Zombies, Asian Festival, and a Sewing Lesson

Maliana ~

Audrey came over for a visit on Monday and we spent most of the evening outside. With camp outs, mudpies, and the ice cream man jingling down the street...it was really feeling like a summer evening at our house!

blanket over your playset, some lawnchairs, bricks placed
in a circle and voila ~ you're camping out!

 

inside your "tent"...it appears to be bedtime

Audrey Ayi showed you how to paint the timbers on
the flower bed using the mud from your mudpies

 

you guys were hilariously jumping up and down
on the sidewalk waving your dollars as
soon as you heard the first jingle
of his truck

ice cream smiles!

This week I went to the store to look for some extra summer shorts for you since our beach trip is coming up soon. You fell in love with these (calling them your "Hawaii shorts") and proceeded to wear them the rest of the week...even asking to sleep with them one night!

love the Band-Aid on the elbow too!

You were so stoked that it was a three day weekend and when Friday FINALLY made it here this week, you were elated! I had bought a new camera this week in preparation for our beach trip and so decided to take it with us to try it out on an errand and a walk after school. Well, you couldn't be left out of the fun and so also insisted on bringing your camera too. So funny.

scooter, helmet, and camera ~ check!

bike, helmet, and camera ~ check!

evidently, you had to stop and attempt to "fix" your bike...
here you are taking a picture of the problem, I'm
 assuming to send to your mechanic?!

why is it that running errands usually ends with frozen yogurt?

you and Braycen decided to get out the hammock

As for the weekend, boy was it a doozy! Saturday morning we headed down to Logan for the Zombie 5K obstacle course Run For Your Lives. Check out my Facebook status for the shenanigans that occurred before we even left the house...
~ We're leaving in a few minutes for the Zombie 5K Run For Your Lives. Mali is eating breakfast and every time I walk within 10 feet of her she is trying to psych me out by saying in her scariest (aka hilarious) voice..."I'm a zombie...I will eat your brains!" Let's see how much of a smarty-pants she is after she sees an actual zombie at the race!
And here is a picture of you right before getting into the car...

zombie face

Uncle Blaize and I ran the course which was infested with zombies along the way. It was exhausting and muddy, but very fun. You weren't so sure about some of the zombies when we got there, but quickly got used to it all and did very well. Hanging out with Memaw Lisa, Wai Gong, and Daddy helped a ton!

post race photo

We came home and rested for a bit. You and I hung out in the hammock for a while, looking up at the sky, and making up very silly and inappropriate phrases. Evidently, putting together the word "poop" with "butt" and other random body parts are winning combinations for any 5 year old. As charming as our topics of conversation can be, I love times like that with you.

That night we headed to a local Brazilian steakhouse to celebrate Papaw Rick's birthday. You actually agreed to wear a dress (so did I) and were in rare form throughout the entire meal. Uncle Flint brought his girlfriend Monica who you have now officially renamed "hey friend". She answers to it and seems ok about it, so what the heck. You must have taken about 4 trips to the bathroom while we were there, exclaiming the first time, "Wow! These bathrooms are beautiful!" which likely explains the repeat trips. After dinner we walked to the middle of Easton and of course you hit up the photo booths with Uncle Flint and "hey friend". I think the photos below speak for themselves as to how much fun you had that night.

actually got you in a dress!

all of your mini foods from the buffet

laughing it up with Enay and Lao Lao

dancing to the funky music

Monica aka "hey friend"

the gang after dinner

so silly...you had fun with these two

more proof of the silliness

trying on Mama's shoes while looking for a
snack once we got home

Sunday Lao Lao came back over and we picked up Uncle Flint and went to the Asian Festival at the grounds of the Franklin Park Conservatory. We watched a demonstration put on by Koguryo (your old martial arts studio) and then walked around to shop, eat, and drink some of our favorite bubble tea, of course!

our family at the Asian Festival

with one of the dragon boats (and
your new $5 toy from a vendor)

with Lao Lao and Uncle Flint

 

about to dig into the yummy purple sticky
rice that was roasted in bamboo ~ yum!!

 

this picture is of Uncle Flint to remind us of his sweet gesture
(just before the picture was taken, the little boy behind us was
absolutely heartbroken because his balloon had floated into the sky.
Uncle Flint went to find him a new balloon and tied it to a stick so it
wouldn't float away again...all on his own, your Uncle Flint took
it upon himself to make this kid, (a complete stranger), happy...
what a good example of a simple act of random kindness)
you've got one sweet uncle!

That evening we headed to Uncle Joe and Aunt Tina's for a gathering of friends. We ate some more and played games, laughing and talking while you played with the other kids. I seriously can't tell you how much I LOVE to watch you running around and exploring, being silly, and having fun with other kids. You and Erin (Sam too!) get along so amazingly well together and the sound of your laughter as you play is awesome. We stayed until well after dark and it was reminiscent of nights I myself can remember running around, playing hide and seek, tag, and laughing until my sides hurt with my friends. We used to squeeze every last minute out of the night until our parents rounded us up to go home. Those are some great memories of mine and I love that you are forming those very same childhood memories of your own.

you and E on the hammock

jump!

resting

challenging E's bike to a foot race ~ you ambitious little thing

surprise! mamarazzi!

playing hide and seek...
"shhh...don't tell anyone I'm behind this tree"
(of course, I guess Mom's big spotlight
camera flash didn't help, ha.)

tiny girls...big hammock

We got home so late from Joe and Tina's that while I was in the bathroom getting ready for bed, you fell asleep in the middle of "stalking" me outside the bathroom door. Ha.

Memorial Day was rainy and cold...we slept in (thankfully) and I woke up to you lightly tickling my arm. You are the sweetest and gentlest little soul. We then headed over to Lao Lao's where she helped us make some summer tube dresses for the beach from material we had picked out at Jo-Ann Fabric. She even quickly made you a new silkie with a piece of the same lace used to make my wedding dress. I wonder if you'll actually use this one. You were pretty intrigued by it, so we'll see. You loved your sewing lesson, nonetheless.



Daddy had to work on Memorial Day, so we just spent a relatively quiet day together. We talked about the meaning of the holiday and also took Abby to Petsmart for some shopping. You thought it was particularly interesting to know that even dogs can serve in our military, as I explained this to you after finding a picture on the internet of a marine and his dog as part of a canine unit.

very excited to bring Abby to Petsmart with us
(so proud of your "sister")

Once finally home, we spent the rest of the evening outside playing until dark with the neighbors. So very fortunate to have kids that you get along with so well.

you guys kept the siren on almost the entire time you
rode this motorcycle...where's my Advil? Ha.

Love,
Mama