Hot weather in SoCal...

So the weather got hot in SoCal. I think it almost got to 100F. So out comes the water slide....and playdough.

Kyle's Baptism

We went to Las Vegas to celebrate Kyle's Baptism...Julia was there and she and Meghan had a great time...

Wilson wants a lizard...

Wilson is an natural hunter. Here he is frustrated by a lizard out of his reach...Oh, and Sean just wants to fight for real...

First trip to the beach...

We went to the beach for the first time this year. It was a little windy and about 72 degrees. I am trying a new thing with video. I used our regular camera on Video mode.. Let me know how it works.

Pre-Easter Activities

Our pre-Easter activities started as just another Saturday with Meghan stacking little animals onto larger animals of the same type. I guess the little ones are the babies. Nature vs nurture...nature. Meghan loves babies, animals (especially horses), pink, and dressing up -> Nature, nature, nature.
Then we colored eggs. Meghan did a great job. The boys were somewhat challenged by the activity; but muscled through. Again, nature.
Silvia and I went to the W@lmart and bought the most obnoxious Easter baskets they had. I love the army vehicle Easter basket. I am not sure it promotes the spirit of the day, but Sean will love it. I just love the obnoxiousness of the whole thing.

Eggstraveganza...

So the kids and I went to Irvine Lake for their "Eggstraveganza". The girl went on pony ride. We went to the zoo. We played at the playground. We ate lunch in the back of the car. We visited the Easter Bunny who apparently works part time at the Albertsons.

Gone fishing....

I took the girl fishing for the first time at Huckleberry Pond. With the help of her friend, a nameless goat, she caught 3 fish in about an hour. At $4.50/lb, it was quickly time to go home. Momita cooked them up and we ate them for dinner tonight.

X-Mas -6 and 6 Makes Twelve

Six kids and six adults makes for a great Christmas... Here are some highlights.
The girls are watching Tom and Jerry on the computer.

Chris' first real X-mas in CA. I think he has the hang of it...

Meghan is ready to shop...She asked Santa for "Pink Toys". I guess Santa is a good listener.

The boys anticipate a battle of water...

The battle zone...Plenty of weapons for everyone and every age. Sheesh.

Sean and Warren were never hard to find. If they weren't shooting each other in the yard with water guns, they were shooting each other virtually.

Here is the obligatory group picture of the kids...There will be another one next year - Kyle. That will make 7. Time to add on to the house.

Knott's Trip

Sean had another day off in early February. So we met up with his classmate Jessica and her mom and sister at Knott's Berry Farm. (Thanks goes to fellow Rotarian Don for comping us into the park.)

Boy's Day Out!

Sean had the day off from School. So we did a little work and a little play topped off by a lunch at the Hat store. Pastrami, onion rings, and Root Beer - the perfect lunch.

Sean's 6th Birthday

We had a bowling party for Sean's 6th Birthday. A good time was had by all. Thanks goes out to the parents for making Sean's day special.

Holloweeeeen!

Here is a picture of Sean and Jessica at his school for Holloween.

LA Natural History Museum Trip

Sean, Mom, and I went to the LA Natural History Museum. It was alright. They have some good exhibits; but nothing out of the ordinary. We went to the Discovery Zone and dug up fossils. We found this great gift in the gift store; but the polar bear wouldn't fit in our SUV.

Test and stuff

Uh, this is and test and stuff.

First AYSO Soccer game...

Sean had his first organized soccer game today. He had alot of fune and did pretty well, although I think he has a little too much Power Ranger in his style. Meghan cheered from the sidelines and shows off one of the side-effects of blue Powerade.

Labor Day

Labor Day weekend was a bit anti-climatic as we had just returned from Mahoney's European Vacation; but we did go get the clearanced slip-n-slide. The kids had fun in the back yard.

The last week in Europe...

So we are back in the US. Ahh, the comfort of my own pillow.... Anyhow, we spent the last week of our trip getting gifts for those back home and doing some touristy stuff in Berlin. The picture below is at Check Point Charlie. I usually am relagated to babysitting while the girls shop so I get to people watch. I bought an apple juice at "Snack Point Charlie" right across from Check Point Charlie. Heh.
Then I took the kids for some quality time at the Kinderspiel the evening before Silvia and I went to Poland.
The below photo is of a section of the main square in Cracow. The main square is the largest in Europe. Cracow is best known for the "camps" outside of town, but it was also largely spared by allied bombing and thus contains some of the best examples of early architecture in the world. The original seat of gov't, it contains amazing buildings and streets.
In direct contrast though, are many examples of 40 years of communist rule. It is amazing to see the contrast of pre-war buildings mixed with the soviet architecture (oxymoron) and the last 20 years of modern investment. There wasn't the huge investment of capital given to Poland after communism left that East Germany enjoyed. I think that Poland may be better off for it as the growth is more organic and without the huge debt to overcome. Cracow has a huge Gallaria Mall and is in many ways more accepting of Westernization.
The next morning we went to see the death camps. I could go on for hours describing the impact of the visit. The two biggest feelings you get are the efficiency in which things were done and the scale of the operation. The first picture is of Camp 1.This picture is of camp 2. It is 7x bigger than camp one. Truly a spooky place. The visitors do not give it the respect it deserves.

I have one point to make: It is important to not dehumanize those responsible for what took place here. Those reponsible were not aliens from another planet or souless monsters we see in movies. Those responsible were often family men and good soldiers. Those responsible were too much like ourselves for us to say, absolutely, that I would never have done such a thing. The true insidious evil of this place is that it could have easily been one of us on holding a rifle or holding a shovel. This place truly shows the depths to which our humanity can be lowered. A depth where only cruelty, pain, and dehumanization exists. 'Nuff said.
Ok now.. wow. Back to more mundane life.... We went to get the train to Warsaw the next day and I helped a guy carry his 50Kilo bags up the track. No good deed goes unpunished... I broke my camera doing it. So below is my last picture of our vacation... I missed about 4 days of photos. Bummer.

All in all, it was a fantastic time in Berlin and Poland. We went to Legoland in the Sony Center in Patsdamer Platz. We ate bad pizza and excellent schitzel and most excellent bier. I stole a couple beer steins...
The best part is that we were with family all the time. We shared the ups and downs. And we can laugh about it now because we're all ok.
School starts next week and I've got a ton of laundry to do....