Almost Halloween

I had some problems with posting photos on my blog and that made me delay in updating the blog.  If you were faithfully checking to see if I had anything new, I apologize!  It was the compatibility issue with the new browser Microsoft Edge and this blogger website.  Mike updated my laptop's operating system to Windows 10 and Edge.  I am not so much liking the Windows 10 because what I loved about using my Surface was the large panel touch screen interface.  It now works more like a traditional operating system and I am not sure why they chose to go back to having a small pop up menu when you press the Window's start button.  Anyway, enough about the new operating system.  Now that I figured out how to post pictures again, it's all good to go.

We have been having a pretty mild fall so far after the hot summer.  We are starting to get chilly mornings though and I finally pulled out the thick winter coats for the kids.  They leave home wearing them, but they never have their jackets on when they return from school.  It is still warm during the day.  It is about to change though this week since highs expected are going to be in mid 50s.  We don't expect a cold winter again this year.  I bet it is not going to snow much, either.  A bad news for farmers and winter sports enthusiasts.  It has been very tough on them for the past few years. 

We took the kids to a lake called Rattlesnake Lake in early October to see a dry lake bed that has been exposed due to drought.  I really wanted to check it out because a part of the village which went underwater by a bad flood in early 1900s reappeared.  That sounded so interesting to me because I love anything historical.   The small village was called Mocton and housed about 200 people.  You can read more about Mocton here: http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&File_Id=2436

The lake was so pretty with many mysteriously large tree trunks.  I suspect the trees were cut when the railroad was built.  The tree trunks had rectangular holes cut out to put a wooden plank in to stand on it while chopping the tree.  The kids were mesmerized by the sights they have never seen before.  Noah soon ran towards the water, tried to get in, got a bit wet, and then ran towards then tree trunks and climbed many of them.  The girls and Sean had fun climbing on as well and competed each other in climbing more challenging trunks.  We took many pictures and enjoyed a beautiful day together. 

When Noah climbed onto a tall giant tree trunk, Mike and I didn't know there was a large hole in the middle of the trunk.  As soon as we noticed it, we immediately tried to get Noah off because we were afraid he would fall and won't be able to get him out.  Noah must have read our mind - despite our plea he disappeared into the dark tree trunk and he cried since it was dark down there and he could not move.  Oh, Darn!!! Was my thought.  Mike quickly climbed on to see how bad it was and his expression didn't look promising.  At that point, I asked Mike if I should call 911 and had a vision of flashing red fire trucks, ambulance and my face as red as those vehicles standing by shamefully.  Mike though got his hulk out and managed to reach Noah's finger tips to pull him out.   I was glad he trains his muscles in the garage that moment because it looked like he used all his power to rescue Noah.  Noah also has a very strong grip so it was a team effort.  I am glad we didn't have to call the rescue team.  That would have been a nightmare!! 

We quickly retreated from the scene and decided to go to a pumpkin patch at a nearby farm in effort to bring the fun back to the weekend.  Carnation WA is a beautiful area with pristine rivers and grassy green fields.  There are many farms that grow fresh fruits and veggies there and it is our go to place to get a little country in us when the weather is nice.  Remlinger Farm is the largest in the area and they created quite an enterprise with children's little amusement park with education centers and producing series of merchandise from fruits pies to salsas.  They are quite tasty.  We particularly like their strawberry rhubarb pie and avocado tomatillo salsa!  Yummy stuff!   We had fun in corn maze and took some pictures at their pumpkin patch.  We had some fresh ice cream at their food court and certainly were successful at cleansing the bad taste from the tree trunk incident!

I have tons more to write about, but I will be just glad I have one new post to report!

Welcoming Fall

Hello everyone!  The school had started and the new routine and new normal are finally starting to sink in.  Our babies are 4th, 2nd and 1st graders.  Time sure flies... chubby little babies are becoming so big, I have to look at their baby pictures to remind me how they looked like as babies.  They are very happy to be in their new grade and adjusted to their new teachers well.  I like to look at their work packed in their backpacks after school.  They are doing well despite not studying much during summer break. 

Summer was fun but I am so glad the school started!  The first taste of freedom in two and half months was so sweet, I smiled all the way home after dropping them off.  Maybe Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" was playing in my head.  I could dance my way home, but I restrained myself since there were many parents around.  I don't want to embarrass my children on their first day, of course.

I will volunteer at schools like last year, but I've decided to tone it down a bit.  My schedule last year was very crazy and it was impacting my stress level and taking time away from my workout regime.  This year, I want to focus on getting fit and being organized.  I am still doing Yoga with my friend and I am a tad more flexible and a lot stronger now.  I have still a long way from where I want to be, but I am on my good path to get there.  I say it's good because now my body and brain crave the rigorous routine at my friend's studio.  As hard as it is, it feels great after sweating off all the toxins.  Yoga for life and I think it is going to help me stay young physically and mentally.

I really want to post some beautiful pictures I took in Japan but since I have so many of them, I will post them bit by bit.  It gets very hot in Japan in July and August and that was affecting my mood to shoot away, but I tried to capture the essence of my trip and the beauty of my birth country.  People from my city, Osaka, is known for being friendly perhaps like how we characterize people from the south in America.  Friendly people have nice smiles, so I enjoyed taking people pictures as well.  I wished I studied more about my new camera as I planned to do so on the plane.  Being stuck on the plane with nothing to do would have been a perfect time to read the manual, but instead I was sucked in by the personal entertainment system in front of my seat! 

This post is a mish mash because I am trying to catch up two months of content into one, which is pretty much impossible.  We had another exciting event in August after the girls and I came back from Japan.  Our cousin Sam got married in Boise to her fiancé, Phil, whom she met in a college internship program.  Her new husband is a sweet baby-faced young man from the Midwest.  He seems like a very nice guy and I am glad they found each other to share their lives.   Sam looked beautiful!  She wore a classy strapless dress and wore her hair in a low bun which made her look like a princess.  I got teary thinking how little she was when I met her and how my little girls are someday going to get married like her...  I tell you, Mom business involves lots of tear production.

The kids did great on the trip for the most part.  The driving was smooth as they watched their favorite DVDs.  The hotel was the least favorite part of the trip.   The room was so small and the door was very close to the beds.  Being in a new place Noah was very unstable screaming occasionally. That made me stressed out because guests in other rooms can hear him screaming.  Sure enough, I could tell our temporary neighbors weren't happy with us when we saw them in the hallway!  It's a good thing we'll never see them again!  As a parent of two autistic boys, it's very easy to avoid going out or taking a trip as a whole family.  I don't want to deal with their public melt-downs or obsessive behaviors because people's stare hurts and I feel like shrinking into a shell and curl up.   A small ripple, but it left a big impression on me.  I promise though we will not give up on going on family trips!  We must not avoid challenges for the fear right? 

We were happy to see many family and in particular grandpa Bob's cousins from Arizona and our special little baby, Olive.  The Arizona cousins were friendly and such a lovely people, we had a good time getting to know them.  Grandma Marie talked about them often and it was great to finally meet them in person.  The baby Olive, my very first niece, was so cute.  I hadn't held a young infant in a while and I enjoyed the soft smell and the warm fuzziness I felt holding her.  The children grow darn so fast and for that moment wished my kids were babies again.  Everyone seemed be having a great time.  I was very impressed with aunt Wilma and uncle Kirk, Sam's parents, for giving their daughter away gracefully and enjoying their happiest day ever.   Congratulations Sam and Phil!  It was great to see our cousin found her happily ever after!

Well, this post if getting ridiculously long and I better stop now.  I am back to this blog after adjusting to the new schedule and recovering from the craziness of the summer break.  I will post regularly now, I promise.  My goal is to post 80 posts per year and I surely can do it now that I have more time!

The photos below are from Japan.  My aunt's family took us to Ise, where there is one of the most famous shrines in Japan resides.  It is a very historic place and was like a time slip to the past.