Not Quite Drowning

I think the title says it all. As the kids get older, life simply gets busier. Swimming, gymnastics, birthday parties, events with cousins and friends, family get-togethers, call weekends, and the very rare "our night to collapse" have kept me from this blog for far too long. We are, however, still managing to keep our heads, usually, above water. And it has been a lot of fun, despite the manic pace.

A while back, we had torrential rains. Thankfully, Mimi still fit into the rain slicker she had worn to the hospital the day her little brother was born, complete with original stickers.

Kuri, as usual, wanted to get out and play, but only Mimi and I were charged with the mission of purchasing some much needed umbrellas.

I don't know why, but it took forever to find any. I remarked to Mimi that I wish we were in Tokyo, so we could just walk into any convenience store and fine one instantly. A couple of weeks later, I asked Mimi where she wants to live someday. She called out, "Tokyo!" I asked her why and she replied, "So I can always find umbrellas."

Eventually we found a suitable pair of umbrellas to keep us both dry. We celebrated with burgers!

Mimi came down with strep throat about a month ago. It was more nagging than painful for her, but it did mean she had to stay home from school. Grandma wasn't available, but Mimi's favorite fill-in care provider, Lesley, was. She also lets Mimi wear her hats and glasses.

 They like to perform together...

 ...and they really like working on art projects.

 Some of the projects are even gifts for me.

 We had a brief visit with my sister and Kuri's baby cousin Brynn. Kuri showed her how to slide backwards. Based on his consistent objections, this is really the only way to slide.

Weekends have been very busy, but on the occasional Saturday or Sunday that we do get to sleep in, we spend most of our time attempting to pry our iPhones out of the hands of our munchkins.

Mimi had her annual pre-school performance and fundraiser at the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts a few weekends ago. Mimi and Kuri were fascinated by the domes. Can you spot Mimi?

 Kuri insisted on walking everywhere. Unfortunately, he also insisted on taking his burp cloth with him everywhere he went. I can only imagine how many diseases he contracted by the end of the day.

 Mimi and Kuri had a lot of fun playing before her performance. This is Mimi in her costume (she was a construction worker)...

...and this is Mimi in her costume playing Battle Bots. I was pretty amazed. She actually figured out how to control the robot fairly quickly and tossed multiple opponents out of the ring. Maybe she actually does take after her father in some ways.

In the few moments of non-kid centered downtime, I turned my energy to the car. Since the beginning of the year, the heater hoses have been replaced, the fuel injectors replaced, the alternator removed and replaced, the fan and fan shroud removed, sand blasted, painted, and reinstalled, and a new stereo has been fitted. All done by me (save the sand blasting).

 It's far from stock and far from perfect (a real mechanic would laugh), but it runs, I have sufficient current to the car once again, and it looks better than when I started (I can't say that about all my projects).

Sumie, as always, has been treasuring the time she gets with the little ones. I love watching them read together, especially when Kuri holds still.

This last weekend we hosted a friend of Sumie's from college, who came down from Seattle with her family. We took the opportunity to head up to Redd Wood in Yountville for some of our favorite dishes. After stuffing ourselves, we strolled further into town.

Kuri particularly enjoyed the grassy knoll we found. A rare moment of reflection from our toddler.

When it came time to say goodbye, Mimi and Kuri said their farewells and behaved for Mama.

But, as you can see, they were right back to their usual trick even before our guests walked out the front door. Such is life with these two.

The next few weeks will be much the same, but I hope I'll have a chance to check in on the blog a bit more regularly. Until next time!