More Wedding Stuff

Here's a photo of the actual ceremony which took place at the hotel's outdoor gazebo. It was close to sunset and the sun was very, very bright. Anna and Jacob were very patient during this Buddhist wedding. Aileen and Koji drank from sake cups as part of the ritual (which were actually filled with 7-up or water I believe, since they don't drink alcohol).

Anna loved her rhinestone-decorated heeled sandals but they took some getting used to.

Aileen and Koji folded 1000 origami paper cranes over the span of months and an artist formed this gorgeous artwork formed from all those cranes. I believe the Chinese character on the bottom left says "love".

Yes, a photo of Steve! He we are with ringbearer Jacob. Mama babysat Sam at home for more than 8 hours. Thanks, Mama!
P.S. Even more wedding photos to come!

Aileen & Koji's Wedding

My childhood friend Aileen married Koji on Saturday at a Huntington Beach resort. It was especially fun for Anna and myself, as we participated as flower girl and maid-of-honor. Here we are in the hotel lobby during the first of many, many photos.

Anna and ringbearer Jacob had a lot of fun in their fancy duds. They sure hit it off from the first time they met with such playful interactions at a dress fitting (Jacob's mom June was also in the bridal party) which prompted Aileen and Koji to ask the two kiddies to be in the wedding.

Aileen's mom, who owns a flower shop, worked on most all the flower arrangements. The bridal party wore these spaghetti strap dresses with a sheath. Aileen had a beaded gown with train and double tiered veil. (I always liked reading details on wedding wear...) More photos to follow during the next few days!

Teething

You can't see it in this photo, but Sammy is sprouting his first tooth, the center bottom left one. The little ridges are showing and the teething seems to be causing discomfort at night as he's getting up 3 times instead of once. He's also gnawing on plastic toys more than usual to comfort himself, poor little fella. But Sammy still manages to smile a lot.

Disneyland

It's nice having the Disneyland passes so we can go for a few hours and just escape the outside world and enjoy the atmosphere, not that I'm complaining about gorgeous Southern California and the wonderful neighborhood we live in! Anyway here's a photo of the castle redone for the 50th anniversary, I love the golden crowns.

I don't know if you can notice the clarity of Steve and Anna while most of the rest looks a blur. Pretty cool luck with the camera... Maybe Rob can photoshop out the head in the foreground...

HeimlichTrain

Sam wasn't too sure about his first mobile attraction, Heimlich's Chew Chew Train at California Adventure, at first...

(And after Mommy took off her glasses for the pose...) He likes it, he likey!

The Beach

About a week ago, Anna and I went to Balboa Beach to meet up with some school friends. It was the perfect beach day, sunny with a cool breeze.

Anna had a lot of fun with twins Luke and Eric. They looked at lots of seashells and spent time running away from the waves while screaming at the top of their lungs.

Mini Watermelon

This mini watermelon is from Ralphs, one of Anna's favorite places. Although this fruit wasn't as sweet as its larger counterpart, Anna still ate it with gusto.

Fireplace

I think it all started with a newspaper article and photo that was on our fridge, of a fireplace redo (the original fireplace looked just like ours), perhaps Rob spotted it or Mari did and pointed it out to Rob. Regardless, it led to architect Rob offering to redesign our fireplace. Here's how it looked before (you wouldn't believe the ways we'd try to detract from it, at least once we've put one of our couches right in front, also we had a huge photo of Anna in the white stucco, and yet...):

Rob and Mari came over for an extended weekend to recreate our fireplace. Here is Mari priming the brick before the wood surround and mantle went up.

Rob did a lot of prep work before coming over, including designing the fireplace with a computer rendering, bringing over lots of tools and providing the lovely sandstone. Here are Steve and Rob working diligently, with the stone already on the hearth.




This is the fireplace before all the molding was installed. After lots of hours and hard work (with Rob taking no breaks whatsoever other than the occasional meal) the fireplace is ready to be primed and painted, those photos will follow in the near future. Steve and I don't trust our own color sense so the final photos may take a while. The brick will be the darkest color, then the immediate wood surround and columns above will be a shade of brown, and the middle portion and wall areas on either side will be a third color. This is a Rob Kirsten original! Thanks Rob!

P.S. As part of a thank-you we will purchase a 90-minute massage for him as well, as he and Mari had to endure days of Ben Gay.

Sammy & Daddy

Sammy is looking so huge these days, especially here next to Daddy who is over 6 feet tall. Sammy is now 7 1/2 months and approximately 25 pounds.

Whereas Anna liked stuffed animals when she was a baby (and still does) Sam likes plastic toys like rattles, large legos and Fisher Price characters. It's fun seeing the difference between Anna and Sam.

Reading to Sam

Anna has become so interactive with Sam these days, she sings to him, dances for him, and even reads to him. He has the biggest laughs reserved just for her.

Mulan

Here is a photo of Anna with Mulan at California Adventure. Mulan was so sweet and interactive with Anna and they had a nice conversation together.

With help from sister Mari, I am adding larger photos to the blog along with links.
Check out her wonderful blog here.

SleepingBeauty

Here's a cute one of Sleeping Beauty and Anna. Anna seemed somewhat intimidated by Sleeping Beauty but this princess was just as sweet and accomodating.

GreenBeans

GreenBeans
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

I tried to get a photo of Sam grimacing as he was eating his pureed green beans, but he managed a half smile just as he saw the camera.

SnowConeBear

SnowConeBear
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

We have been enjoying snow cones almost daily since receiving this cute Japanese snowcone machine from Grandma. It shaves ice in a texture that is delectable.

PinkSnow

PinkSnow
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

Enjoying our "pink lemonade" flavored snow cone!

GrandmaGoeller

GrandmaGoeller
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear Marilyn,
Happy birthday to you!

Hmmm...

Hmmm...
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

What is everyone staring at here? Everyone looks so mesmerized (although Sammy might just be looking at some random leaves...)

YellowGrasshopper

YellowGrasshopper
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

A yellow grasshopper on our tangerine tree! Have you heard of such a thing? Or is it just a fair-skinned creature (like Sam)? Hee hee...

Chums

Chums
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

A couple of weeks ago Anna attended Vacation Bible School through our church, kids up to 5th grade can attend and participate in Bible stories and crafts and games from morning until noon. At the end of the week there was a performance of the songs they learned. After their songs these kids (Anna, Tash and Holly) received some lollipops and started licking them right away.

PastorTed

PastorTed
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

This is Pastor Ted from our church. He is a real "people person" and is a warm friendly man with kids and adults alike.

Unki

Unki
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

Hey Mari, here's proof we went to visit the cats while you were away! Sam was quite intrigued by his first sight of feline creatures.

TomatoHead

TomatoHead
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

Last week Anna and Steve went to the fair on a very warm and sunny day, I kept Sam home because of potential sunburning on his fair skin. Anna had a great time, went on lots of rides and had some goodies including multicolored cotton candy. This photo is an annual favorite, last year she could barely reach her head to the oval opening.

YeeHaw!

YeeHaw!
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

Anna also likes going on the pony rides at the fair, I wonder how many more years she can go on them before she's too big.

Miyu&Anna

Miyu&Anna
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

This photo was taken at Anna's school performance this past Christmas. The students dressed up in outfits from their cultures. Anna is with Miyu, her very dear friend from school.
I just found out little Miyu had a brain tumor which was removed last week, and she will need chemotherapy. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers while her and her family are going through this difficult time.

Anna&Miyu2

Anna&Miyu2
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

Here is a photo of Anna and Miyu when Miyu and her mom came over to our house around Easter time. In his email to me, Miyu's dad sounded hopeful that Miyu would get better and that Miyu is starting to smile again.