Pumpkin Patch Part 3…

Stacy riding a pony:

Who knew….I think I have a soft spot for girls…(just THIS girl):

My princess…

Pumpkin Patch Part 2…

I got some pics of Toshihiro at his first pumpkin patch:

It was a good day because most of the time when I see my nephew he is sleeping:

And lately he has been smiling more and he gave me a nice big smile:

Aya was happy because she got to feed him later:

Pumpkin Patch Part 1…

Jack, Stacy and Toshihiro went to Cottone & Sons pumpkin patch in Torrance.  Stacy and her zombie:

Jack & Stacy:

Jack, Stacy and Toshihiro:

Apparently Uncle Bryan thinks taking a picture where Jack accentuates racial stereotypes with buck teeth and Stacy not smiling is ok:

Luckily we played it safe with a ‘mean’ face picture:

Swimming…

My super fish!!  Stacy is so good at her swim lessons.  Holding her breath and kicking hard with her fins on:

Jumping in with some style:

Being tossed in the air:

And being a goofball:

BBQ…

Jack was invited to a friends BBQ party.   I thought it was just going to be like a play date but they invited 1/2 the neighborhood, got a bouncer, magician and TONS of food.  For some reason, I just thought Stacy looked so much older and not like a baby anymore:

Sometimes I forget Stacy is only 3 and I treat her like she 7 like Jack.   Stacy loved the magic show:

And even more when he made a dog balloon animal for her:

Pirates…

It helps to have a professional photographer on Jack’s basketball team.  He took some photos of the kids one game and it is amazing what a good photographer can do…he actually made it look like Jack was good!!   Who knew Jack actually jumps (albeit barely) but he is grabbing a rebound:

Dawn giving some instruction to the boys:

The kids appear to be listening:

Who knew that Jack could block a shot too:

Scoring our only basket of the game:

I like this one because Jack is using his left hand with his head up:

Car Wash…

My “happy little helper” helping me wash cars on the weekend:

Not only does she rinse but she dries:

And unlike Jack who just watches me wash cars and/or leaves after we do one car, Stacy does both cars and she takes her time and does a good job:

First Birthday…

Stacy has a best friend at school named Sadie and she invited Stacy over to celebrate her 4th birthday.  It was Stacy’s first birthday party invite where she was not a tag along to one of Jack’s friend’s party.

It was also the first party where a ‘healthy’ lunch was served:

But they had cake:

And Stacy planted a flower at the party:

Student of the Week…

No it is not what you think, so hold your congratulations!  Jack was NOT student of the week due to merit or outstanding academic achievement, it was just his turn to be on the pinup board of his class.  Jack and his teacher:

Student of the week ended up being more work for Aya who had to print out stuff that Jack liked, but it all turned out pretty nice:

Dodgers…

What happened to good karma???   All the Dodger games we have gone to this year the Dodgers have won.  I had tickets to game 3 of the NLCS but someone in our group couldn’t go to game 4 so they asked to trade nights.  I decided to be ‘nice’ and I traded and the Dodgers won game 3.  Sadly, the Dodgers lost game 4…the game we went to!!   ARGH!  Lesson, be more of a dick and do NOT do something nice.

In any case, it was fun at the game.  We got there early and since we had to park in general parking we saw some photo ops that we usually don’t see like the Dodger bobblehead.

Jack saw all the cholo’s on the big screen and he wanted to look like them…minus the LA hand sign.

It was great to see all the fans into the game…standing…waving towels…it was great…too bad the Dodgers lost:

Weekends...

I remember before kids when Friday’s meant you would talk to your buddies about what you were going to do on the weekend and then again on Monday about what you really ended up doing on the weekend.  

Usually it was about eating, drinking, sleeping, watching movies….something fun with a story.

Now, when people ask me about the weekends, I don’t really have much to say.   Sure, I am way more busy on the weekend, for example my upcoming weekend activities:

Wake up the same time I go to work

Make breakfast

Drive to Redondo Beach for swim lesson

Go to the donut shop

Drive to Carson for a basketball game

Drive to Marina for a birthday party

Tenative play date

Dinner

Storytime

Sleep

Sunday, it is almost identical except throw in that I play basketball, errands and chores to do at home.  The fun exciting weekends have disappeared and the chauffeuring and sitting around watching Jack and Stacy activities have replaced it.

Not saying that they aren’t ‘fun’ just so different from how it used to be.

Pool…

Fall??  Nah…not here in LA.  With all the warm weather we have been having we headed out to the pool.  The kids trying to jump in at the same time:

Fun times at the pool!!

Snacks…

Stacy’s reward for going to basketball is she usually gets a snack bag as well.  Stacy is enjoying her fruit roll-up that just keeps on going:

And going…

And going…

SBY Basketball…

Man, basketball is in full swing for Jack now.  We are now practicing twice a week on Thursday and Saturday.   Jack has games on Saturday and Sunday.   Jack also has club team practice Sunday afternoons.  Crazy how much basketball he is playing now.

So far, all the practice has been great for Jack as he is putting it all together on the court.  I moved Jack to point guard now:

I think it was the smartest decision I could have made.  He is running the squad great, attacking and passing:

Too many turnovers for my taste, but he is crossing kids over, scoring at will…he just has to get better at reading the defense and not trying to split the double and triple teams:

Definitely been leading the team…so happy Jack is balling out well.