Mountain out of a Molehill

Today was yard work day. We had been avoiding it for about two months now. I got up and busted out the new lawnmower and with the assistance of your mom, we were able to get it ready to rock and roll. Once we got started, it was hard to stop. Almost four hours later, we had success. While I was pushing the lawn mower back and forth, look at the creation you were able to come up with.

Guess what? We'll get to do it all over again in another month! Hoo-ray!

dpgmarine

History in the making

The second day of our Thanksgiving week off, we decided to take you to the Natural History Museum. It's next store to the Space Center where we took you earlier this year to see the Space Shuttle. I think the last time I stepped foot into this museum, I was still in elementary school. Well, the prices sure have gone up since then. Anyways, right when we walked in, you were already asking about going back outside. Unbelievable! The first area has two humongous dinosaurs bone sculptures for us to view. After that we went from room to room looking at all the dinosaurs and various animals that were on display. We also went upstairs to see lots and lots of stones and birds. In one area, it was almost like a rain forest complete with sounds. It was dark and once the bird calling started, you actually got scared and wanted to leave. That my friend, was too funny. We ventured around a few more areas before we went back outside and let you run around like a wild animal. Overall, it was a good experience. You may not care about it now, but one day you'll look back and say "Wow, it only cost $12 per adult back then!"

dpgmarine

Knotts Berry Farm 2013 #2

Well, this was the first time that I took off the whole week of Thanksgiving. I thought the extra three days would provide us with lots of opportunities to have fun. So, I decided since the weather was going to be nice that we should venture off back to Knotts. We had actually just taken you there a few weeks back for our annual trip. However, since we only have to pay for you and parking, it wasn't going to hurt our pockets too much to take you again. First, we kicked off the morning with a breakfast at Ihop. Man, you sure can scarf down those pancakes. It's really amazing to see how much you can shovel down your throat. After we got our filling, we headed straight to the site. This time around, it wasn't as packed because it was during the week. We actually started off by going on the sidewinder roller coaster. It does live inside of Camp Snoopy, but it is a pretty exciting little roller coaster. You then wanted to go on the blue skate and then it was off to the hot air balloons. After that, we all went on the Ferris wheel and then it was onto the boat ride. By then we were hungry, so we grabbed an orange bang and headed off to Johnny Rockets for some fries. Well, thirty minutes and fifteen dollars later we had our fries. Finally, there were some new rides in that section of the park that we had neither seen nor been on. We decided to try a few out for size. First it was the swinging fish ride. You and your mom went on and you really seemed to enjoy it. After that, we went on this solo car roller coaster. Only one car is sent off at a time with up to four passengers. So all three of us went on and you and your mom sat up in the front. It was a really fun ride and it had a pretty big drop right at the beginning of the ride. You did very well and it just made me and your mom realize how quickly you've grown and how brave you've become. Another fun day added to the books!

dpgmarine

Encino Tournament 2013

Well, today was our second soccer tournament of the season. This location brought back a lot of memories for me in particular because it was just down the street from where I was stationed as a Reservist in the Marines. Taking the route up the North 101 freeway and exiting Balboa Blvd certainly kicked up old memories of making the same drive on Friday afternoons to go to drill. Those are times that I hope to share with you when you’re older. Back to the matter at hand.


We had to be there very early because the games were kicking off early as well as photos of the teams. We started off with our usual ritual of going to Portos first. Luckily, the weather was very cooperative and it turned out to be a very nice day for soccer. After we checked the team in, we took our photos. We then set up shop at the first field where we would be playing at. Our games were scheduled to be played back to back at 1015 and 1130am. You were definitely eager to get out there and start kicking the ball around. You did very well as you have all season. Scoring has become something that you really strive for. I’m so proud of your progress and efforts. It’s truly been an amazing feat to watch you play out there. The only thing that you and all the players can improve on is passing the ball.

In the first game we played a team with only 5 players, but everybody had a great time. I believe you got stepped on once by another player’s cleats and had to come out for a bit. You were then able to get back out there and seek out the ball a short time later. We then had to break down our area and move two fields down and set back up. In our second game, we played a team with more than double our players. It was still a great time. We cut this game a bit short because it was warmer and it seemed like a lot of kids wanted to go play in the jumpers including you.

We packed up our stuff and put everything in the car and then took you to play. You were primarily interested in the jumper with the slide in it. For some reason, I was really exhausted after the events. I laid down on the grass and shut my eyes for a bit, while you mom sipped on her smoothie drink. Finally, it was time to go. One last look in the direction of my old unit and then we headed back onto the South 101 freeway . We ended up stopping at King Taco to get some chow. You were really into feeding the pigeons and sparrows on this day.

Finally, we headed home and jumped into our bed for a family nap. Your mom had went out the night before so she was definitely looking forward to that moment. Another day, another adventure!

dpgmarine

The Dark Passenger

For Halloween 2013, your mom decided that she would paint your face and that you would look like a skeleton. The outcome is debatable, but I think it turned out even better than we both could have imagined.

We took to you to Trinity down the street where they had food, games, and jumpers. The best part was all your friends from Downey Christian were there and they very excited to see you. You had an entourage falling you all around. You had a great time and of course didn't want to leave. We were able to pull you away and eventually come home.

You truly are a star!

dpgmarine

San Clemente Tournament

dpgmarine

Sebastian's 6th Birthday party

dpgmarine

Six years old

Today was a very special day. You turned 6 years old. Oh Vlad, where does the time go? Last year, we had your grand 5th birthday party which had a very good turnout. After that, I said you wouldn’t have another big birthday party until you were eighteen. However, this year has seen a few significant changes. We ended up leaving our previous home and moving into a new home. Our new location has a tremendous back yard that you’ve been enjoying for the past few weeks. We decided that we should have a small gathering for your birthday. Well, that quickly turned into a full blown party. Again, we got you a combo jumper with the idea that bodies wouldn’t just be crashing into each other. The slide is a great way to divide you guys up and you really enjoy sitting at the top of slide and directing all the traffic.


We had another terrific turnout and a lot of family and friends that came to celebrate this special occasion. In a cost saving effort, we ordered pizza from Dominos. As soon as I brought it home, the flies were quick to make their presence known. Unfortunately, it was a battle that went on for the whole party. We even switched things up with your cake. Of course, we are big chocolate fans and normally get a cake from Portos. This time we still went to Portos, but we got you a red velvet cake. People seemed to enjoy it. It was a rather warm day, but everyone remained pretty cool thanks to all the shade in the back yard. You even had a piñata as part of the jumper package. Overall, it was another successful event. To be honest once the party started, I really didn’t see you. I think I saw you just two or three times. You spent most of the party up in the jumper, while your mom and I were busy entertaining. At the end, you were walking around limping. Your feet were in pretty bad shape since you weren’t wearing any shoes most of the day. I had your mom give you a bath and prepare you for bed while I was outside trying to clean up. It’s such a tiring task to run a party, but knowing how much joy it brought to you makes it all worth it.

dpgmarine

Second soccer practice

This is you at your second practice of 2013 led of course by your papa. Your coordination and ball control have gotten a lot better since last year. Look at you go!

dpgmarine

Interval training

You decided to hop aboard one of the elliptical machines at Sports Authority over the weekend. It looks like you're ready to hit the gym! You had a little help from your mom of course.

dpgmarine