One Fine Day

We are well into birthday season in the Tsai house.  The good news is we have three down.  The bad news is we have three to go.  Thankfully, this is our (mommy decreed) non-party year because otherwise I'd be a stark raving lunatic right about now.  I figure it is in the family's best interest to avoid this whenever possible.  So anyway.  Before I get to all the birthday madness, I have one little picture story to share.

We woke up one Saturday morning- all were home, none had anywhere to be, so he asked what we wanted to do with the day.

We ended up here.   On this contraption.

The two up front and the one back there in the middle thought this was great.  The two parents, however, had burning legs approximately three minutes after this picture was taken.

Because as cute as this little fella might be, he was nothing more than total dead weight.  Him and his sisters.

He also enjoyed reaching back and ringing the bell.  Which was cute.  Then he discovered the hand brake.  Not so cute because it only added to the parents' burning legs.

I kept asking this fella if he wanted to trade places with me.  He said he was fine where he was.  Coulda been all my huffing and puffing that kept him away.  Or the fact that his daddy wouldn't let me trade places because that would mean he'd be the sole pedal-er with four hunks of dead weight to lug around.  Possibly.

In any case, we needed frequent stops for photo ops.  Aka stops to rest our burning legs.

Aw but it was good times.  Depending on who you ask.

Afterward, it was decided an ice cream break was in order.

Until the kids saw what daddy decided to order for the parents.  Then the ice cream was quickly cast aside and the funnel cake sundae became a community effort.  I have no idea what Allie is doing here.  Or her Daddy.

Because I'm a sucker for photo booths, all six of us crammed into one we found while strolling along the boardwalk.  Apparently, they're not meant for six.

So she asked if she could go with just mommy.  And because I'm a sucker for photo booths...

She got a turn, too.

And well, it wouldn't be fair to leave him out now, would it?  Only he asked to go with daddy instead.  Jonah will have to have a turn next time because even suckers have their limits.

And all that fun-having resulted in this.

And this.

But everyone got their second strength in time for movie night.

Wreck It Ralph.  And all you can eat popcorn. A family favorite combo.

One fine day indeed.

Grandpa's Birthday

My dad's birthday was earlier this month.  Well actually, I'm not entirely sure about that.  Whenever I've asked him before, my dad usually gives one of two responses: 1) it's in September or October sometime or 2) it's the same day as your birthday.  So since I was never very keen on having my dad commandeer my birthday, I always went with answer #1.  How the man himself doesn't actually know his own birthday still remains a bit of a mystery.  Something about lunar calendars and birth certificates not being standard issue when you were born several decades ago at home in a tiny remote area of South Korea.  Plus the whole "lost in translation" thing.  I never really understood that movie, either.

Anyway.

Apparently, my stepmom has gone with answer #2, so March it is.  The actual day, however, is still up for negotiation.

In any case, she threw him a party and gathered all the relatives together to celebrate.  I really appreciate that she does things like that for him.  And in spite of his grumbling about all the fuss and trouble, I think he secretly appreciates it, too.

Here are a few of the party pictures.

My girl.

My brother and lovely sil.

My niece.  Adorbs.

My brother and my baby.

My baby upside down.


Wait, what's that you say?  This party isn't about ME?!  Oh yeah.  Heh heh.  That's right.

Ahem.

My uncle tried to get my baby to eat the flower.  My baby decided it was a better idea to feed it to him instead.

So my uncle decided to take a big ol' pretend bite.  My baby was amused.

HEY.  I can't help it if my dad decided to steer clear of my camera for most of the party.  I'll get to him later.  ;)

The kids were getting a tad bit bored so Daddy pulled out this whatever-it's-called device.

Like so many moths to a flame.

Even great big hammy moths couldn't resist.  ;)

So the party was mostly eating lunch and grownups sitting around and talking.  But there was cake!  And judging by the candles, it appears that my dad is now 10.  Ha to the ha, I kid I kid.  It appears he's now 73.  Whoa.

He decided to let Jonah get a little candle-blowing practice in as his birthday was coming up in two weeks.  Grandma was just a bit nervous about the baby being so close to fire.

Aw, I love this one.

So anyway, back to me.  ;)  Here's my hubby and my other girlie.

These two befriend each other at each of our family gatherings, but then forget they met before so befriend each other all over again at the next gathering.  Sorta like Groundhog Day, the movie.  But I love it exactly that way.

The sweet girls.

Nice face, Uncle Johnny.

And then Grandpa and Grandma, and my brother's family all came over to our house to hang out some more.  And Grandpa decided the minute he got there was the perfect time to go and cut down a tree in our backyard.  In his defense, it was a dead tree.  I have difficulty keeping foliage alive.  That lovely orchid we got at our little house party last summer?  Toast.

Everyone else decided to lend moral support from inside the house.  And yes, those are Christmas cards still up on the wall.

Be careful, Grandpa!

There was a pleasant afternoon just hanging out and being all together.

Also, this.

And then a big ol' family style dinner.

And one last picture and one last breakfast together before Grandma and Grandpa had to make the long drive back home.


Happy birthday, Grandpa, whenever it is!  We love you!

Just Say Yes

It was a beautiful, sunny morning and the warmth in the air promised a lovely day to come.  Both girls had been dropped off at their respective schools so it was just the boys and me at home.

Mikey asked if we could all go out to the backyard since it felt so nice out.

And feeling guilty for saying "no" too often to his small requests lately, this time I said "yes."

They found some old bubbles.  And I mean old.  As in, these were the same ones from when Allie was the age Jonah is now.  As in, I've dragged these old bubbles with us through our last four moves.  As in, what in the world?!

It felt so nice out that he asked if we could eat breakfast outside, too.  Buttered toast.

Shoo, Daisy!

And yogurt tubes.

He reached over to help when the little brother started having a little trouble with his tube.  Without my having to ask.  Because he's just awesome like that.

After Jonah went down for a nap, Mikey and I continued soaking in the warm day and did school outside.  He loved it.  So did I.

We picked up Lauren from school and had us a picnic lunch outside.  She thought it was a great idea.

So did he.

The wind started to pick up after lunch, so it was finally time to head inside.  That's when Mikey asked if we could do "like an experiment or something."

And again, I said yes.

Set them to work painting this first.

Then we waited for it to dry and for Allie to be able to join us, too.

The cast of characters: white vinegar, red food dye, liquid soap, baking soda, and warm water.

Each of the kids made up their own "lava recipe" using differing amounts of the ingredients.  Mikey went first.

Bracing himself for the explosion.

Jonah leaning in so as not to miss the explosion.  But because Mikey is Mikey, he didn't go too crazy with the ingredient ratios and got a mild little reaction.

Allie took what she learned from Mikey's turn and went for a bolder concoction.

This picture cracks me up.  (Lauren found the goggles in the science kit and put them on so the other two found other eye protective gear in the house to throw on.  Allie went with her swim goggles.)

I helped Lauren come up with her recipe, but she made Allie pour in the vinegar so her turn looked pretty much like the above two pictures.

Finally, we decided on an "ultimate lava recipe" and poured it in to our now almost dry but woefully misshapen volcano.

And tada!

Success!  And I think they learned a thing a two to boot!

As I was tucking Mikey in that night, he told me he had a great day and was thankful that he has me for his mom because I let him "do fun things all the time."

Now I know the "all the time" part isn't exactly true, but it made me all the more glad that I decided to say "yes" more times than I said "no" that day.  :)