2018 School Pics

They are growing up!

Extracurricular Activities

Penny is doing piano class, First lego league, girl scouts, and Japanese school.  The lego league is exposure to STEM with a very devoted parent friend who leads their team in their robotics and programming mission.

Max has karate class, cub scouts, and Japanese school.  Soon, he will start basketball (youth hoops) and take a break from karate.  Cub scouts is a brand new thing for us and we hope that with karate and the strict rules of cub scouts, he learns more discipline.

As a parent, I find it tough to expose them to some things while not overloading their schedule with activities.  Free time is important too.  Recently, when we get home around 5:30 or 6, they have been going across the street and play with a 2nd grade neighbor.  It is nice to watch them enjoy free time and play outside in the neighborhood, just like we did as kids.

Girl Scout Camp 2018

The weekend after the family camping trip was girl scouts camp.  This is not real camping, because we sleep in cabins and get food prepared for us, but it is even more tiring because I (and other moms) have to be with 11 girls that are full of energy for two nights.  Imagine 11pm, bunk beds, and girls jumping around.  Penny has a blast though, so I'm happy for her to be able to experience something that I never got a chance to do as a kid.

Pinecrest Camping 2018

We did a second camping trip this year.  Pinecrest in September with a couple of friends.  There was fishing and paddle boating involved and a good time were had by all.

First day of 1st grade and 4th grade!

The 2018-19 school year has already begun.  These are a couple of shots from their first day.  They are happy with their teachers and classes and are off to a great start of the school year.

1-night Camping Bullfrog Pond

We really needed a break from video games and internet, so I planned a last minute trip to Bullfrog Pond, a camp site that I have been wanting to check out for a while.  Father's day weekend seemed like a good time to make this happen.  Dad definitely had some special moments with the kids, playing stick ball at the camp site and exploring the river at Monte Rio.  We all had a good time and of course the highlight for the kids was s'mores.

Summer 2018 - Penny was in a play!

Penny participated in the Bay Area Children's Theater's 2-week camp to put on a play about Elephant and Piggie (Mo Willams) which is a book that she loved as a young reader. The last two days were performance days, where the parents and friends are invited to watch.  She really loves memorizing all of the lines and music and performing with the group. 

T-ball and Softball

Max played t-ball for the first time this year and Penny played softball again.  It was a huge time commitment, but we survived and the kids had a good time.  Next year, Max wants to play Rookie baseball and Penny wants to play softball again.

School year pics

Max - Kindergarten

Penny - Third grade