Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to my brother, Billy!  He's a great dad, fun uncle, and we're so blessed that the cousins are growing up with one another.  Another birthday in the books!  I wonder what he wished for???

Western State Champions

They came, they saw, and they conquered!  The Blue Jets won Western States!  I can't believe it.  I remember when the Coaches said they would get here and it was a fleeting thought that actually came into fruition!  As team mom, I am super proud of all these boys!  Will they want to return and repeat next year???

Awkward

Noah's word: awkward.  This is an awkward picture most definitely.  As he matures, he is going through the stage where his parents are embarrassing (why, because I kiss his cheek in public?).  He's almost taller than me, he is independent, proud of his 4.0 GPA, juggling after school activities, new friendships, and we are so very proud of him.  What will it be like when he turns 13???

Soccer

The Blue Jets continue on their winning streak...  I can't believe how long this season is going!  They won Regional and now they are headed to State Finals.  Will they come out victorious???

Melting Man

Here is it...  Melting Man enjoying a cup of coffee.  Love. Love. Love.  Don't you love it???

Bavel

Happy 42nd birthday to my wonderful husband.  We drove through tough rush hour traffic to reach Bavel.  We were happy with our meal and the time we got to spend together.  The boys were adventurous and tried new foods, which we loved to see.  I wonder what Jawsh wished for???

Family garden

It's actually working!  Who knew that sowing seeds in soil, with water and sun would actually work!  It's amazing to see the fruits of our labor.  I can't wait to eat all the goodies from our garden.  Will the boys like beets???

Last day

This is the last day of the strike.  I am so happy to return to the class tomorrow.  10 days out of the classroom is a big deal and I know that everyone is happy to go back to school.  Well, maybe... Micah would rather be out striking still.  Who is this kid???

Day 6

The best picture ever.  Wouldn't you agree???

MLK

How poignant... we have been on strike for the past few days to take a collective break in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Now more than ever, I feel that we have to stand together to make a change.  I hope that Jawsh and I can impart this civic duty and social consciousness to Noah and Micah.  What will they do to change the world???

Day 1- Strike

 The last teacher strike in Los Angeles was in 1989.  Twenty years later, 34,000 educators went on strike.  As a veteran teacher, this was not something that I necessarily wanted but something I had to do.  This was a post I wrote the eve before the strike:

Tomorrow I will go on strike. I will be picketing in the rain with my husband and sons, 20 colleagues from my school site, and 30,000 more teachers from the district. This is not what I hoped would happen, but what has to happen. 

- I am striking to make a difference in the lives of all students. 
- I am striking for students who do not have the educational environment and support systems they need. 
- I am striking for the thousands of students who are sitting in overcrowded classrooms who don’t have desks and sit on the floor or lean on a wall. 
- I am striking for the 80% of the district’s students who live at or near the poverty line and have a right to librarians, nurses, counselors, and psychologists more than one day a week. 
- I am striking in the hopes that we do not break the district into “32 networks” so the haves keep having and the have-nots are left with nothing. I do not want Los Angeles to be the next New Orleans where there are no more neighborhood schools. 

I am not striking against schools but FOR schools. It’s not a cliche, teachers teach because they want to make a difference. And tomorrow, teachers will strike to make a difference.

The box

Jawsh was commissioned by the City of Los Angeles to paint this electric box located in Westchester.  I can't wait to see what he will do.  Any guesses???

Happy New Year's Eve

Happy New Year!!!  What are your New Years' resolutions?

Happy New Year

Happy New Year's Eve!  Our last day of 2018 was spent at Playa del Rey Beach.  Jawsh and I enjoyed a coffee from Playa Provisions and the boys enjoyed a sweet treat.  It was a very relaxing day and we enjoyed the time together.  What will the new year bring???

Santa Monica Pier

One of our gifts to the kids is the gift of time.  We spent the whole day in Santa Monica with the kids riding rides at pier and eating grass-fed burgers at Hiho.  It was a great day and the boys love spending time with their cousins.  At the end of the night, we played Catan as a family.  These are the memories that will last a life time, don't you think???

Adventure awaits!

Kaitlyn spent the tonight and we decided to have an adventure... we took the Playa Vista shuttle to the Fisherman's Wharf in Marina del Rey.  Unfortunately everything was closed and we didn't spend much time there so we walked a few blocks to eat at CPK.  Will we take the shuttle to Venice next time???

Candy Party

Now that Micah is expander free, we celebrated with a candy party and watched Wreck It Ralph.  All of the kids had a great time, eating all the candy they wanted and then playing Chubby Bunny with marshmallows right after.  When will Micah head into Phase 2 treatment???

Community Garden

We spent the morning in the community garden tending to our raised bed.  We dug out at least 200 grubs (yuck) and then tilled the soil so we could plant herbs and root vegetables.  It was a lot of hard work, but satisfying.  The boys had a great time.  When will we reap the fruit of our labor???

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Min Family!  The kids had a wonderful time celebrating Atticus' first Christmas.  There was an abundance of food and presents... what more could anyone else ask for???

Life Cycle

We had a new adventure today!  We went to a museum for the first time called the Marciano Art Foundation.  They are exhibiting Ai Weiwei's project Life Cycle, which is a cultural response to the global refugee crisis.  It was amazing to see the work that he made and the intricate details of his work.  Were the boys as inspired as I was???