BackTrack : Gone Fishin'

(This is a backtracked post from May.)

The kiddies are at an age where they can start to play GAMES!! And when I mean "play", I really mean, they are not eating the pieces, or tossing them around, or cheating left and right, but they can (sort of) play by the rules, follow instructions, and take turns. They understand the notion of winning and losing. And they do not like losing!

First family fishing session...





These videos were taken back in May, the first time they played the fishing game. There was a learning curve on various aspects of "gaming". The kiddies had to learn how to play well together or else they both lose when mom confiscates the game. They also learned that you won't always win with the most fish on this round, but you may win it on the next round. Oh, and don't forget the power of persuasion, you can barter a blue fish for a red one. They also learned the power of teamwork. The two kids combined (with Liam's cheating hook method) guaranteed a sure win over a parent.

Now several months later, they go fishing unsupervised (*gasp*). Emilia has gotten pretty good at hooking a fish the proper way. Liam still likes to hold the hook and shove it in the mouth. There is disappointment still sometimes, but the kids have learned how to move past it (aka play another round, barter a fish, or change the rules!, etc.)

This fishing game is definitely an old classic fun for all of us and has been a good intro to games for the kiddies.

Part II : Overland Expo

The Overland Expo is a gathering of different ways to rig up your vehicle for sleeping/living in. Different companies are there to display their products and enthusiasts are out there to display their customized set ups. There are setups for small cars, trucks, vans, trailers, utility vehicles, monster vehicles, converted U-hauls or ambulances, to behemoth I-don't-know-what-vehicle-that-is kind of things. Clear skies and warmer temps (low 50s) made for a perfect day to hit the Expo.

Here's Liam making a morning appearance. Still chilly in the morning, but he insists on wearing his new blue fleece vest (also an impromptu REI purchase).

Our little professor.

Bummed that I didn't take too many photos of the rigs at the Overland Expo. It was super, super muddy from the previous day's rain, so I was more concerned about keeping the kids out of the mud. So here are a few shots.. Liam loved this flame decorated truck.

Emilia was in one of my favorite rig setups. It was a long trailer that had side pop out windows into a u-shaped seating area and middle table.. enough to fit 6 people on it. The seating area converted into a queen size bed, and on top of that area was another shelf setup that fit another queen size sleeping area.

My second favorite setup was the Four Wheel side-door pop up camper.

I like this simple flatbed, beefy monster tire truck too.

We always see LandRover at the car shows/expos displaying an off-road track for people to test drive the LandRovers through a fun obstacle course. This time around, we went to sign up for a test drive, only to find out that the rain and mud stopped the course. Apparently some of these giant behemoth overland vehicles were trying out the course and got stuck. Made for some fun spectating for us.

Of course, it was the little LandRover that saved the day and assisted in pulling out the stuck rigs from the mud pits.



Hanging out at the Mormon Lake Lodge before heading back to camp..

Them sillies!







We got back to the campsite with plenty of daylight left, so Diane took us on two fun geocaching hikes. The kiddies loved the idea of stomping through the forest, looking for hidden treasures.

Found the location, now the kiddies have to find the geocache.

Yes! It's in the trunk of the tree! Kiddies were super happy to find treasure. Liam got a blue car and Emilia picked out a star ring. They put the cache back into the tree for the next explorers to find.

We went a searching for the second geocache location...

We were fortunate to have Bill & Diane with us for camping. They got a campfire going which made for fun times to cook and hang out at the campsite.

We kept it simple, hot dogs and canned beans. Not Paleo, but hey, easy and minimal mess. Kiddies loved it.

(To Be Continued...)

A Golfin' Team Outing

The lab at work was shut down due to some electrical re-wiring, so it meant a work group team building/outing event. There were suggestions of wind-surfing, rock climbing, paint balling.. but golf won out. I have never golfed before, so it was a good time to try it out.

In my work group, only the bossman golfs and the rest of us are newbies. He gave us a few tips to start with on the "swing form", and I always keep my PTs advice in the back of my mind "every movement should begin from the core". From there, we played 9 holes on an executive course with the regular size holes. Initially we wanted the big holes, but something about them not being available at that time.

So hitting the ball consistently is definitely harder than it looks and I can see how this aspect of golf requires skill... repetition to form consistent muscle memory. We had 2 golf carts to cart 4 of us around, though I wanted more of a workout so I would occasionally run. All in all, it was a fun game that is plenty social and relaxing. At times it felt a little slow, but then again, you have a bunch of engineers that take forever to do practice swings and attempt to analyze the projectile trajectory of their ball. I'm more of get into position and just hit the darn thing - think less but focus on a few key form factors, then swing.

Not bad.. ball going in the direction of the flag/hole!

Using the irons and hitting the ball in the general direction of the flag was my favorite part. The putting portion where you have to sink it into the hole was my least favorite part. It took the team ~2 hours to complete the 9 holes, and we played a modified game of the 3 newbies against the bossman. Bossman won.

Overall my impression of golf is that it is a fun, challenging, skilled, social game, though.. to me, not quite a sport. After 2 hours of play, I was not at all sore the next day. Physical exertion level was minimal. Anyhow, being out in the sun, relaxing is much better than all day in the lab!

Liam's 3rd Halloween-Themed Birthday Party

Liam's turning 3! And with him being such a big boy now, I decided it is finally time for him to have a real big-hoopla birthday party with the works.. friends, party planning, cake, and memorable fun. About a month ago, Liam started "trick or treating" every night when he cleaned up his toys. He would pick up the toys, put them in a carry basket, and come over and say "trick or treat". I would then pretend to give him a treat. This nightly ritual for the past month, led to Liam's 3rd birthday party set to a Halloween theme.

Liam's Halloween costume is... a racecar driver!

My brain operated in two modes the past month of September. It was either thinking about work issues or brainstorming birthday planning. I took influences from recent events, even TV shows, to come up with the idea of a "Scavenger Trick And Treat Hunt" around the yard. At 3 years old, chances are that Liam may not remember details of the birthday party, but I wanted to approach the planning so that he has a greater possibility of remembering the fun. And so the pumpkin scavenger hunt combined a challenge at each pumpkin station which was doable for a 3-5 year old, but may require the help and support of the adults. When the kid completed the challenge, they get to pick a treat out of a jack-o-latern basket. Some of the pumpkin stations also required team work.

Scavenger Trick And Treat Hunt - Pumpkin Stations
1. Decorate Trick Or Treat Bag
2. Go Fish
3. Bean bag Toss/Cornhole
4. Cylinder/Block Log Hop
5. Bike Tire Hop
6. Driveway Sprint
7. Build a Tower Bridge
8. Bear Bear Mummy Wrap
9. Crawl Maze
10. Decorate Your Pumpkin

1. The party started with the kids decorating their trick'o'treat bag with Halloween stickers and marker/crayon artworks. Once all the kids had arrived and bags decorated, we went on to the next "Pumpkin Station".

Ryan and our neighbor, Mike, teamed up to lead the kids to find the pumpkin stations. Mike was "The Map" while Ryan assisted the kids in the activity at hand. Other parents helped out by being cheerleaders or handing out the treats afterwards. All in all, the scavenger hunt was great for the kids. They had a challenge to conquer. They had support and cheering section. They watched the other kids go through the same thing. And they all received a prize.

2. Ryan helping to set up the fishing pole at the Fishing hole station. Kids used a fishing pole to hook rubber duckies.

3. Bean Bag Toss

4. Cylinder and Block Hops --> Stole this idea from the Spartan Race where one had to balance and hop across logs. Obviously made this easier for the kids. Ryan would help and hold one hand if needed. There was a great cheering section on this challenge. Some of the kids started off unsure, but then would give it a try after seeing a few kids complete it. The cheering from the parents made it even better.

5. Tire Jumps --> Tires lined up a row where the kids have to jump (or step-through) the tire path.

6. Driveway Sprint

7. Build A Tower Bridge --> I took out a bunch of empty boxes, drew an example diagram, and the kids had to work together to build a tower bridge out of the boxes. When the bridge was done, they would each crawl through to the other side and received a treat.

8. Mummy Wrap Bear Bear --> We hung a teddy bear from the railing of the balcony, so that the kids would help give Bear Bear a Halloween costume. Each kid had a streamer or two which they were suppose to work together to wrap up Bear Bears head, arms, legs, and tummy to create a mummified Bear Bear.

9. Crawl Maze --> Took this idea from the Spartan Race barb wire crawl as well as the latest episode of "Agents of Shield" where the agents had to infiltrate an area protected by a laser grid. We kept it simple for the kids and used streamers. =)

The crawl maze was one of the favorites among the kiddies. Some even went back to do it several times. The maze ended at an area with a narrow section where they get a treat from the jack-o-latern.

Liam getting a treat from the jack-o-latern.

Emilia's Halloween costume this year is Rapunzel!

Em playing around with one of her besties.

Thing1 is suppose to be supervising the kiddies.

Liam's homemade vegan birthday cake! Thanks to Amparo for a great recipe for a good taste and texture cake. My implementation of the recipe could have been better and now I know, coconut oil is finicky to work with, especially in warmer temperatures.

(Photo-bombed by Liam's cutie classmate, JuJu!)

Along with the Halloween theme, I planned out the food trying to make it adult and kid-friendly, healthy, and Halloween-ish.

(photo curtesy of google..)

Food:
Snacks -
1. bowl of pepitas and cranberries
2. peeled cuties w/celery stick on top (like a mini-pumpkin)
3. half bananas with chocolate chips for eyes/mouth (ghost)
4. String cheese broomsticks - chives & pretzel sticks
5. cucumbers or crackers w/ cream cheese & olive spiders
6. Jack-O-Latern Veggie Tray - Carrots and broccoli w/ yogurt dip
7. strawberry mice --> pepitas as ears, carrot noodles as tail, chocolate frosting as eyes
8. Octopus hummus dip

(photo curtesy of google..)

(photo curtesy of google..)

Adults Lunch-
1. Trader Joes Harvest blend salad w/pumpkin croutons
2. 8lbs Center Cut Tenderloin Roast

(photo curtesy of google..)

Kids Lunch-
1. mac and cheese
2. hot dog mummy wraps (crescent rolls)

(photo curtesy of google..)

Dessert
1. Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
2. Liam's Vegan Chocolate Cake

I did over plan too many details of this party that it was extremely stressful to execute. Next time around, best to skip out on the food decor. Thanks to grandma, though, for helping with food prep and ensuring a great memorable party for the kiddies!

Oh Missouri! Part II

Not only did the babies have fun, so did we. Perfect weather with just the right amount of humid and warmth, a pretty lake with thousands of cicadas buzzing aloud, a chilled bottle of beer and a glass of red wine, and good friends to goof off with.


Speaking of goofing off...


tubing on the lake present a few memorable moments.


The dads and moms took turns to hit the lake. While the moms (and K) were out having tubing fun,


the dads and kiddies hung out til we returned. Then we swapped and the moms had the babies while the dads and friends went back out tubing.


While I missed out seeing the splat-acular event of all the guys being thrown off the tube, it didn't surprise me as with THESE guys, there is always a good (and luckily no injury) spill.

Other highlights of fun:

Ping Pong Round About


Ping Pong Finals


Always a good time even though time flew by in an instant, enough for a few good laughs with good friends.