Mike, Jill, Lucy, & Wubie!

The Palo Alto Obon fest is the third and final Obon festival we attend, and is a bit smaller than the others. It has drums and dancing and food and game booths. We attended the P.A. Obon with Grandmommy two years ago, and keep going in her memory.

This year the big event of the day was Lucy winning a prize at one of the game booths…a kitty cat! She has had luck on the ‘wheel of fortune’ two years in a row. Yay Lucy! I think you’ve found your game!

This weekend we hosted a birthday party for Auntie and Grandpa…our annual August birthday bash.

It was a lovely day so we all decided to have a picnic in the park, then come back home for cupcakes. It was so relaxing in the park, I forgot to take any pictures, so we’ll have to start with the cupcakes Lucy and I made…

the gang’s all here…

about to sing the birthday song…

partygoers and birthday celebrants. Happy Birthday Grandpa and Auntie!

“Wubie crushed my wand — no magic show for him!”
— Lucy’s response after she waved her ‘magic wand’ (stick with a ribbon) in front of Wubie one too many times (he destroyed it).

We went to the SJ Obon with friends recently and had loads of fun, especially Lucy…she got to dance in her first Bon Odori.

Lucy went to her first Obon fest way back in 2008, when she was still a baby. Grandmommy had suggested we go, she had cut out a clipping from the newspaper for us, and urged us to go that very day (it was a Sunday and we had been visiting her in the hospital). We went and had a lovely time. Shortly thereafter Grandmommy got out of the hospital, so we all went together to the Palo Alto Obon fest. That was about a month before she passed away in September, and it was our last big outing together.

The Obon festival is held to remember ancestors and loved ones who are gone…so it seems appropriate that we keep going in memory of Grandmommy. (Posts from last year’s visits here and here.) If she were still here, she would surely be dancing with us!

Our little girl went to her first ballet this weekend. I loved ballet when I was a kid, so this was a special moment for me. I was a bit teary-eyed when it started. It just hit me…I am with my baby…at her first ballet!

Lucy has recently started liking ballet, dancing around wearing her tutu, pretending she is Angelina Ballerina. So when the chance came to see a kid-centered ballet we took it.

The ballet we saw was the Ugly Duckling, featuring as many students as possible from the local ballet school, costumed as ducks, swans, flowers, cats, dogs, and chickens. The baby swan stole the show.

Madame behaved very well, applauding in all the right places, staying in her seat the whole time, and watching enraptured for much of it. Not bad for a 3 year old.

When I was a little girl I was obsessed with ballet, and remember asking my mom for ballet lessons…and her saying, ‘not ’til you’re 5′ (or was it 7? either way it seemed a long ways away.) And boy I held her to it!

I remember changing into my ballet clothes in the station wagon as my mom drove me to ballet from school. I remember watching the older girls in the advanced class taking pointe lessons, and dreaming of the day that would be me. I remember the wonder of seeing some of those same girls performing in the LA Ballet’s Nutcracker.

I don’t want or hope for madame to become a professional ballerina, that would be a hard life (low pay, constant aches and bruises and little time for anything else).

But I am happy that she likes ballet, and will be happy to see her studying it, and to take her to many more performances. And I can’t wait for the day when she will be the student up on stage for the first time taking her bows.

Auntie’s birthday was this week, and Lucy and I had a little party with her on the day (bigger party to come.)

We painted plates, had cake, and played in the garden. It was a lovely day.

Oh, and Lucy sang her the birthday song. Happy Birthday Auntie!

Lucy went to the zoo for the first time with Auntie and me last week. Highlights included watching the penguins zoom round their pond (occasionally leaping out of the water mid-zoom), talking to a noisy peacock,  brushing a goat and watching a sleepy koala snooze. Lucy’s favorite had to be the carousel…she went round three times!

A few days ago Miss Lucy and I stopped at a bookstore while we were out and about. It had a nice children’s section with a lot of books at Lucy level, a small stage with trees and seating, and at the other end a wooden train set.

Lucy enjoyed running back and forth between the two ends, playing with other kids, and selecting various books and dinosaurs from the toddler-level shelves.

While she was playing at the train table, one of the little boys playing there wanted to choo choo past her. For a second he looked at her, then smiled, and planted a big ol’ smacker on her cheek.

(cue Mommy in the background saying ‘oh my goodness!’)

This was an older boy, mind you, at least 3 or 4. The boy’s mom just smiled and laughed, so i suspect this boy might be a bit of a Georgie Porgie.

Afterwards I asked her if she was surprised, and she said yes. I think she’d rather they ask first.  These boys move so fast!

Planting a Tree from Mike C on Vimeo.

This past week would have been Gma Susan’s 65th birthday. To mark the occasion, we got together with Gpa Peter, John, and Laura to celebrate. In the middle of the dog, cat, and cupcake fun we made time to plant a Magnolia Susan tree for Gma. Happy Birthday, Susan.

Camera Used: Flip Video Ultra 60. Soundtrack:

• I Couldn’t Believe It Was True from Red Headed Stranger by Willie Nelson
• Li’l Liza Jane from Country Guitar Thunder by Merle Travis and Joe Maphis
• Mainstreet Breakdown (excerpt) from Country Music’s Two Guitars Greats by Merle Travis and Joe Maphis
• Nobody’s Sweetheart from Galloping Guitar: The Early Years by Chet Atkins
• Courtin’ from Spanish Eyes by The 50 Guitars Of Tommy Garret

Boy, the kid’s 6 month and 1 Year birthdays seem like they just happened, and now she’s pulling the TWO card on us! Is this even possible? Has the kid actually been parked in the condo for 24 whole months? (Wubert just piped in saying it seems longer.)

Of course, Lucy’s mom is always looking for an excuse for cake and ice cream, so we decided to celebrate. The whole ‘Hawaii Gang’ (Gpa Peter, Uncle John, Auntie Laura) came over to add to the festivities.

Lucy also got a “Happy Birthday” serenade from her Gpa Tom and Gma Karen via the phone. Pretty cool!

Lucy in San Francisco (2008) from Mike C on Vimeo.

Lucy and her mom went to San Francisco a few times recently to meet family and friends. During their time in SF they got to do a lot of neat stuff, including visiting Alcatraz, Pier 39, the Academy of Sciences, etc. This video shows off some of the stuff they did during these trips, along with a few other pics taken earlier in the year.

A special thanks to Jill and Auntie Laura for the pics used in this video.