Uwajimaya Treats for Lunch

A few nights ago, we had the pleasure of meeting some friends for dinner in the International District. We had Cantonese food and it was DELISH. We don't go out to eat very often, so it was a welcome treat to spend the evening eating good food with great company.

We were trying to get a good parking spot, and couldn't find one very close to the restaurant, so we decided to park at Uwajimaya, which is this awesome Asian grocery store. You get 2 hours of parking for free if you buy $15 worth of groceries. It's a good deal, considering if you pay to park you get nothing but...a parking spot.

So, after dinner, we went to select some fun things from the market. Of course, we had so much fun looking for things to buy, we ended up exceeding the 2 hour limit - so we got to pay $7.50 for parking and $15 for groceries. I guess it was kind of an expensive parking spot, afterall!

Yesterday for lunch, Sawyer and I dug into the goods...

Good stuff! I was especially excited about the big "bubble" colorful tapioca beads we got. I cooked them then tossed in a little honey and Sawyer loved it. It made me crave BubbleTea, which we haven't had since June. Oh how I LOVE BubbleTea! (it's really not like tea at all for those who haven't tried it - more like a fresh fruity smoothie! the big tapioca beads are considered the "bubbles")

Anyway, here is Tysha signing off on another kind of random post. But good stuff! If you live near a Uwajiaya - go check it out!!! (just keep an eye on your watch so you don't pay too much for parking!)

PS - The RED BEAN MOCHI ICE CREAM IS TO DIE FOR!!!

PSS - We also got a HUGE bag of brown rice to put in our food storage - not just all sweets! :)

Bedtime Rituals

I was "rummaging" through some photos during nap time and found these that I never posted. This was several weeks ago, when the sun still made their room like daylight around bedtime (our kids go to bed on the late side...usually around 9pm for Sawyer, and Aspen will easily hang out another couple of hours after he goes to bed to get her one-on-one-I-can-get-into-any-of-my-brothers-toys-and-he-won't-take-it-away-or-scream-"MINE"-in-my-face-not-to-mention-one-on-one-time-with-mom-and-dad time. (whew that was long!)

I love this.

and this, too.

The fun we have at bedtime. Our bedtime routine stretches out easily for an hour or so. We all enjoy this time of day as we get ready for bed and unwind a bit. Mom and Dad aren't distracted by other things and we spend some quality time just playing together - bathing the kids, running and jumping around, tickling, giggling, flying, dancing, chasing, brushing teeth, reading, more reading, praying, hugging, kissing, and singing together.

A few things I would like to remember about our bedtime rituals NOW:

-Sawyer LOVES "reading" the encyclopedia for bedtime stories. He knows which ones he likes best, too: (A - lots of animals, automobiles, and airplanes and T - trains galore. He also enjoys the place one about Europe. Not exactly sure why?) It's pretty funny to see him bouncing up and down "up there, let's read "pedias"!!!"

-Aspen also loves books. But while Sawyer, from the day he was born, was a lover reading books - even long books, Aspen is a lover of eating them. This girl loves to stick everything and anything in her mouth and if we're not careful she'll get the boardbooks all soggy and start in on the paper pulp. Yikes. I guess she does like to feast upon words! She also really enjoys sitting next to her brother while listening to stories and likes to pat the pictures these days.

-Prayers. Of course the prayers of small children are always a delight and sometimes bring a smirk to parents faces. Or else melt our hearts! I love to hear the things Sawyer is thankful for - the Zoo is one of the things he is most thankful for!

-Songs. Sawyer is ALL boy. ALL BOY! He requests that we turn every single song into a song about race cars or tractors or semi trucks or trains. We have revised "The Wheels on the Bus" to be "The Wheels on the Race Car" (go vroom vroom vroom) and "Old MacDonald had a Farm" to "Old MacDonald had a...fill in your vehicle (train=choo choo, race car=vroom vroom, truck=honk honk honk - you get the idea). Anyway. Hilarious.

"FEEL." We don't even remember when this started, and we never called it "feel" but sometimes one of us will linger and pat or rub Sawyer's back for a couple minutes after we turn the lights out. If we start to walk away, he often requests "feel, feel" which means he wants a pat or a stroke on his back or across his forehead. While we always have things to do once our son is finally in bed, we never regret turning around for a minute or two to softly stroke his little head, or pat his little frame. We just love him like crazy. Often - well, every night at least once or twice before I go to bed, I go in to check on him. To kiss his little head. To hold his little hand. I know, I'm just about as bad as that Mom in "I'll Love You Forever" but another mother wrote that book and she knows what mother's do. Sometimes it's hard to believe that as he is growing older, so am I. I tell him often how much I love him. I hope he always remembers.

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These photos are from last night at bath time. It's really fun now that Aspen sits and crawls. She now gets to join her older bro for bath time, and she loves it! Of course, now his audience has also increased so when he splashes he gets even more giggles...except for when I snuck the camera in for 2 seconds and stood, straddled, above them with my *new baby* (we call her "Annie")....my very expensive new baby...and Daddy luckily warned me about the splashing before it was too late for Annie (this baby will never be joining in on the splashes and fun of bath time - or so I hope!)

Anyway, fun times happening around here. I love bath time - fresh-scented babies and then yummy lotion (I use the old fashioned pink stuff) and fresh pjs before bedtime stories. LOVE IT! As much as I love newborns and my heart sinks a little seeing my babies grow so fast, I must admit each new stage brings even more fun and adventure!

Oh the joys of bath and bedtime!

PS-Happy 7 months today, Aspen!

*Annie is my new Camera. We saved for her a good year, and - I really do need to add her to our homeowners insurance or something!*

You'd think it was Chocolate...

You would seriously think this was chocolate, the way she went at it. But it wasn't. It was prunes. I guess she loves prunes? I don't mind that she loved them...but I am not looking forward to the post-processing part of the deal. Silly girl!

Happy Star-Spangled Sabbath!

Today is Independence Day, my very favorite holiday! I was a tiny bit bummed out that we didn't get to go to Oregon to celebrate with my family, as was originally planned (but after spending 10 days there and missed work, we couldn't do another trip)...but then I decided to just enjoy it! So that's what we're doing!

I love that Sawyer got this festive lei from his nursery teachers...and that he didn't mind that Aspen and I have been taking turns wearing it since we got home.

I also love that a sister from our church asked me to translate so she could share her testimony with the women's group of our church (aka The Relief Society). She has been in this country for 8 years. We have quite a few immigrants in our congregation, many of which speak Spanish. It is a blessing to me to converse with them, even though my Spanish might be a little rusty from time to time. They truly understand and appreciate the liberties we often take for granted as citizens of this country.

I am proud of my brother-in-law, Taylor, who is serving our country at this moment. And for the patience and faith of my sister, his wife, for supporting him at a time that surely isn't easy to have to fly solo so often (they have a 2.5 year old and another baby girl due next month). South Korea will be lucky to have you...for a short time. And I promise, Kaitlin, you'll grow to love your family and your country in a way you never thought possible as you live among and learn to love a country and it's people who are foreign to you.

And here is my little firecracker...resting up for the festivities to follow this afternoon and evening. I think I may just go grab a little nap myself...and then enjoy the good friends, good food, good times, and AMAZING fireworks that follow!

Happy Independence Day!

Old Things

While in Oregon, I had some time to think about a lot of things. One thing I couldn't help but think about was "old things" as the kids and I explored Grammie and Grandpa's house and found many treasures. If you know me, you know I am a minimalist. I tend to lean toward more modern and contemporary, with as little clutter as I can muster in a household with two small children. My kids don't even have very many toys - only enough to fit on one small bookshelf in their room and in a basket in our main living area. But that doesn't mean I don't have some room for a few sentimental pieces, as well.

I found this quilt that my Great-grandmother made for my mother when she was a baby. It is perfect. Just perfect. I have been keeping my eye on quilts that I like - I am not a huge fan of quilts in general - but this one was simply perfect. The right colors. The right mood. Simple. Hand-stitched. Worn, and not too thick. I decided this is the quilt I would like to replicate. Well, someday, anyway...

I also went looking around in my parents huge garage and found this cradle that my Great Uncle Ed made for me when I was a little girl. I loved it then, to cradle my "babies" (who, by the way, were real, and if you called them dolls I would correct you). But now, I love it even more. It reminds me of him, and of my childhood. Of my world.

So, I put two very old, great things made by the handiwork of two great people, together with something rather new - my daughter. I wrapped her in the quilt in the cradle and there she was: perfect.

If I could steal that quilt, I would. If I had a bigger car, I would bring that cradle home. Lucky me, though, I get to have the real baby every day.

I do love old things like these.

What kind of old things do you treasure? Please, drop a note and share :)

PS - Happy 5 months today, Aspen!