SKSDA Yosemite Backpacking Trip
"Men (and little men) Vs. Wild"
Memorial Weekend, 2008

Over the long weekend, eight brave men headed south to tackle the wilderness also known as Yosemite. Among the eight brave men were three Choi men... two who are also known as the "little men", my two boys. This has been an annual event here at SKSDA. They backpack into Yosemite Wilderness for 2 nights 3 days, and hike up approximately 5 miles up to 6000 feet elevation. However, this year was made even more difficult thanks to mother nature. Despite grim weather forecast they decided to go ahead with the trip... and endured wet & cold weekend around their beloved campfire. When they arrived on their destination, they found ground covered with snow... soon to be followed up with scattered thunderstorm & night time lows in the 30's. You would think they would've been miserable, and be tempted to turn around and come back down. I would've... but they endured it and in the end really had a memorable time in the wilderness. I was told that my boys never complained once... and boys also told me that they want to go back again next year. WOW! My older son, Chris, even made a documentary-type video clips (I will post it as soon as it is ready). It was very well made... like the 'Men vs. Wild' clips on Discovery Chanel. Anyhow, click below to view photos.

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES

Party-a-Thon

This past weekend we ATTEMPTED to host two birthday parties! My oldest & youngest child was born in May, and due to scheduling conflicts we ended up hosting back-to-back parties.

Chris had his 15th birthday party on Saturday. He wanted to just "hang-out" with his old friends from his Churchill MS days. Although he enjoys his current HS and has made many new friends, he misses his old friends dearly and wanted a chance to spend some time with them. Most of his friends from MS went to another HS in the area, so he doesn't get to seem them at all. Anyhow, about 10 teenagers (yikes) came over Saturday afternoon... and hung out until wee hours of the night. They swam, ate, walked over to the park, played musical instruments, and laughed all night long. You see, most of Christopher's friends are what you might call "nerds" and very gifted musicians... so it was a very pleasant to listen to their impromptu piano concerts.

Christopher's B-Day Cake
as I ordered it

Christopher's B-Day Cake
after his friends finished decorating...

Chris blowing candles out
Friends of ours also brought some cupcakes

Some of his friends...

Then on Sunday we celebrated Rachel's 9th Birthday. We decided to host it away from home... less work for mom! We went to "All About Fun", a bouncing place. It was great! It was a hot day, so it was great to be in an air-conditioned room filled with bounce houses, slides, and they do all the set-up and clean-up. There was even a lounge area with a big screen TV for my boys to watch. They didn't even have to miss the games!

Rachel getting ready to open presents

Make a wish Rachel!

Rachel and her friends

Rachel with her friends

Eddie & I even played this air-hockey game
I was winning... but decided to let him win!

Kids really enjoyed this huge slides!

Here's Lizzy climbing up

Here are our boys... relaxing & watching the B-Ball game.

So today I am attempting to recuperate from a whirlwind of a weekend. Although I did enjoy all the celebrations, I am also glad it's over... at least for now. I have two more birthdays coming up at the end of the summer... arghhhh! However, I can't help but be thankful for everything. I can't believe that my son is already 15 and my baby is 9 years old. I am thankful that they are healthy and doing well in school, sports and has many great friends in both school and church. We are truly blessed.

My Son, the Athlete!!!

My son's school puts out a school paper every month. For a high school paper it's rather good. Every month they feature bachelor/bachelorette of the month as well as male/female athlete. I am not sure how they determine who they will profile, but I know for certain that it is NOT based purely on their accomplishments. Few weeks ago when I picked up my son he told me that he was called into the "office" during the lunch hour. He thought, "here we go again... what did I do this time?" only to find out that they wanted to take a picture of him... to profile him as the athlete on their May publication. They also handed him some questionaire to answer. Well, here is the final result. I found it rather amusing... You see, although my son enjoys playing sports (all season), he does NOT excel in any particular sports. He is athletic, but we will not be holding our breathe for any type of sports scholarship. He did, however, make it to the championship in swimming this season... just not sectionals. Well, here... read it for yourself. BTW, the funny thing is the female athlete they profiled next to him, well, is VERY accomplished athlete. Hmmm.... do you think they did that on purpose?

Here is the cover of May issue of "the mirada"

There, on page 11, was a picture of Chris...
right next to the girl who is ranked #1 in the league

Monica & Michael's Wedding
May 3, 2008

Yes, believe it or not we attended another wedding over the weekend. It was a wedding of my cousin Michael at Pomona, in Southern California. It was a bit different from all the other weddings I've been attending in the past several months. It was beautiful, as was the bride, but it was a bit more Korean than we were used to. Michael is rather shy, so we were quite surprised when last fall he showed up at one of our cousin's wedding with his new fiance. She's more outgoing and full of life. She's adorable! I don't know her well at all, but I certainly like what I've seen of her. I think she's perfect for Michael... brings him out of his shell. I do wish them well. I will post pictures at a later date.