Goodies

When Kevin's mom got back from Japan, she brought back a bunch of fun stuff from the family over there, so I thought we should share.

Of course Abi got all kinds of stuff.

Here is the Totoro collection including pencil case, lunchbox, washcloths and key chains.

(Don't ask me why they have the same look on their faces.)

From the Ponyo collection, a Ponyo doll and stamp


and, of course, you can't come home from Japan without...


Hello Kitty!
Here's a couple of washcloths, hair bows, utensils, and even chopsticks. They put Hello Kitty on everything. No, I'm serious. EVERYTHING.


Here's some hankies with both the English and Japanese alphabet on them, treat bags, t-shirt bags (like the kind you get in the grocery store), and (here's the best part) face masks. You know, so you don't get SARS. I'm serious. Enlarge the picture if you have to.

She also got a doll of a character from a Japanese cartoon called "Anpanman," but we left it at Grandma Schmidt's house before I got a picture of it. His name is "Baikinman" or "Germ Man." He looks something like this.

This is what Wikipedia says about him:
"His ambition is to destroy Anpanman and turn the planet into another 'Germ World', yet he is perfectly content to play tricks, steal, and bully those weaker than him. He and Anpanman were born at the same time, making them physical representations of moral dualism. He has a weakness to soap, which shrinks him to the size of a fly. He constructs machines and thinks of intricate plans to counteract Anpanman's strength."


Kevin got this jacket that you wear indoors when it's chilly.

I got some socks, heart bowls, a fan...

this cute apron
and super-cute shoes.
Now I just need an outfit to go with them.


She also brought home all kinds of little things like key chains, phone charms, notebooks (made by prisoners) and little bags that were made by a friend of Kevin's mom.

It was like Christmas in the middle of summer. We would like to visit Japan one day as a family, but until that day, it's good to know that we have family there who are thinking about us.

Firework Fun

Yesterday was the 4th of July and we had a barbecue at our house with Kevin's family. Angela, Jon and Savannah came over, though Jon had to leave early because of work. Kevin's other sister Lisa was also there, but also had to leave because of work. The rest of us hung around so we could light the fireworks we bought the day before.

When Kevin's mom came back home from taking Gigi back to Japan, she brought back a bunch of goodies for us all, but mostly for the babies. Abi got these jammies and Savannah got a matching pair.

Once it got dark enough to see the fireworks, we bundled up the babies (because it was a little chilly, surprisingly enough) and set some chairs up on the front lawn.

Abi waiting for the show to start.

Kevin and his brother Aaron (aka the pyromaniac) were the show masters.

Once the fireworks started, Abi decided that they were too scary and Grandpa had to come rescue her.

Savannah didn't mind the noise, but she did look so cute!

Yes, I did take pictures of the fireworks like a hillbilly. Here was one of the good ones, though it's hard to capture on camera.

Oakley sort of pulled a weird face in this picture.

The night before last we went to Cyprus High School to watch Magna's firework show with my mom, sister Dorthy, bro-in-law Rory, their son Rowan, and my little sister Sarah. It turned out to be a great spot to watch because it's close enough to see the show, but far enough away to not be so noisy for the babies. I didn't have my camera, but wish I did because Rowan was glued to the fireworks the whole time. Abi, however, fell asleep about half-way through. God bless America.

Getting Better

So, things have been getting better. We were all pretty sick, but now we're on the mend and ready to enjoy the summer again, except now it's too hot to be outside. Oh, well. Like I said, things are better, but not before they got worse again. Abi was still running a fever when I last updated and one night we took her over to my parent's house to see if the car ride would make her feel better. While we were there she got really miserable, so we took her temperature; it was 103.8. Yikes. It about scared me half-to-death as I was scrambling to figure out where we could take her on a Saturday night. My mom and I ran her over to the urgent-care office and found out that she had both and ear infection and strep throat. She was pretty miserable. The doc gave her an anti-biotic and I breathed a sigh of relief thinking that she would feel better by the next day or so. The next day, she still had a fever and wouldn't eat. The next day her fever spiked again to the same temp as Saturday night. And the next day wasn't much better. Kevin and I decided that she needed to go back to the doctor. This time we got in to see the pediatrician and he gave her another anti-biotic which worked after the first dose. She's fine now, but she sure did make me nervous.

I'm working a little bit right now, filling in for a co-worker who is on maternity leave, so I have had a few late nights with early mornings the next day. The night of the 29th was the best, or should I say worst? Best because I went to see The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and worst because it was the midnight showing (well, 12:50) and I didn't get a nap before. I went, again, as the party crasher with my sis Mel and her husband's family (girls only). It was a lot of fun and the movie was pretty good, considering it's predecessors, I guess. The acting is slightly better, though still extra-cheesy. But, really, what do you expect? Anyone who has read the books can tell you sure, they enjoyed them, but they are corney, and what's corney on paper is super-corney on screen. The hair and make-up are also better, I think, but can I just say, "WILL SOMEONE SEND THE WEREWOLVES TO THE GYM?!!?" Jacob is all ripped from head to toe (probably from packing Bella around everywhere) and Sam Uley is just walking around with his gut sucked in. Sam, you're not fooling anyone, that belly jiggles with every step. A couple of sit-ups won't kill you, I'm sure. Anyway, I only got a couple of hours of sleep and had to work the next day. It was worth it. Kevin and I went to see it yesterday (he says it's not as funny as New Moon and that there's too much kissing) and then he took me clothes shopping afterward. Kevin picked out a couple of super-cute shoes for me and I found a couple of tops that I really like. We haven't been out on a "just-the-two-of-us" date like that for a little while, so it was fun.