abstract art plates

we made some painted glass plates with the girls recently and i must say, this was one of my favorite art projects. they each have their very own style of painting and it's so fun to watch. naomi is more methodical and always has a plan or vision in mind. akemi looks like she's all over the place but she knows what she wants and is very picky about her tools and paint! she loves using the small brushes and the round sponges and is always mixing up new colors. 

to do this project, we used some plain glass plates and acrylic paint (i loved the neon and metallics naomi used!). i washed the plates and turned them upside down on our table for the girls to paint. for these, only paint the back of the plates. wipe any excess paint from the side of dishes after you're done painting.

allow to air dry for 24 hours. 

place dishes paint side up on cookie sheet and place in cold oven. turn oven on to 350 and leave plates in for 30 minutes to set paint. 

enjoy! and hand wash only!

the whale museum

we visited a whale museum last weekend while we were in the san juan's celebrating naomi's birthday. we surprised the kids with the news of where we were going the day before and they were soooo excited. we learned all about the local pods of orcas (some of which kenji and i saw years ago on our way up to victoria b.c. but we weren't lucky enough to spot any this trip). the kids got to touch a gray whale skeleton, hear how whales communicate, and learn how different types of pollution affect the pacific northwest. 

henry is particularly into all things nature and learning about natural history and animals is a huge part of his life. he even got upset at the whale museum because he wanted me to teach him the latin names for all of the parasitic specimens they had from whales, but akemi was getting bored and we needed to move onto something else. i promised him we would look them up and learn them at home sometime! studying parasites... sounds like fun right?

san juan islands

 

we headed up to the san juan islands last weekend to celebrate our oldest girl's 7th birthday. we rode ferries, looked for whales, ate ice ice cream by the harbor. it was the perfect way to spend her special day! she loves being out there, the wind in her hair, exploring new places. she has an adventurous spirit for sure! it's hard to believe it's already been 7 years since we were brand new parents with our little girl. i tried to so hard to always know the right thing to do, but really, most of being a parent is learning along the way. so i always tell naomi "we're in this together!"  every year is a new experience for her, but also for us as her parents, since we've never done this before!

it's such a joy to watch her grow up and get to know her more and more every day. naomi, you are beautiful and delightful just like the meaning of your name! thanks for all the wonderful adventures!

these days

i've been meaning to hop on the blog all week (in particular to share a few pictures from naomi's first sailing trip over the holiday weekend!) but these little ones keep me so busy, the days just fly by. really, this is the third time we've had a two year old and a baby in the house at the same time and sometimes it is just so much work. i mean those moments where they are hugging each other and giggling are so precious you kind of forget the rest of it, but i'm starting to understand why people look at me like i'm crazy when they see we have four young kids. 

i get it. it's a lot of work! 

but also, at the end of the day, there is nothing quite as fun as having a big family. it's pretty awesome. 

this month has been so busy, we're really looking forward to some much needed family time this weekend. and the weather is getting nicer so we're hoping for sunshine and a break from all the rain we've been having!

△△ also, there are a few changes coming to our website in the next month. we've been working on some things i'm so excited to share, so stay tuned! happy friday!