We went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom to see Santa Claus. The kids were not disappointed although it was a bit chilly. The hot chocolate came in handy.
We had a first time experience: being one of the first in line to see Santa Claus. We expected a much larger crowd to see Santa, but were surprised to see only one person in line. Maybe it was this lack of a crowd that lowered our expectations, but in the end our visit with Santa was much better than expected. We even got to see Mrs. Claus.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Christmas and Holiday Cards
A funny thing happened today. We got four cards today that were obviously made at the same place. They were those photo cards where you supply the photo and choose the framing and a catchy holiday quote. Funny, huh?
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Cal Bears Basketball - Game #3
Bears 77, SDSU Aztecs 69 on Saturday at Haas.
This was the toughest game in what has been a pretty weak schedule to date for the Bears, but 3-0 is better than 1-2 or 2-1. So I'll take it, especially with the Bears still on the mend. And besides, come Tournament selection time, this win against what was a 5-0 Aztec club could be viewed as a good win.
The player of the game was Jerome Randle who scored a career high 21 on his return game from a kidney biopsy. Without him, the Bears probably lose this game. I don't know what he does on his dribble, but he got whistled on a carry once again. He's got to get this corrected. This was also a common occurrence last year.
This was another game that the 2006-07 version of the Bears probably would've lost. The Bears were down 26-40 with about 3 minutes left in the first half, but fought back to 33-40 at the half. This 7-point run featured 3 lay-ups and a FT. This was a key sequence. The Bears did not panic and start hoisting threes, but scored inside. The last was a breakaway by Antioch's own Eddie Miller that went in even though it looked like goal tending by one of the lanky Aztecs. There was no whistle by the refs.
The 2nd half was dominated by the Bears. The Bears finally caught the Aztecs about 10 minutes into the second half on a 3-pointer by (yes, you guessed it) Randle. It finally got the somewhat subdued crowd into the game. SDSU never regained the lead after this although they did tie up the score once.
The tie score was at 66-66 with just over 6 minutes left in the game. Game symmetry: from the time the score was 26-40, the Bears countered with their own 40-26 run to tie the game at 66-66.
The Bears finished on a 11-3 run to finish the game, including a 7-point run to 73-66 to put the game away for all intents and purposes. This run featured Hardin's first basket of the game to break the tie. Followed by 2 clutch FTs and another layup by Christopher. This was followed by 1 of 2 from the charity stripe by Ryan. The Bears need to work on their FT-ing.
The Aztecs had a couple of amazing performances themselves. Kelvin Davis (#40) reminded me a lot of Ed Gray in his hey day with the Bears. Not only because of his build, but also the way he was hoisting and sinking threes, many with a hand right in his face. There was one where he fell back into his bench, with the shot hitting nothing but net. Another similarity, they both attended that junior college basketball outpost, College of Southern Idaho.
Part of the reason for the less than enthusiastic crowd was there was no band, no cheerleaders, no yell leaders, no nothing. At one point in the game, there was Jamal Boykin (former Duke Blue Devil sitting out a semester according to the NCAA transfer rules) jumping up and down trying to get the student section into the game. It looked out of place. I could see him thinking, "oh, wait, these aren't Cameron Crazies."
I have to give a shout out to Fondue Fred's on Telegraph for letting us use their restroom going against the grain that is "our restrooms are only available to paying customers."
Next up is Nevada on Wednesday, the Bears first road game. Will be a good test for the Bears, but it should be a winnable game for the Bears. The Wolfpack lost at UCF who lost to K-State (in the Old Spice Classic) who the Bears will see in December.
This was the toughest game in what has been a pretty weak schedule to date for the Bears, but 3-0 is better than 1-2 or 2-1. So I'll take it, especially with the Bears still on the mend. And besides, come Tournament selection time, this win against what was a 5-0 Aztec club could be viewed as a good win.
The player of the game was Jerome Randle who scored a career high 21 on his return game from a kidney biopsy. Without him, the Bears probably lose this game. I don't know what he does on his dribble, but he got whistled on a carry once again. He's got to get this corrected. This was also a common occurrence last year.
This was another game that the 2006-07 version of the Bears probably would've lost. The Bears were down 26-40 with about 3 minutes left in the first half, but fought back to 33-40 at the half. This 7-point run featured 3 lay-ups and a FT. This was a key sequence. The Bears did not panic and start hoisting threes, but scored inside. The last was a breakaway by Antioch's own Eddie Miller that went in even though it looked like goal tending by one of the lanky Aztecs. There was no whistle by the refs.
The 2nd half was dominated by the Bears. The Bears finally caught the Aztecs about 10 minutes into the second half on a 3-pointer by (yes, you guessed it) Randle. It finally got the somewhat subdued crowd into the game. SDSU never regained the lead after this although they did tie up the score once.
The tie score was at 66-66 with just over 6 minutes left in the game. Game symmetry: from the time the score was 26-40, the Bears countered with their own 40-26 run to tie the game at 66-66.
The Bears finished on a 11-3 run to finish the game, including a 7-point run to 73-66 to put the game away for all intents and purposes. This run featured Hardin's first basket of the game to break the tie. Followed by 2 clutch FTs and another layup by Christopher. This was followed by 1 of 2 from the charity stripe by Ryan. The Bears need to work on their FT-ing.
The Aztecs had a couple of amazing performances themselves. Kelvin Davis (#40) reminded me a lot of Ed Gray in his hey day with the Bears. Not only because of his build, but also the way he was hoisting and sinking threes, many with a hand right in his face. There was one where he fell back into his bench, with the shot hitting nothing but net. Another similarity, they both attended that junior college basketball outpost, College of Southern Idaho.
Part of the reason for the less than enthusiastic crowd was there was no band, no cheerleaders, no yell leaders, no nothing. At one point in the game, there was Jamal Boykin (former Duke Blue Devil sitting out a semester according to the NCAA transfer rules) jumping up and down trying to get the student section into the game. It looked out of place. I could see him thinking, "oh, wait, these aren't Cameron Crazies."
I have to give a shout out to Fondue Fred's on Telegraph for letting us use their restroom going against the grain that is "our restrooms are only available to paying customers."
Next up is Nevada on Wednesday, the Bears first road game. Will be a good test for the Bears, but it should be a winnable game for the Bears. The Wolfpack lost at UCF who lost to K-State (in the Old Spice Classic) who the Bears will see in December.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Stats Redux - November 22, 2007
Here's an update on stats first posted in November 2005, updated January 2006, June 2006, October 2006 and March 2007.
Price of Gas: $3.39 per gallon (up $0.26 since the March 2007 check-in; the price has held steady for the past week or so with crude oil prices hovering around $100 per barrel; reports yesterday indicated that the price go up another $0.75; and another sign of the times perhaps: one of the new sit-coms this year is one about carpoolers)
Price of Milk: $3.99 for hormone free milk at Trader Joe's ($1.00 price increase since March 2007)
Bridge Toll: $4 as of January 1, 2007 on all Bay Area bridges except Golden Gate Bridge
Today's High Temperature: 64 degrees F (overnight low of 38) and sunny!
Dow Jones Average: 12,799.04 (up 688.63 since March 2007); and this is with a 211 point drop yesterday
Shopping Days to Christmas: 32 days (http://eclecticesoterica.com/xmas_cnt.html)
Dinner Tonight: Thanksgiving dinner (turkey, ham, asparagus dish, salad, corn casserole, rice, and soup to name a few items)
Average Commute Time: still over an hour (in a 3-person carpool MWF and a 2-person carpool TuTh; added 1 person to MWF carpool and TuThu carpool is a new one with a fellow employee)
Cost of Area Homes: the median price has dropped from $620,000 to $556,000 in Concord since March of this year
Movie Ticket: still $9.50;
Time with My Kids: visit with Santa planned for tomorrow
Also, today is my parents' anniversary. Happy Anniversary to Mom and Dad!
Price of Gas: $3.39 per gallon (up $0.26 since the March 2007 check-in; the price has held steady for the past week or so with crude oil prices hovering around $100 per barrel; reports yesterday indicated that the price go up another $0.75; and another sign of the times perhaps: one of the new sit-coms this year is one about carpoolers)
Price of Milk: $3.99 for hormone free milk at Trader Joe's ($1.00 price increase since March 2007)
Bridge Toll: $4 as of January 1, 2007 on all Bay Area bridges except Golden Gate Bridge
Today's High Temperature: 64 degrees F (overnight low of 38) and sunny!
Dow Jones Average: 12,799.04 (up 688.63 since March 2007); and this is with a 211 point drop yesterday
Shopping Days to Christmas: 32 days (http://eclecticesoterica.com/xmas_cnt.html)
Dinner Tonight: Thanksgiving dinner (turkey, ham, asparagus dish, salad, corn casserole, rice, and soup to name a few items)
Average Commute Time: still over an hour (in a 3-person carpool MWF and a 2-person carpool TuTh; added 1 person to MWF carpool and TuThu carpool is a new one with a fellow employee)
Cost of Area Homes: the median price has dropped from $620,000 to $556,000 in Concord since March of this year
Movie Ticket: still $9.50;
Time with My Kids: visit with Santa planned for tomorrow
Also, today is my parents' anniversary. Happy Anniversary to Mom and Dad!
Monday, November 12, 2007
Daylight Saving Time
This year, changing from Daylight Saving Time back to Standard Time occurred on the first Sunday in November instead of on the last Sunday in October. The impact for us was that instead of darkness falling a little after 5pm on Halloween, darkness fell after 6pm. This meant that trick-or-treating at least for our kids started a little later than in past years.
The following is a video that was shot at about 2am of our auto-setting clock running forward to adjust backwards by one hour.
Daylight Savings Time
Video sent by CEmoto
The following is a video that was shot at about 2am of our auto-setting clock running forward to adjust backwards by one hour.
Daylight Savings Time
Video sent by CEmoto
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Great Road Trip Scavenger Hunt - Items 15 to 20
Item #15: An odd drive-through service
We thought that a drive-thru pharmacy to be an odd service, but guess what? Now such services are making their appearance in the Bay Area. This picture was taken near ojiichan and obaachan's place in Kent, WA. This pharmacy with its drive-thru window has been in business for several years now.
Item #16: The travelers playing a miniature golf course
The miniature golf course that we played was at the Seattle Center. Ryan didn't quite get it as he insisted on playing the same hole over and over and then thought it was a good idea to try to collect all the golf balls.
Item #17: Smokey Bear
Did you know that there's not a single National Park in the state of Oregon? This is what we learned during our search for Smokey Bear while in Oregon. We have to give kudos to the very friendly volunteers at the visitors' center in Medford, Oregon who directed us to the Oregon Department of Forestry building on the outskirts of Medford. A call was placed to verify that they had cut-outs of Smokey Bear. Not only did we get cut-outs, but also coloring books.
Item #18: A menu or sign selling root beer floats
This photo was taken at an A&W in Kent, WA. The place even had drive up service where you could place your order while parked in a parking space. No waiters on roller skates, but still retro. We couldn't think of such a drive-up restaurant near our home.
Item #19: Something very unusual not on this list
We had our choice of items that we could use just from the Fremont district of Seattle. The Fremont district of Seattle is the self-proclaimed Center of the Universe. There's the giant troll under the bridge.
Or the statue of people waiting for a bus (I think that's what this is).
But the unusual item that we submitted with our entry was the statue of Lenin. The story goes that the statue was rescued from Slovakia by a man from the Seattle area. The statue is believed to be the only one of Lenin surrounded by guns. The more usual statues show Lenin as an intellectual, carrying a book or two. The statue is now actually on sale for $250,000 by the family of the man who brought the statue back to the U.S. The proceeds of the sale are set to go to community art activities in the Fremont area.
Item #20: Farm machinery in a field
We had a great time hunting this one down. We got several photos of farm machinery, but what made this one unique was that the person driving the farm machinery in this case was a woman. We waved to her and she waved back!
We thought that a drive-thru pharmacy to be an odd service, but guess what? Now such services are making their appearance in the Bay Area. This picture was taken near ojiichan and obaachan's place in Kent, WA. This pharmacy with its drive-thru window has been in business for several years now.
Item #16: The travelers playing a miniature golf course
The miniature golf course that we played was at the Seattle Center. Ryan didn't quite get it as he insisted on playing the same hole over and over and then thought it was a good idea to try to collect all the golf balls.
Item #17: Smokey Bear
Did you know that there's not a single National Park in the state of Oregon? This is what we learned during our search for Smokey Bear while in Oregon. We have to give kudos to the very friendly volunteers at the visitors' center in Medford, Oregon who directed us to the Oregon Department of Forestry building on the outskirts of Medford. A call was placed to verify that they had cut-outs of Smokey Bear. Not only did we get cut-outs, but also coloring books.
Item #18: A menu or sign selling root beer floats
This photo was taken at an A&W in Kent, WA. The place even had drive up service where you could place your order while parked in a parking space. No waiters on roller skates, but still retro. We couldn't think of such a drive-up restaurant near our home.
Item #19: Something very unusual not on this list
We had our choice of items that we could use just from the Fremont district of Seattle. The Fremont district of Seattle is the self-proclaimed Center of the Universe. There's the giant troll under the bridge.
Or the statue of people waiting for a bus (I think that's what this is).
But the unusual item that we submitted with our entry was the statue of Lenin. The story goes that the statue was rescued from Slovakia by a man from the Seattle area. The statue is believed to be the only one of Lenin surrounded by guns. The more usual statues show Lenin as an intellectual, carrying a book or two. The statue is now actually on sale for $250,000 by the family of the man who brought the statue back to the U.S. The proceeds of the sale are set to go to community art activities in the Fremont area.
Item #20: Farm machinery in a field
We had a great time hunting this one down. We got several photos of farm machinery, but what made this one unique was that the person driving the farm machinery in this case was a woman. We waved to her and she waved back!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Second Best to No One, Not Even Mona Lisa
Ryan: I was so tired that I pictured my self asleep. And that's what happened. Preschool is tough, but still lots of fun. I get to make cool stuff like picture frames. That's where the frame on my face is from. Mom told me not to play with it, that it would lose its adhesiveness. Well, I couldn't help my self. After all, I am only 3 years old.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
The Ryan Chronicles 1
Let's check in to find out about the latest on life from the point of view our three-year old Ryan.
Kids seem to need shots about as frequently as cars need oil changes. Almost every "well" visit to the doctor's office involves some sort of shot. The most recent visit included flu shots.
The usual routine goes something like this. The nurse shows up with the needle. Child gets frightened and tries to squirm away. Parents help to expose area to be shot. For toddlers like Ryan, the area is usually the upper thigh. The child continues to struggle while the parent and nurse hold the child down while the shot is administered. Child continues to cry while the nurse tells the child that he can get a prize for being so brave.
Here's a recent conversation between Ryan and Dorothy.
Ryan: Where did you go?
Dorothy: I went to get a blood test.
Ryan: Did you have to get a shot?
Dorothy: Yes, they poked me with a needle.
Ryan: Who held you down?
Kids seem to need shots about as frequently as cars need oil changes. Almost every "well" visit to the doctor's office involves some sort of shot. The most recent visit included flu shots.
The usual routine goes something like this. The nurse shows up with the needle. Child gets frightened and tries to squirm away. Parents help to expose area to be shot. For toddlers like Ryan, the area is usually the upper thigh. The child continues to struggle while the parent and nurse hold the child down while the shot is administered. Child continues to cry while the nurse tells the child that he can get a prize for being so brave.
Here's a recent conversation between Ryan and Dorothy.
Ryan: Where did you go?
Dorothy: I went to get a blood test.
Ryan: Did you have to get a shot?
Dorothy: Yes, they poked me with a needle.
Ryan: Who held you down?
Monday, October 15, 2007
Not Really a Deepak Chopra Fan, But...
I saw the following list on a recent blog attributed to Chopra about ways to slow down aging:
1. Change your perception of time. Don't be in a hurry.
2. Get restful sleep.
3. Eat fresh, nutritious food.
4. Take at least two multivitamins with minerals every day.
5. Practice a mind body technique such as yoga or tai chi.
6. Exercise regularly.
7. Don't put toxins in your life, including toxic food, toxic
emotions, toxic relationships, and avoid toxic environments or toxic relationships.
8. Have a flexible attitude to minor hassles.
9. Look at so-called problems as opportunities.
10. Nurture loving relationships.
11. Always have an attitude of curiosity, learning, and wonder and spend time with children.
These seem to be sensible points to follow whether you are striving to live longer or just living life to its fullest. Here is what a six-year old might say about the above list:
1. Are we there yet?
2. Do we have to go to sleep already?
3. Yea! Chicken nuggets and fries again!
4. Can I have another vitamin (gummi-vitamins, emphasizing the "gummi" part)?
5. Look at how high I can jump on your bed!
6. You can't get me! Na-na-na-na!
7. Is it okay to eat this? (crawling up from under the dining table)
8. I guess reading just one story tonight is okay.
9. You mean if we walk home now, we can watch some tv?
10. But I wanted to feed Mimi (our goldfish)! I never get to feed her.
11. Can I have a play date with Ben today?
1. Change your perception of time. Don't be in a hurry.
2. Get restful sleep.
3. Eat fresh, nutritious food.
4. Take at least two multivitamins with minerals every day.
5. Practice a mind body technique such as yoga or tai chi.
6. Exercise regularly.
7. Don't put toxins in your life, including toxic food, toxic
emotions, toxic relationships, and avoid toxic environments or toxic relationships.
8. Have a flexible attitude to minor hassles.
9. Look at so-called problems as opportunities.
10. Nurture loving relationships.
11. Always have an attitude of curiosity, learning, and wonder and spend time with children.
These seem to be sensible points to follow whether you are striving to live longer or just living life to its fullest. Here is what a six-year old might say about the above list:
1. Are we there yet?
2. Do we have to go to sleep already?
3. Yea! Chicken nuggets and fries again!
4. Can I have another vitamin (gummi-vitamins, emphasizing the "gummi" part)?
5. Look at how high I can jump on your bed!
6. You can't get me! Na-na-na-na!
7. Is it okay to eat this? (crawling up from under the dining table)
8. I guess reading just one story tonight is okay.
9. You mean if we walk home now, we can watch some tv?
10. But I wanted to feed Mimi (our goldfish)! I never get to feed her.
11. Can I have a play date with Ben today?
Saturday, October 13, 2007
We Will Rock You
Ryan's current favorite song is "We Will Rock You." He picked it up from one of the Disney "Move It" CDs. The song again matches his personality.
Here's an animation that moves to this song.
Here's an animation that moves to this song.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Friday, October 05, 2007
Wild and Reckless
Sometimes actions that are random do not seem to be so. Take what happened this evening when we went out for ice cream.
The place that we frequent under went a renovation some time earlier this year. They installed new ice cream counters that have a rail along the bottom to allow kids a step up to see the various canisters of ice cream. The kids think it's great that they can see the ice cream.
The minute we go into the ice cream shop, the kids are busy trying to check out all of the ice cream flavors. Naomi is usually deliberate and low-key in her search for the right flavor for the moment, but usually settles on some chocolate variation. Ethan often picks some variation between vanilla and strawberry. Ryan is a little more unpredictable. Sometimes he copies one of the other two kids. Other times it seems he bases his selection on color.
This evening, he settled on a flavor quite quickly. When he pointed out his selection, we had a good laugh. He was pointing to a flavor of sherbet called "Wild and Reckless."
The place that we frequent under went a renovation some time earlier this year. They installed new ice cream counters that have a rail along the bottom to allow kids a step up to see the various canisters of ice cream. The kids think it's great that they can see the ice cream.
The minute we go into the ice cream shop, the kids are busy trying to check out all of the ice cream flavors. Naomi is usually deliberate and low-key in her search for the right flavor for the moment, but usually settles on some chocolate variation. Ethan often picks some variation between vanilla and strawberry. Ryan is a little more unpredictable. Sometimes he copies one of the other two kids. Other times it seems he bases his selection on color.
This evening, he settled on a flavor quite quickly. When he pointed out his selection, we had a good laugh. He was pointing to a flavor of sherbet called "Wild and Reckless."
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Great Road Trip Scavenger Hunt - Items 13 & 14
We had lots of fun with the next two in different ways.
Firefighters having a meal in a fire station. In hindsight, we really didn't have much to worry about. The winning entries had photos that were not much different than ours. There were a couple photos that showed a table full of firefighters sitting down for a meal, but more often the pictures were like the one we took.
Our photo was taken with Fire Captain Paul Eckstein of the South Lane County Fire and Rescue station in Cottage Grove, Oregon. He almost looked lonely in the fire station as most everyone else was out on calls. We pulled up to the station mainly because we smelled food.
Turns out the Fire Captain was at the station working over a BBQ. So we had food on the grill but no crew to eat it. We didn't have a lot of time either so we improvised. That's how we got the photo.
Before getting the photo, we toured the station. The grill in the back "yard" of the station was a giant Weber appropriate for a fire station. Off to the left of the garage was a narrow hallway leading to a room where all of the chairs were lazy boy recliners. The recliners were lined up facing a wide screen flat panel television mounted on the wall. Immediately behind this room was the kitchen counter and in the kitchen were two fridges side-by-side. It was not fancy, more functional and had a feel that it was a boys' place.
What they say about fire fighters being really generous turns out to be right on the mark.
So what do you picture when you hear "merry-go-round"? Here's what we found.
The photo was taken at a local park in Albany, Oregon. I think we were trying to find farm machinery that we had seen from the freeway when we found the park. It's not often that you see an old-fashioned merry-go-round in parks these days. I can't think of any parks where we live that have such a play structure, but when we were kids it was one of our favorite.
Firefighters having a meal in a fire station. In hindsight, we really didn't have much to worry about. The winning entries had photos that were not much different than ours. There were a couple photos that showed a table full of firefighters sitting down for a meal, but more often the pictures were like the one we took.
Our photo was taken with Fire Captain Paul Eckstein of the South Lane County Fire and Rescue station in Cottage Grove, Oregon. He almost looked lonely in the fire station as most everyone else was out on calls. We pulled up to the station mainly because we smelled food.
Turns out the Fire Captain was at the station working over a BBQ. So we had food on the grill but no crew to eat it. We didn't have a lot of time either so we improvised. That's how we got the photo.
Before getting the photo, we toured the station. The grill in the back "yard" of the station was a giant Weber appropriate for a fire station. Off to the left of the garage was a narrow hallway leading to a room where all of the chairs were lazy boy recliners. The recliners were lined up facing a wide screen flat panel television mounted on the wall. Immediately behind this room was the kitchen counter and in the kitchen were two fridges side-by-side. It was not fancy, more functional and had a feel that it was a boys' place.
What they say about fire fighters being really generous turns out to be right on the mark.
So what do you picture when you hear "merry-go-round"? Here's what we found.
The photo was taken at a local park in Albany, Oregon. I think we were trying to find farm machinery that we had seen from the freeway when we found the park. It's not often that you see an old-fashioned merry-go-round in parks these days. I can't think of any parks where we live that have such a play structure, but when we were kids it was one of our favorite.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Gone in 59 Seconds
Spit! Ethan is on a fluoride rinse program prescribed by his dentist. The poor guy. Last year he had a dental visit where we were told that he had 8 cavities. He just has teeth susceptible to cavities. He and Naomi brush the same way each day. Naomi's had nary a cavity.
Rinse. Rinse. Rinse. This goes on for a minute. Ring. Ring. Ring. We have a timer that goes off after a minute signaling that the fluoride rinse can be spit out.
At dinner last night, we were talking about telling time. This is something that we've had to really work on with the kids. They still have trouble sometimes telling time from a clock with old fashioned hands. I think that this is so because most of the clocks they see are digital clocks. It's pretty easy to tell time if the clock says: 7:45. You just have to know if it's 7:45 AM or 7:45 PM.
So at the dinner table last night I asked the kids, "How many seconds are there in a minute?"
Without hesitation, Ethan answered, "59 seconds."
"Why 59 seconds?" I asked.
Ethan was giggling, "I don't know."
Then I realized why. "Is it because of the timer we use to rinse?"
"Yeah, Dad. It says "59" whenever I rinse."
"That's really funny. Is it because when I start the timer it always starts with 59 seconds on it?"
What happens is that the timer starts with 1:00 on it, one minute, but the second that I start it, it shows 0:59 and continues to count down. Ethan had associated the 59 he was seeing as the time for one minute.
Rinse. Rinse. Rinse. This goes on for a minute. Ring. Ring. Ring. We have a timer that goes off after a minute signaling that the fluoride rinse can be spit out.
At dinner last night, we were talking about telling time. This is something that we've had to really work on with the kids. They still have trouble sometimes telling time from a clock with old fashioned hands. I think that this is so because most of the clocks they see are digital clocks. It's pretty easy to tell time if the clock says: 7:45. You just have to know if it's 7:45 AM or 7:45 PM.
So at the dinner table last night I asked the kids, "How many seconds are there in a minute?"
Without hesitation, Ethan answered, "59 seconds."
"Why 59 seconds?" I asked.
Ethan was giggling, "I don't know."
Then I realized why. "Is it because of the timer we use to rinse?"
"Yeah, Dad. It says "59" whenever I rinse."
"That's really funny. Is it because when I start the timer it always starts with 59 seconds on it?"
What happens is that the timer starts with 1:00 on it, one minute, but the second that I start it, it shows 0:59 and continues to count down. Ethan had associated the 59 he was seeing as the time for one minute.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Great Road Trip Scavenger Hunt - Items 10 to 12
The next three items were each: one that would be easy to find, a second that was a head scratcher, and a third that was "what is that?"
The one that would be easy to find was a machine that flattens pennies. Our kids have a very large collection of such pennies from several places in Japan and the U.S. On this trip we documented our find at the Seattle Center in the shadows of the Space Needle. Lianne, Yuki's daughter, joined us for the photo.
The next one was a real head scratcher. A vehicle unique to the region that we would be visiting. We thought, "maybe we need to drive to Pennsylvania so that we could photograph ourselves with Amish driving horse and buggy." The best we could come up with were triple trailers. Triple trailers are illegal in most states. Oregon is the only state on the west coast that allows triple trailers. The other places where triple trailers are allowed are: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana Toll Road, Kansas Turnpike, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio Turnpike, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah.
The photo is one that Dorothy took during our drive on the road to Portland, Oregon. I'm in the foreground of the picture because one of the requirements of the hunt was that a member of our traveling party needed to be in each photo. We ended up with this moving photo because for some reason the only place where we could find triple trailers were while we were on the move. At the truck stops where we stopped, we found only single and double trailers. We wondered, "Do they have other stops just for triple trailers?" Fushigi datta (Japanese for "it was a mystery").
This next one was maybe the one for which we did the most research. We only had vague notions about phosphates. The scavenger hunt only said, "An old-fashioned soda shop that serves phosphate."
We did most of our research only after we had reached Seattle. We could not find any soda fountains serving phosphates in the Seattle area. The closest locale that held some promise was a soda fountain in Wenatchee, the apple capitol of the world in central Washington. We thought about driving there, but then we found two possibilities in Oregon.
The first one in Albany was a strike out. It turned out to be a candy shop in Albany called The Velvet Touch. Would we really find a soda shop in a place called The Velvet Touch? Sounded more like an adult entertainment establishment. It turns out they had great ice cream. So there we were at 10 in the morning eating ice cream. It was not a total loss.
The Grants Pass Pharmacy was our last chance. This was not our first visit to Grants Pass. The last time we found statues of dogs dressed up as batman and robin in front of a motel. This time it was all of the bear statues on the downtown street corners. San Jose had their shark statues. Seattle had their pig statues. Santa Rosa, home of Charles Schultz, has the Peanuts character statues. And Grants Pass has their bear statues.
The pharmacy did have a real soda fountain. It was a small soda fountain right in the middle of the pharmacy. And it did serve phosphates! The price was right, too. Twenty five cents. We pulled up to the counter and asked for a phosphate. The soda jerk said, "what flavor?"
"What are the flavors?"
"Anything on the board."
There were something like 20 flavors (coke, diet coke, Dr. Pepper, sarsaparilla, sprite, diet sprite, root beer, orange, grape, cherry, etc.) on the board. We had no idea.
The soda was made by mixing flavored syrup, soda water and what I assumed to be phosphoric acid. We ordered grape. It lasted just like a regular grape soda pop.
The one that would be easy to find was a machine that flattens pennies. Our kids have a very large collection of such pennies from several places in Japan and the U.S. On this trip we documented our find at the Seattle Center in the shadows of the Space Needle. Lianne, Yuki's daughter, joined us for the photo.
The next one was a real head scratcher. A vehicle unique to the region that we would be visiting. We thought, "maybe we need to drive to Pennsylvania so that we could photograph ourselves with Amish driving horse and buggy." The best we could come up with were triple trailers. Triple trailers are illegal in most states. Oregon is the only state on the west coast that allows triple trailers. The other places where triple trailers are allowed are: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana Toll Road, Kansas Turnpike, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio Turnpike, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah.
The photo is one that Dorothy took during our drive on the road to Portland, Oregon. I'm in the foreground of the picture because one of the requirements of the hunt was that a member of our traveling party needed to be in each photo. We ended up with this moving photo because for some reason the only place where we could find triple trailers were while we were on the move. At the truck stops where we stopped, we found only single and double trailers. We wondered, "Do they have other stops just for triple trailers?" Fushigi datta (Japanese for "it was a mystery").
This next one was maybe the one for which we did the most research. We only had vague notions about phosphates. The scavenger hunt only said, "An old-fashioned soda shop that serves phosphate."
We did most of our research only after we had reached Seattle. We could not find any soda fountains serving phosphates in the Seattle area. The closest locale that held some promise was a soda fountain in Wenatchee, the apple capitol of the world in central Washington. We thought about driving there, but then we found two possibilities in Oregon.
The first one in Albany was a strike out. It turned out to be a candy shop in Albany called The Velvet Touch. Would we really find a soda shop in a place called The Velvet Touch? Sounded more like an adult entertainment establishment. It turns out they had great ice cream. So there we were at 10 in the morning eating ice cream. It was not a total loss.
The Grants Pass Pharmacy was our last chance. This was not our first visit to Grants Pass. The last time we found statues of dogs dressed up as batman and robin in front of a motel. This time it was all of the bear statues on the downtown street corners. San Jose had their shark statues. Seattle had their pig statues. Santa Rosa, home of Charles Schultz, has the Peanuts character statues. And Grants Pass has their bear statues.
The pharmacy did have a real soda fountain. It was a small soda fountain right in the middle of the pharmacy. And it did serve phosphates! The price was right, too. Twenty five cents. We pulled up to the counter and asked for a phosphate. The soda jerk said, "what flavor?"
"What are the flavors?"
"Anything on the board."
There were something like 20 flavors (coke, diet coke, Dr. Pepper, sarsaparilla, sprite, diet sprite, root beer, orange, grape, cherry, etc.) on the board. We had no idea.
The soda was made by mixing flavored syrup, soda water and what I assumed to be phosphoric acid. We ordered grape. It lasted just like a regular grape soda pop.
Great Road Trip Scavenger Hunt - Item 9
This is the item that prevented us from having a chance to win the scavenger hunt. Of the over 300 hundred entries received by the paper, well over 100 were for entries where all 20 items were found. We found but 19.
We just ran out of time on our trip to Seattle. We needed to return by July 8 to the Bay Area so we departed Seattle on July 7, Friday. We reasoned, since Saturday would be 7-7-07 there would be some wedding in one of the towns that we would be driving through.
Also, we still needed to make it to Grants Pass and the the Grants Pass Pharmacy in the hopes that it would have a soda fountain serving phosphate. The pharmacy was only open until 600pm or so on Saturday.
So here we were driving down I-5 in Oregon on Saturday trying in vain to find a wedding. We even stopped and asked people if they knew of any weddings in their towns. Maybe belief in lucky numbers is not important in small towns. We couldn't figure it out. We thought, "there's got to be one wedding some place."
We placed a call to Yuki during the drive. She reported to us how a church in Seattle had been performing weddings every 15 minutes since midnight because of the demand for weddings on 7-7-07. Just our luck. Maybe we should've stayed in Seattle.
We just ran out of time on our trip to Seattle. We needed to return by July 8 to the Bay Area so we departed Seattle on July 7, Friday. We reasoned, since Saturday would be 7-7-07 there would be some wedding in one of the towns that we would be driving through.
Also, we still needed to make it to Grants Pass and the the Grants Pass Pharmacy in the hopes that it would have a soda fountain serving phosphate. The pharmacy was only open until 600pm or so on Saturday.
So here we were driving down I-5 in Oregon on Saturday trying in vain to find a wedding. We even stopped and asked people if they knew of any weddings in their towns. Maybe belief in lucky numbers is not important in small towns. We couldn't figure it out. We thought, "there's got to be one wedding some place."
We placed a call to Yuki during the drive. She reported to us how a church in Seattle had been performing weddings every 15 minutes since midnight because of the demand for weddings on 7-7-07. Just our luck. Maybe we should've stayed in Seattle.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Wedding Bash
Tonight wrapped up the Jen and Matt wedding miniseries that started for us with our departure to Honolulu on September 3 to attend their wedding. Jen is Jennifer, Dorothy's niece.
The wedding was a small affair outside of Honolulu at a country club on the Pali Highway. It was attended by about 50 family and close friends, some traveling from as far away as Florida. It was a beautiful setting for a wedding, nestled in amongst the lush hillsides of the windward side of the island. Everything was green, from the groves of trees to the green lawn to even the bride's maid's gown. Naomi was the flower girl, which she thought was really cool. Waking up early to get hair done and dressed up for the wedding made it extra special for Naomi, and her first ride in a stretch limo wasn't too bad either.
Tonight's affair was the traditional Chinese wedding banquet. However, it also served as the main wedding celebration for most since attendance at the wedding was made available only for a small number of people. And it was quite the affair too. One of the largest wedding gatherings that I have ever attended, perhaps over 500 people.
Banquet Video
Video sent by CEmoto
This wedding was special for our kids also. It's probably the first one where they were interested in the cake cutting, the bouquet toss, the garter toss, and the other activities associated with the event. The following are a few of the sights and sounds from the wedding banquet from the point of view of our kids:
The Garter Toss
Dad: Were you able to see what they did?
Ethan: Yeah it was funny. Matt threw the headband and it landed on Bill's [Bill is Jen's younger brother] back. Bill didn't even try to grab it. Someone else took it off his back. It was really funny!
Wedding Favors
Dad: Ryan, why do you have two favors?
Ryan: Someone gave me hers.
Dad: Are you sure it's okay?
Ryan: No, it's okay. It was our other cousin who gave it to me.
[Later during the good-byes.]
Aunt Josie (Dorothy's Aunt): Did you see that I gave Ryan my wedding favor?
Dad: Oh that was you. I didn't know who gave it to him. He told me that it was our other cousin who gave it to him.
Left Over Food
One of the things that's done at Chinese wedding banquets is that the servers pass out take-out boxes for those who want to take home leftovers. The other family seated at the table with us did not want the leftovers so we packed what we wanted. The amount of food that is served is usually for 10 adults per table. Given that our table had one empty seat and three smaller children, we had plenty of leftovers. So we even filled up two boxes to give to Auntie Josie.
Dad: Ethan, can you take these boxes over to Auntie Jo?
Ethan: Okay.
Dad: Do you know which one she is?
Ethan: Yes, Dad. She's the nice lady who came over to see us. The one who has that thing [a cast] on her hand and blond hair. [Auntie Jo is recently retired and has graying hair. I guess to Ethan it looks blond. Maybe it was the lighting in the restaurant.]
So I learned tonight that Jen had a headband on her leg that Matt retrieved with his mouth and that Auntie Jo has blond hair and is really our cousin.
The wedding was a small affair outside of Honolulu at a country club on the Pali Highway. It was attended by about 50 family and close friends, some traveling from as far away as Florida. It was a beautiful setting for a wedding, nestled in amongst the lush hillsides of the windward side of the island. Everything was green, from the groves of trees to the green lawn to even the bride's maid's gown. Naomi was the flower girl, which she thought was really cool. Waking up early to get hair done and dressed up for the wedding made it extra special for Naomi, and her first ride in a stretch limo wasn't too bad either.
Tonight's affair was the traditional Chinese wedding banquet. However, it also served as the main wedding celebration for most since attendance at the wedding was made available only for a small number of people. And it was quite the affair too. One of the largest wedding gatherings that I have ever attended, perhaps over 500 people.
Banquet Video
Video sent by CEmoto
This wedding was special for our kids also. It's probably the first one where they were interested in the cake cutting, the bouquet toss, the garter toss, and the other activities associated with the event. The following are a few of the sights and sounds from the wedding banquet from the point of view of our kids:
The Garter Toss
Dad: Were you able to see what they did?
Ethan: Yeah it was funny. Matt threw the headband and it landed on Bill's [Bill is Jen's younger brother] back. Bill didn't even try to grab it. Someone else took it off his back. It was really funny!
Wedding Favors
Dad: Ryan, why do you have two favors?
Ryan: Someone gave me hers.
Dad: Are you sure it's okay?
Ryan: No, it's okay. It was our other cousin who gave it to me.
[Later during the good-byes.]
Aunt Josie (Dorothy's Aunt): Did you see that I gave Ryan my wedding favor?
Dad: Oh that was you. I didn't know who gave it to him. He told me that it was our other cousin who gave it to him.
Left Over Food
One of the things that's done at Chinese wedding banquets is that the servers pass out take-out boxes for those who want to take home leftovers. The other family seated at the table with us did not want the leftovers so we packed what we wanted. The amount of food that is served is usually for 10 adults per table. Given that our table had one empty seat and three smaller children, we had plenty of leftovers. So we even filled up two boxes to give to Auntie Josie.
Dad: Ethan, can you take these boxes over to Auntie Jo?
Ethan: Okay.
Dad: Do you know which one she is?
Ethan: Yes, Dad. She's the nice lady who came over to see us. The one who has that thing [a cast] on her hand and blond hair. [Auntie Jo is recently retired and has graying hair. I guess to Ethan it looks blond. Maybe it was the lighting in the restaurant.]
So I learned tonight that Jen had a headband on her leg that Matt retrieved with his mouth and that Auntie Jo has blond hair and is really our cousin.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Great Road Trip Scavenger Hunt - Items 5 to 8
The Contra Costa Times showed some photos earlier this year that showed families posing in front of famous trees with bark seeming to show a face. There was one from some place in Indiana. Something tells me there was lots of research done to find some of these items. We did a little too, but not nearly enough to find all of the items prior to our trip.
The picture of the fifth item was taken outside the Charlotte Martin Children's Theater at the Seattle Center. The scavenger hunt did not say that the tree had to be a real one.
The next item was difficult to find at the time of our trip. We were able to find gas for less then $2.75 based on a tip from my brother. The picture was taken near Wood Village, Oregon on the Columbia River Gorge.
This year is the 40th anniversary of the writing of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road." This explained the lack of copies of this book at several libraries. We finally found one at the Burien, Washington library and Stephen the librarian was kind enough to pose with us.
Finding a red caboose was one of the easier items to find. The photo shows a red caboose in downtown Albany, Oregon that had been remodeled into a pet grooming shop. We were actually looking for a soda shop serving phosphates when we came across this caboose.
The picture of the fifth item was taken outside the Charlotte Martin Children's Theater at the Seattle Center. The scavenger hunt did not say that the tree had to be a real one.
The next item was difficult to find at the time of our trip. We were able to find gas for less then $2.75 based on a tip from my brother. The picture was taken near Wood Village, Oregon on the Columbia River Gorge.
This year is the 40th anniversary of the writing of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road." This explained the lack of copies of this book at several libraries. We finally found one at the Burien, Washington library and Stephen the librarian was kind enough to pose with us.
Finding a red caboose was one of the easier items to find. The photo shows a red caboose in downtown Albany, Oregon that had been remodeled into a pet grooming shop. We were actually looking for a soda shop serving phosphates when we came across this caboose.
Great Road Trip Scavenger Hunt - Item 4
We had to reach for this one. We found that all sheriffs at least along the west coast are County sheriffs. The scavenger hunt specified a town sheriff. We did the best that we could by going to the Tehama County sheriff's office in Red Bluff, California, only to find that the sheriff was not in the office.
However, a very personable public relations officer came to our rescue with trading cards with pictures of the sheriff and other goodies for the kids. We learned that the sheriff was Clay Parker. The back of his trading card says that he is a 5th generation law enforcement officer with 27 years of experience. It also says that he enjoys outdoor sports and is an avid bowler.
This definitely was one stop that we would not have made without the scavenger hunt.
However, a very personable public relations officer came to our rescue with trading cards with pictures of the sheriff and other goodies for the kids. We learned that the sheriff was Clay Parker. The back of his trading card says that he is a 5th generation law enforcement officer with 27 years of experience. It also says that he enjoys outdoor sports and is an avid bowler.
This definitely was one stop that we would not have made without the scavenger hunt.
Great Road Trip Scavenger Hunt - Item 3
Did you know that there is a covered bridge association in Oregon? We did not know this. Always pictured covered bridges as an artifact of other parts of the country. Think "Bridges of Madison County."
The one that we found was located in Cottage Grove, Oregon.
Cottage Grove has special meaning for us. We first stopped there in September 2001. Ethan was not even a year old. Naomi was just past two. We were scheduled to fly up to visit Ojiichan and Obaachan, but 9-11 cancelled all flights. So we decided to drive. We stopped to get gas in Cottage Grove and were invited to join a candlelight vigil. We couldn't stay because we were trying to make it to Portland, but the image of streams of people passing through downtown Cottage Grove to a candlelight vigil will be something we will always remember.
The one that we found was located in Cottage Grove, Oregon.
Cottage Grove has special meaning for us. We first stopped there in September 2001. Ethan was not even a year old. Naomi was just past two. We were scheduled to fly up to visit Ojiichan and Obaachan, but 9-11 cancelled all flights. So we decided to drive. We stopped to get gas in Cottage Grove and were invited to join a candlelight vigil. We couldn't stay because we were trying to make it to Portland, but the image of streams of people passing through downtown Cottage Grove to a candlelight vigil will be something we will always remember.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Great Road Trip Scavenger Hunt - Item 2
The second item that we were to find was "an unintentionally funny sign." We actually thought the message on the back of the sign from the Eastern Orthodox church sign might be our entry until we realized that we took the picture sans a family member. Oh, well...
So we continued our scavenging. We found several signs that were funny, but they were intentionally funny. Finding an unintentionally funny sign was difficult.
Then we came across the sign below in Albany, Oregon. The picture shows Ryan and me. The other kids were not interested in leaving the car.
Bakery Thrift Store. "Does this mean that they sell used pastries? Are they half eaten?" The kids and I thought that it was funny. Dorothy was not completely in agreement, but went along with the majority. After all, we weren't having much luck finding a sign that fit the bill.
Next stop, the Emoto house in Gresham, Oregon.
So we continued our scavenging. We found several signs that were funny, but they were intentionally funny. Finding an unintentionally funny sign was difficult.
Then we came across the sign below in Albany, Oregon. The picture shows Ryan and me. The other kids were not interested in leaving the car.
Bakery Thrift Store. "Does this mean that they sell used pastries? Are they half eaten?" The kids and I thought that it was funny. Dorothy was not completely in agreement, but went along with the majority. After all, we weren't having much luck finding a sign that fit the bill.
Next stop, the Emoto house in Gresham, Oregon.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Great Road Trip Scavenger Hunt - Item 1
Our road trip north this summer had a new twist. We visited places to find items for a road trip scavenger hunt by the Contra Costa Times, our local paper. There were 20 items that we were suppose to find and include in a photograph with one member of our traveling party.
We just submitted our entries as they are due this Monday. We were able to get pictures to cover 19 of the 20 items on the list, although a couple of our "gets" were questionable. The kids joined in the spirit of the hunt for the most part. There were times when their response was, "Do we have to get out of the car for this one?"
One thing we learned was that people are really very friendly even if you approach them in a library with camera in hand (see future post for Item 7). Here's the first item that we were to find:
Item 1 - A building shaped like something else
We didn't really get too creative with this one. The picture below was taken in Rogue River, Oregon. We were actually driving back from checking out a blue-domed churchy looking building that can be seen from I-5 when we stumbled across this, a drive-thru coffee stand shaped like a red caboose.
We just had to see the blue-domed churchy-looking building that we would see each year on our drive to Seattle. We knew that it was an orthodox church of some kind because of the cross. Well, turns out that it's an Eastern Orthodox church. As we were getting ready to leave the place, we noticed an interesting quote on the back of the sign to the church (see below - it says, "It's later than you think" Perhaps someone with a sense of humor? There was no one home so we did not get a chance to inquire.).
We just submitted our entries as they are due this Monday. We were able to get pictures to cover 19 of the 20 items on the list, although a couple of our "gets" were questionable. The kids joined in the spirit of the hunt for the most part. There were times when their response was, "Do we have to get out of the car for this one?"
One thing we learned was that people are really very friendly even if you approach them in a library with camera in hand (see future post for Item 7). Here's the first item that we were to find:
Item 1 - A building shaped like something else
We didn't really get too creative with this one. The picture below was taken in Rogue River, Oregon. We were actually driving back from checking out a blue-domed churchy looking building that can be seen from I-5 when we stumbled across this, a drive-thru coffee stand shaped like a red caboose.
We just had to see the blue-domed churchy-looking building that we would see each year on our drive to Seattle. We knew that it was an orthodox church of some kind because of the cross. Well, turns out that it's an Eastern Orthodox church. As we were getting ready to leave the place, we noticed an interesting quote on the back of the sign to the church (see below - it says, "It's later than you think" Perhaps someone with a sense of humor? There was no one home so we did not get a chance to inquire.).
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Roaster Coasters and Other Fun for Kids
We had a weekend with enough kid-friendly activities to last a whole year. This was due to a visit by our niece Lianne. I think we adults were just along for the ride.
In reality, we probably could've spent the entire weekend in our house and the kids would've been able to create enough activities on their own. There were times when our house did resemble one of those amusement parks that we visited.
Our first stop was Pixieland, which we blogged about in an earlier posting: Moshi Moshi Kame-yo!: Pixieland - A Hidden Gem
Another stop was Children's Fairyland in Oakland. This was courtesy of our friend Celia who had given to Naomi passes as a birthday gift last year. Celia and her husband Joe even joined us for this excursion that had Celia remembering back to her childhood memories of Children's Fairyland (see her comments to our Pixieland post above).
The Lindsay Wildlife Museum was another hit for the kids. Seeing local wild animals up close at this museum is always an adventure for the kids.
The kids also got a chance to burn off some energy at Matteo's Playground, an accessible playground in Concord. Much of the construction was conducted by local volunteers. It was a hot day so we didn't stay for a long time, just long enough for the kids to build up an appetite.
The weekend also had the 51st Annual Japanese Summer Festival at the Diablo Japanese American Cultural Center. We took in some great food (my mom: the food selection here is even better than at the Obon Festival in Seattle!), Bon Odori dancing, kids' games, and taiko drumming.
The one nearly daylong outing that we made was to Gilroy Gardens, touted as California's only horticultural theme park. It is an unusual theme park with rides and attractions built around a horticultural theme featuring what they refer to as circus trees. The park is definitely geared to a younger crowd. Buying tickets on-line will save you $12 on a regular adult ticket and $2 on a kid's ticket. Maybe it was because we visited on a Monday, but the parking lot was only about a third full and many of the rides did not have a wait.
On the way back home, we stopped for dinner at Tobie Tyler's. This is a Japanese restaurant in a Ramada Inn close to my work place. Dorothy's always wanted to check it out since she hears me talking about eating lunch there on a work day.
So what is this about roaster coasters? Well, that is what Ryan calls roller coasters. Ryan was even able to go on the one at Pixieland with me. As he told all of us, "you have to scream when you're on a roaster coaster."
He wanted to go on the ones at Gilroy Gardens but he was not tall enough. Maybe next year.
In reality, we probably could've spent the entire weekend in our house and the kids would've been able to create enough activities on their own. There were times when our house did resemble one of those amusement parks that we visited.
Our first stop was Pixieland, which we blogged about in an earlier posting: Moshi Moshi Kame-yo!: Pixieland - A Hidden Gem
Another stop was Children's Fairyland in Oakland. This was courtesy of our friend Celia who had given to Naomi passes as a birthday gift last year. Celia and her husband Joe even joined us for this excursion that had Celia remembering back to her childhood memories of Children's Fairyland (see her comments to our Pixieland post above).
The Lindsay Wildlife Museum was another hit for the kids. Seeing local wild animals up close at this museum is always an adventure for the kids.
The kids also got a chance to burn off some energy at Matteo's Playground, an accessible playground in Concord. Much of the construction was conducted by local volunteers. It was a hot day so we didn't stay for a long time, just long enough for the kids to build up an appetite.
The weekend also had the 51st Annual Japanese Summer Festival at the Diablo Japanese American Cultural Center. We took in some great food (my mom: the food selection here is even better than at the Obon Festival in Seattle!), Bon Odori dancing, kids' games, and taiko drumming.
The one nearly daylong outing that we made was to Gilroy Gardens, touted as California's only horticultural theme park. It is an unusual theme park with rides and attractions built around a horticultural theme featuring what they refer to as circus trees. The park is definitely geared to a younger crowd. Buying tickets on-line will save you $12 on a regular adult ticket and $2 on a kid's ticket. Maybe it was because we visited on a Monday, but the parking lot was only about a third full and many of the rides did not have a wait.
On the way back home, we stopped for dinner at Tobie Tyler's. This is a Japanese restaurant in a Ramada Inn close to my work place. Dorothy's always wanted to check it out since she hears me talking about eating lunch there on a work day.
So what is this about roaster coasters? Well, that is what Ryan calls roller coasters. Ryan was even able to go on the one at Pixieland with me. As he told all of us, "you have to scream when you're on a roaster coaster."
He wanted to go on the ones at Gilroy Gardens but he was not tall enough. Maybe next year.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Neighbors 1
As was stated in the previous posting, this week was Spirit Week for the swim team. The final event was last night. It was the pasta feed. Almost every type of pasta one could imagine was on display. It was a potluck with all of the dishes lined up on a long series of tables as if they were being prepared for a parade. Of course, this is bound to happen with a potluck by a swim team of over 160 kids and their families.
Anyway, let's get to the story about neighbors...
I walked to the club after work so we wouldn't have two cars to take to our home which is no more than about 10 minutes away by foot. Ryan, threw a wrench into our plans to drive home together when he took up my not too serious comment to walk home by saying, "Yes, Dad, I want to walk home. Let's go."
So we were on our way to walk home, when we heard squeak, squeak. Squeak, squeak behind us. It was Naomi. She wanted to walk home too. A few minutes later mom and Ethan rolled by when we were trying to cross the street. We continued on our way.
An older man appeared about 100 yards down the street. He was wearing a red 49ers cap. He waved to us when we were nearer. We said the obligatory "hellos" as we started to pass, but this time I decided to say, "Hey, kids, say hello to the nice man. Look, Ryan, I think he wants to give you a high five." They proceeded to low five one another.
This started the following conversation:
Me: We're just returning from a pasta feed at the swim club.
Man: What, did you say that you were down at the field.
Me: No, we were at a pasta feed. You know, down at the swim club.
Man: Oh, the swim club. That's a great place. A great place for kids. You know, we grew up in the club too.
Man: Did you see all the cars down the street last weekend? I think they had the big meet at Woodlands (the swim club on the Walnut Creek side of Citrus Avenue).
Me: That was the Woodlands Invitational.
Man: We swam in that too. Woodlands was not in our league though. Or should I say that we were not in their league. They were very good. Much more competitive. This was over 40 years ago.
Me: It's still the same. Woodlands is still much more competitive, but now we're in the same league.
Man: We've lived in the same place now for 43 years. I'm 84 years old.
Me: Maybe if I'm lucky one of these I'll make it to 84.
Man: We live right down this street at XXXX San Gabriel. Things have changed quite a bit around here. Back then, they only let certain people live here. It was quite different.
Man: My wife is not doing too well. She almost had renal failure. She's suppose to be going in for an operation. My daughters will be here to help out. Can you believe that she might not be able to get a new kidney because she is too old? I think that this might be it for her. She has diabetes too.
Me: I'm sorry for that.
Man: How long have you lived here?
Me: We've lived here now for almost seven years.
Man: You're an old timer now, aren't you (laughing)?
Me: No, you're the real old timer (laughing).
Man: Yes, in more ways than one (laughing).
Me: We live around the corner on Joshua Woods.
Ryan: Can we go now, Dad?
Me: What's your name, anyway?
Man: My name's Gene. Gene XXXXXXXX. What's yours?
Me: Casey. Casey Emoto.
Gene: Casey? What's that Moto?
Me: Emoto.
Gene: What's your name (gesturing to Ryan)?
Ryan: My name's Ryan.
Gene: What was that?
Me: His name is Ryan.
Gene: That's a great name. Give me a high five (they proceed to give one another a low five). What's your name (gesturing to Naomi)?
Naomi: My name's Naomi.
Gene: That's a beautiful name.
Ryan: Let's go Dad (tugging on my arm).
Me: Okay, okay. Okay, Gene, nice talking with you. Hopefully we'll see you around.
Gene: Yes, take care.
Anyway, let's get to the story about neighbors...
I walked to the club after work so we wouldn't have two cars to take to our home which is no more than about 10 minutes away by foot. Ryan, threw a wrench into our plans to drive home together when he took up my not too serious comment to walk home by saying, "Yes, Dad, I want to walk home. Let's go."
So we were on our way to walk home, when we heard squeak, squeak. Squeak, squeak behind us. It was Naomi. She wanted to walk home too. A few minutes later mom and Ethan rolled by when we were trying to cross the street. We continued on our way.
An older man appeared about 100 yards down the street. He was wearing a red 49ers cap. He waved to us when we were nearer. We said the obligatory "hellos" as we started to pass, but this time I decided to say, "Hey, kids, say hello to the nice man. Look, Ryan, I think he wants to give you a high five." They proceeded to low five one another.
This started the following conversation:
Me: We're just returning from a pasta feed at the swim club.
Man: What, did you say that you were down at the field.
Me: No, we were at a pasta feed. You know, down at the swim club.
Man: Oh, the swim club. That's a great place. A great place for kids. You know, we grew up in the club too.
Man: Did you see all the cars down the street last weekend? I think they had the big meet at Woodlands (the swim club on the Walnut Creek side of Citrus Avenue).
Me: That was the Woodlands Invitational.
Man: We swam in that too. Woodlands was not in our league though. Or should I say that we were not in their league. They were very good. Much more competitive. This was over 40 years ago.
Me: It's still the same. Woodlands is still much more competitive, but now we're in the same league.
Man: We've lived in the same place now for 43 years. I'm 84 years old.
Me: Maybe if I'm lucky one of these I'll make it to 84.
Man: We live right down this street at XXXX San Gabriel. Things have changed quite a bit around here. Back then, they only let certain people live here. It was quite different.
Man: My wife is not doing too well. She almost had renal failure. She's suppose to be going in for an operation. My daughters will be here to help out. Can you believe that she might not be able to get a new kidney because she is too old? I think that this might be it for her. She has diabetes too.
Me: I'm sorry for that.
Man: How long have you lived here?
Me: We've lived here now for almost seven years.
Man: You're an old timer now, aren't you (laughing)?
Me: No, you're the real old timer (laughing).
Man: Yes, in more ways than one (laughing).
Me: We live around the corner on Joshua Woods.
Ryan: Can we go now, Dad?
Me: What's your name, anyway?
Man: My name's Gene. Gene XXXXXXXX. What's yours?
Me: Casey. Casey Emoto.
Gene: Casey? What's that Moto?
Me: Emoto.
Gene: What's your name (gesturing to Ryan)?
Ryan: My name's Ryan.
Gene: What was that?
Me: His name is Ryan.
Gene: That's a great name. Give me a high five (they proceed to give one another a low five). What's your name (gesturing to Naomi)?
Naomi: My name's Naomi.
Gene: That's a beautiful name.
Ryan: Let's go Dad (tugging on my arm).
Me: Okay, okay. Okay, Gene, nice talking with you. Hopefully we'll see you around.
Gene: Yes, take care.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Contra Costa Valley Swim Conference
Our swim team, the Ygnacio Wood Seahorses, is one of seven teams in the Contra Costa Valley Swim Conference. There is one other team from Concord, 2 teams from Walnut Creek, and single teams from Pinole, Antioch, and Brentwood. The league season concludes with the championships held at Los Medanos College.
The week leading up the championships is called Spirit Week for the Seahorses. Last night was movie night at the swim club. Kids are encouraged to bring sleeping bags and their own munchies. Although movie watching is a main activity for the night, so too is painting nails and hair blue (the team color). Our Ryan even got into the act, painting blue the nails on his left hand. Here's a picture of Ryan with Coach Russell Mikuni.
This year Naomi and Ethan are each swimming freestyle and backstroke at the league championships. Good luck to all!
The week leading up the championships is called Spirit Week for the Seahorses. Last night was movie night at the swim club. Kids are encouraged to bring sleeping bags and their own munchies. Although movie watching is a main activity for the night, so too is painting nails and hair blue (the team color). Our Ryan even got into the act, painting blue the nails on his left hand. Here's a picture of Ryan with Coach Russell Mikuni.
This year Naomi and Ethan are each swimming freestyle and backstroke at the league championships. Good luck to all!
Monday, July 30, 2007
Conversations with Kids - Part IX
Dad: Hey, Mom look at us. We're trying to swat flies.
Ryan: Yeah, look at us. Oh, look! Fly! Fly!
Dad: Where is it? I can't see it.
Mom: He has quite a keen eye.
Dad: I think that he can see the fly better because he is lower to the ground and can see it buzzing around above his head. [so I kneel to get down to his level]
Ryan: Yeah, let me get down to see better too. [as he proceeds to kneel down next to me]
This may not seem funny, but seeing him kneeling just like me with an impish grin on his face had both Dorothy and me keeling over in laughter.
Ryan: Yeah, look at us. Oh, look! Fly! Fly!
Dad: Where is it? I can't see it.
Mom: He has quite a keen eye.
Dad: I think that he can see the fly better because he is lower to the ground and can see it buzzing around above his head. [so I kneel to get down to his level]
Ryan: Yeah, let me get down to see better too. [as he proceeds to kneel down next to me]
This may not seem funny, but seeing him kneeling just like me with an impish grin on his face had both Dorothy and me keeling over in laughter.
Six Degrees of Separation from Kevin Bacon
During a recent commute home, the subject of six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon made it into the carpool conversation. The premise of the play "Six Degrees of Separation" that generated the Kevin Bacon game was that everyone in the world can be linked to anyone else in a chain of no more than six people. The Kevin Bacon game posits that any actor can be linked to any other actor through a chain of no more than six actors.
I told our carpool that I could link everyone in our carpool to Kevin Bacon by a chain of no more than six people:
Carpoolers ==> Casey ==> Kiyo Ushino (principal planner at VTA) ==> Gary Ushino (Kiyo's brother who is a cameraman in Hollywood who worked on the film "Old School") ==> Luke Wilson (who starred in "Old School" and "My Dog Skip") ==> Kevin Bacon (who also starred in "My Dog Skip")
I guess this is what is known as mindless trivia.
I told our carpool that I could link everyone in our carpool to Kevin Bacon by a chain of no more than six people:
Carpoolers ==> Casey ==> Kiyo Ushino (principal planner at VTA) ==> Gary Ushino (Kiyo's brother who is a cameraman in Hollywood who worked on the film "Old School") ==> Luke Wilson (who starred in "Old School" and "My Dog Skip") ==> Kevin Bacon (who also starred in "My Dog Skip")
I guess this is what is known as mindless trivia.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Naomi's 8th Birthday
Naomi has what's considered a good swim birthday. The cut-off for the swimming age groupings is June 15. This means that next year even though she will be 9 before the end of the season Naomi will still swim with the 7 and 8 year olds.
However, having a summer birthday when many families are setting off on their final vacation before school starts is no piece of cake. Further complicating matters for swimming families such as ours are the twice a week swim meets. This will be the second year in a row that Naomi's birthday party with friends will take place well into August.
This evening after a swimming team event at the swim club we bought pizza and a cake to have a small family celebration at home. Earlier in the day we went to the newly renamed Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. This was part of our birthday gift for Naomi along with the first two Harry Potter books. Yes, we're one of those families who had not yet been bitten by the HP bug.
We've been to Discovery Kingdom now on two consecutive weekends and have probably only seen about a third of the place. This is mainly because we've gotten late starts for both visits. The good thing is that it's only about 30 minutes away and we do have season passes so we'll likely be going back. They do have a new attraction featuring Thomas the Tank Engine. We (including Naomi) were slightly disappointed with Thomas Town. Maybe we were expecting too much, but it seemed to be geared to the under first grade crowd and was smaller than what we expected.
However, having a summer birthday when many families are setting off on their final vacation before school starts is no piece of cake. Further complicating matters for swimming families such as ours are the twice a week swim meets. This will be the second year in a row that Naomi's birthday party with friends will take place well into August.
This evening after a swimming team event at the swim club we bought pizza and a cake to have a small family celebration at home. Earlier in the day we went to the newly renamed Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. This was part of our birthday gift for Naomi along with the first two Harry Potter books. Yes, we're one of those families who had not yet been bitten by the HP bug.
We've been to Discovery Kingdom now on two consecutive weekends and have probably only seen about a third of the place. This is mainly because we've gotten late starts for both visits. The good thing is that it's only about 30 minutes away and we do have season passes so we'll likely be going back. They do have a new attraction featuring Thomas the Tank Engine. We (including Naomi) were slightly disappointed with Thomas Town. Maybe we were expecting too much, but it seemed to be geared to the under first grade crowd and was smaller than what we expected.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Taiko Drumming
Ryan says that he wants someone to teach him how to taiko drum after seeing video clips such as the following.
Weekday Evening in Golden Gate Park
Very seldom do we get a chance to spend time in Golden Gate Park on a weekday evening, but such was the case this past week when Dorothy attended a close friend's father's wake.
The first stop that we made was at Spreckles Lake as we entered the park on 25th Avenue from the Richmond District side. The evening was cool enough to warrant jackets. Ryan insisted on being pushed in his stroller. There was a flock of over 100 pigeons fussing over their evening meal. The kids could not resist the temptation to chase the pigeons who were more worried about not getting their share of the meal.
We came upon two groups of older men huddled for entertainment. "Look dominoes! They're playing chicken foot!"
It was dominoes, but not Chicken Foot, the variation of dominoes that our kids learned from the Portland Emotos. No, these men were playing for money. We didn't stay for too long. "Dad, let's go, I don't like the smoke."
So we continued our short walk around the lake, passing the same older couples that we had seen earlier who were walking counter-clockwise to our clockwise round trip. There was an occasional bicyclist, but mostly it was older couples, bundled, walking or resting on benches, speaking in Cantonese. Some would point to the kids and smile or wave, but I don't think the kids noticed.
The next stop was the buffalo paddock. We found the area with construction underway to install new fencing so the buffalo were all herded into a small area near the roadway. Ethan and Naomi were satisfied with seeing the large animals from the minivan, but Ryan wanted to get out so the two of us went out for a closer look. We counted seven buffaloes, a much lower number than what I expected. My recollection was a larger herd roaming the open field. There were some tourists who were also at the fence. They were speaking in German so I didn't know what they were saying, but I couldn't help wonder if they knew that what they were viewing was not the usual view of the buffalo.
We continued our journey down to Ocean Beach. I knew that Dorothy would be calling us soon so we didn't get out, but the kids were happy just to see the ocean and the waves rolling onto the beach.
We drove toward Geary Boulevard. The phone rang. It was Dorothy. The wake was over and she was ready to leave. Ryan reminded me that he wanted to see the shiny house. What he was referring to was the gold-domed Russian Orthodox church on Geary Boulevard. "Look, there it is!" exclaimed Ryan as we drove past the church.
Dorothy was in front of the mortuary chatting with old friends. We drove off trying to figure out where to eat dinner.
The first stop that we made was at Spreckles Lake as we entered the park on 25th Avenue from the Richmond District side. The evening was cool enough to warrant jackets. Ryan insisted on being pushed in his stroller. There was a flock of over 100 pigeons fussing over their evening meal. The kids could not resist the temptation to chase the pigeons who were more worried about not getting their share of the meal.
We came upon two groups of older men huddled for entertainment. "Look dominoes! They're playing chicken foot!"
It was dominoes, but not Chicken Foot, the variation of dominoes that our kids learned from the Portland Emotos. No, these men were playing for money. We didn't stay for too long. "Dad, let's go, I don't like the smoke."
So we continued our short walk around the lake, passing the same older couples that we had seen earlier who were walking counter-clockwise to our clockwise round trip. There was an occasional bicyclist, but mostly it was older couples, bundled, walking or resting on benches, speaking in Cantonese. Some would point to the kids and smile or wave, but I don't think the kids noticed.
The next stop was the buffalo paddock. We found the area with construction underway to install new fencing so the buffalo were all herded into a small area near the roadway. Ethan and Naomi were satisfied with seeing the large animals from the minivan, but Ryan wanted to get out so the two of us went out for a closer look. We counted seven buffaloes, a much lower number than what I expected. My recollection was a larger herd roaming the open field. There were some tourists who were also at the fence. They were speaking in German so I didn't know what they were saying, but I couldn't help wonder if they knew that what they were viewing was not the usual view of the buffalo.
We continued our journey down to Ocean Beach. I knew that Dorothy would be calling us soon so we didn't get out, but the kids were happy just to see the ocean and the waves rolling onto the beach.
We drove toward Geary Boulevard. The phone rang. It was Dorothy. The wake was over and she was ready to leave. Ryan reminded me that he wanted to see the shiny house. What he was referring to was the gold-domed Russian Orthodox church on Geary Boulevard. "Look, there it is!" exclaimed Ryan as we drove past the church.
Dorothy was in front of the mortuary chatting with old friends. We drove off trying to figure out where to eat dinner.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
The Pink My Little Pony Backpack
We attended a Seattle Mariners game during our vacation. I think it was before the game started when we saw three or four of the bullpen pitchers making their way across the outfield to the bullpen. My sister tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Take a look at that." Strung across the shoulder of one of the pitchers was a pink backpack. We all chuckled. I think someone even said, "It must be a gift from his daughter."
A recent article in SI explains the pink backpack. It is actually a symbol of the older pitchers "schooling" the younger pitchers on the ins and outs of MLB pitching. J.J. Putz, the Mariners' closer, and another "older" (J.J. is only 30) pitcher on a trip to Oakland enlisted a clubhouse attendant to find a pinker roller bag for the younger pitchers responsible for carting around the requisite munchies (e.g., chewing gum, sunflower seeds, PowerBars, and I'm sure other assorted snacks) for the bullpen. The attendant came back with the My Little Pony bag, which perfectly fit the bill.
So now the bag is passed between Brandon Morrow (former Cal pitcher) and two other rooks, depending on who is on a hot streak. So if you happen to catch a Mariners game and see a pitcher with a pink backpack, you'll now know that it's more than just a pink backpack. Who knows, if you ask for a PowerBar out of the bag, maybe they'll toss you one.
A recent article in SI explains the pink backpack. It is actually a symbol of the older pitchers "schooling" the younger pitchers on the ins and outs of MLB pitching. J.J. Putz, the Mariners' closer, and another "older" (J.J. is only 30) pitcher on a trip to Oakland enlisted a clubhouse attendant to find a pinker roller bag for the younger pitchers responsible for carting around the requisite munchies (e.g., chewing gum, sunflower seeds, PowerBars, and I'm sure other assorted snacks) for the bullpen. The attendant came back with the My Little Pony bag, which perfectly fit the bill.
So now the bag is passed between Brandon Morrow (former Cal pitcher) and two other rooks, depending on who is on a hot streak. So if you happen to catch a Mariners game and see a pitcher with a pink backpack, you'll now know that it's more than just a pink backpack. Who knows, if you ask for a PowerBar out of the bag, maybe they'll toss you one.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Math Magic
I remember seeing something like this in a Japanese math exercise book that our parents got for us when we were kids. I didn't totally understand it because the book was all in Japanese. It looked kind of interesting, but I wondered if it was really faster to do multiplication this way as compared to the traditional approach taught in school. Now here is a video that shows the entire method.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
2007 Road Trip Stats and Photos
Our road to Seattle was a memorable one, but then again all of our road trips are memorable. Here are some stats about this road trip:
1. Included a scavanger hunt as part of our travels.
2. Took over 770 photos with our 2 digital cameras.
3. Stayed overnight in Red Bluff, Roseburg, and Portland on the way north.
4. Saw Mt. Lassen, Mt. Shasta, Mt. Hood, Mount St. Helens, and Mt. Rainier.
5. Took in views from the top (or near the top) of the Smith Tower, Columbia Center and Space Needle in Seattle.
6. Saw the 4th of July fireworks over Lake Union.
7. Saw the statue of Lenin and the Troll.
8. Stayed overnight in Albany and Medford on the return trip.
9. Traveled about 2120 miles over 10 days.
Here are some of our photos:
1. Included a scavanger hunt as part of our travels.
2. Took over 770 photos with our 2 digital cameras.
3. Stayed overnight in Red Bluff, Roseburg, and Portland on the way north.
4. Saw Mt. Lassen, Mt. Shasta, Mt. Hood, Mount St. Helens, and Mt. Rainier.
5. Took in views from the top (or near the top) of the Smith Tower, Columbia Center and Space Needle in Seattle.
6. Saw the 4th of July fireworks over Lake Union.
7. Saw the statue of Lenin and the Troll.
8. Stayed overnight in Albany and Medford on the return trip.
9. Traveled about 2120 miles over 10 days.
Here are some of our photos:
 |
| Seattle Trip 2007 |
Road Trip Stats and Photos
About 770 photos and 2120 miles later we were home.
Here's a link to some of the photos:
Here's a link to some of the photos:
|
| Seattle Trip 2007 |
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Road Trip Stories - Volume 07a
Ethan's Mets blue and orange baseball cap and mit caught my attention. "We're going to an M's game so maybe we should bring these on the trip," I thought. So I grabbed these last two items on my way out the door as we departed on our road trip to see Ojiichan and Obaachan.
Arriving home nine days later, we checked the front steps for delivered packages. There weren't any, but Dorothy and I were hoping that there would be one.
We had called once while in Seattle to ask if a small boy's baseball cap had been turned in by one of the cleaning ladies. The front desk person who answered Dorothy's call was not too pleasant. Dorothy did not want to call again, but she relented to my prodding. She placed a second call to the Windmill Inn of Roseburg the next day and was greeted by someone who seemed to care that there was a heartbroken little boy who missed his hat. She noted our name and address and said that if the hat was found it would be mailed to us.
In Seattle, to make up for the lost cap, Obaachan bought a new M's cap for Ethan at the ballgame. He did not let this cap out of his sight.
We said our goodbyes and headed home on Friday exactly a week to the last day that we could remember Ethan with his Mets cap. Driving through Cottage Grove about an hour or so north of Roseburg, we stopped to check the Dairy Queen. This was the only other place between the Windmill Inn and Portland where we could've left the cap, but we didn't have any photos from the Dairy Queen to verify if Ethan was wearing the cap. He definitely was not wearing the cap during our short visit at the fire station in Cottage Grove because we had photos from the visit. It was the same staff at the Dairy Queen. They only had a red cap.
So we arrived home on Sunday night after two day of traveling. We reasoned that maybe someone would have a good heart and turn in the cap. After all, it had his name written on the inside and even his uniform number, #1. But it had been a week now. Who would turn in such a small seemingly meaningless item?
We get packages from time-to-time. Sometimes we have to sign for the package. Other times the delivery person just knocks on our door and leaves the package for us. This time the UPS man just knocked and by the time the door was answered, the only item remaining was a Otis Spunkmeyer box. This looked odd, but on closer inspection there was a Windmill Inn return address. Dorothy's immediate thought was, "It's the cap!" And so it was.
Ethan was away to his karate camp so he was not able to have this same immediate sense of recovery at the package's arrival. However, later in the day, Ethan was grateful that there was someone at the Windmill Inn in Roseburg who cared about his cap just as much as he did.
Arriving home nine days later, we checked the front steps for delivered packages. There weren't any, but Dorothy and I were hoping that there would be one.
We had called once while in Seattle to ask if a small boy's baseball cap had been turned in by one of the cleaning ladies. The front desk person who answered Dorothy's call was not too pleasant. Dorothy did not want to call again, but she relented to my prodding. She placed a second call to the Windmill Inn of Roseburg the next day and was greeted by someone who seemed to care that there was a heartbroken little boy who missed his hat. She noted our name and address and said that if the hat was found it would be mailed to us.
In Seattle, to make up for the lost cap, Obaachan bought a new M's cap for Ethan at the ballgame. He did not let this cap out of his sight.
We said our goodbyes and headed home on Friday exactly a week to the last day that we could remember Ethan with his Mets cap. Driving through Cottage Grove about an hour or so north of Roseburg, we stopped to check the Dairy Queen. This was the only other place between the Windmill Inn and Portland where we could've left the cap, but we didn't have any photos from the Dairy Queen to verify if Ethan was wearing the cap. He definitely was not wearing the cap during our short visit at the fire station in Cottage Grove because we had photos from the visit. It was the same staff at the Dairy Queen. They only had a red cap.
So we arrived home on Sunday night after two day of traveling. We reasoned that maybe someone would have a good heart and turn in the cap. After all, it had his name written on the inside and even his uniform number, #1. But it had been a week now. Who would turn in such a small seemingly meaningless item?
We get packages from time-to-time. Sometimes we have to sign for the package. Other times the delivery person just knocks on our door and leaves the package for us. This time the UPS man just knocked and by the time the door was answered, the only item remaining was a Otis Spunkmeyer box. This looked odd, but on closer inspection there was a Windmill Inn return address. Dorothy's immediate thought was, "It's the cap!" And so it was.
Ethan was away to his karate camp so he was not able to have this same immediate sense of recovery at the package's arrival. However, later in the day, Ethan was grateful that there was someone at the Windmill Inn in Roseburg who cared about his cap just as much as he did.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
A Little Visitor
You never know what you'll find in your garden. Today, Dorothy came back into the house with a little friend on her shoulder - a young praying mantis. Check out these photos.
We're happy to report that the praying mantis was returned to the garden.
We're happy to report that the praying mantis was returned to the garden.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Hank Medress, who sang lead vocals with the Tokens in 1961 on their hit single "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," passed away this past Monday.
This is a catchy tune that is a favorite of our kids. See our earlier blog post on this from October 2006:
The Lion Sleeps Tonight video clip
Our kids especially like the part that goes "wimoweh" that is apparently from a traditional Zulu melody. The song was first sung by the Weavers in the 1950s.
This is a catchy tune that is a favorite of our kids. See our earlier blog post on this from October 2006:
The Lion Sleeps Tonight video clip
Our kids especially like the part that goes "wimoweh" that is apparently from a traditional Zulu melody. The song was first sung by the Weavers in the 1950s.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
The Midnight Sun Game
This game has seen major leaguers the likes of Barry Bonds, Tom Seaver, Dave Winfield, Bob Boone, and Rick Monday play in it. Current A's player Bobby Crosby has played in it. So has former A's player and current Yankee Jason Giambi.
This year marks the 102nd time for this game that starts at 10:30pm and usually finishes around 2am. The sun is to "set" at 12:47am, but the game will go on without lights as has been the tradition since the first year the game was played to settle a bar bet by a man from San Francisco. The game has grown to where it is now televised around the world by Internet.
Most people don't associate baseball with Alaska, but the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks are one of the most successful amateur teams around. They've won six National Baseball Congress (NBC) titles over the years, and they've been runner-up another six times. Their last title was in 2002. In the early 70s, the Goldpanners won back-to-back-to-back in 1972, 1973 and 1974. And they aren't the only Alaska Baseball League team with an NBC title. Other champion AK teams include the Anchorage Glacier Pilots, Mat-Su Miners, and Kenai Peninsula Oilers.
The Midnight Sun Game has been tabbed as the #8 ultimate baseball experience by ESPN, on this list with baseball experiences like visiting spring training (#3 on the list), visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown (#2 on the list), and an evening at Fenway Park (#11 on the list).
The current manager of the Panners, Tim Gloyd, sums up the long daylight that is summer in Fairbanks best in a recent article on Yahoo! Sports. "Your mind doesn't comprehend it at first," Gloyd said. "You may be sitting at Denny's, just talking, and next thing you know it's 3:30.
Having been born and raised in Alaska, the long summer daylight experience is not new for me. I remember playing our version of stickball in our yard well past 11pm on some summer nights. These games would usually start in the middle of the day and continue through dinner with people leaving for dinner and returning to join in the game. We would keep score and I remember scores that ran into the 100s for just one game.
On a trip to Alaska with Dorothy several years ago, we had the same experience mentioned by Tim Gloyd above. It never got pitch black dark, just a very dark blue hue. We were just sitting around talking getting caught up with friends after arriving in Alaska. Before we knew it, it was 3 or 4 in the morning.
This year marks the 102nd time for this game that starts at 10:30pm and usually finishes around 2am. The sun is to "set" at 12:47am, but the game will go on without lights as has been the tradition since the first year the game was played to settle a bar bet by a man from San Francisco. The game has grown to where it is now televised around the world by Internet.
Most people don't associate baseball with Alaska, but the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks are one of the most successful amateur teams around. They've won six National Baseball Congress (NBC) titles over the years, and they've been runner-up another six times. Their last title was in 2002. In the early 70s, the Goldpanners won back-to-back-to-back in 1972, 1973 and 1974. And they aren't the only Alaska Baseball League team with an NBC title. Other champion AK teams include the Anchorage Glacier Pilots, Mat-Su Miners, and Kenai Peninsula Oilers.
The Midnight Sun Game has been tabbed as the #8 ultimate baseball experience by ESPN, on this list with baseball experiences like visiting spring training (#3 on the list), visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown (#2 on the list), and an evening at Fenway Park (#11 on the list).
The current manager of the Panners, Tim Gloyd, sums up the long daylight that is summer in Fairbanks best in a recent article on Yahoo! Sports. "Your mind doesn't comprehend it at first," Gloyd said. "You may be sitting at Denny's, just talking, and next thing you know it's 3:30.
Having been born and raised in Alaska, the long summer daylight experience is not new for me. I remember playing our version of stickball in our yard well past 11pm on some summer nights. These games would usually start in the middle of the day and continue through dinner with people leaving for dinner and returning to join in the game. We would keep score and I remember scores that ran into the 100s for just one game.
On a trip to Alaska with Dorothy several years ago, we had the same experience mentioned by Tim Gloyd above. It never got pitch black dark, just a very dark blue hue. We were just sitting around talking getting caught up with friends after arriving in Alaska. Before we knew it, it was 3 or 4 in the morning.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
The Last Day of School!
Here's what Naomi has to say about her last day of 2nd grade:
The last day of school was very busy.Miss Andrews put lots of old crafts and writings in bags for us.We got to watch a video.We went into the office and gave her a book with writings that my class wrote.Then we went into Miss Catalini's room.In Miss Catalini's room we got to watch cartoons and eat pan cakes.When we got back to the class room,Miss Andrews gave flowers to the parents that helped.We played two different games Zip-Zap and The Boss.At The end of school I couldn't carry all the stuff I needed to take home.My mom had to help.When I went out I knew she would come to my swim meet.I had fun that day!
The last day of school was very busy.Miss Andrews put lots of old crafts and writings in bags for us.We got to watch a video.We went into the office and gave her a book with writings that my class wrote.Then we went into Miss Catalini's room.In Miss Catalini's room we got to watch cartoons and eat pan cakes.When we got back to the class room,Miss Andrews gave flowers to the parents that helped.We played two different games Zip-Zap and The Boss.At The end of school I couldn't carry all the stuff I needed to take home.My mom had to help.When I went out I knew she would come to my swim meet.I had fun that day!
Monday, June 11, 2007
I Love Me!
Every child thinks he/she is at the center of the universe. This video is from the summer of 2006 on our trip home from Seattle. We were near the end of our drive home and Ryan decided to express how he really felt.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Riddles, jokes, and giggles - Part 2
Here's another installment of giggles, this time brought to you by Naomi and Ethan.
Q1: What do you call a stolen yam?
Q2: How do you fix a broken pizza?
Q3: What do you call a joke book about eggs?
Q4: Why didn't the hotdog star in a movie?
Q5: What do you do when you run out of ranch dressing?
Q6: Where do sheep go to cut their hair?
Q7: How do you ask a horse what his/her name is?
Q8: What does a lion say when he's mad?
Q9: What does a riddle say when it hits its funny bone?
Q10: Why didn't the dino cross the road?
Naomi actually was the one who typed in the last 4 riddles. Her first blogging!
(scroll below for answers)
A1: A hot potato.
A2: With tomato paste.
A3: A yolk book.
A4: The roles weren't good enough.
A5: You buy more ranches to make the dressing (Ethan's own creation).
A6: At the baaaa-ber shop.
A7: You say,"What's your naaaa-me?"
A8: "I'm roaring mad!"
A9: "I feel funny."
A10: It was the chicken's night out.
Q1: What do you call a stolen yam?
Q2: How do you fix a broken pizza?
Q3: What do you call a joke book about eggs?
Q4: Why didn't the hotdog star in a movie?
Q5: What do you do when you run out of ranch dressing?
Q6: Where do sheep go to cut their hair?
Q7: How do you ask a horse what his/her name is?
Q8: What does a lion say when he's mad?
Q9: What does a riddle say when it hits its funny bone?
Q10: Why didn't the dino cross the road?
Naomi actually was the one who typed in the last 4 riddles. Her first blogging!
(scroll below for answers)
A1: A hot potato.
A2: With tomato paste.
A3: A yolk book.
A4: The roles weren't good enough.
A5: You buy more ranches to make the dressing (Ethan's own creation).
A6: At the baaaa-ber shop.
A7: You say,"What's your naaaa-me?"
A8: "I'm roaring mad!"
A9: "I feel funny."
A10: It was the chicken's night out.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Brake Lights to Clogged Speakers
Ethan is convinced that he will grow up to be an inventor. He has the right characteristics. He's always asking how things work. I asked him to help me change a burnt out brake light bulb. He learned how the brakes light up with just a tiny little bulb. I let him be the one to verify which light was out. I let him step on the brakes while I made sure the light was working once again.
Later the same day...
Our new computer came with a wide screen monitor that has speakers built into the monitor. The monitor was part of a package with the computer. In theory this sounds good, but the speakers in the monitor are quite underpowered and tinny sounding. So I connected the speakers from our old computer to the new computer. Upon hearing the new sound, Ethan asked, "are these speakers (pointing to the now disconnected speakers on the new monitor) clogged?"
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Happy Mother's Day!
This is a Mother's Day greeting to our obaachan. However, I think it portrays a universal message of love and enthusiasm that can only be expressed by children.
Memories of NBA Basketball on the Radio
I remember listening to the NBA basketball championships the two years back-to-back where the Washington Bullets played my Seattle Supersonics. I listened to the games on shortwave radio with my dad in our home in the Aleutians. In the 1977-78 series, the Sonics lost to the equally surprising Bullets in a close but strange series where each won on the other's court, and had the Sonics being forced to only one game at home to start the series due to scheduling conflicts. Later in the series, the Sonics played a game in the Kingdome because their home arena was being used for a convention. Even though they had over twice the number of fans on-hand, playing in the enormous Kingdome did not offer the same home court advantage and they went on to lose the pivotal game four match-up. I remember complaining about how unfair it was that the series had a strange 1(s)-2(w)-2(s)-1(w)-1(s) format and the Kingdome move, which probably had an impact on the series outcome not benefitting Seattle. Even though the Sonics were going to be home for game 7, I for some reason did not feel good about the Sonics' chances. It was during this play-off run that Dick Motta made popular at least in sporting circles the phase "the opera isn't over until the fat lady sings." I remember being heartbroken after the Sonics' game 7 loss.
The following year both teams I think were favored to win their conferences or at least contend for the title unlike the year before when both were surprise teams. I think the Sonics had some close calls in their conference series (especially against the Suns with Paul Westphal and Alvan Adams), but they made it to the finals to find the Bullets waiting for them once again. This time the Sonics dominated the series and won in 5 games. To this day, this championship is the only one that the city of Seattle has had in one of the three major professional sports. There's even a web page devoted to the 1978-79 Sonics.
I remember pretending to be Downtown Freddie Brown in make believe games with my brother and other friends in our porch where we used a 5-gallon bucket as the basket. We would play games of horse and even play 3-on-3 games in this 8-foot by 8-foot area porch with bodies crashing into walls and cabinets. Other players that I remember from these Sonics teams include JJ (Johnny Johnson, whose son is now a guard for Stanford), Jack Sikma, Lonnie Shelton, Marvin "The Human Eraser" Webster who was actually traded for Lonnie, Gus Williams, DJ (Dennis Johnson), Paul Silas, Wally Walker and their coach Lenny Wilkens. I even remember the players from the Bullets: Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes, Bobby Dandridge, Kevin Grevey, Mitch Kupchak and Greg Ballard come to mind. I don't think that I would've remembered this if it weren't for our listening on the radio. Compare this to this day and age, where usually by the next year most people cannot even name the two teams that were in the previous years' finals.
So as a tribute to those long lost days of sports on the radio I found the following video clip. Enjoy.
The following year both teams I think were favored to win their conferences or at least contend for the title unlike the year before when both were surprise teams. I think the Sonics had some close calls in their conference series (especially against the Suns with Paul Westphal and Alvan Adams), but they made it to the finals to find the Bullets waiting for them once again. This time the Sonics dominated the series and won in 5 games. To this day, this championship is the only one that the city of Seattle has had in one of the three major professional sports. There's even a web page devoted to the 1978-79 Sonics.
I remember pretending to be Downtown Freddie Brown in make believe games with my brother and other friends in our porch where we used a 5-gallon bucket as the basket. We would play games of horse and even play 3-on-3 games in this 8-foot by 8-foot area porch with bodies crashing into walls and cabinets. Other players that I remember from these Sonics teams include JJ (Johnny Johnson, whose son is now a guard for Stanford), Jack Sikma, Lonnie Shelton, Marvin "The Human Eraser" Webster who was actually traded for Lonnie, Gus Williams, DJ (Dennis Johnson), Paul Silas, Wally Walker and their coach Lenny Wilkens. I even remember the players from the Bullets: Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes, Bobby Dandridge, Kevin Grevey, Mitch Kupchak and Greg Ballard come to mind. I don't think that I would've remembered this if it weren't for our listening on the radio. Compare this to this day and age, where usually by the next year most people cannot even name the two teams that were in the previous years' finals.
So as a tribute to those long lost days of sports on the radio I found the following video clip. Enjoy.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Shampoo! Shampoo!
Sometimes what kids hear is more enjoyable than what is reality. During a slideshow of our trip to San Diego, a picture of the world famous orca from Sea World flashed on to the screen. "Shampoo!" yelled Ryan.
Of course, we're talking about Shamu. There are points in the Sea World show where the audience is encouraged to chant, "Shamu! Shamu!" to get the big orca to make a big splash. I think it would be immensely more entertaining to hear and see a stadium full of people chanting, "Shampoo! Shampoo!"
Of course, we're talking about Shamu. There are points in the Sea World show where the audience is encouraged to chant, "Shamu! Shamu!" to get the big orca to make a big splash. I think it would be immensely more entertaining to hear and see a stadium full of people chanting, "Shampoo! Shampoo!"
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Goooaaaallllll!!!!!!!!!
FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi scored a goal reminiscent of Maradona's famous goal for Argentina against England in the 1986 World Cup. Messi's goal was in a Spanish Cup semi-final match on April 18, 2007 against Getafe.
The video below shows a side-by-side comparison of the two goals.
The video below shows a side-by-side comparison of the two goals.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
World Thinking Day
Naomi's Girl Scouts troop along with others in the area celebrated World Thinking Day earlier this year. Each troop was able to select a country to share information about with the other troops. Naomi's troop selected Thailand.
The purpose of World Thinking Day is to celebrate girl scouts all over the world. Every February 22nd, the girl scouts from around the world think of each other and give thanks and appreciation to their sister scouts. At World Thinking Day, each girl scout in Naomi's troop received her World Trefoil Pin to show that she is part of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (aka WAGGGS). The pin is a golden trefoil on a blue background representing the sun shining over all the children of the world.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Swim Season is Here Once Again
Here's a picture of Ethan with one of his instructors taken last week.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
The Cats of Mirikitani
My sister told me about this documentary called "The Cats of Mirikitani" that is being screened in the Mission District of San Francisco April 27 through May 3 at the Roxie New College Film Center.
Jimmy Mirikitani was born in Sacramento in 1920. His family returned to Hiroshima (where several perished in the atomic bomb), but he returned to the U.S. at 18. When WWII started he was interned at Tule Lake. Through the course of events, he landed homeless on the streets of NYC.
My father John was born in Snoqualmie Falls, Washington outside Seattle in 1929. His older brother's American name was Jimmy. My father with his family returned to Okayama before WWII. He returned to the U.S. on his own after WWII. Eventually he was drafted by the U.S. Army and served some of his time in the military in Japan. Through the course of events, he landed in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska where he would spend most of his adult life. Now retired, he lives outside Seattle.
One of my carpool partners recently said, "fate is whatever happens to you; you can't control it."
I suppose this is one explanation.
Jimmy Mirikitani was born in Sacramento in 1920. His family returned to Hiroshima (where several perished in the atomic bomb), but he returned to the U.S. at 18. When WWII started he was interned at Tule Lake. Through the course of events, he landed homeless on the streets of NYC.
My father John was born in Snoqualmie Falls, Washington outside Seattle in 1929. His older brother's American name was Jimmy. My father with his family returned to Okayama before WWII. He returned to the U.S. on his own after WWII. Eventually he was drafted by the U.S. Army and served some of his time in the military in Japan. Through the course of events, he landed in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska where he would spend most of his adult life. Now retired, he lives outside Seattle.
One of my carpool partners recently said, "fate is whatever happens to you; you can't control it."
I suppose this is one explanation.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Play Ball!
Baseball season is here! Ethan's playing in the Peanuts Division of the Continental Little League of Concord and Walnut Creek. His team is the Mets.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Stats Redux - March 18, 2007
Here's an update on stats first posted in November 2005, updated January 2006, June 2006 and October 2006.
Price of Gas: $3.13 per gallon (has fallen a few pennies over the past week, but still near an all-time high; election season must be over; saying that it's due to changing of blends)
Price of Milk: $2.99 for hormone free milk at Trader Joe's ($0.30 price drop since June 2006, but no change since October 2006)
Bridge Toll: $4 as of January 1, 2007 on all Bay Area bridges except Golden Gate Bridge (first month remained at $3 for FasTrak users; FasTrak now available at retail outlets like Safeway and Costco)
Today's High Temperature: 72 degrees F (overnight low of 48)
Dow Jones Average: 12,110.41 (up 162.71 since October update of these stats); and over 1200 since first 2006 trading day
Shopping Days to Christmas: 281 days including Christmas Eve (there are web sites that have this stat, believe it or not)
Dinner Tonight: Carnitas burrito for me, enchilada plate for Dorothy, 2 older kids had rice and bean burritos and the little one had a cheese quesadilla
Average Commute Time: still over an hour (in a 2-person carpool MWF and a 3-person carpool TuTh)
Cost of Area Homes: the median price rose just 0.3% from $618,000 to $620,000 in February 2007; but the number of homes sold slipped by 7.9% to 6,305 for the 9-county Bay Area (the lowest volume for any February in 11 years)
Movie Ticket: $9.50 ($6.25 matinee); still NetFlix customer too, but cut back to one movie at a time recently (just haven't had time to watch the movies that we had)
Time with My Kids: testing the world of Tee-ball with my oldest son; trying to just keep up with our 2-year old who is testing boundaries; and helping my daughter with her math homework
Price of Gas: $3.13 per gallon (has fallen a few pennies over the past week, but still near an all-time high; election season must be over; saying that it's due to changing of blends)
Price of Milk: $2.99 for hormone free milk at Trader Joe's ($0.30 price drop since June 2006, but no change since October 2006)
Bridge Toll: $4 as of January 1, 2007 on all Bay Area bridges except Golden Gate Bridge (first month remained at $3 for FasTrak users; FasTrak now available at retail outlets like Safeway and Costco)
Today's High Temperature: 72 degrees F (overnight low of 48)
Dow Jones Average: 12,110.41 (up 162.71 since October update of these stats); and over 1200 since first 2006 trading day
Shopping Days to Christmas: 281 days including Christmas Eve (there are web sites that have this stat, believe it or not)
Dinner Tonight: Carnitas burrito for me, enchilada plate for Dorothy, 2 older kids had rice and bean burritos and the little one had a cheese quesadilla
Average Commute Time: still over an hour (in a 2-person carpool MWF and a 3-person carpool TuTh)
Cost of Area Homes: the median price rose just 0.3% from $618,000 to $620,000 in February 2007; but the number of homes sold slipped by 7.9% to 6,305 for the 9-county Bay Area (the lowest volume for any February in 11 years)
Movie Ticket: $9.50 ($6.25 matinee); still NetFlix customer too, but cut back to one movie at a time recently (just haven't had time to watch the movies that we had)
Time with My Kids: testing the world of Tee-ball with my oldest son; trying to just keep up with our 2-year old who is testing boundaries; and helping my daughter with her math homework
Conversations with Kids - Part VIII
Naomi: Why should we exercise?
Ethan: Because it's good for our health?
Naomi: Yeah, but also because it's good for every body. Get it? Every body!
Ethan: Because it's good for our health?
Naomi: Yeah, but also because it's good for every body. Get it? Every body!
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Cell Phones
If you're in the market for a new cell phone, here's a site that you should check out before shopping.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
A Day with the Kids
With Dorothy out with the flu, I was charged with watching the kids.
Up and At'em - wake up the two older ones for school and go take a shower...out of shower and washed, but kids are still on bed (Ethan) or in bed (Naomi)...play "throw the clothes" with kids to motivate them to get dressed...Ethan out to eat a quick breakfast of cereal, milk and breakfast bar...Naomi joins the breakfast roundtable
quick wash up and brush up...get vitamins on the way out the door...Ryan wakes to catch us leaving; I take him crying to Mom...arrive by foot at school; we talk about the phrase "friend or foe"...hug goodbye with kids; Naomi and Ethan hug each other too...back home again
Ryan's Tumbling Class - class of about a dozen kids...Ryan's in the parent participation class...actually that's a good name for the class since I think I participated more in the warm ups than did Ryan (his idea of stretching is to bounce around like a pinball)...teacher says, "why is it that the kids perform better when the dads are around?"...I ask him if he wants his snack (a granola bar); his answer is "no"
Shopping for Printer Cartridges - we make a Staples stop...Ryan asks, "why are we here?" about every 2 minutes...we buy our cartridges and leave...when in the car, Ryan asks for the granola bar and asks, "why are we leaving?"...anyway, I learned that Ryan's favorite word is "why?"
Pick Up Ethan at School - we take the stroller to pick up Ethan before lunch...before we head out Ryan manages to grab a rice cracker snack to take with him...I tell him that he has to share with Ethan...we arrive at the school and Ryan asks, "where's Ethan?"...I tell him that we're a little early...actally we're the only ones in the courtyard area wich surprises me; I thought there would be a few parents milling about, but not a soul and it's only 10 minutes early...we go and sit on the bench by the giant pine tree...Ryan surprises me with this zinger, "Dada, why is there poo-poo in the tree?"...I had no idea what he meant until I look up... the tree has large dark brown, cylindrical pine cones in clusters...oh, what must go through the mind of a nearly 3-year old...Ethan comes out with his class, gives his teacher a leg hug and runs to us... we walk home with Ryan holding onto his rice crackers (he does share them with Ethan when we get home)
Make Lunch for the Kids - play with the kids...check work email and phone messages at work and make some phone calls...make lunch from leftovers...continue to play with kids and keep each other occupied
Pick Up Naomi at School - Take Ryan to school hoping that he falls asleep...success, he nods off in the stroller just as we're arriving at the school...Naomi turns the corner walking with Katrina just like the last time I picked her up (they must be best friends)...this time she spots me and seems to say something like, "there's my dad over there" as she shoots me a sideways glance...Naomi is very chatty talking about the gross boys...we arrive home and Ethan and mom are playing Labyrinth
Take Naomi to Choir Practice - Ethan and I take Naomi to choir practice...we get there right on time, but again I realize that "on time" is actually early...Ethan and I wait in the car for the 75 minutes...I do some work and read about 25 pages of "Totto-chan" by Testuko Kuroyanagi...Ethan works on homework that is due on Friday (he gets to where he is about two-thirds complete)
Shop and Pick Up Dinner on the Way Home - we get take-out at a Chinese restaurant that we've never visited before...we also shop for milk and ham as requested by Dorothy and on impluse buy jello, salami and a couple other items...stand in the 15 or less items behind someone who has well over 30 items (I think they were counting the 10 yogurts as one item)...finally we're home for dinner, washing up, baths and bed time to get ready for a new day
Up and At'em - wake up the two older ones for school and go take a shower...out of shower and washed, but kids are still on bed (Ethan) or in bed (Naomi)...play "throw the clothes" with kids to motivate them to get dressed...Ethan out to eat a quick breakfast of cereal, milk and breakfast bar...Naomi joins the breakfast roundtable
quick wash up and brush up...get vitamins on the way out the door...Ryan wakes to catch us leaving; I take him crying to Mom...arrive by foot at school; we talk about the phrase "friend or foe"...hug goodbye with kids; Naomi and Ethan hug each other too...back home again
Ryan's Tumbling Class - class of about a dozen kids...Ryan's in the parent participation class...actually that's a good name for the class since I think I participated more in the warm ups than did Ryan (his idea of stretching is to bounce around like a pinball)...teacher says, "why is it that the kids perform better when the dads are around?"...I ask him if he wants his snack (a granola bar); his answer is "no"
Shopping for Printer Cartridges - we make a Staples stop...Ryan asks, "why are we here?" about every 2 minutes...we buy our cartridges and leave...when in the car, Ryan asks for the granola bar and asks, "why are we leaving?"...anyway, I learned that Ryan's favorite word is "why?"
Pick Up Ethan at School - we take the stroller to pick up Ethan before lunch...before we head out Ryan manages to grab a rice cracker snack to take with him...I tell him that he has to share with Ethan...we arrive at the school and Ryan asks, "where's Ethan?"...I tell him that we're a little early...actally we're the only ones in the courtyard area wich surprises me; I thought there would be a few parents milling about, but not a soul and it's only 10 minutes early...we go and sit on the bench by the giant pine tree...Ryan surprises me with this zinger, "Dada, why is there poo-poo in the tree?"...I had no idea what he meant until I look up... the tree has large dark brown, cylindrical pine cones in clusters...oh, what must go through the mind of a nearly 3-year old...Ethan comes out with his class, gives his teacher a leg hug and runs to us... we walk home with Ryan holding onto his rice crackers (he does share them with Ethan when we get home)
Make Lunch for the Kids - play with the kids...check work email and phone messages at work and make some phone calls...make lunch from leftovers...continue to play with kids and keep each other occupied
Pick Up Naomi at School - Take Ryan to school hoping that he falls asleep...success, he nods off in the stroller just as we're arriving at the school...Naomi turns the corner walking with Katrina just like the last time I picked her up (they must be best friends)...this time she spots me and seems to say something like, "there's my dad over there" as she shoots me a sideways glance...Naomi is very chatty talking about the gross boys...we arrive home and Ethan and mom are playing Labyrinth
Take Naomi to Choir Practice - Ethan and I take Naomi to choir practice...we get there right on time, but again I realize that "on time" is actually early...Ethan and I wait in the car for the 75 minutes...I do some work and read about 25 pages of "Totto-chan" by Testuko Kuroyanagi...Ethan works on homework that is due on Friday (he gets to where he is about two-thirds complete)
Shop and Pick Up Dinner on the Way Home - we get take-out at a Chinese restaurant that we've never visited before...we also shop for milk and ham as requested by Dorothy and on impluse buy jello, salami and a couple other items...stand in the 15 or less items behind someone who has well over 30 items (I think they were counting the 10 yogurts as one item)...finally we're home for dinner, washing up, baths and bed time to get ready for a new day
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