100 Happy Days…Day 94

Happy, Happy, Happy…it always makes me smile to hear Stacy laugh and she has a great time on the swings:

100 Happy Days…Day 93

Happy that Grandpa and Jack can go bike riding together.  Grandpa bought Jack a new bike as a 2nd grade graduation present.

100 Happy Days…Day 92

I always wanted to volunteer to help Jack’s class on the field trips but it was great not watching a group of kids and just having my own kid to look after.  I give those parents that help out a lot of credit…it takes lots and lots of patience.

I had a great day with Jack on his field trip and Jack loved checking out the dinosaur exhibit:

100 Happy Days…Day 91

FIELD TRIP!!   So like I said, working close to home is great.  Jack had a school field trip but that day he wasn’t feeling good and he told his teacher and the teacher told him that he could not go on the trip.  The school called and said Jack had to get picked up because there was no where else for him to go if he wasn’t going on the field trip.

When I went to the school to pick up Jack he was fine but he was upset that he wasn’t allowed to go on the field trip, so I took him!  We went to the Natural History Museum:

On the drive to the museum we passed the school bus so we were able to check out a lot of the exhibits before it got crowded with school tours:

Hmm, doesn’t look like sick kid to me.

100 Happy Days…Day 90

Seems like the kids are growing up so quick!   Stacy just started driving her barbie car all by herself now!

Grandpa was teaching Stacy how to “drive”:

Stacy is a quick learner!  Stacy had a hard time navigating the car from the backyard to the street but within 2 days she was parking the car in the back yard like a pro:

100 Happy Days…Day 89

Celebrating dad/grandpa’s birthday with dinner at Sakura and then dessert at home…even with guest appearances by Uncle Alan and Aunty Paul:

And traditional in our family now, is one good picture and one silly picture…guests included!

Doubly happy, because I got a good picture of Toshihiro and Stacy:

100 Happy Days…Day 88

Stacy’s gymnastics class is just 2-3 blocks from work so on my lunch break I walk over to watch Stacy do her thing:

She is so good…she can do so many things that Jack would not or could do it in the same class!

In fact, the teacher recommended that Stacy move up into a different class:

I think it is a ploy for two things, one to see if Stacy is any good or has potential for their club and two to charge us more money for the advanced class.

In any case, just happy I can see the kids doing some of their daily activities!

100 Happy Days…Day 87

The main reason I stayed at EA even though I didn’t like it was because it is so close to home.  I can’t tell you how great it is not to have a long commute to work.  What’s even better is when I can leave work early to see Jack at school or Stacy at gymnastics class.   I got to watch Jack sing at his school:

Last year is was terrible…all the kids were playing some xylophone instrument so I wasn’t expecting much this year but surprisingly they were very good! 

So happy that I didn’t miss it!

100 Happy Days…Day 86

So one of Jack’s favorite meals is chicken katsu.  Aya makes it bite size so it is like katsu nuggets.   This is a lot more work for Aya but Jack just loves it so much…but this time Aya asked Jack to help him make it:

Jack didn’t seem to mind the work making katsu:

Jack and I play this ‘game’ on whoever can eat the most katsu is called Katsu King.  Usually I can out eat him but lately he has been catching up and this time he beat me…he ate over 20 katsu’s!

100 Happy Days…Day 85

We originally went to the mall to get Jack new basketball shoes so he was pretty happy to see “Play Nintendo” at the mall.  He tried out a bunch of games.  We wanted to just be in and out at the mall and ended up spending a few hours there:

Pokemon = Never leaving the mall

100 Happy Days…Day 84

Speaking of games, we were at the mall and it happened to be “Play Nintendo” day.  Stacy won a Mario from that game where you grab a stuffed animal with a crane:

She has been carrying around Mario almost every day.  For the first time, Jack looked sad and/or jealous.  He went first with the crane and didn’t win.   Still he was a good sport and we got some pictures with Donkey Kong:

and Mario Bros:

100 Happy Days…Day 83

I wasn’t sure where this was going to go in my 100 happy days, but I got laid off from EA a month or so ago.  Sure, you might be thinking getting “laid off” is not something “happy” but for me it was very happy.  Initially EA was a great place to work, very fast paced, lots of changes and it was busy.  Like all things, change happens.  Our division became ‘corporate’ more process went into everything and the job just grinded to a halt.  Normally this is when I would quit and look for something else…after all I usually only stay at a company for 1-2 years and move on, but for the first time in my life, I just settled at a job and collected a pay check.  It was boring at work and I had to find things to keep me occupied.



I am still at EA and my last day is July 25.  It is weird to be laid off with an end date 2 months for notice of being laid off.  If I was slow before, let me tell you, it is great knowing you are laid off because now, I go to work, I don’t go to work, I leave early…who cares…what are they going to do fire me?? 
 
EA has been great so no complaints about being laid off.  Just happy that I can move on and find something challenging.  In the mean time, I spent one of my days at E3:


I only took this one for Jack because he loves Skylanders and I got to see the new game coming out in the fall:

100 Happy Days…Day 82

I always thought it would be nice to take Karate and Jack could always use something else besides baseball and basketball so we enrolled him in Tae Kwon Do:

Hi-Ya:

Unfortunately this was not the Cobra Kai Dojo that I hoped it might be, but Jack enjoyed it and we are going to try a different Tae Kwon Do studio next month.  This other studio “wins” more tournaments…”STRIKE FIRST. STRIKE HARD. NO MERCY SIR.”

100 Happy Days…Day 81

Now this makes me happy…Jack went to the trampoline basketball court.  It is looking good:

Dunk form is shaping up nice:

REJECTED by the rim…wah-wah-wah.

100 Happy Days…Day 80

Jack had a great time at Skyzone as well.  Jack loves to play dodgeball even though he is terrible at BOTH, dodging the balls and throwing people out.  (Don’t let the picture fool you, I think he missed Aiden with the ball):

At least Jack is getting some “air” on the trampoline:

Cannonball!!!