Valentines started with me making the kids pink pikelets for breakfast. Easy and filling.
Takeshi worked hard on his box this year and it turned out great. Didn't he do a great job? It's just like he wanted and so I'm proud of him for figuring it out.
This is what we gave to all their classmates this year. It was about $15 which isn't too shabby. I then got some m&m boxes with a poem for their teachers. Easy and around $25 all up which I'm fine with. The struggle is Masaru has 7 teachers, so making sure I get them but don't pay through the nose is always a great challenge. I want them to feel though of too. Being a teacher is thankless work sometimes, so want them to know we're thinking of them and appreciate them as well.
So we got chewing gum and Dru printed these papers out at work and the kids and I sat and made them all up for everyone.
Everyone had a great day at school.
Yuki got 7 flowers from friends and one crush, Jacob, who let her know he had a huge crush on her. She told me she doesn't like him back, which I told her is fine, but she can still be kind to him while letting him know she's not keen.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand IT'S ALL BEGINNING PEOPLE!!!!!!!! I'M NOT READY, but I better get ready.
I'm just glad the kids talk to me about most things. So one can only hope for the best.
Dru and I had lunch together and had ALL WEEK. We totally went 5 for 5 and it was pretty awesome. The freedoms of having all the kids at school man. I love it. It helps us to be together since nights are full with his shop dreams coming true and the work that is for him plus Young Men's and snowboarding with the kids. It's nice to have some days available with each other even if it's not nights you know.
He got me a couple of my favourite things from Trader Joe's and a poem, which I love to the moon and back.
I got him a couple of small things and the kids some chocolate and a card and some special cups that stick to the refrigerator that they can use. They each have their own ones. It's gonna be so great for them to have their own cups to use whenever they need. It's a great gift, not that I think they need anything, but it's practical and works great for the family. Functional gift, which is great cause they don't need anything.
They also got a card and $$ from their Utah Grandma, which was super nice of her and the kids appreciated a ton. I better get a thank you note out to her, that reminds me.
That night the older two went snowboarding with mates so the rest of us went out to dinner together.
Turns out the snow was heavy so they came home early.
It was a great day with our loved ones.
I have mixed feelings about Valentines day, but it is the day Dru asked me to marry him, so it's meaningful in that way at least and that's worth celebrating right?
The snow has been pretty good lately.
One morning Masaru woke us up and asked if he could take his 'birthday, free day' that day and head up to bogus and snowboard all day.
I turned to Dru and asked him and Dru said he'd change some meetings and join him.
So they did.
I thought it was pretty awesome and it was some good Dad/son bonding time, which is super important. I'm glad it all worked out.
Dru took this video of him in some pretty good snow.
It looks pretty fun. Maybe one day I'll learn, anything's possible.
This is what he decided to wear for the whole time. This guy cracks me up man. He either has a high self esteem, doesn't give a rats, or is oblivious to the pressures of teen life and being cool. Whatever it is that he has, I love it and am glad. This kid is the best.
He likes the llama suit cause if he falls he's not getting snow up his back or anything, plus I think it keeps him warm you know.
Dru's friend said she wondered who the llama was and when Dru has posted it up on Instagram commented that she'd followed him down some of the way hahahahaha
Dru said they had a fantastic day and Masaru had gotten a few comments and admirations about his llama suit.
Masaru's friend and his father went up later on that night, so while Dru headed home, Masaru stayed up there and got a ride home with his friend. He was pretty tired, however, by the time he finally made it home. He's 13 and is a full fledged teen with the strong body that goes with it.
I'm glad he's fit, strong and loves outdoors. That's been one of our goals as parents, to give them outdoor loves so they'll always do things outside and have hobbies outside of their job and family responsibilities. It's so healthy and fueling and freeing and meditative.
I think as we hold fast to our own hobbies it helps us be true to ourselves and not get lost in the chaos of life. I hope our children can gain their own hobbies so they can stay healthy and true to themselves and have their own outlets when times get tough, cause they will, they always do.
Tashi came and took the kids to a bball game the other day as well, which the kids loved. They have a great time with Tashi.
Tashi also came and grabbed Masaru last Monday night and took him climbing at the BSU climbing place. It was really nice of Tashi to do that and Masaru had a great time. It was awesome.
We love Tashi and Nawang and are always grateful for their friendships.
Lastly this is a random picture of Yuki's art piece we did the other day. It didn't work out as well as I figured, but you win some and lose some right?
Yuki's been having a good time with her friends.
She has a crush on a kid and boys have crushes on her. She talks to me about everything and is getting along with Caleb well and better I think since being in her own class.
He came over the other night and they had so much fun together.
They really get along well when they get along. They can both be little butts, but when they're on they're on and it's so great.
I think they both like each other but maybe don't want to ruin what they have? Or maybe they really, truly are just mates, which is kinda nice.
I love Yuki.
I had my mate, Susan, come out and stay with me for a little while the other week. I met Susan at knitting club a year or two ago and we hit it off. I really like her. She's no drama and is intelligent and reasonable. I enjoyed her company. Unfortunately she almost immediately started going through a divorce when we met and that was tough.
She eventually moved out to Washington D.C to be closer to her family and start over for a while. She has a job for the government doing research for them. It's fascinating listening to her.
Anyway, she came out to ski and be with friends. The kids loved her and we had a wonderful time with her around. She's easy and helpful.
She took me out to a local waffle place the last day she was in town and it's the only picture I got of us together which is sad. But you just hang out and enjoy the company and don't think to take pictures. The waffles were amazing but the company, moreso.
We were sad to see her go and I was really happy to have her come and be with us.
I got my hair done with Phil and am loving being blonde again. I love my hair long and blonde and that's just the way it is. I've liked all my other colours over the years but this is my fav and he's done a great job of slowly getting it to what I love. It's nice to go from a few curls to straight as well.
I'm enjoying my hair.
I'm also slowly getting through the kids hot bottle covers. I'm halfway through now with Yuki's one done. It's nice and soft and beautiful colours.
Emiko's is next and I need to start that one, which I haven't yet. But I need to get going on it.
So much to do, so little time.
I also have two books that I'm trying to read as well but can't seem to find the time for.
I've been listening to a couple of podcasts and love one of them called 'The Adult Chair' It's been really interesting to listen to and gain a little perspective of my feelings and what to do about that you know.
The other one is just listening in on people telling their stories. The jury is still out on that one.
I've had a sore lower back for the last 3 weeks so that's been not fun.
My shoulder feels better, which is great.
I'm trying to figure out things but am pretty happy in my life.
I love my freedom and my children and Dru.
I miss him cause he's working hard on the shop so we've had talks about that and have kept close friends through the whole ordeal about that.
I really love his friendship and commitment to our relationship. He's a true friend and it feels nice to have someone love me as much as he loves me and know he's not going anywhere and would fight for me, us and our relationship. He's a good person and I'm a lucky girl.
So Takeshi got the hard word from his school teacher the other week, due to him arguing with a substitute teacher and stopping the class from being able to do their spelling test.
While what he was arguing about was technically right, he still should've just let it go and he didn't. He fought to the bitter end and got into trouble for it.
So his teacher had a talk to me and we decided to write to each other on a daily basis about how he's doing and Dru and I decided to implement some coping strategies for his behaviour at school.
He's the sweetest kid, and the public school system simply doesn't cater to his kind of personality. Takeshi loves to talk, he loves to move, he super competitive and fiesty, disruptive and semi annoying. He can't sit still and be quiet, like what the school requires of children.
But he needs to learn how to function in school without being argumentative and disruptive.
His teacher is pregnant, it's winter and so those two things don't go well together either.
My boys don't do as well in the winter as they do in the summer month. I almost need to move them somewhere warmer in the winter months.
We were going to look into a climbing gym, but the closest one is 25 mins away and I can't commit to that for the family. It's helped that they're snowboarding twice a week and Masaru is biking to school cause the weather's been nice enough.
Although Masaru got a ride to school daily last week and by the time Saturday came along he was very moody. So I sent him out to his father to work on the shop for 2 hours, and that did the trick. They just need to be physical.
But Takeshi is a tough kid to get along with even in the summer months and something needs to be done about it.
He's moody and always in tense mode. So we worked on what that feels like and how he can get himself in relax mode when he can feel himself getting tense.
It's a great practice for all of us actually and I need to do it as well.
So we've been working on that.
So he's working on removing himself from the situation, taking 5 deep breaths, holding onto his amethyst crystal and smelling the lavender that I put on his special bracelet.
His teacher said that he's doing much better and the difference between last week and this week is huge. So we'll keep plugging along and hoping for the best.
He told me he doesn't like to be with people, they annoy him too much, he'd rather be by himself. I think he needs alone time and school is very social and he can't deal with it the whole time.
Giving himself a time out to chill is just fine I think.
He loves people, don't get me wrong, but I think it's exhausting for him you know. He might have control issues as well, which he gets from his Nakaya side. They all deal with it, except Ryan, I don't think he has it.
So we're trying our best.
Takeshi had the spotlight in his class the other week, which was great timing I think for his teacher to focus on all the good things about Takeshi.
I also talked to the school counselor about Takeshi and she put him in a controlled group of kids, to help him work on 'playing nice' with others. Takeshi wasn't super pumped about it cause it was really hard for him. But he can see the benefit of giving it a go and is very reasonable about it all. He recognizes his need to 'Let go' and we made up a mantra for him while he's breathing which goes....."Takeshi.........let it go, Takeshi.......let it go"
I love him.
Interesting wish right? I wonder how long I'd live for? I'd figure it out with Dru I guess and go at the same time.
How cute are these pictures!!!
He could do it if he works hard. I think there's already kids out there who are crazy good though, but hard work and some broken bones will get him there hahahaha
Here's Takeshi with his mate, Carter, doing tricks with the blueberries. They're both pretty amazing right!!
They had a blast doing this and playing together.
Then here's Takeshi figuring out snowboarding.
He's getting better and better every time he goes. Dru said it's pretty awesome.
Good right?
Oh to be 9 years old and have no fear and your recovery rate, after a fall, be super easy. Young bodies man, I miss mine.
He's such a great kid and I'm glad to be his mother and hope that he'll be ok in his life with Dru and I being his parents. We don't know what we're doing, but we're doing our best. Hopefully that'll be enough to at least get his forgiveness for our mistakes in raising him.
We just love him but aren't perfect.
So it was 100 days of school the other week and Emiko's class decided to celebrate the day with a ton of different activities for it.
She came home with this picture her teacher had given her.
I started laughing. It's pretty creepy right?!!
This is what she wore. It's the best 'old lady' outfit we could conjure up. I actually love her outfit, so I guess that makes me an old lady.
She had a wonderful time and I really enjoy her teacher. Emiko is really lucky to have her as her first grade teacher. Her growth and happiness has a lot to do with this wonderful teacher.
A great teacher makes all the difference in the world. They really don't pay them enough man.
It's why we always take the opportunity to write them thank you cards and give them little gifts.
I did this bird art project with them. I think it turned out super cute.
Then the one below is just something Emiko brought home.
She also lost a tooth as well. The tooth fairy forgot to come so then she got an extra dollar!! Dru and I are pretty slack man. But at least we remembered the next night.
Emiko is just growing up man and it's crazy to me, but how it goes right? She'll be 7 this month. Crazy.
One Sunday afternoon Tashi and Jojo came over and played some Risk with the family. It was nice to have them around. We had dinner together and things got a little heated as they always do when Risk is played.
I've realized I'm not really a board game kinda girl, but can be peer pressured into playing certain games.
I don't like intense games that I can't shoot the breeze while playing. It stresses me out, but that's because I'm a talker. Dru isn't, so he's sweet with playing intense games and not having a conversation with anyone while playing. He loves board games.
We love Tashi.
Some artwork from Emiko. She did a great job.
Yuki and Piper decided to make some Totoro cookies together. They turned out awesome right? Talk about tough work.
They tasted ok. It's pretty hard to combine beauty and taste though.
Takeshi's getting the hang of snowboarding.
Here's Masaru hitting a jump he was pumped about.
The kids are really getting good at snowboarding and I'm glad Dru's teaching them and they're having a chance to be good at a winter sport.
I made a huge gain and finally, after 41 years, conquered the rope climb. I couldn't believe it and was way pumped about it.
I need to get a video of me actually doing it. It was a wonderful feeling. I just figured I'd never be able to do it. So awesome. Still life in this old dog yet.
Then this was what Masaru was wearing the other Saturday while doing his chores.
This guy cracks me up man. He's such a goose. I just had to get a short video of the whole thing.
Then Takeshi had a talk in primary at church the other week. Here's what he said.
Where the highlights are, is where he held up a picture. It went well. I think it's good for the kids to learn how to speak in public and work out their feelings about that. It's a good skill and I appreciate a place for them to safely do that.
Then the kids had crazy hair day at school. We came up with these ideas that morning and last minute. Thank goodness for pinterest man.
Here's Emiko's cupcake hairdo.
Here's Takeshi's mustache man hairdo.
Here's Yuki's squid do.
She had a underwater theme going on. Pretty cute.
Takeshi had his pinewood derby for scouts the other week.
Our friend from Bountiful was up visiting us as well, Zeke. So it was nice to catch up with him and then go support Takeshi in his race.
It was a little disappointing cause they only let the kids race once. So we never found out where Takeshi's car got. He didn't get in the top three though, so that sucks. We did a wedge this time around and figured we'd have a shot. But we didn't. Might as well go back to the flashy awesome cars instead. At least you have a sweet car at the end.
Soon this will be all over though since scouts is ending at the end of this year. So I'm glad he had a chance to race.
Here's his first race.
Here's his second race.
He won both.
Here's a beautiful view of bogus basin at sunset.
Some video's of them.
Masaru has fun with his mates.
Here's my beautiful Yuki. She had her first young women's sleep over with all the other 'beehives' 11-13 year old girls in the church.
She had the best time and then the next day they all went up to McCall and went sledding and hot pooling together.
She's loving being in YW's and I love her leaders and the girls she's with and the fun she's having with it all. She's totally ready for it and I know will have a great time in the programme.
She's so wonderful. I love her.
That same weekend that Yuki and Masaru were busy, Jobecka asked me if I'd be keen to go to the hotsprings with her. Of course we put Saturday chores on hold and went with her and the kids to these hotsprings about an hour away.
It was a little slice of heaven on a cold day. I'm glad we went out on a mini adventure together.
I loved it.
Here's some artwork I did with Emiko's class. Pretty cute.
Here's Emiko's kindness goals. Super cute. She hasn't been great about her room but I know she's respectful to her teacher, so that's not a big deal.
I finished Takeshi's hot bottle cover. He loves it and it's just how he wanted. Good to have it done. Then I moved straight onto starting Yuki's one.
Takeshi's teacher sent some pictures of the class to everyone. Of course this one was my son. Takeshi has been struggling with his behaviour at school. The public system is tough for a kid like Takeshi, plus it's winter and he goes feral, so we're working on some strategies for him to cope in class.
I'm keeping in daily contact with his teacher and rewarding him.
It's so hard for a kid like him though, but I know he's trying and that's all I can ask for. He's wonderful. His teacher is a little bit of a stressor as well so that doesn't help, plus she's pregnant. But these are semi excuses of me defending my cute son, and I recognize that. So I'm trying to figure out a happy medium to it all.
Then there's the shop and the ongoing work being put into that. Dru's working hard and his father came up to help as well, which we appreciate a ton.
Although the last time he came up he commented on the fact that I'd put on weight. So I'm sure him and my mother in law have been talking about it which makes me feel a little sad.
I told him I'm just fine and he's old hahahahah So he didn't like that, and I told Dru I need a little time before he comes up again.
Plus there's a little money exchanging issues between him and his parents that needed to be sorted out and I'm kinda over it and it all to be honest.
Time heals all wounds though right? So time will heal this one as well. A couple of months should do the trick hahahah
I'm so proud of Dru and for his hard work and for how much effort this shop has been and for his continual hard work, but I must say, that I won't be sad when it's done.
I've got a great attitude about it, mostly, but it's been long going and I need my husband back.
So I'm semi looking forward to moving to Australia, fingers crossed, so we can be free of house updates and home improvements and just be us in a rental and off on adventures in the weekends instead of being tied to projects.
Life's more than projects and while I think they're great, I think sometime you have to find a healthy balance between what you can live with and live without because now is the time to be with our kids and making memories and bonding moments.
Here's the stairs he's been working on. His father helped with this as well, which was great. It's been good for Masaru to be helping out as well and earning some extra money and being with his father. So that's something.
