Dodgers Part 3…

So after a day game on the weekend, the Dodgers have Kids Run the Bases.   I loved baseball and the Dodgers when I grew up and I would have killed to run around the bases when I was a kid, so we thought Jack might like it.   You have to wait until after the game and then wait in line.  Aya and I had no idea the line would be HALF the stadium!! 

The line was super long, it was a hot and I think Aya just wanted to go home.  Jack really wanted to run the bases so we stayed.  Part of me, didn’t want to stay either but part of me was thinking how cool is it to run the bases.

The line looked like it was a one hour wait but once the line started going it was about 30 minutes.   They really herd you and the line quick and it was chaotic so I didn’t get a chance to take good video or pictures.   Jack also didn’t want to run with Stacy so Jack ran as fast as he could and Stacy ran by herself so I am trying to watch both kids at the same time on the camera.

Dodgers Part 2…

Most people probably pick games based on players they want to see or teams they want to see, but Aya and I picked games based on the free giveaways!   This game was free Clayton Kershaw kid jerseys:

Jack in right field:

Jack leaping for a ball down the right field line…probably would have looked better if he had a glove on:

Most all it was Kids Run the Bases day after the Dodgers beat the Washington Nationals:

Dodgers Part 1…

I have been a Dodger fan all my life but last year I just couldn’t stand Frank McCourt any longer and I boycotted the Dodgers.  I would not watch or go to the games…even if I had free tickets.   This year once I knew the Dodgers would be sold, I joined a group and went in for a share of Dodger season tickets.   Since we were new to an existing group, we didn’t get as many games as I hoped for but it is just enough for us.

What I reallylike about the  tickets is that it is under the awning so it isn’t likely for us to get hit with a foul ball AND it is in the shade so we can go to weekend day games and not get roasted:

Swim…

Luckily we have had some nice warm weather on the weekend so Jack and I headed out to the pool.   The doctor doesn’t want me to ‘swim’ yet but I can stand in the pool. 

Good thing Jack swims well now because I don’t have to be in the water with him all the time.  I can sit in the chair and read a magazine and semi-snooze with one eye still watching him:

We spent 5 hours at the pool….I was wiped out!!

Dress…

If you let Stacy pick out her own clothes she will always pick out this dress:

Lamby in one hand, fake cell phone in another hand, a dress….so girlie.

Award…

Geez…makes you wonder if Jack is ‘special’…but Jack specifically wanted his picture taken like this:

Jack got his FIRST school award for being a reading superstar.  Not sure what you need to do to get the award but Jack does read a lot every month.  Jack gets a prize for 400 minutes read a month and a bigger prize for 600 minutes a month.  Typically Jack is in the 700-900 minute a month range.

WLA Tournament Part 2…

The hardest part about being coaching your own kid is that you expect so much more from him than the other kids…especially because Jack is one of the better players on the team.   Jack didn’t play well in game 1, in Game 2 Jack dominated  and in Game 3 he just did okay.   Luckily in Game 3, Aunty Dawn captured this video for us:

It isn’t so much the basket…it is Jack’s post basket celebration.

WLA Tournament Part 1…

Jack and the Venice Pirates played in their first basketball tournament. 

We played against 2 teams we have never seen before AND we played with fast breaks.  

Playing with fast breaks is a new rule for us as in the season you are not allowed the fast break and the ref stops the action if a team tries to fast break.   Unfortunately, I did not prepare the team to play with the fast break rule and we didn’t do as well as we normally do.   Nevertheless we did okay, but after 3 games in 2 days I nearly lost my voice yelling at the kids.

Jack adding another trophy to his collection:

Tea Party…

I never would have thought that *I* would be playing tea party, but now that my knee is feeling better, I am able to get into Stacy’s castle and have a tea party with Stacy, Puppy and Bear:

You would think I would get priority over Puppy and Bear when Aya came up to join the tea party, but nope…I was ‘bumped’ from the tea party group.  What’s up with that???

Ian’s Birthday…

We celebrated Ian’s birthday at El Marino park.  It was ‘western’ themed:

Brentt made Jail and Saloon facades:

Stacy got into the spirit, even though she looks unhappy she was having fun:

In fact, Stacy was having fun hanging out with Jack’s classmates and even more shocking the girls wanted Stacy to keep them company and play with them.   The girls were content to sit under the play equipment and talk and play….while Jack and the other boys were out running around all over the park!

Stacy…

Sure I have lots of goofy pictures of the kids, but this is probably one of my favorite pictures I have a Stacy:

I found her curled up in the laundry basket with her blanket.

ACL Update…

So my surgeon cancelled my 2 month check up and my 3 month check up is next week but my insurance only allows me 25 PT visits.  I  have now used up all my PT by insurance and when I tried to get discharged the surgeon’s assistant said that there is no way I can be discharged without seeing the doctor or within 3 months of ACL surgery.

Luckily the surgeon’s assistant is nice so I didn’t really get mad at her for the doctor not being able to see me sooner.   They tried to get me a medical necessity note to the insurance company saying I am not healed yet but that did not work.  So, I was sort of discharged.  In the books I am discharged and now working out under medical supervision.  I still can’t run, jump or play sports but I do get to run on this anti-gravity treadmill:

I totally hate running but running in this thing is like running on air.   Here is a description of the machine:

Originally conceived by Dr. Robert Whalen to design effective exercise regimens for NASA’s astronauts, Differential Air Pressure (DAP) technology has been adapted by AlterG for use in training and rehabilitation. Cleared by the FDA in 2008, the AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill is a medical device that can be used for:

Rehabilitation of lower extremity injuries
Treatment of neurological conditions
Weight reduction
Aerobic conditioning
General training to combat the diseases of aging
Unweighting is achieved in the AlterG by using air in a pressure-controlled chamber to gently lift the user. Precise calibration using our patented technology allows for very specific unweighting from 100-20% of the users body weight in 1% increments. Something no other unweighting modality can do.

Anniversary...

Aya and I celebrated our 13th Anniversary earlier this month by having dinner at Cafe Del Rey:

Aya and I ate at Cafe Del Rey the night I proposed.   We usually go back every year...but we both didn't think the restaurant would ever be in business this long!

I can't believe 13 years has gone by so quickly.   Aya and I were just talking about how different and opposites that we are.  It is amazing we both agreed to marry each other!!

Aya and I already picked our destination for our 20th anniversary...Tahiti!!   We figure in 7 years to kids will be pretty self sufficient and the kids will be old enough to stay Grandpa and Grandma or Uncle Bryan and Aunty Dawn for a few weeks while we go to celebrate!!   

No jewelry or gifts for our anniversary but we have these lovely photo's:

Pro Photographer…

Aya and Stacy went to visit Uncle Su-Chan in Brea.

 

Unfortunately Aya had camera difficulties with a point and shoot:

 

How you can’t get someone’s head in the picture is beyond me!!

Green Lantern…

The girl toy’s are so crummy compared to the boy toys at McDonalds.   This week it was Green Lantern masks: