What the Shek

March 12, 2010

Thanksgiving

Traditional Shek Family Picture - can you spot the extra member of the family?
* hint - it is more than meets the eye!

Whenever Jason is around, there is sure to be craziness in the house. This time, he brought his nerf guns and the battle began.

Oh, did you think Dylan was aiming at you?

After the lightning-quick repositioning of the barrel, Grandpa became the victim!

It's amazing that 30 years later, Transformers and Lego's are still a hit with the kids. Here is Dylan hogging Daddy's old toys:

Outside fun at the Shields':

Old School Chutes and Ladders. This game is probably 40 years old and still hanging in there!

Trying to get a picture with all 6 boy cousins, but the youngest 3 weren't cooperating.

So, we removed the baby, and this is the best we could do:

It was a small group for Thanksgiving Dinner, but still scrumptious.

March 5, 2010

Also in November, we went down to Orange County to celebrate a friend's birthday. She hosted it at this incredible gym. There were pictures of Olympic Gymnasts all through the gym. Anyways, the kids got to enjoy themselves on all the apparatuses.

Grandma and Grandpa Visit

My parents came to visit for a couple of days in November. We went to the Santa Monica Pier, Getty Museum, Griffith Observatory, and failed a visit to Dodger Stadium.

Grandpa was kind enough to oblige Dylan and read at least 10 books in a row.

Even on a cloudy day, the Santa Monica Pier is beautiful:

When we were on the pier, there were a few women passing out tons of free samples of Stride gum. So, we ended up with quite a load of it. Tyler and Dylan had never liked gum because they thought the minty stuff was too spicy, but this was bubble gum. Well, they immediately loved it. So, I want to remember how funny this picture is with Dylan in his race car jacket driving a race car, giving the thumbs up all while chewing on his gum. Hopefully this is as close as he ever gets to becoming a red neck!

And, of course, Tyler is driving with all the intensity he can muster up.

Getty Museum:
This museum is fabulous in all sorts of ways. It has beautiful architecture, spectacular views and is very kid-friendly. My wild children have run around this place like crazy without ever getting in trouble. However, right after these pictures were taken, we got in trouble with security for trespassing on one of the sculptures.

Remember I mentioned "kid-friendly"? The kids can roll down their perfectly manicured lawns in the garden. Dylan, however, did not execute a successful roll and was pretty upset about the whole thing.

And here he is pouting:

Good thing Grandpa was on hand to make him feel better!
Oh, and Austin was happy as a clam sitting snug in the Bjorn:

Funny Dylan

This kid cracks me up.

Curious George

Curious George is the class mascot for Tyler's kindergarten class. He came home with Tyler and they shared some fun moments together. Oh and he seemed to do better in the Bumbo than Austin!

Tough Guys

Halloween

My good friend, Maren, gave us this "Little Devil" costume when Tyler was born. Unfortunately, he was just too little for it when Halloween rolled around. Since Dylan was born in the same month as Tyler, again we had the same problem. The costume has sit in our baby stuff for 5 years until finally we had Austin and he fit it perfectly!

So, we have Buzz Lightyear, Lightning McQueen Race car driver, and the Little Devil. Needless to say, the little cuties scored in the candy department!

Austin - 3 months

So, I bought a Bumbo after multiple moms raved about it. At 3 months, I thought Austin was ready to try it out. He sat in it pretty well, but would end up shimmying his way out of it after a couple minutes. Thankfully, we supervised him and were able to catch him. I thought he was just too little to be locked in by the seat. We kept trying and trying, but the kid was just too strong for the seat! At 6 months, he was still shimmying his way out of it and actually successfully fell out one time. So, we finally gave up and the seat is now in storage. At least we got a few good pictures of Austin in it, though! Here he is at 3 months.

Soccer

Well it is nearly Fall 2010, so I should probably start updating this and catch up from Fall 2009! Here goes - but don't be surprised if this takes a while - things are rather busy with a kindergartener, preschooler, and 8 month old who doesn't like to nap!

September marked Tyler's first year of Soccer. A game where you get to run for long periods of time is definitely suited for Ty! Here are pictures:

Stretching for the Big Game:

With no positions in this age group, mosh-pit soccer is what happens:

Water Breaks:

Tyler's #1 fan. I really have to say that Dylan was such a trooper through the entire season. It isn't easy trying to entertain yourself for an hour every Saturday for 3 months.

Opening Ceremonies and picture day - our team went easy and purchased a banner. I sort of regret that decision now, but at the time, I was still adjusting to life with baby #3, kindergarten and preschool. Perhaps next year I will volunteer to help make the banner.....perhaps.

When you are a 5 year old boy and have to wait for long periods of time to get your picture taken, this is what you do for fun - spit in your friend's face:

And this is what you do at the end of a long day:

We didn't win a single game, but the season was a success. Tyler had a blast and wore himself out. We did tie the last game of the season, but won zero! Oh well. We ended the season at Round Table for some pizza and trophies. Like I said, it was a success!

I guess I should mention that there was one casualty at the end of the season. The next day, we found the poor trophy in this condition.