The three Musketeers

This is a video of how Takeshi likes to travel.
My other kids did it a little but Takesh does it ALL THE TIME.
Like ALL the time.
Pretty cute video.

One tenth

So I saw Chris this morning and a few things have changed.
They've moved into a new gym which is even NICER than the last one.
I love it.
It's a pity it's so far away, otherwise I'd just swap, I'm still thinking about it.  My one has a pool though.........that's pretty awesome.
They going on a cruise in a week's time to the Bahama's which is great as well.
HE'S GOING TO PROPOSE THERE!!!
He told me all about the ring and everything.
I'm so excited for him.
I think it's awesome and hope everything is just as they'd want it.
I asked him 'When are you gonna do it?'
He didn't know.
So I'm excited to hear about it.
Then he told me that he just started paying one tenth of his money to the church.
He said it was hard but he's going to start doing it.
I was so proud of him.
I told him to watch the blessings he'll receive because of it.
He said that he used to just give $2 here and $5 there then he gave $50 one time and remembered me telling him about one tenth for a tithe and decided to do that.
Can you believe it?
So he might not be going to an LDS church but he's going to church AND he loves it AND he's paying one tenth in tithing AND he's getting married.
I think it's awesome and he's such a great example.
So I thought I needed to write it down.
Plus I also thought today's work out would be easier, which is was, but it was still hard, if that all even makes sense.
LOL

Few extra points upstairs

Today was Stake conference.
This is where 7 to 9 wards (congregations) get together in one building twice a year and listen to speakers from the Stake Presidency (leaders over this group of wards) and various people from these wards.
It's usually pretty good.
Well since having kids it's had it's ups and downs to say the least.
It's 2 hours long, the kids are too young to be interested and so between Dru and I we listen to bits and pieces of it depending on how the kids do.
It can be horrendous or alright.
Some people choose not to go (I don't blame them or judge them at all) but as for me and Dru we feel it's important to drag our kids there as an 'example' of the 'right' thing to be doing.
Also my parents always took us and so I had their example as well.
When I was younger we had to travel for 3 hours to get to our District meetings and camp or stay with someone, so I figure this is a small price to pay since it's a hop, skip and a jump for us to make it and I have HALF the sized family as my parents did.
If THEY could do it..........I can do it.
So Dru and I never turn up early and so we're at the back.
They couldn't figure the speakers out, we could barely hear, well not really hear at all.
They had the primary and womens' room speakers going but Dru checked it out and said 'It's full and rowdy'
So we just sat in the back, for whatever reason, and stayed the whole two hours.
I didn't hear a thing.
I'm pretty sure Dru didn't hear a thing.
I'm not sure why we stayed.
But we did.
We got nothing out of it except for the fact that our kids were alright and there was this family in front of us who had EIGHT children.
The mother looked the same age as me and the children looked like they were a year apart.
I SWEAR to you the oldest was maybe only 8 or 9 and her youngest looked like 3 month old twins who she was holding by herself while the father tackled the rest of the children.
They were pretty good considering aye.
I ended up taking one of the twin boys and playing with him for a while.
The father had a child sleeping on him and the mother had the other twin who was being fussy.
I just took the child from the father and he said nothing.  I don't even think he really looked back at me to tell you the truth LOL
Eventually this baby fell asleep in my arms and so for the last 30 mins I had this sleeping new born I was holding.
I was pretty awesome.
I sat there and really wanted to interview this mother to see how she handles her life as the mother of these 8 kids.
I whispered to Dru whether he wanted 8 kids and he looked at me, made this face, and said 'I don't think so babe' and laughed.
This mother looked calm, well kept, so did her kids.
I was fascinated.
So if THEY could do it WE could do it.
I'm sure they couldn't hear anything either, but THEY stayed.
Even though we heard nothing, it seemed pointless really to be there, I'm glad we went and I'm glad we stayed.
I'm still not sure why, but I just feel good about today.

Journal Entry Fiftysix

Write your feelings about someone close to you that has died.

I've already written about this so I guess this week is a week off for me.

TAPE A TALE

Imagine you're having a conversation with an animal-real or imagined (your pet dog or a fire-eating dragon!) and record your "conversation" on video.  Do both voices.  Then play it back to see how the two of you sound.

Stuff

THE COMPLETE FAMILY

Dru finally did his pumpkin.

THE 'BEATEN' CHILD

Despite popular belief we DON'T beat our children...............much.
What has happened with the little rug rat is that he plays around at nights.
We go in to 'sort it out' and he's NOT in bed, races to his bed, dives to his bed, and misses.
So in the last two nights he's gotten two black eyes.
He's one in a million this kid.

BAT GIRL

Yuki wanted me to take a video of her reading the 'Bat Book'
So, since I'm a great mother, I adhere to her wishes.
Here's Yuki 'reading' the bat book, written and illustrated by Masaru Nakaya.

The bat book

So the other day Masaru came home and wanted to make a bat book.
I'm not sure why, but who am I to stop an artist right?
LOL
They had been studying them at school and he knew a few things about them and one thing we had to look up.
I knew about fruit bats from my mission since they were around every night making Brisbane city look more like Gotham city.
With very little help he did this book.
He told me he was the Author and the Illustrator and that that's ok because sometimes author's are also great at drawing as well to which I agreed.
Masaru's not top of his grade by any means.
There's three reading groups, he's in the middle or 'at grade level' group which I'm perfectly fine with.
He's doing great at school, loves it, loves his teacher and I feel like he's doing well.
He's a well rounded kid, and that makes me feel good.
He came home to me the other day and said 'Mum I came in first again at PE, I am SO FAST'
It was pretty cute.
So here's the book.
I have him read it at the end to everyone.

 He told me that the flying fox ba'ts wing span can be up to 6 feet long.
If that's true I'm going to find out where they live and NEVER GO THERE.
I should look this up.....................
Ok I just looked it up and IT'S TRUE.
It's a species of fruit bat, so it's not going to try and eat us I guess, phew.

 In this picture he's trying to show you the real size at the top and then enlarges what it REALLY looks like underneath.  It's pretty small.

 I have to say this is my favourite picture.
Masaru tried to reassure me that the Vampire bat actually doesn't take much blood at all and the cow never even feels it plus once it's penetrated the skin it only licks it it doesn't suck it.
I dunno man, still sounds gross to me.

I love that mango hanging out on the tree waiting to be eaten.

Pure, 100%, unadulterated art.........

 {You like that ice cream stash Masaru's got on his face?}
So this year we got a little 'kit' to carve pumpkins right?  Well they had ideas in a little booklet that the kids discovered and became obsessed with.
They would go through and talk about which one they wanted to do for their pumpkin.
I knew what this meant......................the carving would be all Dru and I this year.
No triangle faces for us.
So we headed out to the store and the kids picked out their pumpkins.  Masaru had to have the BIGGEST one of all of us.  His pumpkin cost a whopping $5.  Thanks food stamps.
So these carvings are a  lot of hard work at the hands of Mum and Dad.
I have to give Masaru credit, he helped me clean out a pumpkin, I did the rest.  Can I just say that that job is the worst out of the whole journey of pumpkin carving?
I think I got sucka punched.
So the kids chose what they wanted and pushed the papers in front of us to do for them.
They loved it.
Go figure I guess.
Masaru chose this witch.
Dru did it and Masaru is so proud of it and talks about it all the time.  It's funny how attached he is to it.

 Yuki wanted the Vampire.
She loves it.
Mum did this one.

 Takesh wanted this pumpkin face.
Mum did this one as well.
He had fun as well.
I think he's the least attached to his though outt've all the kids.  All he knew is that there was family togetherness, which is a good thing.

 I wanted the Grimm Reaper.
Dru did this.
Don't ask me why, I'm not sure.  Dru likes a challenge.
It's fantastic right?
I think I chose well and then Dru executed it well.
See we're the perfect team, I come up with ideas and he comes up with how to execute them.
We're a match made in heaven ;)
So after all of this Dru didn't carve himself one.
We were dunskie.  He said he'd do his the next night...............but he didn't.
It's even cleaned out and ready to go.
Maybe I'll do his for him, I don't think he'd be happy with that though, I know Dru secretly thinks he can do stuff better than me, he'd never say though, cause he's nice.

 Here they are in all their glory outside our house for all to see and oooogle over.
I haven't had anyone knock on our door to tell us how awesome we are for doing these, but it's only a matter of time...............................I mean it's pure art.................

Alright don't get any ideas about my love for this country cause it's at the same level as it always has been BUT I'm just going to say that I LOVE this time of year.
I love Halloween, then Thanksgiving then my favourite day of the year............CHRISTMAS.
I love the smells, laughter, how much my kids get into it, people, food, family, mates, closeness.
When we moved to NZ for a while my family celebrated Thanksgiving to help out Dru and we LOVED it.
"You mean we just make a MASSIVE table of food and sit around as a family and eat together?"
"Pretty much"
"Yeah, we're in man, give us the time, what to bring, and the place"
You know what's REALLY funny though?
How many people have asked me if we celebrate Thanksgiving in NZ.
I just pause a little and see if they'll 'get it' and if they don't, simply say 'no we don't'
I'm sure they go home and after a bit realize how silly that question is.
It's alright though, I'm ok with taking one for the team, they'll only ask one foreigner is my guess;)

What the............

Every day I open Masaru's bag to get his homework and any books, notices or clothes he's put in there.
Yesterday when I opened his bag THIS is what I found.
It was full, full with these leaves.
Luckily they were clean...............

Pic's

It's nothing personal Masaru, you were just at school when I was clicking away.

I wonder if Emiko will be dark or light?
Maybe dark like Takesh?

New Shoes

Masaru goes through shoes like nothing I've seen.
He's already starting to get holes in the ones I thought I'd just got him.
So we went to Ross and found some for a decent price I guess.
Hopefully they'll last and make his other ones last since we'll swap them daily.
The minute he got them he wanted to race and show us how good he is at running.
Dru told me when he got new shoes he'd do the same thing, race around the neighbourhood thinking he was ultra fast.
It's pretty cute.
So he got himself a number and asked me to take pictures and video and to put it on the blog.
So here we are, all because of new shoes.

 Here's Masaru in 'uniform'

 The other kids, even though they don't have new shoes, thought they'd join in on the races.
There were two categories.
Footpath racing and off road racing.

Then they decided to do bike racing to give their flaming fast feet a rest.
This was the day of the rejection letter and I watched my kids wishing I could be a kid again and have no adult worries but also thinking how grateful I was to watch them be so happy with something so simple, it reminded me that things will be ok and I just need to have a bit of faith and become more 'like a child'
Love you guys.

Oh yeah baby...........

WORLD CHAMPIONS.
That's right people you read right.
New Zealand are the WORLD CHAMPS of rugby for the next four years.
We're only 4 million strong but what a strength these men showed they could be.
I'm so happy and proud of NZ for hosting and winning the World Cup.
What an awesome country and a great celebration for all kiwi/All black fans around the world.
My brother gave us this crude link and we watched most of the games at horrible hours of the night and were yelling, clapping, hugging and celebrating while most of you were in dream land.
AND it was TOTALLY WORTH IT.
I'm so glad I could be a small part of this win.
If you don't get into sports then you won't be able to relate but I feel so happy about this.
Imagine your favourite team winning the world champs?  Now that's a great feeling.
It's nice to say.
I'll miss watching the games with Dru and am glad that he's as into it as me.  He actually knows more of the teams names than I do and would talk about them with my brothers.
Another reason Dru's the best.
Love that guy and love the All Blacks.
Great, great, night.
My brother Gareth was there.................can you believe that?
Man what an awesome experience that would've been.
I'll have to talk to him soon and get the feedback.

http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/video/index.html#v=2060203

Here's the link {above} if you wanna watch the highlights.
Pure awesomeness.
I hope USA can get into rugby a little more.
I was talking to my neighbour who played rugby and football and said he liked playing rugby way more.
I was surprized and asked him why and he said 'Cause you get to hit more people and it's way harder to play, you actually have to be fit, fast and big and know how to take a hit, I love it'
So from the mouth of an american.
And I couldn't agree more.

21 weeks

 So I'm 21 weeks
The last shot I was at 17 weeks so I figured I could do a shot once a month right?
So I guess the next one will be at 25 weeks and so on, if I remember.
This has been my best pregnancy physically.
Emotionally it's been a different story man.
I seem to be a blubbering mess.
Dru got a rejection letter from JAG yesterday and I basically cried for the rest of the day.
We felt really good about it and I FOR SURE thought we were gonna get it.
But we didn't.
I was gutted.
Over the past 3 and a half years I've been the positive one.
Always telling Dru to cheer up, he's the best, he can do it, we'll win, we're awesome, everything will work out.
Yesterday this wasn't the case at all.
I lost it.
I guess it was my turn to wallow a little in misery.
Usually I'm the one handing out the pep talks.
Yesterday it was Dru who was dishing it out.
I said to him 'Aren't you upset?' to which he replies 'You're being quite upset enough for the both of us'
I just cringed but kept crying.
For the first time ever I feel at a loss with Dru's job prospects.
I don't know what we're going to do.
So, for now, I'm just crying.................oh and I baked an awesome cake.
When one is down they bake right?
It's a pina colada cake.
Man it might not look like much, but if  perfect had a taste, it'd taste like this, and it's got no chocolate in it!!!
Go figure.

 So give me a day to wallow and eat cake and then I'll pick myself up, wipe the tears away and have faith that we'll be ok, things will work out, we can do it and Dru will find something right?
I don't need any gratitude lectures either.
Being grateful for what I've got right now, is the only reason I'm not in an institution right now.

Journal Entry Fiftyfive

Tell about your pets.

Click HERE to read mine.

CAVEMEN

Cover your head with a pillowcase and pretend you're in a cave.  What's it like in there?  What do you see?  Can you make up a story about it?

Ever had.................

Ever had one of those mornings when you've yelled more than you should've to those you loved the most in the entire world?
Ever had one of those mornings where you've cried more than you haven't?
Ever had one of those mornings where you've eaten more humble pie in 3 hours than in the last month?
Ever had one of those mornings when an apology coming outt've the same mouth who was yelling seems just as offensive?
Ever had one of those mornings where you wonder why you've been blessed with so much, when some mornings you just don't deserve it?

Yeah..........*ahem* me neither............;)

Gossip

So one of my mates is going through a rough patch.
People in her ward know she is, so you think they'd be supportive right?
Gossip is being spread about her that is CRAZY like I can't believe what's being said.
And you know the other CRAZY thing?
People BELIEVE it!!
Or they wanna believe it, I dunno.
I mean why not approach her?  Or just love her or NOT BELIEVE what people tell you until you actually know or just IGNORE ALL GOSSIP?

What is it about us that likes to gossip?
Other people going through a rough time makes us feel better we're not THAT bad?
Don't like them?
Want them to fail?
Don't remember who Christ is, what he represented and how he loved ALL?

It baffles me sometimes how we relish in others failings.
And just how much we judge others.

Christ said that he came to the world to 'heal the sick'
He said he came to be here for those that needed his help, not the ones that didn't (but come on, we all need his help, some of us just don't want to admit it)
This is what we believe.
We HAVE to help people.
We HAVE to.
It's not an option as I see it.
We HAVE to serve.
If we love Christ and want to be like him, we have to serve, love and obey.

So why does gossip still get spread?
Gossip RUINS lives.
I've heard it, been a part of it and seen it ruin and destroy.

At the moment I'm reading the book 'Daughters in my kingdom'
BEST BOOK FOR ALL WOMEN IN THE WORLD.
If you haven't started reading it WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
My eyes have been seriously opened to what I'm a part of, who I am as a woman and my role.
It's pure awesomeness.

Here's just one of the PAGES of awesomness,
"This great circle of sisters will be a protection for each of you and for your families.  The Relief Society might be likened to a refuge - the place of safety and protection - the sanctuary of ancient times.  You will be safe within it.  It encircles each sister like a protecting wall."

Are we part of this protection?
Or are we part of the problem?

Hooded towel

 Here's the hooded towel I made Yuki today.

 She loves it.

 And here's the pattern.
I'm not too sure what to do with it since it's not online?
Maybe you could copy and paste it?
Sorry man.
I'm open for suggestions.

Owl

 So I saw this pattern  HERE  and knew I needed to make it.
My mate is having her first baby and so I figured it'd be perfect for her.
I got it whipped up in no time and it really was an easy project, yet so cute and lovable for kids.

I also made, for the first time, a hooded towel and an 'over the head' bib for her.
They both turned out as well.
I had a great time sewing the last week and realized I've missed it.
Masaru wants some bow ties and Yuki wants a hooded towel.  So I think I might just do it.

Rugby fan?

Just when I thought all hope was lost and my kids were Bronco fans I got this in Masaru's Friday folder.
I guess he is listening to our conversations after all.
With the world cup happening, Dru and I have been talking about rugby quite often.
The All Blacks just beat Aussie last night.
Best game man.
I hope USA gets into rugby a little more.  That's a sport I'd like my sons to play.

Journal Entry Fiftyfour

Did you have a close friend?

Click HERE to read mine.

TWILIGHT TIME

You know what a sunset looks like-or do you?  Try to describe one in 25 or more words.  Write down what colours you see, how the sky changes, how you feel about a sunset.

It's tough at the top

 It's tough all this working part time aye babe?
Poor baby.
3 hours a day is just a bit much ;)

In Dru's defense though he WAS up 4 times last night with the kids.
I guess he saw an opportunity and seized it.

Side note:  Today Yuki made a new leap.  See at the bottom of the page are her 'old' or 'how she used to draw' people drawings?
Well today was her first 'body included' people drawings.  See the big one at the top?
It's the next phase of artwork.
I remember learning it as a budding 17 year old University student studying primary education.
I was so proud of her I took a picture and promised myself I'd get it recorded down for her.
I wish I had all of this information.
She's so lucky *sniff, sniff* {Melissa needs to go now, as she's feeling slightly sorry for herself, you're all excused}

Extended side note:  My children are becoming a little obsessed with BSU (Boise State University) colours and their mascot.
Today in Masaru's drawings he drew a 'Bronco' football player all in his gears.
He's also asked me for a 'Broncos' t-shirt.
Both him and Yuki colour and draw things in 'Bronco' colours.
I don't understand it.
We don't watch football..................like ANY football.
Dru and I don't talk about it with them OR each other.
It's crazy.
As you can see from the picture above, all the people?  Yeah they're in the BSU colours.
I guess it's a tribute to Boise man, they sure know how to indoctrinate their kids, cause Dru and I had NOTHING to do with this.
I'm actually quite appalled, but I'm going to keep that to myself.