Happy Halloween!

This year we went all different directions for Halloween...

Jason decided on a costume first.  He saw Batman at Costco and decided instantly and early that he would be the dark night this year.  He plays the part well... but when you see that smile underneath that mask, there is nothing dark about him!

Since we had a duet at the Halloween piano recital, I decided to go ahead and be Batman's sidekick.

Grandma found the vintage pirate costume she made way back when for Uncle Todd and Jason had fun wearing it around the house today.

Ben and Kara had more difficulty figuring out costumes this year, especially when I told Ben that he should consider something outside of the Star Wars family.  He and Sho talked about making a knight costume, but what Ben wanted was way too difficult and the costume Sho had as a kid would not allow Ben to sit down... but luckily we found a knight costume just in time for the recital and Halloween.

Though I still call her my princess, Kara's days of dressing up like a princess are long gone.  I have to say, I like her hair with these streaks of red.  I know I will regret saying this when she gets older and wants to dye her beautiful hair some crazy color.

Sho thought he had things figured out... get the afro wig, find the crazy jacket that was in storage and he'd say he was someone from the 70s.  But the jacket didn't fit quite right, so he thought maybe Jules from Pulp Fiction.  But he doesn't have the facial hair.  So then he thought Men in Black, to which Ben said, "So they were just businessmen?"

Happy Halloween!

Doesn't get much better...

After soccer, we drove down to LA for a quick weekend anniversary trip. Rather than leave the kids at home, we decided to include them in our celebratory weekend.

We made reservations for the kids' first trip to Lawry's!  Lawry's does not disappoint.  Jason kept repeating, "Mmmm... this is really good."

 
On Sunday morning, we met our favorite photographer, Holly, at UCLA for family pictures.  On our previous trip to LA, we gave the kids the UCLA tour and we quickly remembered the beauty of this campus.  Since Holly is also a UCLA grad, she was happy to meet us on campus for our photo shoot.

We were fortunate to get some sneak peaks sent to us... cannot wait to see the rest!

I don't know what it is about Coffee Bean, but we all love it!  After our photos, it was Ice Blendeds for everyone.  Happy times!

And then lunch at my all time favorite Vietnamese restaurant.  Now this is a good day.  Sho is so lucky... no flowers or jewelry, just some eggrolls with peanut sauce and I am a happy camper.

We even got a chance to visit the Gordon family, which is always fantastic, but always way too short.  The kids could not wait to see Maya and Cy and it was so hard for them so say good-bye.

I don't think it gets much better... the food, the photos and the fun.  It definitely doesn't get better than Sho.  Twelve years... I am thankful every day.

Opening Day

Today was the start of soccer Saturdays.  We had to be out of the house earlier than a school day, but it was no problem for the kids, who were excited to get into their uniforms and get to the field!

Jason kept his promise to not do what he did last year... which was run around like he was chasing butterflies.  He did a great job following the ball and he especially did a good job with defense, since there is no official goalie in U6 soccer.  

He's got some power behind that kick!

There was a change in how the age breakdown is for soccer now, so even though most of Ben's friends are playing in an under 8 division, Ben is up in the U10 division playing against kids who are older, some of whom are in Kara's class at school.  He told friends that Sho described this as an opportunity (insert Ben's air quotes).  Despite his age, he held is own today and did well as goalie and as a defender.

Kara had two games on opening day and she was fierce!  I told her with those orange shoes, she's gotta be tough out there.  And she was.  I missed her first game because it was at the same time as Jason's game... but when I got to the field, parents told me that Kara was a "stopper" and that she was doing a great job out there.  One mom described her as Superwoman.  A brother of one of Kara's teammates said, "they have a great back line" and the mother replied, "we have a great Kara".  We could not agree more.

A Day in LA

On Saturday afternoon, we realized that we had a free Sunday and that once soccer season is in full swing, we won't have any free weekends for quite a long time.

So we spontaneously (which is a word not usually part of my vocabulary) decided to head to LA for a very quick trip.

The kids were excited to see the "Hot Now" sign on at Krispy Kreme and no matter your age, you have to love the conveyor belt of donuts, the sheet of icing and the free samples as you stand watching the yummy-ness happen!

Jason thought he had his career path figured out.  He was going to follow in Ben's footsteps and work at Legoland.  After the Krispy Kreme experience, he's now thinking of a second career.  On the drive back home he asked if kids could volunteer to help at Krispy Kreme.  Now he's thinking!

We stopped at the Lego store to see what new things they might have... everyone came home with a little something.  I think one of the coolest parts of the store was the city that someone had built and was on display.  In addition to incorporating Marvel, Transformers and Star Wars into the city, the kids were excited to see homage paid to Back to the Future!

We went to Porto's for Sunday breakfast and could not believe how many people were up and out before 9am in LA!  It's a mystery why they don't have Porto's in other cities.

We spent some time at the Natural History Museum, which we haven't been to in quite awhile!  Everyone has their favorite part, whether it be the gems or the dinosaurs...

But my favorite part was going to Pho 87 in downtown.  I love this place.

For me, this is heaven on a plate and in a bowl...

 
Since the kids have never been to UCLA, we felt like it was time to give them a tour.  It's been a long time since Sho and I have been on campus... it was great to reminisce and also see what's new.

 Feels like we did a lot (of eating) in 24 hours... I guess there's something to be said for spontaneity! 

Back to School

Today was the day!  We worried that with the time change from being in Hawaii and the late nights watching the Olympics, it might be hard for everyone to be ready for the first day of school.  But, the kids were up and eager to get back to school!

Kara is starting 4th grade and even though it's a very small school, she crossed over to the other side of the sidewalk division and is now with the big kids at school.  As a 4th grader, she is looking forward to being a book-buddy to one of the girls in kindergarten.

Ben is starting 2nd grade and he has a teacher that Kara never had, so he is eager to see what this year will be like.  

To our surprise, even Jason was excited to go back to school.  Even though he is not actually starting until next week, we stopped by preschool to check out his new room and say hello to all the teachers.  Usually when Jason wakes up and learns it's a school day for him, his response is "Aw, can't I just stay home today?"  So when we were still on the plane coming home from Hawaii, Jason asked if he was going to school the next day and was disappointed to learn that he had to wait a couple of weeks.

A dropping off Kara and Ben and getting Jason ready to head back to kindergarten, I said to Jason, "You just have one more year and then you'll be in kindergarten already.  I'm going to miss you when you're in school every day."  Jason's reply was, "Don't worry, Mommy.  I'll come back."

So we're back on school schedule now... but there's nothing like a little shave ice (and a costume) to remind us of all the fun we had during summer vacation.

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!