Ready for Football!!

Proud Daddy.  Just look at Mike's smile! 

"No, turn that way, bend your knees!!"

A football star gotta practice posing.  Then only thing is... his mouth thing looks like a pacifier to me.



Sean is going to be playing football in a local junior football team this season and picked up his gears on Tuesday.  He was so excited and anxious at the same time, he could not stop talking about it.  "Maybe the coach will make me a Wide Receiver," he said and then the next minute in the dramatic note said "what if I am a terrible receiver?".   I assured him that the coach will pick the best position for him and that all he needs to do is try his best.  Sean practices catching and throwing everyday.  He is a decent thrower although his challenge is making long passes.  His ball spins straight perfectly most of the time and it's better than most older kids throwing at parks in my opinion.

Mike took Sean for gear fitting and pick up.  He sent me some pictures of Sean being fitted and he looked so cute with huge helmet and shoulder armor.  He had a big smile on his face and looked like he was enjoying the moment.  They later went out to eat dinner and stopped at a sporting goods store to pick up a few things he needs.  When they came home, Sean modeled for us.  His helmet is huge on his skinny body and shoulder pads made him look like he is ready to battle the aliens.  I am not even sure if he can ran like that.  Of course he has do the test run, so he played catch with Daddy downstairs with the uniform on.  He moved a bit awkwardly, but I am sure he will get used to it.  Daddy was just as excited as Sean and was making Sean pose for lots of pictures. 

The daily practice starts on 8/12.  He will discover that being a committed athlete takes a lot of physical and mental effort.  It will be a good lesson for him and I hope he will stick with it.  He will be very busy once the season starts with regular practices and weekly game on Sundays.  I didn't have much opportunity to play sports when I was a kid, so I am happy that my kids are starting to participate in group sports activities.  The girls are currently taking gymnastics, but I will see if I can put them in soccer, softball or basketball. 

Before the football season starts, Sean and Mike are going to Disneyland in Anaheim in early August.  It is a surprise for Sean and 40th birthday present for Mike from my parents.  Mike is very excited to go on vacation with his firstborn.  Thank you so much Mom and Dad!  They are going to make an awesome memory together!!

Richard Sherman Softball Game

 

 

 

I saw an announcement for a charity softball game organized by one of Sean's favorite players in Seattle Seahawks and I just had to get the tickets for my boys (Mike and Sean).  Mike was very much looking forward to going with Sean, but he was sore from the long distance relay style race the day before.  So, lucky me took Sean to the game at Safeco Field last Sunday. 

Apart from glamour and fame, I admire famous people who use their celebrity status to do the good like Richard Sherman is doing.  Richard Sherman is one of the best corner back in NFL currently and known for his spirited and outspoken character.  All the proceeds from the softball game goes to help underprivileged children through his charity, Richard Sherman Family Foundation.  What a great person.  As I learn more about each players, I become more proud of our team, Seattle Seahawks!

Safeco Field was packed with 22,000 people and they were all there to have a good time.  Most of us were wearing Seahawks jersey or shirts and it was like going to a real football game.  I got to do the Seahawks chants and it was all so much fun.  They called the names of the players and there were many famous players participating in the game.  Richard Sherman, Russell Wilson, Earl Thomas, Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, Mike Bennett, Kobe Bryant, Mackilmore to name a few.  It was exciting to see them off the TV screen although I had seen some of them in person much closer.  I ran into Earl Thomas once at Costco and then Doug Baldwin at Microsoft store. 

The game was hilarious!  They may know football, but oh boy they were actually terrible at softball!  They would fall and not catch a fly ball, and they cannot aim well when throwing to a base.  When someone hits a ball, it's almost certain that the player would end up scoring.  I could see their character coming out, too, like Earl Thomas gets serious during any game.  Kobe seemed like a mellow type and Russell is a clean cut guy for real.  Doug Baldwin is playful and a clown type making lots of jokes.  Sean sat quietly most of the time but occasionally cheer the players.  He was having a very good time.  I pretended that I was a professional sports photographer with my old Canon.  How it would be wonderful to be in the field shooting with a fancy sports camera. 

We made another awesome memory together and decided we should come and enjoy ball games more often!

Successful Dentist Visit

 

 

The video of the visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97t7-VVXGyE&feature=youtu.be

I took Sean and Saya to their bi-annual dentist visit last Wednesday.  Aly came along, too, to be a cheerleader for the nervous brother and sister.  I wasn't too worried about two of them because they've done fine in the previous visit.  Oh wait, Saya was actually oppositional to the hygienist the last time.  She wouldn't lay down properly or refused to open her mouth.  I was hopeful though since she seemed excited that she is going to the dentist.  They give the little patients a coin to put in the toy vending machine at the end and Saya was very excited to get it.  Sean was a little nervous, but he was polite and did what the hygienist asked him to do.  He even let her take an X-ray.  I have never ever seen his mouth X-ray before.  It was the cutest thing I have seen recently!  Beneath the baby teeth I could see the grown-up teeth lining up waiting for their time.  It was like a busy teeth apartment with double rows of teeth and his wisdom teeth are already forming on the back.  There was one bad news though.  The dentist said he has two extra teeth buried above his front tooth.  He said it's very common for Asians to have.  That means he has to have orthodontist extract those two teeth and it is going to be a big dental surgery for Sean...  $$$$ Oh well!  I figured we would spend a lot of money on kids' teeth.  It was the best dentist visit in terms of how they did and I was very proud of them! 

Chores

 



I helped wash my Mom's car!

Campbell car wash crew.  They tried their best but my car got dirtier...

Very serious Sean vacuuming the kitchen.

 

I've always had challenges in the area of having kids "help" with chores around the house.  Whenever I had them help me previously, it added more work on my part.  In a busy family like mine, efficiency is a key to reduce stress and I just didn't want my kids messing with my to do list.  Well, then there is summer.  Sean is constantly asking "what can I do?" and as I couldn't think of anything to suggest, I said "why don't you vacuum the kitchen?  I will give you a quarter," and waited for his reaction.  To my surprise, he said "yeah, I can do it" and he really did it, complete with getting edges and corners with the wand attachment.  He was so proud of the quarter he earned, he asked for more chores around the house.  I asked him to fold a basket of laundry and showed him how to fold them properly.  He was very careful to fold it as neatly as he could and ended up folding two baskets of laundry.  He earned two quarters for two baskets and in total earned 75 cents. 

When we went to pick up Noah at his therapy, Sean found $1 bill on the ground.  He couldn't believe his luck and now is hooked on looking for money on the ground.  I taught him about not to take the money if it is a lot and that if it is near any businesses, in which case he must turn the money in to either police or the business close by.  He found a penny in our garage when we got back and he thought he was the luckiest kid in the world.  Funny how little things can make a kid very happy.  I am pretty excited that now Sean can do a good job completing some simple chores.  He does it thoroughly like it bothers him if it is not perfect.  I love that about him because I know I can trust him.  I was a sloppy kid and I still am, so I am quite impressed!  He must have gotten that from Mike.  Now that Sean is willing, the girls are also wanting to help me around the house to earn some coins.  They are still young and can't finish the job like Sean, but it's a good start.  In the future, I will have at least three helpers around the house.  That would be fantastic.  That is how I imagined a large family operates.  It's almost there.  Bitter sweet reminder that my kids are getting big.

Videos Only!

I finally created my own YouTube account!  This Blogger website is not very good with uploading videos for me so I ventured out to YouTube.  I don't use the camcorder function much on my camera so much anymore since all my kids started walking.  I am going to regret it in the future, so I will promise myself to take more video of the children.  I am sure the videos from some special occasions are great but I think the best ones are the everyday kind, kids screaming, making jokes, the usual dinner scene etc...  Those are the kinds of moments that are a big chunk of the childhood yet easily forgotten.  At my age, the reality, dreams and imaginations start to blend together and some memories are hard to tell if it really happened.  It would be for all of our benefit to record more of those typical Campbell moments for sure.  AND, I will be able to share them here with you all!  This time around, the videos are from the girls' recital from their Japanese school.  They did great although looked confused at times.  They are kind of shy when it comes to things like this.  They looked cute regardless and I had fun watching them perform.

Saya's
http://youtu.be/PHxgz1SCVHo
Aly's
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGkjqVaLSg8

Busy Busy Busy!

Hello everyone!  I have been so busy lately with kids out of school for the summer.  They ask me "Mommy, what can I do now?" every 15 minutes and I don't get any moment to do any housework or get on the computer.  Speaking of computer, I got a new tablet!  My 2 year-old Surface Pro started acting up and we took it into Microsoft Shop to have it replaced.  It turns out, they don't make the same kind anymore and they offered me to switch to the newer Surface.  Oh yes please!  I am glad Mike was the one who took it in because he also brought home a jazzy red keyboard and a red leather tablet case.  I am all set now :-). 

So my crazy summer started.  I don't know how those homeschooling Moms do it, but children get bored pretty easily.  I have been keeping up with reading and writing for Sean and Alyson, but they finish them in about an hour and half the max.  The rest of the time are spent at the park, backyard, farmer's market, library and more park.  I am already tanned dark from standing around outside playing goalie so that Noah won't escape.  Noah has been a handful lately even more so than the last time I made the same statement!  He is so active and fast, I have to stay alert all the time even inside the house.  He bounces around like a ping pong ball on the furniture and off the windows sills.  He hangs from the curtain rods like a Tarzan!  He even manages to climb on the 6 feet fence in the backyard and I am so afraid he is going to climb over it soon.  Do we need to build a bubble around him and the house?  I wish we can figure out the way to best use his talent and energy in safer and useful way! 

It's tiring, but we are enjoying our summer.  It's so nice to feel the sunshine on my skin as we don't get to do that most of the months here in the Pacific Northwest.  The trees, plants and flowers look pretty happy and so are the people.  It's a bonus that driving around town is easy since there are less cars on the road during summer.   I was planning to take the girls to Japan this summer, but we postponed it to October.  My mother had a surgery to remove a cyst on her wrist and I wanted to go help her, but the airfare this summer is too ridiculous.  My Mom had her surgery and recovering nicely from it.  She helped me when I had my babies and I truly wished I could go.  Moms are grand.  Not that I can ever return everything she gave me.

I will post pictures we took recently unedited.  I cannot find my Photoshop CD :-(

Here they are:

Saya and Aly's Japanese school had a show in mid June.  Saya was dancing to a Japanese children's song.  Cute and funny - both of my girls acted like they have no clue what they were doing...

Aly danced her ballet number.  An assistant girl was behind Aly to help her out and she pretty much stayed behind Sly most of the time :-)

Mike had his big 40th birthday in mid June.  I don't think he was to thrilled to be in 40s but really what can you do?  LOL

Aly had her gymnastic show, too.  Busy girl.  She was very proud of her medal she received for attending the show.

Aly looked pretty in the sun in the backyard.

They are always happier outside.

Our messy and chaotic picnic.  I look forward to the day when I can picnic in style again (if I ever did).

Noah was taking a break from running and climbing.  He must be training to become a Ninja.  That is the only explanation.