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.

Ortho...

Additional Photos

Just wanted to add couple more pictures... one of Jeffrey with his retainer on (he has a fixed retainer behind his bottom teeth) and the other of his retainer itself. He chose to get a "watermelon" retainer. I thought it was cute.

End of an Era...

Orthodontically speaking

Unfortunately all of our children have inherited our small mouth and Eddie's underbite... thus they ALL needed some sort of orthodontic treatment at one time or another. One of our child in particular has been afflicted with so many dental/medical problems from early on... you know who I'm talking about. Poor thing... Jeffrey has endured many things in his short life, one of which has been going through orthodontic treatment. But before you say "what's the big deal?" I'd like to highlight the fact that our orthodontist's office has NEVER had a patient that has their braces on as long as he has. How long you ask? Well, he had it for 5 years and 2 months. Yes! You read it correctly! All of you dentist out there... this is NOT a typo.

He started phase 1 in January of 2003... in 3rd grade. He started palate expansion in Ohio. He was suppose to go through 1-1/2 year of phase 1, take a short break, then start phase 2. However, at the end of his phase 1 they decided to go straight into phase 2 because enough of his permanent molars have come in to start the process. With just about 1 more year to go we moved here to Sacramento. We found another wonderful orthodontist here in Sacramento where we "continued" phase 2. So what took so long? Well, his 2nd permanent molars decided to take its sweet old time coming out. It finally came out just last year, and after maneuvering a bit with all the wires we have FINALLY come to an end of his treatment. He's finally done! He was so excited today! He got a bag of goodies (chewy, of course) and thoroughly enjoyed snacking on them this afternoon. I had to hold back my urge to stop him from eating all that junk food! After all, I think he earned this one... at least once.

For all of you dentists out there...
here's Jeffrey's pre-phase 1 pictures
Jan. 2003

After Starting Phase 1

End of Phase 1
Feb. 2006

During Phase 2

Finally braces-free!
April 2008

Internet Addiction?

Today I came across an article (via internet, of course) on this new phenomenon. We all know that we spend a little more time than we'd like on the internet, but when is it addiction? Well, here are some questions you need to ask yourselves. They are the danger signs of internet addiction.

• Have your family or friends complained about the amount of time you spend online?
• Are you less involved with your spouse or friends because of your involvement with the Internet?
• Have you lied to your spouse or family members about your Internet usage?
• Do you feel estrangement in your relationship with God because of your involvement with the Internet (pornography, gambling, etc.)?
• Do you avoid social engagements or try to leave such engagements early in order to spend more time on the Internet?
• Do you hide your Internet involvement from your spouse or family members?
• Do you, your spouse, or family members stay up late, after everyone has gone to bed, so you can log onto the Internet privately?
• Have you, your spouse or a family member experienced an increase in moodiness, anger and harsh blaming?
• Have you, your spouse or family member tried to stop your involvement with the Internet, but have been unable to do so?

Wow! Answers to the above questions surprised me. I know we all have this problem to certain extent. All the blogging, e-mails, facebook pokers, etc. I have been quite aware that I spend more time on the internet than I intend to, but answering the above questions honestly, and reading the article Texting while driving? Time to unplug (Reuters) hit home. In addition, I did the following test: Internet Addiction Test (IAT). Verdict? Yes, I have a problem. I need to take some drastic measures to change my lifestyle. There's even a place called The Center for Internet Behavior.

So where do I go from here? Well, I guess I need to do some more research (hehe)! No, in all seriousness the article talks about how people are taking a Secular Sabbath, or Unplugged Day ... one day a week where they will unplug EVERYTHING! Cellphones, computer, T.V., e-mail... everything electronic. I suppose we could all do this on our REAL SABBATH! I know it will not come easy at first... I know I'll need to SCHEDULE it in. Maybe I need to start using the "kitchen timer" that I make my children use when they play video games or play on the computer. Whatever it is, I know I need to make some changes. Wish me luck!

SKSDA EMF Retreat

Leoni Meadows
April 11-13

We had a wonderful weekend up in Leoni Meadows with Dr. Ruth Chung over the weekend. We had a wonderful group of people for the weekend, including two young families from the East SF Bay. On top of that, we had a group of youth from our church who provided babysitting while us parents were in seminar with Dr. Chung. It was so wonderful! We were surrounded by wonderful people, in a beautiful place, no chores to do, and a perfect weather! It was great!

Dr. Chung and her captive audience

Lunch, lovingly prepared by someone else!

Kids enjoying lunch

Here's Hari & Nicole... two of our babysitter volunteers
Early afternoon we all went for a train ride.
They had a 1/3 scale steam engine train with over
1 mile of tracks around the property.
It was a perfect weather for a ride.

The Row family
Paul & Linda with their boys
James & Linda Lee are behind them

Our conductor
Little Ava looking back at all the other riders.

Our family minus Chris.
He missed the train.

What could Josh be talking to Dr. Chung about?

Free time... playing with little Ava

Ava loves Buddy!

One of our caretaker this weekend... Amy!

It was such a wonderful afternoon...
Pastor Joel brought out the mattress from the
cabin and decided to take a nap!

Josh even brought out the rug to put under his mattress... too funny!

Little kids, little problems...
Big kids, big problems...

I've heard the above phrase many times not fully understanding the real meaning behind it. I know when you have little ones you envy other mothers (fathers too) who have older kids. What can be so hard when your kids can dress themselves, wash up, and feed themselves, right? I know that with each phase of your (and your children's) life you get different sets of challenges. And older (and bigger) the child gets bigger the problems/issues seem to be. And I'm sure in couple of years I'll look back and chuckle as I read this entry, yearning for the simpler days.

I'm sure by now you're wondering what had happened for me to write this particular entry. Let's just say that the last couple of weeks has been very difficult time for our family... and not particularly because anyone did anything wrong. With younger children you have the luxury of being able to control their environment... not so much with older kids. For your own child to learn the cruel realities of this unfair world... parents being unable to prevent or comfort your child... well, that's unbearable. I've been unable to let it go and put it behind me. I need to make some sense of it. I haven't been able to and it's been eating me up... unable to sleep, eat, or smile. It's been hard to put on a fake smile in front of my children... not to get them down as well. I'm trying my best to do all I can as a mother, while trying hard to let go of those you cannot control... easier said then done.

Yes, I do yearn for those earlier days... changing diapers, singing nursery rhymes, going to the park, taking them to tap/ballet classes, going to the library, bath time followed by a bedtime stories... Yes, it was physically draining... but at the end of the day I went to bed with a smile on my face.

Monterey, Ca
Spring Break 2008

This year our family took an overnight trip to Monterey. Although both Eddie & I have been to Monterey in our younger days our children had never been there. Since both kids and Eddie had a week off we decided to go away for an overnight trip. It was also Eddie's Birthday on March 17th (St. Patty's Day) so we decided to celebrate his birthday in Monterey as well.

Here are couple of slide shows I've put together from our trip to Monterey Bay.

Monterey Bay Aquarium ...
complete with music that my son, Jeffrey, enjoys.

Pebble Beach - 17 Miles Drive

Misc. Pictures... Hotel, Beach, playing in the sand...

New Hobby

I have picked up a new hobby/responsibility. Somehow I managed to volunteer myself to upkeep our church's website. It's at www.sksda.blogspot.com. I've just taken over the site this past week, and I've got lot more to do before I get it working smoothly but nevertheless we have a site for everyone to go for updates. Please come and visit the site and leave comments. Recommendations are requested. It is my plan to make it as user-friendly as possible with calendars, photos & links that may provide our members with much needed information. Enjoy!

President's Day Recess

Our children's school district not only have Monday off for President's Day, but the whole week. Eddie also took a week off to spend it with our family. So what did we do? Well, when you live on the base of the Sierra Nevada there is only one thing you can do... SKI & SNOWBOARD! During the week my family (minus me) went up to Lake Tahoe three times. On Sunday they went to Sierra-at-Tahoe with SKSDA Youth, then to Sugar Bowl on Tuesday, and to Squaw Valley on Thursday. Fortunately for us uncle Curtis was able to join us for our first two ski trips... thus the following footage. Uncle Curtis has put together a slide show (warning: it's a long slide show ... 39 min 28 sec ... mostly of my kids).

Jan 20 - Sunday - Northstar with SKSDA (Section 1 of video)
Feb 17 - Sunday - Sierra at Tahoe with SKSDA (Section 2 of video)
Feb 19 - Tuesday - Sugar Bowl with Choi Family (Section 3 of video)
Feb 21 - Thursday - Squaw Valley (no footage on the video, but pictures below)

Sit back and Enjoy!

Chris & Jeff

Our kids at Squaw Valley

With storm moving in girls needed a neck gaitor to keep warm

Rachel, Lizzy & Chris in front of Squaw Valley sign.
Notice the blizzard-like condition. Where's Jeff?

So what did I get for Valentine's Day this year?

Eddie took me out shopping on Monday prior to Valentine's Day. Apparently he's been thinking about what to get me... I, on the other hand, haven't a clue as to what to get a man. He knows I'm always on my phone or my palm... so he was going to get me a new smartphone, i.e. blackberry. I LOVE it, but my plan is not up for renewal until July and we felt maybe it's better to wait. However, on the way out I found this sunglasses. I have been in dire need of new sunglasses... I've been "borrowing" my dear friends sunglasses she's left behind some time ago (sorry... you know who you are). It's Coach's retro-style sunglasses. It's very comfortable and functional, just the way I like it. I am happy (I'm so easy). So what did I get him? I'm so bad... I couldn't come up with something, or I'm too cheap. Anyhow, I got him some tulips & heart shaped fruit tart! That's right! Happy Valentine's Day!

P.S. Update on my "cold" from mid-December...

Remember my old post "When Will It Go Away?", I still have my sultry bedroom voice. Apparently I have moved from a "cold" to "bronchitis". I still cough with mucus production :( and fatigue easily. I'm trying to rest & keep hydrated, but ... Oh well... I'll just be patient...

Rock Climbing at Granite Arch
SKSDA
Feb. 2, 2008

We had a EM night at the Granite Arch this past Saturday. The girls stayed home with mom, and boys went with dad to see how well they can climb. Unfortunately we didn't have Pastor Joel with us this weekend (he was away at CKSDA for weekend meeting) but they made the best of it and had a blast.

Christopher showing off his climbing skills

Jeff looking somewhat uneasy...

Apparently SKSDA girls were scaling these walls like a spider woman!
Here's picture of Rachel & Shanna Cho.



Here's a video clip of Chris & Jeff racing to the top...
apparently playing dirty to keep the other down.
(sorry about the quality of the video... there wasn't enough lighting)