Jason's Island Birthday

For months, Jason has said that we're going to Hawaii for his birthday.  We had actually planned the family trip to Maui and the dates just happened to coincide with his birthday, but isn't more fun to think you're taking a Hawiian vacation for your birthday?

Jason turned 5 on August 8th.  Sho and I cannot believe that our baby is already five.

 Jason was excited to have an "island cake" to celebrate his birthday.

We also enjoyed a banana creme pie to celebrate Jason's big day.

And Jason came home with the ultimate birthday gift and souvenir all wrapped into one!

Jason loved playing and swimming in the ocean, playing in the sand and snorkeling.  He saw lots of different fish, but I think the highlight (for me, at least) was that he saw and swam with a sea turtle on his birthday!  

Ben loves everything about Hawaii... he said his favorite part was the Portugese sausage and loco moco, spending time on the beach and snorkeling and writing his bucket list (of things he wants to do in his lifetime) while we sat at the beach.  Ben is fascinated with the humpback whale.  He chose a wooden whale as his souvenir, got a fact book about whales and is determined to see a whale in person one of these days.

Kara loves the ocean... she really enjoyed boogie boarding and snorkeling.  We thought maybe there would be a surf lesson during this trip, but maybe next time.  I'm glad she still enjoys things like playing in the sand and making sand malasadas for the family.

Since Uncle Jack grew up on Maui, we always make a point to visit Makawao and see some the the places he remembers from childhood.  

On these family trips, we don't seem to do anything particularly special, but what makes it so special is that everyone is together, having a great time and we all have wonderful Maui memories that we'll cherish always.

Until next time.... Aloha!

Happy Birthday floats

Before heading on vacation, Jason invited Grandma and Grandpa for dinner and then root beer floats.  A simple, yet wonderful way to celebrate Jason's birthday.

After the floats, Jason gave me a hug and sweetly said, "Mommy, thank you for celebrating my birthday." 

One more celebration to go on the 8th - finally, his real birthday!

Happy Birthday to Me

Since we will be out of town on Jason's birthday, we decided to have an early celebration for him.  After having two winter babies, Sho and I always talked about having a child with a summer birthday so we could have a pool party with shave ice.  And Jason came along to fulfill our dreams!!

Jason has been looking forward to his birthday for so long.  In June, we told him that it was Grandma's birthday (in June), then Uncle Todd (in July) and then it would be his turn.  So on June 13th (Grandma's birthday), he woke up so excited saying, "Yeah! Today's is Grandma's birthday, then tomorrow is Uncle Todd's and the next day is MY birthday!"  It's difficult to understand the concept of time when you're little.  He's been patiently waiting for his turn...and today he started singing Happy Birthday to himself.

If you've been reading this blog, you will not be surprised to know that Jason decided to invite some friends to Chuck E. Cheese (for the third straight year) to celebrate his birthday.  Jason still likes the driving games and no matter their age, everyone still seems to enjoy collecting those tickets!

After gaming and lunch, everyone headed over to the house to swim.

Donnie used his superhero strength to throw the kids across the pool.  I don't think Jason has ever flown like that and he loved it.

Sho also displayed some almost-as-super skills...

We enjoyed celebrating our little Jason who is sadly not so little anymore.  We love family get togethers with the Arakawas and Calhouns.  It's fun to see your children be friends with your childhood friends' kids... and it just reminds us that we're all getting older... and to celebrate every time you have the chance.

An Early 4th of July Celebration

Medaka no Gakko ended on Thursday with Open House and early Friday morning, we packed it up and headed up to Mammoth, where we planned to meet Grandma and Grandpa and two of Grandma's friends.

We left early so we wouldn't get stuck in traffic getting into Yosemite.  We did stop along the way to look at some of the views, vowing to come back again when we had more time to really enjoy the beautiful surroundings.  We did, however, manage to see several deer and one bear during our drive.

The weather was nice and cool, compared to Kingsburg, and the mountains were beautiful...

We managed to do the Panorama Dome hike, which was described as "kid-friendly" and even though Grandpa asked on more than one occasion if he could stop and wait for us to come back down, everyone made it to the top!   

It was 4th of July weekend and even though we didn't stay long enough to enjoy fireworks in Mammoth, the fact that we did this trip and hike together was definitely cause for celebration.

Happy 4th!

Gakko Week 1

This happens ever year... before Medaka no Gakko begins, I think to myself, "This is going to be a long two weeks."  We begin and then it seems like the first week is done so fast!

The kids were so excited to start gakko this year.  They looked forward to seeing their friends, having fun and learning a few things along the way.

Like we did in the old days, we brought back the silk screen and had the kids do their own shirts.

They've done some projects that I hope they'll remember even years from now... especially since Ben chose a couple of really good goals when doing his daruma project.

Uncle Ross again agreed to be our language instructor and has taught the kids (and me) so much in this first week.  It's been fun to use some simple Japanese phrases around the house or when we're out and about.  How can you be mad at Ben for dropping some ice cream on the floor when it's quickly followed by a "gomen nasai".

Sho has been working hard feeding everyone at gakko and keeping everyone very happy!  In week one he's made oyako donburi, fried rice, homemade tofu, yakisoba and shave ice.  Without a doubt, everyone looks forward to snack time.

The day we silk screened shirts, I decided to bust out the vintage gakko shirts and we surprised Grandma by showing up in the shirts she gave us as hand-me-downs.

The kids asked me, "So are you a teacher?" to which I replied I am not.  They said, "Then what are you?  Are you like the principal?"  It was easier to say "yes" than explain that I hold a title of Curriculum Director, but I'm not really sure what that truly means in this situation, so we went with principal.  Then Kara asked, "When I'm an adult, do you think I can run gakko so we can have three generations of the family?"  I told her Grandma would be so proud... 

It has been a busy, but really great, week of gakko.  What better way to finish off the week than with a little Ampersand Ice Cream!  So we already had shave ice (with ice cream) today for snack... we're on vacation, right?!

Reasons to Celebrate

Saturday was the last piano recital before the summer vacation from piano lessons.  Starting back in March, Mrs. Snyder challenged the kids to practice every day for 100 straight days and if they succeeded, she said there would be a reward.

With a portable keyboard and some reminders, the kids were able to practice for 100 days and the enjoyed a bowling and pizza party with some of the other students.

To their surprise, they also received medals at the recital.  They were all excited.  Kara has received a few medals from school for honor roll and such and because of that, Ben has been pining for a medal (but honor roll does not begin until 3rd grade).  He's been lamenting about what he needs to get a medal... and now he's earned his very own!  Jason was kissing his medal and rubbing it against his cheek.  And as much as I'm not one who thinks kids need trophies and rewards for everything, I have to say, it was fun to watch them enjoy the reward for their hard work.

They each played solos and duets and that practice paid off!  All of the songs were played perfectly from memory. 

On Father's Day (and hopefully every day), the kids give some special attention and love to their incredible father.  Maybe next year we'll have a medal ready for Sho.

HOPEFULLY, we'll have one more reason to celebrate later tonight after Game 7.... I don't know, it's gonna be stressful at our house! 

Last Day

Since the kids have not had homework for the last two weeks, it feels like we've already been on break... but today is their last day of school and then summer vacation begins!

Clay always has Water Days the last two days of school and yesterday was for kindergarten thru third grades.  Siblings were invited to join in the fun and Jason had his swimsuit on at 8am just waiting for the Water Day to begin.



Sho commented that Jason looks like one of the gang already...

Ben has had a great 1st grade year.  He has lots of friends, but has two best friends who he really likes.  The best part is we like them too and like their parents just as much.

This is Kara's last year on the "little kid" side of school.  Fourth thru eight grade classrooms are on the other side of the sidewalk divide and they have different recess times... but truly, I've heard parents and teachers say that there is a big difference once the kids are in 4th grade.  As with Ben, we are reassured knowing that Kara has a great group of friends that will be right there with her.

With the end of the year and the excitement about yearbooks, I showed Kara and Ben my old yearbooks and in my kindergarten yearbook, on the front inside cover, I made a list of all of my "favorets" and then proceeded to draw a line under their names in my yearbook. 

So Ben showed me his yearbook, where he had put stars and hash marks showing how much he likes the people in his class...

Summer vacation... here we come!