Boys' Day... Mommy's Day... Sister's Day?

We celebrated Boys' Day by having shaved ice because both of the boys in the family love their shaved ice! Plus it was super hot and who doesn't love shaved ice on a hot day?



Ben got rainbow shaved ice and was happy to share a few bites with Daddy.

The Japanese tradition is to hang colorful carp kites to celebrate Boys' Day, but we settled for getting Ben a magnetic fishing set. Does this count as hanging a fish?

Kara's preschool hosted a Mother's Day breakfast and I got beautifully painted flowers made out of recycled water bottles. What a wonderful and eco-friendly idea!

With all the celebrations, on the 5th Kara asked, "So today is Boys' Day. When is Mommy's Day?" I told her it was Sunday and then she asked, "When is Sister's Day?" Good question... I told her we're gonna get that on our calendar.

Hair Sparkles & Fruit Kabobs

Kara was long overdue for a haircut, but when I've offered to cut it, she says only Auntie Shirley can cut her hair. So, we had an appointment with Shirley for a cut...



And Kara also got pink and purple sprakles! It was the talk of preschool the next day.



Ben, on the otherhand, only wants me to cut his hair..... poor Ben. But Ben was equally excited to have fruit kabobs, which he saw in one of his books and has been asking for them ever since.



I hope it's always this simple to put a smile on his face.

Happy Easter!

Kara and Ben were eager to search for Easter eggs and I think they found them all!



Kara made sure that Ben got all the eggs with his name and that there were enough eggs for him to find on his own.



Ben carefully opened each egg.... to find out what treasure was in store.



And he was happy to find a little red caboose in one of his eggs, since it's become one of his favorite books to read.

Isn't it wonderful to find a little hidden treasure?

New Family Picture

Kara drew a picture of our family.... including her not-yet born baby brother :)

Parlier Picnic Time!

All year long the kids practice their "Parlier picnic run" in the backyard and look forward to running the races, snacking and playing with their cousins. Ben ran around the whole day with a big, big smile on his face. Kara loved hanging out with her older cousins, climbing trees and making bird nests. What a great day!

Mani and Pedi

Kara went to the gets her nails done for the first time with her cousin, Elyse. She was a bit nervous at first, but ended up loving it, like we knew she would! She was eager to go to school today to show everyone her painted nails with flowers. She's growing up!

Spring is in the air!

I guess spring doesn't technically start until Sunday, but the weather is warming up which means more outings to the park, bubble-chasing in the backyard and sleeveless dresses!



Ben is singing his ABCs and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.... while Kara learned a "Days of the Week" song at school that goes along with the Adams Family tune, that she's proud to sing on her own now.



Ben used to always sleep with a little wash cloth, just like Kara did when she was little. These days, Ben chooses an object, whether it's his hammer, a magic wand, a car, or once, a bag full of corn puffs, to take to sleep with him... and he usually tries to sweet talk us by saying, "Go Mommy and Daddy's bed?" He has mastered the art of quietly sneaking out of his room and climbing into our bed at night... And when we're ready to go to bed, we find him sleeping, so sweetly, sideways, in the middle of the bed with some random object by his side.



And since it's Mach..... Let's hope we have something to cheer about when UCLA plays against Michigan State in Round One of the NCAA basketball tournament!