On Ryan's side of the family, the kids have 2nd cousins that are real rock stars. Not the music kind, but the scaling rock walls kind. Their 2nd cousins, Elizabeth and Emily, compete regionally and nationally in bouldering and lead climbing. So, that makes them absolutely rock stars. Western Regionals were held in our area this year, so the family went to watch the cousins during qualifiers. This was sometime Jan this year.
The competitors have 4 problems to climb, with each climb having 4-5? minutes to complete their climb. They are judged and given points for various things... a flash (complete route on first try), a top (complete route, but takes more than one try), points for highest hold reached, etc. And the climbers sit with their backs to the route while other climbers climb. This way they don't get to see the route or beta beforehand.
Liz.
Emily.
These competitions are interesting. The routes, the way it is scored... it's like a whole different aspect of climbing than I am used to. Outdoors used to be the proving grounds, but these competitions bring about it's own style.. flashy, dynamic creativity.
The kids have spent some time with their 2nd cousins and they just love being with them. Obviously for our rock climbing family, it's nice to for the kids to have their 2nd cousins as role models.
Here are the kids all over Emily when we got together for grandma's 90th birthday. It helps that they are being entertained by an IPhone. Electronics are just as addicting to them as candy!
A preview into how teenage years will be...
And grandma's 90-years-young. Not sure when they took this photo, cause once the cake was out, Emilia was all over grandma... and the cake!
I grew up as an only child, and my parents taught me that in my culture, cousins are just like brothers and sisters, and family always is family.
The evening we found out Luke lost his battle with Leukemia, Emilia and Liam were having a rare occasion, "slumber party" together. I went into the room to be with them, as I watched their peaceful little faces, soundly asleep. So much feels from so many different angles... as a parent, as siblings growing up together, as a young, brave child thrown into a fight for life.
Spencer, Luke, Sarah, Liam, & Emilia, 2013
As parents we strive to protect our kids, nurture them, and prepare them teach for what lies ahead in the future.. a future that we hope is filled of wonderful experiences, but as life is, the future is unexpected and unknown. We hope our children develop strong character and perseverance to go through hardships, enough perception to find simply joys in everything, and will and determination to push and fight for achievement. But nothing can ever prepare for cancer, and the letting go of a child to cancer. Luke and his family were so courageous and brave in the fight, we hold them in our thoughts.
Luke, Spencer, Emilia, & Liam, 2012
Luke will always be remembered. He is a part of our family. Emilia and Liam didn't get to spent much time with cousin Luke, but the times that they did, they adored their older cousins, him and Spencer. We will miss his contagious smile and brightness. The kids especially will miss the laughter and fun they have with him.
Sarah, Luke, Emilia, & Spencer, 2011
Until we meet you again...Luke, be free and on to your next adventures.
--> Behind the Scenes : Sakurada 2015 Holiday Card
This year, and future years to come, I want the kids to be an active part of holiday traditions. The kids helped put up and decorate our Charlie Brown tree (while only managing to knock it over twice). They also assisted with putting up a garland of holiday cards strung across our living room window. When it came time for getting our holiday cards done, I also wanted them to have a hand in it. So this year, we went back to the basics.. homemade holiday cards, which also made for great craft time! (Also reason as to why we're late!)
Kids at work.
--> Year in Review : 2015
2015 was another typical busy year (I know.. it's a re-occurring theme every year!), juggling various schools, work, and activities on top of basic responsibilities. It has had its ups and downs, struggles and joys, successes as well as failures, and always, always never enough time.
Kids with their Charlie Brown Xmas tree & presents.
Emilia started kindergarden this year, and she loves it. The social butterfly walks into school and gets greetings from everyone. It's pretty amazing to see her personality shine in an environment that is her own. Liam has had to learn to be in preschool without his older sister. It took a little bit, but now Liam has found a few best buddies to play super heros with. While the kids each have their own lives and school environments, Ryan and I are still learning how to be supportive parents and to be involved in our kids' community - volunteering for school, meeting other parents, etc.
Camp/Climb Trip May,2015
In spite of juggling everyones' schedules, Ryan and I have been able to somewhat maintain regular rock climbing. Though I'm sure it is at a sacrifice of time for possibly something else (friends, family, sleep, food-lunch/dinner times). This year we were able to do a couple of family camping/climbing trips (Priest Draw in Flagstaff,AZ and Kraft Boulders in Red Rocks, Las Vegas) where we spent days climbing and hanging out at the boulders. At times when climbing outdoors just didn't fit either due to weather or timing, we would tour rock climbing gyms, sometimes meeting friends or famous climbers along the way.
Aside from us, there was lots going on with our friends, family, and the world. Lots of heavy stuff to think about and really reflect on life and what we can do in spite of things that seem out of our realm. The Syrian refugee crisis, the terrorist attacks, both my kids had lock down drills at school, military friends that were deployed as we followed in snippets of their experience and their families, grandma passing, and news of reoccurring cancer to Emilia and Liam's cousin Luke (age 15).
Luke, Spencer, Emilia, & Liam, 2012
--> Important Sidenote : A Request
The best present the kids can have is a chance to have a future with their cousin. I don't know who reads this blog (other than grandparents) but by chance we do have friends and family reading, Luke really needs a bone marrow match. Please please consider being a bone marrow donor and help spread the word. The test is easy, simply 4 cotton swabs of the inside of your cheek.
Obviously 2015 had a lot going on around us that really brought us back to evaluating life, values, and our priorities. How do we go about teaching our kids resilience through fear and hardships? Appreciation for the simple basic joys of life, and not to take what they have for granted?
The "Less is More" motto has resonated a lot recently... less stuff, less distractions and more doing. The kids actually are a lot better than adults about that and they teach us a lot. They already have minimal toys and spend most of their time MacGyvering things to fit their imagination. They get excited when they see a puffy funny shaped cloud, or a moving train while we are driving on the road. On our camping trips, we give them a shovel and nature is their sandbox and play yard. So for 2016, the goal is to get the parents inline with the values we stress for the kids. Luckily the rock climbing life style fits in very well with this. =)
Kids, shovels, and the outdoors.
This quote that I came across Facebook one day sums it up, and as 2016 starts up, this is a continued focus.
"Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is a way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself."
-Gregg Braden
Kids painting the inside of a paper bag. (Thanks Carey for the great idea!)
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." Maya Angelou
Happy Holidays everyone! And wishing you all many simple, ordinary moments that take your breath away in 2016!
Grandma has embarked on new travels and new adventures. The family gathered to wish her well, and while we will miss her, we cherish the memories and the impact she has had on our lives. Even to this day, there are little antics and idiosyncrasies that I do that are passed down from growing up with grandma. I'm sure some of these will also pass down to my children.
(circa 2000)
I don't recall her ever yelling at me or being mad at me. She always cared for me with a smile and happiness. That's what I will remember most, and I hope I can be even half as good at taking care of my kids as she was.
Some of my memories of her:
Back in the day, grandma was preschool to my cousins and I. I remember her in the kitchen slaving away from morning til night making savory, home cooked traditional Chinese meals... meat broth oatmeal with ground meat and veggies, a similar dish that I make my kids now. She would spend hours using a cleaver to chop up meat into a fine ground. I would request for a delicate sweet steamed egg dish that she would no doubt make. While she cooked away, my cousins and I would wreck havoc on the apartment, playing Hot Lava and hopping from couch to chair, to hardwood floors, and scaling doorways.
Another memory I recall, was doing something to really enrage grandpa, and he came at me with a stick for spanking. I was little, so I darted under a bed and hid there just out of his reach. I knew I would be getting a big ol' spanking when he figured out how to get me, but Grandma came to save me, yelling down the hall for him to leave me alone. I never did get that spanking. Thanks grandma!
A fun memory I have of grandma, is going grocery shopping with her. The store was several blocks away down and up a hill. We would walk there and she would buy a 6-pack of beer which I would help carry up and down the hill back home. What was the beer for? Well, every time I got a report card from school, I would get a treat of having pizza for dinner! But pizza is known to internally heat up your chi, so grandma would pour me a cup of beer and I had to drink it since beer would cool down your chi. I am sure this contributed to my alcohol tolerance abilities that I displayed post-college years.
Grandma told me many stories of her youth and our family, from her young days and how she loved to dance and sing. It could be that Emilia inherited some of that from MaMa as my child loves to sing and dance. Grandma told me stories about the war, WWII, and how life as she knew it changed. She told me stories of China's Cultural Revolution and how her and grandpa had to flee for their lives to save themselves and their children. Stories that seem right out of a movie, hiding out in the day, fleeing at night with young children, choosing to flee solo vs with other refugees to minimize being caught, to make it across China's border into safety.
I remember those stories, but it is hard to imagine my young grandma so brave and courageous, cause indeed, those stories are courageous. She lived through two wars! Then again, I did get glimpses of a feisty personality not associated with child caring. I recall the family taking her to a restaurant for lunch, and as we came out of the restaurant, a man bumped into her accidentally and she immediately started hitting him with her cane and went off in Chinese on the poor dude. Feisty!
No doubt grandma's life and joy was so much about serving her family, kids & grand kids. She would always tell me stories about my aunts, uncles, and dad as kids. She would always comment "so and so is such a good boy or girl". She said that about every single one of my cousins even though I KNEW they weren't THAT good. I didn't believe her anymore because she was way too biased! She would always remind me that my parents care for me as I lived with her on and off until I was ~16 yrs old. Her family and kids really were her joy. She had the biggest smile every time she saw any of her kids, grand kids, and great grand kids.
Thanks grandma for being the hearth of the family, because you really were! You raised good kids, who raised their good kids, your grand kids, who will continue to raise your good great grand kids.
We discovered an awesome newish place called BravoLand on the long drive back home. I've driven this route up and down Cali for over a decade now, and I don't ever recall seeing this place. But I caught the attention of a sign that said "playground" and knew we had to stop and check it out, esp with restless kids in the car.
This place is AWESOME! A BBQ joint, ice cream parlour, unique odds/ends and knick knacks shopping store, and a giant play area all conjoined together and decorated like a rustic scene out of an old Western town.
Great little find for an extended pit stop.
We stayed there for almost 2 hours, and yes, it extended our drive home by that and then some. Even so, I am sure we will be back there for a visit again sometime.
As usually, life became overwhelmingly hectic which stopped the ability to keep this updated... so, I'll try to do some catching up.
Continuing from our summer road trip to NorCa, we made a very brief pitstop to see a few family. It was, as always, short, sweet, and never enough time.
The kiddos and their cousins were like two sets of two peas in a pod. Emilia with cousin K, Liam with cousin E. I loved watching the kids play and interact with each other, esp Liam and cousin E. Last time around, they were still too young to really play together. Now, they had a great time playing with the toys they both like - cars, trains, and anything with wheels.
The big kids got in on the action and had some fun too.
Double twinsies.
All the kiddos with the big kid.
Emilia loved playing with cousin K's toys... luckily cousin K is pretty good at sharing.
2014 was a year of typical daily life, but filled with lots of kiddie shenanigans. The kids are at a great age where it doesn't matter where we are or what we do, they can find fun and laughter in just about anything with their wild imaginations. (Something we can learn from them!) It is good since we didn't really go much anywhere or do much anything! =) The consistency of routine helped make life manageable between juggling our work loads, Connie's intensive PT/rehab, and the kids' schedules. We still have our challenges, especially with time management, but it was a great year where being routine was monumental in slowing down the hectic feel of life with kids and allowed for all of us to have both, individual and family growth.
Liam transitioned from being a toddler to a little boy. He said good-bye to his toddler days, moving out of his crib and into a big-boy bed. Growing up is hard to do at times, and he had to part ways with the binkie. Preschool turned out to be an easy transition, despite his initial hesitation. The hustle and bustle of all the kids at school can be overwhelming, but luckily Liam has an independent nature like his parents, and he does not mind doing his own thing. Just like dad, Liam loves any kind of motorized vehicle as they bonded watching motorcycle races at Laguna Seca and checking out mini-motos.
Emilia has always had a natural big sis tendency towards Liam, but this year, she realized he makes a great partner in crime. The two combined have become the "Double Trouble", scheming up imaginary adventures to share together. They fight as hard and as much as they play wild together. In fact, the parental units are thinking of sending them to jujitsu so they learn to "wrestle out" their arguments. Emilia is a veteran at school now, showing Liam the ropes. She loves going to school and has a group of close girl friends. She loves princesses, as do the rest of her gal pals, but we also project our influences, so she and Liam are fans of Ninja Warrior, especially Kacy Cantazaro. They play obstacle games and run races together, and many times Emilia will do them in her princess dresses.
Connie, 2014 was a year of recovery, with a main focus on ACL rehab with a goal of running the Spartan Beast around the 1 year post-ACL surgery mark. Obsessive personality is a positive attribute in this area as it fueled the discipline needed to consistently do physical therapy rehab on top of strength and endurance training. Life was defined only by 3 aspects - juggling time with kids & Ryan, work, and multitude of gym memberships. Knee has recovered, but the injury left imbalances that indirectly causes other minor injuries. All in all though, improvements are made. Maybe 2015 will be the injury-free year!
Ryan maintains being the rock of the family - helping Liam, Emilia, or Connie with whatever comes up. There is always a list of home improvement projects to do, with priorities that jump up due to circumstances, like setting up obstacles for Connie to practice on pre-race and hopefully not injure anything else, or when the raccoons came to terrorize the backyard... Ryan was set on a mission to deter them (in a safe way) from hanging around - setting up motion sensing automatic sprinkler and metal tree guards to prevent them climbing up. There were nights he would go on stake-outs for raccoons and try to scare them off. Ryan is non-stop in keeping our home organized and our lives organized. This year he manages to fit rock climbing in regularly, and we are slowly making it a new family routine.
2014 was consistent busy-ness that helped to form good foundation of solid habits for all of us. One of the traits of highly successful people is that they develop good habits - make their beds, clean up right away, make lists/plans for their day/week/month/year and work on it regularly, becoming a habit of progress. Working out became like brushing one's teeth... just do it without thinking. The kids naturally gravitate towards organization and clean up.. as much as kids can. =) All in all, we are very grateful for the year we have had in 2014. We sympathize with friends and family that we have seen go through hardships this year and those that will be continuing hardships. Keep pushing forward, one step, one day at a time.
Wishing you happiness and laughter all the days in 2015!
We took a quick day trip to visit grandparents because it has been way too long. The kids seriously look like grandma and grandpa. Check out the smiles between Liam and grandpa and the smile of Emilia and grandma. Emilia looks like a mini version of grandma here!
Short but sweet quality time. The kids love the extra attention and fun they get from their grandparents!
These two are extremely close. They play together (and fight together) from the moment they wake up to the time they go to sleep, and when the other one is not around, they think of the other one. If Liam isn't around, Emilia will ask to bring back something for Liam. And Liam, if he doesn't see Emilia around, will ask where she is.
Kids playing around in the meditation/yoga area of the gym:
They play for hours on end fueling each other's creative imagination. Ryan thinks I'm over idealizing a siblings relationship, but seriously, I love the closeness they share! The fighting is nothing compared to all the mischievous laughter that comes out of them.
We spent 5+ hours at a local boulder/climbing gym with the kids on another family climbing session. It was the first time trying out bouldering with them. We had the luxury of time that day, and another plus was that Roger was visiting and climbing with us.
Roger climbing with kiddos running around:
Kids playing while Ryan climbs:
Liam climbing:
I wasn't sure how this session was going to go, but the kids loved it. They would climb a little, eat a lot of snacks, run around and play on their own, come back and climb, etc. Ryan and I would alternative checking on them to make sure they weren't causing too many problems, but all in all, 5+ hours! We were able to stay there for 5 hours with no temper tantrums, all of us getting some climbing in, socializing with Roger, and having play time.
Kids running around the gym..
Liam and Ryan playing with the rings in their own style. =)
Emilia's version of the rings (though swinging on the rings is not allowed):
The kids were very comfortable at the gym and the people there. They did get into some mischief. At one point when I checked on the kids, I found them besides the slack line, A guy was practicing a one-legged squat balance on the line and Liam went up to the side of climber, then proceeded to make funny faces at the guy, who was really trying hard to keep his balance. I couldn't help but laugh as I lectured Liam to move away. Obviously the climber lost his balance laughing and fell off.
By the end of the evening, Emilia was climbing like a pro. She would put on her climbing shoes and pick her own climb and go up and down without any of us prompting her.
Compare the above video with one of her first climbs of the session...
We may just be able to pull off incorporating regular family climbing sessions to our routine... hopefully!
I grew up as an only child, and my parents taught me that in my culture, cousins are just like brothers and sisters, and family always is fa...
About
Ryan and Connie officially began our journey in life together (wedded bliss) on August 1, 2009. This blog chronicles our journey through whatever life throws at us.
On February 27, 2010, we welcomed a new addition to the family: Emilia Ying-Zhi. She tipped the scales at 7 lbs 2 oz, and measured in at 19-3/4".
Liam Noboru joined the family on October 20, 2011. His fighting weight is 7 lbs 4 oz with a length of 19-1/2".
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