Happy Halloween

Last year I thought we were done with dressing up as a group but here we are at it again.  This year we we dressed up as the cast of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.  Noah was the scientist, Flint Lockwood, and Micah was his trusty sidekick, Steve the Monkey.  I put on large glasses to look like Sam Sparks but I don't think I pulled it off as well as Jawsh who was Chicken Brent! Will we dress up again as a group ensemble???

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treating with friends is exciting and full of fun until someone falls and lands on their monkey bottom and starts to cry.  Yes, Micah was running towards the door and fell hard.  But after he recovered he had a nice time.  Afterwards, we went back to our neighborhood where Micah preferred to stay home and pass out treats.  I wonder if he will want to do that next year???

Pumpkin carving

The boys loved carving their pumpkins.  Micah chose a cat and Noah chose a jack-o-lantern.  This will be the first time where the boys will be trick or treating in their neighborhood and where we will be passing out treats.  Our treat of choice this year: pretzels.  But hey, it's better than toothbrushes right???

Chaperone- Part 2

Noah's first field trip was to Underwood Farms. Jawsh chaperoned and took Noah and a few of his friends around the farm.  Again, I feel so fortunate that Jawsh can step up and be there for the boys while I am at work.  It's a great partnership and I hope the boys will appreciate their father even more...  is that even possible???

Go Micah!

The one soccer game I miss, Micah scores a goal and then receives the sportsmanship award with his good friend shortly after!  So bummed that I missed it, but at least Jawsh and Noah were witnesses to this event.  I wonder if Micah will score in his next game???

The Chaperone

Micah's first field trip was to the Los Angeles Zoo. Jawsh chaperoned and took Micah and some friends around the zoo.  It was a nice day, not too hot, and they got to see Tina the Elephant perform some mental exercise with a ball.  Afterwards the class headed to Travel Town for lunch.  I feel so fortunate that Jawsh can step up and be there for the boys while I am at work.  It's a great partnership and I hope the boys will appreciate their father even more...  is that even possible???

Rainbow Award

Open School recognizies students at the weekly school-wide assembly.  This week, Noah received a Rainbow Award for his achievement in Mathematics.  I am so proud of Noah and his love for math.  I appreciate the way Noah tackles a math problem and I love that he is so curious about numbers.  Although Noah professes to be many things when he grows up, I will not be surprised if he ends up in engineering!  Wouldn't that be interesting???

Happy Birthday Bubbe

Today we spent the day with Bubbe to celebrate her birthday. First we saw Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and then we went to dinner at Naples Ribs.  It was a great day...  wonder what she wished for???

Very blessed

When I accepted my position at my school site, I had no idea that this was a bus stop for the boys' school.  Every morning, Jawsh walks them across the street to begin their day and after school the boys hop on the school bus where their first stop is my school.  I feel very blessed that I do not have to drive back and forth to pick them up.  I don't know how this all "worked out" for us, but I am very thankful.  Jawsh is very thankful.  And the boys, well they'll realize how lucky they were when they get older... right???

P-ARRRHHH-TY

Happy 5th Birthday to Micah (9-27-08)!  We celebrated his birthday at Ocean Park Beach with a pirate theme.  There were all things pirate (his cake, his cupcakes, Pirate Booty snacks, jello cups (blue jello for the water and orange wedges for the boats), and of course Bay City Deli sandwiches and Joe's Pizza.  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 jewels, Ring Pops, and pirate ware.  I can't believe Micah turned 5... where has the time gone???

Taekwondo

The boys are signed up for Taekwondo through the Korean Cultural Center.  The nice thing about living so close to Ktown is the many opportunities the boys have to learn more about part of their culture.  The classes are very inexpensive because it is through the official cultural center.  Will the boys like Taekwondo???

Union soccer

Noah is playing soccer this season on a team with a few of his friends.  Their first game was today and Noah scored a goal although I think he was surprised that it went in.  He didn't put too much effort or strength behind the kick but it rolled in slowly... afterwards Noah said, "I kicked it soft and it went in."  This speaks to his amazing soccer ability or the lack of ability of the goalie... either way, Noah had fun.  Will he score again???

Where the Wild Things Are

Micah's kinder class celebrates the children's birthday once a month with the parents combining our party expertise to throw one big party.  When Noah was in Green Cluster, the theme was Hungry Caterpillar.  This time around we chose, Where the Wild Things Are.  The birthday kids wore crowns like the character Max and we did many activities based on the book.  The kids loved it and I must say, they were too cute!  What occasion will we celebrate next???

Homework

Micah has entered the world of homework.  Luckily for him, Green Cluster has made some changes since last year.  This year, instead of weekly packets, Micah has several activities he can choose from to work on at home without having to turn anything in.  Here he is working on AB patterns in math. Doesn't he look focused???

Happy Birthday Kaitlyn!

Kaitlyn and Emma had another fun tag-team birthday at Jumping Jacks.  The theme was Pokemon for Kaitlyn and Princess for Emma.  I was unable to attend because I had a meeting, but I don't think the boys' minded at all!  Kaitlyn is now 7 and Emma a big 4 year old girl... where has the time gone???

New home, new memories

We moved!  This was super unexpected but this opportunity could not be passed.  We are walking distance to the school, it's a small house that we can (hopefully) take care of, the boys love the space and backyard, and did I mention it's walking distance to the boys' school?  The house needs a lot of TLC but we know that this was a good decision for us at this time.  Who wants to come over???

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 stayed near.  Jawsh was able to walk Micah to class with the rest of the kindergarten parents and then they parted ways.  I wonder how the first day of school will be for everyone???

9-5

I am making the official blog announcement... I'm headed back to work!  I will be teaching first grade this coming school year.  I've been out of the classroom for 3 years and out of the district for 8 years so there has been a lot of changes.  This is an exciting time to go back but it's bittersweet... I wish I could volunteer in the boys' classrooms but I know they will be okay.  How is life going to change for the Smith family???

The Flaming Lips

Tonight Jawsh and I went to the OC Fair to see The Flaming Lips.  The show was great and we had a good time... almost felt like we were dating again and had no kids!  Thank you to Bubbe for watching the boys... when will we go to our next concert???

YMCA

Noah is playing basketball at the YMCA in the Rookies program .  He is one of the tallest boys so he gets the ball passed to him a lot but he is also quick to pass the ball to someone who has a better shot... I like to think of him as a little Magic Johnson.  I wonder if he will want to play in this basketball league again???

(Picture to come)