Today....

This is gross, but it was too cute! Today, Kade had an epiphany-his little finger fits perfectly into his nose. It was quite funny watching his expression when he first did it and laughing at himself. He walked around a good part of the day with his finger up his nose. Great! Just one more thing to add to my list of "what to teach the kids not to do". I'm still trying to get them to stop fake burping. A mother's job is never done.

It's been awhile since I blogged, but I want to share my conversation with Enoch today. We were waiting in a line of car to pick up Cole's medicine. We were at the grocery store earlier, every kids dream place to go after school, so he was getting anxious to get home (to his X-Box game). I'm patiently listening to his griping when a car pulled up next to the car by the window and stopped. A lady got out and walked up to the window and got her meds. I know-RUDE!! I was more upset that the cashier gave the meds to her in the first place, but I didn't say anything (out loud!). Apparently, Enoch noticed this lady too.

Enoch: Hey, that girl cutted in line!

Me: Yes, she did.

Enoch: Big people cut too!?

Me: Yes, big people cut too, but only the inconsiderate ones.

Enoch: Oh....

a couple of minutes later (we're a car away from the pick-up window).....

Enoch: What is taking so long?

Me: Be patient. We're next.

Enoch: Why is that truck taking so, so long?

Me: I don't know.

Enoch: Is he robbing them?

Me: No, Enoch, he's NOT robbing them. He is just picking up his medicine like what we're doing.

Enoch: Does he look like a robber?

Me (wanting this robber conversation to end): No, he doesn't look like a robber. Why don't you sing a song to Kade and Cole.

Enoch (singing): "Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell..........."

Kade (singing): "Jenga Fett, Jenga Fett.........."

I'm smiling while listening to them sing. Yes, our monkeys like, no LOVE, Star Wars! This reminds me of an incident a couple of weeks earlier.

We were at a friend's house for dinner. The hostess told the kids if they want dessert they have to clear the table. Kali and Enoch did as they were told. When they finished, Enoch said "The area is secured." I just love having conversation with the kiddos because you never know what they will say OR ask.

Visiting Families

Jared, Julie, Cole and (my) Jared




We visited Jared's sister and her family for two weeks after the hurricane. Kali and Enoch were very excited to see their cousins. With permission they were able to attend school there for eight days because the school district here were closed due to various problems. It was such an awesome experience for them. Kjell and his family came down and we watched General Conference together. We were able to meet a nephew and a neice for the first time. It was so good to be around family again. We wanted pictures of the cousins together (hopefully we'll be able to have a picture with their other cousins Lochlan and Sydney and Charlotte -due soon...). It was very hard to get everyone to look at the camera. Hopefully, between me, Kjell and Jared taking pictures there is bound to be a good one. Thank you Julie and Jared for letting us visit. We love you guys!!

Smitten Blog Backgrounds

Okay, my very talented sister-in-law, Kate and her sister-in-law have started an AWESOME blog design website. They have the CUTEST backgrounds for all you bloggers out there and dddddddddrrrrrrruuuuummmmrolllpuuleeeezzz..............
they're free!!! Cute and free-I like the sound of that! Check them out at http://www.smittenblogdesign.blogspot.com/. You'll be smittened!!

One Year Older!

Happy Birthday to Kade! After the singing, blowing out the candle, and slices of cake, the birthday boy wanted to blow out more candles. We gave him a slice of cake with a candle on it. Then he just sat there looking at his candle saying "it's hot".

Silly monkeys!

Cole enjoying the cake. Kali tried to give him an ice cream mustache.

Kade was really excited to get this Signing Time dvd. Thank you Nana & Papa! We love Signing Time!!

Oh Brothers!

More pictures of the guys that makes Kali say "Oh, brothers!" If you ask Kali if she loves her brothers, she will say yes, followed by a "but". I feel her pain because I was in the same situation-I had three brothers. I survived and so will she. The boys are wonderful together. Cole is chicken pox free. They shrunk and disappeared. Yeah!

"Ton Ton" At The Beach

We went to Surfside Beach on Monday for our family fun day. We really like this beach and there's less traffic getting there. We can actually drive our car onto the beach, but I recommend that you not drive your car into the water. The kids had a blast and we will definitely go back. If you're wondering (and I know you are) why there aren't any pictures of me, Jared or Kade. The memory card and the internal hard drive on my camera were full. At least it wasn't the batteries this time.

Ton Ton is a part of the family and this planet so he had to tag along. Enoch also brought along his light saber. It was a Star Wars beach party! I think Enoch said "there are other humans here" when we first got there. That's our boy- a BIG Star Wars fan.

Calling All Firetrucks!

It was a typical warm Houston night, and we were on the way home - consequently almost home - from a baby shower for my office manager, Jamie. It was at this particular time, not too far from home, yet not close enough to it, that in the rear view I saw a small black car smash into the guardrail, then bounce across two lanes, and slam into the concrete divider, temporarily coming to a halt. As a concerned citizen, I pulled my car over to the right and dialed 911. While describing the scene to the operator, the pinball car began to slowly creep forward, picking up speed to a steady 5-7.3 miles per hour, rolling right past our van. At first I thought whoever was inside was making a run for it, but as it passed I noticed the airbags had been deployed, but I couldn't see anyone sitting in the seats. The car came to an abrupt halt when it hit the guardrail (for the second time now), and I began to pull the van forward, wondering if perhaps my emergency services may be needed, all the while talking to the 911 operator. As I nudged the gas, Dara yelled, "Don't get too close, it may blow up!" There was, of course, no smoke and no fire. I stopped the van, got out, and, hoping to be a hero, went up to the passenger side window. Peering in, I was astonished to find no survivors in the car. I found noone at all in the car.
I went back to see if someone had been thrown from the train (like mama), but there was no "red pavement." At this time, 2 young african american gentlemen began approaching me from a grassy area between the highway and the feeder, one said the car was his friend's, who consequently, even though hurt, was able to make it several hundred yards ahead of us unnoticed, and could I give them a ride to find him. "Hmmm." PoPo's comin soon, I told them, ask them for help. They left faster than their "friend's" car hit the guardrail and boomeranged.
So here's the fun part. Soon after, the police arrived, and while we were writing a statement, 2 firetrucks arrived. The officer who gave us the statements came over to our car and said, mockingly and waving his hands, some crazy person had said the car was on fire, was going to explode, it was the end of the world! The poor firefighters had been woken up (it was late) and had to put on all their gear for nothing.
We agreed it must have been some crazy person. Turns out, it was.
As I rolled up the window, I turned to Dara and said, "The 911 operator heard you yell, 'it could blow up!'"

The Case of The Pox

It was confirmed Friday that Cole has chicken pox. He is in the later stages of it where they are just scabbing over. My apologies to anyone that may have been exposed to him. How did we not know this, you might ask. In the last month or so Cole had ant and mosquito bites and hives, therefore, I didn't think the spots on his head, legs, and arms were anything but bug bites. Jared and I haven't seen or heard of anyone with chicken pox in a very, very long time. He doesn't go to daycare and we don't know anyone who has chicken pox.

We don't know when or from where he got it. It's a mystery to us. We think he may have been exposed to it when Jared took him to the ER for his hives. You never know what you will bring home with you from the ER.

He is doing well besides the occasional scratching of the head. We rubbed cream on his head and that has eased the discomfort. The older ones have been vaccinated, so we will see if it works. Kade had the first part of the vaccine when he was one and will get the second when he turns four. He had a fever two nights ago, so we will be watching closely for spots. Spots, spots, we don't want to see spots.

Happy Birthday KALI!!

Two wonderful things happened today: Kali has been waiting for this day since after Christmas -- her 7th birthday! and Cole army-crawled around the rug in our living room. We had a surprise birthday party for Kali at a spray park in our subdivision last week. She loved it! On her special day (today) she had, per her request, pancakes for breakfast. For dinner she wanted ham, rotini noodles, and mixed veggies. During dinner, Kali said the best present she ever received was having her family celebrating this day with her.

She had a friend over earlier and they had a pinata (pronounced: pin-YAH-tuh) party. They invited a couple of kids, who just moved in two houses down from us, to their fiesta. That was a fun way to get to know our new neighbors.
She is very sweet, spiritual, compassionate, and silly (with her brothers). She visits a widow in our neighborhood often. They sit and talk for hours or walk to the mailbox together. She is a constant reminder to us that we need to serve others. Kali asked for a father/daughter date with one of her favorite parents. I think the last time they went out together she was in a pink princess dress and Jared was dressed in a suit/tie. Tonight he asked her where she would like to go and her response was "Justice for Girls!" (it's a clothing store for little girls that also sells novelty items like "Bella Sara" trading cards). She wanted to spend her birthday money. She is holding her pink purse that Nana gave her.

My friend Nora made this BEAUTIFUL cake for Kali. She did a wonderful job drawing "The Littlest Pet Shop" butterfly. We also got her a butterfly pinata. We had a lot of fun at the park. It was the first time ever that Jared was able to spend all day with the family, other than Sundays.

Here is a picture of Cole enjoying the exersaucer. He is 6 months old and army-crawling.

Galveston

The kids and I headed down to Galveston for some sand, wave, and fun. Jared had some patients to see that morning. He was bummed about it. To be brutally honest, Galveston is not a beautiful beach--at all. We go there because the kids enjoys it and it wears them out.

Kali tried body boarding and didn't like it. I was very surprised that she even tried it. I'm pretty sure she'll try it again next time that we're there.

Kade contemplating whether to go out any further.

He changed his mind quickly when the waves knocked him down. Mr. No Fear stayed on the beach and close to me. Then he gained his confidence when we were leaving. He did great his first time at the beach.

Cole was stuck on land. He liked the waves when I took him out to the water. As you can see in the background all the seaweeds, besides the brown, yucky water that makes Galveston not a beautiful beach.

Enoch had a blast playing tag with the waves. He is a natural in the water.

The kids built sandcastles with their friends.

I was taking pictures of the kids when a lady and her daughter approached me. She asked about my nationality (I get this all the time and most of the time people think I'm Filippina). I always laugh when this happens. I told her that I'm Laotian, then she surprised me by speaking Thai to me. She had adopted a Thai girl and actually lived in Thailand for years. Her husband works for a company that has an office there. She and her children learned how to read, write, and speak Thai. How neat was that! I enjoyed talking with her and her family. I hardly speak Lao anymore, except when I speak with my parents and stake president ( he served a Lao speaking mission in Fresno 1992-1994).

What Time Is It!?

Yahoooooo! Last day of school! So, this morning Kali woke me up singing "What Time Is It?'', a song from High School Musical 2. She is not a die hard fan of HSM, she only like the songs and choreography. It was funny to me because Kali is never this cheerful in the morning. This is the girl who wanted to write to President Bush to have him change their eight o'clock school time to ten o'clock. Oh, how she wishes.

It was fun going to Enoch's pre-K class party. I can't believe he will be a Kindergartener in the fall. I'm sad because I'm used to having him home with me, but also very excited for All day kindergarten. Enoch was given an award for being the "Computer Wizard" in his class, but he would rather be known as the "Game Wizard." His teacher said that while she and the TA are helping the other kids get their computer started, Enoch already has his turned on and work done. It's from all the gaming that he does, instead of playing outside.


Kali had a wonderful year as a first grader. She has accomplished and grown up so much. She received many awards, but the one that she was most proud of was "All Excellence in Conduct." Her class wrote short stories and combined it to make this wonderful book called The Adventures of A Bug. Her drawing was chosen to put on the cover of the book. The other first grade teachers saw it and wanted to use it for their book cover as well. I didn't order a copy because I thought it was going to be a cheap ring bound type book, but it turned out to be hardbound and very professional-and cute. Kali's teacher was disappointed that I didn't buy one, so she gave a copy to Kali.

Trunk or Treat in May

We celebrated Halloween in May. No, we are not crazy. A friend's little boy missed trick or treating last year because he was in surgery that day. About fifteen families in our ward showed up with kids dressed up in their Halloween get ups for a mach trunk or treat. The kids had a blast playing and running around the park.

Captain Enoch

It was Enoch's turn to be captain of his team. He did an awesome job!
That is Enoch on the other side of the goal post kicking the ball. I couldn't get to the other side in time for a frontal view.

After each game the grown-ups form a tunnel for the kids to run through after they shake hands. The kids love it! We let them run through only four times because it becomes tiresome for the parents. Kids are like the energizer bunny, they just keep going and going...

He's Soooo...BIG!!

Our baby Cole is five months-old! He is scooting
around on his stomach, probably trying to get away from Kade.
He is so much fun to cuddle and play with. We love our Colio!

"Enoch the Rock", Rocked!!

We went to Enoch's first soccer game of the season. He was very excited to be part of a team. We decided to start him off by joining a soccer program that encourages positive play. They don't keep score or the coach doesn't tell them how to play or what to do during the games . The kids just go out there and kick the ball around and try to remember what they had learned from practice. It's so the kids can have positive fun and not get yelled for doing something wrong. It's just cute to watch a mob of kids chasing a ball.

The highlight of the game was when Enoch made a goal. I was bummed that I missed it because I was talking to Kali somewhere else. Jared was yelling "Dara, you missed it! You just missed it! Enoch just made a goal!" We were more stoked than he was. He just walked away like "whatever." Yeah, Enoch the Rock!!

No action pictures because the camera's battery went out on me...again! Darn this camera!

Beautiful Day Out

The kids had an extra day off after their Spring Break ended so we, actually Kali, decided that we should go to the zoo. Kelly and Cassi came along to be my helper. Also, Kali wanted to spend more time with them. The girls were in our ward when we lived in Pasadena. They baby-sat for us many times. So K & E became very fond of them. The kids had a ton of fun and it was a stress free outing for me.

Sharing with a Smile

Moms that have a baby and also other children in the house, probably have similar stories like this to share. I was sorting laundry in my bathroom when I heard Kade laughing and saying "baby" and "eat." I came out and saw him hovering over Cole with a huge smile on his face (both Kade & Cole were smiling :). Cole is smiling because he got some chocolate. Kade is smiling because of his masterpiece.....baby covered in chocolate. He loves to share his food with his baby brother. Silly Kade!