The girls in their Christmas dresses

Sion and Hana in their Christmas dresses. We tried to get a cuter picture of Hana, but she wouldn't stand still (it's too much fun walking, I guess).

Save me from the demon!

Mommy! Save me from the demon dog!!!!

The end of a perfect season...

Tate finished a perfect season of soccer (0-12). He had a great time. He is pretty sad that he doesn't have anymore practice.

Tate running through the tunnel after his last game.



Alex, Tate and Hunter (The Three Stooges: they never paid attention to the coach - luckily Alex was the coach's kid, so I don't feel too bad).



Tate getting his medal and pictures from one of his coaches at the post-season pizza party.



All in all it was a good experience and we finally got the "soccer mom" usage out of the minivan.

Hana is walking

Hana went from her first step before Thanksgiving to walking across the room on the 2nd of December. Sion won't be far behind.

New Identity Theft Prevention Method

We have discovered a new way to prevent Identity Theft. Until now, we have been using a crosscut shredder, which chops things up into tiny little bits. Now we are using a two-way "chew and slobber" shredder (Patent Pending - not really). Not only is the information on the paper unrecognizable, it is also way too disgusting for any identity thief to want to touch. I feel safe, and the girls are earning their room and board. Perfect!

The last two and a half months....

OK, here we go with the last two and a half months..... Take a deep breath.

Tate is playing (?) soccer on the "Rangers." He likes it but I don't see a MLS contract in his future. Hana and Sion are still working on their "Manipulate Momma" face. They are getting pretty good.



In October, we were able to visit Grandma and Grandpa and let them be manipulated by the babies for a while.



Caroline got to change her first dirty diaper. Thanks to Hana for providing the opportunity. Caroline loved it. Don't worry we'll get you some more when we come down for Thanksgiving.



After the visit to Taft, we hit Legoland. Tate loves Legos and had a great time. I enjoyed the Iwo Jima Memorial. It was only about 8 inches high.





Sion and Hana are getting good at waking each other up from naps and rearranging the toy shelf.



Tate is going to pre-school and enjoyed their "Fall Festival." I hate political correctness.



Halloween was a good time. Tate drew the Jack O'Lantern's face and then helped me cut it out. Tate was Obi Wan Kenobee (sp?), Sion and Hana dressed appropriately for the "Trunk or Treat."



Hana and Sion in their Marine Princess dresses and everyone dressed up for College Football Saturday.




That is about all we have had time to capture on film for the last few months. Hopefully, we can keep up with the happenings a little more regularly.

Labor Day pool fun

This Labor Day, we had a little fun in the pool. Tate was enjoying himself, for those of you that are wondering. He asked me to do this a few times for him, after he saw another kid doing it. Tate swims like a fish now. He loves to be in the water and we have to force him to get out when he turns blue and can't stop shivering.

Launch Phase



Rotation Phase



Landing Checks



Reentry Phase

Catching Up

Well, August was busy. Here is the update

Both girls cut their first two teeth. Both have their two bottom front teeth now.

Both girls are crawling.

Hana is sitting up and trying to stand up already. I think she'll be walking by Thanksgiving. I don't know whether to be afraid or excited or both.

Sachiyo finished her last Master's class. Individual and Corporate Income Tax. Yuck! If you THINK the tax system is messed up, try studying it for a couple of months. Then you will KNOW it is messed up. She got an A (of course).

I got qualified as a Night Systems, Search and Rescue Instructor (that means I get to work a lot more nights).

I attended a Inland SAR planning Conference in Boise for a week and enjoyed hanging out with Ted. Boise is much more pleasant than Yuma in the summer.

Both computers crashed again....at the same time....the week of Sachiyo's final. Mr. Murphy, if I ever find you....

I have spent a lot of time prepping for his law school applications, which become available in September. I just wish I knew where I was going to apply to. The list keeps changing every few days. I'll let you all know in a few months which school actually accept me. Right now, most of my time is being spent on my personal statement, which for most schools, usually consists of the answer to the following prompt: Tell us something about you that we couldn't tell from the rest of your application. Sounds simple enough except that the personal statement is usually weighted the same as your GPA and your LSAT (Law School Admissions Test) and is considered the "make or break" portion of your application. No pressure. I think that I have rewritten, scrapped, restarted, scrapped, rewritten, etc about 30 times so far and I still don't like it. Good thing I don't have to send them in for a month or so.


OK enough writing, here are the pictures that most of you come here to see:

Sion in the foreground, Hana behind.



Feeding two at a time gets busy. They are starting to feed themselves crackers and such



Tate enjoys building tree houses (prisons) for his sisters.



Part of the prison literacy program?



Sion pauses her destruction of the house for a Photo Op



Sion says, "Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for the seat!"

Jesus can't swim?

The combination of Tate learning to swim and his friend's baptism the other day may be to blame, but this morning we heard Tate singing to himself:

"Jesus can't swim. That's why John the Baptist had to hold him in the water......."

What do you say to that?

First solid foods

Well, the girls ate their first solid foods Sunday. They both did very well...I only had to put each mouthful in about 20-30 times. That's good right?

Sion first....Before and After.


Sion wanted to play with the spoon and since she did so well I let her. This is the same spoon my mom fed me with.


Hana next. She did well, but enjoyed blowing bubbles in her food rather than eating it. Before and after.


She saw Sion playing with the spoon and had to try, too.



That afternoon, we went to the local park for some relaxation. It was only about 103 out, so it felt rather cool.






The end of a long day. I love this family.

4th of July

As we gathered at our friend's house to celebrate the 4th and the great blessing we have to live in this country, we thought of family and friends. We also thought of those who were away from family and friends, fighting to keep this country great and to give the same opportunities to others that so many of us take for granted. I would ask that we all try to remember the opportunities we take for granted and how we might, in the future, take those opportunities and make this world a better place.

Now for the cute kids...


Sion and Hana looking cute in their 4th of July, patriotic headbands made by their mom.



Us imposing on the Rodgerson's hospitality......again. Thanks guys.



Ted got Tate some weird shark pool gear that Tate enjoyed. He also tested it to see if it would stay on while jumping off the diving board. Tate told me that he didn't want any help today so he and his waterwings spent a few hours enjoying the pool. He only "almost" drown once, so I think things went well.



Everyone had a great time.