Go Diego Go!

Makayla attended a Diego show today at the Nokia center. She started getting into Diego lately so we thought this would be fun for her and of course it was! It was about Diego and his buddy Jaguar and rescuing his Roar! Even his cousin Dora joined the show for a little bit too. It was pretty crowded but nothing like the Wiggles show which was her first experience at the Nokia center. We really enjoy taking her to these shows.

Our big girl before entering the show. Big smiles!

Roar! Makayla is hiding behind Jaguar's mask.

Cheesy pose in front of the sign.

Daddy & Makayla with their matching back packs! Too cute! She just got her "rescue" back pack from the show. It was too cute to pass up.

The Diego show family photo. Even Mylee joined us and was such a good girl! I think she slept pretty much the whole time, but luckily she's a little bit awake in this picture. This is the picture that was doctored up my one of friends to make our Hawaiian family blog logo. Amazing what Vandana did for us! Thank you so much for helping us make our blog even more unique and fun! You're the best!

Fair again.....

We had to come back to the fair again. The 1st time we went the other day we promised Makayla she could ride the elephant, but we missed it and they were closed so we told her we'd come back when the elephants were awake and not sleeping. Plus it just wasn't enough time to go for just a few hours after work like we use to when it was just me & Ry. So our cousins met up with us and all the girls had a lot of fun together. I hope I don't bore you too much with more fair pictures, but I have to post them for my own scrapbooking journal too.

The big elephant ride! That's Makayla in front with her cousin Alyssa and Alexis with her Daddy Alex behind them. The ride was super short. For $5 a person they got to go around just once. What a rip off but the whole fair is and we still come back.

Next was the petting zoo. For some reason Makayla was a lot more hesitant than Alexis to pet the animals. The two girls are just too cute holding each other.

My very 1st video post on my blog. Very exciting so hope you enjoy it! This slide wasn't as big as the one Makayla went on with Ry the other day but it was still good! Enjoy! She's on it with her cousin Alyssa again. And the Alexis is with her Mommy, Patty.

Next ride was the bee ride. I think this was the only thing she rode on with me. It's all about her cousins when they're around and who needs Mommy! "Tear".
Big roller coaster again with Alyssa in the front row. They rode this twice and again all the girls let go and had their arms in the air. Boy was I nervous again. Just didn't want any of them to fall out. These fair rides are a little scary since you just don't know how they're maintained.

Makayla & Alyssa being silly with the Australian battered potato bodies.

The big "Say Cheese" theme of the fair this year. The girls inside the camera.

She had to ride the ponies once again. Alexis joined her too.

Their last ride on the choo choo train to use up all their tickets. Say bye to the fair because we are absolutely not coming back again! Way too expensive and I think we've spent enough on the two days we went! Until next year I'm sure!

Swimming w/ Rachee

Makayla is waiting for Rachee to come swim with her. She just loves the pool this summer. Here she is all on her own with all her pool toys. I think that's one of Rachee's hand me down bikini's too. I didn't get a chance to get a picture of them together but they had a lot of fun together! Makayla hopes they can do some more pool time together this summer!

Thanks for coming to play at the pool with me Rachee! I had fun with you!

OC Fair - Say Cheese!

It's time for the OC Fair again. The theme this year is to "Say Cheese!" This is really a tradition for us. We go every year for a little bit on a weekday in the evening after work. But this year it seems to be a lot funner now that Makayla really understands what's going on....I think that means more rides & games which equal a lot more money is spent at these events! She's just getting so brave, when we got there she pointed at this giant slide and said she wanted to go on it. I couldn't believe it! It was huge! Super high up and I was scared for her. They stood in line and we weren't sure if she could go on since she was slightly shorter than the height limit but Ryan just held her and they let her on. Alan & Som also joined us this year.

They survived the big slide! I video taped it with our new camera but held it the wrong way so I couldn't show you. It was great with her tongue hanging out all the way down! So funny! I'll master the video thing one of these days to upload and show you all.

Boy oh boy is she a little daredevil. Next she wanted to ride the roller coaster. She even let go of her hands and put them up while on the ride. I hope Auntie Som held onto her tight! Made Mom real nervous, but she had a blast! We can't believe how expensive all these rides are costing. They've gone to a new card system where you add $$ to it and then it requires a certain number of points for each ride and boy are they high and it goes quick!

Som, Alan, Makayla, Daddy & that's Mylee sleeping in her stroller. Just hanging out on the hay having some popcorn. After we already had some roasted corn and shared an awesome blossom. Junk food here we come! Isn't that what the fair is all about? Then we don't feel good and wonder why?!

Makayla found a pony ride and this was a good one. It was a little pricey but they let her ride for almost 15 minutes or it felt like it anyways. She loved the pony ride and was smiling the whole time. And each round she passed by us she would wave every time!

Having another snack on our way out. These were Australian battered potatoes. Auntie Som loves potatoes and so does Makayla so they had to try it. It's yummy to dip with ranch and cheese. Good thing we did a lot of walking to work all this food off! Now to the shops and home! It's a late night for Auntie and Uncle since they wake up and go to work so early so I think we've kept them up enough for a week night.

Toys R Us Call Back!

Yay! Makayla got a call back from the Toys R Us audition the other day! This is very exciting for us! That' means they must have really liked her. Again, she had to go in all on her own and along with an Asian man & gal. We think it must be some sort of family scene they're looking for. It's supposedly for a commercial. Again it was quick, but this time it wasn't so crowded. Now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that she might get a gig. We'll see.....

Makayla going in with a nice lady, probably the casting director. Who knows, she's somebody that probably is making the decision, so smile Makayla!

M&M's Visit Dr. Linzey's Office

Today was my 6-week check up with Dr. Linzey after having Mylee. It's always great to visit his wonderful office! My check up went fine and everything seems to be healing on track. I'm almost 100% but not quite. Probably another 2% to go! But overall it's been an awesome recovery and I don't think I could ask for anything better! Mylee has been a wonderful and easy baby which has probably helped with my healing process. Of course I had to bring both girls and Daddy to visit Dr. Linzey or they would be mad! They always want to see the babies after birth and how they've grown.

Here's Mylee awake to pose for a picture with Dr. Linzey, the wonderful doc that delivered her!

And here's Caroline, Makayla's delivery nurse but not Mylee's since she was there but was the Nurse in charge so couldn't follow me through all of it but came in once Mylee arrived to give her a bath. We felt very special that she did that for us! She's just wonderful, but everyone at Dr. Linzey's office is! They have been a blessing to our family!

This is Joy, she's been my RN when I visit Dr. Linzey's office throughout my whole pregnancy with Mylee. She was there for me for part of Makayla's pregnancy but she was also pregnant at that time with twins and delivered before me so she was on leave towards the end and this time for Mylee she's been there for us the whole way. She's great too and her twin girls are very adorable and remind me of my girls! Too cute! Thanks Dr. Linzey's office for everything you've done for our family!

Yummy Crabs at Redondo Beach

Som had a great idea for us to head out to Redondo Beach one day to hang out at the pier and have some fresh steamed crab! We all haven't been there in years & years! I can't even remember when but once we arrived it all started looking familiar since my parents took us here when we were much, much younger. It was a special occasion too! We celebrated Grandpa Stan's birthday today! Any excuse to go out and eat with the family! It was a fabulous restaurant on the pier with a great view. All was really lit up and open with lots of windows with a nice ocean breeze! Always lots of fun! Makayla had a great time looking at all the fisherman catching fish and the crab & lobster tanks. She also chased a lot of pigeons on the pier too. And for Mylee, she pretty much just slept in her car seat and enjoyed the fresh air.

Grandparents with their bibs and crab crackers are all ready to dig in!

Makayla and Daddy getting ready to crack away too!

Makayla with Auntie Som & Uncle Alan.

Mmmmmmmm! Fresh steamed crab! That's a lot of crab! Can't wait to dig in! Looks messy and fun! We all had some appetizers beforehand too, some calamari, steamed shrimp, fish & chips and just seafood in general! All was great!

After lunch we had to walk it off around the pier. Here's Makayla trying to the seals way out in the ocean. Not sure she understood how to close one eye and keep the other one open to see through it, but we'll keep on practicing and I'm sure she'll get it one of these days!

Here's half of the family hanging out on the pier!

Alyssa's 11th Birthday

Alyssa's pool party was today to celebrate her 11th birthday! Makayla just gets so excited about birthday parties and especially this one because it's her cousin's and it's in the pool! Her two favorite things right now! Alyssa's mom, Patty had so many fun things planned for all her girlfriends. It was a super fun party filled with all kinds of events to keep all the kids occupied and happy! Total hit!

Makayla just chillin' in the super cute pink donut! She loved it and was so comfortable hanging in it all on her own.

It's arts and crafts time! Doesn't she look like a card dealer with her visor on? She's painting a canvas bag for all her goodies to take home from the party. What a fun idea!

It's cake time! All the girls are gathered to sing Happy Birthday to Alyssa!

Make a wish!

After cake, the kids got their party favors which included a little squirt gun. Boy did all the kids have fun chasing each other around and shooting water at each other.

Mak's 2nd Week of School

Here's our little ham on her 2nd week of school. It's red, white & blue week and we found this cute little outfit that was perfect! It must have been handed down from either Rachael or Mia! It's so cute! As you can tell she's super excited about school and is really looking forward to it when she has to go. Our little girl is just growing up way to fast!

Toys R Us Audition

Makayla had a Toy R Us audition today. It was first scheduled for a Mitsubishi audition but got cancelled last minute for some reason. We drove all the way out to Beverly Hills and once we got there, there were a ton of kids also waiting. She went in all on her own with a group of other kids. She was so brave and we were so proud of her! Shows us that she's super independent. Don't know if that's all a good thing or not but we kind of think so for this line of work. She's such a big girl! We've only had one other audition last year so this is still all real new to us and not something that comes up often. We'll see what happens! As far as we're concerned, she so stinkin' cute that they're nuts if she doesn't get the job but who knows what they're looking for....keep your fingers crossed for her! She'll be famous one of these days!

Our 6-year Wedding Anniversary

I can't believe it's been 6 years since we got married! It really does go by like a blink of an eye. Especially after starting a family! We got a chance to go out to dinner with just the two of us while Grandma & Grandpa watched the girls. It was such a nice treat to have a peaceful and enjoyable dinner without having to care for our girls! We went to Roy's in Anaheim. We love eating at Roy's and we were just there on Father's Day but they didn't have Ry's favorite dessert, Chocolate Souffle! Dinner was great and the service was wonderful as usual!

The waiter took a nice photo for us with our new camera from Alan & Som! We still can't believe they did that! Thanks guys! It was way too much!

Had to take a picture of Ry with the "LOVE" chipboard photo album that I made him. It's actually an album that just has pictures of us since we got married. It was lots of fun to go through all those old photos and to see all the good times we've had through the years.

This was a free dessert that they gave us. It was some sort of Haupia (coconut) dessert. I'm assuming those words are "Happy Anniversary" in Hawaiian. Pretty good!

Jared's 3rd Birthday

We drove all the way out to Sherman Oaks to help Jared celebrate his 3rd birthday. What a lucky guys! It was a hot day! His Mommy had prepared all kinds of fun things for us to do, which you'll see below.

Here I am decorating some homemade sugar cookie letters. I got a "M" & "A" for Makayla to decorate. We got frosting and all kinds of different sprinkles to use. Then afterwards, Michelle, Jared's Mommy gave me some homemade Play Doh to play with and take home. It was even scented with yummy cool aid smells. What an ambitious Mommy!

It was so hot and they had this mini pool in their yard. Makayla just loves the water so she started to get in with her new girlfriends but one thing she didn't have was a bathing suit and the other girls did since it was Jared's neighbors. Well, Makayla ended up in the pool with just her little undies. It was fun and cooled her down. Michelle ended up getting us a swim diaper so that Makayla could still put her dry clothes on after she was done. There was also a mini trampoline but for some reason Makayla didn't go on it. Maybe she was already trampolined out since we already had her MyGym class this morning before heading to the party. It's usually one of her favorites!

Here's another activity and finally a picture of Makayla and the birthday boy Jared. They're decorating picture frames together. This is Makayla's very first experience with glue. She did a good job. I think I only caught her trying to lick the glue off her fingers just once. It was a really cute idea. They had foam letters, shapes, feathers & bling to decorate with. What another fun project for the kiddos!

After all the playtime with celebrating Jared's birthday it's cake time! Or should we say mini cup cake time! Here's a pictures of the cute 3 tiered mini cup cake cake. What a cute idea! We might have to "Copy Cat" this one down the road. Thanks for the invite and including us in Jared's 3rd birthday!

4th of July

Happy 4th! We started off the morning bright and early and headed down on our bikes to check out the HB parade. Grandma & Grandpa Arakaki watched Mylee for us so we could take Makayla biking. We were going to take the wagon and take Mylee but it's just too hot and we really enjoy the biking part of 4th of July in HB and not so much the parade. It's great, they block off part of PCH so we can ride our bikes right in the middle of the streets and not have to worry about car traffic.

Makayla is all decked out in her red, white & blue and her new helmet. The one she wore last year no longer fits. Bummer! Let's go riding!

We parked the bikes for a bit to check out the start of the parade. We just all hung out and waited and people watched. It's a good time on Main Street. Uncle Alan, Auntie Som & Uncle Phil all joined us.

After biking for a few hours we all came home, rested and then had a family BBQ with all the grandparents. Good old cheeseburgers & hot dogs were a hit! Yum! Yum! after a day of biking. Our two little cuties in their red, white & blue! So cute!

Uncle Alan & Auntie Som got Makayla some sparklers to play with. They were so hard to light but as you can tell we finally got it. We all did it since Makayla was a little hesitant, but once she saw us she was finally okay with it. They sparkled a lot more than I had remembered since it's been a really, really long time that we've done fireworks. Plus they're not so legal in HB but we thought a few sparklers were no harm. But then Uncle got a few others that were supposedly small. We lit them in our fire pit and they were fine but there was one that was way bigger than we had expected. It had a lot of sparks and was really loud and then we were all over it. Too smokey!

Makayla with her very 1st sparkler! So brave! We had such a fun 4th!

Makayla's 1st Day of School

It's Makayla's 1st day of summer school. We got into a intro program for her potential school, on Mondays & Wednesdays from 3-4:30pm. It's the perfect little school since it's really walking distance from our house and has been highly recommended. It's a horrible time since that's really during Makayla's nap time but it was going to give her more priority to get into school in the fall since we're still on the waiting list. We thought it would be worth it for an 8 week class. She was all ready to go to school and was really excited. We've been talking about it a lot so I think she was really well prepared and kind of knew what was going on. I'm so proud of my little girl!

She even posed so nicely before entering in. The board just tells us what's going on this week and if there are any events. She has her little baggie of snacks and extra clothes just in case. It was a pretty easy good bye. She was slightly sad that I was leaving but no tears at all. There were a few others that were not so happy and crying but my big girl seemed to be just fine. So sad for me.

When I arrived to pick her up, as you can tell she was pretty cozy with one of her teachers Miss. Cassie. I can't believe she was sitting on her lap. They were singing songs together in a circle. Miss. Cassie said she was a good girl on her 1st day! Yay!

We're ready to go home now and they gave us a nice white bucket with Makayla's name on it. She's suppose to bring this to school everyday with her stuff in it. Extra clothes, food, sunscreen and whatever else I think she needs but that's basically it. Then if they have any paperwork or their projects are put in this bucket and taken home everyday. It's plain white an boring but that will change real quickly! Can't wait to help her decorate it and personalize it!

Makayla and her girlfriends, Jordan and Izzie on their 1st day of school. School buddies already! Too much fun!