there was this one time...

ice skating in LA

after 5 long, hot soccer games in 3 days (kira's soccer tournament) we decided to celebrate with some cool outdoor ice skating. in LA? nu-uh! :) we loved it! perfect timing, they had to clear the snow just as we got there!

you know you are skating in LA when you see this posted on the side of the  Zamboni:

loved these of these 2:

and cam, kira and i decided to stay on the sidelines and watch. kira is usually all about ice skating but i think 5 soccer games was catching up to her. but gee, that ice gives off nice light :) 

and caleb who wants to know how to skate so badly but doesn't quite have the patience for it. but had a good time anyways.

and then the tears when it's time to go.

thank goodness for the free starbucks coupons we got from ice skating, we went to 3rd street to cheer her up. :)

last week at school

on our way to the 5th grade's state float parade. as fun as this project should be- i dread it. for the 3 months that it is preassigned, i stress. i have high hopes for child 3 and 4 to get a head start and get the creative juices flowing :)

it appears elsie has what chris and his other family members have- eyes that are sensitive to light. this girl can't go in sunlight without her glasses. oh i wish i stocked up when they were on sale after summer.

cam chose west virginia as virginia was taken.. our family has big love for the state of virginia :) good memories.

especially this little guy who was born there. we can't wait to go back and take a family vacation there someday.

at his little thanksgiving feast/performance :)

im seriously slacking on kira pics! putting on my to do list as she is home this week from school. she's just a busy little bee, that girl :)

her own little world

pics from the week of a little girl in her own little world, even speaks her own language. nonstop. jibber jabber happy happy all day. phew, im tired. she's as sweet as can be but has been extremely chatty lately, such is the life of a busy 2 year old. and a tired mama :)

we attended the boy's activities at school this week. she was a busy bee. will be posting those in a few- today was the last day for a week, im so happy! glad that we're getting a full week for thanksgiving this year!

oh and ps! last night, chris and i saw the best movie of the year! slumdog millionaire. we can't stop talking about it and want to see it again and again. so good. :)

what i found in my inbox

the subject said: meet me outside!

caleb and dad had some extra time before school drop off so they surprised me at the front door with a treat. love his little face popping up with my favorite treat :)

ten years ago today

our first son was born. ---- if you can't stand the sap, turn away now. :)

so ten years ago, right now.. it's night time. i would have probably said goodbye to chris and kira as they would have gone home and it would be me and the bubba alone in our hospital room. he was born naturally, so he started the night in his little clear cubicle cubbie thing, what are those called? and when he cried i was able to get him myself. i know that it's all a blur that first night. he'd cry, i'd tend, i'd put him back and that would continue thru the night until i couldn't get up anymore and i'd let him sleep with me. i know because chris has pictures of us the next morning, totally knocked out but sleeping together. the first of many nights where our children slept with us. for so long i have wanted a son. and there he was. looking so much more asian than i would have thought :) my big 8 pound baby boy. hard to believe that he's this full on kid now- double digits- who plays competitive sports and actually is interested in watching real sports with daddy, plays video games, who's best friend is his little brother, who can hardly stand not to give his little sister whatever her little heart desires, an avid reader at times, he read the entire kids bible in a weekend and memorized the books in the old testament in order. he is a loyal friend, so loyal. i can't say enough about him. he's wise beyond his years. and those who know him know what i mean. i think back when kira was 10 and now she's 13, and that jump is just HUGE. and it happened so QUICK. the thought of him growing as fast just amazes me. i am not ready for all my babies to be big kids, kira's my height now, it's a matter of months before cam is there with us as well. it's a strange thing to see these children who you cared for and taught SO many things for so long grow up and become their own person.

it's amazing and such a privilege. we love you cameron. so happy you are in our lives. so thankful to God for you. xooxox

his photo collage...four times as large as this picture shows- caleb did the decorating this year :) 

noon & night

broke out the camera as els was lounging in my bed at noon. wanting me to read if you give a mouse a cookie. she's addicted to that whole series.

i read, she fell asleep. so nice! she hasn't napped in months, at least not at the right time- sometimes she'll nap at 3  or 4- where i'd rather her not nap at all by that point.

then bathtime, surprise surprise she wanted me to wash her hair and didn't make a peep. afterwards she was so amazed at how different her hair looked. i guess she's normally all bent out of shape when we take her out, that she's not collected enough to see her hair. :) she liked it so much she wanted me to take a picture :) okay :)

have a great weekend people! we have our last soccer games-- or at least for this season, as caleb and kira will continue on with more tournaments. and cam starts basketball. it's neverending! but fun :)

it is sad

that i am still pulling pics from the halloween shoot :) it's day 12 of november and i haven't picked up the camera since this day. and this day wasn't even me, it was all chris!
on monday night, right before bed, he complained of a toothache. i gave him some tylenol and sent him to bed. i took him to the dentist the next morning, and a few hours later, he walked out of the office with 2 teeth less. poor dude!
thank god chris was there for me to call in for reinforcements, i had to go out in the waiting room, i don't do good with things like that. :( but yet, take a child from my body, why yes, i will :) oh, how i miss being pregnant and labor and all that. tangent.
and just a few of the girls that i love. :)


and one of elsie with her new doll love from tokyo.. i didnt give it much love in the last post. i failed to mention how chris thought the girl looked like elsie sooo much (not the eyebrows) that he bought her all these goodies, including a japanese DVD that is just so cute. if only we knew what she was saying. :)

it is unbelievable to me that it the holidays are approaching. this year has been the fastest ever! :(

some scrap stuff

did this today for KI,focusing on epoxy. epoxy was pretty big for awhile there, seems like it's dwindling a bit, i'd like it to make a comeback :) those letter stickers (fresh) are probably one of my top 10 faves.

i participated in a challenge for a site that is based in one of my favorite places (new zealand!) the challenge is to use themed products on a non themed layout. if it seems like i've done this before, i probably have. i am a sucker for themed products but love using them all year long, not just the specified holiday. here i used KI christmas and Scenic Route Birthday and Heidi Grace christmas. I tried so hard to get a halloween product in there as well but it wasn't working :)

and a few layouts for 2peas. now this is why i love scrapbooking. i took this picture when she was 2 months, blogged about it.. then scrapped it 2.5 years later. at 2 months, it was a crappy day. 2.5 years later, im longing for that baby, crappy day and all!

and one more.

oh gee, very elsie heavy. going to fix that as tomorrow i am going to the oasis for an all day crop! i will make a plethora of pages of my other children, i promise :) have a great weekend!

homecoming

it's always a treat when daddy comes home from foreign lands with treats :) this homecoming was no exception! he had 5 hours in tokyo where he was a little shop happy with this little figure he thought looked like els :)

he even got kira and i matching shirts. dang that plant in her face!

and the boys got matching goods as well:

and some shots of dad with children who are very happy he's home. i loooove the second one where he's looking at K and she's lovin on him, and E doing who knows what! looks like E doesn't quite get the jumping pics, her arm was not harmed here :)

and with the boys LOL, E still not getting the jumping idea. cam looks so little to me here. love it. and caleb with his big football muscles. LOL

the picture taking has come to a sudden halt since he came home, whoops! but i did beat my measley 27 shots last month- im at 636 :)

halloween

kira was an 80's girl, cam was a dragon (sorta!) and caleb a football player. E was to be d---d-d--d---dora but when dad came home with this outfit from singapore.. dora wasn't given the time of day! oh well.
holy cow, a group shot with all 4 kids!?! :)

caleb- his little shamrocks were faded at this point.

cam--when you're in 5th grade, you sorta dress up. you can't commit to a full costume.. you have one foot in the i'm too cool door, but still one in the i wanna have fun door. :) this was our compromise, ala mom stitching :)

and kira, voguing!

and our little singapore princess :)

i wanted to say thank you to everyone who emailed about the protection of the blog. i was overwhelmed by the concern and support. for now on, comments will be moderated. thank you again.