Monkey see, monkey do

We managed to go on a cruise altogether just before Nana has ended her visit with us and moved on with her travels.

On the ship, Jon shared a room with grandma. Ben and Kait were with Vern and me, and Kait's was the usual co-sleeping because of her nursing-on-demand still and our interrupted sleep. But see that monkey?

Not the one hanging from that top bunk, trying to bunk in with us also! But the towel version that Pirate Ben was holding onto. Our copycat of the bigger monkey, put together by the cabin staff, that added a nice, whimsical touch to our stay! :)

It wasn't always smoothsailing though. The ebb and flow and highs and lows of family life travelled with us onto the high seas. There were the usual chaos and challenges of restraining the children, especially when their monkeying around got out of hand. I'm also not the cruise person that my MIL is. And the choppy waters and our different wavelengths knew how to get to an exhausted me :(. Was up till late nights in a row to pack our luggage, clean house and tie up loose ends. But it was hard to relax when the busy husband brought along his work to do (read: this wife had better get the children out of his hair)!

No wonder then it's the saner moments I always crave for. But I'll have to wait till later to share our other favourite things from this adventure. What I got to be thankful for, that it wasn't all work and no play.

Hoo hoo, ha ha...
Right now trying not to let the three jumping monkeys turn the house or me upside down. I'm into the third laundry load with a fourth one to do next, and need to get organized again. Plus some decisions to make about our summer plans when Vern gets back from his out-of-town work trip.

Hang on for my update!

Dads are beautiful, too

Father's Day celebrates its 100th anniversary!

Did you also know it originated in Spokane?

Wishing all dads -- and dads are beautiful, too -- beautiful days, every day, with your family!

In the pictures: The busy man that Vern is, this was when he stopped and smelled the roses, and other flowers at Manito Park, the "crown jewel" of the parks here, as part of the sightseeing for Nana earlier.

This park isn't quite as large as our favourite Missouri Botanical Garden, but each place has its beauty for us to appreciate it for what it is. As is the case with Spokane, that's not quite the same as St Louis, that's not quite the same as Singapore. Father's Day last year happened to be when we arrived to set up home here. And now, isn't home where the heart is?

Home is where the heart is...
Our three children give their father warm hellos/hugs -- after his long workdays, and whenever he comes home after being away for his out-of-town (often also means out-of-state) work trips.

From Kait, Ben, and Jon, it goes like this: "DAD-DEEE!!!", "Hi, Daddy!", and "Hey, Dad!". That makes me kinda jealous ;p... hey kids, mommy works hard too, taking care of you and our home.

Differences aside, what I especially appreciate is Vern making, finding, and squeezing out time for them, for us as a family, amid his busyness.

Bless my own Pa, too, for how much he loves us his children. No matter how grown up we are now, and never mind I live halfway across the globe, he's there for us.

Dads rock! We love you!

Every man, woman and child should stop,
think and remember all those wonderful things
that their fathers have done to build
the foundations for their own dreams.
- Mark Jeffery

(And what were the boys up to? Playing two-square with their own ball! Anywhere but the flower beds, please)!

Sunshine, Friends, and Laughter

After a busy end of the schoolyear, not just school but another season has whizzed by!


It wasn't too long ago when we went, "Boing! Spring has sprung!"...



Now we're looking forward to more sunshiny days!

Took the children to a "School is Out!" party around our place. Seeing them happy, enjoying themselves, with their friends, and all the laughter, put smiles on my own face, too!


Joy brightens up our days, and is what this mommy grabs onto for the longer ones! 


It's a wilder time, and I'm trying to get organized. Hoping for more of the crazy in a good way moments!

Here's to more sunshine, friends, and laughter in your life, too! 

There's joy also from spreading it to a friend or someone in need, in whatever ways we can to be a friend.

"Friends are the sunshine of life."

- John Hay

A river runs through it

The Spokane River runs through downtown Spokane, next to Riverfront Park.

At a lookout point, last month, taking Nana out while she's on her visit here...


Look who and who are tossing pinecones over the wall?!


Running back with another pinecone... then, THROW!!!


Kait has a nice overhand throw, from playing ball. She also likes to play "ring around the rosie" with Jon, and "follow the leader" with Ben -- on her own imitating his actions!

But it can also be a "monkey see, monkey do"!

Go with the flow...
It's OK to toss pinecones, or a ball, and the boys will even grunt while playing two-square together! The grunting they picked up from watching the French Open with Nana, who's a fan!

However, it's not so funny when the younger two snarl and throw things during their tantrums, or when the eldest throws a fit also. Nor is it when this mom melts down, too, hence, the term "mom-ster" (grrrowl!) coined by Ben! Self-control is not easy to teach, and even harder when I can't get a hold of my own emotions.

To agree to disagree -- and move on, is something I'm learning to do (e.g. with the husband, or my MIL, when we're on different wavelengths). The same I'm trying to help the older two children see is a solution over fighting. The battle scars from friendly and unfriendly scuffles among the three siblings are not pretty at all.

I'm here for my midweek "stop and gaze" moment. My neck and back feel less strained than over the weekend. Guess I overdid it squeezing in a grocery stop here and there on top of more driving, taking Nana for more sightseeing and shopping. For the places I'm less familiar with, I follow the husband's good directional sense more than the GPS. It's silly of me though to always heave the laundry and Kait at the same time. Heeding Vern's advice to go for my first physio session before he's currently out-of-town for work, helped me function more normally.

Meanwhile, there are also our summer plans to sort out, that to trust the husband's judgment, and the rest to go with the flow, and pray all will work out.

I hope your week is going smoothly!


May pictures, weekend after Ben's birthday.

When her brothers also said...

"I am a girl, I am a girl!"!!!

They actually sang it out loud...

... as they swayed their hips and watched their shadows on the ground, imagining the afternoon sun had turned their pants and shorts into skirts!

Now that's THE girl >>>

She was pretending to take pictures with the pouch that had slipped out of my hand, when I reached for the camera to capture these goofy moments, one fine day in April...

snap, snap, snap... Gotcha!

Think the boys will skin me over this post next time?!

I'll blog about the serious (brain-racking) stuff another day. Keeping this short -- no pun intended, but yes, Ben did roll up his pants to his knees for this 'gig'!

Have a good rest of the week!