Snow Day 2017

We had a spur of the moment snow adventure in Jan 2017. The Han's and the Tung's joined Da Boys in the snow at Mt. Baldi. We did some sledding, built snowmen, and had a snowball fight.

Our adventure started out with Daddy and Casey trying to "Go Big" on a steep sled run. Well, we ended up crashing, and Casey blamed Daddy. He got out of the snow throwing stuff at Daddy and hitting poor innocent Daddy. In his defense, after viewing the video, it was clear he slammed his face in the snow pretty hard...

Mt Baldi Jan 2017 from p wang on Vimeo.

Snow ball fight! Da Boys re-purposed sleds as shields; they hid in their bunker...

Various family pix...

The Han Boys and the Wang Boys...

Holiday Season Part 2

Part of the holiday season was spent catching up with, and spending time with friends, both old and current. I had the rare opportunity to introduce Da Boys to perhaps my oldest friend. (In the sense that her and I have the longest friendship, not in the sense that she is old as dirt) She and her family were visiting So. Cal, and I was fortunate enough to catch up with them twice; once in San Diego, and once near Disneyland.

We took this photo at Downtown Disney. Her two boys and our two boys. To me, the contrast in size is a powerful reminder that it all is going so fast. It seems that in a blink of an eye, Casey and Sydney will be as old and as big as Alex and Owen...

We rang in the New Year with the Nakamura's. As usual, all four boys played so well together. For the first time ever, Da Boys stayed awake until midnight!!! Quite the milestone...

Legoland Hotel

For our first adventure of 2017, we choose the Legoland Hotel. Sydney has mentioned that he wanted to stay at the Legoland Hotel; we decided to make that happen.

First, a little back-story. For two years now, we have had Legoland annual passes. It has worked out great, since Legoland is located in San Diego County, we tie visits in with trips to Nai-Nai's house. That said, for Da Boys, its always a special treat to stay in a hotel. Our plan was to maximize the hotel experience, even at the cost of neglecting Legoland resort itself. (We figured that we could goto the resort anytime)

Upon arrival, our first activity was the hotel pool. It was pretty much like any other outdoor hotel pool, except it came with floating Lego bricks!!

One thing Da Boys really enjoyed was... A TV in their bedroom!!! A definite highlight was for them to be able to be in their bunkbeds and watch TV until they were SO tired, they couldn't even keep their eyes open.

Another highlight for Da Boys was the treasure chest. They had to complete a scavenger hunt to decypher the code to the locked treasure chest. Each parent took one kid to separately do the treasure hunt. We all met back at the treasure chest so Da Boys could open it together.

The hotel also featured a castle play area. Da Boys made Lego guns (oh yay), and played shoot 'em up with other hotel patrons.

Toward the end of the trip, Da Boys rated the Legoland Hotel as "The Best Hotel Ever".

PS: They had so much fun at the hotel, we didn't even set foot in the Legoland resort...

Holiday Season 2016: Part 1

We had an action packed, adventurous holiday season. It started with a trip to San Diego during the week before Xmas. We visited Nai-Nai, and baked holiday sugar cookies.

Da Boys surprised Nai-Nai with a Christmas gift.

We had a slumber party in San Clemente with the Mirski family. All the children got along so well. Nicole taught Casey how to makes eggs for breakfast.

We returned home on Christmas eve; left Santa a note...

Apparently, Da Boys were good (enough) throughout the year, because Santa came, and even left Da Boys a return note... And ate the cookies and milk we left for him.

I guess Da Boys didnt think they were all that good all year long, because they sure were surprised on Christmas morning, once they realized the Santa visited. The big gift from Santa this year was the Nintendo 3DS!

Halloween 2016

Wow, these years are flying by. A couple months ago, we celebrated yet another Halloween. This year, Sydney recycled his Mario costume from a year ago, while Casey was a ninja. We visited Legoland for their annual Brick-or-Treat event. We basically ran all thru Legoland at night, going to the different trick-or-treat stations they had set up. Many people opted to go on the rides and the attractions, but since we have annual passes, we saved all that for another visit.

Halloween night, we went trick-or-treating in the Hickory neighborhood. This year, Sydney often took the initiative and was first to the door. Big brother Casey was considerate enough to let Sydney lead some of the time. Sydney tapped out first, so Daddy and Sydney walked home together; Sydney was all excited to hand out candy to our visitors.. Alas, by the time we got home, we got ZERO visitors.

July 4th

This past summer, we were turned on to a local tradition that apparently has been going on for generations. A neighborhood has been hosting a July 4th block party for decades. We were invited to participate by some friends who live on the block. Super organized, they had games for all ages. Da Boys participation started in the 5 yr old foot race. Definitely not the competitive type, Sydney was initially apprehensive, but with some Daddy coaxing, he agreed to participate. He placed 3rd, and was rewarded with a ribbon and a place on the podium. Next up was Casey in the 7 yr old foot race. His 'heat' was stacked with a bunch of his good school buddies. Casey was disappointed with his 4th place finish, but 4th place did earn him 'Honorable Mention'.. Lastly, in the foot race, open/ adult division, (there was no senior division, I checked).. Daddy ran... and got smoked by the dog, the teenagers and just about everyone else who ran the race. Definitely no podiums, ribbons or honorable mentions for Daddy..

Next up was the donut eating contest. The rules were simple. They hung a donut from a string. You could NOT use your hands. First one to finish donut wins. Our little donut lover, Sydney took 1st place. The rest of the family got DNF's because our donuts broke and fell on the floor.

Next was the water bucket relay race.

July 4th, 2016 from p wang on Vimeo.

July 4th, 2016 from p wang on Vimeo.

The last event we participated in was the water balloon toss. Prior to the event, we all got a great illustration of how Sydney's mind works. Having already won 3rd place (foot race) and 1st place, (donut eating), his goal for the final event was a 2nd place finish... So he could have one of each ribbon. Had he won 1st place, I have no doubt he would have gladly traded, or even forfeited into 2nd place. That's our sensitive, sweet Sydney...

Such a cool event, we're so thankful we were included. Da Boys (and us) were surrounded with friends, and good times and great memories!!