And there she goes.....

Hi! Well, I warned you that I wouldn't be posting anything this past weekend. As soon as the boys got home on Friday...we left for Fairfield...we had to be in Sonoma by 7 AM...John wanted to work on the tree before it got too hot...and for fear of sparks...yeah, and he wanted to know that I squirmed when Jeff told me about being in Sonoma by 7 am...of course we didn't tell John that we stayed in Fairfield.

Here is a group picture of the soon to be lumberjacks...Starting from the left to right...John's friend Coleman, John and Beth's son and daughter, Joe and Katie, John, Beth, Neil, Jordan and Jeff...Thank you Beth for a delicious breakfast!

And...here is the tree...yes, that is Jeff in the yellow shirt...hey, when did he change his shirt? I didn't even notice until just now....

Everyone working hard...did you see the news article about the husband who killed his wife with a chainsaw? Well, Beth and I did...actually, Beth sent it to John...and we decided to stay far away...and we each had cameras to document the event....just in case...

Coleman is up in the bucket cutting....I remember my father giving us rides in the backhoe when we were little....hmmm...no seat belts...I am amazed we survived our youth...and sorry John, "my Daddy's John Deere is bigger than yours!"

Down she goes!!! That was a big tree...the tree had died from the Sudden Oak Death syndrome. Inside one of the tree stumps was a burrow and a 5 inch salamander was living in it...sorry, freaked me out and I forgot to take a picture...and "No!" we didn't bring it home...although the boys asked...

That's all that is left....John and Beth are building a "barn" in the area in front of the tree....Beth would like to make the tree stump into the base for a table...sounds beautiful.

All in all, they got the tree down and cleared in about 2-3 hours...amazing! Just in time for a wonderful lunch....

Neil, Jordan and Joe in the John Deere Gator! The boys had a great time riding around with Joe....I think they liked the "big boy" aspect of it all!

more burb cloths....and "breakfast with the girls"

Yesterday was a very busy day...hence, my BLOG was not updated...I am so fired! But, since there aren't a bunch of people who want this job, I hired myself back...at DOUBLE the pay! HAH! Take that! Wait, nothing doubled is still nothing...sigh...

Besides, my morning breakfast meeting and mailing off the burp cloths...I decided to trim the Rosemary "tree" in the front. (At Christmas time, the stores sell those cute Rosemary trees....just a warning...they grow into HUGE, not so cute trees...) The problem, I forgot to stop...the tree is now a shrub....tiny shrub...but, I know it will grow back....

Then, I moved into the backyard....I decided to "trim" the lemon bush....it now looks more like a tree. Since I wasn't planning on doing either of these tasks, there are no pictures....maybe I should fire myself again...I made more burp cloths for our friends in Sugarland TX. Isn't that a SWEET name? HAH, I crack myself up. Yes, this is the baby that Jeff said was a boy due in June....he was wrong, Sheridyn was born in late March. Yes, she is a girl! Yeah! I hope Sean and Adrienne bring her to the UCSD Reunion in August...if not, he will have some explaining to do, since he instigated this whole reunion!

Kathy, Michelle and I got together yesterday morning to work on the Girl's Trip. Actually, they worked on it, I just went to eat and provide my email services. Kath and Chelle were in charge of booking a show to see. I think we are seeing La Reve...a Cirque du Soliel show....I think it has something to do with water...I hope our seats are NOT in the splash zone...

The picture above is of Kathy's daughter Kristen, you may recognize her from the Build-A-Bear workshop outing....oh, and Princess Bear wanted her own picture also (below).

The picture below is of Michelle's daughter Makaela. She didn't want to get in the picture...I don't think she knew I snapped it. hee hee...

The boys finished their first Happy Fish (swim lessons) session. Jordan is ready for Silver and Neil (poor Neil) is still in the Red class....his "physical memory" is just not there...it took him quite a while to get in gear.....but, hopefully after next session he will be ready to move past red...(and then he will forget everything for next year!)

Of course, they were both TOO COOL, to take a picture with their ribbons...sigh....

Hopefully, I can update my blog this coming weekend...we are going to Sonoma to visit some friends. Jeff is helping "Sparky" cut down a tree...and he is bringing home some of the wood for his new smoker...that he hasn't built yet....

Catchup!

Did we have a three-day weekend? I don't remember...okay...so here is my "catch-up" blog post for Friday-Monday. :) I wasn't home much...so...you know...things don't happen...like gardening...(I still have a flower to plant)...laundry (still washing/drying)...etc....

On Friday, Jordan had his Choir Concert...it was sooo cute...and so depressing knowing that Ms. Chang and Mr. Aucoin will not be at Warwick teaching choir due to the budget cuts. They are both great and the boys really enjoy the singing...yes...even Jordan. (I was a "good Mom" and I remembered my camera with the telephoto lens...)

Saturday, was BATHROOM day...it is basically 99.5% completed. I still need to paint the trim/door and Jeff needs to nail in the baseboards...which means I will need to fill the holes and paint some more....

On Sunday, we went to Gilroy for Memorial Day Services. Each year, the Japanese-American community holds Memorial Day Services to honor those who have passed away. I don't know if this started after the war, due to the high casulty rate for the 442nd Infantry but, each year we honor those who have served and others who are no longer with us. Gilroy has a very large turnout, especially considering that not many "young" people from Gilroy attend...mostly "Out-of-towners"...I heard a woman saying she flew in from Chicago....WOW!

While in Gilroy, we went to Lowe's and bought the mirror for the bathroom...Jeff and I hung it up later that night...the boys went back to Salinas with my parents.

So, our schedule USED TO BE: Sunday, Gilroy @ 11 am ...eat lunch, go to San Jose cemetary ....then drive to Vacaville for a 4pm service (Jeff's side)...then eat dinner, hang out at the Great-Auntie's house then drive back to Fremont....then drive to Salinas for 11 am service. Since Jeff's father's ashes haven't been buried yet...don't ask...Jeff said that we can go to Gilroy / San Jose and not go to Vacaville...ok, his call. So, the boys went to Salinas, and Jeff and I went to Valley Fair after the San Jose cemetary.

I was able to talk Jeff into going to the Prolific Oven for dinner...of course he thinks he knows the woman who works there...turns out she is from Seaside...by Salinas! HAH!

After watching the NBA East Championship finals...we decided that we were too tired to go to a movie...sheesh, we are old...so, we made a late night taqueria run...and went to sleep.

Monday, we drove to Salinas and made it in time for service. I got to see a lot of people that I don't see very often...plus I was able to tell Rev. Shindo goodbye...he is moving down to the Gardena Buddhist Temple on Friday.

Tuesday night was OPEN HOUSE...
Here is a picture of Neil with his teacher Mrs. Crossman. Yes, this is the same Julie that I may refer to in prior posts...she is my new beading/sewing buddy. hee hee...when Jordan had her two years ago, he NEVER told me that she scraps/sews/beads/etc..."HELLO JORDAN, um, what does your mother like to do?"

This is Jordan's teacher...Mrs. Rubalcava. She has been very helpful with assisting with Jordan's schoolwork.

hee hee...okay, one frustration of the night is that JORDAN kept abandoning us...so....this is his classmate...in front of Jordan's Science Project...which received a Merit Award. Jordan did not know this because...WE COULDN'T FIND HIM!!!! AUGH!!!!! His classmate got a 3rd place award...his other friend Leo received 2nd. I think Jordan needed to WRITE more...big surprise, eh?

Now I am ALL CAUGHT UP! I'll be better ... for a while at least. I hope I can keep this up during the summer....I may need some prodding Julie!

Neil's Choir Concert...and a Necklace for Kaitlyn

I did a little necklace for Kaitlyn's 6th grade promotion today. Kathy took home some beads and they decided on the beads that I used in the middle necklace. Of course, I had to add some Swarovski ... but, both Kathy and I agreed that I shouldn't bling it up too much for Kaitlyn...since she has agreed to wear a DRESS...this is a big thing...I have a picture of her in a dress for Jordan's 1st Birthday...that was probably the last time she wore one! (She will probably wear her basketball shorts underneath the dress...but, that's ok!)

The other two necklaces are a surprise....for someone...hmmm...wonder who....

Today, was Warwick's 1st through 3rd grade choir concert. It was so cute...but, being that BAD MOMMY that I am...I forgot the camera...so, I took a picture with my cell phone. Usually, I have a hard time trying to take a picture because the boys are somewhere in the middle of the pack...but, of course TODAY, Neil was in the top row...right smack dab in the middle...he is the blue spec... Here is a picture of the Warwick Wizard...isn't "he" cute?

Science Project and YEAH!! We have a toilet!

Here is Jordan with his Science Project Board. The Cricut came in handy...um, you can tell Jordan pasted the papers on himself...I had to sit on my hands NOT to straighten out the charts/titles...Here is what he wrote:

Which type of water evaporates faster?
Distilled water or Saltwater?

This experiment will tell me if the ocean will evaporate faster than the lakes. I am using the salt water as the ocean. I am using the distilled water as the lakes.

Hypothesis
I think distilled water will evaporate faster salt water. This is because I believe that salt water is heavier than water that has nothing in it.

Materials
1. Six 60 Ml. plastic Enfamil beakers
2. Baleine sea salt
3. 1180 ml. of distilled water
4. Digital One Stop thermometer that show temperature and humidity

Procedure
1. Put 60 ml. of distilled water into three beakers
2. Add 35grams of sea salt in the rest of the water, 1000 ml.
3. Put 60 ml. of the salt water, into the other three beakers
4. Place one distilled water beaker and one salt water beaker in the bedroom, garage and outside
5. Record the water level, humidity, and Temp. for 50 days.

Observation
In the bedroom I observed that salt water evaporated faster than distilled water.
Distilled water evaporated faster than salt water outside at the same rate.
Salt water evaporated in the garage at the same rate as distilled water.
I chose these areas because the bedroom had artificial light, outside had natural light, and the garage had no light.

Conclusion
I observed that the warmer the temperature of the area , the faster salt water evaporated. It was warmer in the garage and bedroom than outside. It also seemed that the less sunlight there is, the less evaporation happens. There was not as much sunlight in the garage then in the bedroom and outside.
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An update to our other ongoing project: We have a toilet!!! YIPPEEE...and we bought the vanity and counter tonight...we are almost there...yeah!!! Jeff will make his July 3rd deadline...
Here is a picture of the sidesplash for the counter....

Here is the medicine cabinet that we are hanging over the toilet...

Don't ya just love Books?

A few months ago, I had picked up some crochet and knit patterns in a box at Half Price Books. The neat thing is that they are printed on cardstock and are durable enough to survive a trip in a knitting/crochet bag!

Today, I stopped at the store and I found two more boxes....Baby Quilts and Scarfs II... I just love them! Okay, so, I haven't made anything yet...but, I love the idea...
Here is what the cards look like....

Oh, and Half Price Books is also providing coffee to their customers...score! Except, the lids did not fit on the cup I had...and I got coffee on my top....luckily it dried quickly...but, yuck...coffee smell on my shirt! (Turns out the lids were for the "old" cups....don't worry...I made sure they threw out the "old" lids.)

I haven't posted a bathroom update....partially because I have been too lazy to really work on it...but, luckily, Jeff has been busy. This weekend he laid down the tile and grout. I guess he has decided against tiling the baseboards...that means...there will be more for me to paint! The joy....tonight we picked up the medicine cabinet that we are mounting over the toilet and the side-splash for the vanity....I need to see how I like them...it would be much easier to return the side-splash and medicine cabinet instead of the whole counter and vanity!!!!

Life....

Life goes so quickly....This weekend was full of festivities. We had a 3rd and 8th birthday parties, a recovery party and a baby shower!

On Saturday, we went to the Jang's to celebrate Kristen'sa 3rd birthday...Here is her picture AGAIN...she is just too cute....(see Thursday's BLOG re: our Build a Bear Workshop outing)

On Sunday, we were TRIPLE booked....sigh...I know....we are SOO POPULAR!!! Hannah, Neil's "girlfriend" since he was 2 turned 8....(Hannah's older sister went to pre-school with Jordan. Neil, Hannah, Sandy (Hannah's Mom) and Jichan Ron would hang out together while the kids were in school). It was a fun...albeit HOT day at the park...we had to go home and change since the boys were soaked from the water fight....Sandy bought these syringe-like water canons for the kids....and of course, there were water balloons....yes, Jeff and I stayed in the DRY zone...

After Hannah's party, there was a "recovery" party for our friend Nina who underwent surgery for a brain tumor earlier this year. She is such a trooper...Nina is recovering so well...she is walking, talking, and getting around really well. She does have double vision...but, is able to update her Caring Bridge blog daily.

The one party we couldn't make, was a baby shower for Bebe Brisoux. Remember the shoe pictures from my earlier blogs? Nick's brother Alex and his wife are expecting their first baby. I posted a picture of the baby blanket earlier. Well, tonight I went to YOGA and guess what...yup, the baby arrived earlier today. Sounds like the baby came quickly and everyone is doing well...CEDRIC (gotta love that name!).

All of the parties celebrated wonderful events....and we feel honored to be able to share these events with our close friends...one event in particular, I just read about tonight. Our friend CC had surgery for "chiari malformation" last week. It is essentially a defect in the opening of her skull where her spinal cord enters. I am SOO HAPPPY to tell you that CC is recovering well from her surgery and is already on FB....talk about being addicted. She is such a sweet girl and I am so relieved for her and her family that she is recovering well. My love goes out to her. (BTW: She is Neil's girlfriend also...although she is abou 19 and I don't think she is going to wait for Neil....but, he doesn't know that. He called her a while ago and read her a story...I think it was from his reader....sigh....)

So, please, everyone...please celebrate your life....so, many things can happen...both good and bad...and we have to celebrate the good and help each other pull through the bad....

Love you all!