Crazy busy!

It has been a few weeks and life has been crazy!

Reggie’s costume birthday party was a lot of fun for the kids. Ryan and I got into the spirit…he was Darth Vader and I was a witch. The kids weren’t quite sure what to think. Not quite sure what we were thinking have 7 little boys (and 1 girl) running around! Thankfully, the weather was decent and they wanted to play outside, so that worked out quite well :o). They played some basketball, then Frisbee. Ryan went out to referee a bit and make sure they weren’t sending things over the fence. Reggie was so happy to have all of his friends surrounding him in costume. He changed his outfit 3 times and finally decided on Obi Wan Kenobi (we quickly put all the light sabers away!).

Ainsley had Naomi to play with and they were hiding from the noise in her room and were watching with big eyes at cake time. Boys are so much different and so much louder. Here’s a few pics of the fun day:

Excited about his cake:

Posing:

Goofing around this week....Ainsley was pulling santa:

The following weekend, Reggie had 3 birthday parties, one Friday night and 2 on Sat. (he was invited to another one, but the times overlapped-crazy!). JD’s was on Friday at a place called Boomer’s. They played laser tag, mini golf and then Reggie had to leave to get to bed for his big day on Sat. He missed out on the go carts, so we’ll have to go back and use his punch card. He’s decided that is where he wants his party next year! Ryan was happy to hear that because he is not wanting to have it at our house anymore. He had Michael’s soccer party the next morning, which he also enjoyed and then he headed to San Francisco with Caleb. They took the ferry, ate at the Rainforest Café and window shopped. He isn’t usually very descriptive, but I was able to get a lot of info. about his adventure. He thought the painted people statues were really cool :o).

While Reggie was off doing his thing, we got to have Ainsley for the afternoon! It was a nice treat for her to have all the attention. We decided to take her to the movies because we can’t go as a family with Reggie as he gets too scared and we end up in the lobby. We decided to see Tangled and it was very good Reggie wasn’t there because we would have been out of there in 5 minutes. I have to say it was pretty scary and Ainsley completely lost it at the end when the evil mother stabbed the boyfriend. We’ve had many conversations since then about the blood in his stomach and the evil mother :o(. I had heard from so many people that it was a great movie and it is if you are an older child or adult, but I should have read reviews. Not recommended for younger children!

Sunday, we packed our clothes for our trip and relaxed a bit.

This week has been nuts. Ryan has had work activities 2 nights and Wed. night both kids had their Christmas performances. When I was working out at home, I saw her sitting on the couch, looking out the window, practicing her songs and had movements. It was pretty cute and I asked her if she was going to sing this time. “No, mom, my teachers don’t make me and my friends don’t sing either.” I tried to talk her into it, but as you can see, she wasn’t having any of it. I couldn’t get Reggie to crack a smile either…at least he sang. Here’s some pics-I’m not expecting any broadway stars from this household!:

Today has been a busy day, wrapping up loose ends, before we get on the plane first thing Sat. morning! Everyone is very excited to go to Washington!!! We’ll be seeing some of you very soon :o).

Our little troll (she had this expression at least half the time!). Has Agnes returned?:

7

Happy Birthday big guy! Reggie had a very special birthday today, starting with 3 phone calls from the grandma’s and Aunt Liha/Maggie. Ryan was home this morning and made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, along with strawberries from the patch! The kids probably weren’t even hungry at lunch time. No, this is Reggie we’re talking about….he ate all his teriyaki chicken! We played a bit after school and then headed home to do homework. The deal was he couldn’t open his presents until his homework was done, nothing like a little motivation :o). He was very excited to open his presents which made it a little difficult to get out the door for dinner. Red Robin was the restaurant of choice and we all enjoyed a nice meal. Reggie hid under the table when the group came around to sing to him….I’m not sure they even knew who they were singing to!

We love Reggie for lots of reasons…here’s just a few:

He loves being a kid and playing

His ability to make something out of nothing (these creations are NEVER thrown away)

His wonderful imagination

His love for his sister

His quiet leadership

He is so nice…every kid wants to be his friend

His toothless smile (he lost 3 teeth this year)

His mindfulness of others

His love for paper airplanes

He knows right from wrong and usually chooses right :o)

His funny questions like, “Why is it called a sandwich. There’s no sand in it?”

His love for Jesus and songs about God (that he sings with his own rocker spin)

His thinking before doing attitude

His gentle soul

His love for his bagels, ice cream and spinach

His dislike of “bubbles” from soda – the kid hates soda!

His love for his Grandparents

Thanksgiving week!

The kids were off all week, which worked out great since my brother Anthony and mom came for a visit! My family arrived on Monday Nov 22nd around 11AM. I just happened to be in Chicago for a work meeting so Trina and the kids picked them up. When they got home, they built the ginger bread house and had a blast!! My mom had never done one and was thinking of doing another one when she got home :o). They are definitely not for eating...Anthony tasted the frosting only once and wishes he wouldn't have! I wish I would have been able to join them, but after a 4 hour delay on the tarmac and one upset passenger that was taken back to the gate, I finally arrived at 10:00PM and was so glad to be home.

Reggie admiring Uncle Anthony's work....maybe he found a new profession!!!

Tuesday they all went to Pump it Up. The kids as usual had a blast and climbed & jumped all over the place and really tired themselves out. They spent the afternoon playing :o). I went to work that day, but got home at a decent hour so that I could spend some time with the family. It was time to go birthday shopping, so mom took Reggie to Walmart to pick something out. Ainsley was lucky as she just happened to get something because she was there and looking cute as ever. After shopping, we headed to our favorite place to eat, Sweet Tomatoes. Anthony enjoyed it but didn’t eat any of the dessert afterwards (Anthony’s on a bit of a health kick, which is great as he worked out almost every day while he was here). The rest of us ate until we were sick!
Reggie beating Uncle Anthony at Mario Kart:

Wednesday we headed to the jelly belly factory. Mom and Anthony had a good time and were impressed with the history surrounding the candy and factory. Ronald Reagan was a huge Jelly Belly fan and even had them on air force one. There are also many different art murals that are made out of the famous candy such as Elvis, Donald Duck, and Ronald Reagan. After the tour we bought some candy and headed over to the Budweiser factory for another tour. That was a horrible tour as there was nothing to see or do. The plant was like a ghost town and even if it was busy they didn’t let you see much of anything. I would not recommend that tour to anyone. That night we continued to hit our favorite places and went to Menchies, a frozen yogurt self serve with 15 different flavors and many different toppings to select from :o).

Maybe another job possibility for Anthony?

Thursday morning was turkey day and mom put the bird in around 8AM. The house started to smell like Thanksgiving around noon. There's nothing like the smell of holidays :o). We decided to get the Christmas decorations out and Anthony was a great brother and hung all of our outside Christmas lights and even had to climb up on the extended ladder to reach the highest peaks of the roof (sorry you ripped your pants Bro). The house looks great! During the day we ran out of lights so we made a run to Walmart (can’t believe they are open on Thanksgiving) and Anthony got Reggie a birthday present. Got back just in time for dinner and stuffed ourselves with great food. Our plan was to go back to Walmart that night at midnight for black Friday to shop but once the clock hit 10:30, we were snoring and wussed out.

Girly time-thank goodness for Grandma's!:

Enjoying the park:

We had a great time with my family and time flew! It was so very nice to sleep in and know that the kids were occupied. They had fun wrestling and running around with Uncle Anthony and Ainsley enjoyed playing babies with Grandma, getting her nails done and watching her in the kitchen (I’m sure she learned a lot!). It will be nice to see them again in a few weeks for Christmas as we’re getting ready to come home!!!!

Sorry in advance for the scattered thoughts

3rd lost tooth:

It is a good thing this happened today because Ryan is traveling and I absolutely HATE pulling out teeth. I had to do one of his other teeth and I about threw up (I don't think I ever got over having to pull my own tooth out at school in 2nd grade)! Today he was eating a bagel after church and started freaking out. There was blood everywhere and it was hanging on by a thread. Ryan tried to pull it, but it wouldn’t come. He was pretty upset, along with me, but managed to pull himself together to eat samples at Costco :). Later in the day, Ryan reminded him that the tooth fairy would come and he opened his mouth and was ready to go. It came out pretty easily, but bled a lot. I think we’ll have a bit of time until the next tooth.

First basketball game today (from Ryan):

It was a blast. Reggie and I didn’t quite know what to expect. Herding cats pretty much sums it up. I’m the assistant coach and there were a lot of kids running in all different directions, all wanting a piece of the ball. After the first quarter they all started to get it. Reggie was hustling and trying to get the ball. He had a couple of opportunities to dribble but didn’t quite get a chance to take a shot. There are a few kids on his team that shoot whenever they have the ball. The highlight of the game is when Reggie got the ball, got spun around and started dribbling toward the wrong end of the court. He had a breakaway but he was going the wrong way. He finally figured it out, but by the time he did a girl stole the ball, continued dribbling to her basket and scored a basket. He didn’t really know what was going on at the time but after the game when I asked him what he did, he got a smile on his face and said “I know what I did.” This is great for him as he’s getting more aggressive and interested in team sports.

Walkathon and carnival

Last Sat. we had Reggie’s walkathon (thank you all who supported him-he raised over $120!). I ran with him, but at a steady pace. The younger kids have such a different running style, sprinting, then walking. He found his friends and they all ran away from me when I got close. Reggie did 17 laps in 1 hour which is over 4 miles! After that, we had some food and played some games and of course, picked out a prize.

Early wake-ups and chore chart

The daylight savings time change is killing us. Reggie was up at 5:15 on Sunday and 5:45 on Monday. We finally seem to be at about 6:30…they seem to have no problem staying up later!!!

We’ve been having some issues lately with attitudes and it has been very challenging to both Ryan and me. It is hard to have a positive attitude toward the kids when we are always asking them to pick up or do this or do that or telling them no all the time. It is exhausting. So, I decided last week to put together a chore/goal chart. They get money for chores and smiley faces for goals (no hitting/shoving, no gimmies, no negative talk/yelling, listening, happy attitude and manners). If they get a certain number of smiley faces, they get a reward. This week is an extra hour of t.v. I put myself on the list too, so we can all participate :o). Reggie was so excited about it that he called Ryan to tell him what we are doing (he’s out of town for a couple days). It has only been almost a week, and Reggie has definitely improved! I’m not sure it will be too successful with Ainsley (she doesn’t really care much about prizes and money), but this is the kind of thing that really motivates Reggie and he’s been more of a challenge, so I’m glad it is helping. Reggie earned $4.25 (he folded 36 pairs of socks, so he got $3.60 extra) and Ainsley $3 this week :o) and I’m sure will be very excited to collect.

Ryan at school (Ryan blogging):

I was able to work it into my schedule to go on the Pumpkin patch field trip with Ainsley. She was very excited to have me at a school event during the day! The kids got to play in the hay maze, corn box, and also got to pick out their own pumpkin. The weather had been terrible the day before, so we weren’t sure we’d get to go, but it was beautiful, although a bit muddy.

Then, last Monday, I took Ainsley to school to present a family tradition. A few years ago, we started doing Operation Christmas Child. They send shoe boxes full of toys/toothbrushes/books to children all over the world who may have never received a present. At first it was very difficult for the kids to go to the dollar store and not want something for themselves, but this year was much better and I hope we are teaching them the importance of giving and being thankful for all the things that we have. Ainsley was very excited, but also shy to have Daddy at her school. I felt very special to be there with her as I could tell she was happy to have me there. She helped me take all of the toys out of the box as I was telling the kids what they were for. It was cute and one little boy raised his hand and asked if he could have one of the toys. A good lesson learned as we had to explain to him and the other children that these gifts were for kids that were less fortunate.

Allergic to penicillin:

I noticed a rash on Reggie during his Halloween party at school, but thought it may have been from his costume. The next morning the rash looked a bit worse and as soon as I gave him his medicine it occurred to me that he may be having a reaction to amoxicillin. I called the pharmacist who said he should be seen, so on our way to Six Flags, we stopped to see the Dr. She asked if he’d ever had it before and honestly, I couldn’t remember. Since he’s never had an ear infection, there wouldn’t be much reason for it. His reactions was not typical (of course), but she was about 99% sure that it was from his medicine. Kind of a bummer….As I’m writing this, Ainsley is changing her babies….her baby has the fots (farts) and air in her boobs!

Making playdough cupcakes (thanks Kirsten!):

Playdate with friends:

Grandma and Grandpa visit :o)

The kids had been counting down the days until we picked up grandma and grandpa last Wed. evening. They were very excited, so much so, that they woke up very early the first few mornings wanting to hang out with them. We made them wait until 6:45 to visit their room. Of course, grandma brought lots of fun things in her suitcase and they really enjoyed unpacking.

Thursday we dropped Reggie at school and took grandma and grandpa to Ainsley’s gymnastics class. It was a beautiful morning, so we decided to make a stop at Shadow Cliff’s Regional Park. It just happened to be the day they were stocking the lake with fish, so we got to watch them pour 500 pounds (1000 fish) into the lake. Then we walked the trail and learned we could spend the whole day exploring the area. We decided to head home for lunch instead! Grandpa was busy blowing and mowing in the yard, so Ryan had a nice surprise when he got home. That night, we visited our favorite frozen yogurt shop, Menchies :o).

Friday was really busy, Reggie and Ainsley had their classroom Halloween parties, so we divided and conquered. As always, Halloween is so much fun at Reggie’s school and I think this might be his favorite day of the year. They do a parade, assembly and then have a class party. We learned a lesson a few weeks ago at a playdate about eating too much sugar, so Reggie did a good job of limiting his sweets. My mom went to Ainsley’s party and had a good time visiting with 4 year olds. That night everyone (except me and Ainsley) went to Reggie’s cubscout meeting where they had trunk or treating afterward. Sounded like it was quite the event….people had lights/music decorating their cars!

Ironman Reggie:

Saturday, we finally got some rain. We headed for Six Flags anyway, packing our umbrellas :o). Mom and Dad had never been and really wanted to go and since it is only open on the weekend, we didn’t have much of a choice but to brave the weather. The closer we got, the darker it got and it was raining pretty good when we got there. We picnicked in the car and then packed everything in the stroller to go. We got a nice Halloween scare on one of the umbrellas…..a nice large black widow!!! Mom had never seen one, so it was a good learning experience and reminder about how much they like the garage. The weather worked to our advantage because “fright fest” is a big deal at Six Flags and it was the quietest we’ve ever seen it. We were able to see almost all the shows and have front row seats! We did get poured on a few times, but managed to get through the day pretty dry. From there, we went straight to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner and the kids ate free since they were wearing costumes :o).

Grandpa playing take-out in the deflated bounce-house:

Sunday we headed for church and then Costco. My parents just light up when you mention Costco. We were there for an hour, sampling and looking at all the fun things. We did haircuts that afternoon and then headed out for trick-or-treating! It was the first time we were home and decided to go through our neighborhood, partly because Reggie’s kindergarten teacher asked if we were coming by. We hit the jackpot….our neighborhood was great!!! There was even a house that had a slow-cooker handing out ribs and pulled pork sandwiches for parents! You can bet Ryan and my dad were all over that :o).

It was a bit of a late night but Reggie didn’t have school, so we just relaxed on Monday. Grandma had never been on the trail, so we took her for a walk and looked for prairie dogs and showed her where we play pooh sticks. The water has been running all summer and since it just rained, there was a big current once we cleared the debris away.

Tuesday was pretty mellow…Ainsley had dance in the morning and then we did a little shopping at the thrift stores, worked in the yard a bit and went out to dinner at Uncle Yu’s (the best Chinese in Livermore!) and then Reggie had basketball practice. I guess that wasn’t really a mellow day after all.

Mom and Dad helped me get the house back in order Wed. morning since we had a break from both of the kids. After we picked up Ainsley, we went out for bagels and then to Target to get Ainsley a toy for being such a good helper in the yard. She decided she wanted shoes instead, so grandma got her the most sparkly red shoes :o). Then we picked up Reggie from school and headed to the airport. The week flew by and we had lots of fun. We will miss grandma and grandpa!

Peace restored!

What a glorious day!!! We had our first fostering experience this weekend and if you didn't hear from us, that is because we were completely consumed and exhausted....more so than having a newborn. We picked him up on Sat. evening and he was very distraught. He was an 18 month old Romanian boy whose entire family was incarcerated. He was still breastfeeding and had a pretty good cold and mild fever, but it was very clear that he was well taken care of...seemed strange to us how this could happen. He was crying and saying, "mama, mama," over and over for hours on end. The only time he was silent was in the car because he thought he was going to see mom, so we went out, just to go out. He was sooo smart. He'd bring us our shoes/coats and get his ready, so that he could head out the door and find his family. If he could drive, he would've done it. What a determined little boy. This was VERY difficult for us...to watch how sad he was and the longing to be with his mom. The nights were very long and Ryan mentioned to me on Sunday that he didn't know if he could do this. God had a plan and he knew just what everyone in the situation could handle.

I went to pick up Reggie today from school and got a call that he was going to be returned to his family. I cried tears of joy for Avi. What great news :o). She asked if they could come get him with her (to avoid him being handed over to a stranger yet again), so they raced over and it was a joyous reunion, filled with lots of hugs and tears. They were so very grateful. Ryan raced home, but they were already gone when he arrived. The social worker said it was very rare for a child to be released at the first hearing and after the reunion, she said she'd never seen anything like it....the bond they had.

It was so awesome to see the support we got from friends....dinners, baby clothes/gear...thanks guys! The kids did absolutely awesome....I'm so proud of them. Reggie was a little overwhelmed the first day and told us he was ready to go to school so he could have a break....according to him little ones are a lot of work. I think the constant noise was hard on all of us, but they adjusted and after awhile, we got kinda used to it. Ainsley was very motherly and got him to smile several times. He followed them around and they liked that too. Ryan almost got him to laugh this morning, but his happy moments were few and far between. Even the kids were happy that he was going to be with his mom again...they saw how sad he was. Ryan asked them tonight what they thought and if they would like to have another foster child and they said, "yes." Of course Reggie wanted an older boy that he could play with :o).

All in all, I think that most foster children are not like this little boy as most are neglected and don't have that strong determination to get home. Hopefully, timing will be a little better next time...Ryan was pretty jet-lagged and I was still recovering from his trip too (I don't think I posted that the night before Ryan came home, Reggie had a double ear infection and we were both up most of the night. He's NEVER had an ear infection before, so I took him in just because and the Dr.'s face said how bad it was). We'll just wait and see who God has next for us.....

Ryan Asia Post

Well, I wanted to give you all an update regarding my Asia trip.

Singapore – Started my trip in S’pore last Monday and it was more like a resort type city.. very clean and didn’t have the feel of Malaysia as the City had more high rises than Seattle and Portland combined. The building architecture was tremendous and one of the coolest buildings I have ever seen was in the heart of the city. It was a hotel/casino that had 3 high rise towers that were all connected with sky bridges. Then on the top they had build what looks like a cruise ship that spans across all of the towers. They charge the tourists $100 US to enter the monstrosity. The weather there was very hot (90’s) and the humidity was probably 80%+. I ate Asian Fusion while I was there which was a little tough/chewy and not very good. Didn’t realize how close it was to Australia (probably a 2-3 hour flight). The airport in S’pore was the best as all of the security is located at each and every gate. So you check in, and make your way to the gate without any delay. And then each gate has glass doors and windows that opens once your flight is ready to board. At this time you go through the security line. Pretty slick but I’m sure expensive to do.

Penang – Its about an hour flight from S’pore. I took a day trip to see customers (its kind of like a trip to Spokane). It’s amazing what a one hour flight can do to the scenery. Penang is what I would call “real living”. Very busy with people, but our Molex people were very willing to accommodate. The weather there was even hotter than S’pore and more humid. I was drenched all day and every time I would enter a building I would start freezing because of the air conditioning and wet clothes. I went across a bridge that connects the main land of Penang to the Island which was about 2.5-3 miles long. It was huge. I was glad to fly back to S’pore that night only to have Pigeon for dinner with my colleagues.

Hong Kong – I flew from S’pore to HK (3.5hour flight). I got to the airport and low and behold my driver was nowhere to be found. Then I called the Sheraton and they said my reservation had been cancelled. At that point I didn’t know where I was supposed to go. So I called our admin in HK and she explained that they put me in a different hotel. Nice if someone would tell me. After I found out where I was supposed to stay I went to the hotel counter at the airport and requested limo transport. They told me that they were backed up and I should take a cab. So I took a cab and all was good until I got dropped off at the hotel and was told by the hotel concierge that I was ripped off. Evidentially I paid the cabby double what I was supposed to. They told me I should call the police and report it but I was way too tired. Once checked in it was all good. I was upgraded to the lounge floor where they treat you like kings and the food is very western and very good. The next day I had meetings all day at HK Cisco and the day was a success. After that I was taken to a local place to get a suit. Needless to say I stood out like a tall fat white guy that was going to get ripped off. But what they didn’t know is that I was with my local posse. I (they) negotiated a wool suit for $185.00 custom fit. All I did is pick out my material and color and they made it in 2 days. When I showed back up they had another suit that just happened to fit the same as the other one. So I negotiated to buy it for around $80.00. So I got two suites for cheap, did I mention that their custom fit, pretty cool. Friday night I went out with my colleagues and we had some fun. New York on steroids is how I would describe HK. Light when it’s really dark and people everywhere. There are so many people, cars, buildings, etc… Then I was taken to the local market. I got a bunch of knick knacks for friends and family and had fun negotiating with the locals. Again I was with my local posse and had them translating for me.

Chengdu – took a flight from HK to Chengdu China Sunday morning and I’m now here for 2 days. I’m sure I will see some interesting local food. I’m going to walk through our plant there tomorrow which is 1 million square feet in size. The hotel is beautiful and probably the nicest one so far, right behind S’pore. After this I’m on my way to Shanghai to finish off my trip where I will look to buy movies, and more gadgets. I miss all of you and especially my babies (including my lovely wife and sweetheart) Hope everyone is doing well. Love ya..

Ryan is on a plane as I write…only 11 hours…finally!

Random post

Train ride to pick popcorn:Last Sunday, we headed down to Fremont to Ardenwood farms to pick some delicious popcorn. Our good friends, the Penner’s, were kind enough to share some popcorn with us last year and let us tag along for the picking this year. It was a pretty hot day, but we were able to find some shade thanks to the corn stalks. Ainsley was my little helper and Reggie had a bag of his own. We picked several ears and shucked them right there. A few had worms/bugs, but most were in pretty good shape. The bummer of it is that it has to dry for 6-8 weeks, so we won’t get to enjoy it right away. The kids had a ball hanging out with their friends and enjoying all the sights. They had all kinds of farm things going on…apple pressing, ice cream making, corn milling and many things we could sample :o).

So heavy Reggie couldn't lift the bag of corn:

Little inventor

Reggie’s little mind is always going, creating one thing or another, with paper, lego’s or whatever he can find. He prefers to build with wood, but that is too difficult for mom and dad. His room is filled with the clutter of all of his projects, but I thought his most recent was worthy of a picture….

Reggie’s ipod holder:Clowning around

I’ve been waking up the past two mornings to a couple of clowns wanting their costumes tied. I’m glad they have some time to play in the morning because with school and activities, it is hard for them to have much time together. For some reason they are thinking it is really fun to go outside at 7 in the morning and play in their playhouse. Keep in mind that the weather has really cooled down, so it is probably in the high 50’s. They had all summer to play out there and I think they only did a handful of times….go figure?

Athletic girl

Ainsley has been going to a new gymnastics place and she has been challenged a bit more than before, but is really picking it up quickly. Last week, I had one of the girls’ nannies ask me if I knew who the mother was of the little blond girl. She went on to say that she would be the next gold medalist and she loved coming just to see what Ainsley would do next :o). Too bad she really likes dance! We had her dance class today and she is so focused on getting in the right position and she just lights up when she is there. I’ll cross my fingers that she’ll like gymnastics that much some day, but if not it will be a good place for her to build muscle, flexibility and coordination for awhile.

"Flying" He bounces them up from lying flat on the tramp and then tosses them into the pit.

Video of the girls dancing at Ardenwood Farms: