Random Brain Dump

I’m normally up with the kids in the morning, and so I usually get the task of getting the kids ready. When it comes to doing their hair, they usually tell me how to do their hair– be it just brushing, a simple pony tail or “funny hair” as Katelyn calls it (pig-tails). My aunt who takes care of the kids sometime braid their hair for school.

So as of late, Allison prefers her hair braided. This is a problem for me because Allison’s hair is very thin (as is everything else with her). Last but not least, braiding is always challenging for my big fat fingers. My attempts always end up looking a bit weird. 🙁

Yesterday morning, again Allison asked her hair to be braided. Uh oh… I tried to talk her out of it. “Are you sure Allison? Wouldn’t you like funny hair?” I asked, hoping for a nod. But no luck– she insisted braiding. So I finally pleaded to her: “sorry Allison, Daddy is not good at braiding your hair. I can’t do it.”

To that, Allison replied:

“But daddy, you try your best okay?”

Ouch, “use that one back at me won’t you” I thought. Can’t say no to that! So Allison patiently waited as my fat fingers going through her hair. When I was done, sure enough, her braid looked weird as pictured above! But Allison didn’t care, she happily trotted off to show off her braided hair to her sister and her mom.

Recognizing I need help, I google’d around for instructions. Here’s illustrated instructions I you’re braiding-challenged like me.

KTEH started running a pledge drive this past week. On Saturday evening, the station aired a concert by Celtic Woman, a group of 5 lovely Irish women artists with amazing talents. Suzanne tuned in and an unexpected thing happened. We left the TV on and when we returned a bit later we discovered Allison sat quietly on the couch intently watching the concert– I’ve never seen her watching with such concentration. When I tried to change the channel, she made me turned it right back. She told us that she liked the music.

Her favorite seemed to be Máiréad who’s petite (perhaps that’s why Allison took a liking?) & plays a fiddle.

Suzanne got her hair permed this past weekend. When she got home, the kids took notice immediately. Allison wanted to touch her mommy’s hair and since it was lavishly hair-sprayed, she said “your new hair is crunchy.” Earlier this evening, after she again commented on her mommy’s crunchy hair, Suzanne corrected her that her hair is wavy, not crunchy. Allison paused and then wave her hand and said “you mean your hair likes to say bye bye like this?”

Last nite, the girls discovered one of the beta fish had died. After Suzanne helped the kids flushed the fish down the toilet and after saying goodbye, Katelyn just cried her heart out. I haven’t seen her cry this uncontrollably often: “Daddy, fhe fish is gone! we flushed him down the toilet and now he’s gone… I want him to come back.” After calming her down and telling her that her fish won’t come back again, she became distraught that we flush him down the toilet. She didn’t like the idea her fish will be among the you-know-what. Allison was distraught as well, but not nearly as Katelyn’s display. I tried to draw a lesson for the kids and told them that they’ll have to take good care of the remaining fish. Hopefully, it wasn’t too much of a guilt trip on the girls.

I guess the parents also learned a lesson: we’ll have to bury the next fish instead of flushing.

We attended a Halloween party @ The Javinens this past weekend. Suzanne donned a Cleopatra outfit & I dressed up as a Karate guy. Katelyn was Snow White and Allison as a cute bumble bee. It was fun: food, drinks, and conversations with friends. The kids also had fun with games & stuffs…

Here are some of shots…

Looks like the hottest toy heading into this xmas season is TMX Elmo. It’s basically another tickle me Elmo, but this one has some pretty “extreme” motion– complete movement from standing to rolling on the floor & getting back on its feet. Check out the video here.

Alright, I’ll bite & get on the bandwagon. I am going to get it for Allison’s birthday next month. I can’t wait to see her face when she gets it. Now, if only I am able to track it down. It’s sold out every online & local retailers I can find.

And I’m not shelling out $200 for it on eBay (that’s the going rate!).

Our kids had a blast of a weekend, full of birthday parties. We took them to our friend Sandra & Brad’s party for their daughter Emily. Being My Little Pony themed, the kids got to wear cowgirl hats and ride a beautilful pony. Even Allison braved the crowd and took her ride without her parents’ help. Then on Sunday, the kids attended their cousin Malia’s birthday party when they were entertained by a magician.

Suzanne & I had fun just watching them and we also got to hang out with some of our friends. I also got to shoot a lot of pictures. Shooting kids on sugar high constantly running around is always challenging. And tiring… 🙂 But the shutter bug in me had fun nevertheless!

We spend this past labor day weekend houseboating with a bunch of family/friends at New Melones Lake. It was our first time houseboating. We spend the weekend eating, drinking, hot-tubbing, fishing, swimming and jet-skiing. The best part was sleeping under the open sky filled with stars and the beautiful moon. Surprisingly, I didn’t snap many pictures. Guess I was too busy having fun…

One funny incident involved my horrible navigation skill. One the morning, after we picked up the rest of the passengers. When we head out, I figured to hug the shorelines and go straight, figuring it’s a simple matter getting back the marina. Anyhow, we had various different people skippering the boat throughout the day and somehow we circled back and saw the same marina we departed from earlier in the day. Well, silly me. I figured that was a second marina. The next morning, when we head back to pick up the waverunner & refuel, I told Doc’s brother who was skippering the boat that morning to ignore the 1st marina and look for the 2nd marina. Needless to say, we wasted an hour or two wandering aimlessly. We had to stop and ask other boaters about this 2nd phantom marina! Of course, they thought we were out of our mind and told us that there’s only 1 marina on the lake. Normally, I’m pretty good with directions, but boy did I feel silly that morning. 🙂

Here are some of the shots from the trips…

This past weekend, our family went down to LA. While we were there, we took the kids to Pharoah’s Lost Kingdom in Redlands. The place is a huge: rides, miniture golf, games and a water park. It was a hot afternoon, so the kids spent all the time in the kiddie pools. Katelyn & Andre were hitting the water slides non-stop, while the younger kids, Allison & Justine, spent most their time in the wading pool & float around the lazy river.

Of course, I brought my camera and spent most my time snapping shots. I was a bit nervous with all the kids splashing water all around, but in the end I managed to keep my camera dry.

Grandma getting cooled with Justine

Here’re a few of the shots.