The Luau Party (aka The Hu Ki Lau Party)

It seems like there's aways a reason to celebrate and have a party in Tyler's class. No wonder he loves going to school. His teacher is so smart. This time around since there were no major holidays, the class had a luau party complete with palm trees and pineapple centerpieces. Tyler's teacher, Mrs. Francis and Asst teacher, Mrs. Perez transformed the classroom into a tropical island. We were first treated to a fabulous singing and dancing performance by the children. As Tyler calls it, it was the Hu Ki Lau song. The kids were so adorable in their hats, leis and hula skirts. Tyler even gave me a lei. So cute!

Tyler had been telling me since the week prior to the party that there will be smoothies for the party. Tyler LOVES smoothies! Tyler's teacher had all the children take turns scooping in yogurt, bananas, strawberries and milk in the blender to make yummy smoothies. So much better than cupcakes. Can you tell Tyler was in another world enjoying every sip of his smoothie below?

Happy 1st Anniversary!

So it seems like I'm updating this family blog on a monthly basis. Oh well. I'm surprised I'm still updating this blog when I don't have many readers. I guess it will definitely be a "memoir" for the kids when they get older. Haha. Also, I wanted to recognize that it's been 1 year since the start of this humble blog. Wow, time flies by so fast. It's our family tradition to see the cherry blossom annually. Last year we missed the peak of the cherry blossom so we made sure we didn't miss it this year. FYI - the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens waives its entrance fee on Tuesdays. One of the many perks of living in NYC.

Overhead shot of the cherry blossom trees

The BBG is full of so many other beautiful flowers. There's always something new to admire everytime we go. I absolutely adore the pink magnolia flower above. So simple yet so stunning.

I think the above flower is lavender. Correct me if I'm wrong please.

An intricate intertwining tree with no leaves.

The boys trying hard to reach a cherry blossom

Tyler trying to lift Justin up to reach the cherry blossom.

No such luck but having a great time trying

Then they got bored and decided to play hide and seek. Here's Justin trying to hide from Tyler although when he would see Tyler come near he would jump out and scream "here I am!"

Tyler hiding from Justin

So difficult to get all three to look in the same direction and smile. Love you guys!

The Race That Nearly Killed Me...

Ok, that might sound a bit dramatic but it sure felt like it after the race. So, I ran a World Vision Half Marathon on 4/3/10 with a team from my church, Living Faith Community Church, http://www.lfcc.net. We raised more than our expected goal for the Haiti reflief fund so it was a wonderful cause to run for.

Unfortunately I had pulled my groin muscle a couple of weeks prior to the race. I tried to rest it and didn't run at all. On race day, I didn't feel much pain so I thought I would try to run. I was fine until mile 7 when I felt something "pop" in my groin and I couldn't run due to severe pain. Unfortunately for me, this happened during the "abyss" portion of the course where there no people cheering and no medics to be found. So I forced myself to walk 2 miles and it actually was less painful to run so I ran the rest of the race. I know I was crazy!!! It was the adrenaline pumping in my blood that made me finish. Afterwards it hurt so much to put pressure and walk on my left leg, more painful than child labor. At least you can get an epidural for that.

So I didn't walk for the next 4 days and then I slowly started limping. Now I can walk without limping but it hurts to walk long distances and I can't run after my 2 year old. Not good. I'm glad I'm healing slowly but I think I have to get an MRI (which I tried to avoid) to see the extent of my injury. On top of that, I suffered through shingles last week and now I have a scab on my forehead which probably will leave a scar. My doctor says that I got the shingles because my body was too stressed from the trauma of my leg injury. Needless to say, I felt so physically broken the last few weeks but at the end of the day I'm thankful that God is restoring me back to my health. Thank you to everyone who prayed for me. I know who you are and I'm so thankful. Now the only thing is convincing my husband to let me run another half marathon to redeem myself when I'm fully recovered.

Hannah and myself right after finishing. I'm trying to hide the pain.

A few more friends who ran the race as well.

Just a side note, this is the first time where I had my name on the race bib. At first I thought I don't want anyone to know my name but it was actually really encouraging to hear people call out your name to keep running when you feel like you can't run anymore. Even though most people couldn't correctly pronounce my name it was still encouraging.

Spring is Here!

So since Tyler started school not a holiday goes by without a party in his class. This time it was a Spring/Easter party to usher in the season. There was egg coloring and decorating.

Tyler with his easter basket made out of a milk carton and filled to the brim with candy and eggs that he found during an egg hunt in class.

Tyler thoroughly enjoying his marshmellow bunny. He never had it before so it was an extra special treat.

Look who decided to join Tyler for the party. Justin sat himself next to Tyler like he was one of the other students and loved every bite of the cupcake. What a life my boys lead. I wish I was their age again. =)

Glimpse of Spring

It's officially Spring in NYC so we're enjoying the warmer temperatures. However a few weeks ago it was still quite chilly so it was a welcome when it was warm enough to enjoy the day. We decided last minute to go to Flushing Meadow Park. The boys loved running around especially Justin. As you can see Tyler is on his scooter and Justin is leading the way for the family.

World's Fair Globe

If you're wondering why Justin is carrying around a shovel, it's because we left his bike at home and had nothing for him to ride. Poor second child. He was a trooper though. He carried that shovel around for most of the time.


Justin in action

Justin finally got to ride the scooter even though it was only for 30 seconds. What a trooper!

I never even noticed this statue before. The cool things you come across when you're just strolling through the park.

A piece of rotating art in front of the Queens Museum of Art. Another wonderful time at the park .

Snowtubing & Skiing

It's almost spring so let me finish blogging about this past winter. We had a wonderful opportunity to go away to PA to snowtube and ski for the first time as a family during the President's week vacation. We went with a wonderful family, the Lees. Here's Lauren, Justin and Tyler waiting to snowtube. They were so excited! This place had perfect hills for toddlers to go up and down to snowtube. The parents and Lauren had a great workout from taking the snowtube up the hill after each ride. =)

Justin loved every minute of snowtubing. He's quite the daredevil and loved the thrill of sliding down the hill.

After sliding down, Justin would flip himself out of the snowtube. I don't know why but he had a blast doing it.

The first day of our trip fell on my birthday and the Lee family surprised me with a birthday cake. Thank you Susan! The cake was so delicious. It was even sweeter to share my birthday with you and your family.

The next day we went to Shawnee Mountain and took the kids skiing. It was the very first time for Tyler. Here's Tyler getting his ski boots.

Look at these kids! They are so cool posing with their skis.

Since it's always harder to teach your own child, Susan graciously taught Tyler the basics of skiing. Thank you for your patience with Tyler. It's because of you Tyler had the courage to ski on the bunny slope. Surprisingly, Tyler picked it up faster than I thought he would. It's too bad we went so late in the ski season. Next winter we will definitely start early so that Tyler can take advantage of the whole season. I"m so proud of you Tyler for giving it a try and learning so quickly. Maybe you can teach Justin next year.

Tyler was so comfortable at the end of the day on his skis. I hope he still has the same enthusiasm the next time we go. Here's a video of Tyler skiing on his own. Amazing! I guess I'm a bit biased though. =)

My Valentine Sweethearts

First off, I wanted to show you the Valentine loot that Tyler got from his classmates. The cards and candy brought me back to my grade school days. Those were the good ol days of innocence. How I wish I can keep Tyler from growing up...

So our family is really lucky since the winter time has so many reasons to celebrate besides Christmas and Tyler and Eugene's birthdays. There's also Valentine's Day! The boys got me beautiful white roses. I haven't received flowers in a while so it was such a pleasant surprise. This is how Tyler gave them to me. Btw, please excuse the bluish tint to this pic. My white balance was off.

Flowers always brighten up a home, don't you agree? It was lovely to look at for many days. Thanks again boys!!!

Tyler's Valentine's day card from school. So sweet!

This is the inside of the Valentine's day card from the Korean school Tyler is attending weekly. The Korean translates to "Dad, Mom...I love you". The grandmothers loved it even more. It will be a keepsake to treasure. I don't know why I'm so moved by Tyler writing Korean. I guess I thought the day would never come. Wonders never cease. =)

This is an added bonus since I thought it was a great depiction of our family. Tyler drew this in school. You can tell who is who by size but in case you're confused, it's Justin, Tyler, me and Eugene starting from the left. I especially love the blue heart above my arm. So precious! Thank you E, T & J for being my sweethearts always.