SUMMER FUN

Well, summer is officially over now. Work has picked up, vacations are over, and the school year is just around the corner. Joli spent the week with Grammy and Pops and had a wonderful time at Camp! She got to go tubing, swimming and spent time with some really great friends! Thanks for an awesome week, Grammy and Pops!

Here is Lolo with the boys chilling on the boat.


Lola with (almost) all the grandkids!

Gavin and Nona visited for a few weeks. When the little ones were first born, we called them the Cousin Triplets. Unfortunately, Nona was bossed around by the boys. I caught Evan in the action (don't worry, he got time out for hitting Baby Nona!)


Evan has learned a lot from Daddy. Including how to play the game system!


The next posts will probably be about back to school! Oh boy!

Summer FUN!
It's hard to believe that summer is coming to an end. In just a week or so, I'll be back into the swing of the school year. The girls have been enjoying new summer adventures like karate, horseback riding, and going on different outings.

We spent an afternoon at Canobie Lake Park (just the 2 big girls) and then had some fun time in Maine with the extended family. Here are some pictures of the vacation in the remote woods of Maine!

Gavin and Jada at the salt water tide pool. They kept saying "let's get seaweed for Lola Minda!"


Relaxing with Jada, Norhanna and Lola

Lolo taking over with Norhanna and Evan

Lolo outside with Evan

Pretty much, this is what Mary did all vacation -- eat and type. eat and type.

Teetah Grace, Joli and Norhanna

Jorge was mad at Evan for some reason (probably Evan's constant whining!) and decided to chase him down the slide. Go, Evan! Go!

We had a great time in Maine!

These days, Jada has been reading a lot - especially since she got her glasses. Joli is getting more and more confident each day and is getting excited about school. Evan has been talking up a storm (again, when not whining). He basically mimics everything he hears. Big news -- Evan is finally moving into his BIG BOY BED! Jorge spent an entire night putting together new bunk beds for the girls and getting Evan's big boy bed ready. We'll see how this goes!

Just some more fun pictures from our July 4th weekend! I haven't been blogging as much, so I figured I'd post some twice for fun!


The lobster was as big as Evan!

Lola by the big feast table - steaks, lobsters, quinoa (not Kainoa), corn, punch bowl, fruit, Berryline, rice.. you name it!

Oh, she may look like me, but Jada acts just like her Dad. This is what happened when I told them to both "smile and look nice for the camera." Jada is hiding behind a transparent blueberry container, and Jorge is giving his wacky "I'm not really looking" face.


My rule abiding Joli did smile for the camera!


In the meantime, sweet, sweet Evan was quietly sleeping.


The "Cousin Twins" - Kai and Evan. Shirtless. Eating someone else's food.

Evan hears the phone and says, "Hello? Hi there!"

Mia with her fancy new haircut and HOOP earrings!


Jenny and Kainoa after a long day of eating!

Lolo feeding Evan. My dad always says, "Liza. Come feed your son." But, I found that if I just pretend I didn't hear him, he'll keep feeding Evan. (hahaha!)

The lobsters were so big that Dad had to use a meat cleaver just to get through them. Our 99 cent lobster cracker thingy just wasn't gonna cut it this time around!


Happy 4th weekend! Thanks for an awesome lunch (AND dinner, as my Dad likes to remind me) today, Lola and Lolo! Thanks for the Berryline, Teetah, and the quinoa Jon and Jenny!

Summer Fun

Yes, it's been a while. We've been having a fun summer now that school is out.

I spent the last weekend at a conference to learn more about my genetic predisposition to cancer, and that has been followed up by another achievement -- running a 10k! So, in the past 4 months, I've run a 5k (3.1 miles), a 10k (6.2 miles) and a 1/2 marathon! Hurray!

The kids have been having a great time in Lolo and Lola's pool. It's fun now that Evan is a bit bigger and can run around and play. We missed the cousins because they've been off visiting the Oregon family.

Certainly more adventures to come!

Jada telling Evan to "get out of the car" -- I have a feeling I'm in for this kind of behavior for the next, oh, decade or so....

Evan crawled into this swing all by himself!


Jada on her bike with her brand new glasses -- yes, she has now joined the glasses wearing squad
JoJo on her scooter


Evan an Elma

Teetah has been trying to teach the girls how to properly do a headstand


Just after my 10k race. The last one I did was in 2004! Finished in 1 hour and 24 minutes. Slow, but I finished! :)

Lolo surrounded by the rowdy children
Jada squished herself into this car with Evan despite his protests

My mom asked again if my blog was "broken". I guess that's a hint I need to update because I haven't updated it in so long...

So, here is a brief recap of the past few weeks!

About a month ago, the girls started karate. And, yes, they LOVE it. Jada is Miss Serious. She doesn't mess around at all. Jo is having fun socializing -- and learning karate -- in that order.




Here is Evan on a "Lolo Invention." Namely, something that Lolo finds in a garage and manages to make a toy out of it.

I'm realizing that Jo and Ev are just way to similar. One of their similarities is the ability to sleep in...

We went to Camp Sunshine again this year. It was much, much harder with Evan as a toddler (last year, he was just a few weeks old and stayed content in the stroller). Jo is now at the age where she wants nothing to do with me ---honestly, I saw her as we walked into breakfast and then again as we went to sleep. She loves her counselor, Meagan, and spent every minute with her. Jo is also growing into an awareness, in a more specific way, about her special eye and retinoblastoma. She made a lot of great new friends this year, and was terribly sad to leave.

The girls both participated in the talent show again. Last year, they sang. This year, they danced!


A couple of people wore the "Ask Me About Retinoblastoma" lanyards that I made last year. I didn't remake them this year (budget reasons, of course) but got lots of people asking for them. So, I might try and find a way to make more, send them along, and bring them to camp sunshine again next year.




Our family portrait! This one actually came out nice!! I don't know how Jo did it, but she managed to sneak all of those stuffed animals into the picture!

Well, after months of training -- I did it! I ran my first 1/2 marathon in just over 3 hours. My team Mb4M did great. I came in last, but was just proud to finish. It was a really wonderful accomplishment, and I'm already looking forward to my next one! This is all in preparation for my surgery in November.


After a 3 hour run.... the family photo. Jada, unfortunately, was sick that day. And, because the weather was pretty bad that day, we decided to let her stay in and rest.

Most of the Team Marathon B4 Mastectomy before the race!

It truly was an incredible experience!

So, in kid news:

Evan is getting more and more rambunctious! He's tough to keep in one place. For example, at Camp Sunshine, Evan tried to climb the bunk beds, crawled up and down the futon, got stuck inside the kitchen pantry, and ran into the bathroom and grabbed the toilet plunger (ewww!). He wanted to climb in-and-out of his stroller, and yet didn't want to be near anyone but Mama. Words? In addition to all the previous words, he's got:

• down
  
• good boy
• Kainoa
• Mia
• Jada
• Ate
• Ko'd
• Daddy
• Mama
• Lolo
• Lola
• Teetah
• Elma
  
• this
• go!
• deh-deh (bottle)
• apple
• he can kiss you when you say, "Kiss?"
• Nice
• No no no!
• There
• Peek-boo
• Tah-dah
• yeah
• ball
• Hi? (puts the phone to his ear)
• yogurt
• banana
• yum-yum
• baby
• teeth (he grabs the girls' toothbrushes and starts brushing)
• stinky (he grabs his feet and puts his big toe up his nose -- hilarious!)
• poo poo

I think I'm missing some... but you get the picture! He still loves his Aunt Jenny -- he'll run to her before he even runs to me. Yeah, she loves that.

Joli is doing great. We are transitioning her to a new school next year - kind of bitter sweet. We love her old school but need to make some changes. The other day, Jo and I went to a bookstore and went directly to an aisle that had some books she was reading. It wasn't until I looked at the sign and realized we were in the "Grades 3-5" section! She's definitely reading at that level and really enjoys it.

Jada says she doesn't like school or homework. But, she does pretty well in it. In all fairness, she gets about 1 hour of homework! Ack! That's a lot! She's really good at math and reading, and she seems to have more fun learning geography and facts on the computer than in school.

Jorge just finished up his old job and starts his new job on Monday!

I'm gearing up for a busy week of orientation, and then I head to Florida for a conference to learn more about breast cancer.

That's it for now!

Hi all!

I know, I've been bad about posting. So bad, in fact, that my Mom asked me if my blog was broken since I hadn't updated since late April.

No, not broken ... just busy.

Well, the 1/2 marathon is coming up quickly, and thankfully I've been back to training again. So, that'll be likely my next post!

Joli and Jada started karate. Yes, karate. And, they love it. Jada is seriously going to be a ninja -- nothing can shake that girl in karate. She's the most serious one in the group. In fact, the Sensei didn't want to let her in since they usually don't take kids younger than 5. Imagine his concern when we told him that Jada had *just* turned 4 years old. But, he let her have a try, anyway, and she completely shocked him with her level of concentration!

Joli really enjoys karate, too. She's doing very well, and I think this will be an awesome confidence booster for her.

Evan is talking a lot more these days. In addition to the other words (our names, etc) he is saying: thank you, no-no-no, juice, nice (and then gently brushing your face), hi, bye-bye, this (while pointing), stinky (and shows you his feet).

He was (is?) going through a very need stage where he couldn't be left alone, but he seems to be slowly coming out of it. His latest trouble is climbing up our bathroom step and grabbing the toothbrushes from the sink. Then, he heads over to the stairs and throws them downstairs. Jorge also tells me that Evan has been putting things in our laundry basket and then running away laughing.

We are excited to head to Camp Sunshine soon and can't wait to see all of our friends! The girls have been asking about camp every single day.

At the local park flying kites

Joli getting her hair done

Chillin' with the Vega and Talusan kids

Rev Ev in his RUN DMC shirt

Evan had a great Exam Under Anesthesia (EUA) the other day, and Dr. Mukai has cleared him for 6 months (instead of 3). He also says we can try an in-office visit which means we don't have to put him under anesthesia! Hurray!!

here is a video from his latest visit. It was SO helpful to have Jorge there this time!

Dear Jada,

We call you Sassy, Dangy, JadaLouie, LouLou, Bear, and Sunshine.

Today is your birthday, and so here is my letter to you.

You are a happy, friendly, sweet, and caring little girl. You are so smart, witty, and funny, and you say the most hilarious things I have ever heard. When you were a little baby, you were so very quiet that we often said we "forgot about Jada!" You even were a quiet little baby -- that is, until you turned 2 years old. Once you turned 2 years old, you talked and talked and talked and talked! In fact, most people think that you are much older than you really are because you talk so well, think so much, and know so much.

At age 4, you are already reading most words, can say all of your days of the week, months of the year, and even most of your addition tables. You know the continents, states, and even rhyming words. Your favorite subject in school is math, and you're very good at math! You enjoy writing your own words and alphabet, and you've been getting much better at writing your stories in your notebook. Your teachers have said that you have excellent behavior, and you often help the class with their chores.

You also love to sing. I am always amazed by the songs you come up with on your own -- Daddy calls it a "freestyle" battle with you. And, sometimes your songs are even better than the grownup's songs! When we are driving in the car, you always ask me to put on the "Haiti Song" or "Baby are you Down" and you sing all of the words and pretend that you are acting the song.

You are a very good sister to MushyMushyGuy and to Jo. Whenever you see Evan, you always ask if you can hug him. Whenever you see Jo, you always run up to her and hug her so hard that she falls over. When we drop off Joli at school, you always make her kiss and hug you - even when she doesn't want to. But, sometimes you are irresistible and she has to hug you anyways.

I'll never understand your obsession with "flat tummy" or "chocolate milk", but for some reason, Daddy and I always give in to you when you ask for them. Your favorite thing to do is to chase birds when I drop you off at Lola's house, and you love wearing your sneakers because you say they "make you go fast."

This past year, you've learned to ride your bike and are trying to keep up with Mia and Joli. You get frustrated, but I'm sure by the time you turn 5, you'll be riding along side them! Even though you are treated like the little one, you get to do some special things. This past year, you went to California by yourself with Lola and Lolo. That was a real treat! When Jo is at school, sometimes you and I have special day. And, when Mommy has to go to the grocery at night, I take you because you help me get all of the shopping done quickly.

I can't believe you are already 4 years old, and at the same time, you've always acted so grown up! Happy birthday, dear Jada. We love you and can't wait to see what you're up to this year!

Love, Mommy, Daddy, Jo and Evan