Gymnastics...

I went to Stacy's gymnastics for the first time in a while and I was pretty impressed.  When you go every week sometimes it is hard to see the progress/improvements that she makes but I haven't gone in over 6 months and I was shocked to see the improvement!

Stacy balancing:

Handstand:

Into a table:

 Who knows...just flexibility:

WLA Tournament Game 3...

We played the host team, the WLA Fire Dragons.  Lately, if we could have rival it would be the WLA Fire Dragons.  For 2 years we had never lost to them but recently it has been 50-50 when we play each other.

They have one shooter that gets really HOT against us and their center creates a lot of problems for us.  It doesn't help when you dribble right into the center so he can reject your shot:

The game was back and forth.  Jack played solid in all the games and helped key some scoring drives in the second half including a late score that gave us the lead for good:

We won 22-17 for our first championship!

We have the FOR tournament coming up this weekend and looking to make it two tournaments in a row!

WLA Tournament Game 2...

Game 2 had us against AMFC Thunder from Orange County.  They beat us in the VFW tournament late last year.  We probably should have won that game in the VFW tournament but we missed a lot of layups...so it was a good time to get some revenge.

We jumped out to an early lead.  It seemed like we had a "commanding lead" but the score board just had us to 10-1 lead early in the game.   As usual, we had trouble rebounding due to our lack of height and the Thunder came back:

 Jack did his best impression of Chris Paul by just flinging his body into the opponents and forcing the refs to blow the whistle.  The tactic worked as Jack got to the line a lot in second half.

We took the lead late in the game and won 22-19.  On to the Championship game!!

WLA Tournament Game 1...

It amazes me how basketball is a year around sport now for little kids.   It is total catch-22.  If you take a break and let kids play other sports then your team falls behind the teams that are playing year around.  If you play year around then you never get a chance to play other sports.

So, SBY season is over.  CBO season is over.  Tournament time starts.  We played in the WLA Tournament over the weekend.

We played the FOR Rangers.  It was a close game as the Rangers had lots of chances to score but nothing went in for them.  We played okay...a bit rusty after not playing a game the past month.  Still, we pulled out a 21-19 victory.

Pose...

The other day, Stacy had on a head band and took it off and her hair was wild looking.  I told her I wanted to take a picture and the second the camera came out she started to pose.  Had on her hip:

Head gets tilted.  I have no idea where she learned it...how she learned it...maybe it is a girl thing and it is just natural.  I have no clue...I just know Stacy is growing up too quick!

Baseball...

After Jack's dismal pitching performance last week, I didn't expect him to start or pitch for a while but the coach tapped him to be the starter the next game.

Jack started off shaky.  It looked like he was nervous from the last outing and he struggled in the first inning, giving up a few runs while striking out the side:

Jack also ended his 3 game hitting streak as he failed to get a hit this week and walked twice:

In the second inning, a teammate suggested to Jack that he chews 'gum' he helps get the aggravation out.  Jack doesn't even chew gum!   Any ways, he was chomping away on his gum and he was firing away.  He made quick work of the batters he faced and struck out the side:

Poor dad....I was so nervous watching him.  Half the time I had my head buried in my hands either from disgust watching him walk people or jump out to an 0-2 count only watch him throw 3 ball in row for a full count AND then strike the batter out.

I am just glad Jack bounced back today.  He definitely had a little pep in his step after the game.

Aya's 40th Birthday at Nobu Part 2...

Funny, getting a ride to Malibu in limo didn't see to take to long.  We started off with some champagne:

It was a nice day in Malibu.  We got there a bit earlier than expected and had some drinks:

We were going to get some Japanese whiskey but apparently the ports in Japan are on strike so nothing is shipping out from Japan.  We decided to go with some Macallan and the bartender hooked us up with Macallan 25 for the price of Macallan 18.

Birthday girl:

Nobu is right against the beach.  Indoor, outdoor seating.  Next time I think I would go off peak hours for lunch in the afternoon and eat outside:

Aya and I first experienced Nobu on our cruise a few years ago.  The restaurant did not disappoint.  Since it was our first time at this restaurant, we didn't know what to expect.  Should be order a la carte?  Family style?  In the end, they offered us an omakase hybrid selection.  We got to pick certain dishes we definitely wanted and then give them a separate price on other dishes based on our preference of things we like.

We had a great selection and honestly, I felt like a judge on Iron Chef.  Each item was explained with all the ingredients used.  Everything was one or two bites.  Very well presented and everything tasted great.  There wasn't one dish I didn't like.  Dinner lasted 3.5 hours...so it was a true dining experience!  Happy 40th!!

Aya's 40th Birthday at Nobu Part 1...

I wanted to plan something special for Aya's 40th birthday.  Aya said a nice dinner with Su, Jen, Bryan, Dawn and I is all she wanted.  By nice dinner, Aya gave me two choices, French Laundry in Northern California and Nobu Malibu.

Unfortunately, French Laundry was closed for renovations.  You would think Nobu was closed as well as it took me a while to coordinate everyone's schedule AND get a table at Nobu.  Nobu only takes reservations 3 months in advance.  Most of the times you want are already booked.  There is a down payment to 'hold' your table and an eating time limit if you get a reservation before 7:30.

Luckily, it all worked out 2 months AFTER Aya's birthday but we all managed to get together for a fun evening.  We started out with a limo ride to Grandpa and Grandma's house:

Jack needed a nice 'drink' to get him ready for an evening of fun with Grandpa and Grandma:

I don't know what the deal is with Stacy but lately she has learned how to 'pose' and strikes a pose getting out of the limo:

It sort of has that prom feeling...except no corsages and we are older:

Anniversary...

Aya and I celebrated our 16th...yes 16th...wedding anniversary.  We went to the same place as usual, Cafe Del Rey.  After all these years, they finally changed up their menu a bit and the change was for the better.

The kids have started coming with us the past few years and they always remember the swing in front of the restaurant and want to take some pictures.  This should make for an interesting collage in about 10 years:

 Jack took a picture of the happy couple:

Family picture...giving your camera to a stranger to take pictures never really works out.  The dude was only a few feet away from us yet, he doesn't zoom in to take a better picture.

Sparring...

Jack and Stacy have moved up to Orange belt and to make it to Green belt they need to start sparring.  Stacy looks ridiculous in her gear:

Jack looks more suited to spar:

 Thanks to gymnastics, Stacy has good balance and more flexibility on her kicks:

The first day of sparring didn't go so well.  Both kids were matched up against higher belts and both were a bit timid.  The second session of sparring was much better.  Jack got really aggressive and was kicking quick and hard...probably too hard for sparring but I told him it is better to be the guy kicking hard then the guy who is kicked hard!

 Green belt test is coming up in a few weeks!

Nervous...

Man, is it tough watching a baseball game when your son pitches.  Even though Jack threw well in the first game I was nervous and anxious with every pitch.

Sadly game 2 did not go Jack's way.  He was spotted a 5 run lead when he came in.  He pitched one inning and did okay.  There was a runner on first and then he fielded a come backer and got the guy out at first but then threw the ball away as the runner on first was going to third.   Jack's error let the runner come home but then Jack got out of the inning with the lead 5-1.

That seemed to have rattled him and the second inning he pitched he just unraveled giving up 5 runs in the bottom of the inning and blowing the save losing 6-5.

1.67 inning pitched
28 balls
22 strikes
1 strikeout
5 hits
3 walks

On the upside, Jack continues to put the ball in play and is hitting the ball pretty well.  Most of the kids walk but Jack is looking to hit his pitch.

Bazaar...

Wow, 2 non kid related posts in a row?   I celebrated Oscar's 40th birthday at the Bazaar at the SLS Hotel.  It was tapas style food.  I am not one for sharing but I do like tapas.  I must say these tapas were pretty small in portion.

The food was good but the portion sized was just way too small.  To be fair that wasn't the size of the bday dessert but it was pretty darn close!

Ugh...

Not a single dent or ding in my car...until now.  This lady parked next to me at the gym and backed out without looking and turned the wheel and banged right into my car:

Fender was dented.  My passenger door couldn't open:

My rim was dented.

So, I wanted to yell and get mad at her...but then I found out she was the babysitter of one of the kids I coach.  On top of that, she was the Kindergarten teacher for 3 of the boys I coach so I had to bite my tongue and just exchange insurance information.

Luckily, the body shop I went to did a good job and now everything is as good as new...except for my dented rim.  Insurance isn't covering an after market rim so now I have to take it to a rim place to get the dent fixed.  Ugh.

Baseball...

Baseball season is officially here and this year it is player pitch.  Jack told me last year he wanted to try pitching so we have been practicing off and on.  He pitched opening day and he did very well.

2 innings pitched
12 balls
17 strikes
5 strike outs
1 earned run

Spring Break Part 24...

The kids trying to 'stand' on the water:

Stacy couldn't jump and keep her feet straight:

 No way where they going to do it at the same time!

Stacy dunking Jack with water:

Then Aya:

Finally, Jack exacts his revenge!

We even managed to swim at night:

I couldn't get good pictures at night with the water proof case and the kids were super cold in the water at night: