Happy New Years Eve

 The last night of Chanukah and also the New Year!  We have so many blessings to be thankful for... what will this new year bring???

Happy Chanukah (again)

Another night of hosting Chanukah is a lot of work but we just had to celebrate with friends!  We changed up the menu with vegetarian chili and latkes (which was delicious) and had our largest game of dreidel...  we had 16 people play.    The kids had a blast and it was fun hosting!  I don't know when we will host an event again this large, so this will do for the rest of the year!  When is Chanukah in 2017???

Happy Chanukah

Happy Chanukah!  The tradition of the Smith-Shields celebration happened this year!  The kids had a great time playing with K and meeting his younger brother, K.  We enjoyed each other's company over matzo ball soup and yummy latkes!  When will we celebrate with them again???

Gingerbread house

The boys got to spend a little extra time with Uncle Zack today building their gingerbread house.  They each had a side to decorate and they had a lot of fun eating the treats.  When will we see Uncle Zack again???

Sing

The kids got to watch the movie, Sing, with Uncle Zack and Kelly Emo.  This was a great Christmas gift because the kids really wanted to see this movie.  Jawsh and I went to another show and saw Dr. Strange.  What movie will they want to see next???

Merry Christmas

The kids really enjoy spending Christmas together.  They are so happy to celebrate and sing songs in front of the family.  This year, Micah played the ukulele while Kaitlyn and Emma sang, "Jingle Bells," and Noah played the song "Sleigh Ride Holiday" on the piano.  The boys opened their gifts and received Nerf guns and bullets from "Santa Billy." My favorite part of the evening was when we played Pie Face Showdown.  What will Christmas bring next year???

Early gifts

In an untraditional move, Jawsh allowed the boys to open one Christmas/Chanukah gift of his choosing early.  With the barrage of toys, candy, and gifts, Jawsh wanted to make sure that these two gifts stood out.  He gifted each son one of his favorite books: The Hobbit for Noah and The Amazing Spiderman for Micah.  He also wrote a personal message to each one of them.  Do the boys know how lucky they are???

Dave and Busters

Today the boys spent some time with my partner teacher's kids at Dave and Busters.  They had a great time playing video games and eating lunch together.  They even got to order a glow in the dark soda pop!  Now that's special!  When will we see C and M again???

The Broad

We went back to the Broad on this rainy day. I was really surprised to see that there were still people waiting in line under umbrellas and felt so fortunate that we could just walk in with our reserved tickets.  The boys are so lucky to have this museum time with Jawsh because he knows so much about the artists.  Last time he explained the art of Basquiat and this time he explained the work of Roy Lichtenstein.  Then the boys sketched a bit in their journals and then we went to see the new Creature exhibit.  When will we visit again???

LACMA

Today I took the boys to LACMA.  They went to the Children's Gallery and painted.  We also spent some time looking at the Korean pottery through the ages.  It was a nice quiet afternoon at the museum.  When will we head back???

Good Dirt LA

Tonight we went to Good Dirt LA to support their first "Empty Bowls" charity event.  We purchased a few bowls handmade by a local potter with 100% of the proceeds going to feed the children in Ghana.  Our friend, K, made some beautiful bowls.  After purchasing the bowl, we filled them with delicious soups from Rainbow Acres.  It was a beautiful event.  Will they do it again next year???

Winter Concert (Yellow)

Noah's class sang two songs:  "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" made famous by Mary Poppins and "If You're Out There" by John Legend.  It was fun to watch and the kids sang beautifully.  I wonder what they will sing next year???

Winter Concert (Orange)

Micah's class sang two songs:  "Let's Go Fly A Kite" made famous by Mary Poppins and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland.  It was really beautiful listening to the kids sing these songs.  What they will sing next year???

Micah's fieldtrip

Today Jawsh chaperoned Micah on his field trip to the California Science Center.  They got to watch an IMAX movie and venture through the museum.  We feel like the boys are so lucky that we chaperone their field trips... but I have to wonder... do they feel that way???

Happy Birthday (again)

A birthday celebration is never complete until we celebrate with the cousins!  Noah had a delicious homemade cake made by Halmoni and the best present from his cousins: a Nerf gun.  I still can't believe Noah is 10 years old!  A decade goes by fast, doesn't it???

Hogwarts Party

Happy 10th Birthday to Noah!  In true Harry Potter fashion we had a Hogwarts slumber party complete with a Harry Potter scavenger hunt and Hagrid inspired birthday cake (misspellings and all).  What will he want to do for his birthday next year???

Happy Birthday Noah!

Noah is 10!  I can't believe how time has flown!  He wanted to eat one of his favorite desserts, Toffee Cake, at the Westside Tavern so Grandpa obliged!  Noah is just like his dad when it comes to desserts... he loves them!  What will Noah wish for???

Happy Thankgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!  We are so grateful that we could spend this holiday season in Bubbe's new home.  She baked Noah's favorite apple cake (because his birthday is tomorrow) and we got to spend time playing games, watching movies, and building puzzles with the family!  When will we come back to Reno???

Christmas Tree Lighting

Micah started playing the ukulele a few months ago and his teacher asked him to play at a Christmas Tree Lighting in El Segundo.  Micah played two songs, "Jingle Bells" and "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" with another student.  Then he had a solo for "Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah."  He did a great job.  Will Micah want to participate in the school talent show???

Climbing trees

While the older brothers play their soccer games, the younger siblings find a tree to climb!  When will they be interested in watching their brothers play???

Timmy and Charles Fails

Noah and his friend, J, created this board game early this year and Noah finally finished it!  We played it as a family and found it to be really fun and engaging.  The objective is to get to the volcano first (black cup with paper flames) and die!  Remember, the game is called, Timmy and Charles Race to the Volcano.  Will this inspire Noah to create more games???

White House

Today is Election Day!  I already voted early last weekend and today we walked in Jawsh's ballot to our local polling place.  We are hoping to celebrate the victory of our first woman President of the United States.  Who will win tonight???

I voted

Obligatory photo of the boys at our local polling place.  Jawsh cast his vote.  Will his candidate win???

#1 Chess

Micah came in first place in the Intermediate Level at his school!  This was a huge accomplishment for Micah and he was very proud of himself!  He has really grown as a chess player from last year as he is actually winning games on his own merit.  Will he want to play in the Chess Tournament this summer???

Wolves

Noah is playing soccer this year.  He's on the Wolves and he's back with his same coach from last year too!  Noah had a great season with no injuries!  He scored a goal this year, which is a big feat at this level.  He played all positions but his favorite position was Center Forward.  Will he want to play soccer again next year???

Drive north

Jawsh and Zach took a drive north to Reno to drop off Bubbe's car.  We can't believe that this is happening but we are happy for Bubbe and her big move!  Now that she's there we will have even more reason to visit!  When will we visit Bubbe???

Bye Bubbe

Today Bubbe moved to Reno!  We are excited for Bubbe but saddened that we won't get to see her on a regular basis.  The boys have been very fortunate that they have their grandparents in their lives and in close proximity.  Now that Bubbe has moved, we will have to take more trips to see her (which the boys are very excited about).  What will it be like when Bubbe moves???

Deathly Hallows Eve

This year we continue the tradition of dressing up together on Halloween!  Noah was ready to branch out and dress up as a "Slenderman" from Minecraft but Jawsh insisted we dress up as a group so we all agreed on Harry Potter.  We thought this fitting since Noah recently finished the 7 book series (which is equivalent to 4,224 pages)!  Micah dressed up as Harry's best friend, Ron.  I was Professor McGonagall and Jawsh was Sirius Black.  In my opinion, Jawsh looked the most realistic... wouldn't you agree???

Jack-o-lanterns

Happy Halloween!  The boys enjoyed cutting their pumpkins and making Jack-o-Lanterns.  What does Halloween have in store for us this year???

Rainbow Awards

This was a complete surprise!  Both boys were honored with Rainbow Awards the same day!  I was so proud of both boys and all of their hard work.  Usually when they receive a Rainbow Award they get to choose what they want for dinner.  Who will choose tonight???

Dinner with friends

About once a month, I go out to dinner with some really good friends that I made at the boys' co-op.  It's been really great for me to spend time with friends and share laughs, tears, and good food!  What would I do without these ladies???

Strike Force II

Micah is playing soccer again this season.  He's on Strike Force again with the same coach as last year.  His game has developed a lot and he's one of the best defenders on his team.  Nothing gets by him!  Micah is so into playing Center Defense that he has a hard time transitioning to a Forward.  When will Micah want to play offense???

Legoland

Noah and Jawsh stayed over Thursday night in San Diego and Micah and I drove down Friday to spend the night, so we could spend the day at Legoland together on Saturday.  It was surprisingly not that busy and the boys had a great time exploring the park with the V family.  We love that the boys have such good friends.  When will we head back to Legoland???

Lego Ed

Noah and his best friend, J, were partnered up in the Lego car building contest.  From what I heard, their car beat all the other cars in the class.  They learned a lot about robotics and engineering and then they had the rest of the day to play at the park.  Will this experience inspire them to be engineers???

Good morning

Good morning!  The boys survived the night next to the lions roaring!  They are off to Legoland next.  What does the day have in store for them???

San Diego Wild Animal Park

Noah's class had an overnight field trip at the San Diego Wild Animal Park.  They got a special behind the scenes tour of the park and got to sleep in tents.  Jawsh went as a chaperone and had difficulty sleeping with 4 excited boys.  Noah is really enjoying his time in Yellow Cluster, what will tomorrow bring???

Getty

We were so impressed with London Calling that we had to take the boys to see this exhibit.  They enjoyed looking at the art, especially the work of Auerbach, where they were trying to find the hidden picture within the paint strokes.  We hope that we are instilling some art appreciation and history so they will enjoy these experiences as they get older.  What exhibit will we go to next???

Liam's Birthday

  Liam turned 5! He's a big boy now attending TK at his sisters' school.  He really seems to like school.  What kind of year will he have in TK???

Disneyland

Today Uncle Zack and Emo took all the kids (except Liam) to Disneyland for the day!  This was their early Christmas present.  Although the boys have been to Disneyland multiple times before, they were very young and never went on the rollercoasters.  This time around, they got to ride Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones, and even the Haunted Mansion.  The boys had a great day at the park... when will they do this again???

London Calling

While the kids were with Uncle Zack and Aunt Kelly at Disneyland, Jawsh and I spent the day together. We  started our day in downtown LA where we had breakfast at Egg Slut. Then we went to the Getty Museum.  We saw the the London Calling exhibit. Afterwards we met friends for dinner at Father's Office. We had a great day but we missed the kids. I wonder if they missed us???

Happy Birthday Micah

Happy 8th Birthday to Micah (9-27-08)!  We celebrated his birthday at Ocean Park Beach with a Minion theme. The kids had a great time playing near the water but the highlight of the party was the Minion water bottles full of Minion pez and whoopee cushions that the kids had to find.  I can't believe Micah turned 8... where has the time gone???

New retainer

Noah officially received his new retainer today. He chose a funky tie dye color. How long will he have to wear this retainer???

Building character

The kids washed cars just like my siblings and I did when we were kids. They enjoyed scrubbing the cars, getting wet, and playing with the soap.  They did a pretty good job and the neighbors were asking them to wash their cars too!  I wonder if they should start their own business???

Micah's turning 8

  Micah is turning 8 in a few weeks.  We asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday and he chose to celebrate it the same way he has for the past few years.  He wanted a Minion theme with the same type of food and the same invite list (he's pretty consistent).  One thing  I love about his birthday list is that he invites kids that he went to preschool with that he has not seen in a long while, so its nice when we see his old friends.  What will we hide in the sand this time???

Ukelele

Micah has now started learning the ukulele.  His teacher, Ms. Yolanda, teaches him piano and ukulele.  Micah is enjoying the new challenge although he says his fingers hurt. I wonder if he will be playing this on the beaches of Hawaii when he is older... nice dream wouldn't you say???

First Day of School

Back to life, back to reality...  we returned from Maui and now a few days later we are back at it. Micah is in Orange Cluster, now a big 3rd grader and a leader.  Noah is in Yellow Cluster, a 4th grader, with new teachers and curriculum.   I feel very blessed to be working at the same school, so I can see them throughout the day.  What will this year be like???

Bros

Noah and Micah are so lucky to have one another.  Since they are only two years apart they have similar school friends, interests, and experiences.  Now don't get me wrong... anyone who knows the boys well can see that they are different in many ways... but it's also nice that they share interests.  As we were vacationing, they only had each other to play with... no other cousins or friends nearby.  And they got along very well.  They talked about their favorite games, they built sandcastles together, and shared shave ice...  they even held hands as they walked through the rainforest.  It's nice to have a brother and friend, don't you think???

Snorkeling

The boys were able to head to the beach and snorkel everyday.  They were so comfortable in the water.  We saw some amazing ocean animals and we were lucky enough to see sea turtles!  When will we visit the Great Barrier Reef???

Deathly Hallows

Even in Maui, you can find Noah getting lost in a great story.  He is reading, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the last book in the Potter series.  Will he finish before his birthday???

Lahaina

  We enjoyed walking around Lahaina and getting a sweet treat at Ululani's or Locol Boys.  The boys liked switching up their shave ice flavors but mostly stuck with cherry and lime.  Will they remember these walks when they get older???