Boo at the Zoo!

Today was Boo at the Zoo, the annual kids' Halloween day at the local (little) zoo. We went last year and had so much fun. This year was no different!
Here are the kiddos (Coco's is in Cash's costume from a couple of years ago. Free costume!):

As soon as Cash put on his Captain America muscle suit, he immediately became strong enough to lift a trash bag! I should make him wear that suit more often!

Visiting Zoya, the awesome fortune teller, who predicted that Cash would be very nice to his mommy today.

One of the many games for the kiddos. Cash won!

Aunt Kelsy was Coco's chaperone and in typical Coco fashion--spent a lot of time in the art area!

We love our little elephant!


I'm glad we went, even though Fox and I have recently decided to purge the kids from sugar as much as possible. We just made sure to hide the candy they got today! They have just been so crazy lately, and we wanted to see if it would make a difference. We started this week, and it has made a huge difference! Specifically, the kids have not had huge energy crashes and so have not been whining to watch videos. Instead, they have been calm, focused, and playing well with each other (as much as two toddlers can play well together)! We are excited to see if this keeps up. They weren't eating candy all the time, but all the fruit snacks, chocolate milk, potty treats, and random Halloween candy does add up!

We're Going...

to Japan!


Yep, we are moving there in January. Last week was a difficult one of discussing and deciding, but when we finally stopped to pray about it, the answer was incredibly clear. Immediately, we knew we were supposed to go to Japan, and every shadow of uncertainty instantly vanished. It has been so nice knowing what we are going to do, and we are so excited!

We are especially excited to have our kids experience another culture (Cash was 17 months old when we left and doesn't remember it). We will also be able to jump into everything without spending months trying to figure out where to go, what to buy, and how the heck to recycle. We will even be in the same prefecture, so we'll know where to go for emergency sort-of-Mexican food!

So time to break out the textbooks--I am determined to master basic conversational skills this time! Thank you for all of your love, advice, and support. We really appreciate it!

P.S. Here is what we are really looking forward to:

Best chips I have ever had--


--and yes, the best ice cream in the world!!

Decisions, Decisions!

It has been a while since I have blogged! We have been carless for about a month now, so we haven't been doing much. My mom came to visit a couple of weeks ago, so that was really fun! It was so good to see her.

The big thing lately with our family is that we are faced with several decisions to make very soon about jobs and living. It is really anxiety-producing. Luckily, the weather has been gorgeous here, so we can ponder our problems while enjoying a beautiful day outside, which makes everything better. Anyways, the decisions we are faced with all come down to Fox choosing a career path. He has finished all of his course work in his graduate program and is just waiting on taking his final exam. After that, well, here is what we can do:

1.) Join the National Guard. Fox wants to join so that he can be placed in the linguist program to learn Chinese. He loves languages and also has to be fluent in 2 other languages if he decides to get a PhD in Folklore eventually. The cons of this are that he would be away from his family (us) for months at a time with possible deployment for a year when he finishes his training. Also, the Utah National Guard has so many people lining up to join that they have taken away all bonuses (so no student loan reimbursement or sign-on bonus).

2.) Go back to Japan. I never thought I would ever type that! Our friend Brandy is looking for new teachers in January, and she is ready to hire us on the spot. It would be just like our last job there, except better curriculum, more money, bigger house and car, close to the beach, and vacation time. In fact, we would be on the same island and in the same ward. There are so many pros and cons with this one--we don't even know where to start. The biggest con is isolation (it's a very small island and our friends in Marugame would be about an hour away)and the weather (extreme humidity in summer, homes aren't insulated for winter). The pros are--of course, Japan! It's awesome. The people are amazing. The food is delicious. Cuteness and culture abound! We have to let Brandy know by the end of this week.

3.) Sticking it out in Logan until Fox finds a job elsewhere. He's been applying to a ton of jobs, but it is the academic field, which is very competitive. Basically, he's qualified to teach high school or community college English/Composition.

4.) Moving to someplace in the U.S. that we love and hoping Fox finds a job there. Probably not the best idea in this economy!

Hmmmm...decisions! Of course whatever is best for our family will eventually be revealed, but any input is definitely welcome right now. We have been stumped and anxious all week.

Conversations with Cash

Saturday night, bedtime:
Cash: Mom, where does God live?
Me: God lives in Heaven.
C: No, where does he live right here?
Me: Well, I guess God lives in your heart.
C: Oh...(ponders this a few minutes, grabs his foot)...Jesus lives in my toenail.


Cash is almost 3 1/2 now, and I feel like he is becoming a different child lately. He asks a lot of questions, tells stories, and seems a lot less tormented than earlier this year. He is a really curious kid who still loves his naps and especially likes imaginary play. He has also started having conversations with himself where he asks himself questions that only he can answer. Example: What do you want for lunch today, Cash? Oh, grapes? Okay. (I am thinking this is normal, right?)


Cash is in just his undies 70% of the time, so it's hard to get a picture of him dressed. I wanted to show this picture to illustrate how Cosette can not get enough of him. She calls for him when she wakes up. Here, she had a lot of space to choose from, but she climbed up on the couch and sat almost directly on Cash's lap. He was annoyed, but she loves him so!

Most of the time, Cash is good-natured about Coco wanting to do everything with him, like here:

These kiddos definitely keep me on my toes and do end up slap-fighting if I'm not watching, but most of the time they play so well together. I feel like they are experiencing toddlerhood at the same time, which is so fun. They are actually the only kids in the nursery right now...so I hope they stay good buddies for a long while!

Coco's Collarbone :(

Cosette had her first trip to the ER last night after she broke her collarbone falling off a bench at church softball. :( No fun, but she is being a little trooper. It is just a small break, and the sling is there to just make sure that she doesn't try to swing her hand up. The funny thing is that she is definitely a lefty, and she injured her left side. So, we are trying to train her to use her right hand more!

Collarbone breaks are really common, and she should heal within a week. She thinks her dinosaur sling is "pretty"!

Homemade Udon!

If there is one thing Fox and I miss about Japan, it is the food, especially udon. Kagawa prefecture, where we lived, is famous for its udon. You can buy it here for $3.50 a little pouch (yikes!), but we decided to try our hand at making it from scratch.

Coco rolling the dough out, before we put it in a plastic bag and smooshed the heck out of the dough with our feet. You alternate kneading and then smooshing several times. Very fun!


Fox sliced up some big noodles. The finished product:


Yummy! When the noodles are done, you can put them in hot memmi broth, which you might find in the Asian section of the grocery store, or cold broth. Fox likes cold. I like hot. Either way, udon is delicious! Oh, the things you can make with water, flour, and salt!

Fun in Victorville!

My little family and I just got back from a trip to California to see my parents and siblings for our annual reunion. We had so much fun! Perhaps the most surprising part of our trip was how much fun the kids and I had in Victorville (otherwise known as "the ghetto", "Victimville", and "the armpit of California"--yes, it is not the safest place to visit). Before I left, I swore that I only wanted to spend a day in my boring hometown, but we stayed there four days and loved it! I think we were all just in awe of my dad's huge and beautiful backyard, coming from our tiny apartment. The weather was perfect there, too. And of course, seeing old friends is always the best!

The real reason the kids did so great on the 9 hour car drive: Reminders that they would soon be loving on Cookie, the family dog. I guess that bump/tumor/cyst on her back is just more of her to love?

Catching up with my very first bff Lisa, whom I hadn't seen in 7 years! She moved back to her childhood home and is marrying her very first boyfriend from fourth grade!


My dad has a little swing on the patio. As soon as Cosette would be ready for a nap, she would ask to swing, and I would push her until she fell asleep. Every day, without fail!


Dave and Mom next to some pretty pink flowers.


Backyard fun! My dad, who works so hard on his yard, was kind enough to let the kids ruin his grass for a few afternoons of slipping and sliding!


We had a lot of fun with Grandparents, sisters, brothers, and cousins on our trip. I love my family!