Here are some photos from Fourth of July weekend! We spent it quietly at home, but Dan’s sister came down to visit from New York, and Ted & Elisa also came over so we had a lot of great family time together.
The girls in their red, white, and blue!
Here is Mirei on all fours, bouncing and rocking back and forth. She’s definitely getting ready to crawl!
Mio with a sparkler for the first time (with some help and supervision from Daddy, of course).
Holding a big firework with Mama
Mirei making more attempts to crawl.
She can sit up pretty well unassisted too, although we still spot her from behind…
I made sidewalk ice chalk for the first time.
It was great for showing how colors mix to make new colors, and I mixed baking soda into the ice and sprayed them with vinegar on the sidewalk to cause a reaction. Art + Science lesson in one!
Dan’s sister Hyo took some great photos of the girls too, so I’ll go ahead and share them here as well.
Painting with Mama on the porch.
Mirei hanging out with Auntie Miwa on the porch.
Twinkly-eyed… while grabbing Auntie’s face.
Hope everyone had a great Independence Day and holiday weekend! 😀
On Saturday, we went to Ekoji Buddhist Temple’s annual Obon Festival in Fairfax Station. They had a variety of Japanese summer festival activities and games for kids, arts and crafts for sale, as well as a lot of Japanese food for sale — everything from somen, gyudon, mabodufu, chicken teriyaki, spam musubi, shaved ice, mochi, and other desserts! The area was decorated in traditional matsuri style with lanterns strung around and outdoor tables and stations for the various vendors.
Arriving at Ekoji Buddhist Temple’s Obon festival.
When we got there, the festival was already bustling with tons of people!
Mio and I making our way over to the shaved ice stand for a cool refreshment.
Daddy says “open wide!” for the kakigori.
Enjoying some melon-flavored kakigori (shaved ice).
There were lots of games for children.
Instead of the traditional game of scooping live goldfish, they had kids scoop plastic toys and rubber duckies that they could take home with them.
During the ring toss, Mio didn’t understand why everyone was purposely making it hard for themselves by throwing the rings. She kept going over and carefully placing the rings on the sticks.
She still won some bubbles and a whistle as prizes!
A lot of people were dressed in yukatas and jinbeis, the Japanese festival garb.
Mio of course sported her own jinbei and got a lot of smiles and compliments from strangers!
We ran into our friend Mimi at the festival. Thanks for taking this picture of us, Mimi!
There was also Yo-yo tsuri (fishing for water balloons).
Later in the evening, there was bon-odori, and a lot of people joined in the dancing.
Some video of the bon-odori dancing:
Nen Daiko also gave an awesome taiko performance!
Here is Nen Daiko performing “Satori no Michi.” Mio started yelling along with the drummers towards the end, much to our dismay…
We left shortly afterwards as Mio was getting really rowdy and we were worried she’d disturb everyone’s enjoyment of the taiko performances. At the end of the Obon festival, they supposedly had a candle memorial ceremony to remember loved ones who have passed on. Maybe next time, we’ll be able to stay for the whole festival! 🙂 It’s great that our children will be able to experience and take part in these Japanese traditions even while they live in America. Even as Americans, it’s a valuable thing to get exposure to your ethnic heritage and its traditions so that you can develop an understanding and appreciation for them. I think going to Obon will definitely be a family tradition for us in the years to come!
We took our first trip to the beach this summer on Sunday, when we went to North Beach, Maryland, which is part of the Chesapeake and only an hour drive away. (We had originally planned to go to Rehoboth but decided to save that for a whole weekend when we could stay overnight, as it’s a 3 hour drive away.) North Beach was a cute little town and while the beach was small, it was pretty private and ideal for small children in that there were no strong waves and the water remained shallow pretty far in. We felt that it was a really safe beach for Mio to splash around in.
At first, Mio was very upset and reluctant about stepping onto the sand, and just kept pointing at the water saying “ocean!” from our beach mat, imploring us to just carry her over to the water so that her little feet wouldn’t have to to touch the dreaded sand. Once she got into the water, though, she loved it and kept going in and out and splashing around in it with Daddy for about two hours! The Atlantic is so much warmer than the Pacific waters that we’d taken Mio to in California and Hawaii, so this was the first time she could really stay in the water for a long time without freezing! By the end, she didn’t even seem to notice the sand because she’d had so much fun.
Mio and I at the beach. I didn’t realize until Dan mentioned it, but we match!
She loves the water!
Our little waterbug ♥
Going further into the water with Daddy
Dan teaching Mio how to kick in the water.
Daddy throwing Mio up high!
Family picture!
After spending a few hours on the beach, we packed up, enjoyed some Rita’s Italian Ice and then headed to lunch at Neptune’s Seafood Pub nearby because we were craving shrimp! All the food there was delicious, and Mio discovered how much she loves sour cream. (She kept dipping every food she tried in the sour cream, and then ended up just scooping it up by the handful with her little fingers. She definitely has her Daddy’s taste buds, because I hate sour cream.)
Steamed seasoned shrimp and potato skins!
The hubs with a mouthful of shrimp chorizo tacos… And of course, the little hand sneaking in.
I love that summer is officially here and I look forward to more little mini trips and outings to the beaches in the area! 🙂
When I send my mother photos of Mio in her various dresses and outfits, she often comments on how Mio must be like a “living doll” (生ãã¦ã‚‹äººå½¢, ikiteru ningyou in Japanese) that I can play dress-up with. I admit that I have way too much fun picking out what Mio will wear every day, and I probably enjoy it far more than Mio herself does. I’m relishing it while I can, since before I know it, Mio is going to be rejecting my outfit choices for her and wanting to pick her clothes out herself. (And I can already tell you that I will most likely cry when that day comes, just as my mom did when I rejected the K-mart clothing she bought me in favor of Limited Too.)
Mio has a bunch of cute jinbei clothes that she received as gifts as well as hand-me-downs (all in the same size!), so I decided to take advantage of the hot weather we’ve been having this past week and have her wear them while she still can! Welcome to the fashion show of my little Japanese doll, summer edition:
Love the frilled sleeves and the goldfish design…
Bunnies and cherry blossoms… so very appropriate for Mio.
With our own first wedding anniversary coming up in a couple days, we wanted to take a moment to congratulate all our dear friends who have tied the knot this summer. The brides all looked stunning, the grooms looked handsome, and whether or not we were able to attend their weddings, our warmest wishes go out to them as they embark on the journey of life together.
June 20, 2009: Pat and Theo. Pat is one of my closest friends and her wedding reception was well-worth the cross-country trip. They had their Thai and Vietnamese ceremonies earlier in the day, and held a huge reception in the evening.
June 27, 2009: Taka and Luke. I had the honor of being one of the bridesmaids at their wedding in Jacksonville, Florida. They were engaged even before Dan and I, but the wait made their wedding all the more sweet. I love this photo of them in Japanese kimono.
May 30, 2009: My graphic design classmate Alli had the Hokie bird at her wedding! How awesome is that? I am insanely jealous. And of course, Alli herself looks gorgeous.
July 11, 2009: YonMi and Jae Yoon. A 7-11 couple! I love this photo of them standing in front of their wedding date. I've known YonMi since high school and we attended Virginia Tech together as well. We've both come a long way.
July 11, 2009: Jay and Kourtney. Another 7-11 couple! Although I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Kourtney, I remember the way Jay's eyes lit up when he told me about her and their upcoming wedding at a Christmas party last year. He told me they were planning on taking a photo in front of a 7-11 on their wedding day (much like YonMi did) - can't wait to see the picture!
July 18, 2009: Legare and Chris. They just tied the knot last weekend! Legare (also known as Robbie) and I were JCA officers together while at Virginia Tech, and I remember the excitement with which she told me about her engagement last year, and was more than happy to help her with wedding advice when she needed it. We regret that we couldn't make it to the wedding, but we wish them nothing but the best.
Cheers to each couple’s happily ever after! We hope that all of them are basking in newlywed bliss.
I will leave you with this video of a hilariously funny, creative wedding entrance that I saw the other day on YouTube. It’ll be sure to put a smile on your face.
