While I was gone...

While I was gone for those 6 days, Zui kept me updated with what he'd been doing with the kids:
A day at the beach with their cousins

A trip to the Zoo. The girl on the right is our neighbor. I guess she was playing with Anjuli when Zui told her they were headed to the Zoo. "I wanna come!" she says, so Zui said, okay, go ask your mom. So that makes Zui and 4 kids at the zoo...I call that pretty amazing. Go Superdad!
Anjuli wearing Daddy's workout gloves :)

Thanks again, Zui! It was so nice to know my kids were having fun while I was gone.

Sister's Retreat 2010

Every 3-4 years us Jones sistahs try to get away for a little R&R. This year we all met up in California. It's a new tradition we started not too long ago, and I have to say, I like it--A LOT!
Those that were able to come: Julie, Brittany (newest sister in law!), Cindy, Corina and me.

I came in a day early and got to spend some time with Cindy and her family of 5 adorable kids. We headed up to Lake Folsom for a picnic.

Little did Chris know what was going on while he was blowing up the raft...hehehe :)
Pro paddler takes the kids out for a spin :)
Family fun
Thursday night all the girls came into town. Between all of us we left 18 kids at home with their Dad's.
We stopped at Cheesecake Factory on the way home from the airport to surprise Julie with a little birthday celebration.
mmm...sweetness
Happy Birthday, Juje!
Friday morning we got up and went for a run/walk, then headed out the door for some shopping. What was supposed to only last a short while turned into an all day event. It is sooo easy to shop without kids! We just couldn't stop! These bags are just one of many new purchases.
Aimee couldn't make it on the trip, but was sweet enough to send along some chocolates for us :) Thanks, Aimee!
I was in definite need of a new pair of slippers. In fact, when the cashier at Eddie Bauer saw the ones I was wearing he made me throw them away right then.
No joke, we had to stuff the trunk to fit all of our bags in, too funny!
Saturday we visited Big Trees national park. Huge, huge Redwoods.
Fresh fruit stand. Who would have known they make homemade apple cider donuts and apple streudels? We couldn't resist...
Sunday morning we went for a walk through the neighborhoods. This is somebody's backyard. I was so excited when I saw this horse I just had to take a picture for Anjuli. She would have loved it.

Sunday night Julie and Corina left, but I stayed another day to catch a cheaper flight home. Cindy treated me to her favorite restaurant, Rudy's. Seriously good Mexican food. It just doesn't get better than this.
What cute kids!

Monday night we had a residential campfire :) The Pratt family holds regular campfires in their backyard, how cool is that? We had a great time roasting marshmallows and making smores.

Thanks to Cindy for hosting us and planning the whole thing. I sure had a great time. Can't wait to do it again!!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! I had a really great one, thanks to Zui. He was up with the kids each time they woke up so I could sleep. Then he cooked us puffy pancakes for breakfast--yum!
This was the big surprise: He bought me a new pair of capris and 2 new shirts! The best part is that he actually shopped with ALL 3 kids and went to a million different stores looking for just the right outfit for me :) How cute is that?!
Today was great cause I got to play with my kids and have fun with them, excluding all the dirty work.
p.s. Zeya is a quick little crawler now, and getting into everything...big brother isn't too happy about that...("No, MY trains!")

Jazz, Blues and Rags!

It's over!! On Saturday, May 8th we had our Linda Kim Studio recital(s). With 38 students, having 2 recitals is a necessity.Here are the students of the 5:30pm recital.Graduating Seniors: Noelle Corujo and Kristi Aoki. I will miss these two!Our theme "Jazz, Blues, and Rags" was a lot of fun. The audience really enjoyed hearing the upbeat, jazzy music.

Students of the 7pm recital.
Everyone performed really well! I was really happy with how it turned out. It was a lot of fun, but I'm glad it's over, too :)

Goin' to the Temple

I looked outside and found my 2 kids had escaped...again. Zion and Anjuli were walking hand in hand down the sidewalk. I yelled, "Anjuli, where are you going?" to which she said, "we're getting married in the temple!" I couldn't help but laugh. I feel so grateful that they are such good friends (despite the biting, hitting, and hair pulling...)Anjuli was sorely dissappinted when I told her she couldn't marry Zion. "But I love him!" she said. When she got over not marrying Zion she said, "Fine, I'll marry Daddy then." Oh boy, here we go again...

Yesterday we went to Ho'omaluhia to feed the ducks. The kids had a great time, although the ducks were pretty aggressive.
We even fed the fish! Apparently they like bread, too :)

Fun family day. I love playing with my family, it's the best.