Wednesday, January 21, 2015

A New Piano Teacher and more!

Today Faith started piano lessons with a new teacher.  It is a bit of a bittersweet moment as the reason for the switch is a result of her other teacher passing away in his sleep two days after Christmas.  Being so young, only 42, and it seemingly good health, it of course came as a real shock to our family.  While Faith will miss lessons with Jonathan, we feel fortunate to have found a new teacher so quickly.  And she even comes to our house for lessons!  Junko has taught four of Faith's friends for a number of years and comes highly recommended.  The lesson today went very well, and Junko is full of enthusiasm and knowledge! 
 
Last week Wednesday Junko came over to meet Faith and I.  She was telling Faith about how she was born in Japan and lived there for many years, and she wondered if Faith had ever tried sushi?  Faith told her that her mom and dad love it, but she had never tried it.  Junko suggested that Faith try a California Roll.  After the meeting I wasn't exactly sure what Faith was thinking or feeling (despite my questions!), but on Thursday she asked when we could try some sushi because she really wanted to before teacher Junko came back for her first lesson!  And that was when I knew that Faith liked her!  There is a sushi place next to where the kids take TaeKwanDo, so after class on Monday we went to try a California Roll!  Faith loved it, except for the avocado!, and Shane thought it was terrible and almost spit it out!!  That did not surprise me!
 
Tuesday night was western night at Awana!  The kids love to dress up for the theme nights!  Of course Olivia had to dress up too just like them.  Sadly, the poor little girl thinks each week that she is going to get to stay there too!  And each week we have some tears on the car ride home!  She even carries Faith's old Sparks bag each week when we walk the big kids to their classes!  The good news is that she can start going next year to a class for 2-3 year olds called Puggles! 

Friday, January 16, 2015

Santa Barbara Field Trip

Our Friday field trip today took us to a beautiful park in Santa Barbara!  I always love venturing up the coast to Santa Barbara as it feels like a mini vacation going there!  Everything is always just so scenic and beautiful!!  The kids loved playing at a new playground with their friends!
 
Olivia just hanging out!  She insisted on wearing the beret!  She had to wear a hat since I was!
 
The playground was a giant wooden structure that had all sorts of different things to climb on, balance on, and navigate! Here's Shane on a balance beam!
 
Livvy on a bridge!  Hat eventually came off!
 
And of course a picnic lunch with some of the friends!
 
After playing at the park for awhile, we walked across the street to a botanical garden!  The kids had fun traveling the paths and seeing the wildlife!
 
Here they are watching the ducks and the turtles in the pond!  They especially loved seeing the turtles!
 
A fun path exploring the plants and flowers! 
 
We ended our day going to the Food Truck night at the mall near our house! The kids just love it - Olivia was repeating "Grilled Cheese!  Miss you!" as we were driving there!  Tonight there was a balloon artist there, so of course we couldn't leave without three of them!  Olivia got a baby octopus balloon! 
 
And finally, this picture was just too pretty not to post!  Yesterday we went for a beach walk in the morning!  It was a gorgeous morning with a clear view of the Channel Islands!  And to top it off, the surf was decent too, so it was entertaining to pause and watch some of the surfers!  I love that doing things like taking the kids to walk at the beach is actually enjoyable again! The older two know to stay to the right on the path and not to go too far ahead, and Olivia loves riding her bike! 

The Kids start TawKwanDo!

The new year has begun, and for us that brings a few new activities!  I had been looking into some type of martial arts for Shane throughout the fall (trying to streamline his boyish energy!!), and found a highly recommended studio in Ventura.  Shane went through the first class, and after watching it Faith asked if she too could take TKD!  After talking it over with Steve, we gave her the thumbs up!  Shane is excited to share this with her, and it's easy as they are both in the same class!
 
Here they are in class! They have had three classes and are really enjoying it!  They even both earned their first belt stripe by asking an instructor to take a test after class this past Thursday!  And they are practicing together to earn another stripe at their next class!  I am appreciating the emphasis on hard work, perseverance, respect, exercise, and manners!
 

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Other Michigan excursions and excitement!

It was while we were in Michigan that the University of Michigan made it official in hiring Jim Harbaugh to be it's next football coach!  Being the big Michigan fans we are, this was a thrilling day!  Shane commemorated the event by wearing the Michigan pajamas he received for Christmas!! 
 
One of the things we always enjoy doing is going out for breakfast!  Faith always reminds us that we need to go out at least three times when we visit Grandpa and Grandma in order to hit all of our favorite spots!  At the Cherrie Inn the hot chocolate came with whipped cream, sprinkles, and chocolate syrup!!
 
While waiting for a table the next morning at the Omelette Shoppe, we were all thankful to have the mall to explore as entertainment. Olivia and Shane were fascinated by the Koi goldfish pools!
 
We were all excited to see some snow fall while we were there!  The kids were quick to want to go out and play in the snow, but they were also quick to come back inside!  Their California blood is not used to such cold weather!  By the time I had Olivia bundled up and ready to go outside, Shane was ready to come back inside the house!!
 
It was very special to be able to see relatives on both my mom and dad's side of the family!  This is a picture of Great-Grandma Bruinsma with all of her great-grandchildren!! 
 
Olivia had fun playing with Cooper, who is just a week younger than she is!  It was a great trip (even though we all came home with terrible colds!), as it's always so special to be around the family and friends we love during the Christmas season!  Happy 2015!!

Museum fun!

Last week we visited two different museums in Grand Rapids.  The first was the children's museum!  Olivia had fun playing all the different instruments!
 
Faith (and Isabelle!) did really well with the giant bubble machine!  All the kids waiting in line were impressed Faith was able to get the bubble above her head!  The museum was super busy, but we had one adult for each of the kids, which made it very manageable!!
 
Later in the week, the girls went to the Van Andel Museum, also located in downtown Grand Rapids.  It was our first time going to this museum with the kids, and they would like to go back again as it was fun!
 
Olivia thought she could ride this old fashioned bike!
 
Pretending to camp! 
 

MIchigan Christmas!

While in Michigan the kids were excited to celebrate Christmas once again and open more gifts! And of course see all of our family and friends in Grand Rapids!!
 
Faith's highlight of the season was opening her very first American Girl doll!  Isabelle, the 2014 girl of the year, not only looks similar to Faith, but she is also a ballerina!!  A perfect fit for Faith.  And Isabelle came with us everywhere and participated in all things with us!  She even beat us in the game Monopoly!!
 
We played quite a few games at Grandpa and Grandma's house, especially when Aunt Betsy was also there!  Here Betsy and Faith are getting ready to play Rummikub, a favorite game of my Grandma Swagman!
 
One of the places we always enjoy visiting at Christmas time is the Meijer Gardens!  During the holidays there are Christmas trees decorated from the countries all around the world!  And no visit to the gardens is complete without a picture in the sleigh!! 
 
I'm posing by the tree from the Netherlands! Check out the wooden shoes!
 
Faith wanted her picture by the German tree because of the nutcrackers by it!  This tree also had a hidden pickle ornament on it that we searched to find!  Apparently in Germany this is a tradition and the first child to find the pickle ornament receives an extra gift!  The kids asked if we could get a pickle ornament, but sadly they were out of them in the gift shop!

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas day was an action packed joy-filled day!  The day began with opening gifts and stockings at home and attending the Christmas day service at church.  After church we left for Seal Beach to celebrate the day with Steve's family!

Here the kids are telling their cousin Preston all about how this gift opening fun works!
 
Olivia was thrilled to receive a stroller for the baby she was given that morning from Steve and I!  She took the job of pushing the stroller very seriously, and she also made sure that she had the baby's diaper bag with her at all times!  A mom in training!!
 
As if the week didn't have enough excitement, we left on the evening of the 26th to travel to Michigan to spend a week with my family!
 
After our most recent trip to Michigan, I knew that Olivia would need her own suitcase this time because of course she has to be just like her big brother and sister!  While I didn't know how it would go leaving the stroller at home, she rose to the occasion once again.  As we walked through the Detroit airport, so many people we passed were just amazed at this little girl pulling her own suitcase through the terminal!  And leading the charge most of the way!  Sitting by the gate, an older couple sat near us and the man said to his wife, "That's the little girl I was just telling you about!" as he pointed at Olivia.  She entertained many that early Saturday morning!

Christmas Eve

The week of Christmas was filled with fun activities, such as building gingerbread houses and play dates with friends, and an overabundance of excitement anticipating the arrival of Christmas day!  On Christmas Eve night the kids participated in the Christmas program at church - even Olivia!!  While she was not part of the original plan, the women in charge insisted that she participate after seeing her sing and do the motions so well when attending the practices! 
 
I was completely stressed during the entire performance, but she did really well.  A number of members of our church came up to me following the service to let me know how precious it was to see her up there!  Going in I anticipated that she was either going to be the star or a complete disaster!  Thankfully it turned out the way it did. 
 
The star of the show before we left for church!
 
The seasoned veterans did very well too!
 
After we arrived back home from the Christmas Eve service, the kids were all able to open one gift - an ornament for the Christmas tree!  This was a new tradition we were able to start this year as Steve will now be home each Christmas Eve because of his new work schedule! 
 
Shane putting his new ornament on the tree!