Michelangelo

Ever since Noah's birthday party, which featured a Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtle (TMNT) theme, Koji's been living for those moments he could get his hands on a set (pair?) of nunchucks. I honestly don't want him to think that weapons and fighting are the only cool things going, but when we spotted a TMNT kit on clearance at TJMaxx and it just happened to feature the coveted nunchucks, well, what could I do?

When There's a Will, There's a Way

Rich, Jenny and the girls came over for dinner and after dinner, incredibly, all of the kids went to bed (sort of...Calli got up a couple of times, but it still counted). They had just happened to bring their latest Settlers upgrade--Cities and Knights of Catan and I was itching to play. Aogu had to be on a conference call though, which meant that we couldn't be in the basement. The kids were asleep, or nearly, so we didn't want to be in the dining room either. As if I was going to let that stop me! I just picked up the table and moved it into the kitchen. Who knew that we have an eat-in kitchen?!

Possible Vocation?

This mischievous look might cause you to wonder what on earth Koji is doing to poor little Izumi's face?!
Let the aerial view set you at ease. He's brushing her teeth. Fine with me! It needs to be done but it's not usually a pleasant job, so I don't mind passing it off when the opportunity arises.
He's very thorough, he even makes her rinse at the end. Pherhaps he was inspired by our recent trip to the dentist?

Ready for School?

During the yearly meeting for mothers at Koji's school today, for some reason, Izumi was totally captivated by Koji's teacher.

Danielle's Pirate Party

There's the guest of honor in the blue dress, watching Izumi take the first swing at the pinata, er, treasure chest. Happy 4th Birthday, Danielle!

Outing to the Zoo

Today we went to the Brookfield Zoo with the R*obles and the S*tucks. Here's all the kids in a row.
After the zoo, we had a picnic in the living room at Jason & Kristen's new house. It was a great day!

Actually, I'm Not the Oldest Around Here

We celebrated Aogu's 36th birthday with a family dinner at Merle's in Evanston.

One thing I'll never forget about that dinner: the entire time we were eating, Izumi kept pointing off to her right. She had a puzzled/frightened look on her face, and she made a kind of squeaky protest sound to match the expression. Every time she did it, I looked behind me to see what she was upset about, but the people sitting there weren't remarkable. Once she continued to protest after they left, I realized that the source of the trauma was a stag head hanging on the far wall! If you look closely at this picture, you should be able to see it just to my left. Poor baby, she is so afraid of animals!

One day later, I was finally able to serve up Aogu's favorite dessert: cheesecake. This one is from a Cake Bible recipe. I don't normally care for cheesecake, and even I liked this one, so I guess it was a winner.

Happy Birthday, dear Aogu; I hope this year is significant and full of blessings!