“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!
Lucy was excited about all these things in anticipation of the Obon fest this weekend…and it did not disappoint.
In the games area Lucy fished for ducks many times, and won two superballs and a pinwheel.
Next on the list: rainbow shave ice! what a delight! always reminds us of Hawaii…
She was really into the drums, dancing and bobbing to the beat, and in the kid’s area, even tried her hand at drumming. A future taiko drummer? who knows!
She also got a balloon animal, from this very creative and talented balloon animal crafter…
Last year we went to 2 Obons, once with Grandmommy and Gpa. Obon is all about family and remembering your loved ones and ancestors, so it was a perfect day to remember our love for Gmommy.
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.
Halloween is tomorrow! Auntie is coming down to help carve pumpkins, and we are thinking of taking Lucy out (to a mall) for her first trick or treat.
Since she is a little young for candy, i thought of collecting for UNICEF–something we did as kids, and which was a cause dear to Grandmommy (she volunteered at the UN when we lived in NYC.)
So I looked up the little cardboard boxes, and things have changed a bit since I was a kid! Now you can collect online–they even whip up a webpage for you–so in addition to her little collection box, Lucy now has a UNICEF webpage, which you can see here.
Now all I have to do is dig up her costume! She has a great dragon/dinosaur costume which Grandmommy got her last year (see above)…this year it should actually fit her!
Just wanted to let everyone know that we’ve created a new site as a memorial to Jill’s mom Susan (aka Grandmommy), it is in progress, more will be added as the days go by. You can see it here:
This is a video I found recently from June 20, the day Lucy and Grandmommy went to the beach for the first time together. It was Lucy’s first experience of sand and ocean and castle-building and being able to roam around on the beach.
I think we knew how special this day was as it was happening, it just seemed magical, a perfect moment in time.
That list has been on our minds lately as Grandmommy is in the hospital again. Lucy hasn’t been able to see her in the hospital this time around, and they miss their frequent visits.
Lucy is 9 months older now, so she is better able to communicate she misses her Grandmommy. When Lucy sees G’mommy’s picture or sees her in one of her videos, she points to G’mommy, and then walks to the door and points to the door (this is her way of saying she wants to go somewhere).
We hope G’mommy gets better, and that Lucy will be able to visit her G’mommy very soon. Below are a few of our previous videos and posts that feature her G’mommy:
Here’s a quick video of a visit we made to the Palo Alto Obon Festival earlier this month. Lucy had fun watching the performers beat on drums, sampling the food (including multi-colored snowcones), and spending time w/ Gma Susan and Gpa Peter.
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