Happy Birthday, Kara!

Now that Kara is 7 years old, there are no more Barbie or princess cakes.... not when you can get a Chocolate Raspberry Torte from Masse's!  Thanks to Auntie Anna, we now know about this treasure and could not pass up the opportunity to upgrade.

On Kara's birthday, she invited a few of her close friends from school for pizza, a movie and ice cream.  

After a really fun (and tiring) Thanksgiving week vacation (where we saw the Woodson, Hsiao, Gordon, Itagaki, Ishimatsu and Morita Dea families in addition to our immediate families for Thanksgiving), having a small, intimate birthday gathering was the perfect celebration for our little princess.

Happy Birthday, Ben!

After spending Thanksgiving in Los Gatos, we celebrated Ben's 5th birthday by going to the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose.  The kids all had a great time and they probably would have been happy to just stay in the bubble area all day if we let them...

And Jason found an ambulance and fire truck that he really liked... good thing they didn't have a real garbage truck there, or we would never have been able to leave.

Our little gyoza eating machine ordered two plates of gyoza for lunch...

And we ended the day with a strawberry sundae and a room full of people singing happy birthday to our little Ben.

Happy Halloween!

In a way, it seems like we've been mentally preparing for Halloween for so long... asking the kids what they wanted to dress us as this year, thinking about costume ideas.  Kara made a decision early on and stayed with it.  Ben flip flopped a few times before making a decision.  Jason... well at two years old, we didn't think he would really care.

But when the garbage truck wasn't ready for the Sunday party, we pulled out the circa Kara 2008 kangaroo costume.  And since we were not prepared for Jason to be a kangaroo, Mickey Mouse seemed like a good friend to have in the pouch.  Jason happily wore the costume, but the whole time he said "garbage can... garbage can." 

Kara has kept busy with her homework, reading assignments, soccer, ballet and volunteering at a local thrift store.  She's been a big help at home when I'm trying to manage cooking dinner while unable to carry anything from one place to another.  

Ben is obsessed with Star Wars and he draws new Star Wars pictures every day.  It's scary that he knows all the characters and who's related to whom... but I know it makes his Daddy (and Uncle Gregg) very proud.  Ben is doing well at preschool and keeps asking when he gets to start kindergarten.

Jason has become very talkative and he repeats or tries to repeat whatever you say.  He's gone from one word comments to phrases and sentences.  His voice is so cute, almost everything he says makes me smile... some of his regular phrases are "no cry" to let us know he did not cry at school... "no cool" to let us know he does not want to go to school... I love it when I ask a question like "who wants a root beer float" and Jason will reply, "Do.. I do.... Jason... Me!"

After his bath, I usually wrap Jason up and cradle him like a baby, just for old times sake.  But Jason knows he's the youngest... when I ask him if he's a big boy now, he'll say "no, baby."  Which is fine with me.

In thinking about costumes, I told Sho he should be wearing a Superman cape because for the past three weeks, he's had to do it all... drive, drop off and pick up the kids, wash dishes, mop the floor, make meals, build the garbage truck costume, carry things and move things around the house...and try to get his regular work done. We all knew he was a super dad and husband... but it's even more apparent how amazing he is, cape or no cape.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Sneak Peak!

On Sunday, we attended a church Halloween party.  And though we had the best intentions, Jason's costume did not come together in time for the party, so he ended up wearing a repeat costume from one of the older kids.  Today at school, Ben drew pictures of them at the Halloween party... complete with the Wheel of Fortune game they played.

 And then he drew pictures of what they will be doing (and wearing) on Halloween!

Stay tuned!

Thank Goodness for Family

October 26th had been an important date on our calendar for months, for it was Clay School's annual Fall Festival!  Knowing that it would be a busy weekend, I recruited some help early on... and good thing, because with foot fractures and crutches, I was definitely not as mobile as I would have liked.

Lucky for me, Tantie, John and Uncle Todd were all willing to help out and do whatever was needed... whether it was taking the kids to their soccer games, making shave ice, warming up nacho cheese, making ice runs, playing light sabers or helping to watch the kids, everyone was a huge help.  Even the Ikemiya cousins came to help out and support Clay!

In other weekend excitement, we found out there was a front-loader behind Grandma and Pampa's house, so the boys had to check it out. 

Jason's dream comes true!!  Anyone know where we can find an unlocked garbage truck?? 

We had a busy and fantastic weekend and are always so happy to spend time with the family.

Ben loves his mom and he likes bike riding, but he loves his mom and dad more - by Ben

The weather has cooled off significantly, so it's much more pleasant to be outside these days.  We decided it was time for Ben to learn to ride his bike without training wheels.

Within two short training sessions, Ben was off and riding on his own, doing turns and learning to coast and brake.

 
Now Ben has plenty of time to perfect his quick turns and speedy straight-a-ways  before his last pre-school bike-a-thon!  Go, Ben!

For the record, we contemplated the title for a moment, but Ben came up with a great title for his post all on his own :)

Saturday = Soccer

Soccer games began last Saturday, which means that we'll be spending the next two months' worth of Saturdays at the soccer field.  This is Ben's first year and Kara's second.

Ben is a Ninja Turtle, which is what happens when you let the kids on the team vote on the team name.  Even though it's like watching ants surround a single piece of candy, it's fun to watch Ben play and be part of a team.

The majority of girls on Kara's team have never played soccer, so we already feel like it's going to be a tough season, but Kara definitely understands and executes her role of defensive specialist.  

Jason has been a good sport to sit on the sidelines and cheer... for two games.  As long as we've got Grandma and some snacks, we're all good.

Despite the heat and being on the losing end of the scoreboard (even though they don't keep an official score, but every parent does), our kids are all smiles, very positive and having a great time.

We could not be more proud.