Slumber Party

Recently, Da Boys have been organizing their own slumber parties. After we tuck them in their respective beds, kiss them goodnight, turn out the light and shut the door... The party begins. The venue rotates; sometimes they convene in Sydney's bed, sometimes they convene in Casey's bed. But more often than not, they bed hop and fall asleep in the same bed.

At Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye's House

In Sydney's Bed

In Casey's Bed

Priceless

Window Into His Soul

The other night, Sydney and I decided to play Sorry. (The Board Game) There are four colors of playing pieces; Green, yellow, red and blue. As we were setting up, Sydney asked me what color I wanted to be. Knowing his ABSOLUTE FAVORITE color is green, and wanting to see his reaction, I told him I wanted to be green. Without missing a beat, he responded, saying he was going to be blue. I watched his facial expression, and his reaction... He didn't pout, he didn't whine, he didn't cry, he didn't throw a tandrum. He took it all in stride. If he was disappointed, he didn't let it affect him. After a minute or so, I asked him if he wanted to be green instead. Boy, did he ever jump at that chance! His reaction time was so fast. He took me up on my offer in a heartbeat. I settled on the color blue. But, my ultimate color is irrelevant. I intended to give him green the whole time. But what I saw warmed my heart. I looked through a window, directly into Sydney's soul. He has such a gentle, caring, giving and selfless soul. I'll take the ugly-ist color in the world, everytime, if it means I get to see such wonderful traits in my son.

Track and Field, 2016

Towards the end of track season last year, we asked Casey if he wanted to continue with track and field. He said, "No, its too much running". You got me there kid, track DOES involve running, after all... Fast forward to Spring, 2016. We asked him if he wanted to do track this year, and his answer was a resounding "YES". Recently, he had his first track meet of 2016.

His first event was the 50 M dash. He ran a P.R. (personal record) of 9.82 sec, placing 3rd in his heat. This effort earned him a medal!

His next event was the 100 M dasgh. He ran 18.17 sec (another P.R.), again placing 3rd in his heat, earning another medal!

The next event he entered was the Long Jump. He jumped 7'7" (another P.R.). This effort won him 1st place, and his 3rd medal of the day...

Then came the surprise of the day. Apparently, Casey wanted to channel his inner Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis and earn a fourth medal. He wanted to participate in the softball toss. In all his meets last year, Casey opted out of the softball toss. This time, he brought it up, and wanted to do it. His first toss traveled 48', good enough for 1st place and his 4th medal of the day.

A big thanks goes out to little bro Sydney who patiently supported Casey all afternoon long!

Staring Down His Rival

On The Medal Stand

The 100 Meter Race

Long Jump Action Shots

Celebrating His FOUR Medals

Little Bro Sydney Counting Medals

Snow Memories

It took me a little while to go through the videos from our Jan-Feb winter trip to Big Bear. But here are a few videos of some of our snow activities.. Good memories! I love the smiles, joy and laughter.. Truly priceless!!

Casey Jump from p wang on Vimeo.

Sydney Jump from p wang on Vimeo.

Casey Sled from p wang on Vimeo.

Sydney Sled from p wang on Vimeo.

Community Day

Sydney's class had a community day. It was basically a costume day, where all the kids came dressed up as a member of the community. Ya know, police officers, doctors, fireman, etc. Sydney was the UPS man. And he brought a giant package.

Mishap

The Big Bear trip did have one mishap. During our sledding outings, we had to navigate around trees. We told Da Boys that whenever we yelled out the warning "TREE" they were to abort, or eject, or roll off the sled into the snow. Well, during one run, we either forgot to yell, or Casey didn't hear us... Alas, he wasn't seriously hurt, and with a little consoling, he "got right back up on the horse sled."

Big Bear

Our first family vacation of 2016 was a snow adventure to Big Bear, Ca. We had great accommodations right on Big Bear Lake, thanks to Steve M. The house came stocked with a shuffleboard table, and a cocktail table video game system with all the '80's classics. Da Boys sure loved those games. We also got snow, and lots of it. We did many snow-related activities, including making snowmen, having snowball fights, making snow angels. We also had powder fights. At times, the snow was so powdery that it wouldn't compress into snow balls. So Sydney just threw powder at people. And then there was sledding. Everyone did lots of sledding. Da Boys even leaned a new term. When someone crashed the sled, and took a face full of snow, Da Boys learned to say, 'I ate Sh!t'... Yup, that was definitely a popular phrase during the stay. The Hurtado's joined us, so Da Boys got to play with their friends Paolo and Gian.

Da Boys sharing a bed

"Soldier Gear" Thermals

Casey, Sydney, Paolo and Gian

Sydney and the Honda Odyssey

Casey on the Sled

Daddy and Sydney

Mommy and Sydney

Casey, Sydney, Paolo and Gian

Throwin' Powder

Family Pix With Our Snowman

Sydney Chillin'