000-07:00

So our hotel was under going some construction, so to make it up to the guests they had free snorkels and beach stuff for us to use. Sadly, no one wanted to go into the ocean. Luckily, Jack and I spent some time on the beach:

But in reality it was really me doing most of the work, while Jack supervised:

JACK:

Stacy on the other hand did not like the beach. She did not like sand on her feet. She did not like the ocean. This is how it starts…the road to snooty-ville. Stacy was content just sitting on the beach chair in the shade:

Luckily we got ONE photo of us on the beach:

Vacation Part 6…

2011-11-01T00:06:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, nothing says Maui like Guri-Guri!

The real seal of approval came when both Jack and Stacy liked Guri Guri.

Jack has had Guri-Guri before but this time he really enjoyed it. Jack would ask daily if we would drive from Wailea to Kahalui for some guri-guri.

Vacation Part 5…

2011-10-31T01:00:00.000-07:00

On our last night on Oahu, my parents watched the kids and Aya went to eat at Morimoto’s restaurant in Waikiki:

It was okay. Not great, not terrible. Service was excellent but the food was just okay. I think I would rather eat at Alan Wong’s again over Morimoto’s.

Still it was nice to be out for one night without the kids.

Vacation Part 4…

2011-10-28T02:52:00.000-07:00

I tell you nothing beats having breakfast right next to the beach at sunrise. Jack and Stacy were both on LA time and were up and ready to go at 4:30 am!! Sadly, Aya and I had to wake up early every day on vacation and we were the first ones in line at the buffet…even BEFORE they opened!

Jack started off his mornings doing homework:

Stacy just loved the breakfast buffet! She is a little fatty!

After breakfast we took a nice stroll along the beach!

Ahhh, if only we could do this *EVERY* day….I totally need to win the lottery.

Vacation Part 3…

2011-10-27T00:47:00.000-07:00

Aya got some video of Jack and I swimming with the dolphins.

Vacation Part 2…

2011-10-26T02:45:00.000-07:00

We stayed at the Mandarin hotel in Oahu. Aya and I stayed there before and we knew they had dolphins. We tried to sign up to swim with them but the classes were all full. This time I was better prepared. I thought Jack would enjoy swimming with the dolphins so I registered before we left on vacation.

I was thinking this is a once in a lifetime experience…but then I thought about Stacy and how she didn’t go because she was too small…so this might be a twice in a lifetime…although maybe next time Aya can take Stacy.

We had a 30 minute class with the dolphins. We got to ‘train’ them and have them do tricks. We got to touch/pet the dolphins. We got to feed them as well. We even got pooped on. That was not cool. The dolphin swam up and then just crapped….talk about the ‘full’ experience.

Jack was a little scared at first but within a minute or two he was comfortable in the water and he really had a good time with the dolphins.

Vacation Part 1…

2011-10-25T02:12:00.000-07:00

Man it was great to finally take a vacation!! Aya and I have not gone on vacation since Aya was pregnant with Stacy. We headed off to Oahu and Maui for a two week vacation. This was Stacy’s first flight and it was our first flight taking BOTH children so we weren’t sure how they would be. Luckily they both take after their mom so as long as there was food they were happy campers:

Jack kept himself busy with the iPad and Stacy watched DVDs:

As soon as we landed we stopped off for some Zippys:

Then we took a quick dip in the pool:

Ahhh….Malasada’s….my favorite!!

Jack and Stacy loved Leonard’s as well:

Dawn's Wedding

2011-10-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

We headed to Oahu earlier this month for Dawn's wedding. We had a great time and it was good wedding. I took lots and lots of pictures...way too many for the blog so I just made a short video instead.

Congratulations to Dawn and Bryan

Saving money….

2011-10-21T00:02:00.000-07:00

When Aya and I found out we were having a second child, I had hoped for a girl so we could have one of each….but from a practical stand point I thought having another boy would be good because we could recycle toys and clothes. Since I couldn’t recycle the clothes, I am hopefully going to recycle the toys!

Whenever Jack is too busy playing Wii or iPad, Stacy will sneak off and try to play with Jack’s toys:

She loves playing with his Ben10 action figures:

And then drives all the trucks thru the gate! She loves messing up all his men. Luckily Jack doesn’t get that upset with Stacy playing with all his toys.

House Warming Part 2…

2011-10-19T02:46:00.000-07:00

Super hero’s in the first post and villains in the second post. Dawn and Bryan’s friends came over for the house warming as well and there was plenty of room for everyone! I think there should be more parties over there:

WLA friends:

Hawaii friends:

House Warming Part 1…

2011-10-18T00:02:00.000-07:00

We all gathered at Dawn and Bryan’s new house for lunch. I ate way too much food…but not Stacy she wanted more….the little fatty:

At least Bryan wasn’t sleeping in this picture:

Matsumoto clan:

Shiraki’s:

Yoshioka Fam-Bam:

Tyson’s Birthday…

2011-10-17T00:39:00.000-07:00

Different day, different bouncer, different birthday. This time we headed to Tyson’s to celebrate his second birthday:

Unfortunately we couldn’t stay long as we had to go to Aunty’s Dawn’s house warming party.

Owen’s Birthday…

2011-10-14T01:02:00.000-07:00

We went to the park to celebrate Owen’s 5th birthday.

Jack had a great time despite not knowing any of the other kids. Jack basically played in the bouncer for 4 hours straight! He did get out a few times…food, cake and piñata time:

Towards the end when everyone else went home and the bouncer had less kids in it, Stacy went into the bouncer and gravitated right to the older girls:

Stacy had a great time in the bouncer and didn’t want to leave:

We ended up being ‘one of those’ parents that over stay there welcome and don’t leave the party!!

Donuts…

2011-10-13T01:50:00.000-07:00

Awww…Saturday. Nothing better than having a donut and watching Saturday morning cartoons in front of the tv. I let Jack do it and I feel bad that Stacy can’t (because she is messy) but what the heck, we need new carpet anyway. I was trying to take a picture of Stacy eating a donut except Jack is messing up all the pictures:

What is wrong with that kid??

Grand Opening…

2011-10-13T00:33:00.000-07:00

We headed over to Aunty Dawn’s office for the grand opening of her new office suite:

Since it was on a Sunday, the building doesn’t turn on the A/C and it was HOT. I think it was so hot that I forgot to take pictures…but I did take pictures of Stacy working out on the Bosu ball:

LA Zoo…

2011-10-12T01:29:00.000-07:00

Poor Stacy. We used to take Jack to the zoo and my parents used to take Jack to the zoo but this was Stacy’s first trip to the zoo! We renewed our annual membership so hopefully we will go more often now….except now we have basketball on the weekends!

Just like Jack, the kids like the ‘fake’ animals:

Crocodile:

So hard to tell with one is the ‘real’ monkey!

Fiesta La Ballona Part 2…

2011-10-11T00:26:00.000-07:00

Luckily, Stacy has her big brother to go on the rides with her:

I remember Jack would go on the rides by himself, but sometimes he would want us to ride but Stacy always wants someone to ride with her.

Jack specifically picked out this snail because you could sit next to each other:

Of course you can’t leave the carnival without some cotton candy!

Fiesta La Ballona Part 1…

2011-10-10T02:21:00.000-07:00

We went to Culver City’s annual Fiesta La Ballona carnival. It seems like they pick the hottest day to hold the carnival!! Jack had fun playing and going on the rides with Stacy.

Hopefully, we won’t have to see Jack in the back seat of the police car:

Even has ‘police’ like sun glasses!

The OC….

2011-10-07T03:35:00.000-07:00

We headed down to Hunington Beach for some Korean BBQ. Man that was a lot of work to cook the meat for the kids. They up everything in site!!

Grandma Chaunch with all the kids (plus Su):

I love this picture because everyone is smiling except for Chaunch! hahahahha, it looks like she just wants to get out there! hahahahhaa!

The newest addition to our family….

2011-10-06T02:32:00.000-07:00

GORDON the leopard gecko:

Hans had a friend that was getting rid of their gecko and Hans couldn’t bring it home so we took it.

Jack and Stacy love to watch Gordon eat. Stacy is super excited to see Gordon. I think she likes Gordon more than Jack. It’s strange too because Gordon also come out from hiding when Stacy is around.

Oh…what color is Gordon? I said tan with dark spots. Aya thinks he is green. I think more tan/brown then green!!

Who knew…but geckos crap a lot. It seems like every time I clean his poop net he takes another couple craps on it! ugh.

Big Bear Part 8…

2011-10-05T00:02:00.000-07:00

Aunty brought up all the ingredients for Smores! It was Jack’s first time and he loved it:

Being the genius that I was, I added peanut butter to the chocolate to have super yummy smore:

After a nice long day it was great to snack on smores:

Yum:

This really has no place, but I had to throw it in. It was so hot up in Big Bear that we stopped off for ice cream. While we were in line I saw a sign, frozen twinkie, dipped in chocolate, rolled in oreo crumbs. Hmm, I have had ice cream before but never a frozen twinkie:

Sure, it might not sound good or look good but DAYAM….that thing was awe-some!! It wasn’t so frozen where it was hard to bite, it almost seemed like it was fried. Man, that thing was good. Frozen twinkie snack, 4 smores for dessert, all sorts of food throughout the day…..it was a nice long fun filled weekend!

Big Bear Part 7…

2011-10-04T02:23:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so fishing from the shore was a snooze-fest. No nibbles, no fish, no nothing. I guess the fish knew there was no one worthy enough to catch them since I didn’t even touch a fish pole from the shore!! I think my dad had ZERO bites the entire trip:

Jack eating and sitting down…the youngest person has a chair!

Then Jack got smart and realized he could throw rocks in the lake….but we told him to stop. Then he found an old anchor chain. That pretty much was a sign that we needed to pack up and call it a day:

Big Bear Part 6…

2011-10-03T00:18:00.000-07:00

Hmm, I am beginning to think I should have made a Big Bear slide show. We decided to change it up and try shore fishing.

Being the gracious fishing champion that I was, I gave the rest of the family a chance to fish while Stacy and I just hung out:

Stacy tries to wear her hat backwards like me:

Since no one else was catching fish, Stacy tried her luck:

Nope…not even a nibble!

Big Bear Part 5…

2011-09-30T03:14:00.000-07:00

I don’t think it matters where we go…we could have been around the block as long as their was a jacuzzi tub because Jack and Stacy loved playing in the bath tub:

I added extra soap, turned on the jacuzzi jets and foamed up the tub.

Stacy was wondering what is all this foam:

Before I could say STOP, Jack showed her what the foam was:

Yeah, not cool because this wasn’t baby soap or shampoo. Stacy’s eyes got all red. She disliked the foam after that:

Awww….this is the life:

Big Bear Part 4…

2011-09-29T01:10:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay…you might think I have a big head if I win at EVERYTHING. I did not win at mini golf. Actually, driving a boat on a lake was a first for Bryan. Turns out so was miniature golf. Sadly his first time and he is beaten by a girl. Dawn ended up beating us badly in mini golf.

Bryan’s first time:

Jack….yeah he is no Tiger Woods:

Jack thought it was so funny that you could hit it into the water…nerd:

Crap bag….like son, like father. I hit it into the water too:

Later that night, Grandpa, Dawn, Bryan, Aya and I played Texas Hold Em. Yup, the gold braclet was all mine as I beat Dawn to take home the Poker title!! Dawn, Bryan, Grandma, Aya and I played Scattegories and I dominated that game as well. We also played guys versus girls in SOME GAME. The guys lost…but that was Bryan’s fault because he kept blurting out all the words you COULDN’T say!

WAIT! I forgot,Bryan, Dawn, Aya and I played Domino’s with Grandpa and Grandma as well…I won that too on the very last hand!!

Needless to say it was a kick-butt weekend for me! I truly am the GREATEST!!!!

Big Bear Part 3…

2011-09-28T01:02:00.000-07:00

WAIT there is more!!! I know, I know, what more could there be other than being the fishing champion of the family, right? Well, there was sooooo much more. We taught Jack how to play Domino’s:

I know ghetto…but we ALL played and had a great time. I beat everyone in Domino’s so I was the Domino Champion as well.

Jack had never been fishing and he never rode a ski lift so we took a ride up the ski lift. Bryan and Dawn were behind us:

I personally dislike the ski lift. Heights kind of creep me out. I kept thinking my slipper is going to fall off. Anyways we made it up and this would have been a nice picture, if Jack didn’t mess it up:

So much for nature…but at least we got a good family picture (minus Stacy who was napping at the cabin):

Jack:

Jack and his giant pine cone that we had to bring home:

Uncle Bryan:

Ahhh….so Bryan started it. No wonder Jack walked in when Bryan was taking a shower and left the bathroom door open!! Jack figured if Bryan is going to flash his boob then he can flash the family while Bryan is showering! hahahah!

Big Bear Part 2…

2011-09-27T00:52:00.000-07:00

The fishing trip started off well. We anchored, set our lines and within 5 minutes, Dawn got a bite….sadly her line broke….no fish…no picture. Soon after that, I got a bite, reeled up the fish to the surface and I tried to give Jack my pole to reel in the fish but then MY line broke. No fish, no picture…well, I am the photographer, so I couldn’t reel in the fish, give it to Jack AND take the picture.

Then it got pretty quiet. Stacy trying her luck:

Jack concentrating on fishing:

But after 5 minutes, Jack was bored and moving around the boat and eating snacks. Actually both Jack and Stacy did pretty well for being on a boat for 4 hours:

Bryan had ZERO bites:

Then, dumb luck strikes again and Aya caught the FIRST fish:

How? I have no idea. Just amazing. Every single stinkin’ time:

Hold up…wait a minute…let me some BOOM in it! Look who scratches the scoreboard and catches fish numero two:

Actually it was a bit lucky. I thought I was getting some bites but then Jack walked by and just lifted up my pole to get some snacks and then nothing. I assumed the fish got scared away. I went back to taking pictures….Jack just makes lounging on the boat look good. Nice day in Big Bear…on the water….family….a good day:

Then I noticed my line was loose so I started reeling it in. I was reeling, reeling and I was like thinking did someone mess with my drag? Why isn’t my line reeling in? Why is my line going the opposite direction I casted it in. Now my line is close to Dawn’s. Then Dawn jerked her pole….great…we just crossed lines….no fish. We untangled the lines and I kept reeling….TUG…WHAT? HEY….I got a fish on my line! Woo-hoo.

After I reeled in my fish, there was nothing. We called it a day and headed in.

Bryan let Jack steer the boat by to the dock. Not smart. Jack was moving the boat side to side and I was getting a tad sea sick. Luckily the ride wasn’t that long to the dock:

Well, well, well…looks like yours truly is the 1st Annual Big Bear champion with the BIGGEST trout caught! DOMINATOR!!

Big Bear Part 1…

2011-09-26T02:38:00.000-07:00

Grandpa promised Jack that he would take him to Big Bear once summer camp ended. Going up to Big Bear sounded good, so we turned it into a family weekend!

Unfortunately for Aya and I the trip did not start out well. As we headed up the mountain to Big Bear the car in front of us drove off the cliff…literally. It looked like the girl who was driving fell asleep and drove straight off the cliff. At first Aya and I didn’t believe what we saw, but we stopped, got out and we assumed we would help. We didn’t realize that when she drove off the cliff, the cliff was straight down 200 feet. Umm, yeah, we won’t be helping out. We called 911 and waited for the police, fire and helicopter to come in to help. Sadly the driver was dead by the time they were able to pull her and the car up.

In any case, we made it up the mountain unharmed and made a bee line for the lake! Jack was happy to give fishing a try…this was his first time!

Grandpa, Jack and Aunty:

The driver of the boat:

Stacy liked being on the boat but didn’t dig the life vest much:

Aya, Stacy and Grandma:

Lets go fishing!!

Sureshots…

2011-09-23T00:03:00.000-07:00

The SureShot clinic was not bad. Even though it was chaotic Jack enjoyed it. What I am torn about is the skill level. One one team, the kids are his age but he is the youngest because he is born late and the other kids are actually born early in the year. We found out that the basketball divisions are GRADE based and NOT aged based. Thus, in one league he is playing up a level because we are holding back in school and Jack is starting Kindergarten while other kids are going into 1st Grade. The SureShot had him in the Kindergarten group and now Jack is on the older side and it makes a HUGE difference.

I feel like it is cheating Jack by playing based on grade but I guess it is why we are holding him back. Boy mature slower and now Jack can have more confidence and leadership abilities. Instead of being average or lower half of the 1st grade team he will be the top half of the Kindergarten team!

Passing:

Defense:

Shooting:

Dribbling:

See! I told you there was a lot of kids!!

Girls Day Part 2…

2011-09-22T01:31:00.000-07:00

Once all the food was selected and bought, the next stop was the chef’s client home where they cooked and ate. So they Chef has several clients in Montecito and when they are not around they let the Chef use the house for her cooking classes:

Aya says the house was gorgeous:

Kitchen:

Dining room:

Okay, enough picture taking…time to eat:

The cooking class has about 8-10 people. Everyone has to help chop, dice, cook, clean, etc. Of course the first step was to eat t he cheese and DRINK!!!

The first course was a soup:

Then a watermelon salad that Aya said she didn’t think would be good…grilled watermelon?? But she said it was outstanding!

Then the prawns:

Followed up with a cobbler:

I had a planned dinner for the girls as well but after eating all day long, they cancelled dinner and ended up stopping off at the outlets for some shopping! All in all a good girls day! For a better recap, read Jenny's review of girls day: http://devourtheworld.com/2011/08/girls-day-out-market-forays-in-santa-barbara/

Girls Day Part 1…

2011-09-21T02:25:00.000-07:00

Every quarter, I try to get Aya to go out with her friends for ‘girls’ day. This time Shirley, Jenny and Aya headed out to Santa Barbara for a day of cooking, eating and shopping!

The day started off at the Santa Barbara Marina where they picked up some fresh prawns:

Then they all headed over to the local Farmer’s Market to pick up some produce:

I know it is not pictures here, but Aya got this watermelon and it was super good:

Finally the cheese shop for some cheese and wine:

That is a lot of cheese…yuck.

Family time Part 3…

2011-09-20T00:23:00.000-07:00

The kids had such a fun time playing together that they forgot to go into the pool. We brought Jack’s swim stuff but told him it was too late for him to go into the pool. Jack was fine with it and played around outside the pool getting the balls and just watching. I noticed Jack getting closer and closer to the edge of the pool. I kept thinking I bet he is going to fall in…sure enough Jack slipped and fell into the pool.

The good news was, I wasn’t panicked when I saw him fall in…I just watched to see what Jack would do. Uncle Su was quick and ran over to help Jack but Jack even fully dressed was able to swim to the wall and get out. I guess at that point I couldn’t tell him it was too late to swim so Jack jumped in with Troy and Matthew for some night time swimming:

Jacuzzi basketball:

Family time Part 2…

2011-09-19T01:19:00.000-07:00

Man, talk about a stereotypical moment….a bunch of Asians playing ping pong!! Not only did we play but we had a family tournament. Teams were randomly selected and bracketed.

Uncle Su and Jack were a team…they didn’t do well:

Ruth and Daniel were favorites to win it all:

Dan and Nicole were a team, talk about luck of the draw, mother and son and father and daughter were a team and played each other!

Grandma Chaunch and John every played:

Troy and I were a team:

Matthew and Andrew were the champs!

Family time Part 1…

2011-09-16T00:10:00.000-07:00

We headed down to Newport to spend time with Aya’s family. Sure, it might look like the ‘white’ people are moving in to surround the ‘asian’ people but all the cousins are 1/4 asian:

Daniel was getting ready to go back to George Washington and , Grandma Chaunch, Andrew, Taylor and Matthew gave Stacy so much attention:

Uncle Dan couldn’t stop playing with Stacy!

Stacy…

2011-09-15T00:07:00.000-07:00

It just seems as though Stacy is growing up so much faster than Jack! I can’t believe how big her vocabulary is. How she knows what she likes or dislikes AND can communicate that to people. Sometimes I forget she is just 19 months old because she wants to do everything Jack does!

Sureshots Week1…

2011-09-14T02:04:00.000-07:00

I guess the time has come and we are back to Sureshots! I thought I was done with Sureshots when I stopped coaching the girls team back when I started college but now Jack is old enough for SureShots. It was kind of a big deal now. When we first started it was varying aged, co-ed…just trying to get enough bodies to fill a team.

Now it is divided by boys and girls. Kids are turned away as they only fill a certain amount of teams.

This summer there was a 4 week clinic to introduce them to SureShots and evaluate the kids. Jack dribbiling:

They had just as many ‘coaches’ as kids. It was chaos:

Jack shooting:

Wow wow and Barney….

2011-09-13T02:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I wrote about this before but I didn’t post pictures of Wow-wow and Barney. Here are pics of Stacy and her wow-wow and Barney. She has to take them every where we go:

Even when she sleeps:

Outside:

It gets nerve racking because everywhere we go, I have to remember:

1. Go to the place I am going

2. Have my stuff, keys, phone, etc

3. Have the kids

4. Have wow-wow and Barney

One day, Jack, Stacy and I were at Target and when we got back to the car, I noticed Stacy didn’t have wow-wow anymore. I thought maybe we left it at home, but Jack said, NO SHE LOST IT!!

Yup, we had to go back into Target to search for it but luckily Jack found it and saved the day!

No front tooth…

2011-09-12T00:04:00.000-07:00

Aya and I wanted to try 5 Guys so we headed out to lunch. Jack’s was eating his sandwhich….stopped…and said, “Hey my front tooth came out!!” It is hard to see here because his bottom tooth looks like his top tooth:

But you can see it now:

Yes, the tooth fairy does come to our house…but he is cheap…only $1 dollar per tooth…regardless of size!

Aya posted this note on the wall:

I don’t think 5 guys really wants people to think kids teeth fall out eating their food. When I went back a week later the card was gone.

Stacy’s Crib….

2011-09-09T00:50:00.000-07:00

Ha! Not a good week for Jack’s ‘man-li-ness’. First the Barbie car and now Stacy’s crib. I was getting the kids ready for bed and decided to put Jack in the crib. He looks ginormous in Stacy’s crib:

I tried to both of them in the crib but two things happened:

1 Jack took up all the room.

2 Stacy wanted no part of Jack being in the crib and started to cry:

Cousins…

2011-09-08T00:44:00.000-07:00

Our cousins, Abagail, Ariana and AJ from Hawaii were in town on vacation and we met at Grandpa and Grandma’s house for dinner. So hard to take group pictures but at least the 3 girls are smiling:

Abagail going down the roller coaster:

Ariana driving the Barbie car:

Ariana, Abagail and Jack:

Driving…

2011-09-07T01:46:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly Jack drives the car pretty well. Exiting Grandpa’s back yard is pretty narrow considering the Barbie car is so wide but Jack manages to get by without hitting the house:

I’m a Barbie Girl…

2011-09-06T01:37:00.000-07:00

Ruth gave us Nicole’s old Barbie car for Stacy but Stacy is still a bit too small for it, but it doesn’t stop Jack from driving:

Jack has no problems that he is in a HOT pink car:

Jack and Stacy cruise up and down the block:

Tot Lot…

2011-09-01T01:02:00.000-07:00

As much as Stacy follows Jack around, Jack is really very nice to Stacy. He is always looking at for her and he is more than willing to play on the ‘baby’ slide with Stacy:

Swim class…

2011-08-31T02:54:00.000-07:00

Jack at one of his final swim classes. His freestyle stroke has really improved in 3 weeks of class:

Basketball…

2011-08-30T00:05:00.000-07:00

I can’t tell you how hard it is to watch Jack at basketball practice. Most of the time I just want to be one of ‘those’ parents who is yelling at the kid to do better. The other times I am just cringing watching him play because he just isn’t very good:

Don’t get me wrong, Jack is okay. He isn’t the worst kid, but he sure runs SLOW. Plus, you can see how athleticism makes a world of difference in the kids. Jack has to practice, practice, practice to be ‘okay’. Some other kids are wild and spastic but they make up for it with quickness and athleticism.

Jack is probably one of the best shooters on the team….but mostly in a catch and shoot situation:

Well hopefully as he gets olds he can find his niche on the court.

Rebound Fail…

2011-08-29T03:52:00.000-07:00

Ugh. It is no secret that I don’t rebound but my crummy rebounding skills coupled with Aya’s non-existent skills equals a Rebounding Fail:

Number 1 fan…

2011-08-26T00:02:00.000-07:00

Poor little Stacy. She gets dragged around to all of Jack’s basketball practices. Every chance she gets Stacy tries to join in on basketball practice:

Stacy even wants to wear Jack’s Laker hat:

Pool…

2011-08-25T01:04:00.000-07:00

Jack just cracks me up with the noodle. I no longer have to be in the water with Jack all the time…but Jack isn’t a good enough swimmer where I can take a nap. I still have to keep an eye on him. Noodle jumping:

Dead man floating:

Giddy-up!!

Unicorn style:

Ahhh…pool time!!

Summer camp…

2011-08-24T00:36:00.000-07:00

This summer we enrolled Jack in the Iverbe Summer Camp at Willows.

Aya took Jack to summer camp on costume day:

Summer camp is from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. Jack gets to run around and play games all day long. This camp is a ‘sports’ camp which means he is playing most of the day. A big change for him since normally he has studies all day so this is a nice break for him. Camp really tires him out because Jack is ready to go to sleep on time and even on weekends Jack just wants to ‘lounge’ and watch tv because he is tired! At least he is getting into shape over the summer!!

South Bay Aquatics…

2011-08-23T01:33:00.000-07:00

Bummers. Jack was really picking up his swim strokes when we realized we have to take a break from swim class:

Jack is one a summer basketball team but the local team that I want Jack to play has a summer clinic that runs the same time as swim class so we are stopping swim class for a month so Jack can go to two different basketball camps. Man, we only have one kid in sports but Saturday’s we are driving all over the place. The morning to Redondo for swim class, back to the westside for basketball, then back home for errands and finally back out to Gardena for basketball. We are out of the house at 8:30 am and back home around 6:00 pm.

Aunty’s house…

2011-08-22T02:28:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Aunty and Uncle!! They bought their first house in Gardena. Hmm. I just realized I don’t have any pictures of the ‘house’…but when we visited we took a picture outside of their house:

Now we just have to wait for Dawn and Bryan to fix up their house so Jack and Stacy can have a weekend sleep over!!

Me and my shadow…

2011-08-19T00:04:00.000-07:00

No matter where Jack goes Stacy wants to follow:

Jack doesn’t even have to play or acknowledge Stacy, just as long as she can see him….peace:

Lounging….