It's been a long time!

Oops... my last post was in September 2010? I guess that's what happens when there are lots of different places to post and share info!

So, in summary (a 4 month summary, I supposed):

• the school year found Jo attending a new school. Even months later, she's not all that excited about it, but she has made a few good friends and is doing very well in school. She took up soccer, gymnastics and karate this past year and has really taken an interest in art. For Christmas, we bought her a small art box and she spends most of her free time drawing or making up stories.
  
• Jada has become even more sassy. For a while, she was loving her long, long hair and wanted to "grow my hair all the way to my butt!" Then, suddenly in January 2011, she decided to cut it all off. Jada went from long hair to short short hair! And, she loves it! It took a while for us to get used to, but the truth is that Jada looks adorable no matter what!
• Evan has become quite the little boy. Over the course of the past few months, he is completely understandable and speaks in well formed sentences. For Christmas, on a whim, we decided to buy him some toy trains. Now, Evan is never without a train! It's the first thing he thinks about when he wakes up and the last thing he plays with before he goes to bed.
  
• For me, I had my mastectomy, finally. I ran another 1/2 marathon in October (after only planning on running 1 this year) and underwent my surgery on November 18, 2010. Today, it's been about 8 weeks since my surgery, and I am feeling much stronger.
• Jorge transitioned fully to his new job, and he is enjoying the autonomy and opportunity to engage both creatively and administratively in his work.
  
• Post-surgery, we really felt the love of friends and family. So many people supported our family -- through cards, make-a-meals when I was sick, and a huge fundraiser by people at my work. So many of our retinoblastoma friends also came through to give much needed support.

Well, it's hard to wrap things up in just a few bullet points, so here are some of the best photos of the past few months. Enjoy!


We had a blizzard just after Christmas that the California crew got to experience! Approximately a foot and a half fell quickly. Even Norhanna got to go into the snow!
Joli and Jada enjoy turning Evan into "Little Miss Sunshine". He doesn't protest at all!

Just before Christmas, Evan and Jorge had a pretty nasty fall outside one night. Jorge was carrying Evan and they slipped on some ice. Jorge fell backwards and Evan hit his head on the pavement. We immediately called Lolo to come over, but the fear was in the waiting time. Jorge couldn't see well outside in the dark and he said that he just saw blood spurting out of Evan's head. It turns out that Evan had two big gashes that we managed to keep together with some ice and a butterfly bandage. Three weeks later, Evan's cut is now just a faint pink scar, but it was definitely scary!

This is me 4 weeks post-op in a "Jada view" angle.


Norhanna loved being with Joli. Every time Nani saw Jo she ran into her lap!
The big snow storm - Evan's first time out. He thought it was cool for about 5 minutes and then begged to go back inside!

Pedro spent Christmas with us this year, and he even got to sit on Santa's lap!


2010 was a good year for us. My resolution -- to blog more here for 2011!

IT'S FALL!

It's here! The new school year! We've been very, very, very busy with new activities, new adventures, new schools, and new routines. Joli is now attending a public school, Jada is going to school by herself, and Evan is a much more mobile and verbal little guy than a year ago (obviously!). The older they have been getting, the more fun the kids have been getting. Here is a great photo of what's to come with Evan being the baby boy in the family - he's the new "doll" in the house :)


Joli and Jada on the first days of school

Jada's first day of school!

Joli's first day of school
Soccer. Gymnastics. Karate. Dance. School. Homework. Play time. Oh, yes. We are busy!

The Boys

Jenny and I were in the living room when we realized it was awfully quiet in the kitchen. This is what we found.

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!