Tuesday, September 30, 2014

september ... hello school!

September (ok, well truthfully, the last days of August for Max) 
brought an exciting return to the school routine...

The biggest thrill of it all was Miss Jane starting Kindergarten!
Walking to school with neighborhood bestie Parker...
First day at Sprague!
 Lining up with Mrs. B!
So far, everyone is off to a fantastic school year!
~~~~~~~~~~~

Another noteworthy September event was a trip to West Point! 
This year Jane joined the group (Max, Daddy, Papa, KK & Uncle Matt) to see an Army football game...

...while Miss Kate and I had local adventures.

September also brought the start of Fall Sports!
Jane played soccer for the first time this year with 
her dad as her coach...
She loved it!
Max played Fall baseball!
Go Fighting Illini!
While Kate kept things as silly as possible 
(this is our neighbor's bunny)...
The weather stayed warm but evidence of Fall was everywhere...
On the very last day of the month, 
it was so hot that we had to go for a swim!

It was a fantastic month, including a great visits with 
Grams from Sedona, Aunt Richelle & Lee from Houston,
and Brook was even able to cross paths with Aunt Merle in Boston
 - all SADLY not pictured! We try our best!

Click here to see all of our September photos.
And as always, thanks for stopping by!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Thursday, September 25, 2014

2014 highlight series: SORA JANE!

By far, the happiest event of 2014 for our clan was the birth of
Uncle BB & Misato's baby, Sora Jane, on March 25th. 
What a stunning child!
What a beautiful new family!
 We have all been mesmerized ever since.

Her first hours...

Early days...

We're all so grateful for technology! 
(Sora & Kate meeting via FaceTime...)
 (As you can tell from Sora's reaction, Kate said something fascinating!)

In May, Grammie & Papa made the trip to Kyoto to meet this beauty...
And to attend her Omiyamairi.

From Wikipedia: Omiyamairi (宮参り, literally "shrine visit") 
is a traditional Shinto rite of passage in Japan for newborns. 
Approximately one month after birth (31 days for boys and 33 days for girls,[1]parents and grandparents bring the child to a Shinto shrine, to express gratitude to the deities for the birth of a baby and have a shrine priest pray for his or her health and happiness. The practice is not dissimilar to a Christian infant baptism.

  By all accounts it was an incredible experience!

The rest of the time I think they just snuggled...

And spent precious time with the Nakamura Family...




~~~~~~~~~
The months since Sora's birth have flown by, 
and she has grown more beautiful and amazing every day!
    We loved her August visit of course, and cannot wait for her
(and Misato & BB!) to return in December!

WE LOVE SORA!!!

Click here to see Sora's first six months.
(Our monthly posts will now include updated Sora photos, too!)
And as always, thanks for stopping by!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Sunday, August 31, 2014

summer recap: AUGUST!

(Warning: photo dense post)
The second half of our summer was JAMMED with exciting events! 
Let's get right to it, y'all!

The moment we turned the calendar to August, we zipped to Old Lyme for our annual beach trip. The week kicked off with some iffy weather:

(Apprehensive but ever-determined Kate)

So we made the most of it and rode the Essex Steam Train (again!)


A great outing with the fabulous Glennons!

Thankfully, the clouds didn't last long and we headed to the beach 
as soon as the sun came out!
Kate with her favorite person of all time!

Two Janes relaxing by the sea

American Ninja Warrior

Kate & Papa at the marina in Old Saybrook...

Watching the boats.

These two. Love love love.

The silliest girl in all the land.

Next up: Kayaking on a beautiful morning...



Then, another beach favorite: Crabbing...


For almost the whole week, we enjoyed gorgeous weather...
with these beautiful creatures...
Still such a special place for all of us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Speaking of beautiful creatures, something amazing 
was heading our way...

SORA JANE CAME TO BOSTON!!!
The Nakamuras arrived almost immediately after we got home
from Connecticut... It was a thrill for all of us!

Kate couldn't wait to get her hands on that bundle of joy.
I mean, could you???

Sora and her daddy!

After a few days, we put that beauty in the car and 
headed to St. Johnsbury, VT... 
for Carolyn & Ryan's gorgeous wedding!

My people.

Also my people.

Me with my fabulous date.
(Our sitter cancelled at the last minute so 
Brook stayed home with the kids - sorry Brook!)
Papa & Grammie with the Fantastic Father of the Bride, Paul.

(Back at home, Brook took these two on a consolation outing: 
Fenway Park!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If that wasn't enough for fun and adventure, get this:

Brook, Uncle BB, Papa & Marty then went to ICELAND!
That's right, ICELAND!
Hiking, horses, spas, rainbows. It all sounded so magical!

Meanwhile, back at Grammie & Papa's,
Sora wondered what the heck was going on!
So we took her on another excursion...
Lunch with the Great-Grands in Farmington, CT!
It was a lovely afternoon and she was such a good baby (as always!)...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a continued effort to pack it all in, Max, Jane and I took yet another day trip - this time to visit the Burkes at their spectacular spot in Plymouth, MA.

Their front yard. No big deal.

Gearing up...

Litte Miss Sunshine.

Adventurers.

Ryan B. taking my kid (and his) out to sea...

Come back soon, guys!

Another Great Day!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now, the last of the August Adventures.
Uncle BB, Misato, Sora & I had the great fortune to 
spend a day on the Outer Cape.

We caught up after way too long with dear old friends, Mac & Alex, 
at Mac's Shack in Wellfleet...

And then strolled the beach in Truro.
Sora dipped her toes in the Atlantic Ocean for the very first time!
And was just as awesome as a baby can get...
Yes, that's right! Another Great Day!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before we had to say sayonara to the Nakamuras,
we spent some last days at Grammie & Papa's pool, 
winding down the summer and grilling hot dogs.

Sora was an angel...

Janis Joplin was wild...

And the pool was a blast.

And by the end, there actually was a tiny, little fall chill in the air!

It was an incredible month. Like, really, the most incredible month.
Click here to see all of our August photos.
And as always, thanks for stopping by!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox