Happy Holidays from the Emoto Family in 2024!

 

Christmas Update 2016

We had so much to recap in 2016 that our annual Christmas letter got a little lengthy this year!  

(Hint:  Use the zoom in feature on your computer to read it!)

2014 Christmas Family Video

Here's a video of family activities through the end of the year.

2014 Christmas Feast

We had another successful Christmas evening feast at Chuck and Yuki's house.

The menu included the following:
Turkey
Roast Chicken
Lasagna
Mac and Cheese
Sachiyo's Popular Chow Mein
Obaachan's Popular Scallop Casserole
Beef Stew
Sweet Potatoes
Stuffing
Mash Potatoes
Rice
Garlic Green Beans
Green Salad
Corn Casserole
Garlic Bread
Cranberry Sauce
Mango Sticky Rice
Sachiyo's Popular Egg Rolls
Homemade Gravy

And for dessert we had apple and cherry pie with spumoni, peanut butter and chocolate and/or strawberry ice cream.

And before the meal, our intrepid bakers came bearing several types of cookies.

And before that there were countless bags and plates of chocolates.

Here is collage with proof of the food carnage. Okay, so there wasn't much carnage.  Mostly just happy eaters.  We are still eating left overs today.



But alas, our hosts opted to stick to just sweet potatoes...



After dinner and dessert, all manner of card games and a viewing of everyone's all time Christmas favorite "Pacific Rim" ( a story of robots doing battle with monsters) was had by some.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the California Emotos

Okay, so we didn't get our cards out in time for them to arrive before the big day for many of you. So in its place, we'd like to electronically send you this greeting.



Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

from,

Casey, Dorothy, Naomi, Ethan and Ryan

2013-14 Christmas and New Years Slide Show

Here's a slide show of our Christmas and New Year's.

Highlights include: kids learning to play pinochle, lots of great food, salmon and chips, trip to Snoqualmie Falls, trip to Bainbridge Island to visit good friends, white elephant gift exchange (steals?), funny eyes glasses (who ended up with these?), Diane getting her first digital camera (welcome to the 21st century!), ziplining at at Seattle public park, visiting other parks, ozouni on New Year's Day, shirogumi winning again ( think that the odds are stacked against akagumi), Space Needle fireworks at the stroke of midnight on 12/31/13, and finally spending quality time with family and friends.

Family Photo 2013

Last Day of 2013

We are down to the last day of 2013.  It is a Tuesday.  We will get to try my mom's ozouni tomorrow.  Ozouni is Japanese New Year's mochi soup.  It usually has vegetables like spinach.  Sometimes oyster too.

This was a light blogging year.  Not enough time for blogging and our "family" joined the legions of Facebookers last year.

So what did we learn in 2013.  Ryan loves to shop.  We always knew this, but what little kid likes to go check out antique shops?  His latest find was a Bedford Falls train set from 1994.  Not quite an antique, but well used.

Ethan likes to wear hats.  We always knew this too, but what young boy will wear top hats in this day and age?  He has baseball caps and a plaid pattern fedora as well.

Naomi like to sleep in whenever she can.  We knew this, but she's taken sleeping in to new heights.  Maybe it's because we told her that you do your best growing when sleeping.

Tomorrow is a new year.  A fresh start for new experiences and adventures.  I wonder what we will learn or confirm in 2014?

Christmas 2013

Here are a few sights from Christmas this year.  Had a clear flight to Seattle that offered spectacular views of all the peaks. Ryan scored a train set after Christmas and captured it in a picture frame with Uncle Tatsu. On the way to a geocache, we came across two sets of Four Daughters.  What would be a family gathering without electronic devices. How about a family photo?  Of course, there was plenty of food. The highlight of the white elephant gift exchange was the giant Snickers bar opened by Ojiichan.

Faces of 2011 Holiday - The Video

Christmas Dinner 2011

The menu included: lasagna, turkey, scallop casserole, soy chicken, corn casserole, green bean casserole, mash potatoes, sweet potato rolls, green salad, rice, homemade chow mein noodles, strawberries and pear...and for dessert: apple pie, pumpkin pie, ice cream and creme brulee.

Afterward, we had a friendly round of a white elephant gift exchange that included coffee, a stick of beef salami, CD of Christmas music, that Drew Barrymore smash "Ever After," a multitool, a note tablet, chocolate turtles, a magic set, an LED headlamp, UNO card game, chocolate candy assortment, a puzzle, and window crayons.

After the game, there was a round of friendly bartering where that Drew Barrymore fan (Tatsu) traded up for the movie by giving up his UNO game. Ryan surprised his parents by giving away chocolates for window crayons. Naomi to the surprise of some secretly coveted the LED headlamp - perhaps a new instrument to read in bed after "lights out." The three most stolen items for the night were: an assortment of chocolates, coffee and a stick of salami - who would've thought in Seattle.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sound track includes the following:

"Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Grreen Day
Special Duet by Chuck Kistler on Bass and Naomi Emoto on Piano
"Throw it in the Bag" by Fabolous
"Alleluja" by Sarah Brightman
"Dynamite" by Talo Cruz
Jazz Medley by Jeff Busch Jazz Quartet
"Life in Technicolor II" by Coldplay
"I Gotta Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas
"We Live for Love" by Pat Benatar

This is how we rolled out 2010 and rolled in the new year.

Cal Bears Holiday Wishes

Holiday wishes brought to you by Jamal Boykin (the artist), Brandon Smith (the freshman), Patrick Christopher (the starting guard by way of Compton, CA), and Markhuri Sanders-Frison (the junior college transfer by way of Portland, OR).



* Patrick does apologize for the red jacket at the end of the video.

2009 Holiday Season in Pictures

Hope that your holiday was a good one. Ours was a lot about being with family. We did a little cooking and baking. Had a few laughs. Exchanged a few gifts. No snow this year, but no complaints here.

Christmas Lights Hero

Herói das luzes de Natal @ Yahoo! Video

Legos for Legos

We have a friend who has been blogging about shedding and culling stuff. We've had this same discussion about making room with our kids recently.

We say "making room" because invariably the Christmas season will bring more toys, games, and other "items to amuse us" for our kids. The sense of clutter blankets the boys' room more so than it does Naomi's room. And really it's the amount of Lego pieces in their room. They have buckets and buckets of Lego pieces, each piece at one time being a part of some set, now all cruelly mixed together. "Help, I'm missing my elbow piece," says a former Lego robot. "I'm over here with the Lego car pieces," says the elbow piece. It's funny, they don't want to give up any pieces, but we parents seem to care more about pieces being out of place.

So Christmas will come and go, and the prediction is that we have Lego pieces being replaced by other Lego pieces. Something has to give, doesn't it?

Negotiating with Ryan

Ryan is following big brother into becoming a Lego nut so it was no surprise when he started picking out what he wanted for Christmas from a Lego catalogue.

Ryan: Hey, Dad, I want this and this and this and... (you get the idea)

Me: What will Santa say if I ask him if you've been naughty or nice?

Ryan: Yes.

Me: No, have you been naughty or nice?

Ryan: Yes.

Me: Your choices are "naughty" or "nice." Do you understand what I'm saying?

Ryan: Naughty?

Me: So if you've been naughty, what do you think you will get from Santa?

Ryan: No, I want you and Mom to buy the Legos for me!

Our White Christmas

We did have a very white Christmas for a change. Here's the video that shows just how white. Enjoy!

We Can Fly ! We Can Fly!

After a picture taking session in front of our tree, I told the kids to have fun and do some goofy things and here is the result.

Christmas Light Show in Clayton

Another stop on our tour of lights this past weekend was the Clayton Community Church that has a light show at 7 and 8 pm every evening at their downtown office. It was quite a show. It probably went on for about 20 minutes or more. Here's a short clip.