The Muze

A Jaunt to Santa Cruz

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Fri, 10 Aug 2018 04:56:00 +0000

The wildfires are raging in Redding/Carr and Mendocino so the air quality hasn't been good here. We decided to skip a trip to Lake Tahoe and escape instead to the Pacific.

Santa Cruz had plenty of activities to keep everyone entertained. The kids loved the games and rides at the boardwalk especially Logger's Revenge. Owen also waited in a long line to take a ride in the Haunted Castle which he says was totally worth it.

There was no shortage of nature in the area. We visited Henry Cowell state park and walked amidst the redwoods. We even went inside one that was hollowed out by a fire where someone lived and had a small cutout for a cabinet. We saw a banana slug, the mascot of UC Santa Cruz.

Later we took a short drive to Natural Bridges state park. The cold temps didn't deter the kids.

We went kayaking and saw sea otters, a kelp forest, a crab, jelly fish and sea lions. Owen took a surfing lesson and was a natural getting up on his first try! See video below.

We also drove to the Monterey Aquarium where we saw more sea otters, jellyfish, octopuses, eels, penguins and sharks. It was awesome!

And the kids also gave the all-you-can-eat breakfast the thumbs up at the Holiday Inn Express.

Zoe Turns 6: A Bicycle Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 18:18:00 +0000

Zoe was very excited to celebrate her 6th birthday with her friends and a bicycle parade at Mason Mill Park. We made license plates for the bikes and enjoyed ice cream sundaes. Her kindergarten teacher Mrs. Wertz came by and gave her leg warmers, which she was very happy about. While everyone was singing happy birthday to her, she sang her own lyrics.

Our friend Rikki took these beautiful photos of the birthday party.

Ready for School

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Fri, 04 Aug 2017 17:32:00 +0000

The kids started school this week. They are at the same school, Westchester Elementary, and will be Westchester wolves.

Zoe had her last day at Smarties and they rolled out the red carpet for the kids. She was given the Miss Responsabilidad for her attention, dedication and commitment to tasks.

On the second day of kindergarten, she got crowned Queen Zoe and sat on a throne. The kids made her a book with drawings. Her favorite food: mac and cheese. Her favorite animal: zebra. Her favorite color: pink.

Owen started third grade and knows the drill at school. He started playing academy soccer and is excited. His favorite thing to talk about is Minecraft, even though he doesn't get to play often. The day before school, he got to have ramen for lunch.

Bouldering while Traveling

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 18:21:00 +0000

We picked a rainy, chilly week to visit RI this summer. To avoid going stir crazy, we went to a rock climbing gym. Both of the kids liked bouldering and climbing. Luckily, they didn't test out my upper body strength.

Watch a video of the kids climbing.

We also took in a Ocean Waves baseball game and the kids got to climb again. We even watched the mascot climb/get pulled up the wall. See another video of Zoe and Owen climbing the portable wall.

Saturday on the Square

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Fri, 12 May 2017 18:01:00 +0000

Last weekend the kids and I were at the library and on our way to dinner, we walked through the square. We spotted some people in capoeira shirts and they told us about a demo in 10 minutes. We decided to watch and Zoe was looking for her teacher Bruno to arrive. They were already sparring when Bruno showed up. Zoe went over to say hi to him. He took her by the hand into the center and said, "Let's play." She knew all the moves!

Interviews with Kids

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Thu, 20 Apr 2017 02:10:00 +0000

After dinner tonight, we decided to test out my new video camera. (Thanks, Wai Gong!) First I interviewed Zoe, then Owen. Then the kids each took turns interviewing me.

Zoe's Favorites

Owen's Favorites, Part I

Owen's Favorites, Part II

Warriors All the Time

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Tue, 21 Mar 2017 15:39:00 +0000

Owen has a new obsession, a book series called Warriors. It follows different clans of cats and has a whole mythology of its own.

Here he is explaining how Firestar is related to Graystripe:

Got it? He likes to quiz us on Warriors trivia, but it is almost as hard for me to remember as Pokemon characters.

Dreaming of Cali

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 01:03:00 +0000

We had a fantastic time visiting CA this summer. We stayed in San Jose and went to my cousin Beatrice's wedding. The kids were very excited to see the ceremony and then watched Finding Dory during the reception.

Then we went to SF to visit Mark and his family, hanging out with Baby Andrew at his place, playing Monopoly and checking out Dolores Park. We picked up a few pastries at Tartine Bakery and went to the cafe at Chez Panisse for lunch. This checked off one item on my bucket list and we wrote out a few more items.

After this visit, we headed to Yosemite, where we were duly impressed by the majestic views. We saw Lower Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, El Capitan, Bridalveil and Glacier Point. Both kids earned their Junior Ranger badges, when they weren't arguing in the back seat. The highlight was seeing a bear cub cross our path on the way to Mirror Lake. We watched it for awhile and then it bounded across the path we were on. Exciting sighting!

We also got to catch up with friends, The Do Family, in San Jose. The kids played, caught june bugs and Owen even got to ride a hoverboard. A fun time had by all! See the whole set of photos from CA.

Sights at St. Simons

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Wed, 11 May 2016 02:50:00 +0000

For spring break, we took the kids to St. Simons Island. We had great weather and had fun renting bikes, eating ice cream and going to the beach. The drive is about five hours and we listened to some favorite podcasts like Brains on Science, The Show about Science and Story Pirates.

We visited the Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island and adopted a sea turtle named Nicole. We went to Driftwood Beach, which is picturesque and aptly named.

We also went to Savannah, which had an outdoor children's museum and railroad museum. We rode an old locomotive and got to experience a coal-powered train, soot and all.

The kids even got along relatively well, given an incentive to be nice to each other. And since we got back, we got an update that Nicole the sea turtle is ready to be released back to the ocean!

View the set of photos from the trip.

Spanish Song and Laundry Hijinks

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Sat, 26 Mar 2016 01:44:00 +0000

Zoe learns a lot of Spanish songs at school and on occasion, she'll try to teach me, but I'm a slow learner. Here she is singing "Yo Se Puedo," which translates to "I Can Do It!"

Here are the kids having some fun with the laundry baskets:

Owen Turns 7

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Fri, 11 Dec 2015 04:03:00 +0000

Owen turned 7 yesterday. He thinks his birthday should be a holiday.

Over the weekend he got to take some of his friends to tour the College Football Hall of Fame. His favorite part was pretending to be announcer on TV.

For dinner, he got to pick the place and chose to go to Chik Fil-a. Luckily this was a good deal with passes we got from the hall of fame.

He was pretty happy with his loot-Pokemon, Star Wars, books and Legos.

Tried to capture him singing the Alabama fight song, but only caught the tail end. http://youtu.be/idGnmEmzE8w

He recently started playing basketball. He is the youngest player on the team but seems to really like it.

Little Miss Personality

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 02:07:00 +0000

Recently Zoe has taken a liking to drawing and she really focuses on her work. She would rather be drawing than putting her clothes on, eating or getting ready for bed.

Over the weekend, she had a play date with three of her favorite friends. The twins left her school in August and she has really missed them.

In this video, Zoe is making up her own story to go with the pictures, pulling from her own imagination about the mom's demands.

Awhile back we got some colas from the Coke museum and Owen has been pestering us to drink them. We finally relented and this was the conversation between the kids.

O: Do you want to try it, Zoe?

Z: That's yuck. It smells yuck.

O: But it's sweet and tastes good.

Z: Ok, yea, I'll try it.

And there you have peer pressure at work.

Soaking Up the Gulf Coast

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 23:42:00 +0000

For fall break, we rented a place in Sea Grove. This was our first time to this part of Florida called 30A and it was lovely. White sand, bike path, good weather and not crowded.

The kids loved being close to the beach and pool. In fact, the only 'complaint' from Zoe was that Nana and Papa weren't here in this Florida.

Owen did some fishing and biking. He did a 18-mile ride himself and Zoe was so comfortable in the seat on Phil's bike that she dozed off. They also enjoyed digging a hole and covering themselves with sand.

Starting the School Year

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Sun, 16 Aug 2015 00:24:00 +0000

Owen started first grade at a new school and has adjusted to the new schedule like a champ. He has a bunch of new friends and enjoys buying lunch for himself at the cafeteria, (where you can can get a hot dog, baked beans, coleslaw watermelon and milk for $2.45).

He has learned how to draw the school's mascot, Chester the Wolf.

Zoe is at the same school as before but has switched to a new classroom. She got to take home the class dog Princessa who went on some adventures with us on the weekend.

Here, he tells me all about his first day of school:

Exploring San Fran

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 02:05:00 +0000

Just wrapped a fun trip to CA and exploring San Francisco. We stayed at Le Meridien which had a great view and was just a few blocks from the Ferry Building. The kids liked hanging out at the playground there.

We took a trip to visit Muir Woods which was really impressive. The park ranger said that the redwoods are able to extract water from the fog and dew that lands at the bottom.

We got tacos at La Taqueria in the Mission and dim sum in Chinatown. We even drove to Ocean Beach. The kids loved it, even though Uncle Mark warned us later about the sharks.

We also visited with family in Palo Alto and enjoyed homemade dumplings and ice cream. I got to meet up with a college pal and Phil saw his high school buddy Ben with his daughter.

The highlight of the trip was meeting Baby Andrew and the kids loved getting to see him and rub his head. It was a perfect day for an anniversary reception and the kids did a zillion poses in the photo booth. We think Andrew looks a lot like Owen when he was a similar age. (See any resemblance, here, Erin?)

The kids were real troopers traveling, with Owen often lugging around the car seat bag or booster seat on his head. Zoe is still adjusting to the time change -- we think she has always wanted an excuse to stay up till midnight.

P.S. This photo shows the reality of traveling with kids.

Summer Fun

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 21:04:00 +0000

Owen has been doing a bunch of camps this summer -- science, cooking, art, music and botany. He's enjoyed each week more than the next.

Last week he went to music camp and learned guitar. On the Friday showcase, he played the tamborine with his band S.C.A.B.S. That stands for Super cool awesome bunny stuff.

The Celebration Continues

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 22:04:00 +0000

Zoe had a birthday celebration in her class. She saved chairs for her parents and brother. They sang happy birthday in Spanish and danced to some songs. She was quiet the whole time but seemed to enjoy it.

We had a photographer capture some moments from her party at the house. The older kids were running away from her and at different points during the party, they were photographing her.

Here's a link to the photo set on Dropbox.

Road Trip to Chattonooga

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 20:38:00 +0000

For President's Day weekend, we took the kids to visit Chattanooga, which is only a two-hour drive.

We went to Rock City and Lookout Mountain which had a great view. The kids enjoyed the gnomes, fairy caverns, swing-along bridge and Fat Man's Squeeze.

We also went to the Tennessee Aquarium, the children's museum and a few restaurants.

Zoe Turns 3

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 01:51:00 +0000

This girl has brought boundless joy and laughter into our lives. She is constantly surprising us with her infectious energy, thoughtfulness, independent streak and sense of humor. Happy 3rd birthday to my smart, sweet, sassy Zoe!

Zoe has been asking non-stop about her birthday since Dec. after Owen's party. She has been telling everyone, 'My birthday coming.'

She was especially excited to have three classmates from school and a Cinderella cake. She requested that the kids sing 'Kings and Queens' like at Owen's party. She can watch this video of the rendition until next year.

The balloons were a hit and entertaining. They were her favorite colors, red and orange.

Zoe climbed the rock wall at the playground today. When Phil asked her when she learned to do that, she answered, 'when I turned 3.'

This Is Six

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 02:32:00 +0000

When the world is full of trees that deserve to be climbed.
When friendships are full of giggles and wonder.
When the way things work is endlessly fascinating.
When reading opens up a whole new world of knowledge.
When your imagination can fuel your entire universe.
When you believe in magical things like the tooth fairy.
When playtime goes too quickly and chore time goes too slowly.
When your parents still seem like they have the answers.
When anything is possible.
This. is. 6.

Happy birthday to Owen, my sweet, smart, always curious boy!

At his birthday circle at school, we passed around photos as Owen walked the ellipse six times to represent the earth circling the sun. Afterwards, his friends asked him some questions.

Q: What's your favorite color?

A: Indigo.

Q: What's your favorite food?

A: Pasta.

Q: Who's your doctor?

A: Dr. Colton

Q: What time were you born?

A: Two hours before my bedtime.

Q: What's your favorite subject?

A: Math.

Q: What's your favorite sea animal?

A: Lobster. (Pretends to munch.)

Turning Six

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Sun, 07 Dec 2014 14:43:00 +0000

We celebrated Owen's sixth birthday today. He wanted to have his party at the Young Chefs Academy. The kids made pizza and decorated cupcakes and sang happy birthday, of course!

He asked for the Mousetrap game which he had seen the kids set up at camp before. His grandparents made a surprise visit on their way back to Florida.

Zoe was happy to be included in the mix. She had a little help but loves to be with the big kids. When we go to the family dinners for Owen's class, she will sit at the kids table.

Owen and his buddies are very interested in football. They play some version of touch football on the playground and talk about their favorite teams. None of his friends are Patriots fans, much to his dad's dismay.

Here's Owen eating pizza through the whole birthday song:

Here are Owen's Arbor classmates singing a different birthday song:

Halloween Hijinks

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Sat, 01 Nov 2014 23:21:00 +0000

This year Owen and I talked about a plan for Halloween costumes. Zoe would be a slice of pepperoni pizza, he would be a teenage mutant ninja turtle who loves pepperoni pizza, I would be a pizza delivery guy and Phil would be a pizza box.

As it got closer to Halloween, jt became clear that this would be harder to pull off than anticipated. So the kids had to settle for store-bought costumes. Luckily teenage mutant ninja turtles are popular again. Owen was Michelangelo and Zoe was a bumblebee and supergirl. At school they called her supernina!

Zoe can sing Twinkle twinkle in 3 languages. Here she is doing it in Spanish.

Zoe wants to do and have everything her big brother does which leads to the occasional tustle. The other day I found this note in the playroom.

Translation: Zoe kicked me in the hip and pushed me.

Goal for the Lions

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 18:12:00 +0000

Owen just wrapped his soccer season. He had a great time playing on The Lions.

He started off the season playing defense but became more comfortable taking the offense over time. He is a great runner and in his last game, he scored three goals. Here, you can watch him play:

Fall is in the air

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 01:06:00 +0000

We have been renting a cabin with some good friends in Blue Ridge for the past seven years. It's become a nice fall tradition. It's less than a two-hour drive from Atlanta if you don't hit traffic.

The leaves are changing color, we usually have a view of the mountains or lake and we have started roasting s'mores which the kids (and adults) love. We usually take a short hike to a waterfall. This year we got drenched when it started to pour when we got to the top. But we managed to get this great photo in before it the skies opened up.

We did our family photo shoot this weekend at Piedmont Park. The kids enjoyed the playground and this was the easiest year to get everyone looking at the camera.

Here are the kids going down the slide at the Noguchi playscapes:

Back to School

noreply@blogger.com (The Muze) — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 02:03:00 +0000

The summer went by in a flash. We made one last trip to visit Nana and Papa in RI. The kids had a grand time and loved going to the beach.

Owen rode his boogie board on the waves and of course, Zoe tried to do the same thing. She called it 'my boat.'

We caught up with Mark and Erin, Auntie Roseann, Auntie Sharon and the Gleason clan.

We walked to the Pointe, ate lobster, went to the farmers market and enjoyed being by the ocean.

Now that school has started back up, summer seems like a distant memory. Owen is now one of the older kids in his class and he was excited to get back.

Zoe is talking a lot at school in Spanish. She has quite a social personality and loves to talk to everyone.

Recently, she put a sticker on my arm and said, 'No se-TO-ca!' She must hear that a lot at school: Do not touch! Hands off!