Hide and seek...with David Copperfield!

So...I've been reading David Copperfield with a wonderful group of young ladies...most of whom are probably the only ones who read my blog...but none the less. I got a late start because when I went to check it out at the library they didn't have it...had to put it on hold..and all that jazz...but finally it was in my sweet little hands...and my mocha in the other!! (no I do not have three hands I am just bad at grammar) So my adventure with Davy began...then..soon came the time to re-new. I was going to the Library to return some of the girls books so I thought I would just take mine in too....but where did it go...is it in kitchen? the table? my bookshelf?

Gasp!!! What's this....my very own copy of David Copperfield sitting very decoratively right under my nose! I had Davy all along and didn't even know it. I'm such a goof!

As for the Libraries copy...I found it in the Pantry where my husband had stowed it...because isn't that where all books belong? Really? In the Pantry babe!! I'm so glad I needed to snag a cookbook or we would be mortgage deep in Library fees!

Read on Sistas...Read on!! (um..ya..i know i'm a dork.)

Day One at Studio!

So...As some of you know..and some of you don't know..I'm recording an EP album (6 songs). They are all written and sung by mua! I'm excited about it but don't talk alot about it just because ... I just don't. I guess I'm still working it all out...so I don't talk about it so that I don't have to answer a lot of questions that I may not fully have the answer too. So there!

We recorded on Tuesday for a bit at a cool studio in Mukilteo down by the water. We didn't get as much done as we had hoped due to ... for a lack for a better term...technical difficulties. But we did get some stuff done...

This is Tim...one of the main people who pushed and encouraged me to do this entire thing! Thanks Tim...He is also a super great Bass player so he is playing the bass and acoustic (because he has now made my songs so much better that i can hardly play them...more practice for me) and he is also putting in a ton of time on the "producerish" side of things..along with another great guy (not pictured) named Thom.
Jimmy...what are we going to do with you. Jimmy is seen here being a total nerd with his money! He is a freakishly amazing piano/keyboard/organ player and he is doing all of that for us :) Yay Jimmy!!! Jimmy in the Zone!
This is Matt...He is super nice and a super amazing Drummer. He does mostly Jazz and also plays at the church sometimes. He has recorded a number of times for others...but mostly Jazz stuff...so this is different for him and he sounds Great!!
Me..being lame with my Tea...wondering...is it my turn yet?
Super cool yellow chair in the studio that I'd like to get more pictures in!!

So...this day we had hoped to accomplish more...but got all the drums done...all the organ and some of the bass...and I did one set of vocals for one song...that we probably won't use because I was deliriously tired by the time we got to me and I worked at 4am the next morning...However.

With all that being said. These wonderful people have all contributed their time and amazing talents and are working ridiculously hard for me in hopes of making my music sound exactly how we want it to! Thanks Guys!!!

Hana's Gymnastics Program

Our sweet Hana has been taking Gymnastics classes since September and they had their end of the year Extravaganza over Fathers' day weekend.

She was hesitant during the warm up. She had been really excited for the big day...until...we got to the gym and she realized that every single class was there...and their parents...all to perform that day...Panic set in.

Her body language in this picture says it all. There was a floor routine set to music..that she knows completely and she stood there practically the whole time....furrow browed...looking very perturbed!! Doing only the slightest mimics of the choreography. when i showed her the pictures she said of this one, "I was not happy to be there doing that."


After the floor routine was over they did vault (no picture) and then trampoline...she started coming out of her funk!

This is Hana's excellent Tuck Jump!!

Hana said she "is trying my hardest here to be really strong."

This is pretty cute..this is called the "bell" and Miss Kim (Hana's teacher shown here) says what's for dinner? when the kids get into their bell position. Hana usually says cake!

From left to right: Gabe...mostly known as Robin (from batman and robin) Laina and Hana...(I don't know the one on the end.)

Hana on beam...her total favorite! I loved watching her on it! Soooo cute.

They all got medals and got to stand on the podium. Each and every child. It was so great. I asked Hana what she was thinking here...and she said, "I'm a winner." That is something every parent wants to hear from their child's mouth!

Hana said of this one: "I had a long day..so daddy needed to holded me to the car."

It was so fun to watch our sweet little winner do her thing! We are taking a break from the summer and will continue back up in the fall! Yay Hana!!!

Meet Kiko ('Spot' in Hawaiian)

We had been wanting a dog for quite sometime...and my boss from 'the painted word' called us up one day and asked if we wanted one. They already have a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Max that they got 8 years ago. The same breeder that had max was having some new puppies and so they decided to get one. His name is kiko....they soon realized that with their business and their 3 very active kids...that Kiko wasn't getting the attention that they had desired for him to get....so they have entrusted him to us.

He is super sweet and loving....we are still working on elements of the potty training..but for the most part he does a great job.

He loves running around in the yard...chasing the girls....licking the girls...licking the kitchen floor
He and Mak like to sit under the apple tree together...it's pretty darn cute!

The girls really love him...I feel like I have another kid around....so although I've really enjoyed having kiko...I think he considers me the bad cop and Dj is the good cop! He went with us to the dentist yesterday and did a fairly good job of not crying to much when we went inside. Dj went out and checked on him and gave him water and stuff. He really loves to snuggle....as soon as the girls crash...kiko crashes too! A dog is a new thing for our family so we are still adjusting...the girls have done a really good job keeping their stuff cleaned up so that kiko doesn't chew on it...He loves to find toys on the floor that don't belong to him...or dirty socks that didn't quite make it into the hamper! But ..one of these days we will have a system down!

What in the world are we up to??

Since my last post we have been leading a very "full" life! Dj and I got out to see Brooke Fraser at a club down in Seattle with our good friends Tim and Dawn Oas. It was so funny because we ran into 3 people we knew ...and Shawn Alexander was there watching the show too! We were standing right next to him..and of course Dj was the only one who knew who he was. So that was super fun...we have a new puppy...(kiko)...hana had a gymnastics recital....and her first dentist appointment...Mak was just in her 6th wedding as a flower girl...(she's a pro now...I think we should start charging for her services.) And I head into the studio tomorrow to start recording my stuff! It has all been very tiresome..and wonderful at the same time! I will be posting pictures and captions in the next few days to give visual aid of all our activities!

So...don't worry about the Vicks....we are still here...you may see us as a blurrrrrr running past you as we perform our many self-inflicted tasks...but we are still here!

yay for Summer....or at least Yay for no rain!! at the present moment!

Makayla graduates from Preschool!!

Hana waited for the festivities to begin..with her new two dollars that she got from Teree! She kept repeating..."there's two of them...there's two!"Shhhh...here they come. The sweet kids filed in nice and quietly!
They did the pledge of allegiance...and the pledge to the Bible..and they sang God bless America..fallowed by a memorization of Psalm 23! Very impressive. The whole room was sniffling!Makayla with Mrs. Sayegh! She and Mrs. Stratton (the helper teacher) were so amazing through this year. I KNOW that they loved those kids and prayed for those kids. Makayla had the most amazing class...when I would ask her who she played with..she always said..."everyone." All the kids got along great with each other...and they all loved the teachers..and so did I. Oh...and I tried to get Makayla to wear a sensible outfit...she has quite an eclectic sense of fashion. I picked out the dress and she did the rest. I thought Micah and Becky would like the fact that she chose to wear her slipper socks (the ones they gave her over the summer) over her tights for graduation!

Dj brought Makayla a rose for graduation! Good Daddy!
Hana was really excited to be a part of it all...(even though we had to take her to the doctor before hand..she had some strange infection at the top of her ear...weird...but it's doing much better) Hana has been able to go on all the class trips and join in the class parties so she has made friends with the students in Makaylas class too!Our little Graduate! Ready for Kindergarten...even if I'm not!

The girls wanted to sleep on the floor that night In a fort we made earlier in the day....so we let them..Hana and Makayla got the major giggles while Dj was trying to read them their Bible for the night. It was kinda cute...we couldn't help but laugh with them. Here they are pretending to sleep so that I could get a picture :)

The Joy of Home Owndership!

I say to dj....I don't think the lawn is suppose to turn to mud when you mow it....

Our Neighbor Peggy said to us...I don't think your lawn is suppose to be oozing into mine...

Thus begins our Journey ...to a broken water pipe in our front yard!

Our friend John graciously rolled up his sleeves to help scoop out the water so that the fixing could be done.


A few robins reaped the benefits of the muddy/wormy lawn!

Soooo.......this is what our yard looks like now! Hopefully the leak is fixed for good...and we get get our lawn looking pretty again!