15-Minutes of Local Fame

This was the photo that appeared on the front page of the Orange County Register last Wednesday, Steve's school was awarded one of the 2006 California Distinguished School awards. It's wonderful how the paper showcased Marshall Elementary for their feature article. Steve received emails and phonecalls for his photos, you can see more information on the link to the Register here. Hooray, Marshall Elementary!

Family Foto

Sammy has the stomach flu, so I thought I'd post a picture from more cheery times, a recent trip to Long Beach (Sammy's pre-haircut days)...

Sammy's Sick

No one likes having a fever, epsecially little Sammy. Hopefully it's just a cold that goes away quickly, no ear infection please.

Miss Rocker (10 sec. video)

Double-click on Anna's image...
Hmm... where did she get these moves?

Haircut... Before (sob) and after!

Ok, this has got to be one of the cutest photos of Sammy, ever! And yet the hair, the number of "SHE's cute" comments were getting more common, and since the ringlets were increasing in length...


(Back view, look at those locks!)


Sammy got a haircut by Momma Mina on Friday! And wow, doesn't it look like he's aged several, several months? In actuality, I like this look on Sammy, I think it suits him... I personally trimmed it in fear of a professional shaving it all off! What do you think?

These boots are made for walking...

Sammy sure loves to walk every chance he gets!

Palm Springs

After seeing Miyu on Saturday we headed to Palm Springs and met up with Mari and Rob to check out the Marmol Radziner prefab house. Wow! This is a prefab! Check out their fascinating website here. (Rob works at Marmol Radziner.) Thousands of viewers descended on the site to check out the house and the scene, Marmol Radziner allows the public to view this private home a few times a year, and this prefab home has been shown in countless publications, including Time Magazine.


Anna wasted no time finding a comfortable spot outside on one of the chaise lounge chairs. Ooh la la...


She also wanted to jump on the master bedroom's silk bed, or I'm assuming it's silk.


Later that night we went out to the Blue Coyote, Anna ate some butter tortillas and the rest of us pigged out on fish tacos, enchiladas, burritos...


Cannot leave out a family shot, bye for now!

We will miss you, Miyu!

On Saturday morning, Anna's friend Miyu and her mother Juri stopped by for a visit. Anna and Miyu previously saw each other last July, when Miyu was diagnosed with cancer. Miyu wears the mask when she is out in public, since her immunizations are not effective anymore due to the chemo. She will get her shots in 6 months when she has regained more strength.

It was evident by this reunion that both girls were anticipating it very much. What fun they had together, Miyu's spirits were high.



Miyu's surgery to remove the cancerous tumor in her brain along with chemotherapy treatments were successful. Now Miyu and her parents will return to Japan next week to reunite with Miyu's brothers, where they will reside once again. We pray that Miyu stays cancer free and the doctors in Japan will give her the great care like she has received here. I wonder when we'll see each other again.

Sunny Days

After a few days of heavy rain we had a nice sunny day yesterday. Still, we have such great weather overall, I can never complain about it.

Long Beach Aqurium, the 3 of us.

Last week I took the kiddies to the Long Beach Aquarium. Sammy is reaching out to the stranger holding our camera.



Although the photo is blurry, I like seeing the flashes of "Nemo".



Here we are outside the aquarium, what a lovely view of the harbor.

I have been inspired to attempt to take the kids out as much as possible, as long as weather permits. It can be sooo challenging, especially since Sam wants to toddle around everywhere and Anna has her own agenda. This day we barely escaped the outing with a scraped knee (Anna) and a near-crash into the glass while viewing puffins (Sam). Still, time flies by too quickly and we had a lot of fun.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

We just adore you!
Love, Anna, Sammy and Mommy

(p.s. This photo was taken early 2005!)

Dancer Video

Double-click for the video (and a glimpse of Sammy walking) or just enjoy the still photo of Anna in her ballet outfit and new ballet slippers from Payless Shoes.