Today is the day our child number 4 enters year number 5. In other words, our son Kekoa is now 5 years-old! But before we get to his celebration, we need to take a moment to congratulate one of our girls.
Two years ago, our eldest daughter Alyssa was inducted in to the National Junior Honor Society in Marietta. We were very proud of her then, and we're pleased to say that she has repeated the feat here in the desert...
Of course from the picture you can see that she is absolutely overjoyed to be participating in the induction ceremony all over again. Be sure to drop Alyssa a quick email and let her know how proud her family and friends are of her.
Well, today does mark the birthday of Kekoa, and we're absolutely amazed that this young man is now 5 years of age. Where did all the time go?
Here's a picture of everyone just after singing him "Happy Birthday..."
And as has become a tradition in our house, the birthday celebrant gets to pick the cake of their choice. In this case, Kekoa's "cake" is a plate full of cupcakes. Note them in the picture above with all the candles in them.
Well, before we ate the birthday cupcakes, we needed to start opening presents. So Cari put the cupcakes on the other side of the table and all the kids gathered 'roud Kekoa to watch the present opening....
Or so we thought. But then again, where is little Malia?
Look at this next photo in which the camera was zoomed out just a little bit more to widen the picture...
While everyone is preoccupied, grab yourself a cupcake.
Then...
Have yourself a bite.
And...
Put it back before anyone notices.
Aha, but Daddy did!
And here's Malia's reaction to being caught red-handed...
Just another birthday in the Bicoy home.
Las Vegas is a city of cement and giant resorts sitting in the very bottom of the Vegas Valley. Heat just rests in the center of this big bowl that is Las Vegas.
Henderson is a suburb filled with parks and homes. It is at a slightly higher elevation than Las Vegas and has many beautiful views of the strip.
And thus while it was an oppressive 104 degrees in Las Vegas today, it was a much cooler and far more refreshing 102 degrees in Henderson.
Welcome to summer in the Las Vegas Valley.
The Stay at Home Mom's Club that Cari organizes met today at the Mission Hills Park so all of our families could enjoy the warm weather...
Cari says that she started the Mom's Club as a way to make friends and create opportunities for our kids to play with other children their own age.
Sometimes, though, I think she started it because being surrounded by a mere 6 children isn't nearly enough for her...
The Mission Hills Park is just one of the incredible number of facilities that characterize the City of Henderson. I had a meeting with the Mayor a few weeks back and he mentioned that this year he finally realized his goal of ensuring that there is a public park within 1 mile of every one of the 250,000 residents of the City of Henderson. That truly is remarkable. This is the greatest system of parks, community centers, and recreation programs that we have ever seen!
The Mission Hills Park is one of those characterized by numerous water activities which the kids just love on a hot day like today. Whether it be using the water canons...
Or just running through the sprays...
Everyone had a grand old time.
As a part of Cari's Mom's Club, they are starting to celebrate the birthdays of any child who happens to be born in that month. In May, this includes our son Kekoa, and Cari's friend Hillary's son David.
On an aside, I must note that we had two Brets, two Davids, and two Zachs at the park today. There is nothing more confusing than calling one of your children only to have another kid show up. Therein is another reason that it's great to have kids named "Kekoa," "Nalani," and "Malia."
Anyway, here are David (not my David, the other David) and Kekoa opening a few of their presents in the park...
Of course, in typical Bicoy fashion, our son Bretty found something else far more interesting than the presents...
And while this was all going on, little Malia found the once full plate of strawberries and decided to help herself...
Of course, at a Mom's Club, you can be sure that lots of moms jumped into action to keep Malia out of trouble...
Okay, maybe "stared into action" is a more appropriate phrase. That's Hillary, Kim and my lovely wife Cari in the picture above.
As any modern parent knows all too well, opening presents is only the beginning of their birthday responsibilities. Packing materials have to be removed. Wire ties need to be untied. Pieces have to be assembled. Stickers placed on the toys. It's a lot of work!
So the birthday boys were told to go play and their presents were put aside to be unpacked later in the air-conditioned comfort of their homes.
We put Kekoa's presents in the stroller and suggested that he go back to play in the water with everyone else.
Here's Kekoa's enthusiastic reaction...
We finally did open one of the boxes for the poor little boy because he just stood next to the stroller staring at the boxes.
Ultimately, though, the 102 degrees and this wonderful park are just another of the many reasons we love living here.
Our children have adjusted very well and have long since realized that Wisconsin summer clothing just doesn't work in the desert...
Well, most of our kids have realized that!
My old childhood neighbor David Jacang stopped by from California again today, this time bringing his wife Nadine and all four of their children. Here is his son Kawika and my boy Bretty once again having a grand old time...
Kawika in Hawaiian means "David," so really, here in this next picture is David, "David," Bret and Bret...
When you have as many kids as we do, it's always a bit awkward going over to other's houses. After all, we bring along 6 rambunctious children, each of whom has a great desire to explore every nook and cranny of their new surroundings. When you have one or two kids, it's easy to keep them occupied because there is at least one parent for each child.
Most folks just get terribly uncomfortable when you bring a gaggle of kids over to their house.
So when David & Nadine's four kids started to wander through every room in our house, it must have been a relief because, well, it's just another day of chaos for the Bicoys. Our combined 10 kids were up and down the steps...
Looking over each other's shoulders...
And following one another around...
It was a heck of a lot of fun for the kids! David suggested that perhaps we all take a short trip to Disneyland some day this year -- and my kids were overjoyed about that possibility! I tell you, big families are different -- so the prospect of having fun with another big family sounds like a blast to our six children.
No matter how many kids you have, however, at some point you have to realize that with each new child that blesses your home, sooner or later one of them is going to be the last child you're going to have.
Such was that realization today, as an era came to an end in our home.
After six children, today marked the day that our youngest -- and last -- child moved out of her crib. So began the adventure of dismantling the crib that served as the bed for at least the first 18 months of life for each of our six children...
We removed the mattress, but all six of the kids just had to get in the crib one last time...
Finally, it was taken apart...
And replaced with a new bed for Malia (complete with brand new Dora the Explorer sheets to cushion the blow)...
Unfortunately, the new bed and Dora sheets aren't quite up to what she thought they would be because Malia's now choosing some very awkward places to fall asleep...
The greater Las Vegas metropolitan area will be visited by some 37 million people this year -- likely an all-time record.
Of course, this also means that if you are lucky enough to live in this most quirky of places, be prepared to have folks dropping in all the time.
Last Wednesday, John Gilman was in town and dropped by the Nevada Community Foundation to say hello and see how things were going. John is a retired senior executive from the JC Penneys organization -- and someone with whom I did extensive community work not too many years ago in Green Bay. He is also a founder of the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation and introduced me to the wonderful possibilities of this work. Quite frankly, we have the opportunity to live in this community and to work for the Nevada Community Foundation today because of John Gilman.
Well, after John, we also have my wife's parents visiting us for the coming week. Here they are with some of our family overlooking Lake Mead...
The most surprising visit of the week, though, came from David Jacang. David's mom has been a close friend of my mom's for nearly 35 years and they live next to each other in Aiea to this day. In other words, David was one of the guys I grew up with as a little boy. It's amazing how things of your childhood stick with you through the years.
For instance, David reminded me today that he was never a football fan but still holds a fondness in his heart for the Pittsburgh Steelers because I was a fan of the Dallas Cowboys. Ah, boys will be boys.
Well, David has four kids himself (he's still an amateur by our standards, though), and brought his oldest with him while he was in Las Vegas on business.
Here is his son Kawika with my son Bret Jr., both of whom are six years old...
These two little boys hit it off immediately -- it's amazing how kids of the same age just seem to find each other among the gaggle of kids in our house. These boys started climbing the steps in our house and jumping down, trying to see who could jump from the highest stair.
It's like when David and I were kids and jumped off the wall into my parent's pool -- seeing who could jump the furtherest.
My son playing with David's son. When did we grow up and start having kids of our own?
As like so many other families, we spend the night before Easter coloring eggs. Unlike most other families, however, our six children require the coloring of five or six dozen eggs.
That makes for one heck of an Easter egg hunt.
The story in our home is that we color the eggs then leave them out for the Easter Bunny who hides them overnight for everyone to search for on Easter morning. I think he got the idea from Santa or something.
It can be a mad dash in the house as all of the kids scramble to get as many eggs as they can, refusing to put them down until their arms are literally overflowing with eggs...
Of course, the baby, Malia, just loves walking around in circles and carrying her basket, no matter how many eggs she can find...
Nalani, in true Bicoy fashion, found an egg or two, then realized that the chocolate bunny in her basket required her immediate attention...
Actually, it was pretty smart of her. Let the boys finds the eggs while she sits and eats!
Ultimately, though, these still are eggs. Which means dropping them is a messy business.
Nobody told Malia that...
...as she poured them out and her brother Kekoa just watched, of course. Why interrupt what is sure to be a big mess!
You'll have to forgive me for not being my normal sarcasm filled self (which may prove to be a relief, actually), but earlier today we found out that our eldest daughter Alyssa was admitted to both the International Baccalaureate Program and the Advanced Technologies Academy! These are magnet high schools within the Clark County Public School District in which students must meet rigorous academic standards in order to be accepted.
The International Baccalaureate program is described as a "a rigorous international academic curriculum preparing students for scholarship level entrance to any college or university in the world. The International Baccalaureate Program is structured specifically as a four-year college preparatory program. It encourages students to extend themselves beyond the minimum requirements, offers students a wide spectrum of advanced courses in all major subject areas, and provides students with varied opportunities to become involved in their school and community."
The Advanced Technologies Academy provides "a learning experience designed to prepare them for the 21st century through the use of computers and related technologies in each classroom. A-Tech offers a full eight-period day with block scheduling. Regular, Honors, and Advanced Placement courses are available. Students also have the opportunity to earn college credit through the Tech Prep Program. All majors are based on a four-year program created to provide skills and knowledge necessary for a student to continue their studies at the university level or begin their career."
Okay, forgive me for being the overly excited parent today, but really, I am so proud of her. At the start of the school year she learned about the programs and set a very aggressive goal for herself -- which was realized today!
Seriously folks, this is a REALLY BIG DEAL for her to be admitted to not only one, but two magnet schools. She worked so hard this school year to ensure that she'd qualify. The International Baccalaureate program is one of the most challenging programs in the Clark County Public School District and you must be an exceptional student to get accepted. Here's a video on the program. The Advanced Technologies Academy is one of the highest testing schools in the State of Nevada. Here's a video on that program.
This is a big school district. There are 311 schools in the District, filled with 22,601 employees -- 14,614 of which are teachers. Alyssa is one of 280,606 students in the Clark County Public School District -- which is the 5th largest district in the nation. In other words, there are a lot of kids who could compete to be a part of these programs.
Pretty cool, huh? Send your note of congratulations via email to Alyssa! She's a terrific young lady all the time, but we are a pair of particularly proud parents today!
So last week marked my latest bithday.
Some say I may not be very old, but I remind them that this is the oldest I've ever been.
Well, my family wanted to celebrate my birthday by baking my favorite cake. And in typical fashion in my household, it ain't angelfood.
Thus my lovely wife dug up a recipe from my old friend from Tufts, Jen Bevins, and together my children made my very favorite coffee cake.
It was a wonderful gesture, but my children also insisted on putting on one candle for every year of life -- just like they get on their cakes.
Of course, as I grow older, the number of candles continues to grow...
And that can have disasterous consequences.
How does that old joke go?
You know you're getting old when your birthday cake becomes a fire hazard.
Well...
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