Ever Since he was Able to Gawk….

Oh, this boy… my boy!  (I’m so glad he’s mine!)  He has LOVED construction vehicles since… forever!  When our neighbor who shares about 5 feet of fence with us told him they were having construction vehicles come, Malachi was up early and on the wall waiting the next morning… for hours…  This entire week, if I can’t find Malachi, I go look on the wall!  The neighbor said he was the exact same way when he was a kid, and he loves seeing Malachi on the wall.

To this day, I can’t pass a construction site without yelling, “Malachi, look!!!”  (And then half the time I realize he’s not even in the car!)  I am certain that he will be out of the house, living on his own, and I will still smile every time I pass a construction site.  Oh, my sweet boy…

If Your Kid No Longer Wants to do School…

Try leftover Jelly Bellies.  Works wonders.

(This is how we do it around here, in case you were ever wondering.  Teacher of the year, I know!)

My Drink Obsession

So this is how it all happened…. When Daniel and I were dating and I would visit his parents, who didn’t drink coffee, Daniel’s mom would offer me this incredible drink called “milk tea.”  I had never heard of it before, but every time I visited I was like Pavlov’s dog… drooling in hopes that milk tea would be served!

Next, Daniel introduced me to boba milk tea.  What?!  I could buy this liquid gold myself?  It was a pretty exciting discovery.

Fast forward a few years and we are married and I am pregnant with Allison… Daniel’s dad, (in an incredibly sweet gesture, I might add), aware of my obsession bought me an entire case of milk tea.  Oh, and the bottles were all 2 liter bottles, so a case should have lasted aa year!  But, CRAVINGS!   My daily lunch while pregnant with Allison was a bean burrito, shrimp chips, and a glass of milk tea… while watching HGTV…then taking a nap…**sigh** I had no idea how good I had it!

Halfway through my pregnancy, I was more grateful than ever for my case of tea from my father-in-law.  That is when the tsunami and earthquake hit Japan, and all milk imports came to a halt; including my beloved milk tea.

For several years, the only time I had milk tea was when we went to boba, (which was quite often when I became pregnant with Natalie!)  Whenever Daniel would go to the Japanese store, I would ask if they had milk tea agin… no… until I stopped asking… and still no… until…

Yes!  One day, he came home and surprised me!  Another case of milk tea!  Of course, the brand was different and the bottles smaller, but it was incredible!  A taste of nostalgia, it had been so long.  Until one day, that milk tea disappeared…

More time passed.

At last, a new brand of milk tea took its place.  and guess what?  This milk tea was not just sold at the Japanese store!  We could find it at Daiso and 99 Ranch, as well… close to home!  For years, I was spoiled again.  And then…

About a year ago, that brand disappeared!  No more milk tea anywhere.  Ugh!  Again!!!???

Until last Thursday… Daniel came home from work after stopping at the Japanese store, and guess what he declared?  “They have it again!”  This is yet another new brand… and he brought home three different ones to try!I have tried them all now, and am in love once again.  If you are still reading this, I am impressed!  It is quite the long story.  But now you know how I became obsessed with milk tea!

(Isn’t it nice that it has a happy ending?)

Daniel’s Quarantine Birthday!

Having a quarantine birthday was probably exactly what Daniel needed after working 35 days straight!  It was so wonderful to celebrate him using his two favorite love languages: quality time and sushi.  (Not sure if sushi is technically a love language, but it should be!)  He began his day running the dog with Sierra, per Sierra’s request.  Meanwhile, I made breakfast and arranged his cards… We all laughed at the homemade cards, and Daniel’s “big” laugh started us all rolling!

The boys could hardly wait for after lunch when it was time to jump in the pool.  Once again, we heated it for this special occasion, though not as much was needed; the outside temperature reached 96 degrees!!!

Malachi learned to back flip, and Natalie practiced her front flip… Unfortunately, I have a few stitches so I wasn’t able to swim, but I did dip my feet in and play volleyball!  Afterwards, the hammock was a great resting spot!

For his “birthday cake,”  Daniel actually got 2desserts:  his favorite peanut butter cookies made by Sierra and a “depression cake” made by Allison.  It was her school project, but we found it appropriate for a quarantine birthday.  Both were delicious!

For dinner we ordered some sushi, but also enjoyed sashimi Daniel had brought home after stopping by the Japanese store on his way home from work the day before.  So glad Japanese supermarkets are still considered “essential!”

W didn’t have 45 candles, so we went with one…

Happy birthday to the most wonderful husband/ dad I know!

Things I Want to Remember…

We may be in quarantine, with Daniel working 35 days in a row, but I don’t want to wish this time away!  So, I thought I would pause and jot down a few of the things I want to remember from this time…

•  The way a sweet, local morning dove has been gently calling for me to wake up each morning
• Late night talks about contentment, God’s will, moving, staying, praying, wondering, waiting…

• Allison getting 8 inches cut off her hair and looking adorable!
• Allison and Sierra jogging together every other day to stay healthy.

•  Natalie discovering the online library and realizing how nicely it pairs with a hammock and a popsicle!
• Malachi and Natalie playing Wii and laughing and laughing… and laughing!!

•  Sierra eating ice cream out of the carton when she discovered she is the only one in our family who likes strawberry ice cream!
• Sierra, Xavi, and Malachi on the hammock for hours making up games

•  Malachi’s “Ach, Smashy!” when he gets a good card in golf or when he wants to tickle Xavi.
• Malachi and Xavi building cardboard ramps for their cars and painting them their favorite colors; black, green, and red!  (You can still fid the red paint on our driveway!!)
• Malachi discovering the straw attachers, (technical name, I think??) while looking for rubber bands in the junk drawer for his science experiment.
• Sierra reading Boxcar Children to Malachi as he cleaned his LEGOs

•  April 23rd and there is still snow on the mountains!!!

•  Allison and Sierra having a nighttime talking date while petting the cat.
• Natalie and Sierra having desk dates, drawing to their hearts’ content!

•  Natalie and Malachi playing golf before bed.
• Natalie, Malachi, Sierra, and Allison all wanting to play golf with me daily because somehow they always win!  (What is happening to me?)

• All of us playing with Xavi his favorite new game — “Snakes and Ladders”
• Xavi swimming so hard he can hardly keep his eyes open at the dinner table.
• Family bike rides and games of Monkey in the Middle while the rabbit hops on the grass in the cool of the evening.

And that is just a sampling of the things I want to remember during quarantine!!  (Of course, there is a lot I want to forget as well, so I will just leave that alone…)

Pizza Time!

Pizza is nothing new around here.  In fact, we probably have it far too often.  But, usually I am the one making it.  I have let them make their own pizzas in the past, though it was usually for special occasions.  It occurred to me that not only does letting them make their own pizzas make my job easier, it is also fun for them and they seem to enjoy eating it more, as well.  And so, while we watched church online Sunday, I let the dough rise and when it was over, I told them to get to work!  And they did… and it was wonderful!  (I should probably encourage them to take over in the kitchen way more often… I’m getting there!)

Thankfully, just before the pandemic hit, I had purchased a large thing of yeast from the store.  Sadly, it is almost gone now.  I guess I won’t be jumping on the sourdough bandwagon any time soon.  Let me know if you can find any yeast!

Xavi Turns 5!

He awoke early on his bright and beautiful birthday and had his under the bed present open before I even got home from my run!  The gift of sunshine God gave him for his special day was so appropriate, as he is such a gift of sunshine in our lives!

Following his favorite breakfast, (Lucky Charms), he opened his remaining presents.  The Paw Patrol roller skates from Mama and Papa were a hit!  He couldn’t get outside fast enough to try them out!

After breakfast and roller skating, we were inside doing our morning time devotions when we saw our little neighbors come running up to our door and then run away again.  They dropped off a dinosaur whites and ladders as well as a fun book.  We have now played that game about 10 times in the last 24 hours.  Such sweet neighbors!!

For snack, the kids made “robots” out of their candy boxes and rice krispy treats.

Robot stickers were a bigger hit than I had anticipated.  And, check out the giant robot Natalie and Sierra created for our bean bag toss!!

Lunch was inhaled so the the real fun could begin… our first swim of the season.  We heated the pool all morning, and it reached 80 degrees by the time the kids were ready to hop in!

Love this picture… check out the snow on the mountains in the background as the kids swim away!

I did put on my swimsuit, but despite this adorable begging face, I still refused to hop in.  My feet and legs were quite happy in the pool while the rest of me was quite happy in the sunshine!  Thankfully, Daniel was able to come home in the late afternoon and he was more than willing to dive in with the kids.  So was Boba!!

(Discovered our first ripe strawberry along with hundreds of unripe peaches)

Xavi requested a butterscotch robot cake.  (say what?!?!)  I put our little baker on it.  She made the cake using a recipe from her American Girl cookbook and we added some butter nut flavoring as well as butterscotch chips.  She also made the Storybot cake toppers… aren’t they precious?

Cake was our afternoon snack… we picked up cheeseburgers from the Habit for dinner!  Though he had no “friends” for his quarantined birthday, I don’t think he minded his siblings as guests at all.. in fact, I think they make the best friends!

Happy 5th birthday, Xavi!!!!

THIS is why I Blog…

We got a package in the mail the other day… blog book #17!!  Book #1 has just Allison and Natalie in it…way back from June 2008 when I began blogging!  Of course, we can’t watch the cute little videos in the books… but at least we have a fun account of life over the past 12 years.  This latest book goes all the way up to mid March 2020 — just one month ago.  Yet, the kids were so excited to see it they acted as if they were looking at a long lost treasure!  And, that is why I keep blogging… to preserve memories, laugh at the tough times, and see God’s hand through it all!  Though I have periods of absence, (kind of like my exercising schedule), it is a commitment I hold strongly to and will make every effort to continue doing.  Thanks for joining us on our Yeh! adventures!

Easter 2020

Easter morning began early… by the time I returned from my run, the boys were already awake, and the girls soon followed.  Excitedly, they went through their baskets!  Before I went to make breakfast, Sierra led us in devotions.

For breakfast, we did our favorite… mini biscuits (chicks, butterflies, bunnies, and crosses), with real heavy whip cream and berries.  I should have cleaned them up before starting church online.  Instead, I snacked on them throughout church with my second cup of coffee (and more heavy cream)!  Nevermind the chocolate… I think I gained 5 pounds in heavy cream and biscuit weight today!

Daniel made it home before noon and joined us for egg salad toast and our Easter egg hunt!  Because of the rain, we had or egg hunt inside for the first time.  It was fun to have all new hiding spots for the eggs, at least!

On your marks…

Get set… GO!

Natalie had the idea to take a picture with our Easter bunny in a basket; so sweet!

By dinner time, I couldn’t decide which smelled better… the crockpot we had going all day, or the fresh Italian Easter bread we made.  All I know was, I was happy to not have to cook by then!

We missed church and we missed having Grandma and Grandpa visit… but overall, it was a lovely Ressurection Day!

Saturday Sunshine!

After a full week of rain, we welcomed the sunshine with open arms!  Waking up to all that fresh snow on the mountains was glorious.  In between getting our vitamin D, we also prepared for Easter by decorating eggs and making our peppermint play dough…

I’m so happy that my kids still enjoy our traditions, though they are not so little anymore.  Allison did opt out of play dough this time around, though I still caught her eating a little piece!  Over break, I worked on a soup and bread family cookbook for me to have on hand, as well as to gift to my kids when they leave the house.  I’m thinking my next book for them needs to be all of our family traditions!

The forecast for tomorrow calls for more clouds and rain… and since church services will all be online, I guess that means praising God in pajamas, celebrating our risen Savior while sipping coffee, and hugging those around us even tighter since we will miss our family from afar who couldn’t join us this time.  For now, it’s time for me to  go capture more sunshine while I can!