To the few...

To the few and far between who might check this blog now and again...I thought I would share the news that we are expecting a new little one in May. Yes, we have shared the news with our families and a few others (some strangers) that K1 has decided to tell. But the news is now public....

More to come

True Love

I have always known what a great dad my husband is to our girls, but here is an example to prove it...

After coming home from a long day at work, our girls are always excited to see him. Some days they wrestle, on other days they go to the park, etc. Today, K1 asks her dad to paint her nails - which he most graciously does. Then, she is excited to show him her new headbands. She, of course, asks him if he would like to wear one and he immediately says, "sure!"

His comment to me - "I guess this is what you do with girls."

I love him!

Where we have been...

Nathan was in Tofino, BC, for 10 days. He was helping his younger brother build cabinets (kitchen and others) for the house he is building. While he was gone, the girls and I spent time at my parents house. It is harvest time there, so it is very dusty and looks like this.


The girls love to take bike rides. Here is K1 with Grandpa.


And K1 always asks Grandpa to make waffles when we are there. Here they are "helping" Grandpa...


After Grandpa and Grandma's, we headed up to Redding, CA, to visit "Three Miles In Inn." My college roommate, Christy, and her family live on 10 acres in Millville. They have a horse, donkey, sheep, chickens, cats, and lots of dogs. They just started breeding Boston Terriers. The girls had SO much fun. We went to the Turtle Bay Museum, which was a blast - very kid friendly. Here are some pictures of our time there.

Woot, Woot

Has anyone ever heard of this website? I read about it on someone else's blog and it looks like it could be very addicting for some people. Most of all - impulse buyers. Basically, they sell one item a day and when it is sold out, that is it, game over. You never know when they might sell out. Anyway, you can check it out for yourself.

Catching Up

Here are some pictures to show what was going on in August.



We met two of my brothers and their families at a park for K1's. This was our attempt to get all 6 grandchildren to look at the camera at the same time. Guess we will have to try again. Note to self, don't make them look into the sun next time.





K1 really liked her beautiful butterfly cake. If you are wondering why there is a hand on her head, last year, she almost burned her lips while trying to blow them out. This was our mode of prevention.



A2 and her cousin enjoying the park.







Just having fun at home as we always do. K1 wanted to show her cousins in Canada that she does have enough hair for a ponytail.

Happy Birthday Everyone

This is birthday week. Within this one week I have two aunts, 3 cousins, and my daughter's birthday. Crazy. I read on a Snapple cap that August is the month with the most birthdays. It is all those winter storms in November. I guess the power goes out and what else are you going to do?

Anyway, K1 is extremely excited about being 3! This is the first birthday where she really understood what was going on. She can even hold her fingers in the correct way to show 3. So exciting.

Nothing Like It

There is nothing like your own bed! Our family has been housesitting for the past week and you just never sleep the same as you do in your own bed. I always say that our bed is one of the best purchases I have ever made (I bought it before we were married), and Nathan agrees with me. We sleep so well in it. Good to be home.

Last night, we were given four tickets to the SF Giants game. I had never been to the "new" ballpark downtown, and Nathan had never been to a professional baseball game in his life. In fact, he had only been to one baseball game in his life. It was a city league game of a high school friend. Baseball is not a high school sport in Canada, which is why he knows so little about it. The seats we were given were right behind home plate, so it was a nice introduction to the ballpark and to professional baseball for Nathan. My parents met us there, and we had a great time together.

Back

It has been a l-o-n-g while since the last post and for a good reason. The girls and I went to Iowa for a college reunion for 6 days. We had a blast! Here is picture of us in a soy bean field.
And here is a picture of the whole gang.

After all the fun times in Iowa, the girls and I flew home. They were great travelers! We were home for all of 36 hours before we were on another plane up to BC, Canada. This time my husband was with us and the girls were great travelers once again.

We attended the wedding of one of Nathan's high school classmates. We had a great time. Nathan's parents came and watched the girls while we attended all the wedding happenings. The girls had a great time with grandpa and grandma, and we had a great time as well. We then went over to the island, and spent some time with family and friends. I might post pictures from the island later.

All in all, we got back home on the 22nd and walked off the plane into the heat wave we had no idea was here. It had to be at least 115 degrees right of the plane. When we got back to our place, we were in the pool within 15 minutes.

This week has been a hodge podge of running errands, going to my parents' house (they were having granddaughter withdrawls), etc. etc. Anyway, I will try and be more regular with the posts again.

Walking

Yesterday, A2 decided she was going to walk. She has been taking 2-3 steps between things, walking along the walls, and pushing things throughout the house for about 6 weeks now. My husband and I knew she could walk, but just wasn't ready. Well, yesterday, she decided she was ready. Today, she will walk the length of the house, turn around, she will get up from a sit in the middle of the room and go.

My mother-in-law said my husband was the same way when he was little. He just started walking one day when he was ready.

Having kids is so much fun! Never a dull moment!

WooHoo!

The girls in this household are excited because my husband (aka "Daddy" to the girls) is home after volunteering in Mississippi for a week. We just got home from the airport, and the first thing he wanted to do was clean up. I think we all know how a long day of traveling makes you feel. On top of that, he came from hot, HUMID weather and had two layovers on the trip home.

Anyway, we are all glad to have him home safe!

Garden Update

My beautiful hydrangea is now in full bloom. It has about 10-12 large cluster of blooms on it. The other picture is of my passionflower. Each year it has bloomed very nicely. I thought it was going to skip this year, but alas, here is proof that I was wrong.

Hair Cuts

I would not normally take pictures of myself or of something like a haircut, but because I cut off quite a bit I thought I would show you what it looks like. Of course, it will only look like this for one day, because I will never be able style it the same way again! K1 also got a haircut. Isn't she cute!




Here are the close ups...

Life on the Farm

I grew up on an almond farm in the Central Valley. I love taking the girls back to my parents (their grandparents) house to experience life in the country. The girls had fun "helping" grandma in her flower garden, and K1 spent lots of time with Grandpa in his vegetable garden. I don't have any pictures of that, unfortunately.




Here is K1 on the loader with her uncle. She thinks this is so much fun. I remember how fun it was to ride on the tractor or in the big trucks with my dad when I was little, so I am not surprised she enjoys it!

Monterey

Last week, we had the privilege of going to Monterey Bay Aquarium with Bridget. Here are a few pictures from the day.



The girls had a great time there. A2 thought she could just jump in the water to touch the fish. However, when we got to the touch tanks, she had no desire to touch anything. We did get the turtle costume on her though.




Fortunately, I did not have my camera with me at lunch when K1 got so upset about not being able to see the seals on the rock, she "spit" up at the table. Life with kids....always an adventure!

Taking a break

It's over. After 3 fish die within 2 weeks, something is wrong. And since we will be here and there throughout the summer, we are taking a break. K1 now tells people that they got sick, so Mom put them in the lake and they will grow big there. I told her we would get a new Tami and Gomi after we get back from our travels.

I am thinking about getting beta fish. Less maintenance, plus you have a nice, green plant to go along with it.

I'm it

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, and find line 4. "about to read and think about can heal your relationship with" from "You Can't Make Me (but I can be persuaded)" by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What can you touch? The new pictures we got taken of A2 today

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV? the NHL Stanley Cup finals, of course

4. Without looking, guess what time it is. 9:22 pm

5. Now look at the clock. What is the actual time? 9:35 pm

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear? my husband's car alarm just beeped, which means he is home from the gym

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing? about an hour ago I went outside to straighten out the toys on the porch

8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at? I was emailing college friends

9. What are you wearing? barefoot, brown shorts, navy blue shirt

10. Did you dream last night? Don't remember last night, but Saturday night I had a dream about people emptying port-a-johns. Don't know where that one came from..

11. When did you last laugh? couple of hours ago when my husband was tickling me

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in? calendar, bulletin board, pictures of family and friends, and pictures of tulips which I took

13. Seen anything weird lately?

14. What do you think of this quiz? interesting set of questions..fairly random

15. What is the last film or video you saw? I saw part of "Ever After" on Saturday

16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy? land in CA and BC so my husband and I could build spec homes, a sailboat, pay off any family debts, and put the rest away for our children

17. Tell me something about you that I don’t know. I have to have a biopsy on a mole on my back tomorrow and I am a little bit scared, though the doctor said not to be.

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do? I will say abortion too

19. Do you like to dance? yes

20. Comment to George Bush: I have no desire to be in your shoes!

21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her? Have two girls already, don't know what I would name the third

22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him? It was going to be Luke, but now we have a nephew Lukas, so I don't know...we will cross that bridge if we come to it.

23. Would you ever consider living abroad? yes

24. What do you want God to say to you when you reach the pearly gate? “Come in, my child"

25. 4 people who must also do this quiz on THEIR blog: hmmm, since Brett sent this to me and I am so new at this, I guess that only leaves...Bridget

Outdoor fun

K1 and I were watering the plants this afternoon. However, more water from K1's bucket landed on the ground. A2 took full advantage and sat right in it. I stripped her down and here are the results. K1 joined in, but I think A2 had more fun. A2 enjoys playing with the watering hose. She would make a great firefighter, don't you think?

K1 has been "collecting" snails outside every morning and afternoon. And last, here is a picture of my hydrangea which I finally got to bloom after about 5 years. Each year it would leaf out beautifully and then something would eat it (usually the deer up on Black Road), or it would wither away. I finally found the perfect spot for it!

Sorry about the way the pictures posted. I will try to figure it out better next time!

Music in the Park

During the months of June and July, Vasona Park puts on Vasona Vibrations which is a free concert series from 5-7 on Saturday evenings.

Last week, Nathan took the girls while I was at our school's staff party. He enjoyed the concert and the girls always love being outside. They were dancing away to the music.

I took the girls this evening while Nathan stayed home to watch the NHL playoffs. I enjoyed both of the groups that played this evening and again, the girls had a great time. We took our pizza and grapes over to the park, and enjoyed dinner while listening to music.

Good night

Friday Excitement

Most often, Friday consists of doing laundry. I actually have two loads in the dryer right now, but that is not the excitement. No, this afternoon our neighbor upstairs (not right above us, but above our neighbor) decided to wash some shirts in his sink. He left the water running and went to the back room to do something. Needless to say, he forgot about them and one of the shirts plugged the sink. I went outside to throw something in the garbage and I saw water coming from our neighbor's (downstairs) door.

Nathan went upstairs, knocked on the door, and the neighbor realized what had happened. There was about an inch of water covering his kitchen floor. We helped clean up the two apartments as best we could. That is our excitement.

Now, time to take in the laundry.

Everyone Poops

by Taro Gomi

This book was read at our wedding reception by one of my husband's dear friends, Joe. Since Joe is also a teacher, he thought he would give me a book that I could use as a quick science lesson with my grade four students. So, in front of over 300 people - family, friends, students, teachers, and the like - he read it. Some laughed, some stared in disbelief. I thought it was quite funny.

Of course, he gave us the book along with another titled The Gas We Pass. Well, today K found Everyone Poops. on our bookshelves. She took it down and asked me to read it. Needless to say, she can now narrate most of it by herself. So, she will sit down on the chair and read away.

Joe is getting married in one month, so if anyone has any great ideas of what I could bring to his wedding (he and his fiance are both teachers!). Let me know!

yet again

I can't believe it, but yet again we lost another one...fish, that is. I saw it coming. This one did not commit suicide, but just whittled away. How hard can it be to keep a fish alive? Obviously, it is very difficult for our family. Or, I guess I should say me, because I am the primary caregiver. This I can say...I am thankful they are only 12.5 cents each to replace, and since the first two were given to us, we have put 75 cents into the pet budget thus far.

Fish.

fish

It is a sad day. One of K's fish decided to jump from his bowl to his death. I didn't notice until he was dry on the floor. Good thing K didn't see him. Although, I am not sure it would have even phased her. We got the first "Tami" and "Gomi" in November. We are now on Tami the 3rd and will soon get a Gomi the 4th.

As a result, I just had to do it. I went to buy a book for A's birthday tomorrow and was planning to just get "Hand, Hand, Finger, Thumb." Then, I saw it on the shelf..."A Fish Out Of Water." I remember really enjoying it when I was a little girl, and given the event of the day, I bought it. Someday, I will tell K and A the reason I bought them the book!

Good Night

Growing fast

We took a walk to the park this evening after dinner, and it just hit me how fast our girls are growing! A will have her first birthday tomorrow. Has it truly been a year since she joined our family? Wow!

My husband said I might as well

Well, here I am in the blogging world. I am not sure what will happen. Just wait and see.