Needless to say, the last week has been busy, crazy, and altogether lovely. My brain is in recovery mode, so I'll just post Noah's and Mana's latests and greatests.  :)

The first is a video they created for Josh, to go along with the Old Spice they gave him:

The second is just one of those things they do when they're bored, I think:



Relive other holiday memories with them here: Rec. Life Project. 

Oh, and don't forget to subscribe. ;-)

Happy Wednesday!

Happy Feet, and Other Smiley Things

You know that thing where you go online to look for a present for someone, and you just aren't having any luck, but you keep finding stuff that you really love, and so you put it in your cart for later while you think about it, and then you log in to your account, and they already have your card on file so you don't even have to go downstairs to get your wallet, and then you accidentally hit the purchase button on purpose?  Yeah; I was having one of those days on Monday, which made Wednesday a happy day for mail :D :



Comfiest ever.  If I didn't care about the fact that they make me
look like one of Santa's elves, I'd wear them everywhere.



Ahhh....my feet are happy.



Told ya.

(I appear to be a girl with a lot of time on my hands.)

Let me just say this, though: taking a sharpie to my feet inspired awe in my children. They seem to have a whole new respect for me, and a renewed hope that, somewhere beneath my tough, steely, no-nonsense exterior, lies a mom who really, really
....likes art.

Or something like that. :)
 

This was Daniel's idea. :)

Happy Thursday! 

December 10th

Fast-forward to Saturday:  we jumped on the ferry--well, drove onto it, really--and headed into the city for a day at the science center:

Welcome to my world--this is how it all looks to me, all the time. :)

:)



Fabulous stylist.

My life as a Klingon.  It was very brief.

Boys have cooties.

Love Abby's face; courage blooming.

I hyperventilate just looking at her doing this.

Lunch time!

World's largest Rubik's cube?

Joseph, trying to work his magic.

Group shot; waiting for the boy to make his way over.

There he is.

December 5th

Back to the brothers' house on Monday, for dinner with Gretchen M. and Evan P.:



The Host with the Most. 
(The most what, I don't know.)

Hi, Miki!

Good Mana.

Bad Mana.

Group shot...find your places....

Good one!

Best one. :)

December 4th

The next day, off to the brothers' house after meeting for a little lunch, and a lot of naptime.  Oh, and some Zumba, but you will never see pics of that:

Watching guys in helmets and tight pants.

Self-inflicted handwriting practice. Eh?!

How Daniel watches football.

The photog. :)

After this, up to the Hemmings for some piano-moving, and baked potatoes for dinner:

Jess' potato. 
Why, yes, that is saimin-on-top-of-broccoli-on-top-of-
chili-on-top-of-cheese-on-top-of-sour-cream-on-top-of-a-potato.
This guy can eat.

Jennifer, making a spectacle of herself.

Getting ready for nap #2.

Snapshots

The next few posts will be relatively wordless; it has been a busy month, filled with many privileges and opportunities for time well-spent with loved ones, and it's quite possible that I'm all worded out. 

I'll start with Leota's surprise 90th birthday party, back on December 3rd:

Surprise!

The birthday girl.

Yummy cupcakes.

Up close.

With a picture of her late husband, Max.  A good man.

Some of the littler guests (aside from myself). :)

Keeping themselves entertained.

Cheese!

Included in an email I received recently from one of my nearest and dearest:

I love it, 'cause it's totally going to be like that. :)

Funny. :D

Off to the races again today, but let me share this vid of little Max, partly because his aunty thought I would have already posted this, but mostly 'cause he's so stinkin' cute.  If I didn't have the good fortune of making babies that look like this,

then I'd hope they'd look (and sound) like this:

It's the weekend (and the start of winter break for this household)--smile!!!

Happy Aloha Friday!

No blogging. More shopping. Have I mentioned how much I dislike shopping? I defy gender stereotypes with my disdain for it. (And how come all of the negative words in the last two sentences start with the letter "d" ? Random.)

But let me just share something I started the other day; an incomplete thought, really, but it fuels my happy, and I will definitely need that as I slog through the mall today:

"They said that it's all great and happy, and that it's magical, but it's not. It's creepy." 

                          --Malia, on "The Elf on the Shelf" guy.

Hm.  She may have a point.

As always, funnier to watch Malia say something like this--her facial expressions are always so entertaining--but no vid.  (Just one of her hiding under the covers crying, and me laughing and sounding like a general "FAIL" of a parent, so we'll leave that one in the archives.)

Happy Wednesday!

Tomorrow, I will blog. 

Today, I will shop.

Wish me luck. 

(And send Search and Rescue if you don't see a post tomorrow.)

Happy Tuesday!

We're Seattle-bound today; taking our kidlets to the science center to see this film before it goes away. 

In the meantime, just wanted to take a minute to direct you to my brother Kale's relatively new photography blog.  Kale's the kind of guy who makes everything look easy: owning whatever sport he takes up; being class president; making chicken katsu; being handsome.  And now, we add photography to the list.

In his more official capacity at his pinning ceremony in May.

(Not-so-random-aside: his name is pronounced "Kuh-lay."  It occurs to me that some of you may read this and think my parents named him after a cabbage.  It's Hawaiian for Charles. :-D) 

Happy Saturday! 

(And if anyone has ideas for a better sign-off, I'm taking suggestions. :-9)) 

(She's Rambling Again....)

Eggs. Aw. Stead.

(The preceding is an alternative spelling of the word "exhausted." This is what results from the delirium I experience when I am, ahem....eggsawstead.)

• Today, I attended the funeral of a man I have known since I first moved to this area.  I appreciated seeing his family together--all of Maurie and Peggy's kids were grown and gone by the time I moved to Port Orchard.  It's fascinating to see familiar characteristics in the faces and mannerisms of his children; though perfect strangers to me, there is no mistaking to whom they belong.  I hope this is true for me, too. 

• Today also happens to be the birthday of one of my favorite 90-year-olds.  (Admittedly, I don't know many 90-year-olds, but if I did, she'd still top the list.)   I've also known Leota since first moving here; this spunky lady is a shining example of love and grace and kindness, and I am honored to know her.

• We've got a few more birthdays coming up shortly, including one bestie on Tuesday, and another one in January.  ("Bestie" is what cool people call their best friends; I don't think it upped my coolness factor at all...) 

So, between funerals, and birthdays, and the fact that many of my dearest friends are the age my mother was when I decided I was too cool for her (we're the babies, Heather! ;-p), I'm reminded again of the swift passage of time, and the need to make the most of every moment.  I treat my days as if I'll live forever, procrastinating, and wasting moments.  A letter was shared recently where the writer, a dying man, makes it his purpose to find the treasure in each day--little things, gestures he wanted to remember to appreciate.  I was humbled to be reminded again of the treasures I hold, both those easy to find (Hi, family and friends :D), and those hidden in the heart. 

{Thankful}

Quick Abs Workout

Those of us who don't do sit-ups can just laugh our way to washboard abs:

Too funny! 

I usually do pretty well with keeping my giggles in check at the gym, but if I ever see something like this, I will probably lose it. 

The guy in the orange shirt is my favorite. :)

Happy Monday!

Loose Ends

Lot of little stuff:

• First, a glimpse at the stuff that shows up in my email:

Nice.

               Apparently, it's working.  But I won't be back. 

 

 

Now, moving on.....

• It was a happy Turkey Day at the brothers' house, with the baby brothers.  We chose not dwell on the fact that we were not with the rest of our family; this was made easier by the company we kept on that day--thanks, Hemmings and Robinsons. :)  (But, no pictures! :-6)

• Totally irrelevant aside: Marvin Williams of the Atlanta Hawks was hanging out at the Bremerton YMCA on Thanksgiving morning.  I Zumba-ed with his mama.  He is 6'9".  No fair.

• "Helped" the Hemmings move to Kingston.  I didn't really do anything, except clear my husband to go over and donate his muscle power.  Oh--I guess I watched their kiddos.  But I do that every day, so what? :-9  Their new place is right on the water--YES! I don't know why the thought of sitting in the living room of one of my best friends in the world, drinking coffee, and watching the ferries come and go is so appealing, but it really, really is.  Kingston's about to become my 2nd home.          

I don't really know why they're so cool; they just are.

• The girls got it in their heads that they wanted to go Black Friday shopping this year--ugh.  I agreed to take them out, on condition that I could call the thing off without complaint if I deemed the situation unsafe.  Hm...let me think about this...what about this wouldn't be unsafe?

1. Walking through dark parking lots in the middle of the night.      
2. Standing out in the freezing cold for hours on end without adequate cold-weather gear.      
3. Entering a building with frenzied masses willing to whip out the pepper spray if you can't figure out where the end of the line is.

(What is up with this formatting?!)

I went in my pajamas, confident that once they saw the lines, and the distances from the car

to the line to the door, they'd be over it; they did not disappoint. (Sigh of relief--my pajamas are ugly.) :-p

Well, there's more, I think, but it's past this girl's Saturday night bedtime.  

Happy Saturday-turning-into-Sunday!

        

Thanksgiving for Dummies

This might be my favorite one yet.

They're a tough act to follow, so I won't even try. :)

Happy Turkey Day!

Rambling (Again)

Be you a planner or a procrastinator (I'm somewhere in between), Thanksgiving is upon us.  Yay!

Yay! for time with family and friends.
Yay! for delicious meals.
Yay! for tryptophan-induced slumber parties in the living room; just find a comfy spot on the floor.*

*I am aware there is some debate over the whole tryptophan-sleep connection; for the purposes of this post, however:

  1. I like the word "tryptophan," and
  2. I like the idea of being able to attribute my desire for an afternoon nap to some legit-sounding amino acid, versus plain old pigginess and overeating.


But, first things first: grocery shopping.  (Seriously.  Again?!?)

Yesterday was a rainy Monday morning (of course), so Shilani and I threw on our raincoats (and snorkels and masks and fins), and set out in search of the perfect turkey.  I guess we got confused about what turkeys look like, and came home with these:

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Dancin' shoes.

That's right; we both got these.

(To be fair, I spotted them first.) 

Now we're matchy-matchy Zumba twinsies.

(Hm.  I typed that with heavy sarcasm, but it kinda has a ring to it, no?)

Look at these:

Some sassy boots I found on Sunday.
They are still in the box in the hallway, as I try to decide whether I
will ever have enough attitude to pull off wearing such a thing.
I'll keep you posted.

Speaking of sassy boots, check these out:

Littlest Daughter. 
Proof that, sometimes, it's just a matter of finding the right outfit
to go with the shoes.

Middle Daughter, workin' those sassy boot covers like a rock star.
Or Supergirl, as it were.

Oldest Daughter, in her sassy boots.
I swear I just took this pic last week,
but date stamps say it's been closer
to 10 years.  Wha--?!

(Because it never feels like a proper post without mention of the cutest people in this household. :D)

Happy Tuesday!