Welcome Baby Honda!

On December 30th, Brad and Jovi welcomed their brand new baby girl into the world. Baby Corinne weighed 7 lbs., 3 oz. and was 21 inches long.

Congratulations to Brad and Jovi! We can't wait to meet Corinne!

Big Spoon(ers)

On Saturday, we went to visit our great friends, Steve, Stacy, Kayla and Andrew. We finally had a chance to get together and hang out.

After dinner we headed out to the Big Spoon. What a fun experience! What a great concept! You go in and build your own frozen yogurt sundae. First, you choose your yogurt, then you go to the fudge station, and then to the nuts and candies stations. They have everything from gummy worms to giant sprinkles, chocolate rocks to bubble gum! I think Jayden had vanilla with giant sprinkles, and bubble gum. Joshie had chocolate/vanilla swirl with hot fudge, chocolate rocks, chocolate sprinkles, heath bar bits and whipped cream.

It was fun, yummy, and very affordable. They charge you by the weight of your yogurt concoction. So, for the 8 of us, we paid about $15 total!

Stacy told us that they built one in Rocklin, we've already googled it and know exactly where it is! I guarantee you that we'll be hitting that place soon and often!

Thanks S,S, K and A for the super fun night! Hopefully, we'll be able to hang out again SOON!

Averie

On Friday, I went to visit my really good friend, Kristi, her husband Scott, and her Mom, and met Averie for the first time. Kristi, Scott, and Averie were visiting from New Jersey.

Averie is such a cutie and although she was under the weather, she was still such a sweet and very good baby!

I can't wait to see you guys again!

Gingerbread House

Yesterday, Jayden went over to his friend Jacob's house to make gingerbread houses. It was Jayden, Jacob, Dillon, and Canyon. What a great day it was. The four boys were focused, determined and very patient I may add even when the walls kept falling over.

Not once during the building of their masterpieces did they sneak a taste of anything! All of the Moms were shocked! Just imagine, there were cookies, sprinkles, m&ms, gum drops, marshmallows, sugar, sugar, and more sugar!

After completion of the houses, the boys went off to play and it was unanimous, no one wanted to eat their creation!

Thank you Kerri for inviting us over for such a fun day!

New Pets

Last weekend Jayden wanted to go look at the pets at the pet store. With Jayden's cat allergy and Joshie's dog allergy we thought we'd be a pet-free family. Not anymore!

The boys both had an interest in getting a fish. So, we ended up with two beta-fish that day.

Jayden named his fish, "MJ" and Joshie's fish is named, "Nash"...duh!!!

So far so good, they are "taking care" of their new pets and giving them extra tlc by talking to them each and everyday.

Jayden is a little more fascinated with his fish than Joshie. He genuinely worries about MJ when we aren't home and wonders if he'll be okay by himself, etc.

So we went from a "pet-free" home to a "2 pet household"...no complaints here!

EXCELlent Report Cards

Joshua and Jayden received excellent report cards and as always, we are extremely proud of them both!

At the parent-teacher conferences, both Joshie's teacher and Jayden's teacher had nothing but positive things to say. Apparently, they are both the high achievers in their class, are leaders, respectful, independent, and well-liked by their peers. How wonderful!

Congratulations to our boys!

To celebrate, we took the boys are to see the Harlem Globetrotters. It was a fun night!

First Trimester Awards

Before Thanksgiving break, Joshie and Jayden received their First Trimester awards. Only two students per class are given the Academic Award and we are proud to say that both Joshie and Jayden received this award. Joshie also received an award for Perfect Attendance.

We are very proud of both of our boys and know that they will continue to excel in everything they do!

Awesome Teachers

This year, Joshua and Jayden have the most wonderful teachers. Jayden has Mrs. Pennington who has been teaching for 35 years (Joshie had her in Kindergarten). She is the reason why Lance stood in line at 4:30 a.m. in the freezing cold to make sure Jayden was placed in her class. She is the warmest, most loving, patient and positive teacher you could ever imagine. She's like a baby whisperer or in this case, a "kindergartener whisperer". Children and parents adore her and we feel truly blessed that Jayden is in her class...what a wonderful start to his education!

Jayden is constantly surprising Mrs. Pennington with his knowledge of basketball. She is always praising him for his writings and reading skills. For example, at "free choice" when most kids enjoy playing dress-up, trains, and play-doh, Jayden chooses to write the full names (correctly spelled), team they play for, and jersey numbers for all of his favorite players. He has a list of approximately 10 favorite players who he places in order.

Joshua has Mrs. Taxara who is by far the most creative and challenging teacher he's ever had. Joshua has always excelled in school and zipped through the curriculum. Mrs. Taxara is always on top of things and comes up with such creative and exciting projects to keep her students enthusiastic. Mrs. Taxara has a group of "high achievers" in her class and Joshua is one of them. For these students she gives them extra work and projects. For example, for their book reports, she chose to teach these students how to do a power point presentation. They met once a week afterschool and worked on their presentations. Joshua absolutely loved it! He got to use cool graphics, sound effects, and music. Soon, he will be starting another afterschool project called, the Odyssey of the Mind. Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Kids apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. They then bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and World level. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and from about 25 other countries participate in the program.

Joshua is naturally competitive and loves that he is always at the top of his class and "ahead" of most. He scored 100% on his state testing in math and is the only one who scored this high out of all the third graders! From the start of the year, he was placed in fourth grade math and he is continuing to excel in this as well.

Another exciting thing that Mrs. Taxara did was nominate Joshua for the National Young Scholars Program. The National Young Scholars Program is designed and created specifically for the nation's most highly acclaimed 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students, each of whom have been personally selected for nomination by a teacher. NYSP is a renaissance of interactive, hands-on learning for young leaders eager for knowledge and ready to celebrate the joy of discovery. No other program of this depth and magnitude exists exclusively for the high-achieving 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade student.

The four of us are fully enjoying this terrific school year and are looking forward to the rest of the year. We are so thankful and feel truly blessed to have these wonderful teachers guiding our children!

What Was That Holiday Again?

In between the ghosts and goblins, the black and orange and the snowmen and reindeer and the red and green, there's another holiday tucked inbetween.

If it weren't for the "biggest shopping day of the year", most would probably have bypassed Thanksgiving. Once the Halloween decorations go to 50% off in the stores, the Christmas ones are set up right beside them. The commercials with Santa start popping up on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network...but what's this holiday called Thanksgiving?

Something about pilgrims, turkey's, feasts...and oh yeah, the start of the holiday shopping. In school I remember Thanksgiving being a big deal, we celebrated, we studied. Well, they still study and celebrate now, but we are overwhelmed by the retail industry and their desire to "capture the dollar" for the end of the year profit report.

Interesting to read about the history of Thanksgiving. You can re-introduce yourself to it as well here: History of Turkey Day.

If anything it is a day to be thankful...for the things we should be thankful for each and everyday, but I guess some people are so busy, that a day had to be established for people to take a moment and focus on those things.

Each day, I am thankful for my beautiful, healthy and happy wife and two boys and for my health. I am also thankful for all events in my life that have led to me where I am today, as I feel I have become a better person because of them. The list is long, and I won't bore you with them all here. Please take the time today to stop planning your "Black Friday" plan of attack and be thankful for those people and events in your lives and carry that over to each and every day of your lives.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!!!

Jayden's First Kindergarten Field Trip

On October 8th, Jayden and his class went on their first field trip of the year. They went to the Bishop's Pumpkin Farm in Wheatland. (Jayden's Pre-K class also went there last October). I was one of the many parent chaperones who attended the field trip.

The pumpkin farm is always a hit with the kids (and grown ups too). From the hayrides, to the train rides, to the pig races and picking their very own pumpkins how could you not have a great time?

It was a happy, safe, and successful fieldtrip!

Farewell and Aloha to Bupa....We Will Miss you

On Saturday, Bupa (my Grandpa) passed away. Although he had his ups and downs over the last year, things seemed to have been going up for him. He was stronger, his appetite was better, he was going through physical therapy, he gained 7 pounds and was even put on a diet because he was gaining weight. Bupa's mind was still very good, he was pretty alert and aware of his surroundings.

His passing was a quick one and without too much pain, aside from the back pain he was experiencing. In a matter of minutes, his blood pressure went from a very high, 180/80 to a very low 90/60. His breathing became very spaced out to just one breath every 3 seconds, and then he just slipped away...

It was a total shock to us. I truly felt like he was going to be one of those people that would live to 105! His will to live was amazing. Even with a bad heart, it was really a miracle that he was here for so long! The doctors would say that all of the time.

A couple of weeks ago, we planned to visit him at the nursing home. However, that day we were almost going to put it off until the "next time". Jayden was actually the one who was insistent on going to see Bupa. He was in tears and wanted desperately to go. My Dad had offered to take Jayden but he yelled,"NO! I want Mommy, Daddy, Joshie, and Ami(my Mom) to go!" He wouldn't let up. So, we all agreed and headed out to visit Bupa. It was a beautiful day that day, sunny but not too hot. We all sat outside as we always do. There is a little basketball hoop outside of the nursing home and Joshie and Jayden would always bring a ball so they can shoot around in front of Bupa. Bupa always got a kick out of seeing the boys. Joshie and Jayden were shooting from far and making all of their shots. Bupa would just laugh and comment on how good they were. He would say, "Boy, you sure are good basketball players" and, "you never miss!" Bupa seemed to always light up when he saw the boys.

I'm so glad we visited him that day and I'm so happy Jayden was so persistent with us. We have that memory as our last time with him and it was a happy moment. Thanks to Jayden we will always have that!

I'm still in shock that Bupa is gone! He was one of a kind and the one and only Bupa that there will ever be! We will miss him dearly.

I ask that you please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, especially for my Dad who spent time with Bupa each and every single day that he was living at the nursing home! Thank you.

Our love and aloha to Bupa who is now in a "better place" and reunited with Grandma!

Joshie's 8th Birthday Celebration

Last Saturday we took Joshua and a couple of his friends to bowl, play video games, and to eat dinner. After dinner, we brought the boys back to our house for a sleepover. This was the second year that he only wanted a small group to celebrate his special day.

Unfortunately, one of his buddies, (Bryson) got sick and couldn't attend so it ended up being just Joshua, Blake, and Grant (his great b-ball buds).

From the moment they set foot into the house, they ran up to the playroom and played basketball. They literally played up there from about 6 pm until 11pm! Occasionally, they'd come down for water or to play a few minutes of Wii, but would run back up as fast as they could.

It was a pretty simple party this year, but Joshua had a great time with his two pals. He was definitely worn out by Sunday morning! He was practically lifeless! So here's to another successful birthday party for Joshie!

Welcome...Dylan Emily

Congratulations to Kim (Lance's sister), Eric, and Marley and their brand new edition to the family. Dylan Emily was born on September 24th, weighing in at 7 lbs., 6 oz., and 19 1/2 inches long.

We can't wait to meet Dylan!

Happy 8th Birthday

Today is Joshua's 8th Birthday! We're so proud of him and he continues to amaze us with his maturity, sincerity, generosity, intelligence and talent.

We will be celebrating his birthday this weekend. Pictures will be posted later.

Happy Birthday to you Joshie...we love you!

Kindergarten Volunteering

Today was my second time volunteering in Jayden's kindergarten class. I will be volunteering every Tuesday this year. So far, it's been a lot of fun. Observing the kids, helping them at their centers and overseeing their daily activities.

Jayden is taking after his big brother and is a very well-behaved and attentive student. There are some kids that do need some extra attention and I'm glad I'm there to help where I'm needed.

I absolutely love Jayden's teachers and I am fully enjoying being able to be a part of his kindergarten experience.

Next month, I will attend his field trip to the Bishop's Pumpkin Farm and we're looking forward to that as well.

Successful Surgery

Thank you all for your prayers, concerns and well wishes. Lance's Mom had a successful surgery on Friday. After 6 long hours, the doctors removed parts of her pancreas, small intestines, and stomach. They did find cancer in there along the way but were able to remove it all, thank goodness! She is in good spirits. We saw her on Saturday and Sunday and her only major complaint was the fact that she was starving! She's still on I.V. and could only have ice chips! Her first request for a solid food is a french dip with cheese!

Hopefully, she will be home by Friday.

Thank you again for all of your prayers. The power of prayer is amazing!!

Please continue to keep her in your prayers and also, please keep Lance's Dad in your thoughts and prayers as well. Thank you!

Please pray for Lance's Mom...

Tomorrow, Lance's Mom will be having part of her pancreas removed. A few weeks ago, she was unable to keep her food down and was extremely itchy. After a number of tests, her doctor found a growth on her pancreas. She will be in the hospital for approximately 8 days and her total recovery time will be approximately 6 weeks.

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers for an easy surgery and a healthy and quick recovery. Thank you!

Purple Belt

A few weeks ago, Joshua took his Purple Belt test. Last night, he received his purple belt! Congratulations to our Purple belt master! In just one session, he was taught his new form for brown stripe and he was able to perform it by memory by himself! A very impressive accomplishment. Each belt that he advances, becomes so much more difficult and he did extremely well! It has almost been two years since he started Taekwondo and he's not even 8 years old yet! Joshua continues to impress and amaze us in everything he does! We're so very proud of him again!

First Day of School

Last Thursday was Jayden's first day of Kindergarten. He was a tad bit nervous but excited at the same time. He is in Mrs. Pennington's class(the best kindergarten teacher there is)! There are about 6 kids from Jayden's pre-k class that are in his kindergarten class too. (pictured above with Brynn, his friend from pre-k)

Jayden had a great first day of school and said that he absolutely loves his teacher and his class!

Joshua also had a great first day of school and is excited to be in Mrs. Taxara's 3rd grade class.

My "babies" are growing up so fast!

Anyway, here's to a super academic school year for both Joshua and Jayden!

Happy 37th Birthday!

On Saturday, August 11th, we celebrated Lance's 37th birthday. First he coached Joshua's team, the Warriors to a great victory! Joshua had an awesome game that included, 8 points, 2 steals, and 3 rebounds. All of that and we were short 2 players so Joshua needed to step it up and play the whole entire game as point guard. Our great friends, Ry, Annmarie and little Toby took a drive out to Rocklin (from Dublin) to watch Joshie in action. Then, we headed home for a day of hanging out, laughing and lots of fun. We had a delicious dinner, and a yummy ice cream cake too. On Sunday, the guys got to go golfing together (something that both of them haven't done in a very very looooong time!!) So, the mommies got to hang out and then when the daddies came home we all went to lunch.

It was a fun-filled weekend! Best of all we got to spend it together along with our dear friends. Actually, it was also great because this was the very first time in forever that Lance didn't have to work at the bazaar. The bazaar always falls on his birthday weekend and we never get to celebrate his real birthday...poor guy!!! He too was relieved that for once he got to fully enjoy his special day!

Thank you Ry, Annmarie, and Toby for making the trip out to spend with us and for staying over so that the guys could golf. Can't wait to see you again soon!

Happy birthday to the best husband and daddy ever! We love you! Here's to more celebrations for one person who definitely deserves to celebrate!