Family Picnic July 18

A friend of ours arranged for a family picnic last Friday evening.  Other than lots and lots of mosquitos, the park was awesome.  Both kids loved it - there was a splash fountain (where the kids began and ended their evening), a playground and swings (where Taisim spent a lot of time), and river access (which Taipan enjoyed). 

Strongsville Homecoming

Last week the kids and I went to Strongsville Homecoming festival one evening while Yuta was working.  Our mission was to see rides, and get carnival game prizes.  Mission accomplished!

Super Duper Cooper

Back in mid-June we added a new cat to our family. We adopted him from PetSmart - he's a year-old, and had been a stray. His name is Cooper. This cat has adjusted to our family so well. I don't think we could have found a better fit. Taipan and Taisim love petting him, putting their heads on his belly to hear his purr, playing with him and the feather toys, and occasionally chasing him. Cooper is very relaxed and calm and playful, and has found a good buddy in Yuta.

Here are some pics of him:

7 years

Today is our seventh anniversary.

Yuta got me a new laptop (yippee!!), and put this on the desktop (and about an hour ago he brought a vase of flowers into my office):



Later this week we're going to Chicago - my Nonna's 95th birthday is on Sunday, and we're having a birthday lunch on Saturday. All of her living descendants will be there, which will be cool. Among the folks we'll see are some cousins that we haven't seen since our wedding, and one of my aunts who hasn't met my kids yet. It should be fun. Taipan and Taisim will be thrilled to see Jason and Elyse!

Watching fireworks on July 3rd in Independence, OH

I created this using wordle - pretty awesome site.