How to Best Spend a Wisconsin Winter

Hi Everyone!  We've had an awesome two weeks in Hawaii.  We're looking forward to another 4 more! The kids love the beach, shave ice, and hanging with the cousins.  Jesse is fulfilling his quota of projects at both Pam's and Adam's.  He's also working on a conference presentation and a textbook.  I've finally decided to apply to grad school.  Due Friday.  Nothing like a deadline to get the blood flowing.  Not to mention all the Christmas projects.  Speaking of which, I only took 5 photos of the reunion this summer. Ooops.  If any of you could send me photos of my family, kids, husband from Utah, that would be great!  I need them by Friday.  More deadlines, I know.  Love you all.  Wish you were here with us!

Cheeseheads it is!

Contract has been signed.  Jesse is gainfully employed for the next four years+.  Thanks for your prayers and support.  Wisconsin, here we come!

My Little Bibliophile Pony

This toy was confiscated two nights ago.
You know why? I'll give you a hint. Someone was staying up late reading and that star underneath her necklace causes little LED lights to flash on her cape and in her horn when you push it.

Welome to the Club, Miriam

First pair of glasses.

Did You Hear?

We're moving to Indiana in August. I'm not sure why you would be there, but if you are, come visit! And, we're leaving Maine the end of June, so if you want your lobstah, better get here quick!

We Woke Up To

This.
Blegh.
We though SoCal was cold.
New home, please.
Preferably warmer.
Thanks.
ps, it's still snowing.

Jesse's Interviewing

FYI, Jesse is interviewing today, tomorrow, Tuesday, and Wednesday. He'll be home for the weekend then off again on Monday. We miss him, but know he'll be awesome.

His interviews are in Pennsylvania today (4hours from nyc, 2 from dc), Virginia (2hrs from dc), and Indiana (12+ hours from anywhere interesting).

Wish him luck!

A Weekend in Maine

A little late in coming, but here are some pictures from last weekend.

We played a lot of Settlers. I'm not sure who did most of the winning, but I know it wasn't me.

The kids knew to ask Auntie Bekah for usually off limit snacks (juice boxes, candy, etc.) I think they can sniff out the pushover in a crowd of parents.
Luckily, we decided against a cutest kid contest. It would have been too hard to judge.Thanks everyone for making Miriam's baptism so special. We've been scoping out more cool things to do here for when you come back!

Valentine's in Maine

Here are some pictures from today. Do we have pictures from the baptism? Of course not! Was it an incredibly memorable wonderful day? Better believe it! Snowboarding in the morning, baptism in the afternoon, ward party in the evening, emergency room at night. After falling while snowboarding, she tried a handstand at the ward party and completed the fracture. For those interested, it's a buckle fracture (sort of like the bone compressed). She's in a splint until the swelling goes down. The cast comes on later this week.

And Happy Birthday to Kay!
ps, we're having so much fun!

8 is GREAT!

Here's to Miriam who celebrates 8 great years with us! She has put up with a lot in her short life. We've dragged her to Asia three separate times, moved her from an island to the continent to the other side of the continent. I'm not sure how many different houses she has lived in (but I think its 7). And through it all, she is kind, generous, and loving. (She got two zhou zhou pets for her birthday and immediately gave one to Gwyn.) We didn't know it at first, but she is a miracle (parents can be slow). We love you Mimsy! Thanks for letting us be your family!

Beginning 2010

I've been blog lazy world busy since we got back to Maine. We took tons of pictures that we put on J's computer, but here's some of the last few days. Tenney's favorite toy besides bionicles. The girls decorated the box and made it comfy with a pillow inside.Ada and Gwyn are bestest of friends. They are a mighty force.
We played the quick version of the game. I happily bankrupted after 60 minutes. The game went on for another 2 hours with Ez whipping booty. He got Park Place and Boardwalk with hotels in the first 15 minutes. Way to beat Uncle Jesse, that's all I can say.

Maine Halloween

Jesse worked on Halloween, but he did come trick or treating with us at night. These are the only two pictures of the day. I took the kids to a Halloween shindig put on by the city parks people. The girls had separate parties later in the evening. It was fun for them and fun for us to hang out with our new friends (the parents). I made M's costume and the skirt for G's. She's a green fairy, btw.

Our Newest Baby (It's a Car!)

Although we can't even begin to compete with the real babies, here's a photo of our newest addition. I think it's a boy. The kids and I take turns opening and closing the door to his house. It's great fun. The backseats fold flat which is great for transporting new furniture. Like this new chair I got from a 92 year old hustler. She wouldn't let me leave her house without looking at everything for sale, including some sweet vintage coats that would only fit a very small person. She also tried to sell me a toaster oven that she only used once, practically new! It was totally circa 1975. She was priceless.

It's great having a car that works. The radio works, the a/c works, the brakes work, it doesn't make funny noises, it even came pre-scratched (it's used, just barely). We'd rather have a real baby, but this one does let us sleep through the night (That is until Miriam starts driving it).

Huntington Beach w/ Chelsea

We made it to the beach today and saw Chelsea and Robbie's awesome new place. I totally want to move in! It's just a block from the beach. Monet and the girls frolicked on the beach while Jesse surfed, Isaac snoozed, and Chelsea and I read gossip mags. Pretty fun!

Family Scrabble

Last Sunday, we had our first Scrabble game. G lasted one round. Mim went for almost 2 and then I quit after 10 or so. I couldn't put my bingo anywhere for the second time in a row and lost patience. J was a bit disappointed in his girls, but he got over it.

Campus Point

Proof we were in Santa Barbara. Good fun!

Waterfalls in Japan

Jesse has been wanting to see some of these waterfalls he's seen on maps. We finally had a free Saturday, so we headed out to Okatama or something like that. It lies withing Tokyo prefecture, but is 1.5 hours away. We were pretty pathetic with our hiking skills but still had fun. The kids played in the stream, we got stuck in the rain, but managed to see another fall as well. We decided not to push it and go for three.

We did go to an onsen since the kids are always up for nude bathing. Some old lady patted G's bum and said "peach!" If that happened in the states I'd be freaking out. Here, I was thinking, "yeah, her bum is pretty peachy." The kids spent most of their time in the cold water tub. This is the first time we've gone on a Saturday and the advantage is that there are a lot of other kids running and splashing around.

Only a few more Saturdays to go and Jesse's doing scouts next week. The girls and I might go to the beach if I'm feeling up to the challenge (hour on the train there and back, excessive whining, etc).

Kamakura beach day

Yesterday, M had a day off from school, so we decided to take Mariko and Amaya to Kamakura. Jesse took us on an amazingly long walk that included several shrines, yummy soba and tempura, and finished at the best place of all. The beach. The water has warmed up significantly and the kids jumped right in. G was ecstatic to be in the water. She tried to swim and body surf. You could see the immense joy on her dad's face as he realized he finally has a surf buddy in G. We're looking forward to more beach days this summer. btw, Amaya was not at all interested in our beach. I'd say she's just a bit jaded.

Sumo

We had fun at sumo, though Mim said that she would have rather gone to school. You can check out my post about the day here. We took a break in the middle of the day and went to the Tokyo Edo Museum. Here's a picture of the girls in a palanquin.

We had lunch at one of their restaurants on the seventh floor. The view was impressive. The food was really good. I love the teishoku because you get a little bit of everything. And it's so pretty. (I can't get it to rotate, so you can tilt your head, sorry)

Me and Little G

With M at school for 6+ hours a day, G and I have been busy having fun. She loves to play at the park making meals for me out of sand. We also go to the children's center and jump on the trampoline or play with their toys. Today we went out to sushi with some of our friends. G only ate one tamago sushi, though she didn't eat that much when we got home either. Tomorrow we're going to learn how to crochet. And last week she came while I covered my tea box. We're also taking long walks so I can get some endurance for hiking. She's a swell partner and always game for an adventure. We have some museums and fabric stores to visit after golden week. The trick is bringing snacks and water and not balking at buying more. Remembering that she's doing me a favor helps keep it all in perspective. And always bringing the stroller, that's a must.