Chef Grace

I love GROUPON! We have been able to get some really cool deals through that website (click on the link if you want more info). One of the deals we bought was a cooking class at Young Chefs Academy. Last year, Grace and I had a weekly baking day and she often helped me make dinner. She definitely loves being in the kitchen! Unfortunately, our schedule this year doesn't really allow her to create in the kitchen, and I know she really misses it.

Our friend, Christa, picked Grace up from school and brought Grace, Charlotte, and Violet to the Academy. I came later on with Jeremy. The girls learned how to make peanut butter from scratch (which they ate with celery) and coleslaw. Here are a few pictures from their special time together.

Jeremy's 3rd Birthday

Jeremy's birthday was October 11 and he turned 3! As opposed to previous birthdays in which he was clueless, this year, he was definitely involved in a lot of the planning of his party. He insisted on having a Cars-themed party, he knew which friends he wanted to invite, and what he wanted for his birthday gifts (anything with wheels).

I love parties, so despite working full-time this year and not having a lot of free time, I still found time to plan and prepare for this special event. Here are some details (a lot of these ideas came from the Internet):We set up a mini racetrack in our backyard. The kids took turns racing each other in Lightning McQueen and The King cardboard box cars (I ran out of time to do The King's spoiler on the back of his car). I got the idea from this website and am so proud of how these turned out!

We also had a pinata, the first one we've ever had! It was a pull-string one, so we didn't have to experience toddlers waving a bat around. Jeremy was the first to go, and the string he picked was actually "the" one. He didn't pull it hard enough for everything to come out, and the kids didn't realize what had happened. So Jason loosely tied the string to the top, and all of the kids got to pull strings until there were only a few left. All of the adults knew what had happened, so we got a pretty good laugh over that.
For dinner, the main menu consisted of food you might get at a racetrack: burgers and hotdogs. In addition, we had Doc's Guac and Chips, Mack-a-roni Salad, Sally's Fruit Salad, Chick's Dipsticks (celery/carrot sticks), Mater's Motor Oil (chocolate milk), Fillmore's Organic Fuel (bottled water), and Antifreeze (bottles of blue colored sugarfree fruit punch).

Here is Jeremy and his birthday cake! This is the best picture I got of him all evening!

I think the cake turned out really well. I can't take credit for it. Realizing how much time I didn't have, I cheated this year- the actual cake was store-bought, and I decorated the top. I made the racetrack in the form of a "3," rocks, and cacti out of marshmallow fondant, and I added the three (new) cars. Jeremy loved it, and that's what matters!

On the actual day of Jeremy's birthday, his daycare threw him a party in which he got another Cars cake. Even his daycare knows about his love of Cars! We asked what he wanted for his special birthday dinner and he said, "Peanut budder" (that's his way of saying peanut butter & jelly sandwiches- he can't get enough of those). Well, after some convincing, he agreed that we could have pizza. It seems that it has become a tradition for us to go to Coldstone for ice cream on our "actual" birthdays. After singing Happy Birthday and letting him blow out his candle, our family of four sat and enjoyed some family time together.

Happy 3rd Birthday to my sweet "big" boy, Jeremy! Thank you to everyone who came to his party, and thank you to everyone who has been a significant part of Jeremy's life! (more pictures in the photo album on the right).

A Getaway Trip to Murphys

This past weekend, Jason and I were able to take a quick overnight trip to Murphys. A lot of people have never heard of this gem in Calaveras County- some nearby towns are Jamestown, Sonora, Angels Camp, etc. We love this town and the area- we've made several trips in the past and were really looking forward to this recent trip. On our way to Tahoe this past June for Jason's family reunion, we noticed a billboard on the side of the freeway advertising that Sheryl Crow was going to play at Ironstone Vineyards (located in Murphys). We shared this with some of Jason's cousins at the reunion and it was decided that we would try to get together for that. On Friday, we drove with Jennifer (Jason's sister) to meet Cheryl and Terri (who live in the Santa Cruz area) at Ironstone Vineyard. Stand-still traffic on Highway 99 threw us for a loop and we ended up getting to the vineyard after the opening act began. Have you heard of G-Love and Special Sauce? I hadn't, but Jason had! Sheryl Crow started her set at about 9:30pm. It was chilly outside, but with our general admission, we were allowed to bring in blankets and lawn chairs, so we were pretty cozy. The concert was fantastic! Sheryl Crow was a wonderful entertainer, and we loved the easygoing atmosphere in the vineyard's amphitheatre- we weren't confined to our seats. People danced, drank wine, etc. We had so much fun! She played for almost 2 hours and her encore included a beautiful acoustic rendition of "I Shall Believe." It gave me goosebumps!

That night, we stayed at Jason's uncle & aunt's home. It was great to visit with them. After a wonderful breakfast on Saturday, we said goodbye to our cousins, and then headed into Murphys for some shopping. There are a few cute little shops on the main street. We enjoyed lunch at Firewood before heading to some places to wine taste (Calaveras County is full of vineyards and wineries). First up was Black Sheep Winery, where Jason and Jennifer got a case of their award-winning 2008 California Chardonnay. Next was Milliaire Winery. The host was so informative and easy to talk to. I am not a drinker- I told her that I wouldn't be able to appreciate anything that I tried. She convinced me to try a Gerwurztraminer- which to my surprise, I really liked! She continued to give me suggestions as to which she thought I would enjoy and steered me clear from ones she thought I wouldn't enjoy. I learned that I like syrahs! I left this tasting room with my very first wine purchase- a bottle of 2009 Gerwurtraminer. Our last stop was at Chatom Vineyard. Here, I enjoyed sips of Semillion and of two kinds of syrahs. It's not like I'm all of a sudden going to become a wine drinker, but hey, I might actually be able to enjoy a few sips here and there... Ahhh, it was such a nice getaway... When's our next one?! (actually, it's Veteran's Day weekend, when Jason and I go to see Matisyahu in concert in L.A.). Soooo looking forward to that concert!

Dad/Grandpa's Birthday

With me back to working full-time, it feels like we are always going at full speed! However, there hasn't really been a whole lot to share. One particular event that was significant for our family was last weekend. We celebrated Jason's dad's birthday by going to teppanyaki on Labor Day. It has been almost 4 years since his passing, and to honor his memory, we have done this each year on his birthday. While in the hospital during his final days, he had told Jason that he wished he could've gone to "the place where they cook in front of you" for dinner. He never got to go again... Before heading to dinner, we met at a local playground to release balloons (sending balloons to Grandpa for his party in heaven). Each grandchild wrote a letter or drew a picture to attach to the ballooon. We truly value this special time with family. We continue to feel the void that his absence has brought- we love him and miss him so much.

First Tooth on the First Day of First Grade

I don't know how I totally neglected to blog about such an important milestone... Grace lost her first tooth on her first day of first grade! It had actually been loose for quite some time- in fact, Jeremy was the one that "started" it. He was going crazy with his toy drum, and Grace approached him, wanting to have a turn. He didn't realize she was there and ended up hitting her in the mouth with a drumstick. It loosened immediately. We really thought the tooth would fall out soon afterwards, but it actually stayed loose in her mouth for almost a month! We were starting to get concerned because in that time, her grown up tooth poked through. Jason asked to see the tooth on that first day of school, and he said it was just dangling. He gave it a little tug and it came out easily! Unfortunately, with the excitement of the day, the tooth ended up getting misplaced (I know, that's pretty gross to think that her tooth could be somewhere in our house still). We had her write a letter to the tooth fairy explaining what happened. The tooth fairy was so nice to still visit and leave her a treat! Grace is now working on a second loose tooth! Hopefully, it won't take as long as it did her first one.

Fairytale Pumpkin

This past year, I made it one of my goals to finish Jeremy's "1st Year" scrapbook. I can't even begin to tell you how much time I devoted to it. Now that it's finished, it is something that I cherish deeply. The pictures, the little journaling notes, the memories... I'm so glad to have it!

Do you have tons of pictures in boxes or on your computer that you've been meaning to scrapbook? Do you love the idea of keeping special memories through scrapbooks but lack the time to sit down and actually create them? Do you lack the creativity to design different layouts/pages? Do you like the idea of digital scrapbooking but have been avoiding it because it might take too much to learn how to do it?

I know just the solution for you! My close friend, Christa, recently started a new business called Fairytale Pumpkin to help people who would love to have deeply meaningful scrapbooks but lack the time or creativity to complete them. Using digital scrapbooking, she customizes layouts and creates pages to your liking, using your pictures, your journaling, your memories! The options and possibilities are endless... The perk is that she will do all the work and the end result is a wonderful scrapbook for you and your family to treasure! Please visit her website for more information and samples of things she has created. Make sure you check out her Etsy page, too!

Our First Days of School!

Ah, truly the end of summer has arrived! Our whole family has started the new school year!

Jane:

When I took my leave of absence, I was told that there would be no guarantees as to which school or grade I'd return to. In June, I was happy to find out that not only did I get to return to the school I left prior to taking my year off, but that I'd also get the grade I left, too. So, this year I am back at Harvest Elementary School, teaching 5th grade. A major change though, is my grade level partner David has been moved to middle school. I will miss working with him immensely! Luckily for me, my new grade level partner is someone that I've worked with before. Michelle and I taught first grade together many years ago! We have another grade level partner, Hien, who we just met a few weeks ago. Our school has a new principal this year so I have no idea what to expect. It has only been a week and a half, but I am very content- I really enjoy my class! I haven't had any internal battles about being a working mom vs. being a stay-at-home mom. Aside from now having very busy days, it has been a pretty smooth transition!

Jeremy:

Jeremy spends his day at an in-home daycare down the street from Grace's school. It is the same one he went to before I took my year off work. They loved him so much that they reserved a spot for him! We decided to start him a week before we had to be back at work, just to give him time to adjust. He cried for about a half hour on his first day, but once they started their "school" hour, he immediately stopped crying and was hooked. He loves it and has had no problems since then! We love it because even though he's only 2, they do arts & crafts with him, music, dancing, "school-learning (alphabet & numbers), and "exploration" play. We call it "school" just to make him feel grown up like Grace!

Jason:

This is a big year for Jason! His middle school is 6th-8th grade and he decided to change grade levels this year, moving from 8th grade History to 6th grade History. He is extremely excited because unlike a self-contained 6th grade classroom, he only teaches 6th grade History. The curriculum is fun, consisting of Ancient Rome, Ancient China, Ancient Greece, etc. The nicest thing about this switch is that 6th grade does not have California State Testing for History... Ah, no pressure of testing! His program is I.B. (International Baccalaureate), and so the majority of his students are bright, having tested "Proficient or Advanced" last year on the CSTs. There are so many things he'll be able to do with his classes this year and after meeting them this past week, he's very optimistic that it's going to be a great year!

Grace:

Grace's first day of first grade was this past Monday. She was extremely anxious! The night before school started, I explained to her that I'd walk her to class, help her find her desk, and then I'd have to leave because I had to go to work. Teary-eyed, she said, "When you leave, I'm going to cry because I'll miss you so much. I won't see you for a whole day!" For weeks now, she has also made comments like, "I'm not ready for first grade," or "I'm not smart enough to be in first grade," or "What if I can't stay awake for the entire day?" We have never put pressure on her, but somehow, she has gotten the impression that she has to know everything in order to be in first grade. Another teacher at my school was able to take my class so that I could drop Grace off at school on her first morning. Grace didn't cry, though she clearly looked nervous. I on the other hand, got very emotional. Last year, she was only gone for a half-day. It really hit me that she was going to be in school for an entire day... and that I had to "let go." Remember when she started school as a kindergartner!?

Here is our little first grader! Without getting into specifics, we were extremely let-down by her school and teacher on her first day of school. Furthermore, after a disappointing Back-to-School Night, and Grace's many comments about how she doesn't think her teacher likes her, I am genuinely concerned about how this year is going to affect her personality, her spirit, her love of school, and her desire to learn. I have a feeling that this is going to be a trying year- God is going to teach us a lot through it!

End of Our Summer

Just like that.... it's gone... Our summer! After getting back from Edmonton, and then from Sacramento, it feels like these last few weeks of summer vacation flew by! I haven't posted anything in a while because 1) I've been so busy, but 2) I don't have a whole lot to share.

One important event that did take place over these last few weeks was the wedding of our very good friends, Deanna and Jed. What a special privilege it was for us to be included in so many events during their wedding week. We are grateful for their friendship and are excited to see this next chapter in their lives as husband and wife!
My first day back at work was this past Tuesday, but actually, I went back to work on July 26, the Monday after we got back from Sacramento. I had to move my boxes from our garage (that we haven't used all year because it stored my teacher stuff) back to school, and then of course set up my classroom. Jason is starting a new grade level this year, so he's also been busy getting prepared for that. Our whole family is gearing up for a major change in our daily and weekly schedule- it's going to be quite busy this upcoming year!

Grace and Jason both start school on Monday, so hopefully I'll be able to post some time next week about all of our "first days of school!"

USA Masters Track & Field Championships

On Friday, we loaded up the car again and drove to Sacramento. After many months of anticipation, the day had finally arrived- the USA Masters Track & Field Championships were held there this past weekend. Jason has been training for months for this huge event. It's basically a track & field competition for athletes who are out-of-college. It is inspiring to watch some of the older athletes- the oldest competitor this year was 96! With the wide range of ages, there are many different age brackets. This event was significant because it was the Nationals, with athletes from many all over the USA competing. Jason had lots of support in addition to me, Grace, and Jeremy- Jason's mom, his sister, his nephew and nieces, his sister's boyfriend and his daughter, Jason's uncle and aunt all made the trip to come watch him. His first race was the M30 (athletes aged 30-34) 100 m preliminary. It was incredibly hot and we were dripping with sweat while we sat in the stands! Before long, we learned that since some athletes had scratched, Jason automatically advanced to the finals (we had hurried to get there so it was a bummer he didn't even race).

On Saturday, since Jason's first race wasn't until after lunch, we were able to squeeze in a visit to Sutter's Fort. Unfortunately, it wasn't too interesting for Grace and Jeremy. We'll definitely have to return when they're older.
Jason's first race was the M30, 100 m final. It was so exciting to watch Jason finish in 3rd place, earning a bronze medal!

His next race was the M30, 200 m preliminary. There were two heats, and Jason's time qualified for the final. Unfortunately, that race left him feeling rather sore. For dinner later that evening, we were able to visit Old Town Sacramento.

On Sunday, we decided to head to IKEA before Jason's race. I love that place! Of course we left with plenty! Jason's race was in the afternoon, and he had a hard time warming up. When it came time for the 200 m finals, he did great coming out of the blocks, but injured his achilles tendon coming around the bend. It has bothered him in the past, but not in the past few months. Needless to say, that forced him to stop and he ended up hobbling over the finish line. He was so disappointed, and we were disappointed for him. It's one of those things- an athlete devotes to training for months, and it all comes down to a few seconds... We are already looking ahead to next year. The World Masters Track & Field Championships will be held in July at the same venue in Sacramento. Despite having to hobble around, after we left the meet, Jason still wanted to take our kids to the California State Railroad Museum. I am so glad we did- Jeremy LOVED it. I loved seeing his excitement as he ran from train to train. He couldn't get enough! After getting some treats in Old Town, we finally headed for home. Jeremy threw one of the longest tantrums ever, and he kept saying, "I don't want to go home!"

I am so proud of Jason and not just because he earned a bronze medal at this meet. I am inspired by his commitment, determination, discipline, and drive. What an amazing example he has shown our kids of how to live an active lifestyle, how to strive towards a goal, and to not give up when it really would be easier to quit. Way to go, Babe- we love you so much!

There's No Place Like Home

What an ordeal we went through to return to Fresno! Our flight was scheduled to leave Edmonton last Tuesday evening at 6pm. We got there at about 4:30pm to make sure we'd have enough time to go through customs. Upon checking in, we discovered that our flight was delayed 2 hours because our plane had mechanical problems. Once checked in, you can't turn back- we had to proceed to customs. That meant we had to stay at the airport until 8pm. We found a section to claim as our own and let the kids run around. Thankfully, they sent a different plane instead of the one that had mechanical problems! Due to our delay, we missed our connection from Seattle to San Jose. Immediately upon landing in Seattle, we had to line up to get a hotel voucher to stay overnight. Of course it wasn't until we were getting our luggage that we noticed an error- we had to go get back in line. This caused us to miss our shuttle to the hotel, which only ran every half hour. We were relieved when we finally got into our hotel room, but then we had to wait some more for a crib for Jeremy, and extra sheets and blankets for Grace. Our kids didn't go to bed until 11pm! They were still on "mountain time," so it was actually more like midnight. It was such a crazy evening!

The next morning, we woke up plenty early to return to the airport. This time, there were no problems and we flew back to San Jose. Our friend, Julie, picked us up. We left our car at their home while we were gone, and after going to get it, we finally headed for Fresno!

It was sooooooooo nice to be home! We unloaded our luggage, checked our plants, looked for our cat, and went through our mail. The kids pulled out every toy they owned, so glad to see them again. It was nice to relax in our own space. Of course that didn't last!

Our Last Weekend

Our last weekend here was a busy one! On Friday night, I was able to go out for dinner with my sister, Sarah, and our close friends, Thao and Binh. We had so much fun- I laughed so hard!We grew up together and I am grateful that despite the distance, we're all still close. We spent Saturday with my brother, Peter (aka PT), and sis-in-law, Teresa (who came up from Calgary), Thao and her husband, Peter, and their daughter, Sam. Jason went golfing with PT and Peter and the rest of us went to watch Sam play soccer. After some shopping in the afternoon, and a visit to a new bubble tea cafe, PT and Teresa prepared dinner for all of us at Peter and Thao's house.
After church on Sunday, we went out for a family lunch before heading to Galaxyland, the indoor amusement park at West Edmonton Mall. My parents get a lot of joy from watching the kids go on the rides. Actually, they enjoy taking the kids to the annual fair here, but it doesn't start until later this week. Grace was old enough to try going on some bigger rides- she definitely inherited her "guts" from Jason!
Tomorrow, we leave Edmonton... It's hard to believe that we've been here for 3 weeks! Despite the crazy weather not allowing us to do as much as we wanted, it has still been a good visit. We were able to spend some quality time with family and close friends. This past Saturday evening was particuarly meaningful for me. My whole life, I have never known the whole story of how my parents met, how they escaped Vietnam during the war, and how they ended up in Canada. I have heard bits and pieces over the years, but I have never heard it from them. They finally opened up and shared about things from their past. I finally know more about my family's history! That evening is one of the highlights of this trip for me. Often times, I tell people that I keep this blog as a way to journal things that I consider important. I will most definitely be writing everything down that they shared with me in the weeks to come.

Tomorrow, we'll be flying from Edmonton to San Jose where we'll spend the evening with our friends, Darren and Julie, before driving back to hot hot Fresno! To our Edmonton friends- see you next year, and to our Fresnan friends- see you all really soon!

Auntie Sarah, aka Di Dao

I love my sister! We're really close and have been able to remain close friends despite the distance. When we're in Edmonton, I'm glad that I get to spend a lot of time with her. She's one of the most giving, kind hearted people I know. The kids warmed up to her immediately. She really wanted to have special "dates" with Grace and Jeremy this year, some time to bond with them individually. Last week, she took Grace to Crankpots, a ceramic painting studio. Afterwards, they went out for dinner together.For her special time with Jeremy, Sarah decided to bake cookies with Jeremy. I am certain that he felt important, particularly since he got to be the only helper. Luckily for us, we got to reap the benefits of their hard work! Thanks, Di Dao, for being such a fun, amazing auntie! We love you!