Balboa Island Park

There's a lovely little park on Balboa Island, it's a hidden treasure that Anna, Sammy and I visited last week with one of Anna's friends. Anna wanted to revisit it as a family, so on Saturday we did. Sammy and Steve enjoyed the swings.


From the park you can walk to the water's edge, the houses nearby have individual docks for their small boats. There's PCH and some hotels where the water ends in the distance.


Sammy liked walking around a lot as much as being held that day.



I can't think of a better view from a swing.
Anna's been feeling a little left out with Sammy needing a lot of attention these days (he yells and cries a bit more, oh dear, the twos are coming quick) so she got to pick an outing this day. What a great choice.

P.S. You can access the video below by clicking twice, Steve is skipping stones and Sammy's enjoying it.

Video Experiment

Ok, I've attempted to download this quicktime video, but I see no "play" button (usually shows up as the triangle) and it's coming out like a still photo, any luck with any of you out there?

More Mt. Baldy

I'm realizing Southern California has many places I still want to explore that I've never been to, including this area near Mt. Baldy.


Anna loves the snow, she has no qualms about making a snow angel.


Here's proof that Sammy was there too. He was taken aback by the snow, and didn't quite understand the concept of it and didn't really want anything to do with it.


Proof that I was there, here's my mini snowman inspired by Anna's many snowmen...


What fun!

Mt. Baldy

Last week we drove up to see the snow with some friends, it takes a little over an hour to get up to Mt. Baldy, the closest snow near here. Anna and Gabbi sure enjoyed their time, especially Anna since this was her first time seeing snow in its natural element.
I will post more photos later since the computer seems to be having trouble downloading additional ones!



Check out Anna's mini snowman!

Uncle Mark

Uncle Mark,

We pray you have a successful surgery. You are so strong, we know you will recover quickly. We look forward to hearing the updates. We will be thinking about you.

Love, Steve, Mina, Anna and Sam

Mommy & Me Skirts

Here is my entry for the Sew-I-Knit blog, when Anna heard I was sewing a skirt, she asked, "Are you making one for me too?" I made a mini-pattern of my McCalls and it's pretty much falling off Anna's hips and has a wavy hem but she was happy with the results!

The fabric was $3.00 a yard, I bought 3 yards, and although I like the print it faded quite a bit after washing. I had to rip and resew the side hems because it was too tight at first! Also, I like the ribbon trim on Anna's skirt but may take it off my own. Still, it was a very fun project and I'm looking forward to sewing something new.

Sew? I Knit!

That's the name of the blog my sister Mari is involved with, it's a sew-along site where knitters take on a sewing project and blog about it. Mari and two of her knitter friends started it up, and this first project is a skirt, to be due in less than two weeks.
I've only knit part of a scarf in recent history but they let me sign up, perhaps desiring participants and not anticipating it would be a huge hit with lots of knitter/sewers! I've bought a pattern and cut out the pieces, yet I really only have this weekend to buy the material and sew the skirt, as I have a busy week ahead... I wonder if I can carve out some time. By the way, their site is here.

Cheer Up

Ok Mommy, another photo you want, another photo it is. But we can't guarantee we'll be smiling every time. Sometimes we feel a little sad, a little down, a little confused. And that's ok. Don't worry Mommy. It's all part of life. We see you go through it too.

Ballet Class

We go to Anna's ballet class every Thursday afternoon. It is held inside one of the church's high school rooms, very spacious.



The girls dance to Christian music and Miss Beth starts and ends the lessons with prayer. It's a very nice class. After Anna gets her fill of ballet I'm thinking of signing her up for gymnastics.

Party Time!

Anna's birthday party! After weeks of planning and preparation, the day finally arrived. Here is Anna and her beautiful cake made by at least 3 people: Yumi, Chris (frosting) and Rob (lettering). It fit in nicely with the theme, "Gold Hunter Party", well, there are jeweled rings on top!



Here are some of the many kids that were there, wow!



The menu included Papa John's pizza, and fried rice and chicken salad made by Grandma Mieko. Ted is serving himself up!



Activities included hunting for gold, fishing for jewel rings via the bouncer, an obstacle course, and the gold Hershey Kiss pinata. Way to go Erica!



It was sure fun having lots of friends and family here, especially those who traveled long distances to be here. You made it a special day. Thank you everyone!