Big Doggie the Bronco!

Yee-haw!

I got a rock

Bachan and Jichan gave me a rock for my birthday. It's a special rock, called a geode. It looks like this when it's round:



And then you're supposed to crack it open. I put the geode inside a sock. Then I dropped it from the balcony in our backyard. It didn't break, so Daddy took a hammer to it. We all wore sunglasses to protect our eyes (because this is science!). He bashed it open. And then you get chunks like this:



And pretty crystals!



And curvy layers that look like rolling hills.



I like to put it back together like a puzzle.

Thanks Bachan and Jichan!

Halloween!

I was a witch for Halloween. My dress had spider webby arms. Mommy sewed a sparkly jewel on my hat. And I wore green eyeshadow! I carried a cauldron to collect my candy.

Mommy became Little Dead Riding Hood again. She really likes to wear dead makeup because she's silly. Our first stop was the funeral home by our house. A funeral home is where dead people go so their living friends and family can say goodbye to them. I got to pick out candy from a casket. Spooky!

Daddy went as Tom. That means he didn't dress up this year.

We went trick or treating with my friend Lily. So fun! I weighed my candy when I got home. 1.4 pounds. Yummy!

I'm 8!

Today is my birthday! I am now eight years old! I didn't think I would like being eight because I liked being seven so much, but so far I like it. Mommy and Daddy came in my room this morning and sang Happy Birthday instead of saying, "Yoshi wake up!" like they usually do. We went to my favorite place for breakfast, which is the cafe around the corner. I got a toasted bagel with cream cheese. Yum! Then we went to school. My friends gave me hand made cards, hugs, and lots of happiness. At the end of the school day, Mommy came to class with the chocolate chip cookies that Daddy and I baked the night before. My friend said he gives the cookie an A+ 'cause it was so tasty. I also gave cookies to my old teachers and the principal. And the principal gave me a pretty lei!



I've been getting lots of mail these past few days. Birthday cards, a Halloween card, and stickers! I even got more mail than Mommy and Daddy. Getting mail makes me happy.

And guess what I got from Mommy and Daddy? A microscope! It's so cool! I love it so much. It's weird how it can see things that I can't see with my regular eyes. I saw my first cell. It has a dark dot in the middle. That's the nucleus. And I saw a cell that was in the middle of splitting into two cells! I like collecting things outside to put on slides, like moist leaves, dried up leaves, flower petals, dead ants. These aren't slides you slide down, like in a playground. These are flat pieces of glass that you stick stuff on to look with the microscope. Everything looks so interesting under a microscope. Even paper! And Bachan and Jichan gave me a big geode that Daddy helped me crack open, so I put the crystals under the microscope too. I love science.

And on Saturday, my best friends Z and J spent the night for my birthday sleepover. It's been a long time since the three of us played together since Z moved away. We had a lot of catching up to do. Plus it was Sunday Streets, where cars aren't allowed. It was a big party in my neighborhood! Lots of fun stuff, like...

Face painting!


Hopscotch!


Chillin' with ice cream!


Hula hooping!


This evening we ate dinner in my room, picnic style. I'm not usually allowed to have any food pin my room, so getting to eat a meal there is a very special treat. It only happens on my birthday. And sometimes on Valentine's Day. After, we drove to the beach and painted with light. I made a heart!



Finally we went home because it was dark. Bachan and Jichan wished me a happy birthday on the phone. My cousin Ellie made a super cute video singing Happy Birthday to "Yosi" and I also got to see an online card from my older cousins, Kelly, Katie, and Madison. So much birthday goodness.

Turning 8 couldn't be better.

I like to take pictures...

...of abstract things.


...And fire trucks!


...parties for my toys.


...jewelry store scenes.


And I love taking pics of Mommy and Daddy!

Family Ghosts!

Watch out! It's a family of ghosts! Keep your eye on Baby. She's sneaky!

"Hey Yoshi..."

Huh?
Mommy always takes pictures when I least expect it. She's weird. This is me in the lobby of Uncle Justin and Auntie Lisa's building. I'm waiting for the elevator.

Friday Night Fun

Yesterday was family photo fun night. We did silly stuff in front of the camera.

Karate kick! Hai ya!


HIGH five!


Daddy gets mad to his wine.


Rock star Mommy!


I love family photo fun!

Yard Sale!

Today I sold my toys, books, and clothes at a yard sale. Don't worry, it was just the stuff that I didn't want anymore. And guess what? I made some money! I even bought myself some ice cream from Bi-Rite. Yummy! I like making money.

I'm a Third Grader!

Last Monday I started school again. I was so excited to see all my friends and start a new grade. I was so excited that I put my pants on backwards and didn't notice until Mommy noticed when we were ten steps away from the house. She wouldn't just let me wear the backwards pants so we had to go back and change. Luckily we still made it to school on time.

Don't tell Mommy and Daddy, but I really like walking to school. We play a lot of make-believe games. We pretend we're Angry Birds or Pacman and chase each other on the sidewalk. Sometimes we just talk. It's nice. And we usually bump into friends on our walk too. Fun! It's like recess before school!

I was excited to see the same crossing guard there again!


Mommy asked if she should walk up to class with me. "Eh, it doesn't matter. You can if you want!" She said she was going to walk me to the door anyway. And she did. And I kinda liked that, but don't tell her.



My teacher Ms. B is super nice, fun and I really like her. J and I think that she's as nice as our kindergarten teacher Ms. F. I'm happy Ms. B is my teacher. She says we're going to do a lot of science this year. Yay! Science is my favorite.

This is me as a third grader!

My tiny toys

This morning Mommy and I gathered up my tiny toys. We put them on my Candy Land game. I carefully arranged them. And then took a picture. Why does it always take Mommy so long to take a picture? And then why does she take a million photos of the same thing? Geez. Get on with it already.

I like seeing all my tiny toys in one spot. They have a good time together. And guess what? This picture is going to be turned into a jigsaw puzzle! Yay!

Daddy is My Favorite Daddy

I love Father's Day because it's all about Daddy. And I love Daddy because, well, he's Daddy! We do all sorts of fun things together. He's the best. So for Father's Day I took him to the aquarium in Monterey after I made him pancakes for breakfast (with a little bit of help from Mommy). I love the aquarium. All kinds of fishies. And cool plants. And penguins. And the sea otters are so cute! Especially when they roll over in the water and play together. I want to be an otter for a day so I can play like them.

The jellyfish are really neat 'cause they glow. And they're all blobby.


Then we played at a park. Super fun!


It was a great day.


And! A video!

Jumpy time!

I love my cousin Ellie. We have lots of fun together. She's a great jumper!

Junior Olympics!

Last week my school had Junior Olympics. Each class pretends to be a country. The country we pick is from our United Nations Days, where we travel around to each classroom and learn about different countries. Our country was the Netherlands because that's where Nikki is from. Nikki was our exchange student. She was super nice and fun. She would eat bread with butter and chocolate sprinkles for lunch. Yum!

The Junior Olympics has an opening ceremony. We all walk around holding our flags. Then each grade does a performance. My grade did the ribbon dance. Can you spot me? I'm wearing a turquoise shirt.





After the opening ceremonies, we get to play games and do sports and all sorts of fun activities. I like the obstacle course.

Yoga

I love yoga. Don't confuse "yoga" with "yogurt," because while I love them both, one involves bending and balancing, and the other involves a spoon and slurping. Also, one tastes delicious (it's not yoga).

Every Friday afternoon, Aloisia teaches us yoga. It's super fun. I love the spongy mats we get to use even though they kinda smell like feet. On Earth Day, we went outside to do yoga. Yay! We all spread around the climbing dome and Aloisa went inside.



Sometimes it's hard to balance. Woah!


There, that's better!


I'm a jumping frog!


I love yoga!

Dogfest!

Every year, my school has a big, fun time at a nearby park. It's Dogfest! People bring their dogs. Tons of my friends are there. Lots of games. I love getting my face painted. A butterfly, always. The cool part about it is that I get to play with my friends! And eat cotton candy. But I can never finish a whole one by myself. I saw a really tiny dog that was so cute. I probably could fit it in my pocket. And I saw a dog that could flip backwards in the air. How did he do that? And Cruella de Vil was there! Except he was a man dressed like a woman. Like RuPaul. But I think that RuPaul looks more like Barbie.

Here's a video Mommy made. I try to avoid the camera, but she sometimes sneaks a photo of me when I'm not looking.

Ellie!

Yay! Today is my baby cousin Ellie's birthday! She's two! She's not really a baby anymore. She's a toddler! She's smart, strong, and really funny. I love her. I finger-knit her a scarf. But Mommy hasn't mailed it yet. Come on, Mom, get with it.

Happy birthday, Ellie!

Drunk

Mommy: Yoshi, how would you get drunk, if you could?

Me: Well, I'd drink a lot of 7-Up! And then a lot of hot cocoa! And then I'd punch myself in the face!

Mommy: Yeah, that sounds about right.

Spring Break

I'm in the middle of Spring Break. I know it sounds crazy... but... I kinda miss school.

Skype!

I like Skype. I use it to see my friend Ella all the way in Israel. I also use it to talk with my cousin Ellie in Orange County. Ellie is still a baby. And she's really funny. And she's not shy. I'm shy sometimes. Even with Ellie. But I still love to skype with Uncle Eric and Ellie, even though I don't always know what to say. Sometimes Mommy makes funny faces to Ellie. And Ellie laughs. I laugh too.