Earning Their Wings

The kids and I took a trip to Kansas to welcome Shaefer home from his mission. It was such a wonderful time to be with the family and the only thing we were missing was our MAT! The kids were great on the plane and the stewardess gave both Lana and Jared their own set of wings which were rightfully earned. It was such a treat to be spoiled by my parents and Lana and Jared were entertained the WHOLE time. We played some killer games of racquetball (some of us walked away bruised...right Mischa?hehe), went to the zoo, the movies, had some wonderful meals and great company. The week just flew by so quickly and before we knew it we were back home. Welcome home Shaefer...we missed you and we're so proud of all the service you gave these past two years. Now, don't have too much fun in Hawaii! We're coming to visit you!

The Saddest Face

Lana drew a fantastic picture of our family on her little doodle pad. I told her I'd take a picture of it so that we could save it and she could erase her pad and draw another picture. She was so excited to pose for the picture but pinched her finger in the hidden drawer of the doodle pad. That is how we ended up with the saddest face ever. Even though she was crying and in pain she still wanted the picture. I couldn't stop laughing. The other two pictures are just so I can remember how small Jared was at one point. He just seems to get bigger every time I look at him :)

My Cutie-pies

My two little kids...growing up so fast. I love how Jared just puts up with being hugged and kissed and squeezed by his big sister. For now all he can do is grunt. haha

Surprise!

I asked Lana to hold the fort down while I took a quick (and desperately needed)shower. After my shower, Lana was waiting for me and said, "Mom...I have a surprise for you! Close your eyes." At this point I'm thinking "uh-oh. This could mean anything." So, I play along and she leads me to the living room. When I open my eyes I see that while I was in the shower she cleaned up the whole living room putting all her toys away and even other things that were out and about. It was such a great surprise and made me soooo happy- especially because I didn't ask. Since this episode, Lana has done it one more time and I'm hoping for many more in the future. :)

Motivation

While squishing my tummy, Lana declares,"I think you have another baby in there!" Now, if that's not motivation to work out...I don't know what is!

Little Tokyo

We joined Mat on a quick trip downtown for work last week and ended up down the street from Little Tokyo which we've been wanting to go to for a while. Although we just made a short stop for lunch we had a fun time. We stopped at a curry house and ordered some...you guessed it...curry. It was right next door to a Japanese book store (I think we went to a similar one in New York) and we had fun checking it out. I saw my new favorite kids book: Everyone Poops. By the same author: The Gas We Pass. hehehe. Then on the way back to the car we stopped off at Marukai's just "to look" and ended up leaving with a handful of goodies. Mat found his favorite juice: Hawaiian Sun and I picked up some Hawaiian salt, nori, shoyu and some Japanese candy. Can't wait to go back. :)

Fun first day

Today was Lana's first day of "Mommy and Me" class or as we call it: school. (Since all her other friends are going to school it helps her not feel too left out. I'm sure she still wonders why I stay with her all day!) We loved todays class and were a little sad about not seeing some of our friends there but were happy to see a few familiar faces and meet some new friends. I'm so glad that Lana is so good at adapting to new things. On the way out the door she goes, "Mom! When I grow up I want to be a teacher!" Looks like we chose a good teacher!