A NEW SEASON BEGINS:

Okay, so I'm a week behind - it's been tough trying to balance the new prime time season with the X-Box360... and no, I do NOT have Halo 3 (yet). Ever since my brother got me this awesome house-warming gift, I've been online playing Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6: Las Vegas!! But I'm actually pretty excited about the start of a new PT Season. Combined with our DVR, we're watching (and recording) HEROES (I have a theory who the new "killer" is, but more on that later), Las Vegas (turns out to be a pretty funny show), The Office (Dwight Schrute RULES!!!), Dancing With the Stars (not my pick *ahem*), NUMB3RS, Smallville, and the Bionic Woman. Still awaiting the start of LOST, but that'll start mid-season, right?

Any other shows out there that we should be paying attention to?

Oh, then there's the start of the NFL season where my DETROIT LIONS are off to a 3-1 start (whoo-hoo... we're making the playoffs this year.... YEAH!!). Naturally, HieRan is less than enthusiastic when I mention my team's winning season (or when I mention my team at all), but I'm not discouraged by her lack of team spirit - she'll jump on the band wagon like everyone else... don't worry, there's plenty of room!! *haha - don't let me down guys!!*

The kids are getting into a regular routine, which is to say that I'm getting into a routine myself. We started Jacob at a place called My Gym - a place for him to get some exercise and much needed socializing with other kids. He's doing pretty well at it, actually. He's eager to try all of the activities, and play along with the teachers. Interestingly, the original My Gym is located in Woodland Hills (our old stomping ground).

We've been asked if we're all settled in now, and I don't know if we're ever going to be fully settled in here. There always something to work on - and I can't even begin to think about how we want to have the back yard landscaped. But our settling in is moving along as well as it can, I suppose. We have managed to reconnect with some old friends here, and I've been able to play volleyball and tennis with Bertrand again (7-5, 6-2 on Saturday... heh!). Our games stand at 12-10 (my lead)... ever since we've started keeping track about 4 years ago(?). Yeah, we've got to play more than once every 3 years. =S

Hey, congrats are in order for our friends in Southern Cali - they just had twins!! Jan and Kristy - now the 6 of you can start a band!! Mia and Jacob send their hugs to all their friends in Woodland Hills / West Hills: Abbey, Hayley, Annika, Erin, Ella, Angelina, Emily, Jake, Gillian, Justin, and Lena & Anders (new editions to the gang). We miss you guys all so much! Hope all is well, and drop us a line to give us an update when you can!!

Well, Jacob has managed (once again) to spill his fruit cup all over the floor...

... back to work. =T

WEDNESDAYS ARE TOUGH:

Wednesdays are proving to be more of a challenge than I expected. Mia is a "p.m." Kindergartner which means her day goes from 11:40am to 2:50pm. However, at Tassajara Hills Elementary, Mia's class attends school with the "a.m." Kindergartners from 8:15 to 11:35... this means we have to be up at 6:45am to get out by 7:45am!! Talk about breaking up your weekly schedule - 4 days of waking up refreshed and rested, and 1 day of dragging Mia out of bed (she's really not a morning person... like someone else I know *ahem*), begging and pleading for her to wake up while I get Jacob washed up and changed (he's a little more agreeable in the morning... that's my boy!). It probably doesn't help that I'm up pretty late playing XBOX 360 with my brothers online... *yeah, I get no pity... I know*. ;-(

It's only been the 2nd week of this schedule, so I'm sure it'll become easier once we get into the swing of things. I have to admit, Mia's been pretty great about going to school here. Whereas before she'd have trouble being separated from me, now she's more than happy to go with her friends and get rid of me a.s.a.p. (which makes me wonder if I embarrass her by dropping her off in my slippers, robe, and pj's.... hmmmm). ;-) *j/k* Oh, and speaking of Mia's accomplishments, did I mention in a previous blog how she taught herself how to ride her bicycle? Everytime I tried to assist her or explain what I was going to do to "help" her, she stopped me immediately and said she'd do it herself! *hrmph!* So a couple of days later (and a few falls along the way), I come out to see her riding her bike up and down our driveway, with a HUGE smile on her face (which is more like an "... I told you I could do it" grin... with one missing tooth!). :-P Way to go Mia!

Jacob is also progressing nicely, forming words and putting together his rather cryptic messages. For example:

When he says: "bah bah" it means: "father, I would like to have a bottle with some warm milk please" (okay, maybe the "please should be replaced with "now!").
When he says: "TAH-row" it means: "there is a guitar that I can see and would like to play with"
When he says: "ALL-mo" it means: "could someone please put on my Elmo DVD at their earliest convenience?"
When he says: "SHIDE... SHIDE" it means: "I would like to go outside to play"

Other words include:
"Mee-mee" for Mia
"AH-no" for Arnold
"heh-WOE" for Hello (much like Elmer Fudd)
"PAH-kah" for Grandpa
"SHOOP.... *slurp*" for Soup

It's been such a hectic summer, but I think we're finally feeling like we're getting settled in here. Before you know it, the holiday season will be upon us, and then *poof* goodbye 2007!! So here's to taking some time to recap and reflect, hoping this blog is read by friendly eyes with the understanding that we're thinking of you all.

Time to get the kids off to bed... nite nite!

FEELS LIKE SUMMER'S ENDING:

Nothing marks the end of summer like back-to-school shopping. A new Trapper Keeper, cool Tupperware lunchboxes, and a backpack that will likely last only the first couple of weeks. Oh, wait... that was MY back-to-school shopping days. It's waaaay different for our daughter. She and her mom spend the weekend out and about getting new outfits, new shoes, and other accessories (don't ask, I've no clue what some of these things are). Picture day is this Friday, and Mia already has her outfit ready for that day - right on!

When asked about her new school, Mia replied that she "... still misses her friends from Woodland Hills, but (she) will try to make new friends at school". It's nice that her school is having a meet-and-greet picnic next Friday for the parents and students to meet with the faculty and staff. Since we're living in a new development, Mia's been assigned to attend a school that is about 5 milies away... not as close as I'd like, but it's not up to me, unfortunately. At least the schools out here are known for their high achievements - something I'm hoping will be passed down to our kids *crossing fingers*. Also, it seems this area is reknown for their soccer programs, so perhaps Mia will take an interest in the sport again once she's gotten used to her new surroundings.

Jacob (nearing 21 months now) is becoming more and more of a handful as he discovers how to run. I've decided to rename him either "Come Here" or "Nooooo!!!", but the jury is still out on that one. I WILL say that he follows his big sister, copying EVERYTHING she says or does. It's pretty funny, actually - especially when we play music and they dance around the family room together. Jacob seems to get a kick out of watching and trying to copy Mia - they both end up laughing on the floor hysterically.

HieRan and I are feeling more settled here in the new home. I was able to put together a few cabinets for her office, and the upstairs hallway that she picked out. They definitely help her organize her office space. At least when she's working from home, there isn't the clutter that was there before any longer. In fact, HieRan has done a great job de-cluttering our home. We've got boxes and boxes of stuff marked for donation...

... what's odd is that I can't seem to find any of my clothes from the 80's that I've been sporting for 2 decades now... hmmmm...

My dad, who's been staying with us since our move, is getting better. His condition was pretty bad early on, but he has since gotten a lot stronger, gained a lot of he weight back, and seems to have a better outlook on his health. There's still a long road ahead for , m,m.,b, but he's definitely heading in the right direction. I think I've been able to keep him entertained as I "fix" things around the house. Just last week, I installed a screen door and put up some drapes - both were pretty painful for my dad to watch. You see, for as long as I can remember he's always been handy around the house, doing things right the first time, rather than doing things twice (as I tend to do). My brothers have been here often to visit and spend time with dad - I know he enjoys that, so they've made it a point to be here every week (thanks guys, it means a lot to dad).

It's funny, I haven't seen my brothers THIS much since we all lived together at home in Union City.

Mom is recovering from her back surgery, and from what she tells me, she's doing much better. She says she'll be playing volleyball with me again soon. ;-)

Last weeknd we drove out to Drakes Oyster farm in sunny Inverness, CA!! Okay, it was a long drive, but the oysters were pretty good. We (along with HieRan's mom) met up with some relatives of mine, my cousins and their folks who were camping out in that area for a few days. It was a decent road trip, and we came back home to grill some oysters for my brother and dad to enjoy. I don't think I can touch oysters for at least another 6 months or so... yeah, I'm pretty full still.

Uh-oh... I can tell by that special smell in the air that it's time to change Jake's diaper!! *whoo-hoo!! man, can this kid fill it up!!*

Just the image I knew you wanted me to leave you all with! *j/k*

WEEK 1 RECAP:

After about a week of unpacking, organizing, and throwing things away, I think we're finally starting to make some progress here with all the boxes. The challenges have been many, but good teamwork and little sleep go a long way in the unpacking process. This has also given us a chance to revisit some of our old "stuff" and decide to donate them - I mean, they're already packed up, right? Strange how a lot of the boxes originally marked "Arnold's Clothes" have been crossed out to read "Donate". *hahaha* But I suppose it's time for me to let go of my acid-washed jeans (and matching jacket) from ChessKing. =T File that one under "Fashions that should NEVER make a comeback".

But a lot has been done in the week we've been here. We've installed most of the blinds (two are on re-order due to a measuring error... mine, of course), put up some wall hangings (oh, you've GOT to check out the "Hercules Hooks" from Bed Bath & Beyond... they're amazing!!!), we've installed Mia's & Jacob's ceiling fan, put up some shelves, installed a couple light fixtures, arranged (and rearranged) furniture in the various rooms, and we even took time to go to the Alameda County Fair today (oh yeah.... all the "food-on-a-stick" you can eat). And there's still plenty to do in the days and weeks to come. *whoo-hoo* I haven't even started thinking about all the stuff that's in our garage! But at least we have more room there than we did in Woodland Hills... which ultimately leads to more stuff finding its way INTO the garage, right? Then there's the backyard that requires landscaping. I don't know what we're going to do with that...

It's only been a week, but it has been a long week here. Mia misses her friends (so do I), and Jacob... well, he's fascinated with the stairs in our house, go figure. But they're both doing great amidst all the change. The kids love the fact that they see so much of their mom here at home. No more 3-day visits, then fly off to the Bay Area anymore. We're all still getting our bearings, getting familiar with the area. Some things you just have to locate to start feeling "comfortable" again (like TARGET, Home Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond, Safeway... and STARBUCK'S). Once those are in place, everything else tends to fall in place, right?

So on to Week 2 (don't worry, I won't keep numbering the weeks like this... ). Everyone here is happy and healthy, missing our friends & family in Southern Cali (the Taylors, Sundbergs, Campanellas, Himbas, the Lees, Yees, and Z's *Zupancics*, Al&Elle, and Yung)... and anxious to reconnect with our friends here in Northen Cali (Bertrand & Kimmy, Kev & Shar, my bros, and the rest of the x-tended crew). All we need is a few friends in Ukiah or Santa Rosa and I think we'll have the state covered! ;-)

Updates to follow...

THIS IS IT:

I originally created this blog so that our friends from the Bay Area could keep up to our family's growth, progress, and overall activity as we relocated to southern California in '04. While I have not been the most diligent in keeping up with my posts here (no excuse, I know) I've tried to hit the highlights and give everyone the sense that we're still alive down here! I have been better about posting pictures of the kids in their blog here.

So as I sit here in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel writing this, I'm reminded of a journey that began almost 3 years ago - our move from the Bay Area to southern California felt a lot like this... the same but different. It has only been 3 years, but we've been blessed with so much in that time. Our kids have flourished here - Mia's completed her Kindergarten, and Jacob... well, it seems every day he reaches a new milestone. The growth of our kids is easily the best thing we've experienced here. Right up there would be the friendships we've developed with a group who will always be our closest friends.

Here's some advice: If you have young ones, consider looking at activities that are offered by the local parks and recreaction, or community college. There you will find kids who are in the same age group as yours, and more than that, you will find their parents who take the same genuine interest in their kids as you do. I can't promise that you'll meet a group as special as ours (in fact, it's highly unlikely), but you certainly stand a better chance of it by getting yourself in the right place. ;-)

I also want to mention our friends at the First Step Montessori School where Mia attended for 2-1/2 years. I never knew that teachers could grow so close to our daughter, and take such a genuine interest in her development. You have done a wonderful job in laying the foundation for Mia that will help her progress for years to come. I only wish her brother could attend your school - he would have loved being there (especially during snack time).

Thank you, dear friends, for making Woodland Hills our home. We will miss you all so much. Please keep in touch with us as we will do our best to do the same. I am certain our paths will cross again, and I imagine when they do it will be as if we've never left. It's hard enough to leave our home (which you helped become so) without also having to say goodbye. So instead, we will say that we're going to go for now, and we will see you soon. Here's to love, laughter, friendship.... and to the days we'll be together again.

HERE TODAY... GONE TOMORROW:

THE ONLY WAY TO MOVE:

Wow, seems like only yesterday when we were moving IN to our house in Woodland Hills and remodeling our kitchen. Three years, another child, and another promotion later, we're heading back to the Bay Area to Danville where our new house (and old friends) awaits.

This is day 2 of our packing/loading phase, and I have to tell you, hiring movers is the only way to move (especially with all the junk we've accumulated over the years). Be warned, they pack EVERYTHING!! So unless you want your garbage to find its way to your new house, make sure all the bins are emptied!! But this crew has been great... and fast! Our entire home was packed up, and stacked up in one day. It'll be one day to load it all up in the truck, and then they'll meet us up in Danville on Monday... *WHOOSH!!*.



THE FAMILY ROOM









MASTER BEDROOM










MIA'S ROOM









THE KITCHEN







Needless to say, this would have taken me at least a couple of weeks to do... in which case I'd probably be throwing a lot of our stuff away. Of course there's the "lifting" aspect of the move that I'm glad I don't have to deal with... especiall since we're moving into house with a second floor! *Yeah, my brothers, cousins, and friends (who I no doubt would have MADE help me lift all this stuff)... you can thank me later!* ;-) Don't worry about having to come up with some excuse like you're camping, or you have to be at home waiting for your pool table or something... hahaha!



We'll see you all soon!!

THE PAST FEW DAYS (RECAP):

Went to Anaheim with the wife and kids on Wednesday. Wife had to work at the Anaheim Convention Center - the kids and I hung out at the hotel and stuff. Had dinner at the ESPN Zone over in Downtown Disney. Watched the PISTONS come from 19 points down to win game 3 vs. "da Bulls"... can you say "SERIES SWEEP"? Watched to Warriors lose a heartbreaker in Utah... only to win later that week in Oakland by 20 (my darkhorse)!! Went to Disneyland with the kids on Friday (can you believe it's our son's 3rd time there and he's not even 2 yet?). Mia rode the Matterhorn with me for the first time and started her pin collection. Other pins include: Autopia, Jungle Cruise, and It's a Small World (where Jacob sang his little heart out... but it sounded more like, "... ahhhhh... AHHHHHH... doooo... deh..... baaaaaahhhhh!!!"). No doubt he gets his chops from his mommy. *lol... ahem... shhhh!* Got back home earlier this afternoon. Got all the laundry done, Jacob's hair cut (his second), ate KFC for dinner, then both kids bathed and ready for bed. *phew*

Okay, I need a shower.

DANVILLE BOUND:

Okay, I know it's been a while since I've been able to update my blog. I don't know why I'm unable to load the pages on my Mac - *ahem* Kimmy? What's the 411 for us Mac users? ;0P

Anyway, before I lose my connection, let me update all 2 of you who read this! Our move is coming up (faster and faster as each day passes). Unfortunately, we've been having trouble with the sale of our house in So. Cal - but that's not going to stop our move. We're still set to close on the 6th of June (we'll do a walk through and orientation the week prior). Then on the 20th the movers will be in our Woodland Hills home to pack our stuff, load it all up, and bring it to Danville on the 25th. Mia finishes her Kindergarten on the 22nd, and we drive to the Bay Area immediately after.

By the way, here's our new address:
1477 Menton Street, Danville, CA 94506


No phone is set up yet - just call us on our cell phones if you need to reach us.

Things are moving pretty fast here. There's still a ton of things to get done from here until the end of the month... hopefully all the craziness will die down when we're finally settled in Danville (you know, sometime by December or so, right?).

Stay tuned...

ANOTHER FIRST:

Jacob had his first hair cut the other day:

He sat on HieRan's lap and watched an Elmo DVD as the hair stylist did her work... she worked fast. But even when she brought out the clippers, he didn't seem to mind the new sensation. Unfortunately we didn't save any of his hair (such bad parents), so this blog will have to be the proof of his first cut.


See? All done!

E-BAY WOES:

Okay, I've been searching EVERYWHERE for this item: "The Songs of Brian McKnight". It's a song book of one of my favorite artist / songwriter / musician / and all around good-guys. Because the book is out of print, it is virtually impossible to find it anywhere. I've been to all the bookstores in the local area, and searched like mad online.

Tonight I just happened to find it for auction on eBay (where I've searched time and again for it)... and with only 35 minutes to go!! I log in and put my highest bid on... $25. It was originally listed at under $10, so I wanted to have a "cushion"... just in case (how smart am I? Not very.... keep reading). I'm listed as the highest bidder at $13.48... and so I continue to refresh my screen to make sure I'm the top bidder. 35 minutes becomes 20 pretty quickly... then 10 minutes.... each time I'm refreshing my screen and I'm told I'm still the highest bidder - super!! I'm down to 1 minute and 20 seconds, and I can't believe I'm FINALLY going to get this song book that continues to elude me. Suddenly, the screen automatically refreshes and I'm told that I'm no longer the highest bidder. There's only 50 seconds left, so I quickly enter a bid of $35... only to be told that my bid is invalid as the price has moved to $36.75!!! WHAT THE HECK?!?!? I'm scrambling to enter a new bid, but before I can submit my bid, the auction ends... *sighs*... the winning bid is $47, and my "white whale" slips through my grasps once again. =( Needless to say, I'm pretty disappointed with the whole eBay experience - no one to blame but mysel... errrr.... my KIDS!! Yeah, that's right - I was brushing teeth and changing them into their pjs when I should've been parked in front of my computer!!!! *grrrr!* This is coming out of their college fund, for sure!! So Jacob better work on his jump shot if he wants to go to college... or else follow the path of his father and seek his higher education at the local community college (it's still $25 a unit, right?).

So here's a shout out to anyone out there who may happen to come across this blog... (I'm talking to all 4 of you!). If you happen to see this book anywhere... or happen to mug someone who has this song book on them *ahem*... you know I'm good for whatever it costs - really!!

WEEKEND RECAP:

Saturday:
Surprisingly we did not have anyone come over to view our home. Just as well, Mia isn't feeling all that great today, so she needs to rest. She spiked a fever earlier so we're keeping her in until her fever breaks.

Sunday:
Mia's fever broke last night - she's feeling much better, although she is still congested and coughing. That means Jacob will be sick soon... then mommy, then Mia, then Jacob... (I'm loading up on Vitamin C). We decided to head out for lunch today, and we found a Farrell's Ice Cream restaurant (ever been?). I remember Farrell's in Michigan when I was a kid going to one of my friend's birthday parties. They have this HUGE bowl of ice cream that has 30 scoops in it (and costs some $50 to order)... crazy, right? We didn't order that... *phew*. But we played a round of putt-putt golf with the kids before heading home, only to find our realtor in our house waiting for an appointment to show up. We decided to stay out of her way and so we drove to Calabasas to walk around for about 30 minutes. It was getting close to kick off (Superbowl XLI), so we got home in time to see Billy Joel sing the National Anthem (in the pouring rain). Wow, what a game! And c'mon, you can't tell me that Prince didn't rock at halftime!!

Well, it's Monday - Superbowl XLI is in the books... way to go COLTS!! The kids are sick, the house is clean, and it's in the high 70's here in southern California. Jacob and I have already gone for our morning walk, and now the kids are taking a nap. Time to catch up on some of my e-mail. No big news yet on the sale of our home. The brochure that our realtor made turned out really nice:

Hopefully we'll get an offer soon...

Oooh, HEROES is on tonight!

"Are YOU on the list?" (I checked... and I'm not - rats!)

THE HOUSE SAYS "CHEESE":

Today we had pictures of the house taken for our realtor's brochures and online listing. I wansn't able to get all the rooms fixed up, but I think I did alright. Good thing HieRan was able to help out a lot over the weekend before she took off for the Bay Area again. So after the kids went to bed, I took care of what I thought were a couple of "finishing touches"... that took me to about 4am to finish - just in time for Jacob waking up. =S

Anyway, here are some pics that I took of our place - ready to be shown to the buying public (c'mon public, don't let me down!!!).

Here's the kitchen that we had remodled back in '04 when we first moved in. I think most would admit that this is the home's centerpiece, and we're really pleased with how it all came together.




The next room is the main family room - open to the kitchen (after we knocked down a large part of the wall), and general gathering place for all to entertain. Oh, and the sofa in this room became quite intimate with my kid brother as he spent 6 days sleeping on it during one visit (he was only supposed to be over for the weekend)!


This is our "sitting" room in it's original conception (when we first moved in). It has since become the kids' media room where they were able to watch any number of pre-approved DVDs from their library. I moved the media equipment, toys, and various cushions out of the room to make the space less cluttered.


Next is the master bedroom - as I've heard people say, "... where all the magic happens". *haha - sorry babe, I know you're gonna tell me how I'm not much of a magician now, right?* =T Actually this was also doubling as our office for a time when my father was staying with us. I finally got around to moving everything back to the office which really opened up the space in the room.


Here's the master bathroom - now THIS is where all the REAL magic happens!! *haha - well, it's where all of my critical-life-changing-master-planning thoughts take place* Oddly, while this has both a shower and a tub, I can say that I've never used the tub in the two years we've been here! Don't worry, I've taken a couple showers in the two years since we've been here, so no smart-alec remarks! ;)

Like I said, I wasn't able to completely clean up all of the bedrooms, but they weren't going to be photographed anyway. I'll continue fixing up for Friday's open house. Now that I'm thinking about it, we're going to probably have buyers wanting to come and see our place over the weekend... over SUPERBOWL weekend!!! Noooooooo!!!! Maybe we won't have to vacate the premisis, and they can see the house in use to it's fullest capacity!! *party over here!!* Yeah, I can't see HieRan agreeing to this.

Well, that's what I've been doing for the past couple nights. It's pretty amazing how much you can get done in the wee hours of the night (and morning). The tough part is going to be keeping the house in order - especially since we still have to live here!

Oh, and the garage is full again.

G'nite all!

START PACKING:

On Friday we signed the documents with our listing agent at Whitehouse Properties. The next morning I go out to make a delivery to Goodwill and there's a "For Sale" sign on our lawn! Talk about fast! Hopefully we'll be able to sell our house just as fast - in this market, who knows? We're up against 3 other houses in our immediate area (we're talking a couple houses away), but I think we've got them beat on square footage, and the open floor plan that's very inviting... HieRan and I call it the "wow" factor. For those of you who have been here, when you step into our entryway, the first two things that grab your attention are 1) the remodeled kitchen, and 2) the fact that our house goes waaaaay back (2400 sq ft back) - something that is quite deceptive to the passer-by. We're hoping to get our listing price... otherwise we may end up living in a van, under a bridge, down by the RIVER!! *hahaha - to quote the late, great Chris Farley*

We began the packing process already - starting in last night after the kids went to sleep. The first order of business was to get the garage straightened up and ready to store our boxes of stuff from inside the house. (Note: when selling a house, it is suggested that you remove as many of the "personal" items as possible, "unclutter" your house, and put away the things that you'd rather not have broken or stolen.) The process of cleaning out the garage was more of a task than I imagined it would be. Who would've thought that a ONE-CAR GARAGE could hold soooo much stuff?!?!? Well, it didn't hold a CAR, but I guess that's besides the point. There was piles and piles of stuff that we just threw out - oh, and a bunch of stuff that we donated. Too bad my cousins and brothers weren't around to do some "shopping" in our garage like last time we moved. They all made out with new pens, highlighters, clipboards, refrigerator magnets, laser pointers, and much much more!! We finished (or quit, rather) around midnight.

This morning I started up again, clearing up the family room, packing up pictures, wall hangings, and dismantling some of the kids' furniture to store in the garage. It's a mess here, and it's going to get much worse before it gets better. Actually, it's got to get better much sooner than I want - we have a photographer coming on Tuesday to take pics of our house. So I'm under the gun a bit, and I really shouldn't be here blogging away!! *hahaha - hey, I'm on break, and typing like a mad man!!!*

Okay, okay, I better get back to it - geez, I'm starving!! Ooh, there's some cold coffee from this morning!! That's LUNCH!!!

HIS FIRST STEPS:

Well, it's official - Jacob is now walking on his own. Okay, he's not out of control (like his sister), but I can see that this is the start of a new chapter in his (and our) life. I think we're going to rename him, "COME HERE" - since that's what we'll be calling him as we (or probably just I) chase after him.

It was after the kids' bath, and we were just hanging out in the family room watching the Australian Open. Mia was jumping to and from the couch to the ottoman, and Jacob was watching and laughing. He must've been inspired by Mia's agility and decided to get up on his own. He tried several times... standing then plopping down on his bottom. Then he stood up, took a step, and sat back down. We started clapping, so he got up and took a couple more steps before sitting back down (I can tell he's going to be the one who likes to "ease" into things). I was able to snap a picture of him making his way to the couch. I really think he was motivated by his sister's jumping around - it looked like fun to him, I'm sure.

Oh, then Mia tripped and bonked her head on an un-cushioned part of the couch, so play time was over (way to go there, Mia). ;0P

Don't worry, she's fine... still a little clumsy, but fine otherwise.

WHAT LUCK!!!

So I'm flipping through the channels - got the kids to bed, already. And I'm trying to find something worthwhile to view. Let's see...

the Lakers vs. the Spurs... nah...

the Australian Open... only the 2nd round...

the Clippers vs. the Warriors... *yawn*...

American Idol... Seattle... hmmmm... not much talent there...

... oh... wha... hey - SIDEOUT (on one of the HD channels, no less)... I've struck GOLD!!!!!!!! Whoo-hooo (doing the happy dance)... it's my birthday... party over here... haaayyy!!!

*ahem - sorry about that*

This volleyball epic (1990) stars C. Thomas Howell, and Peter Horton, as the infamous "dead-beat", Zach Barnes. It also has appearances by Courtney Thorne Smith, a cameo by supermodel, Kathy Ireland, and a host of professional volleyball players - including Sinjin Smith & Randy Stoklos as the Kings of the Beach. In this film (which strangely didn't do as well as I thought it would at the box offices... just like the plethora of Van Damme movies I rather enjoyed... hmmmm, I think I just outed myself on the quality of movies I like... *heh*) - anyway, we find our hero Monroe (Howell) taking up the game of volleyball one summer and manages to find fulfillment both on the court... and off. In a short time (really, we're talking only ONE summer) Monroe acquires the skills necessary to take on Hermosa Beach's best volleyball players with the washed-up "former" King of the Beach, Zach Barnes. Barnes has his own demons to battle - a gambling problem, and serious lack of motivation to do anything more with his life. Still, he takes on the young Monroe, and together they overcome all obstacles vanquishing their archenemies (Smith & Stoklos) and capture beach volleyball's most prestigious title, Kings of the Beach.

This film (which must've been shot over a weekend) teaches us that volleyball players (professional ones, anyway) shouldn't quit their day jobs and start an acting career. Of course, the converse is also true - that actors should not (and tend to be ill-equiped) to take on a career as a professional volleyball player. Yeah, there were a bunch of missteps in this movie - but it sure was fun watching some of volleyball's elite on the bigscreen. I especially liked the low camera angles, and close-ups used (oh, and the low net) to make Howell and Horton appear to jump 42 inches! The professionals were viewed at a wide angle, so you can see them playing on a regulation net...

How could this NOT be an award-winner!?!?!?!?

Okay, all kidding aside, this story line is as far from believable as you can get. Any seasoned player can see that both Howell and Horton were the WRONG picks for this film (unfortunately I was unavailable when shooting began). Not only was the acting bad (oh my gawd, it stunk like 4-year-old cheese), but there's no WAY some kid off the street (in this case a farm boy from Wisconsin) could pick up the game and beat the best players in professional volleyball - C'MON!! The final shot of the final game was made when Monroe did a 180-degree turn in the air, set the ball (illegally, mind you) to a waiting Barnes who crushed the ball to take the championship.

Yeah...

... it could happen. =S (And I'm going to win American Idol, too!!) *hahaha*

Geez... I can't believe I just finished watching the whole movie...

... again.

MY KIDS DON'T GET ME:

I got clowned by my daughter this morning during breakfast. As she was eating her new Kellogg's Barbie cereal, I noticed the back panel had a number of characters on them. One of the characters was named "Dizzle", which I thought was kind of funny. After all, who knew that Snoop Dog was involved in naming Barbie characters, right?!? Mia asked me what the name was, and I told her "Dizzle" adding, "... fo shizzle ma nizzle". *hahaha* She looked at me as if I just asked her to explain the pythagorean theorem. =T Meanwhile, Jacob got a hold of his sister's water spray bottle and proceeded to "spritz" himself (yeah, he's a DeGuzman). See what I mean here.

WEEKEND RECAP:

Saturday:

We met with the realtor who helped us find our home here in Woodland Hills today - Leslie Parker, of White House Properties. It was nice to see her again, and reminisce about the days when we were looking for a home. True story, our home was never on Leslie's list of homes to show us. In fact, the first couple days that we went house-hunting, we were very discouraged. Home prices were starting to rise, and the neighborhood that we were looking in contained very old houses. It happened that we were looking at a property about a block away, and the seller's agent (who was also the agent of our current house) told us to take a look at this property. At the time it was waaaay out of our price range - which is why Leslie never thought to show it to us. But because it was a "distressed" property with highly motivated sellers (they were a divorced couple ordered by the courts to liquidate all of their assets). As it turned out, and with the help of our agent, we came to an agreement on the price and found ourselves a home.

After such an ordeal, we are more than happy to give the listing to Leslie - we think she and her company will do a great job for us.

Sunday:

Wow, what a tough night. Jacob couldn't sleep... and so I couldn't, either. He was up 3 times (I think), and since he's been able to stand on his own, he's starting to hang onto the side of the crib - crying and screaming until someone (which would be I) come and get him. So this morning was a very "lazy" one for me. HieRan was kind enough to get up and watch the kids in the morning - I just couldn't get up, for some reason. Maybe it had something to do with the 2 hours of sleep that I was able to get (20 minutes at a time). =( But once the coffee started flowing, I was up... sorta like the Folgers Coffee commercial!!

We decided to take the kids to Chuck E. Cheese's for lunch. Still as windy as ever outside, we bundled up the kids and headed out. It's been a while since we've been there, so seeing the remodeled pizza place was pretty refreshing... however, the food was still the same - ehhhhh. =T

But we had fun playing the games with the kids. Jacob rode the rides while Mia racked up the tickets to buy herself some prizes before we came home.

Oooh, "The Apprentice - Los Angeles" is starting!! Gotta go...

SO IT BEGINS:

Today we met with a couple realtors competing for our listing. One presentation was clearly better than the other, but we have one more appointment tomorrow. I have to admit that I'm surprised to see how much the price of comparable homes in the area have dropped off in the past 6 months. We're not likely to make a million dollar sale this time around... *rats*.

Both realtors said they liked the floor plan of our house, especially the remodeled kitchen (thank you very much). Back when we first decided to remodel the kitchen, we did so in hopes that it would pay us back when it came time to sell the house - hopefully (in this declining real estate market) that will still hold true.

The tricky part will be pricing our home so that we're competitive (not short-changing ourselves), but not too high that we fall off the radar of some potential buyers. I think our kitchen is one of the stronger selling points - that plus a nice neighborhood, excellent schools, great shopping (the Westfield - Topanga is gi-normous!!), 20 minutes to the beach, an hour to Disneyland (the happiest place on earth... well, next to the bathroom, anyway... ahh yes). There's so much more than just a house here in Woodland Hills. We're going to miss this home and all the friends we made in the 2 years since we arrived. :*)

The next step will be to start looking for a place to call "home" up in the Bay Area. We should be heading up to go house shopping later this month. Wish us a happy and successful hunt!!

LESSON LEARNED:

So there is one part of our adventure that I didn't mention in the last post. While we were in Newark, NJ waiting to board out already late flight back to Los Angeles, it came to our attention that our seating assignments were no longer valid on the incoming flight. The agent at the desk did her best to get out seats reassigned when HieRan spoke with her. She came back and told me that we would be separated on this flight (not the best situation when flying with two kids). I wasn't clear how this could've happened, so I took a turn up at the desk and politely asked the agent for a little more clarification with the cancellation of our original seating assignment. The agent was very thorough and explained how all of this (including our 3 hour delay) came about. Satisfied with the explanation, I thanked her and said that if there was a chance we could be re-assigned, we would be grateful. I could see that she was swamped with boarding passes, getting people shifted here and there, and also having to manage the "stand-by" passangers. I felt bad for her and assured her that we'll be happy just to get back home.

This situation with the cancelled seating assignments didn't affect just us - the next passenger came up and pretty much lost it when he discovered his party of 6 was going to be separated on the flight. First of all, he was travelling with his wife and 4 teenage kids - it's not as though his kids wouldn't enjoy some time away from him! Second, when he came up and started shouting at the agent, I thought "... what a jerk! Give her a break!". But the agent was more than capable of handling him - nicely telling him to back off and be glad that they have seats on the flight to begin with! *ha!* He left and sent his wife up to go a couple rounds with the agent - but she was turned away pretty quickly too.

As it turns out, before we boarded, I heard the agent call for the "DeGuzman party of 5" to come up to the desk. The same agent who had spoken to HieRan and me handed me 5 new boarding passes - all of our seats were together!! I was shocked! And really thankful for her efforts. She told me that there was another family who had reassigned seats, but she didn't care for their tone with her and decided to give us a block of 6 seats (one extra so that our kids could stretch out on this flight). She specifically told me that my wife and I were very nice to her regarding all of the problems that came up, and she wanted to do everything she could to keep us together. Needless to say, I thanked her and we enjoyed our flight home... touchdown 11:45pm... brought in a HAPPY NEW YEAR in baggage claim. =)

The lesson learned: when life hands you lemons - squeeze the juice onto someone's eyes, steal their wallet, and buy yourself a soda! *haha - j/k* No, I think the "Golden Rule" is appropriate here, right?

*By the way, I don't normally do this, but I felt it was necessary to write American Airlines with our story and how the agent did everything to help us out - I hope she's recognized somehow...*