Wednesday, May 21, 2014

SD Trip- Spring 2014. Part 3 of...

During our SD trip last month, one of the activities was coloring easter eggs. It was quite a spread that was laid out in the backyard; all the cousins got in on the act.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

A heartwarming act

Yesterday we went to a 'hamburger and fries' store. Casey and Sydney were eating their burgers. We have their burgers cut in half, and each child was on his last half. Sydney accidently dropped his meat patty on the ground. Since it hit the floor, and was dirty, we didn't let him eat it. We instructed him to just eat the bun. Sydney dipped his bun into his ketchup and took one bite. By this time, Casey had seen what happened, opened his burger, tore his remaining half patty in two equal pieces and GAVE SYDNEY ONE PIECE. It was a selfless, heartwarming act. The act itself was amazing enough, but surrounding details made it even more touching. Casey did it with such speed; he didn't have time to scheme and plan, he JUST REACTED. It was straight from his heart. The act was impromptu... No one suggested or hinted to Casey to do ANYTHING. It was all him.

Casey, you made mommy and daddy so proud!

Monday, May 5, 2014

SD Trip- Spring 2014. Part 2 of...

One of the highlights of a Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye visit is fresh baked cookies! This time, the young ones got to help Nai-Nai bake.. and eat... and eat... I'm not sure what ingredients they put in those cookies, but it sure makes people act silly!

Before
After!

SD Trip- Spring 2014. Part 1 of...

We recently visited Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye in San Diego. Cousins Chantal and Elena (and their parents) came to visit also. So, it was wonderful family reunion. We packed so much into the time we had together, I decided to break the posts up into manageable section. One day, Casey wanted to goto 'The park with the fire truck'. While Elena wanted to goto the beach. Of course, it was before noon, so Chantal was still sleeping; and Sydney wanted to goto the park, but not the beach. Somehow, we got Casey and Elena to compromise. In the morning, we went to the fire truck park (San Carlos Rec Cen) and in the afternoon, we went to Mission Beach. The kids enjoyed the park, pretty much giving equal time to all the appratus'. After lunch, Sydney did not want to goto the beach. So, me Casey and Elena ventured down to Mission Beach. Once we hit the sand, I never saw them again. OK, that's not exactly accurate, of course I could SEE THEM AT ALL TIMES, but only from a distance. They took off for the shore break, and splashed in the water for a solid hour within stopping. After that, it was time to build a sandcastle. They befriended/ enlisted other youths, and together they built sandcastle(s)...

These two are getting SO BIG!
Casey's death glare
Sydney's death glare
Older cousin Elena looking after Sydney
Elena's Smile
Peek-a-boo

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Tball 2014.. Astros

Casey is in the middle of his first full season of Tball. Late last year, he dipped his toes in the water in "Fall Ball". That was like little league lite. This is like Fall Ball on steroids. (Like how I managed to work steroids into a baseball post?) Anyhow, we now have games once or twice a week. Just about every Saturday mornings and about every other Tues or Thurs. We also have practice from 10am to noon on Sundays. And on the weeks we dont have a Thurs game, there is batting practice at 4PM Thurs. You know what they say.. Practice makes perfect... And there is some truth to that. Casey's skills have improved a lot. At the beginning of the season, he was hitting exclusively off a batting tee. Now, he takes his hacks against coach-pitched balls. Sometimes he connects and gets hits, other times he misses. (Hey, even in the pros, you are a all-star if you get a hit 3 out of 10 tries). In the field, Casey's favorite positions are pitcher (where a large concentration of batted balls go), and first base (where players throw to virtually every play). When he first started, successfully fielding ground balls was sporatic at best. Now, when properly focused,he breaks on the ball when it is batted, gets great jumps on the ball and runs to properly position himself to field the ball.

Footnote: In his game today vs. the Angels, Casey went 2-3 at bat, with several successfully fielded balls from his 2nd base position!