Cute pictures

So since my last post was a tad negative about motherhood, I figured I'd share some random cute pictures to prove I havnt completely given up on it. 

Masaru's started rugby and he loves it. He's doing really well. He's quick and big, two things on his side. 

The first night he brought his own rugby ball and had pumped up nice and tight. 

Well apparently too tight. It exploded like a shot gun and scared everyone. Masaru said he couldn't stop laughing after the initial shock. His coach said he'd never seen a rugby ball do that before. 

Fortunately they gave each child a brand new rugby ball  just in time I guess. 

He's still got another month of rugby. I'll write some more about it later. Meanwhile you get a picture of Masaru wearing his popped rugby ball on his head. 

Yuki went to one of her mates birthday parties last week. 

They did a cute activity where they did a pose and drew around their shadow then coloured it in. 

Here's Yukis. Pretty cute right 

We've got a great thing going here in Boise at the moment. Every Thursday I take my kids to the park where they're given free lunch, the library reads to them, does an activity and let's them borrow books, and some representatives of boise parks and rec. come and play some organized sports with the children. Hoola hooping, hokey, bball, and more. The children have the best time ever and I sit and watch my children be entertained for 2.5 hours. 

Here's Emiko with one of her BFF's Hank. 

Pretty cute right?  She's happy to be back in nappies and so am I. 

I like being a mother. Some days are tougher than others. Today was a good day. Yesterday?  Not so much. Welcone to the crazy world called my life. Thanks for dropping by. 

Three days of hell

So I decided to try and potty train Emiko with the same method as Takeshi. I thought I'd try at the beginning of the year and put it off. Then decided to do it after the next box of nappies then the next. Dru basically pleaded with me to try after the next box of nappies. 

So at the beginning of this week I grudgingly started potty training Emiko. 

After three days of a living hell, she peed in the toilet a total of ZERO times. 

So to stop from beating her, I gave up and she's back in nappies. 

I'm elated. Now I can have my life back, relax and breathe again. 

I know Dru's disappointed in me but I actually don't care. I hated every minute of it and she showed no signs of 'getting' it. 

So, Emiko 1 potty training 0, mum super happy to be not trying again until she turns three. Phew. 

Hey at least I gave it my best effort right?  I guess that three days to potty training is full of it. Potty training is 90% child and 10% method I reckon. 

Thank goodness that's over. 

Looks like Takeshi is my 'special' child and my others I should've waited until they were three. Hind sight is always 20/20 right?

So, in conclusion, potty training sucks and I'm SO DONE with children. Thank goodness this will be my last one. Hate this part of motherhood. Oh and if your thinking of leaving a comment of how quickly your child trained? Think again...................... 

The Ultimate Urban Challenge

So our friends approached us a couple of months ago and asked us if we'd like to be a part of a race for the 'Make a wish' foundation.
My ears pricked up due to my softness towards this foundation because of my niece and her struggle with Leukemia.  The make a wish foundation took her and her family to Australia to go on all the fun park rides together.  They had the best time and were treated so well.
I told my mate that I'd talk to Dru.  Dru hopped on board straight away and we were in.
They gave us T-shirts and a water bottle and some race numbers to put on our bikes and shirts.
It was just this past Saturday and we biked in together to the starting place.
I farmed my children out to 3 separate families.
Masaru went to the Harlin's with his buddy Kaleb.  Yuki and Takeshi went to Jobecka's with their buddies there and Emiko went to the Rutter's to her little buddy Pearl's house.  It worked out perfect for us and we're grateful for the help.

So the Ultimate Urban Challenge is a fun race.  It's kinda like the 'Amazing Race'.  So you do a challenge, then bike to the next place, earn a sticker, bike to the next place, do the challenge, earn the sticker, ........................you get the point.
So Bo was our team captain and he held the card with our stickers to be earned and wore the cape with the girl we were racing for.  She wanted to go to Hawaii for her wish.
So the first challenge was a sack race and we each had to pick up one thing each that represented our person.  I grabbed sunglasses.  Once we were done we could jump on our bikes and go to the next challenge.
There was acting, matching, puzzles, dancing, dirt work, packing etc etc.  It was a TON of fun. 

Here's Dru and Bo trying to find a floating rubber duckie with a red spot on the bottom, while I'm frantically running around on the grassy part, trying to find a red ticket.  Hahahaha
The packing challenge was pretty funny cause we rocked up to this challenge and they said "You have to go over to one of those cars and try to pack all of that stuff into the boot of the car and it has to close properly"
I started laughing and said "Step back, this challenge has Dru's name all over it"
So we stepped back and handed Dru whatever he wanted.  Easy peasy.
We all brought our skillz to the table and were all fit enough to do the biking in between at a decent pace.
It was a lot of good, fun, times together.
Bo and Shannon were such a great couple to go with and Bo made a great captain. 

Here we are at the end of the race.  Turns out we did better than we'd ever imagined.  We were 4th out of 60 teams and the FIRST co-ed team to cross the line.  CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!!!
We were floored!! 
Dru then started thinking how we could've done better.  "It's all about the transitions" he was saying.  I'm sure he'll work out a spread sheet for us for next year hahahaha
We each made a great team and I think have found a yearly race that is fun and near and dear to our hearts.
I was thinking of my niece throughout the race and how special she is to me and how I'm so grateful for foundations like this who help children and families have a great time together after the pain of years of suffering and debt because of these sicknesses the children face and have to fight.

They gave us a free ice tea or ice coffee, which did no good for Dru and I, and a free wrap, which tasted fantastic.
Dru and I then biked home to collect our children from their various places and to say thanks to the families who helped us achieve this race.  Team effort alright.

My friend, Sarah, sent me a picture of Emiko and her daughter just hanging out talking girl talk on her couch.
Emiko said she had the best time.  I'm glad.
Masaru had gone fishing with his friend and had had a wonderful time.
Takeshi and Yuki had played on their friends new scooter and bounced on the tramp, played and jumped in the sprinklers.
Dru and I were pooped.  It took all of my energy to have a shower.  I had goals to clean and do things but they all went out the window.
Altogether we'd ridden 33 miles, on my old bike I might add, and then there was all the running and physical activities to boot.
I was tired.  But it was worth it.  It was a great day.

Simplot party

 So last Thursday afternoon we headed out to the yearly Simplot party.  It was good.  There were games for adults and children and great food and fishing.
We all had a great time.  The weather was perfect as well.
Here's the kids riding the pony's.

 Emiko looking cute as always.

 Masaru got the biggest horse.  You couldn't weigh for more than 80 pounds and since he was 79lbs he was fine to ride the horses.

Yuki loved her horse.

The children spent the last part of the party fishing with Dru.  I'm glad we brought their fishing rods.  We need to get Yuki one.
They were catching these little catfish all night and loved it.

The kids played this spin the wheel game and won some prizes from the wheel.  They were really happy about that.
I met a lady that I chatted with for about an hour.  She was nice.

On our way out we found some stranded fish in a puddle so rescued them.  The kids felt good about that.  People were walking by and felt sorry for them, but kept walking.  We chose to stay and help.  There's our contribution to 'green peace' for the week.
It was a great night.  Simplot knows how to throw a party.  I got to take home one of their center pieces which were beautiful.  I only threw it out today.  I wish it had lasted longer but flowers, unfortunately, die.

Company

I went to bootcamp last Thursday and came home to this.
I'm sure if Yuki had know she was missing out on the party she would've been there.  She tends to sleep in though and so would've been down to the count.
Pretty cute right?
Poor Dru.
Such a great Dad.
Love him.

Special gift

So a few weeks ago I was asked by one of my young women  I used to teach, (Val), to come to her ceramic's presentation she was going to do in front of her peers.
I was super excited cause I knew she was working really hard on all of her pieces.
I was joking around with her a year ago that this is her LAST year to make me something cause I'm such a significant role model in her life, we both laughed it off and I didn't think much about it.  I need to stop joking around so much.
The pieces that I'd already seen her do were amazing and inspiring so I was excited to see her work.
It was me and her parents and one other lady who I didn't know and all her peers.
She got up there and started her presentation.
In the first part of her 'journey' she presented some pieces that were directly correlated to New Zealand and the Maori koru patterns and the Ta Moko patterns on the elder Maori people from the past and present.
I was floored. 
She'd taken where I was from, researched it and made it a part of her ceramic's journey.
I sat there like a deer in the headlights.  I had no idea.  Then she put this piece up on the board with the explanation underneath and I started bawling.
No one (bar Dru)  has ever written anything as beautiful and poetic as what she'd written in that paragraph about me.
I was overcome with emotions I hadn't felt before and the only way to express it was sitting there silently and crying to myself hoping that the dimmed lights were hiding my emotional breakdown in the corner.
There's only been a few times in my life (that I can't think of right now) that I've been speechless.
This time was one of them.
I felt a total and utter humility that I've never felt before quite like this.  I was slightly embarrassed and very shy about it all.  I didn't know what to say.  So I said nothing.
The rest of her work was amazing, she has a talent that few have and it was a privileged to be a part of it.
Afterwards I gave her a hug and told her that that was the most beautiful thing I've ever read and said to stop from embarrassing her and ending up a blob of a mess infront of her feet and peers, that I'd just walk away, but hoped she'd know how much her piece and work meant to me.
I walked out of the room, still overcome and cried.
I stepped in the car and headed to my mates house to pick up my kids, totally crying.  I tried to explain to my mate my feelings and it all came out in some kinda jumbled mess.
My crying wasn't a happy or sad cry though, it was a humbled cry.  I couldn't believe she wrote this.  Is this how she truly saw me?  It seems like she's talking about someone else.
I showed Dru and of course because he's my husband and loves me the most in the whole world, said she'd totally nailed it.  I'm like whatever man, but he was adamant about it. When he first read it he was slightly flawed at her words as well and looked at me after reading it and simply said 'That's beautiful'
I still can't believe it.

She let me have the piece last night with a copy of what she'd said.  I gave her a necklace from NZ.
She loves mermaids so I got her a whale's tail pounamu which means strength yet sensitivity.  It totally suits her.
It doesn't seem like enough to give her. I think I got the better deal, but I again told her last night that it meant everything to me and I'd keep it forever and I appreciate and love her, and this piece, and her words, more than she'll ever know.
Thanks Val xxoo

More teeth.........

 So we found out our 2nd check up for the year was Monday.  I let all the kids know and turns out some of them started panicking.  Here I was, thinking they all did great last time.  Well there were a few emotional wounds from last time I guess and they all started having their own little anxiety attacks.
Masaru was asking me if he was gonna have to get some shots.  I told him no, unless he had cavities.  So he started to panic and brushed his teeth around 3 times every day until the actual morning.  He refused to eat that morning as well so as to keep his teeth in pristine conditions.  I didn't have the heart to tell him it doesn't really work like that.
He was also worried about this little white part sticking out at the top of his gum.  Dru and I looked and determined it was his adult tooth growing in.
But the baby tooth was still in there.
"It's ok, the dentist will take it out"
Well Masaru didn't like that, so worked and worked and worked on that tooth over the weekend until he could yank it out.

Who knew such motivation.  Maybe I should start using the dentist as punishments!!!  Jokes man jokes.
Anyway turns out our insurance is funny and so for Masaru and I we couldn't see the dentist that day, only the three younger kids.
So Emiko went first and she did so amazing.  We got a referral sheet to an orthodontist to check out her weird bite though.  So we'll see what that means.
Then Takeshi and Yuki did fine.  It took a little talking to, to get them into the chair, but did great once they were in there.
No cavities this trip.  Although Yuki was warned that if she didn't take care of this one tooth in the back it'd end up getting a cavity.  So we'll see how she does with that information over the next 6 months.
She also got a filling 6 months ago that's been bothering her.  So the dentist fixed that as well.  She seems to be doing much better.

Masaru and I see the dentist this friday morning.  We'll see how it goes.  Fingers crossed.
He told me I had a cavity in my wisdom tooth in the back 6 months ago and I just never did anything about it.  I can't be bothered to tell you the truth and if it's not bothering me, then I find it hard to justify the $$ to go in there and get it 'fixed'.  So we'll see what he says this time around.
I hope Masaru has zero cavities.  I dunno if he'll make it through if they say he needs a filling.

Our dentist is also the same man that Dru helped out with his roof a few weeks ago.  So he reminded me to get Dru in so he could give him a free cap? crown?  It's when you've had a root canal and then you protect the tooth by covering it?  Whatever that is.
Nice of him right?  I love that Dru has mad skillz to trade.

Fathers Day

 So I have a love/hate relationship with father's day that I've told you all about year after year after year when father's day comes around.  So I won't go into it, it's pretty self explanatory if you know me and if you don't?  Well who are you?  What are you doing stalking my blog?  Reveal yourself stalker and I'll tell all.

There was a huge sale on NZ rugby shirts and so I got Dru this rugby shirt.  I love it.  I think it has a great Maori pattern on it and Dru will get to explain as such to the USA peeps over here.

Now back in NZ it's the rugby shirt for the Auckland Blues team.

None of my family like them........................like AT ALL.  I think they'd rather eat their own hands then be caught in this shirt.  Basically word on the street is no one outside of Auckland likes this team.

But I explained to my family as long as Dru didn't wear it in NZ it'd be all good right?  

They agreed and understood how it'd look like a 'cool shirt' to people in the USA and all gave me their blessing hahahahaha

So after that lengthy discussion with my family, I purchased the shirt and Dru loved it.

 I also woke up at 7am in order to be able to get started on this 5 hour cake for him.  I asked him what he wanted for fathers day and this is what he wanted.  He also suggested things for dinner and so after the cake I got started with dinner as well.  Consequently I didn't shower cause I ran out of time preparing everything for the day's events.
I wanted to let him sleep in and do all this food and prep the kids and feed them etc but it didn't work out that way.  I bit off more than I could chew and he ended up help out, which is fine right?

 Masaru made him this decked out Land Cruiser that can go in the snow.  Dru loved it.

 Yuki made him this card.  I love that she drew him with a beard.  I remember drawing pictures like that of my father.  It was nice he had a beard cause it was easy to tell him from the other fathers in my drawings.

Emiko made this in nursery at church.  Dru thought this was really cute.
Takeshi was sleeping in with Dru for the morning so he didn't get a chance to make Dru anything.
We went around and said what we loved about Dru and gave him hugs and kisses.

Church was really good as none of the talks were on Father's which I really appreciated.  It's tough to sit and listen to someone going on and on about how much they do with their Dad etc  Yeah I should get over it, but I can't, so it is what it is man.
It was 3 highschool graduating girls who could talk on whatever they wanted.  Their talks were pretty amazing, honest, raw and faith filled.  I liked it. Then another girl sang for her message to us.  I really liked the song and she did a great job.
I was asked a week ago if I could do a song with the primary kids for a musical item.  I resent being asked with such little time, but the children pulled it off barely and I apologized to the mother's for not having the children sing to them on mother's day.  Maybe it was a nice mother's day gift to me to NOT do that in church.  I get quite nervous.  I'd rather do a talk over the pulpit than conduct the children to the audience at church!!  I guess it's why this calling is good for me, puts me outt've my comfort zone sometimes.

I got home and continued to cook and bake and get things organized for Dru. All Dru wanted was for me to sit down with him and cuddle him though.
So I calmed down, got the kids situated and lay on the couch with him and we eventually fell alseep while the kids ran havoc around the house!!
We so happened to be looking after some mates dogs for the weekend and they'd come to pick their dogs up so that woke us up.
I know, two weeks in a row, I hope that's the last time in a while and our 'service to people with animals' is done for the year!!! One can hope.  Nah it wasn't that bad, but I don't wanna look after people's dogs man.  Turns out I'm a total sucker for them and end up worrying about them and cuddling them and such.  I don't need that drama in my life, I've got things to do man and children to care for!!

We then dropped off some of that cake I made to our neighbours and a couple of mates.  Dru was a little upset about that but I refused to have any of that cake left over in my house.  It's what I do man, bake and give away, bake and give away.  It's a healthy pattern!!

Dinner was really good and then we went for a bike ride together as a family.  We went around and tried to visit a couple of families who weren't home and then finally one of the family's were home and we stayed and visited for a while.  Dru wanted to make them something and so needed some measurements from them to get it started.

We then biked home, got the kids in their PJ's and bed and had 'games night' with our BFF's the Bleazards.
I tried really hard to win, and didn't.  Usually I don't care but Robby asked me to try really hard to win, so I figured it was father's day and so I'd adhere to his wishes.  Turns out in the game 'settlers' no matter where you heart is, if your not getting cards for 3 turns in a row, it's pretty hard to win.  So Dru won.  Happy father's day to Dru.
We had good conversation and then Robby entertained us with showing us his guitar hero skillz.  He can do a few songs on expert and I wanted to see an expert in real life.
He then showed us what a 'real' expert was like and tried to play one of the hardest songs on the track.  He got booed off.  I guess Nat's brother is really good.  He gets home from his mission in 44 days, his mother tells me, so we'll have to have him over one night for dinner and force him to show us his mad skillz.

I asked Dru if he had a good day and he said 'I don't want it to end'
So I say I did my job pretty well.
I'm grateful for Dru and him being the father of my kids.  He's the best and I'll love him forever.

Chicago here we come baby.........

So only for the third time in history, the Allblacks are coming to USA to play the USA Eagles rugby team.  When my sister told me about this a few weeks ago I thought "Man that'd be sweet to go"
So I talked to Dru about it and he was over the moon.  He's always wanted to see an Allblacks game and now here was his opportunity.
Slightly ironic that it was in USA for his first time, but whatever man.  Hopefully he'll get to see them play on home turf one of these years.  They're pretty amazing to watch and the atmosphere alone is worth it.
So we had our hotel booked first, then our flights and tickets went on sale yesterday for the game and now it's all done and confirmed and we couldn't be happier.
Dru and I don't leave our kids much, maybe this is our 3rd time in our 13 years?  But when we do we make sure it counts and this is gonna be awesome.
Yaaa us.
We'll get into Chicago Friday lunch time and leave Sunday night and get back to Salt Lake completely happy but smashed.

On a little side tangent, Dru and I had dinner with his mentor the other night and told him about our plans.  He said "This is bigger than the super bowl, count me in"
So he booked a room at the same hotel, got Dru to buy his rugby tickets and will totally be with us with his wife!!!  He's as pumped as Dru.  I'm sure we'll all be wearing All black gears.  I should turn up in red, white and blue just to offset it hahahahaha
The Eagles will be beaten, we're just hoping that it's not by too much and they'll put on a brave front.
The USA team has heart, just not the history.  I mean children in NZ are born and then have a rugby ball put into their cribs!!  It's in our blood, it's part of our culture.
USA isn't like that ........................................ yet, but one can hope.  Cause if USA got serious about rugby like their other sports, they'd be a force to be reckoned with after a few years.
Rugby is the ONLY reason I'd be SEMI ok with Masaru going to BYU provo.  Ah but I digress.............Solider Field here we come whooooooooohoooooooooooo

Masaru

It really is hard to stop eating!!!  Nice observation Masaru

 Man this story cracks me up for a few reasons.  First of all Masaru went out one time with our mates the Henries and shot guns with them while the fathers were looking at some land.  My guess is the Henries were the only ones adventurous enough to be going on a leprechaun hunt with him.
I like that he called them 'feisty leprechauns' probably a very true prediction.
Then he has this 'war' with them and I love this sentence he says 'they shot acorns at us like they were the wind' isn't that awesome?
I also love that he found 2000 gold coins and gave 1050 to the leprechauns and 1030 to Jakob and he and his father got the rest hahahahaha  Hey man, maths not his strong suit just yet, I think he was too into the story to be doing math problems.  At least he was sharing the gold, even if we came home with none ;)
Then these rouge fairies at the end chanting in his ear for what seemed like 80,000 hours but was just 1 minute!!!
Hahahahaha
Kinda ended on a tangent but was pretty exciting story none the less.

Masaru had a GREAT year this year.  I wasn't fighting with his teacher, he finally started actually LIKING reading and would WANT to do it.
His math needs work and we're trying hard with that, but he's doing great with his math home work daily and hopefully will be ok in the 4th grade year.
His writing is great, and he loves P.E and art.  He had good friends and seemed to really like school this year with little self esteem problems.
I'm really proud of him and his efforts and know as he keeps working hard he'll continue to do great.  I hope his teacher this next school year will continue to be a positive influence on him and he'll have another great school year.

We've signed Masaru up for rugby summer camp and he can't stop thinking about it and talking about it.  He's quick and big, two great combo's for a rugby player.
I'll be interested to see how he likes it.
Then there's swimming lessons as well that we'll start at the end of the month, and that's about it.

We told both him and Yuki that if they wanna play soccer this next season (autumn) that they need to earn half of the fees.  So Masaru is $35 and Yuki is $30.
They've been going around the house doing odd jobs for money and they're doing a great job.  It's been really nice for me.  We told them if they don't earn it they miss out, so it's up to them.
We dont' give pocket money to the kids, no reason Dru and I just don't know what we're doing or have any opinions about the matter, and so this is a good way to get them some earning potential I guess.

Summer is going well.  I've realized I can't be doing things EVERY DAY of the week.  It's too much for me, I get too stressed and so today is an OFF day, no outtings, no mates, no nothing!!!
Sounds like a blissful day to me.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE hanging out with my mates and doing things...................I just need some off days to keep my sanity.  I'm a home body and would prefer it if I could just stay home on a daily basis BUT I need to take my kids out, so am willing cause I'm a good person and I love my kids ;)
Plus I have great, great friends who invite me out cause they love me and are willing to look beyond my home bodiness!!!

Yuki's graduation

 So Yuki had a graduation party for the end of her kindergarten year, or in NZ her year one year.
They didn't do this with Masaru, which I'm fine with, so this was my first one.  I didn't think it was going to be a big deal so didn't bring a camera or really any kind of expectations.
Boy did I get a shock.  They had performances and speeches and then the 'walk' and stuff.
Parents brought flowers for their kids and made lei's filled with chocolate for their kids necks.
They had treats and drink for all the families and I slowly backed away to the wall with my other two kids and just people watched in awe for a while in mostly shock and amazement.
You can have your opinions on the matter but I thought it was a little much and unwarranted.  I mean it's kindergarten people, it's not hard to finish the year out.
I dunno, I guess I'm a Grinch  maybe, but I thought it was grossly over prepped.  But if people wanna do that, that's fine with me I guess.
So after the initial shock I started thinking straight and slowly approached my friend, who had a camera, and figured I'd better get some shots of the 'special occasion' right?
So here they are.

 Had I known the importance maybe I would've told Takeshi and Emiko to get their church gears on.  I didn't even do Emiko's hair and look at Takeshi...............hahahaha
I don't think Yuki cares.

 My girlfriend said "You need to get one of you and Yuki so when she graduates from highschool you can have side by side pictures and compare"
I actually thought that was kind've a neat idea, so posed for the 'history' picture.

 Yuki in her gown posing with Emiko trying to get in on the action.

Here's Yuki with my mates son.  Pretty cute picture.  Look how brown Yuki seems.  I guess I always figure my kids are pretty white until they stand next to a 'real' white person then I realize they're not really white.

So she came home with a folder filled with cute stuff. 

So I took a picture of some of them for the journal.

 Here's a picture she did of our family.  She can draw better than this, but I've noticed that sometimes with Yuki she'll rush things to just be finished.  I think that's pretty common for kids though.

 Here's her little project on snow leopards.  I didn't know that they were called ghost cats.

 I love this picture of a bear. You can't see it in this picture but it has glitter on it which makes it just that much better ;)

 A self portrait.  I'm not sure about that tree and the bird and stuff.

 In case I was worried here's a certificate to authenticate officially that Yuki has actually finished out her kindergarten year.  I wonder if it's legal and binding?

 This picture 'cracks' me up.  Get it?  Read it then get back to me...............................................
Funny right.
I worry about crack too, just like Wemberly hahahaha
Yuki explained to me that it was suppose to say something like Crackles who's another character. 
She does worry about night though, since she's afraid of the dark.  I'm really grateful Yuki doesn't worry about crack just yet though ;)

 This Halloween picture is pretty funny as well.  It's like they all got busted being watched by us just at the moment the zombie is about to strangle the skeleton hahahaha
I love kids pictures.

And this last picture was shoved in her folder.  She's so beautiful right?
I miss her long hair, but I have to get over it *sigh*
Yuki had an excellent year.
She totally aced everything and it was easy breezy.  We'll see if it lasts and what year she actually has to work hard for her public education or if it always comes naturally.
She made some good mates and loves school.  She just didn't want to go some days because she thought she was missing out on all the fun things we were doing at home.  I'm not sure where she was getting that idea from, but I'm glad she thinks being home is fun since she'll be home for the next 3 months with us.
I'm proud of Yuki and love her very much and am glad she had a great year.

School's out for summer..........................

So I've got a few pictures of work from the kids to put up here, and some pictures of Yuki's 'graduation' (give me a break) and such, but for now I'd just like to state how joyous it is to have school out for the summer and all my kids home with me. 
Masaru's at an all day camp for scouts with his homies.
 I've already been mt biking this morning, the sun's shining and I may even take the kids for a swim this afternoon.
There's something awesome about summer that I simply love.  I know it's a combination of things and I'm grateful for it.
It'll be really nice to have Masaru home FULL TIME.  I like it when he's home.
Also this will be the last summer before THREE of my kids are going to school!!!
I'm not ready for it, but it's good for me, so I need to WORK IT OUT MAN.
My little Takeshi's going to kindergarten and it's CRAZY to me.
Yuki will be in FULL TIME school and I've gotta work through that.  I'll miss her.
Then Masaru's in 4th grade!! How'd that happen?
So, I'm gonna enjoy this summer with the kids and be grateful for them, their company and my situation!!

Takeshi

 I love Takeshi. 
So he got these flipflops from his NZ Grandma and loves them.  Well on Saturday one of them broke.............like clean off.  Dru tried to melt it down a little and see if he could 'fix' it but to no avail.
It was really, really dead. 
Takeshi was pretty upset.  So we emailed Grandma and are hoping for the best.

 

Later on we went to Costco to pick up a few things and this is how Takeshi decided to leave the house.  He's not giving up on that one flip flop man I'm telling you.

I'm just glad he's wearing a sock with his gumboot cause sometimes he doesn't and that's pretty gross I always tell my kids.

He doesn't think it's weird, we don't say anything to him, and we all just act like it's nothing! Actually the only way we really think about it is when people point it out and we're like 'Oh yeah, I guess that's a little different, whatever'

The lady at the costco check out was like "You keep that creative mind flowing kid, we need people like you walking around "

Takeshi was embarrassed to be called out about it cause he didn't see what the big deal was since we don't regulate our kids and what they wear outside of the house..........................apart from PJ's.  Sometimes Masaru will make it a PJ Satuday and wear his PJ's all Saturday IF he's not leaving the house all day, but if we leave the house we make them take them off and dress accordingly.  I guess that's about the only rule.

I love Takeshi.  He's a good kid and I'm glad he's a part of our family.

And just for smiles at the end of the post I'll throw in this 'movie night' picture of our kids and mates kids all hanging out together eating popcorn while watching a flick.
It went better than I could've ever dreamed. 
You know it's funny, I never thought I'd have other people's kids around at my place much as I'm not a huge lover of other people's little kids right?  Or so I thought.
But it turns out I've got someone else's kid/s at my place more days than not and it doesn't bother me in the slightest.  I actually love other people's kids it turns out.  Talk about learning something about yourself!!
Having my kids here to help helps a ton and it not being a job or some kind've commitment helps as well, I'm no good with that stuff either.  But having kids over at my house is a regular occurrence at the Boise Nakaya household and I hope it sticks and have my kids mates here more often than not.
I figure if I keep baking, they will come..................muwhahahahahahaaaaaaaaaa (rubbing hands together)