Family Hike

I am behind in post as usual.  Thank goodness for my photos since they remind me all the fun stuff we did.  We went on a family hike to a nearby trail several weekends ago.  Now cooler Seattle was hot back then and I am already missing the sundress weather.  There are many awesome trails around us that are easy to hike for kids, so we are exploring them one by one.  This trail was called The Bus Trail and it had gotten the name from an old wrecked bus on the trail.  Kids liked the name and were excited to find the mysterious old bus. 

Growing up in a big city, I only could visit a forest like that on a special outing with my Mom and Dad.  I certainly feel that my kids are lucky to grown up in a place with abundance of nature just minutes away from our house.  If it's just a little sprinkle, walk in the forest is quite pleasant because all the trees keep us dry.  Hopefully the kids remember fond memories of our hikes together and continue to want to get outdoors for life.  It always makes me feel better after breathing in some fresh air and nourishing my eyes with nature. 

Football Season Begins!

Bellevue Bears' practice started in the mid August and their weekly game began on 9/6.  They had their third game yesterday in Woodinville.  Well, their record 0-3 doesn't reflect their hard work they put in, but they are getting better every game.  Sean initially was put in as a Wide Receiver, but later switched position to Defensive Lineman.  His talent seems to be tackling!  Many of the kids in the team are new and so is the head coach, so we have a lot of work ahead of us for sure.  They are having fun though and enjoying the sports they love.   Sean doesn't complain about his three days a week practice and eager to get better.  It is more intense than being in other team sports and it takes a lot of involvement from parents.  Mike is taking the football volunteering duty though so it is working out just fine.  He was a scoreboard operator for the first home game and a snack Dad for the upcoming game.  It's a family affair but I feel it's totally worth it.  He has matured quite a bit since he started football.  He looks great in uniform, too.  :-). Go Bears and Go #94 with huge jersey!

Back to School 2014

The day before the first day of school, Saya was showing me she would have to wear gloves to school to conceal her special ice power (thanks Frozen)!

Noah thought school starts too early!

A little nervous, but she did well.

Saya found her seat.

Sean's class.  He is the one with bright green shirt.  I totally forgot to visit Aly's class.

Miss Lowy sent me this photo.  She looks totally relaxed, compared to Aly's mug shot look last year.

The second day. 

Well, we did it!  The school started after the Labor Day and Sean is a big 3rd grader, Aly and Noah are proud 1st graders, and our little baby Saya became a brand new Kindergartner!  Saya was very excited to be a kindergartner and she was telling everyone she met during summer that she is going to a big kid school.  They all gasped and acted like it's a big news and that made the girl extra proud.  There is something about the youngest entering school... I was feeling a little sad and felt like our baby phase is truly over.  Looking at her with chubby cheeks and dimpled hands, it hardly seems we are ready.  Saya was more than ready though and she carried around her brand new backpack at home excitedly. 

There were some first day jitters, but things went smoothly on the big day.  I clumsily prepared four lunches in the morning while kids are having breakfast.  Making four lunches is a hard work... It's never easy in my house because the girls prefer Japanese style bento where as the boys have their own requirements.  At least though they eat at school.  I don't have to be a lunch police five days out of seven and that is a pretty good deal! 

Noah leaves early again around 7:20 am everyday and he certainly wasn't a happy camper the first day.  Grumpy or not, the bus came and took the boy away to school.  The other three kids and I walked to school a little early since there is always a chaos on the first day.  The bags containing their school supplies were so heavy, I regretted not taking the stroller to haul them.  By the time we arrived school, I was sweaty and the heat from all the parents and children crammed in school made me sweat even more!  I naturally accompanied Saya to her kindergarten class.  I am sure Aly would have liked to have me at her class, too.  Saya was a little nervous, but had the game face on.  She was trying her best to sit up properly and was listening intently to the teacher's instruction.  Her teacher is Miss Lowy, the same teacher Aly had last year.  She is one of the best teachers we had, so I am so happy Saya has her, too.

I walked out of school and I was starting to smile big and bigger as I walked away.  I was finally FREE.  FREEDOM!!  I could have dance walked if I didn't have to worry about people around me.  I just couldn't believe that I had no children with me until mid afternoon.  Am I allowed to be this free?  It felt surreal to have such a light feeling and I was determined to do something I wanted to do for a long time.  The first thing I did was have a cup of coffee.  Then I sat on the couch and read the news on my phone.  The next thing I did made me mad at myself at first.  I fell asleep on the couch for straight two hours!  I was so excited to do something fun and I felt like I wasted my time by being unconscious for two hours - the two precious hours of freedom.  When I thought about it though later, it probably was the best way to spend it after 8 and half years of wearing children on me. 

So we are more than happy the school started!  Saya is doing great and got used to the school routines quickly.  Sean is happy that his buddies are in the same class and Aly likes her gentle new teacher.  Noah seems to have adopted very well to the new classroom, too.  I am enjoying the extra time I have and being super productive at home.  I can finally clean in a real sense without being interrupted.  I will be joining my friend's Yoga class shortly and get into photography more seriously.  Oh and doing the much needed painting in the house, too.  I seem to think I can do millions of things now that I have some time alone.  We shall see!  Back to school = happy family :-)

Aaron and Tina's Wedding

Mike's brother Aaron married his soul mate, Tina, in a beautiful ranch in Stanly, Idaho in late August.  The drive from Washington was long, but it was definitely worth it!  We stayed in a newish two-bedroom condo equipped with everything you need and extra - a breathtaking view of the Sawtooth mountain range.  Sean and Mike slept together in one bedroom, Noah and I slept in the other room (so that I can keep an eye on him all night), and the girls slept together in a sofa bed in the living room.  They were so excited to sleep on a couch and thought that was extra fancy. 

We arrived very late the first night, so we settled in and went to bed.  Noah was being difficult during the night, wanting to get up and explore the condo and bring him back to bed constantly was tough.  Mike let me sleep in a little while all the children including Noah woke up early to start the day.  They couldn't wait to see the family at the ranch and see their uncle get married to auntie Tina.  Since Noah was being a bit tough since he didn't get much sleep, Mike decided to go with the other three kids to meet the family.  I stayed back with Noah at the condo since I was just a walking zombie myself.  It was getting stormy out there and the beautiful mountains were all covered up with thick dark clouds.  My thought was with the bride and groom.  We all wish for a sunny day for the special occasion.  But it somehow always works out at the end.  If they only knew the sun will peek out during the ceremony the next day!

I finally got to meet the family at the ranch during the family barbecue dinner that evening.  We decided to a leash on Noah the entire time he was there.  There was a pond in the yard which I knew he would gladly jump in and he would disappear into the sunset the first opportunity he gets.  We may have looked strange, but the safety comes first.  Besides, grandma Marie told me grandpa was on a leash too at some point in his life :-).   The ranch looked like it came out of a magazine!  It was a rustic log house with warm colors and western style decorations.  I loved everything about the house, especially the living room and the kitchen.  Kids enjoyed playing catch with auntie Tina's dog, Trooper, and uncle Kirk's dog, Pax.  They had a nice yard with a creek and the mountains laid across the tranquil pond.  It was gorgeous.  I felt lucky to see the scenery with my own eyes.

The family looked good, in particular, grandma Marie.  She is going to be 94 this November, but she is sweet, witty and stylish.  Tina was glowing with bridal bliss and Aaron looked extra sharp.  Mike and I took turns watching Noah and I felt like I was with him more than Mike but I didn't mind.  Noah preferred to stay upstairs in one of the bedrooms and I was sitting with him looking out the window, admiring the view.  I came down occasionally since Noah wanted to grab something from downstairs and that allowed me to chat with people a bit.  Everyone seemed to be having a good time and my children looked so happy interacting with their aunts, uncle and grandparents.  I felt happy just watching them being little grandchildren, nephews and nieces.

The wedding day was cloudy with rains on and off.  We all wish for the bright sun and blue sky on the wedding day and I am sure Tina was anxious about it.  I was confident though that the sun is going to come out for her.  And it did!  As the time for the ceremony approached, we started seeing blue sky and the mountains emerged from the clouds.  It was like verything was smiling and celebrating their matrimony.  Even the birds chirped happily as if to say you two are meant to be.  The wedding officiant was their close friend and performed a personal and touching ceremony.  The guests sat in circle around the couple and a group of children including mine sat close to the center to see the ceremony up close.  One of them got up and made faces when Aaron and Tina kissed.   I am positive that the ceremony was exactly how they wanted and more.  I was trying to take some photos for them, but I had Noah on my lap who was squirming around.  I was holding my camera with one hand and snapping as best as I could and I wished I could position myself better than taking them above Noah's head.  I think the pictures turned out OK though.

During the celebration afterwards, we saw some amazing displays of nature.  It rained as soon as the ceremony ended, but the sun was shining still.  Then a dark storm rolled out from the mountain and we saw foggy mist descending from the sky through the godly looking beams of light.  It was like a photo on a magazine but 1000% more beautiful since my naked eyes saw it.  Then when the sun went down behind the mountains but still lighting up the clouds in purple, orange and pink, Sean and a little boy he met at the wedding decided to get on a flat wooden raft, sort of like the one you imagine Huckleberry Finn used, to retrieve a football they lost on the pond.  Sean got on willingly but I could tell he regretted it a bit when the raft started to drift away from the shore.  "It's gonna sink!", he was shouting but actually coordinated very well with the other boy to make sure the raft stayed leveled.  I was a bit worried it might sink since some part of the raft was submerged in the water, but it stayed afloat.  The boys successfully retrieved the ball and safely landed to the shore.  I was amazed how collected they both were and achieved what they wanted.  And... I took some amazing photos of them on the raft.  It's one of the best photos I have ever taken in fact!  I might have to print them out on canvas and hang it over the fireplace.

We had a great time in Stanley.  I had my doubts about going since I was so nervous about Noah getting lost and even had a dream about him missing in Idaho wilderness.  But, it all turned out well for all of us.  Noah had a blast!  He enjoyed throwing a ball to the dogs to fetch, he did go into the pond a couple of times but we had a change of clothes for him, and got to enjoy exploring the beautiful cabin which had many interesting things for him to feel and look at.  I benefited greatly from this trip because; 1) I needed a vacation, 2) the beauty of the wedding and the surrounding woke the photographer in me once again, and 3) gave me the major confidence to take Noah out to family outings.  Ever since we came back, we have been taking Noah out as much as we can. 

We are very happy for Aaron and Tina.  They are a great couple and we are so happy they found each other.  It reminded me of our own wedding and how special it is to have a partner whom I love and respect in my life.  My cousin's wedding is next!  Love is in the air for certain!!