"Farm" Jichan and Bachan

We took a trip to Fresno this weekend to spend time with "Farm Jichan and Bachan".

Most Japanese-American families have 2 sets of grandparents: "Grandma and Grandpa" and "Jichan and Bachan". Usually the set of grandparents that are more "Japanesey" gets the Japanese label.

I remember when Lindsey was born, we discussed it. Gus's parents, having been raised in Japan, are obviously more Japanesey than my parents (2nd and 3rd generation) but I couldn't do it! I couldn't call my parents Grandma and Grandpa; it just made them seem TOO American. To me, "grandma and grandma" are the people you see on TV with white hair, a picket fence, that sit in front of the fireplace with an afghan and cat in their laps. Total stereotype, but I couldn't erase the picture in my head.

In the end, the kids totally get it. We tried Jichan & Bachan Sasaki/Maseba, but that didn't sound right to them. They switched it to "San Bruno Jichan and Bachan" and "Farm Jichan and Bachan". Weird, but it works. I guess they'll just be confused if one of them moves!

The girls loved picking and eating the Kyoho grapes - we timed our visit just right for harvesting! Lindsey was really good at cutting them off the vines and even carried the heavy boxes on and off the forklift. She went out, enthusiastically, 2 days in a row. I doubt she would enjoy doing that kind of work if it were expected of her, but it's nice to see that she has some real farm-lovin' blood in her!

Mitchell had to be pried and carried away from his personal Utopia - the train tracks

Molly loved having space to fly!

"Happy Birthday to Me" by Emily

Here's spaghetti-faced Emily singing Happy Birthday to herself...then along comes Lindsey as a scary ole' country girl!

I think I'm a pretty normal person; don't know how they come up with these things.

Happy Birthday Molly!

I'm just testing out how to download videos...

This was at Gunther's ice cream shop in June; the kids are obviously more interested in eating their ice cream than singing for Molly.

10 Years and 4 kids later...

Before

Our 10th anniversary came and went this year on June 20th. Gus was on business in Hawaii on the actual date (I know, I should have joined him, but it was the kids' last week of school), so we postponed our celebration to last weekend. Thanks to Rina and Sharon's generosity - and Rina/Bach/Jich's babysitting duties - we were able to spend a quiet, luxurious, and scrumptious dinner at ame Restaurant in the City. It's just my type of food - Asian-fusiony kinda stuff. Yum-o! We forgot to take a picture together, but below are a couple of shots we took of each other across the table. I'm a bit shiny and red from the "yuzu drop" cocktail I enjoyed!

Does it feel like 10 years? Not really. I still remember getting ready in the coffee room at the San Francisco Buddhist Church. I wasn't feeling very nervous...that is, until my Dad started walking me down the aisle. I looked ahead and saw my future hubby - with his too-short haircut and his golf-sunburned face - and started tearing up and laughing nervously. After a looong ceremony full of chanting, a sansankudo tea (or was it sake?) ceremony, and a couple soloist gathas too many, we were off to the reception. We remember the food (Chilean sea bass), cake (that we froze and actually ATE for 2-3 anniversaries later!), songs (our "song" was Lionel Richie's "The Only One"), and of course all of the family and friends that celebrated with us. Some people find those parties cheesey, but we're both glad we did it.

10 year and 4 children later, I feel we've come a looooong way. We're far from the DINKS (Double income, no kids) we were in the San Mateo condo days. Our lives now revolve around the kids - the foods we eat, the house we bought, the places we vacation, the friends we have, even the cars we drive (2 minivans!) - all choices Gus and I have made together to raise them the best we can. I think we've done a pretty good job so far!

Where will we be in 10 more years? Hopefully, by then, we'll be eating adult food, driving cute little sportscars, and vacationing in Europe. Until then, please drop by and enjoy some chicken dinosaurs with us!

After

Camping in Donner Lake

I didn't realize how "80's neon" the girls looked until I saw this picture!

Itadakimasu!

"Wish you were here, Mitchell!"

Our first nite's menu: teriyaki rib-eye, potatoes, YUMMY corn-on-the-cob, melon, and Spam musubi...followed by s'mores and hot chocolate, of course!

The extent of our "rock climbing" in front of Donner Lake

Daddy and Lindsey went fishing everyday! They caught just one - about 3 inches long

Had we known how much fun it would be to going camping, we would have started a long time ago! We would also have invested in better camping equipment (Gus is STILL letting me know how hard it was to sleep on those cheap Wal Mart sleeping pads!).

At first, we were a bit out of our element - the girls shrieked when they saw flies, were upset when they dropped something on the dusty ground, and didn't know what to do when the car (thus the DVD player) was turned off. By morning, however, they woke up filthy and happy that I wasn't pushing them to take a shower.

We spent our days doing everything "campy" - eating, fishing, throwing the frisbee, and just enjoying quality time together. We had only 2 scares. First, when the Park Ranger came by because someone had reported that a "little girl" (Lindsey) was running around picking up dried twigs that we asked her to get as kindling for our fire. I had no idea that this was breaking a park rule! The Ranger was kind and nice and told me that we didn't fit the "profile" of those wanting to disrupt nature, so he just asked that we didn't do it again. The second scare was while Gus was sleeping on the cot OUTSIDE of the tent - he couldn't get a truly restful nite's sleep as he imagined a bear coming up to claw his face off, so when a pine cone dropped onto his sleeping bag in the middle of the nite it scared him silly!

We planned our week so that the last day was spent at a hotel in Reno for a nice shower, swimming in the pool, Cartoon Network, and the luxury of a buffet for dinner. I know the girls REALLY enjoyed it because when I asked them what they liked better - camping or hotel - and they said both!

By the way, special thanks to Bachan and Jichan (and Auntie Rina!) for taking care of Mitchell the entire week. We knew that he would LOVE the outdoor play, but wouldn't be able to handle tent sleeping. Not having a 2-year-old to worry about made it a truly relaxing vacation.

I'm already working on getting better equipment for our next camping trip!

Empty Nest - only 3 little birdies

Lindsey left for Girl Scout camp this morning and I'm SAD without her! You would think that the chaos of 3 other kids would make up for it, but our house feels empty.