The Birthday Clown (a tradition from my family) brought Gwen a hat. It was a $2 clearance hat from TJ Maxx that she wore the whole time we were shopping there a few days previous to Inez’s birthday. I tricked Gwen into thinking we weren’t going to buy the hat and that we had to put it back, but I actually bought it on the sly. She was pretty excited when she opened it, as you can see.

My Dad sent a copy of the poem Now We Are Six by A. A. Milne to Inez. She was so excited to turn six that she memorized it.
Personally, I love the ending:

But now I am Six,
I’m as clever as clever,
So I think I’ll be six now for ever and ever.

It’s not that I want her to stay six forever, but if she only could stop growing up so fast, that would be great.

She is obsessed with shoes.





I realize that it is not unique for a toddler to be interested in shoes. However, she not only is constantly wearing someone else’s shoes around the house but when she finds a pair that belongs to you, she’ll bring them to you and insist that you put them on. Even if you already have some on. She is determined with this task. And there’s no explaining to her that you already have some on. If you refuse to participate there is usually some high decibel screams that will ensue.

She also likes to accesorize.





She has been known her mark wherever she goes.

She’s creative when it comes to needing a boost.

She often gets into some tight spots.

She’s got the hang of Photo Booth.

She is a Daddy’s girl, through and through.

She knows how to get dressed up for a party. And while everyone is busy singing, sneaks a taste.

She’s also figured out how to get two different birthday parties. And therefore, two cakes.


She aspires to be like her big sister, “Nez.” Even if the backpack dwarfs her.

She always remembers to say hello to Maisy when we are at Target. She never forgets and her greeting often lasts for aisles and aisles and grows louder and louder the farther we get. She is such a good friend to Maisy.

We couldn’t be more in love with this little blithe spirit,

who also is pretty tenacious at times.

We are so blessed to have her in our family.

(thanks for taking pictures Brooke!)

Well, I remember when my Mom was pregnant with her seventh child (Jon) and she and my Dad decided that if they had a girl then my sister Heather and I would get a bunk bed, but if they had a boy then Joe & James would get the bunk bed. I was six and therefore sad when Joe & James got the bunk bed (especially because Heather always tried to push me into the crack between the bed and the wall to scare me, but that’s a different story).

Fortunately, Jon has filled the bunk bed void with a lot of fun and great memories. A few classics spring to mind. For example there was the time that he tried to bleach his own hair, but having naturally black hair it turned a nice shade of orange. He wore a hat to school the next day, but that night he had a volleyball game where he wouldn’t be allowed to cover his orange head. He quickly scrambled and found a box of black hair dye. Well, he fixed his hair, but he also dyed his head black. I can see those gymnasium lights reflecting off of his scalp as if it were yesterday.

Probably one of my favorite memories of Jon was when we went to Arizona with the Wihongis and Joe & Liz. We were there for a few different events, like nearly going deaf from a Blue Angel that buzzed about 20 feet over us, the Aloha festival and scorp hunting to name a few. We also went to a little open house of sorts at our brother-in-law’s parent’s house where someone had made a delicious fruit dip. Joe, Liz, Jon & I were standing around the food and chatting and as I reached for the last piece of fruit to dip in the yummy dip Jon went to intercept the apple slice from my hand and in the process he got overly excited and some saliva fell from his mouth directly into the fruit dip. Well, we all nearly wet ourselves but no one thought to do anything about the dip, until later when we saw someone else eating some.

Jon is such a fun guy to have around. He’s always waiting in the shadows to jump out and scare you or try and start a snowball fight—just ask Ashley! He’s a great uncle and the girls love it when he’s around, which is more often now since he and Ashley are living downstairs from us! We’re so glad that he married Ashley and that she is part of our family.

We love you “Jo nathan” and hope that you had a great birthday! And for the record, I am glad that Heather and I didn’t get the bunk bed after all.

Oh, and here is one picture that I did manage to scan.

Well, it didn’t take Gene very long to take a hold of our hearts (except maybe for Dad, but that may be somewhat understandable considering the lame guys that Carol had dated previously—sorry Carol, although I’m sure you’d agree—and she was also his first daughter to date and get married). We’re so glad that he married into our crazy family because now he’s stuck.
But seriously, we love Gene. He is such an amazing person, father, husband, doctor, surfer, and “kid” to have around. We always feel welcomed, loved, uplifted and enlightened when we are around him. He is seriously a kid at heart and is always up for any adventure.

I even remember being at their house in San Diego and Carol had to tell Gene to come in from skateboarding so that he wouldn’t disturb the neighbors late at night. That was probably three or four years ago. Gene will be the 80 year old surfer.

We know that you’ll never live too far from the ocean or your year-round perfect weather, but please come visit more often! We do have good snowboarding here and I’m sure that Carol could turn that into some sort of field trip for the girls. You’re always invited.

We love you Gene and hope you had a great birthday!

Mallea, we hope that you had a really great day today. Happy Birthday! We love and miss you!