Japan trip Summer 2016

I am fortunate enough to be able to go back to Japan for vacation every year.  I was not able to go back to Japan for five years while the kids were very small.  Life was too hectic back then to even think of being away from home.  Thanks to Mike who actually takes time off while I visit Japan with the girls, I am able to leave in peace.  He even says he enjoys staycation with the boys, so it's even better!

The girls and I flew to Osaka connecting at Narita in late June.  It's a rainy season in Japan, but I usually have pretty good luck with the weather.  The travel was very long, but the girls did great.  They were happily watching movies on their personal entertainment device or playing with iPad.  I bought the Wi-Fi on the plane again and was able to read and browse the Internet.  Travel has gotten so much easier.  If they can shorten the actual flight time to at least half then I have nothing more to wish for!

My Dad came to pick us up at the airport in Osaka.  He was his usual self with worn out hat and Japanese zouri slippers.  He looks older a bit, but his spirit is still the same.  He insists I grew taller, but I know he shrunk.  I let him believe I had some magical growth support instead of arguing with him.  The girls did not sleep at all on the plane (Saya a bit on the connecting flight), but we decided to have dinner at the airport since it will be a long ride home.  Saya wanted to eat soba noodles and Aly wanted sushi, so Dad took Saya to a noodles restaurant and I took Aly to a sushi place.  Aly was gobbling up the chirashi donburi (a vriety of raw fish on top of rice in a bowl).  The girls and I didn't eat much on the plane so we were hungry.  Dad said Saya ate like a horse, too, and I am sure that is what happened!

My Mom was home after a while since she had a meeting somewhere.  She is an exceptionally busy lady and she is rarely at one place more than 2 hours!  She is always doing something for other people and I wish I had a fraction of her energy in me.  I am sure that is why she looks and thinks young for her age.  The girls were tired so they bathed and went to sleep,   They didn't wake up until 5 am which is very good for the first night after arriving.  Jet lag can be very brutal and sometimes wakes us up at 3 am with nothing to do other than rolling around on the mattress.  We were very excited though to begin our first day in Japan.  We wanted stroll around the streets and see, smell, touch and listen to Japan.  The girls and I are always wide-eyed on the first few days because it is so refreshing to experience something out of ordinary and for me to show the girls the roots they are very much connected to.  For that I feel very lucky to be able to return. 

Our schedules filled up fairly quickly and we were so busy from the day two.  I will write about more in the next post. 

Yay, for Summer Break!

Seattle is beautiful during summer.  All the plants, flowers and trees rejoice the bright sunshine and blue sky, and people seem to be in a better mood, too.  The word "seasonal depression" floats around all winter long, so the warm cheerful weather is like a dose of good medicine for Seattleites.   

What's a mother of four like in the first week of summer break?   A hyper-maniac energizer bunny!  At least for one mother in our town (moi), it is a fitting description.  It's like a runner with fresh legs and eyes for the gold.  I was motivated to make the summer break eventful with fun outings.  They say time goes by faster if you are having fun, right?

On days that were sunny, I took four kids to the zoo in Seattle and a large park they like in Mercer Island.  They also had playdates with friends which included a bike ride together to the nearby park (about 1.5 miles away).  The bike ride sounded good until I found out that my bike had flats.  I had to run behind them the whole way and back!  I had to run fast because the kids won't slow down for me despite my numerous pleas...  I didn't want the child I was watching to get hurt or endangered, so I ran furiously, probably looked pretty funny from the side.  I was all breaking sweat when we dropped the friend off at her house. 

Noah did surprisingly well at the zoo.  The zoo is quite large and it has various statues of animals through out the park.  Noah loves statues, particularly the animal kind.  I was so sure he would hug one and never let it go but to my surprise, he only gave a few good pats on them and moved on!  I felt silly the worries about the statues were preventing me from bringing him to the zoo!  It's tiring but I know my children enjoy outing with all four.  Sean was being awesome and held on to Noah's safety leash most of the time. 

Noah wears a toddler leash when we go out because holding hands with him all the time is challenging.  The moment I let his hand go, he will be looking for an opportunity to run off and he runs FAST.  I sprint after him, but I usually have a hard time catching up to him.  I get stares, sometimes unfriendly kinds, from passerby for putting an 8 year-old on a leash, but I try not to take it personal.  One time, someone yelled out from a car "put him off leash!!" but of course, they have no idea what our situation is.  As long as we need to, I will have a safety leash on Noah.  The toddler-sized plush leopard leash is getting small though, so I have to find an alternative.

I guess I wanted to make sure kids spend time together and have fun because I was leaving for Japan in the following week with the girls.  I knew Sean was a bit sad about not being able to go and being apart from us.  I had some preparations to do for the trip, but I wanted to take time and spend quality time with the children.  I was exhausted, but it was totally worth it.  The kids were pretty tired, too, and they fell asleep contently every night without a fuss. 

Reflecting on School Year 2015-2016

Every year is a surprise, at least with our kids, how the year turns out.  Sean struggled at the beginning of the school year, but he worked like a responsible 4th grader and even scored 7th grade level in math after all.  His friends wrote a little note about him in a booklet the teacher copied that Sean is smart, funny and even has a neat handwriting!  I smiled looking at the page because when he was first diagnosed as having autism, I was very much hoping for him to be exactly what his friends described!  I wonder if some of my readers have children with autism and have recently gotten the diagnosis - it seems it's never that bad as they say.  The neurologist told me he will most likely not make best friends, but he has a few best friends.  He likes sports and he is in a circle of friends during recess playing football.  I know some things in life isn't going to be as easy for him, but at least for now he is on the right path.  He is starting to show care and compassion for his younger brother Noah who has more severe form of autism.  He watches him to be safe whenever we are out together and tries to engage him to play.  It makes me very happy to see him being more responsible and acting like a big brother.

Aly proved she is a free spirit this year.  She practically did minimal work during the class hour. We cleaned out her desk and we found loads of cartoon drawings, stories she wrote and blank worksheets she was supposed to turn in!  I spoke with her many times about importance of completing work, but she couldn't get a hold of herself.  Her reason, the classroom was too noisy.  That I must agree.  Aly gets distracted easily and with that kind of noise level, I can imagine it was very hard for her.  Keeping the big picture in mind, we let it be.  At least I know she is a great writer and artist.  Actually, quite hilarious, too.  On her teacher's Instagram account, there was a picture of him with a paper cut out of a talking bubble with "I am a totally huge and big butt.  I am serious."  The caption of the post says "taken from one of my quietest and well-behaved students.  she was holding it over the heads of other students."  I immediately knew that was Aly.  When I confronted her, she blushed. 

Noah became a talking boy this year.  The change has been coming along slowly, but it reached a point where he is now talking to us to tell us what he wants.  "I want hug please," he would say and he gets one.  I think the iPad talking program made a huge difference.  He is gradually expressing his emotions like "I am scared," and I am glad he can say it now.  He still has meltdowns, that is a given in kids with autism.  He would just scream and cry like a toddler except he is bigger and louder.  I can only guess what he may be feeling, but sometimes it's a mystery.  Like last night, he wouldn't sleep and kept whining.  I noticed that his legs twitched a lot, so I thought maybe he has a restless leg syndrome.  I quickly researched on my phone while I held him and it said it's genetic.  Mike suffers from it, so I will talk to the doctor about it next time.  He still touches his fecal matters when he goes in his room at night.  It happened last night and it was aweful.  I had to shampoo the carpet and wash everything late at night.  I know he is a smart kid, he can read and decode words, so it doesn't make sense to us that he would do such thing...  Autism is just so deep.  We made an appointment with Sean's psychiatrist for Noah, so I am hoping he can prescribe medications to help him be more balanced chemically.  I sure hope it works.

Miss Saya was a rock star this year.  She was one of the best students in the class without even trying (well I suppose she did work for it) and she did well in all subjects.  She struggled a bit with making friends after a girl whom she befriended first made another friend and didn't want to hang out with Saya anymore.  She was hurt and upset about that for quite a while (boy, she doesn't forget!)  After a while though she made new friends and she enjoyed school again.  She was quiet at school and the teacher was surprised when I told her Saya is loud at home.  I volunteered at her class every Friday and was able to observe how she is at school.  She was very focused, sort of opposite from certain someone with the name that starts with A. 

Things are going to be very different next school year - it being Sean's last year at the elementary school.  Aly is going to start taking standardized tests and Saya is going to be challenged with more independent and harder tasks coming her way.  We are looking at enrolling Noah in a private school which specializes in children with autism.  The district's special education program has been wonderful and we are happy with it, but we want to see if he improves more with other programs.  I hear only good things about this school in Seattle and the tuition is covered by insurance, so I intend to at least go for a tour of the school and learn more about it. 

So, the summer break is here! (from 6/21)  Every summer, I almost lose my mind around mid August, so we shall see how I fare this time. 

Gym Show

I put Saya in gymnastics when she was four to keep her flexible since Mike and I are hopelessly stiff.  Miss Saya has a different body type and she is very flexible for now.  She enjoyed tumbling and jumping on the trampoline in her toddler class and fast forward three years, she still loves it.  She is very strong as well, so she is good at bars, bridge, handstand and cart wheels.  She cannot wait to master flips and I think in her next class that is what she will be working on.

I was not pushed athletically when I was growing up and it is one thing I want all my kids to get involved in.  Physical fitness is such an important part of a person's life!  It affects self-esteem, brain functions and over-all happiness.  I got sucked into yoga now and for that I am grateful.  It is allowing me to achieve the level of fitness I have never had before. 

Saya was very cute in the gym show she had in June.  When the marching music came on, Saya was the very first kid to walk into the gym waving mini Japanese flag and giggling shyly.  She said she picked the Japanese flag for her grandma.  Nana, Aly, Noah and I were watching her while Sean competed in his flag football playoff game in the same high school which the both gym meet and flag play off were happening.  Mike stayed with Sean as he was the assistant coach. 

Saya did great!  She no doubt was the best one in the group and proved that she is ready for the next level up.  She had a great control of her body and she felt comfortable in her movement.  She did the gymnast's pose at the end of each move and it was so very cute.  She is not as tall like her sister, so she may have the right body type for this sport.  She is muscular and solid as well which is completely opposit from my body type.  It is so funny how your children are nothing like you.  Actually, all my children look nothing like me.  They are all way better looking than me and I am glad they turned out the way they are. 

I am looking forward to seeing Saya blossom as a gymnast.  When she does double flips, I would feel like my job is done.  Not quite but that would be freaking awesome.

Memorial Day Weekend Camping Escapede

Jen's family and ours (me and the three kids) packed half of our houses and headed up to Whidbey I
sland on the Memorial Day weekend for our annual camping trip!  This is our third time camping together and Saya decided to join this time.  I always look forward to our camping trip because it's a lot of fun bonding and playing plus it whips my spoiled butt into shape.  It is not uncomfortable because Jen's family has some nice gears like mini oven and mosquito net equipped canopy, but we have to live with what we could bring.  There certainly isn't a dish washer and we have to be creative to keep ourselves warm at night.  All those work which sounds inconvenient is actually refreshing to me and makes me appreciate the life I have at my cozy home. 

The children were super happy of course.  We stayed at Deception Pass State Park and it is one of the most beautiful camp ground around.  It is located on the north tip of the Whidbey and surrounded by two beaches called West and North beaches.  We can see Canada from the West beach and it reminded me how far north we are.   Our lot was large which allowed us to park two cars comfortably and had no neighbor on one side, which was really nice.  The kids explored the woods a bit pretending they are training for an army.  Saya was happy the older kids promoted her to general. 

We ran into Sean's friend from school at the West beach and that was kind of fun.  The rainy beach was beautiful - the dark sky and roaring waves created a melancholic atmosphere.  Kids were in their own sunny place though, building a fort with beach logs.  The rain didn't bother them at all despite being cold.  There were many pretty rocks as well which looked more like river rocks with smooth surface and rounded corners.  The girls collected some for their souvenir. 

The meal time was a bit chaotic, but that is part of the fun in camping!  Jen and I decided we are going to eat well, so Jen grilled up Korean barbecue one night and I... what did I make?  I honestly cannot remember what I cooked one night.  Oh gosh, it must have been deleted from my memory for good...  All I know is that we ate very well and didn't settle for any instant meals.  The best part of eating,at least for kids were, Kevin's s'mores.  I had one on my gluten free bread and I must say that he roasts the marshmallows perfectly.  He never burns them and waits until marshmallow becomes like a melting ice cream,  Just as they hang dangerously from the roasting stick, he catches it with the chocolate and graham crackers.  Yummy, they were so good!

The weather was not perfect but it turned sunny on the last day.  We headed to the North beach and had a picnic there on the beach.  Kids had a lot of fun building another fort with beach logs and dog watching.  We could see the famous Deception Pass Bridge from the beach and were admiring the view.  The bridge was built in 1935 and still looks quite elegant after 81 years.  There were many tourists at the North beach and they were all walking to the same direction towards the West beach.  We wondered what they are going to do there.  We had a nice relaxing time at the beach. 

The unpacking took a lot long but of course we were bit sad about leaving.  The Collins can't camp next year, so we have to go camping on our own next time.  That kind of got me thinking, maybe if we have a RV, Noah can come camping, too.  I checked out some RVs online and an used RV for a party of six is about $28k.  It is a lot of money and I cannot justify to purchase it to save money for travel, however for the memories we make with kids it might be worth it.  The kids are growing up so fast and soon they will be in teenage years in which  they prefer to hang out with their friends than parents.  I guess I need to start buying lottery or start getting busy taking more pictures! 

Thanks Collins for the wonderful time!  I love camping!!

Recent Photography Happenings

My photography business is a bit slow since I am not advertising it much lately, actually not at all.  My focus is at school and day to day activities a bit too much and haven't had time to work on my business.  What can I say!?  The end of school year period is always crazy!  I did have a couple of opportunities to shoot though so my creative side is still alive and well.  Maybe I should rent a studio so that I have to be serious about committing to this business.  Any Bellevue photographers out there looking for a studio space? 

First set of pictures are from the family portrait session I had in May.  They were taken in local trail, so it was quite dark.  I was able to find some patches of sunshine and took advantage of them.  The family is gorgeous.  The children, in particular the daughter is stunning!   She is a great model just like her Mom!

The second set of photos are from the Transgender Film Festival in Seattle.  I was asked to take photos of the event and although it was a long assignment, it was a lot of fun.  I had the longest headache spell in my life from the tense neck carrying my camera.  I need to learn to properly carry my heavy camera.  The headache did not go away until I went to see Dr. Owen, my Chiropractor.  He was surprised how messed up I was!  I need to stretch and strengthen neck, arm and shoulder muscles if I want to take a job that lasts many hours.  I learned my lesson!

Flag Football

Sean has been playing flag football in a local league since April.  It's a breeze compared to the tackle football he played for the past two years.  No gears, just clothes and mouthpiece.  The practice and game are combined to one day, so it is only once a week.  Sean likes it because he doesn't have to wear heavy pads and helmet and his best friend is in his team, too.  This week is his last game and it's a playoff!  Sean has been playing good enough, but the team has more losses than wins.  Mike says there are several good players, but many of them are not so motivated.  I was hoping his team is more aggressive, but it is what it is.  Sean himself is not that type, either.  He is so skinny just like how I was when I was a kid.  He has a low muscle tone and although his is light, he doesn't have the power.  I am working very hard to put on muscle with yoga, too, and I can just imagine how he will be as a teen - unless, Mike's gene kicks in after puberty!  He wants to do basketball this summer, so I will find a class for him.  Life with a pre-teen sporty boy is a busy life.  I am glad he enjoys being active outside!