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.
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