a little getaway

My heart has felt so heavy lately from very sad, recent news about a friend's death.  This past weekend was such a gift.  It really was a gift, too, because the whole trip was our christmas gift from mom and dad.  I could not have asked for more.  Beautiful sunshine, time together, babysitting (!!!!).. It was a time to refresh and appreciate our many blessings.

for your driving pleasure... DJ Kai!

Where's the baby?!

classic. 

the aquarium

these days

"Baby Godzilla" about to destroy the "city"

I hope that in 20 years this blog site will still work. Sometimes I worry that I should be recording this all down in other places just in case like on a word document or on the original word document, paper & pen. My purpose in recording all of these memories is so that when my kids are grown and gone, I can look back and read these memoirs 20, 30 years later. I can laugh and cry and remember.


So, maybe I should do just that and start recording it in two places for a little backup.

Anyways..
These days..

Kai is almost 3 1/2 and Lukas is almost 9 months. We are really starting to have fun now!!!

Lukas has a new nickname. Baby Godzilla. I taught Kai what that means and he enjoys talking about how his brother is Baby Godzilla and it is his job to eat everything and destroy everything. Kai is the "architect." Seriously. No matter where we are, he will start to build walls and gates and "cities" with whatever "building materials" are available. Lukas is now on the move, rolling and scooting and crawling and pulling himself up. Lukas LOVES his big brother. Whenever Kai comes close or graces his little brother with attention, Lukas is in heaven. He is so expressive about how happy he is, too, which is the cutest. Lukas wants in on the action, too, and can't be left to his own devices. So, now being the mobile Baby Godzilla that he is, Lukas likes to move himself to where Kai is and "play" with all of Kai's walls and cities. I'm hearing a lot more these days of "No, Lukas! Stop touching that, Lukas! No!"

And so it all begins. I made a deal with Kai that if he played in his room, I could guarantee for now that Lukas wouldn't touch his things. However, Kai still insists on playing in "public space." Public space is the family room, kitchen, areas which are for EVERYBODY and I can't stop anyone from touching whatever is in public space. It is interesting to see Kai, too, who is generally Mr. Independent, say, "I need Lukas" or "I want to see Lukas." I think Kai chooses not to play in his room now because (1) he is stubborn and a bit contrary and also (2) I think he wants to be with me and his little brother and doesn't want to play by himself which is kinda nice that he cares to be a little more social now.

A recent conversation I wanted to write down made me laugh for a day or two. Kai knows the difference between boys and girls and I'm teaching him new words about "humans" and people. I think he understands women and men. But it is funny because people, persons, humans, I think he defines as adults and grown-ups. He kept asking me for a few days, "Mommy, are you a person?" One response of his cracked me up. I told him, "Yes, I am, Kai. You are a person, too." "No, mommy. I'm not a person. I'm not human. Because I'm just a boy." Well, there you go.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself..



Psalm 33:3

Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.

 In the past 2 weeks, I have had many things to feel scared of, many things to worry about, to cry about.  Yesterday in the morning, I realized, "Stop feeling so sorry for yourself! Snap out of it!"
Recent events put my woes into better perspective.  As another friend described snapping out of her own woes, it is "humbling." It is humbling to remember how precious this gift of life is.  It is humbling to know that our life is held in a delicate balance and that truly God is the only one in control of it all.
I've read a few other blogs and articles that helped me this morning to reframe my own thinking more. 

Here were some of my reads--

This reminded me of realizing how awesome God's creation is (including me, too!): http://lysaterkeurst.com/2012/04/when-your-husband-has-given-up/
Despite sad events, God will always be there to hear me out: http://houseoftong.blogspot.com/2013/02/just-me-and-rock.html
And one more... I love the example of the bucket!!! Christ's atonement helps us to really overflow..: http://www.daringyoungmom.com/2012/12/19/drops-of-awesome/

Adventures in Paradise (Oahu trip 2013)

Job 8:21


He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.

So, I’m not totally crazy. When my husband suggested taking a family trip to Oahu for 12 days, my initial reaction was to cringe. I asked my friends. Am I weird? Am I super ungrateful to not want to go to Hawaii? Who doesn’t want to take a Hawaiian vacation?! But, now that we are gratefully back home, I realize that I wasn’t crazy to feel a bit of dread and anxiety at the thought of attempting our adventure.

Other than just wishful thinking, I agreed to go to Hawaii because I didn’t think my husband would have taken 12 days off from work to stay home and chill out with us. So, ultimately, the best part of our trip was that we were together. It was all in all, an "experience." The trip could not really be described as relaxing or even that much fun. It was stressful and tiring, but it was completely hilarious (in retrospect) and a learning experience. I see in retrospect that I’m not crazy. I was able to laugh a lot and learn a lot and I’m 1,000x more grateful for my home and family, but I realize that I wasn’t weird to cringe.

It all started when my parents decided to spend their first Christmas in Houston with my brother’s family. When Ryuta found out, he said,” Well, if they aren’t here, we should go somewhere!” We looked at possibly going to Japan for the New Year, but it was too expensive. A trip to Oahu was slightly more affordable and what a great way to rack up our miles!

The flight over was filled with Kai insisting on sitting on his daddy’s lap (and he was glued there for the 12 days following), Kai kicking the back of his neighbor’s chair, Kai telling us how he wanted to go back home, not having enough food to eat on our flight. Lukas slept for part of it. Kai did not. Gratefully, we got there safely.

The good, the bad, & the ugly. Such is life.

Here are some good, bad, & ugly moments from Oahu:

The GOOD:

*We got to eat lots of yummy food such as Kua’aina burgers, Teddy’s teriyaki burgers, shaved ice @ Aoki’s & Waiola, Gyukaku, Korean bbq (twice!), ahi poki, sushi (twice!)



@ Gyukaku: Kai surprisingly kept running away..


*I had 20 minutes of peace walking in the sunshine on the beach in Ka’a’awa while the kids hung with Ryuta @ the playground.

Sign reads: "School property.  No loitering.  No trespassing."  I thought this looked funny to me as my husband was sleeping on the slide holding the baby looking like some bums. hehe

*We got lots of great souvenirs such as shirts from Aloha Stadium, 14 boxes of mac nut chocolates (!!!), Hawaiian decals.  Ryuta got a funny hat and license plate holder that say,"I not late. I stay on hawaiian time."

*Kai & I built 2 sand castles (this was a huge deal since Kai is scared of the ocean and freaked out anytime we’d even suggest going on the SAND!)

"For Tutu" (Mom asked Kai to build her a castle.)

*Kai touched the ocean ONCE.

*I had LOTS of opportunities to tickle Kai (the agreement was that if he whined, said anything negative, or acted like Oscar the Grouch, he’d get tickles.)

*I sat in the back of the car with my kids A LOT. And didn’t get car sick.

*Ryuta’s old boss, Azuma, was very generous & kind to us with dinner & a stay @ her beautiful condo.

*I got to attend church services at UH. I REALLY like our Oahu church!

* Other than long car rides, Lukas was the perfect traveler!

*Despite eating LOTS of white rice, I didn’t gain any weight from our trip! Yay!

*We met Mickey & Minnie @ the Aulani Disney Resort (that place is AMAZING.)

*We did NOT lose our rental car keys.

*We got to stay at a nice, clean hotel in a great location.

*The parking lot guy liked Ryuta because we used to be locals and so hooked us up with free parking!

*We got to take pictures with our kids in the place where we met and where we got married.


@ the Kahala hotel.  Good job doing your shaka, Kai kai!


* We have lots of hilarious memories.

*Kai got to spend lots of time with his daddy.

*Kai & Lukas had a number of nights that they played and giggled together. I cherish these moments.

* We were together.

THE BAD & THE UGLY:

*Kai reminded us daily that he did not like Hawaii & wanted to go home. “I don’t like Hawaii.. I want to go home.. I don’t like it.” (Oscar the Grouch got a million tickles.) “Oh wow, Kai. Look out the window. Isn’t it beautiful?!” “No.”

*Kai built his walls wherever we went. @ GG’s place, @ the restaurant, @ the hotel. He got obsessive about building a wall out of a straw beach mat. On the morning we were packing up in our hotel, he screamed for a couple of hours because his “wall” kept falling down.

*We had our hands very full during meals. Lukas sat on my lap while Ryuta fed him baby food. Kai, for some reason, refused to sit by himself and sat on daddy’s lap for almost every meal.

*It rained about 80% of the time. We spent a lot of time in the car trying to find somewhere pleasant and dry. Lukas HATES being in the car and screams, so I spent much of my energy trying to appease to him and calm him down.

*On New Year’s Eve, the neighbors directly behind my grandma’s cottage had a BIG fireworks party. It felt like World War 3. They shot off large fireworks most of the evening and did a grand finale at 12. They got really excited again around 2am. This would have been fine if our boys were bigger and liked fireworks. However, I submitted myself to not getting sleep, blasted a musical concert on PBS TV, and tried to keep the boys calm. In that sense, I miss the calm. peaceful New Year in Japan.

*We lost our rental car keys (thankfully, Ryuta found them.)

*Ryuta slammed Kai’s hand in the car door.

*All of the guys got congested. Runny noses and boogers for 2 weeks. 

*Kai wet the bed twice.

*Lots of laundry plus no dryer plus rain.

*Kai fell out of the hotel bed at 2:30 am and screamed for an hour that he needed to leave. (Ryuta later found him at 4 am dead asleep upside down on a chair. I WISH he got a photo!)

*After a long walk around Waikiki, with kids asleep in ergo and stroller, standing at a red light just across the street from our hotel, getting hit by a downpour of rain. We could only scream and laugh.


This is us before the rain hit.  We're taking a picture in front of the place where we first met.


*When we finally landed at SFO (Kai fell asleep just 5 minutes before landing. Typical!) we were so relieved and happy. We had never been so glad to leave Hawaii and be back home to my parents, lots of clean carpet space for the baby, the kids’ books and toys, the baby’s high chair and jumper. However, right when we thought we had it all.. we had all of our luggage and my dad was ready to pick us up, the airlines misplaced Kai’s car seat. They told us that the car seats were gate-checked (although we checked them in with our luggage) and Ryuta had to go back through security to our gate to get them. We spent 90 minutes waiting and trying to figure out where the car seat was or trying to locate a loaner seat. They finally found it and we finally made it home.



We learned and realized a few things.

1. If and when we make a big trip again with small children, travel with grandparents. Also, do a shorter stay at a resort.

2. Getting a dog might be better than having a 3rd baby.

3. Weekend getaways may be better than big trips.

4. You can’t force a kid to be a good traveler.

The end. 

Holidays 2012

Merry Christmas.


Many happy, joyful wishes to you and your family this holiday season.

At the start of 2012, I (Somer) resolved to work on being more joyful and grateful and as I look back on the year, I truly am thankful for all of the people and experiences that made up our year. As I reflect back, I think, “What exactly did I do this year?” I spent half the year making a baby in my tummy while pigging out on McDonald’s burgers and ice cream cones, enjoying the benefits of insurance and the chiropractor, cherishing the last moments of times with “just Kai” going on play dates, and trips to the park. I dedicated my time to creating a community of moms, trying to discover new recipes, and thinking about how to build our home and family.



After 6 years at Anelva/Canon, Ryuta started a new job in early August at Mirapro. He still keeps in touch with old clients and co-workers at frequent lunches and dinner outings. On the weekends, he keeps up his tennis. Saturday mornings are bonding times with Kai—swim and bike rides. I am hoping we can try out e-soccer in 2013! Ryuta still enjoys reading manga, watching movies, and shopping for sneakers and jeans and funny t-shirts.



Kai had a big year with lots of changes. He became a big brother. During the summer, he started preschool 2 mornings a week and swim lessons on the weekends. He turned 3 in September. We have been dabbling into the world of potty training and it has been a slow process. In October, he became a student at a new Japanese preschool in San Jose and he is slowly becoming more bilingual. We love the structure of the school and the gentle, caring teachers. Kai is a shy, smart, imaginative, careful boy who loves his teachers, singing songs, reading books, doing art, building and organizing, going for bike rides with his dad, trips to Happy Hallow, eating rice with furikake, eating fruit, cookies, watching Anpanman, and Disney Cars.



On June 2nd, we were blessed to meet the newest addition, Lukas Kei Sanui. Lukas loves to be around people and is a very social, happy creature. He brings so much joy, many smiles, and much laughter into our home. I always think of the Elton John song “Your Song” when I think about him. “I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words how wonderful life is now that you’re in the world.” Papa-san calls him “Lizard Boy” because Lukas is exploring his world with his tongue! I think of him as my little owl because of his adorable, round eyes. This Christmas, he will be almost 7 months and will likely be rolling and scooting all over the house.



Travels & Visits—

My mom, Kai, and I visited my brother’s family in Houston in January and they paid us a visit in August. It was great to see the cousins all together. Ryuta’s mom/”Grandma” flew in from Japan in February and in July. In March, Ryuta and I did a “babymoon” weekend away in San Francisco, enjoying some rare moments away just the 2 of us. In October, we were lucky to have a family mini-trip to Monterey. At the end of this year, we are headed to Oahu for a couple of weeks to ring in the new year.





Other important events—

This year both grandparents turned 80. We missed Grandpa’s birthday because I was in my last month of pregnancy and couldn’t fly out to Vegas. I’m sorry I missed seeing him dressed up as Elvis! Grandma’s birthday was a wonderful family reunion with family flying in from Colorado, Oregon, and San Diego. Our cousin, Justin, graduated from San Jose State and is now working in Arkansas doing great things with his education. For Halloween, Kai was Super Boy (but DON’T tell him that his “t-shirt” was a “costume!”), Lukas was a monster, and I was “Fear the Beard” Wilson. (Go Giants! World Series champs!!!!) We went trick-or-treating with the Pons family. Papa-san and Lukas passed out candy. We said goodbye to my father’s longtime tennis friend, Haruki-san, in May. We also felt a great loss as a community as our tennis club was closed. For the past 20 years (of my life at least), the club was a gathering place to meet friends, exercise, and play tennis. We also said goodbye to cousin Ashley and family as they moved out into “wild”  territory in Colorado.



New beginnings==

This was a year of new lives, new babies! Lukas will have lots of playmates as he grows up. Welcome the Year of the Dragon babies—Kobe, Samuel, Eowyn, Sage, Alyre, Cope, Arya, Judah, and Olivia.

Sometime during the spring, our backyard project was completed. We said goodbye to the old pool and hello to our new backyard space. I learned a lot about dealing with contractors for sure! But, we definitely are enjoying the new entertaining space and not having to worry about little ones falling into the pool.

I called this Halloween my “Mardi Gras” as I chowed down on chocolate before my season of “lent,” a season of exercise, healthy eating, and more discipline and self-control. In November, I joined a gym with my parents. They had started a morning exercise program and it really made big differences in their health and energy. I decided to give it a shot, too. I’ve had my fair share of aches, but my parents have really inspired me to be a healthier person. I know that I could not have tried this out without them! This healthy living is a new beginning for me (and surprisingly it is the END of the year!)

Tutu & Papa (my parents) will be headed to Houston to spend Christmas with my brother’s family. This will be our first Christmas as a family. I look forward to creating some special memories of “just us,” our little Sanui clan. Please stop by and say hello if you are in the hood. 



Well, we want to wish you and your loved ones a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!



Love,

The Sanui Family

Ryuta, Somer, Kai, & Lukas





Luke 2

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

Lots to be Thankful for (November 2012)

Ecclesiastes 5:19

Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God.