Eric's Tokyo Pics

More Tokyo Pics

What a weekend !!

Friday I got a wild hair and decided to start painting a project I have had in the works for a long time. I painted my front door, stair railings, house numbers and the garage door. I thought (like I always do) that I could get it done in no time. It took forever and almost 24 hours for the front door to totally dry. It still needs another coat but I think it turned out great. I hope Eric likes it. I also tore down the wallpaper in the kitchen to kick start our efforts in that room as well. I have been watching way too many home improvement shows. But it will be so nice when it is done. (Does it ever get done?)

Sierra had a dance competition yesterday and they kicked some major butt. They took first in everything! They even scored a trophy for best routine of the day- out of about 300 routines. Needless to say it way a very long day, but we had a fun time. We have been trying to get the digital video from my mom and dads camera to a DVD or something. So as soon as our three brains can figure out how to make it work I will post the video. I think if I hijack the camera I can probably figure it out- but we will see.

Eric is on his way home tonight. Finally! It seems like he has been gone for a month. I forget how much he does for our family until he is out of the picture and I am left juggling everything. He is so underappreciated. He deserves a big medal and a parade when he gets home. We love you daddy. Hurry home to us!

Tokyo Day 3

Today the fun begins. At 10:00am we will be picked up to go to a lunchen with Golden Gate Capital and some high level distributors. After that it is back to the hotel to change into the Tux and back to a dinner party. I really wont' be doing much but smiling.

Let me tell you about dinner last night. One of our former co-workers from Unicity met up with us for dinner. He took us to a Korean BBQ. WOW!!!!! best food on the planet. Pricey but fantastic. We talked about the old days, laughed a lot, and I got to hear stories about Preston- my boss. Dirt on the boss is always a good thing.

My meeting went okay yesterday. I am not sure if we will do business with them. The filter they have isn't as great we hoped. I could tell my boss was not impressed and I felt like it was a waste of time and money having me here. One the up side we found out more in 2 hours than we have in 2 months of trading emails. So I guess that is something.

I need to get moving but just thought I would give an update.

Justice got Promoted!!

Today at Tae Kwon Do Justice's teacher pulled me aside and asked if he could put him in the intermediate level. He said Justice is really on the ball and is on the level of most of his 10 year olds. Wow- that really surprised me. So he is the same belt color- but will be learning much more quickly in his new classes. Justice is quite proud of himself. Let's hope this move is a good thing. He is really loving it.

We went and bought Tana baseball pants, cleats, and socks. She put her uniform on to make sure everything fits. She looks adorable. I wish I had the camera to take a pic, but Eric has it in Tokyo. She is learning a lot and did great at her first two games. She has another game tomorrow and one on Saturday. They named their team the Blue Dolphins-ahhh. They have a million cheers. It is a pretty fun group and Tana is really enjoying it.

Sierra and I, and the other head cheerleader and her mom have been busy making plans for next year. We are hoping that the girls will have a lot more fun this year and a lot less fighting. So we are having our opening social tomorrow- we are taking them swimming. Hopefully this will get things off on the right foot.

Catch ya later!

Tokyo Day 2 part one

Good morning from Tokyo. It is about 9:20am and I have been up since 4:15am when ths boss called and said "are you up?". It has been a great day so far. Went to breakfast and I must say McDonalds here is amazing. The food actually looks like the picture. It is worth having. After breakfast I stopped at the local Starbucks and had a small carmel something. It was good. I just sat there and watched the city wake up. With every minute more and more people were gathering at the stop lights and the traffic picked up. It is cool and there is a light rain in the air. I sat there and contemplated life.

Speaking of life, as I crossed the street this morning something hit me pretty hard. I was right in the middle of the street with tall buildings all around and cars and people every where. The thought that came to me was centered around blessings. How many people can say they have experienced Tokyo. Because of where I work almost everybody has been here but outside of work how many people do I know have been to Tokyo or outside of the US for that matter. I think I can count on my hands how many people I know that have been to Asia.

I started thinking about family, friends, work, home and spirituality. I have so many blessings and yet sometimes I forget to take inventory of how good I really have it. I am so thankful for all that I have, my family, health, talents, connection with spirit, friends, a warm home, cars, plenty of food, a good job that supports a good lifestyle and so much more. Everyday is truly a gift and should not be squandered.

For some reason my computer won't open the memory card from the camera So I can't post pictures yet. I will keep trying. I will post anotehr update after my meeting.

Tokyo day 1

Well I made it. After about 10 hours at 550mph I arrived in Tokyo. I miss the wife and kids already. The flight was good but when the pilot comes on and says "we are experiencing some light chop" I wonder what his definition of "light chop" is. Overall it was a good flight. When we landed and made it through customs and immigration we decided to take a bus to the hotel. So after another 1.5 hours on a bus we arrived at the Tokyo Dome Hotel. I know sounds great right. Maybe I have been spoiled by some of the places I have stayed but my room is the smallest I have ever had. I believe my office at work is bigger. Again, I guess I should just be grateful that I get to travel.

I don't have much more to report at this time but will write more tomorrow after my meeting.

Here we Go!!

I don't know what I was thinking. I have overloaded my schedule- but the kids are all happy and busy. We just signed Montana up for softball. She has never played before, not even t-ball, but she got interested in it somehow and begged to do it. So now we have two or three activities everyday and I am shuffling everything around. I have become Mom's Taxi Service. If I just charge .50 cents a mile- I might actually be able to pay for the gas!! Sierra now has Cheer, Dance Co., Stars Classes, and her Solo. Montana has Art, Softball practice, and Games twice a week. Justice has Tae Kwon Do three days a week. I was having a panic attack last night- but we can do it. I just want the kids to be away from the TV, the computer, the phone, and doing something constructive. Mission Accomplished.

Yesterday Montana had her first softball practice. It was a big learning day for her. The other girls on her team have played for years and are pretty good. Tana hit the ball and got to second base- she had the biggest smile on her face. After she got her mitt on the right hand (hee hee)they practiced throwing the ball and catching with a partner- that needs practice but she didn't do too bad. She has a double header game today. I am super nervous for her- but I know she will have a good time.

On the schedule today: Sierra- Dance, Justice- Tae Kwon Do, Montana- Games, Mom- Long Bubble Bath and aspirin.

Yay Sierra!!!

We finally have the results of the Cheer Audition for Sierra. She made the team and was selected as the Co-Head Cheerleader. This is what she campaigned for so she is super excited. There was a luncheon in the school library today to privately announce who made Cheer and SBO. Then they had an assembly to announce it to the school. It was pretty fun. Sierra was bawling. She is excited but sad to see some of her old team mates move on to High School. Now they have a dinner tonight to celebrate and a candlelight ceremony after at one of the girls homes. Whew- I'm glad I won't be there for that. It will be a tear fest I am sure. Way to go sis!

Little Austin

We traveled up to Blackfoot Idaho this weekend to see my cousin Aaron baptise his first baby. Little Austin Aaron McLaughlan. He was darling and Aaron did a great job. Austin wore the same blessing outfit that Aaron wore when he was a baby. That was sweet. Aaron also completely remodeled an old house they bought and was showing it off to us. Jealous!!! It was fantastic from top to bottom. He is so talented and Misty has it decorated so cute. Montana and Justice had a blast playing with kids their age. Aunt Jan invited them up for a weekend this summer to hang out there. They were super excited because of the cousins -the pool- the golf cart- the toys- etc, etc, etc. We will see what we can work out. The weather was beautiful and we sat outside with the family and had a great time chit chatting and catching up. We are all a bit sunburned. I had a really special feeling there today. A warm feeling that things were right in the world. I hope that lasts through the week. It put a big smile on my face. I love my family!

JD advanced a belt

Last week JD after less than one month of Tae Kwon Do lessons was invited to take a belt test. Honey and I watched as he was tested by a black belt. It was very exciting. After all the students were tested the class was dismissed and were told test results would be posted on Monday. So on Monday Honey took JD down to the studio to check the results. Guess what, he passed.

Yesterday, before class started, JD was given his new Gup rank belt. It is white with an orange stripe. Gup means junior. So he started learning "forms". Forms are a series of movements blocks, punches and that kind of stuff. He was so sharp. JD is really into it. I am very proud of him. Now if we could just get him to do his chores at home!!!!

Vocab in our Home

Here are some of the funny things my kids are saying nowadays

Justice-
Rub a Dub, Thanks for the grub, Yeah God! (Thanks Eric) /Toofbrush /backypacky /8:00 (He reads it as Eighty O Clock) /Can I play a dot com (computer game)? /Melon (head) /Booty /
Pectorials

Montana-
Callapitter /She calls dandelions daisies. /Shake that Thang, Shake that Thang /DDD (for DVD) /Mommy, you're skinny- you just have all that fat on top :-) /Lookin for cuties (boys) /
Dad, I need money in hand /Flop Flops

Sierra-
K, so....... /LOL (her favorite expression) /She thinks it's ok to swear just by saying the first letter of the word and nothing else, as it is not REALLY swearing ???? /Boyfriend-Girlfriend with out the title (Long story short- kissing buddies with no commitment) /Hang or Chill /
I'm having such a bad hair day (Although she never does!) /Oh Mylanta /Bestie (Best Friend)

Grama Dodie

Most of you know my Grama Dodie. She is such a character. Justice and I took her to a doctors appointment today and to lunch afterward. As you get older your body just falls apart- Mine is already a mess- I don't even want to think about what it will be like when I am 78. For the most part she is very healthy, but her poor body just doesn't want to co-operate anymore. She has doctor appointments very frequently now- but most of them can't seem to do anything to help. She hates to take pills and that is something that is frustrating. If she would just take them- she would feel so much better. But they make her nauseous and so she doesn't see the benefit. Ugh!! Every time I see her now- I get one of those stories that are just a gem. She was telling me about how my Uncle Danny got his name (a story I had not heard before), and also about her mom (my Great Grama Hilla) and her battles with growing old. You just don't know how hard things can be until you have walked in their shoes. She is starting to understand why her mom was at war with her insurance company/the govt all the time, and why getting her out of the house required an act of Congress to accomplish. We talked about broken dreams, broken hearts, regretting things we say- but not until you are much older, and we laughed a lot. I hope I can grow into a woman whose kids and grandkids will love and respect me as much as I do my grandma. She is an amazing person with a heart as big as the moon. Love ya grams.

Good News!

Sierra's busy week turned into good news. She was picked to be on her school's Dance Company and is very excited about it. Now Cheer try-outs continue next week. They don't have to campaign this year- it is strictly an audition. I am hoping someone smaller than her will make the team so that they can quit throwing her around :-p We will keep you updated.

She also had her first dance competition of the season today. It is always hectic getting all the costumes to fit, the last minute preparations, the nerves. But they did a fantastic job. Her team took first place in Show & Jazz, and second place in Lyrical. There routines are so amazing this year. I will try to post video of them after the next competition. I really wanted to just watch today, as I haven't really seen the finished dances yet. She won't compete her solo routine until next month. I absolutely love just showing up to watch her dance! Not being in charge of anything is so nice. No scenery to haul around, no music to prepare, no parents calling at all hours, etc. etc. etc. But I do miss the old dance studio days. Seeing all this awesome choreography and the fun costumes and creative staging- it really gives me the itch to work something up. At least in my mind.

Here's a cute pic of little Sierra when the studio was auditioning to be entertainment for the 02 Olympics. She is #3854. Wow time flies!

Bofera's Busy Life

Bofera (as we love to call her) is having a very busy week. She has something going on everyday this week from 6:30am-9:30 pm. She is trying out for Dance Co. and Cheer at School, has rehearsals for her dance studio & solo rehearsal, and a dance competition this weekend. Plus school, homework, and trying to squeeze in meals and sleeptime. She never complains- she loves it! We worry about her but she always amazes us with her stamina and love of life.

Good Luck this week sweetpea!!