Da Wang Boys

Friday, January 24, 2014

Santa Barbara

I recently heard about the Goleta Monarch Butterfly Grove where there are supposed to be tons of butterflies to view. Come to find out, it is located about 100 yards from my old grad school condo. I used to go running in the very same location. And no, I wasn't 'floating like a butterfly' while I was running back then. Anyhow, we took a family day trip up the coast and visited the butterfly grove. We parked in the paved parking lot, and hiked for 10-15 minutes on a dirt path until we came to the tree all the butterflies were hanging around. Da Boys wanted to continue hiking, so we went exploring the area. They found multiple trees to climb and multiple paths to hike. After lunch, we hit the South Coast Railroad Museum. Da Boys are really into trains these days, so they enjoyed the old train exhibits, the model trains, and of course riding the mini train!

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Custom Candy- Eat Me

There is this candy company that offers (for a STEEP price) custom candy. Since the little hard-shelled chocolates are one of Da Boys favorites, I thought it would be a great stocking stuffer. There are a few options, which include words or photos on the candy. I had Da Boys names printed on some; I figure they can hand them to each other and say, 'eat me'... The pictures below show evolution of the photo candy, from the original photo, to the cropped version, and finally, the product.

Original Photo

Cropped Photo

Candy with names and photo

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Now I'm cruising...

Until recently, Sydney was content sitting on his bike seat.. and waiting for someone to push/ tow him. Apparently, he has now discovered the link between pedaling and the bike moving. He is still learning about turning the handlebars and how that affects the steering of the bicycle. A few times, he has attempted a VERY tight radius turn, only to tip over and crash the bike. The concept of the coaster brake; where you 'pedal backwards' activating the brake to stop the bike, has not sunk in at all. This is a cause for concern, as a few times we have witnessed him heading towards a potentially dangerous situation and we yelled 'brake'... Only to see him continue to pedal and/or coast.

All in all, he is doing very well. He can pedal on his own, and chase his big bro. All this steering and braking nonsense... that's just details...

Check out Sydney (and his trademark BIG SMILE) riding his bike!

Sydney Bike from p wang on Vimeo.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Green Tiki

Da Boys got a board game based on the TV show "Jake and the Neverland Pirates". I dont even know the proper title of the game; in our household it's simply called "Captain Hook Game". The game comes with 12 game pieces, or treasures. Upon receiving the game, Sydney promptly lost one of the game pieces at a friends house. About one month passes, and Da Boys find the missing piece at said friends house. Game on... Da Boys immediately request to play "Captain Hook Game" every day, pretty much morning, noon and night. And when not playing the game, Sydney takes his two favorite treasures, "green tiki and green treasure' everywhere. If ever separated, Sydney will find whoever he can, and start yelling, "Green Tiki, Green Tiki" until he and darn Green Tiki are reunited.

I feel horrible

Last night, Christmas Eve, I got hit with a nasty flu. I was awake all night, tossing and turning, alternating between profusely sweating and shivering. After a shot of Nyquil at 5am, I managed to fall asleep... Until noon. When I came downstairs, I noticed virtually all the Christmas gifts were still wrapped on the table. Poor Casey and Sydney, SO excited about Christmas, and Santa and presents, came down in the morning, saw all the gifts, and are going to wait until Daddy is there to see the smiles and excitement on their faces. Thanks boys, but I DO feel horrible... not so much as a result of the flu symptoms, but rather about the fact you guys came down and saw all the presents, but didn't get to open them.

Presents waiting to be opened!

Saturday, December 21, 2013

What was I thinking...

Da Boys wanted to go for a bike ride today. When I asked where we were going, Casey told me 'the toy store with the giraffe'.

Da Boys grabbed their wallets, Sydney with his $1 and change, and Casey with his $2 and change. Casey fully intended to spend his $2 and buy a toy. We rode to the toy store, and began browsing. Apparently, most of the merchandise in that store costs more than $2.. Big shocker. Countless times, Casey picked a toy off a shelf and announced, "I'm going to buy this one. How much is it?" After I would tell him the dollar amount, he would put the toy back and say, "I dont have that much." Amazingly, he kept a great attitude about constantly being shut out. But, the kid was nothing if not persistent. He was determined to find something in his price range he could buy. After circling virtually the whole store, I managed to wrangle the kids up towards the exit... when Sydney chimed in, "We cant leave, we havent bought a toy". Somehow, some way, I convinced Da Boys to leave.

On the bike ride home, Casey suggested we stop at Target. For some odd reason, I agreed. Once in Target, Da Boys headed straight for the toy section. Here, it was more of the same... Da Boys grabbing a toy off the shelf, Daddy doing a price-check, and Da Boys putting the items back on the shelf. Plotted an exit strategy, I offered to buy them a treat. That seems to do the trick, as we headed towards the snack bar... Only to have Casey find the Cars display. He found some mini cars, that cost $6. Still out of his price range, but by this time, I was feeling horrible for taking my kids to 2 toy stores, knowing darn well, they couldnt afford anything with all the money in their wallets. So I stepped up, splurged, and offered to buy them each a set of mini cars. Their loot in hand, they said, "Now, let's go get treat". And here I was thinking 'cars in lieu of treat'... in reality, it was 'cars in addition to treat'. Alas, we got our treat, and rode home, where they happily played with their new cars!

The craziest thing is.. I truly believed we would goto the toy store, and would not buy anything. What was I thinking...

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Reading Material

My little Sydney decided he wanted to poop in the potty. Monkey see, monkey do... OR, Like father, like son... Or if you prefer, The apple doesnt fall far from the tree. As pictured below, he has (appropriate) reading material while doing his business. ( In the middle of the living room!)