Fun with Uncle Zack

We stayed at the family friendly Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort where there were plenty of activities for the children.  Here they are at the slide by the swimming pool with the newest member of the family, Uncle Zack.  The boys really love Uncle Zack because he spends time with them doing fun things.  I know they will always have these memories and look back at their time in Maui with a great big grin on their faces.  When will be the next big family vacation???

Best coffee

One of my favorite parts of the day was driving over to MauiGrown Coffee.  I loved the smell of the beans and the taste of my Americano.  They are local with a 500 acre estate near Lahaina on the West Maui Mountains with a "seed to cup" philosophy.  We brought some beans back home and I have to admit it doesn't taste the same.  I think I have to go back to Maui to experience this again.  Who wants to go???

Blessed

My parents really love their grandkids.  I never see my parents as happy as when they are with their 5 grandkids.  No matter how crazy, loud, and hectic it can be when they are all together, I can tell that my parents would have it no other way.  A picture says it all, wouldn't you say???

Happy Birthday Bubbe

There is no better place than to celebrate a birthday than Mama's Fish House.  We enjoyed our dinner by the ocean and it was just as I remembered it from our honeymoon.  The food was delicious, the environment was relaxing, and the company was the best!  We loved spending Bubbe's birthday with her and look forward to spending many more together.  Where will we go next year???

Ululani

Three words: Ululani Shave Ice.  Nothing else compares to this treat.  Here we are at the original store in Lahaina, but we managed to visit the other ones as well.  There were so many flavor combinations to choose from and by the end of our trip everyone nailed down a favorite combo.  Jawsh and I enjoyed coconut and pineapple, Bubbe enjoyed chocolate and cherry, and the boys liked every flavor.  When will they open one here in LA???

Coconuts!

After our meal, we hit the road and stopped at the Maui Tropical Plantation to eat fresh coconuts.  The boys enjoyed watching the coconuts being opened and Jawsh enjoyed the coconut milk inside.  Driving down the highway road is pretty spectacular and as we looked around it was picturesque and timeless.  What adventures await???

Yum, saimin!

The five hour flight to Maui was uneventful.  As soon as we landed we grabbed our bags and rental and drove to Da Kitchen!  It was close to the airport, rated highly on yelp, and we sat down in a cool restaurant to enjoy our first meal in Maui.  Noah ordered saimin which is a noodle soup developed in Hawaii which incorporates various foods like ramen (Japanese), mein (Chinese), pancit (Filipino), cabbage (Korean), and sausage (Portuguese) that reflects the diverse group of laborers in the historic plantation days of Hawaii.  That is the amazing thing about food, how it signifies and symbolizes so much.  Noah may not understand the cultural complexities of eating saimin at this point, but as you can see he enjoyed it.  What will be our next Hawaiian dish???

Happy 6th Birthday Micah

Happy 6th Birthday to Micah (9-27-08)!  We celebrated his birthday at Ocean Park Beach with a Spongebob theme.  There were all things Spongebob (his donut, Krabby patties (In N Out burgers), and treasure chests.  The kids had a great time playing near the water but the highlight of the party was the treasure chests that the kids had to find full of Spongebob whistles, candies, and toys.  I can't believe Micah turned 6... where has the time gone???

Happy New Year

This year Noah decided to go into the actual service for Rosh Hashanah whereas Micah chose to go the children services where they read stories, make crafts, and design aspects of this holiday with food.  Here is Micah using blue frosting to represent the water, brown frosting to represent the land, and animal crackers to represent God's creation.  He had a great time and Noah also enjoyed sitting between his dad and grandfather while he listened to the songs of the new year.  What room will Noah choose next year???

Noah's fieldtrip

Noah's class went to the California Science Center for their first field trip of the year.  His teachers are very organized and had a list of questions that the children had to answer in each ecosystem.  Noah was paired with his good friends and I enjoyed walking around the museum with them.  I feel so blessed that Noah has made a nice group of friends and that he loves school.  Where will the next field trip be???

Birthday in the class

Micah celebrated his birthday in class with fresh cut fruit cups.  I only had to make 48 cups (that's a lot of fruit).  It was super sweet to see the class sing Happy Birthday to him and for him to blow out his felt candles.  Afterwards, each child came up to Micah and gave him a compliment which was very cute.  Time is flying by fast, wouldn't you agree???

Happy baby shower

Lise's baby shower was full of good friends, good eats, and a good time had by all.  She is due next month and we are so excited for her and to meet her son, Dominic.  Who will he look like???

Happy Birthday Girls

Today we celebrated Kaitlyn and Emma's birthday at Party Kingdom.  It was a huge space full of jumpers of all sizes, games,  face painting, and fun.  Kaitlyn had a Minecraft theme (which explains Micah's shirt and Noah's attempt to look like the character, Steve) whereas Emma embraced the Frozen theme.  It was a great time celebrating with these two girls... what will we do for Micah's birthday later this month???

Rainbow Award

Noah received a Rainbow Award from Orange Cluster.  Rainbow Awards are presented at the school wide assemblies every week.  We were proud to read, "This Rainbow Award is presented to Noah Smith for being a kind friend and for being excellent in class."  Noah was very proud to receive this award so early on in the year.  What will his next award say???

New bike!

I love this shot!  Noah is growing so fast.  He's almost... almost... 8 years old.  He is enjoying school, his friends, and he is a great kid.  When will we get him on a skateboard???

Go Micah Go!

So we're almost there.  The training wheels were already off (since this is Noah's old bike) so there were no tears.  I also think that he's mentally prepared to step up to a bigger bike.  We took him across the street to the school parking lot and he was able to ride with the assistance with Jawsh holding the back of the bike.  I think a few more times and he should get it.  Does anyone else feel like time is moving too fast???

My present

Jawsh bought me a pasta attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer so now I am able to make fresh pasta!  This is a red chard, bacon, butter linguine that I made for dinner this past week.  What will I make next???

Happy Birthday

Jawsh came into town since this is my birthday weekend.  It was a quiet celebration because my mom is still recovering from her surgery.  We took the kids to Benihana Restaurant.  I think they enjoyed watching their food being cooked.  Kaitlyn definitely enjoyed herself (I think she ate the most).  Where will go next time???

5 little monkeys

 

We are in Ontario for the next couple of days while my mom recovers from laser eye surgery.  This was an emergency procedure due to retinal detachment!  I am so thankful that the surgery was successful and that I was able to take a few days off from work to help my mother.  In the meantime, Kaitlyn and Co have yet to start school and the boys missed two days so they were in cousin-play-heaven!  It's been nice to spend this time with my mom and it really makes me appreciate her even more.  When will she be back to normal???

Birthday oysters

Jawsh took me out to dinner at Hinoki and the Bird.  I enjoyed every single bite.  It was a nice evening and we really feel fortunate that we have people that love to spend time with our boys, so we can love spending time with just one another.  Where will he take me next year???

First day of school

Today is the first day of school for me at my school site and for the boys at OMCS.  I was so sad that I could not be there for their first day of school, but at least Jawsh was able to be with them.  According to Jawsh, Noah ran off to find his friends and Micah was nervous.  Jawsh was able to walk Micah to his first grade class in Silver while Noah ran off to his second grade cluster, Orange. I wonder how the first day of school will be for everyone???

Extraordinary chess

Grandpa Barry and Noah enjoy a good game of chess whenever they can squeeze one in.  Here they are playing at one of my favorite spots from my college days, Extraordinary Desserts.  Back in those days there was only one location, but now there are three!  We were very fortunate that there was one located very close to our hotel.  When will we come back???

Congrats Adam and Claudia

Cousin Adam and Claudia were married this weekend.  This photo was taken at the morning after brunch.  The boys had a great time with their little cousin, Leo.  When will we all get together again???

Medieval Times

Tonight we took Kaitlyn and Emma out for an early birthday present and took them to Medieval Times.  The girls love horses and we thought this would be a fun experience.  There were staged medieval games, sword fighting, jousting, and food to eat with our hands.  This was definitely an interesting experience and afterwards you could see how the kids were affected by the show.  Micah and Noah's face full of fury and bravery and the girls proper and honorable.  This is such a difference between the boys and girls, wouldn't you agree???

Space, the final frontier

This was Jawsh's first time viewing the Endeavor at the California Science Center.  He had a nice time walking around the exhibit with the boys although they were fixated on eating freeze dried ice cream from the gift shop (Jawsh completely understood because he said he liked eating it as a kid).  When will we visit the shuttle again???

Korea culture at LACMA

We spent quite a bit of time at LACMA to see Treasures From Korea.  The boys made Bokjumeoni (복주머니) which is a traditional Korean coin purse to represent good fortune.  The boys had such a good time sewing the pouch together and afterwards the boys got to play Korean drums.  It's so nice to live in a city full of such diverse cultures and I hope that the boys will appreciate their bi-cultural heritage.  What will we do next???

Calder at LACMA

After the boys embraced their Korean culture, we went through the Calder exhibit.  The boys were intrigued by some of the pieces and Jawsh was inspired.  Every time we are at LACMA, I think that we should go more often because there is so much to see, discover, and eat (Jawsh ate a delicious dish of pasta at Ray's).  When will we return???

Hatfield's

Throughout the years, Jawsh and I have tried to dine at the top restaurants (referencing Jonathan Gold's list) in Los Angeles as well as those restaurants that have received Michelin Stars.  The Michelin Guide started over 100 years ago in France and awards stars to few establishments.  Although the Michelin guide has not been in LA for quite a number of years, we have managed to dine at Michelin Star Restaurants with 2 stars (Melisse, Providence, and Spago) and 1 star (Water Grill, Osteria Mozza, and Valentino).  After our 9th anniversary dinner, we can now add Hatfield's to the list.  We really enjoyed all the food at Hatfield's although I must admit that we did not eat dessert there as I opted to go to Sprinkles to get a chocolate marshmallow cupcake.  Where will Jawsh take me next year for the big 10???

Snowy Days with Ezra Jack Keats

Today we went to the Skirball Museum to check out Ezra Jack Keats' exhibit.  He is one of my favorite children's authors and I was very excited to see such a large space dedicated to his work.  There were interactive story books and many things that the kids could touch and wear (i.e. goggles inspired by his book Goggles).  Afterwards we went to the Children's Art Studio where the boys took recyclable materials and created an invention to help the world.  Noah made a "Bee Saver" that could suck up bees and transport them to their natural habitat and Micah made a "Tar Robot" that sucks up tar from the ocean.  This was a great day of discovery for all of us, wouldn't you agree???

9

Happy 9 years!  We went back to the exact spot we were married (7-24-05) at the terrace of Shutters on the Beach Hotel.  Looking back to that magical night, I still can't believe we were married here.  The boys have heard our memories from the evening and now they have started telling us details about our wedding (like when Uncle Zach has to hold the chuppah because the wind was blowing so hard).  We ate dinner downstairs at Coast and enjoyed our meal together.  This was a great night and I'm looking forward to our kid free dinner this weekend when Bubbe comes over to watch the boys... where will Jawsh take me???

Hammer

Today we went to the Hammer Museum to check out the exhibition, Made in L.A, 2014.  This show featured 35 Los Angeles artists debuting paintings, installations, videos, photography, and performance.  We enjoyed going through the exhibits but the boys really liked spending time at the kids' wood block table.  When will we come back to Westwood???

Little Tokyo

Today we ventured to Little Tokyo to eat ramen at Daikokuya.  It was a long wait but as you can see on the boy's faces it was worth it. We enjoyed delicious ramen, rolls, and fried rice.  It was a fun afternoon exploring Little Tokyo.  Where will our next food adventure be???

Black-eye

Micah and Kaitlyn collided in an epic game of Hide and Seek upstairs in the hotel suite.  His first (and hopefully last) black eye... will he be okay???

Just keep swimming

The kids love swimming at the pool.  Now that Noah and Micah can swim independently we have a fun time throwing them around the pool.  The kids especially liked retrieving rings that my brother would throw to the other side of the pool.  I feel so lucky that the kids can see each other and create fun memories every summer.  What will we do later today???

Cousins

We love seeing the family at our annual Vegas reunion.  The kids get along very well and they are sweet to one another. Today they spent time together at the pool and then we went back to play at my aunt's house.  It's nice having cousins around the same age... what will we do tomorrow???

M&M store

The boys love visiting the M&M store with their cousins, Sophie and Daphne.  The boys each filled a bag of M&Ms... Noah likes the mint and Micah enjoys the mega size.  Then we watched a 4D movie starring what else... M&Ms!  It was a fun time and we even figured out how to walk to the store through the hotel without stepping outside in the over 100 degree heat!  What will they want to do tomorrow???

Surf and sand

Jawsh has started surfing again and the boys are very interested in learning more about the sport.  Noah is definitely more cautious, whereas Micah is more of a dare devil.  I wonder who will learn this in time for Maui???

Happy 4th

We went back to Cheviot Hills to watch the fireworks.  We did the usual... brought dinner from Pitfire Pizza and ate dessert with friends.  The boys enjoyed running around chasing the girls and of course loved the glow sticks.  It was a lot of fun but I did miss my family.  What will we do next year???

Look who got glasses!

Noah and Micah went to the optometrist a few weeks ago and  it was determined that Noah could wear glasses while he reads.  He has been complaining of mild headaches after reading for long periods of time, so the doctor said he could use the glasses as needed.  Noah independently chose the same type of glasses that Jawsh wears (Raybans) but he chose another color.  Like father and son, right???

La Brea Tar Pits

After the Craft and Folk Museum, we walked across the street to the Page Museum.  The boys still find the smell offending but now that they are older, they are laughing and making up fart jokes.  Noah was interested in the documentary about the museum whereas Micah was interested in the gift shop.  Unfortunately, we did not have chance to check out Observation Pit 91.  Now that it's re-opened to the public we will have to go back... when will that be???

Craft and Folk Museum

Today we made  quick stop to the Craft and Folk Art Museum.  It was a free admission day and the boys got to participate in an art exhibition, Broken Circle, by Dario Escobar.  In addition, the boys like the Empire of Love Shack which is an installation made from found materials by Shrine.  This was a great installation that Noah loved... will he want to be an artist???

Grand Match Gala

Noah played in the Grand Match Gala at USC.
There were over 150 students and Noah had 10 players in his group.  He played in 6 matches for three hours and was undefeated.  He placed first in his group and his school came in first place out of 24 schools.  It was an exciting afternoon had by all.  Will Micah want to play next year???

Happy Father's Day

Today we wished Jawsh's dad a Happy Father's Day over lunch in Santa Monica.  Afterwards, we spent time near the marina.  We brought desserts from Huckleberry and spent some time by the water singing songs and watching the boys chase each other.  What will he want to do next year???

Father's Day

A perfect Father's Day gift to Jawsh and my brother is to see a movie.  They took the kids to see How To Train Your Dragon 2 and they really enjoyed it.  Apparently, in the movie there is a really sad part that made the boys tear up.  I think it's great that my boys can sympathize with the characters in the story.  What movie will they see next???

Boogie Board Boy

Micah is our fearless kid.  He loves the water.  When the waves crash into him, he just holds on longer and bears down.    Even when the water goes over his head, he is unafraid.  I wonder if he will like surfing as much as Jawsh???

Girls' Getaway

This is the second time I have left the boys for a girls' getaway.  We went to my friends home in Lake Arrowhead and had a nice time at the Lake Arrowhead Village.  I ordered a delicious Bloody Mary and had a nice time catching up with friends.  There was four of us the first night and two more friends came up the following day.  I hope this is an annual trip because now that I work full time, I hardly see my friends!  When will we have our next girls' weekend???

Pokemin

While I was away... Jawsh and the boys were up early getting the tires changed at Costco (on a Saturday morning is impressive).  While waiting the boys hung out at a local coffee shop and made up their own Pokemon card characters but of course, changed the name to Pokemin.  It was very cute and I know they loved spending time with their Dad.  Will they remember these times when they get older???

Goodbye Red

Noah had such an amazing time in Red Cluster this year (here he is with one of his two teachers).  He really grew this first grade year and had two extraordinary teachers who taught him to write using his authentic voice, and kept him on track through their high expectations for him.  When I think of Noah in Red Cluster, I will remember his writing (especially his book called From Tree to Paper), his math time with Mr. Boze, and how he enjoyed making new older friends.  What will his 2nd grade experience be like???

Goodbye Green

Micah started kindergarten as the youngest boy in the class (4 days shy of the deadline).  There was a slight chance that he would repeat kindergarten due to his maturity but after his Spring Conference we knew that his teachers wanted him to move to the first grade.  So today is the last day of kindergarten and I am so happy to report that he had an amazing time in Green Cluster.  His team teachers have been together for 20 years and their experience, love, and joy for teaching is still going strong.  When I think of Micah in Green Cluster, I will remember how much he loved to play handball and how he enjoyed listening to stories on the rug.  I wonder what Cluster he will be in next year???

Rock climbing

Noah went to a rock climbing birthday party this afternoon and he had a blast.  I was surprised to see this image that Jawsh sent me because the past two times that Noah tried to rock climb he would reach the half way point and then fall down.  I wonder if this will be his new interest???