Josh's First Pack Meeting... So CUTE!

Again, this is part of the "catching up" series...

Here are a few photos of Joshua's first Pack meeting as a Tiger Cub. He had such a great time.
His den is HUGE. There are 20 Tiger cubs, which is WAY too many rowdy 6-7 year old boys!!
So they split the Den into 2 "Teams" which makes everything a whole lot more manageable for the leaders.
During the first meeting the boys were given "The KEY to scouting"

"The key to Scouting is "Scout Spirit." Scout Spirit includes teamwork. It includes fair play and good sportsmanship. It includes that something special that makes Scouts want to be the best they can be at everything they do. This key will unlock the door of achievement, both in scouting and in your everyday life."

The Pack we belong to is associated with the University UM Church in downtown Chapel Hill. So at least once a month we go downtown to "Franklin Street" and have a date. The last time we decided to get ice cream at coldstone. It was sooooooo good, and we both appreciated our little time together.
Joshua is growing up so fast. We're so glad we've had this opportunity to participate in activities exclusively with him. We're making wonderful memories!

Frankie's = Heaven for kids

This is part of my "catching up" effort.
Back in the summer, when it was 100 degrees outside and we were crazy enough to hang out there, the kids were invited to Frankie's for a buddy's birthday party.
It was so much fun, the kids had a great time. Joshua was in heaven.
Really, Frankie's is a first class Chuck E Cheese's on steroids.

The best part about the entire experience for Josh, was that he was finally tall enough (over 48 inches) to drive the go-carts.

He was a very cautious driver, which really didn't surprise me, but he wasn't driving Ms. Daisy either.

Check out his "determined" face :)

He also got to play Lazer Tag for the first time, and off course, LOVED IT.
And since it was such a hot day, the kids had a great time blasting each other with water on the blaster boats.

Duck!

Can you possibly guess why Isabella chose the black and gold boat??
Because of her Daddy's Steelers off course.


The party Animals!

Plus the two partying ladies off course!

*As a little side note, Josh hit a major growth spurt this past summer, and is about as tall as the 3rd graders in his school.
Where does he get his height?? WHO KNOWS!!

"OH NO! THE BLACK BAG OF DOOM!!"

Come over to our place unannounced and you will quickly realize that we've been overtaken by toys.

Sometimes I find (step on) legos EVERYWHERE I go.

Some days it can get pretty bad, and I just feel like tossing everything out the window.

One day I just couldn't take it any more, and decided to get rid of some of the toys.

We did that, but still...

And so one day when I just had it with dodging/tripping over toys, I grabbed a big ol' black garbage bag and started throwing toys into it.

My children FLIPPED OUT!

I was really miffed, but I also felt bad for making them cry and beg for their toys.

It was really a very dramatic scene, as you can imagine.

And so the BLACK BAG OF DOOM was created.

Nowadays, when the place becomes totally trashed with toys, all I have to do is grab the kitchen timer, set it for 15 minutes and announce a "Black bag of doom" cleaning.

At first they panic, then they get a grip and clean to their little hearts content.

There are times when they slack, or decide to play with the toys instead of actually putting it away...

It doesn't last though, 'cause the timer NEVER FAILS. It chimes giving them a 5 minute warning, and that is usually when they freak out grabbing everything in sight trying to "save" their toys.

Sometimes, they can't get to everything...

...And the black bag emerges in it's full glory!

*Insert Evil Laugh

Like a tornado, I run around the apartment grabbing every toy left out of place... The kids run after me trying to save what they can. If I am feeling extra sassy, I even make sound effects...

I laugh, and my poor children cry.

But never fear.
The compassionate mother that I am comes through and saves the day.
After all I try to be as fair as possible you know.
As long as they pick everything up within the allotted time at the next "doom" cleaning, the bag will return a couple of toys.

They are allowed to "rescue" one toy each.

So then they're happy...

...and I am happy the apartment is cleared.

Santa Bella

Funny Bella.

She has such a cool imagination.

Can you tell what she was saying by looking at this picture? :)

I am sure...

She loves to have fun, and I love that about her.

Bath time at our house is NEVER dull.

A Sure Sign of "Getting Older"

Meet Kelly.

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago in the Harrisburg Ward she was a beehive.

A tiny cute-as-a-bug little beehive.
And I was her leader.
(A leader? Inspiration? I still wonder about that one :)
In any case, Kelly and I got to become wonderful friends.
In one of our many conversations, which almost always included the topic of boys, she asked that I promise I would someday be at her wedding.
I added to that promise, "Off course I will. No matter where either one of us are!"

Well... My beehive didn't stay a tiny little bee for long. Before I knew it she was off to college.
BYU of all places... I knew then it was only a matter of time.

And at the time, the best advice I could come up with to offer was.
"Date lots and lots of guys and don't go getting engaged."

I'm not sure if that was the wisest advice I've ever given anyone, but I am happy to report that she was NOT engaged at the end of the first semester of school!

And so, the day finally came, when she did become engaged.
He's a lucky fellow I tell ya. Because she is the absolute best!
She has often told me "I want to be like you when I grow up."
It's an incredible honor to have been part of her young life... If she only knew how much I learned from her... How much I want to be like her when I grow up too.

I am so proud of you my little beehive. I wish you only the best in life... You're already on the right track.



YEP! I've taught her well!!!

Our family at the Washington DC Temple grounds. It was one HOT day in August!!

Promoted!

I've been a little bit of a blog slacker recently and wanted to catch up a bit on some of the "events" we've been able to participate and enjoy...
Back in August, Joshua decided at the last minute (with some of Master Kim's influence) that he wanted to test for his yellow stripe in TKD. He did very well. I was impressed with how much he could remember.
He was a little nervous, but the neat thing about Josh is that even though he is usually very shy, in situations like these, he totally rises to the occasion.
The best part about it is that he is absolutely LOVING this experience and being part of this group.
We've been very fortunate to have found such a great studio. The Masters are excellent; super friendly, but also very strict. I like that Master Kim (the owner) gathers his students in the beginning of class and discusses values, and encourages them to become better people.
Great Job Buddy!

Master Park presenting Josh with the new belt.

We are so proud of our little Bruce Lee :)

Master Kim presenting Josh his promotion certificate.
감사합니다
(kamsahamnida
Thank you in Korean)

Isabella's First Day of Preschool

The first day of Preschool FINALLY came! The night before, Isabella's chatter box was on full throttle and she could barely go to sleep. To my surprise she actually had a hard time waking up the next morning, but when she realized it was THE DAY, she jumped right out of bed.

After a quick breakfast she was ready to roll!

She wanted to make sure her hair was "beeuful" and that her dress was perfect.
I picked the dress for her the night before, and she picked the hair-do that morning... I was so glad she didn't want braids, I absolutely stink at them.

In the car she kept saying "I'm FINALLY going to school, I'm FINALLY going to school!!"
Just look at how excited she was... :)

Doesn't she look so sweet & precious?

Walking towards the building she said "Preschool bla bla bla... " I didn't quite catch it at first, so I asked her again and this is what she said...



Well... Let's just say she gave them Fair Warning!!
For me it was a little sad walking away. I gave her a big hug and kiss, and she darted off to play with the other kids and NEVER LOOKED BACK :(

When Dwight and I came to pick her up, this is how we found her...

When she saw us, she got upset and started to cry saying "I want to stay in school, I want to stay here!"
Fortunately we were able to convince her to come back home with a nice little bribe and the fact that everyone else was leaving.

I just hope she keeps this enthusiasm throughout her many more years of school that are surely to come!

Update on the Binky Saga

In anticipation to the Binky Fairy's visit, Isabella could barely sleep that night.

She stalled and stayed up as long as she could. I think she would have stayed up all night if it wasn't for the fact that she was completely exhausted.
She was THRILLED when she woke up and found her reward... this is her account:

Here is the funny thing.
We explained to Bella that the Binky Fairy needed her binky to give it to a new baby somewhere in the world.
She replied with the usual smarty pants comment... "Why can't the babies buy their own binkies? They can go to Target!"
"Well dear child", I explained with my mommy wisdom, trying not to laugh... "Not all babies have the means to buy binkies... that is why we have fairies :)"

She still wasn't too convinced this was all necessary, but went along with it since she would get a reward in the end.

Since the day the binkies were taken away, she has only had one MINOR meltdown.
You see, she thought the binky fairy was only taking ONE binky... I guess I forgot to mention that little detail...
"She took them ALL??" She gasped in horror as she threw herself down on the floor in complete despair.

She got over it though. She still mentions the binkies every once in a while, but only to remind herself what a big girl she is.

We are so proud of her for dumping the binkie and being such a generous little girl.
Even though really no baby will benefit from this sacrifice, Isabella has been a wonderful example to our us of Love, Sacrifice and Resilience.

DWIGHT'S 40!!

So we threw him a party!

Not just any party though, A Steelers themed party!
(What can I say, I'm used to throwing kid's themed parties:)

Thanks to Pearl and Fransiska, again the team was able to achieve this masterpiece :)

All hands were on deck! Even Isabella and Ryan (Pearl's little guy) got to do something...

Like stuffing the football pinata :)

We all had a great time, even with the threat of rain. The food was awesome, the music was great, and the company the absolute best!

As the evening went on, the rain did finally come. Fortunately we had put up a canopy which gave us a little bit of shelter. Even still we were all totally wet, either from the rain or the pool but had a great time.

This is Dwight recreating the moment he blew out the candles... my camera was a little slow catching the moment.
I love the kids' faces... they're like Whatta?
(Bella totally blew out his candles the first time around too)

Speech!

Dwight was so thankful for all the friends and family that helped him celebrate his 40th. He was sincerely touched. We never thought we would have the opportunity to celebrate with so many great friends here in NC so soon after moving here. It really meant a lot to him.

After cake, it started to rain pretty good, and the kids couldn't wait to whack the pinata!

It got a bit crazy, but everyone ended up with a lot of loot!

At home, Dwight was still trying to take it all in and the fact that he will get to go to Pittsburgh and watch his favorite team play right in front of him from the 40 yard line row "C"! That's right.. in the middle of all that madness. It's a dream come true for him, I just hope I have a jacket warm enough to handle 10 below weather in December in an outdoor stadium.

LUCKY... Blessed.

Farewell to our Friend The Binky.

Today we sadly say good bye to the many binkies that were part of our family.
(Only heaven knows how many of you there really were.)

Isabella would like to take this moment to say a few words...

The day I was born, was the day I met you... I will forever be thankful to that nurse who brought you to me and calmed all of my fears with your soft, colorful, moist, squishy flesh.

You had been there all of my life up until the fateful day of August 31, 2009, when the Binky Fairy, the thoughtful darling that she is, came and took you away.

We've had a great run didn't we? And the memories... I won't ever forget them!

We played together,
got lost together,
(you more than me)
got into trouble together,
laughed together,
and even cried together.

I loved how some days you were blue, orange, pink, or purple...
Big or small, different shapes,
rainbow, blinggy, personalized and even see-through.


You were there to help me keep it together when I'd fall off the couch, scrape a knee and even when I got stitches.

I dreamt of you often.
Your squeaky sound was a comfort to me. It lulled me to sleep every night.

Since we were almost inseparable, my teeth even got to look a little funny.
It arched around you... you fit just right... we were one!

When you would sometimes suddenly disappear, (which my parents would say were always at the most inconvenient times, i.e. 3 AM, somewhere really far away from home or from a store that would miraculously have you there waiting for me...) Oh how my little heart would ache for you.
I would beg, plead for your return... and you always did.

What a great friend!

I loved when your relatives would come to visit... They were so silly! I'd find them in the weirdest places such as Mommy's dresser, or jewelry box (which really there were never any jewels there except for your cousins, aunts and uncles) hiding in the bathroom, random places in the living room, and sometimes even in the sun glass compartment in the van.

It was great playing hide and seek with you. The best part you ask? Finding your older brothers and sisters that lived with the toys! I didn't even know they were playing!! They were always so accommodating though. Allowing me to take pleasure sucking on them too... sometimes 2 or 3 at a time... You know me... the more the merrier! I’d always get busted though, and they were taken back to their “safe place”.

Sometimes you could be a little tricksy!
Remember the year you showed up on the manger scene next to baby Jesus? That surprised and made us all laugh.
What a great sense of humor!
Some of your pranks were not cool at all, like the time you had blue lint all over you and I stuck you in my mouth without noticing? What was up with that?!
It would take me minutes to cough up some of the hair-balls that were attached to you at times! That was just not right!

You did teach me how to forgive and forget.

Thank you.

I loved how you would dance for me; pretend you were something else like a doll, or a dinosaur or an umbrella. The best was when you would have those long conversations with mommy in your itty-bitty voice. I think she will miss those conversations too.

And your flavor... Oh, your addicting flavor of latex, or silicony goodness, was amazing! If we were lucky, I’d sneak a piece of candy or chocolate in my mouth, that way we could both enjoy the awesomeness of binky a la mode!

OH! And remember when we learned that your Portuguese name is Chupeta?? That was awesome too… we were totally going international there for a while!

Ah the good times…

Binky, I will miss you.

I will miss you at night time,
When I get an ouchy,
When I'm feeling sleepy, cranky,
or simply when I just needed a little comfort and love.

Most of all I will miss my best friend. We were great together weren’t we?
I love you friend and will never forget all that you have done for me.

My life will never be the same.
Click on the picture to see the collage larger.