Random...

Some random photos from this past week. :)

 Having fun at CBS (Community Bible Study)!!

This girl is creative in her silly ways. :)

The legos in our home don't fight or go to war... they sit and chat at the dinner table. :)

The girls' request... Dim Sum for lunch!!

Oba-chan making a dress for Chloe (biggest sister's doll) with my grandmother's vintage fabric/lace.

Glad she finds joy in pulling out weeds!

Lido Island...

We are so spoiled. Where we live, there are so many beautiful places to go... The beaches are especially breathtaking.. and I am so thankful for the parks that are placed right by the water.. Not only do the girls have fun, but I get to relax and enjoy the scenery.. :) One of our favorites is a quaint park on Lido Island.  It's just a very simple little park that sits right next to the water where the boats sail by... So peaceful. We visited the park today because the weather was so nice.  The girls probably could have played there all day...

Birthday Celebration.

Bryant turned 37 on Thursday! We celebrated as a family that day.. the girls and I made him a special breakfast, baked a birthday cake, and prepared for him his favorite dish for dinner. His birthday gift.... well, his birthday gift I told him that "it was coming and he had to wait."  Little did he know, that I had made reservations at the Blue Bayou in Pirates of the Carribean (a restaurant that he has been wanting to go) and asked my good friend to come watch the girls for us while I took him on a surprise date to Disneyland!

The plan worked.. sort of.. As always, he figures something is up when I try to surprise him...but he had NO idea what I was going to surprise him with. ;) I asked him to meet me at a parking lot after work on Friday, and showed up BY MYSELF with sneaks and jacket for him! He was surprised indeed. Yay!  Although we had to practically jog all the way to the restaurant (to make it to our reservation time), then had to wait half an hour (because they accidentally skipped us)... we still enjoyed a nice relaxing evening by the creepy swamp/pirates ride. Yes, it was creepy and awkward to me (boats full of people were staring at us and taking photos while we ate), but he enjoyed it and finally fulfilled his curiosity about this restaurant.. so I was happy. :)

The birthday celebration continued on (day 3) with a fun evening with very good friends at a local antique mall. We had dinner, then got gelato.  We could have sat, talked and spent the whole evening with our friends..but we all had children/babysitters to go home to... But it was such a blessed time.. We are so thankful for our friends that love and care for us and our family.

On a side note.  Biggest Sister (out of the blue) this past week decided that she wants to make a book for daddy.  She ended up making two fabulous books, one called "Daddy as a Little Boy" and "Daddy and His Pet Cat Perla" which she gave to him for his birthday.  She thought of and wrote out the whole story and drew pictures for each page (she asked me to spell each and every word) ... We've got a very creative (and thoughtful girl) over here... ;)  She has also been really into drawing...more so than she has ever been... This photo below is one she drew of Jesus, herself and her two little sisters. :)

Back Bay Trail.

Yesterday, the girls and I went on a nature walk through the back bay.  It was a gorgeous day..and we had a picnic on top of a hill with a beautiful view (overlooking the wetlands).  Littlest Sister was in the stroller most of the time, but the two big sisters walked up and down the trails (even following two horses at one point!).  They all did great, and want to go back to explore the other parts of the bay!

Where we ate lunch...

Where I got stuck with the stroller and Abigail..and a very kind lady helped me get up the hill... ;)

Where we saw a lady taking an old horse for a walk...

Where the girls followed the horses...

Where we paused to enjoy the beautiful view...

Where Biggest Sister said, "Mama! Look! Heart-shaped rocks!" :)

Around Here...

Doing a little "science experiment".  The girls love anything with food coloring. 

Playing Bach as background music... to calm us all down. ;)

Trying to see the bright side of washing dishes all day, everyday.  Healthy kids, eating lots of food!

Early morning jog with Big Sister..while everyone else is still asleep...

Drawing.. coloring...and more drawing...(it's serious business for Biggest Sister).

Reading and learning about sea mammals!  We have a little surprise for the girls next week!!

The Getty.

The girls and I took a trip to The Getty Museum with my mom last Friday... The museum was busy due to Presidents Day holiday...but we all had such a great time!! The girls have been reading about Monet so they were interested and excited to see his paintings!!

They even have a "family room" with interactive art, which the girls really enjoyed!!

Biggest sister standing in front of one of Claude Monet's paintings...

 and Big sister riding on the museum tram...

 Littlest sister was pretty exhausted by the time we left...but overall, they all did really well..and I was pleasantly surprised at how much the two older sisters appreciated the artifacts and paintings that were displayed.  Excited for our next museum trip!!

Love Day & Nature Walk.

Nature can not be replaced.  Obviously.  But this is what I was thinking while the girls and I were on a walk at a nature reserve in our neighborhood.  We were surrounded by beautiful trees and flowers...even the rays of the sun and the dirt on the ground were so beautiful and calming this Valentine's morning. :)

Biggest sister had fun looking for insects...and managed to bring a couple home..

This baby doll seemed to enjoy all the nature also. ;)

Big sister picked some pretty flowers.

Earlier today, we had "design your own pancake" as a family.  We had so much fun... we decided to make it an annual Valentines tradition. :)

We also made Sunflower Butter Cookies for the first time.  They turned out pretty good!

In the evening, we had a candlelight dinner (with a ton of candles)... and turned off all the lights.  The girls absolutely loved it (this may become a tradition as well)!  Who knew celebrating Valentine's day as a family would is so much fun!!