Saya and shoes

This girl cannot resist shoes.

I came down after taking shower on Tuesday to find little Saya wearing Amy's sneakers. I didn't expect it at all and I cracked up laughing. She looked like a little boxer in training with her hood on. Every time someone comes over, she puts on the shoes the visitor leaves by the front door. This one made me laugh though. Very cute.

The Bike Guy

Mike has been working out pretty regularly through out his adult life. He's always been muscular as far as I've known him and he was one of those guys that cast big shadow wherever he stood. He's never been overweight, just a big guy. He's gotten pretty fit when we lived in Australia because we had time to work out twice or even three times a day. Mike and I used to spot each other in the gym and we probably looked ridiculously funny, a skinny girl spotting a big dude bench pressing stick with rolls of 20 pounders. But he's always had trouble with maintaining the fitness level he wanted.

However, Mike is a new man today. He's become that bike guy you see cruising down the road in flashy tight outfit. He jogs almost every morning and commutes 6 miles to work on his bike whenever he can (yes, there are lots of hills). He eats sensibly and doesn't overdo like he used to. He's really changed his ways and this time I do feel for life. He's lost over 30 pounds and below 10% body fat! I am very proud of him for overcoming his eating challenges and being persistent about getting daily exercise. It's not easy to work out having demanding jobs outside as well as inside home. It is so easy to pass a workout with countless reasons (excuses) that are in your face. But he sticks with his goals everyday. His first half marathon is coming up in two weeks and I am looking forward to cheering him on and be inspired!

Alyson Starts New School

This girl who looks like four years old started a new class on Tuesday. We stopped going to the Kindering Center to join a Japanese school. The class she attends is 2 hours long and they have music lesson, writing and reading lesson in Japanese. She's gone again this morning and she cried the both time when I left. The teacher said though that she was fine after a few minutes and enjoyed herself very much. They said that her pen grasp is excellent and she is doing well in the class. At the end of the class, the teacher and student bow together just like in Japan and I saw little Alyson straighten herself up and bowed saying "Sayonara". She almost fell down doing so, but it was so cute! If all goes well, I might put Saya in the class, too, when she turns 2.

Saya's Latest Happenings

This little girl is going to be 18 month old at the end of the month. She is a funny and adorable little girl we cannot get enough of. Here are some things she does these days.

- She often calls for me "Mama?" and I ask her back "Nani? ("what is it?" in Japanese) and today I called her name and she came around the kitchen corner saying "Nani?".

- She likes to tackle Noah down. I tell her that is not nice because poor Noah whines when she does it. Maybe she's watching too much football, thanks to Daddy.

- She is the most responsive in our house. I ask something to other kids and here she is raising her hand and saying "haai! (yes in Japanese)" while my other kids ignore.

- So far, she is an excellent listener. When I tell her no, she stops. Today, she was found playing in the cat's room downstairs, taking something out of a drawer. I asked her to come out from the room and she marched right out but turned around and went back in the room. I was ready to ask her to come out again until I realized that she went back to put the item away in the drawer.

- She says "gochiso samadeshita (thank you for the meal)" whenever she wants to stop something. I guess she thinks it means all done. For example, when she is in the stroller and wants to get down, she repeatedly says "goshisosama" with hands clasped together.

- She likes it when I pretend to eat her belly. Her belly is super soft and snugly.

- She likes to say "oh-ohh" when ever she drops something.

- I can have a real conversation with her because I tell her something, she nods and says "yeah" or "un (yeah in Japanese)". Grandpa the other day asked if Saya could use a high ball and she nodded in a serious face saying "yeah".

Good Bye Farmer's Market

Mexican American farmers from Watapo, WA. They were my favorite as their veggies and fruits were the best and the cheapest.

Last Tuesday was the last day of Crossroad Farmer's Market. Now I lost my go to place for fresh fruits and veggies till next spring... I wish my parents lived close because my Dad is an organic farmer. He sells his veggies at his own farmer's market stand near my house in Osaka. I hear his produce is the best around and it's so ironic we can't enjoy them!

Sean and Aly liked coming to the market with me. I give them a bag and they help me put the veggies and fruits in it. They like to carry it around until we get home. One time I gave Sean a bag with huge cucumbers and he was grunting while hugging it in his skinny arms. He almost made it to the car, but he had to ask for help because it was too heavy.

The end of farmer's market season means it's the rainy season again. We are hoping to get a little more sunshine until we pay visit to the pumpkin patch. We are just waiting on a dry weekend to hit it.

To Fremont and Ballard

Alyson enjoying the GFCF chocolate cupcake from Flying Apron bakery in Fremont.
Sean liked it, too.

Sean was pretty happy!

Salmon at Ballard Lock salmon ladder. We had salmon sashimi that night.

Saya at Ballard Lock park wanting to be picked up.

Saya with cute expression.

Kids had a lot of fun running up and down the hill. You can see all four kids plus Mike in there. Aly was scooting down the hill and her bottom was brown. It looked like she had a huge poop mess and people were staring at her while we walked back to the car...

At the botanical garden by the Ballard Locks.

Sean was being goofy.

On Sunday, we went to a GFCF bakery in Fremont and Chittenden Locks in Ballard. I heard about the bakery through Aly's classmate's Mom who has celiac disease. There are a few gluten free bakeries in the area and we are planning to try all of them eventually! The cupcakes were pretty good. It had a nice fluffy texture and the frosting was creamy and not too grainy like some non-dairy kinds. It passed Sean's test, so it's good enough for me. Of course, Sean is a sucker for cupcakes so it would be hard not to pass his test.

After the trip to the bakery, we drove over to Ballard to check out the Chittenden Locks. I've been wanting to go to see how they open and close the locks to let the ships go by. It was a big hit. The kids enjoyed watching the boats and the dam. We watched how they raise the water level in an enclosed area so that the boats can go through the dam. A bonus was that they had salmon ladder, too, so we got to look at salmon again. I've lived in Idaho for 10 years plus lived near the sierra in California, but this is the first time I saw salmon migrating. I don't know how that happened, but I am sure it would be a seasonal favorite for us from now on.

Salmon Days

Today, we went to the Salmon Days in Issaquah with Jen's family. We'd gone there once when Sean was about 7 month old with Nana. Sean was tucked into the infant carrier back then and I remembered it being slightly cold. Today was a little warmer and cloudy. A good weather to be out about. I did take a bunch of pictures of us eating, kids in stroller etc... but I just want to post the photo I took of the salmons in the river. You see the cage looking things in the back? The salmon strong enough after their journey from the ocean leap in there to get to their final destination to lay their eggs and disseminate their sperms. There are still several obstacles after that point as well and their final bits of their journey can be seen behind the glass display area. I was very moved to see their strong instinct that drive them to do what they do - fighting through fear, pain and exhaustion to preserve their specie. Sean was very curious and was watching the salmons in the river for a long time.