Anpaaanch!!

So, my kids think Anpanman is the coolest , particularly, Saya.  Anpanman is a Japanese cartoon character whose head is made of bread with sweet red bean filing.  He fights the evil Baikinman (the germ man) and his best offensive move is Anpunch, which is a very powerful straight punch.  I was listening to the kids talking this morning and the conversation went like this.

Sean:  Saya, don't follow me!
Saya: Sean, go away!
Sean: Don't say that!!
Saya:  Anpaaanch!!  (with her chubby arm sticking out stright with a tight fist.)
Sean: Don't Anpunch me!!

She uses Anpunch a lot these days, even on Mike and I.  She doesn't actually hit people, but just makes the gesture.  She seems to think it's the ultimate trick she can use to defend herself.  Good thing she is still two. 

Last night I gave Sean a Vitamin B12 shot on his bottom while he slept.  I usually stick the needle in where I rubbed the numbing cream on, but I couldn't get to the spot since he changed the sleeping position.  It was risky since he might have woken up, but he didn't.  Not 100% anyway...  He twitched and scratched the spot saying "stupid!!" like an old man.  He's been saying "stupid" a lot these days and we are working on replacing the word to something else.

Are we raising future jailbirds?  I certainly hope not, but sometimes seems like it! 

Spaghetti Face! 

Noah's always looking for trouble.  He was searching for something in the drawer.

"The Brain"  - I tried baking a GFCF Hawaiian Choco Chip Bread this morning and I guess the yeast didn't rise...  I cut them up and they became biscottis!

It was hot today, so a good pool day on the deck!

Everyone's happy when it's a pool day!

Saya wanted to wear Alyson's underware and Aly refused to lend it to her.

Aly rides her big girl bike!

Aly was afraid to move on from her trike to the big girl bike Ayrie gave her but today with little encouragement from Saya, she rode it for the first time. Saya climbed up onto Sean's and then Alyson's big girl bike, but her legs are too short. That gave Aly the push she needed. She kicked Saya off her bike and started to pedal like her big brother. She was so proud and telling Sean "look at me, I am riding like you." Saya wasn't happy about it, but Alyson was smiling big. 

We drove to Seattle this afternoon to drop off a care package to Noah's ABA therapist, Malawaina.  She was rear-ended on I-90 a few weeks ago and has been recovering from her injuries. We were lucky to catch her coming back from her physical therapy and she was able to see Noah.   She is one of the sweetest and most dedicated therapists we have worked with.  I feel bad for what she is going through now.  No one deserves it, but particularly her!  She is a tough girl and I know she can pull it through.  I am glad that we were able to put a smile on her face today!

Summer Blues

It's nice to spend more time with my kids during summer, however I am not liking how we are spending it.  I wish I could take them out to the parks, the zoo, etc... but things changed and I cannot do those things with all my four children at the moment.

1) Saya does not like to sit in the stroller for long.
2) Noah also does not like to sit and stay put in the stroller.
3) If I let Saya walk, she won't follow me and run the opposite direction.
4) Noah is impulsive and will put himself to danger if I let him run around freely.
5) Alyson manages to get lost in a few seconds after I look away.
6) Sean goes off raider often and he panics when he cannot see me anymore.  He starts screaming and yells at people not to talk to him etc...

So, those are the main reasons why I don't take my kids out to public places anymore unless I have someone else to watch them with me.  I somehow managed it up until summer started, so I am not sure if I am feeling less confident since I am not getting much breaks from having all four kids with me.  It does take certain energy and confidence level to manage all four children even at the park.  I usually run around the play area making sure Saya's not throwing barks at other children or Noah wouldn't get hurt running near the swings.  I often sprint towards them to prevent injuries. 

Even just playing out front of our house can be dangerous for our kiddos...  The other day, I was letting the kids play in the front yard and thought I positioned myself well right near the end of the drive way by the road so that I can stop them if they run towards the street.  Noah was playing by the door and when I looked away for a few seconds, he was not by the door anymore.  I realized that he could elude me and escape going through behind the bushes to get to the other end of the front yard.  A couple driving by tipped me and said that they saw a little boy running down the street towards the busier street.  I panicked!!  He could get seriously hurt or get killed!!  I put Saya in my car in the garage, told Aly and Sean to stay where they were and ran as fast as I could down the street.  Noah was hanging around at the neighbor's front yard.  They have a statue of a dog and he was intrigued by that thankfully.  Incidents like this make me want to keep Noah home all day long, but that is not realistic.

So, that's my dilemma.  Summer's here, but cannot go out much.  Hmmm.... it's now how I imagined at all...

Sean's friend, Ruby, came over for a playdate today with her little sister, Margaret.

We played on the deck for a while and then went down to the playground.

Saya being silly with the flex trex.

Sean helped me bake a GFCF banana chocochip bread.  We baked two loaves, so will give one to Malawaina tomorrow.  Noah's therapist, Malawaina, was in a car accident and still recovering from her injuries...

Trip to Boise

We mounted our cargo box on the minivan and stuffed it with the necessities last Friday because it was time for us to migrate southeast to Boise!   We left early at 5:40 am and stopped at our first pit stop, Sunnyside WA, at 8:00 am.  The kids were wide awake, but were occupied by the scenery passing by and their DVDs.  After playing inside McDonald's for 45 minutes, we drove all the way to La Grande, OR, about two and half hours away.  We had lunch in the car (all packed lunches), we stopped once again at Ontario, OR, for a quick potty break and arrived Boise at 4:20 pm. 

After checking in at the hotel and putting things away, we went to grandma Marie's house for dinner.  It was hot in Boise.  Us, the Sounders, are not used to that kind of heat anymore.  After driving 10 hours, we were officially tired and went to bed early.  The kids did better than last time in terms of sleep, but they were still quite restless.  Saya had stuffy nose and Noah wandered around the room for a while before crashing.  We were smart this time though.  We brought a queen-sized air mattress and laid it next to the main bed so that Noah can wander all he wants and just lay down when he is tired.  We also put on a child lock on the room door, so that he won't go outside the room.  That worked.

The next day, we were quite ambitious and took the kids to the zoo.  They had a music festival at Julia Davis park on that day.  Lots of people and noise.  The zoo was fun and Sean, Alyson and Saya had a lot of fun exploring and looking at the animals.  However, Noah was being very difficult.  He wanted to dive in to Boise River or get inside the exhibit.  I ended up taking Noah back to the hotel with me since he was screaming the whole time.  The other children and Mike stayed at the zoo for a little while longer, but they didn't last much.  It was getting very hot and they were pretty tired.  Their little bodies do not get much exposure to this much sunshine and heat!  Sad fact!

After the zoo, we rested at the hotel room for a while before we went to grandma's house for dinner.   Grandma Marie's house is full of antique figurines.  That is a bad news for Noah, because he LOVES to touch and play with any kind of figurines made with heavier material like ceramic, porcelain and metals.  I said it's a bad news because he won't be able to touch them at all.  So, all us available adults were onto him like soccer referees to prevent him from taking any offence.  He would sweetly hold uncle Kirk's hand and guide him to near the target object is so that Kirk could give it to him.  In the end he was whining constantly and it all became part of the background noise for us.  The dinner was delicious and we all had a good time, except for the poor little Noah.

The next day was even better.  I got to see my friends from college and had fun catching up.  I cannot believe nearly 15 years has passed since we were a group of young college kids with less complications of life.  They looked pretty much the same as the last time I saw them.  Idaho must have been good to them!  Maybe the sunshine and less crowd.  Sometimes having more choices, which comes with living in a bigger city, creates more stress.  Bellevue is a wonderful city to live in but I do feel a lot of pressure, on children's academic achievements to my own success etc...  I am sure it happens in where ever I choose to live, but it's fun to idealize Boise for the moment! 

After lunch with the girls and boys, I joined the family barbecue at uncle Kirk's house.  The children had a wonderful time in their backyard.  They played with water guns, found favorite rocks, and found some ants...  I was surprised that even Alyson, who cries when a fly comes near her in the house, picked up small ants and carried them around to show people.   Funny Saya loved carrying this big rock and wouldn't let it go.  Noah was trying to figure out how he could climb up the tall fence, but never succeeded.  Sean was busy playing with rocks, talking to people and exploring.  They were all busy and no one complained the entire time.  Hemkers came over, too, and we had a good time chatting with them.  They are certainly part of our family and kids will know them as their aunt and uncle.  An afternoon like that made our long trip worthwhile.  That is what we came for.  It was nice to spend time with the family. 

It's almost August and we are gearing up for Sean's kindergarten.  Grandma Audrey's memorial service will be held on Aug 6, and Mike and Aaron are going to attend it.  It's hard to believe the summer is at its peak.  I am glad I got a good tan in Boise because the sunshine certainly has been missing since we came back!

Race Weekend

This weekend was particularly energizing and exhausting at the same time due to two races in the Campbell's household.  On Saturday, I had Warrior Dash to attend at 9:00 am in North Bend and Mike had a Seattle Tri at 7:00 am in Issaquah. 

My race buddy, Jen and I participated in the Warrior Dash and it was definitely an experience for both of us!  I'd done well in obstacle course races when I was a kid, so I didn't think much of the them.  BUT a few of them tested my nerves because, I've never done anything like them in my life! 

Like, the Great Warrior Wall, which we climbed up a wooden wall with tiny slippery platforms and wet rope made my confidence shrink instantly as I took the first step.  I felt like an army cadet in training.  The last obstacle and the main event, the Muddy Mayhem, with low barbed wires and knee high mud allowed myself to let go and just get down right muddy!  I hesitated a little at first, but there was no avoiding!  That is how I got so muddy as in photos.  I did get hosed down with water spray and it was freakin' cold!  It was a cool and rainy day to begin with and here I am soaking wet head to toe with fresh cold water.  Yikes.  But Jen and I didn't dare miss a free glass of beer and we sipped shivering just as everyone else around us.  

I had a really good time and we are definitely signing up for next year.  We will wear some kind of costume to make it more fun.

Mike had a good race this morning at Lake Sammamish State Park.  He said he was not used to swimming in the lake and he lost some time to orient himself correctly.  However, he kicked some butt on bike and felt pretty good with his overall performance.  He was one pretty tired guy after the race and he laid on the ground letting a dog lick his face without a protest.  Mike finished as kids and I walked into the finish line area.  We didn't see him finish, but we heard his name being called.  We took some pictures and kids and I left since it was raining.  Going to see Daddy's race is a common occurrence in our house now.  Kids like to find Daddy in the crowd and are witnessing how working hard can be so rewarding.  Thanks Mike for setting a good example for all of us! 

We had a great weekend, except for the sad news about my grandmother. 
Life goes on though and we live strong for her legacy!

Before the Warrior Dash.  Clean and ready to kick butt!

Muddy, but proud to finish!

Jen and I showing off our mud.

They were in the same wave as ours.  I loved their costumes the best!

So, we clibmed up and came down, jumped over fire, and crawled in mud at the last stretch.

This guy (?) was completely covered in mud!

Mike after the race.  This doggy got free smoochin'

Finallly ready for a photo!

The kids were a little distracted because of the loud music and all the noises.

Don't they look just the same? 

Passing of Baaba, my grandmother

My grandmother Kazuko, aka Baaba,  passed away at 5:53 am on Sunday morning in Japan.  She led a turbulent life in early years after becoming a single mother to her four children, uncle Ken, my Dad, Isao, aunt Kimiko, and Yoshiko.  Japan was in the post war period and it was a difficult time for everyone.  Baaba was a very strong and smart woman though, and she earned her living selling goods and working as a journalist.  Eventually, she founded a commercial plumbing company, in which she remained as the president until her passing.  She had a very strong personality and that had gotten in a way of personal relationships.  I wish I could say that we were close, however me living in the U.S. and her intimidating nature built a wall between us.  Now that I am more knowledgeable about human emotions and brain functions, I wish I had the capacity then to understand her feelings.  She was a beautiful person and her sharp intelligence was a rare find.  We record the time of birth and then the death.  It is as if you are born again in the next stage and it's another beginning.  Baaba, we will remember your spirited voice and sense of humor (which most of the time was unintentional)!

Bike Ride Again~

Well, this bike ride thing is working out pretty well for our family.  We found a perfect park to ride around in and they have a playground even Noah doesn't get bored with.  He normally wonders off in about five minutes, but this one he is entertained for a long time.  We park the car near the playground and ride our bikes on a bike trail to a big open area where we ride around for about 20 minutes.  After we had enough of racing with each other, we head back to the playground.  We had a picnic on the grass by the playground to fill hungry tummies.  Kids ate well and Daddy and I enjoyed the tuna and egg salad sandwitch with chips and salsa.  Now, we are home and the kids look pretty tired.  Sean, Aly and Saya are slouched on the couch watching a movie.  Only Noah is lasting like an energizer bunny still running around on the deck.  I get the feeling that the summer gets more fun ever yeah until... they are in teens and don't want to hang with their Mom and Dad.  I have about eight more years, if I am lucky, before Sean decides we are uncool!

July 4th and Dream Came True!

I cannot believe it's July already and it feels like summer is slipping through fast.  Although it's non-summer-like, we do have more sunshine than wet June and the Campbell kids are taking advantage of it.  We had a nice 4 day weekend since Mike took Tuesday off last week. 

On Saturday, Sean and Alyson went with Mike to speech therapy in Redmond.  Saya, Noah and I met up with them at the Saturday farmer's market and bought some fresh organic cherries and sweet onions.  The market in Redmond is much bigger than the one in Crossroads.  There are more organic vendors and even there is a stall that sells gluten free breads and sweets.  We bought one chocolate zucchini cupcake for Sean and he immediately wanted to go home since we told him he gets to eat it after lunch.  Sean is always in a good mood when we go out as a family. 

On Sunday, we took the kids to a park in Mercer Island.  It was a beautiful park by the water and had an awesome playground.  They had a big pyramid shaped climbing wall with long slide.  We were surprised that Saya decided she wants to try it after seeing her big bro and sis climb.  She climbed it all by herself and threw herself onto the long and high slide without hesitation.  She did fly out upon exiting and landed on her back, but that didn't stop her from trying it again.  She is something else!  We spent quite a bit of time there since they were having fun.  Daddy was the Noah watcher and he followed Noah around the park.  The rest of the kids were busy playing on the equipments. 

We had a date night that night, so took off to Seattle to our favorite Japanese restaurant in International District.  Unfortunately, the food wasn't as good.  We concluded that it must be because their regular chef is off since it was Sunday.  When we left the restaurant, a woman smoking by the door started to talk to us casually as we've known her for years.  I thought Mike befriended her at the restaurant inside, but he later told me no.  She said she is a best friend of the owner, but she recommended another Japanese place down the street.  As we were chatting, the owner of the other place came by and he invited us to take a look at his restaurant.  They were very friendly and we felt like a tourist.  The restaurant had outdated interior and small, however they seem to have a good track record for serving delicious food.  So, we are going to try it on the next date night and see if the new found friend still remembers us when he is sober!

July 4th was a very good day for all of us.  We went on a bike ride to Marymoor Park after lunch and enjoyed outdoors and each other.  Mike pulled Saya and Noah on a bike trailer, Sean rode his blue bike, Aly pedaled her trike and me on mine, which Mike bought me for my birthday back in California.  A lot of families were enjoying their bike rides and some were having picnics on the grass.  Everyone seems to be having a very good time.  I felt very happy seeing my husband with two adorable children in the trailer, my big boy riding his blue bike, and beautiful Alyson pedaling fast to catch up with us.  I've been wanting to be a part of the family bike caravan all my pre-kids life.  To me, that was the picture of happiness, sort of like a family of ducks swimming together on a pond.   Life is good and it was one of those moments I felt pure joy. 

It's been a while since my last post, so I do have a lot of things to write! I want to write one more thing - about the fireworks... Sean's been talking about fireworks since he heard them outside at nights prior to the 4th. He said he wanted to go see the firework show at night, so Sean and I went to downtown Bellevue to see it. I grabbed Mike's ear muffs for yard work just in case he thinks it's too loud. I am glad we took it, but that didn't help much! We were right by where they shot up the fireworks and after about 30 seconds, Sean was terrified! I didn't want to upset him, so we left pretty much right after it started. Poor kid was so scared, he could not walk. I had to carry him half of the way until he could not see them. But we are glad we tried it. Now we know. Enjoy them from the distance!!

Funny quote of the week:

Me: Sean, your chicken nuggets are getting cold. You have to sit down and eat.
Sean: (upon hearing "old" instead of cold) Mommy, you mean they are all dried up and have spider webs on them?

Sean helped me pick the cherries at the market.

The troop at the market.  Good thing Daddy is tall so that he is easy to spot.  He tends to wander off without looking back.

Alyson being cute.

My big boy Sean!

Sean is very goofy.

He makes silly faces in most of the photos unless I tell him not to.

They play hard.

Noah running. I need to take more photos of Noah.  I realized this is the only shot of him last week!!

My Saya Boo.

She just went up there without looking back.

Historic Panama Hotel in Seattle.  I am wanting to go on a Japanese bath house tour in their basement. 

Me at Maneki restaurant.

Saya getting ready for a bike trailer ride.

Ice Cream after the ride.

Saya