Happy 3rd Birthday Madison!!/３歳の誕生日おめでとう!!

Her actual birthday fell on a Tuesday this year but Tuesday is Dave's college class day so we originally thought not to make a big deal about it BUT since her pre-school class(Guppies) had a birthday party for Madison we knew she would be aware of her birthday(plus we told her happy birthday when she woke up that morning, etc...) and so Dave picked up an ice cream cake to eat together on the actual birthday night... Dave was able to come home around 8 just as we finished our Ofuro(bath) time and we were able to surprise her together!

今年のマディソンの誕生日は火曜日でした、でもデイブの大学院のクラスが毎週火曜日なので何も言わなければきっと知らないで土曜日のビッグパーティーまで持つかなーと思っていたら大違い：）マディソンの保育園でしっかりお祝いをして貰えるらしく、しかも朝私達が誕生日おめでとうって言ったので、計画急遽変更です。デイブがマディソンに内緒でアイスクリームケーキを買って冷凍庫に入れて置いてくれたので、デイブが家に着くなりすぐに家族３人だけでお祝いする事が出来ました！

 

Then Saturday was the BIG Birthday Party! Dave and I both took Friday off to get ready... Wow so glad we did it because we had so much to do that day and got a lot of things done... I had homemade lemonade on our menu but our lemon tree only had about 5 lemons I can use so I called Carmen Reeves(Spanish speaking preacher's wife) who lives about a minute away and has a lemon tree to see if I can come by and pick some of her lemons... Even though she was super busy that day trying to get funeral meals ready she said sure so I got there right away and went lemon picking...
They actually have two lemon trees and both of them were covered with yellow big lemons so that was really cool...:-) Hope ours will look like that next year...
そしてその土曜日はお友達と盛大にお祝いするマディソンのミッキーマウスクラブハウスパーティーです！！とっても盛大過ぎてデイブと私は金曜日仕事を休んで準備をしなきゃいけませんでした。でも、そのお陰でなんとか全部準備出来たんだけどね：）私たちのレモンの木になっているレモンを使って手作りのレモネードを作る予定でいたんだけど、やっぱりレモン５個じゃぜんぜんだめだ〜と言う事で、近くに住んでいるカーメンのお宅へレモン摘みに行ったりと、あ〜疲れる！でも大きなレモンの木が２本あるリーブス家の木にはレモンがたーくさん成っていて、ちょっとうらやましいなー。来年私達の木もあんな風になるんだろうなーと期待満々です：）

Our theme was "Madison's Clubhouse"...of course a play off of Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse, so we had four different stations set-up where the kids could hand over a token from their Minnie or Mickey bucket and compete in the game to win a prize. We had bowling and toss-the-ball-in-the-bucket going on in the family room and fishing and basketball in the master bedroom. It may seem a bit weird to have one's master bedroom as the focal point of a child's birthday party, but this is no ordinary master bedroom :-) and the space worked quite well as you will see.  On Saturday morning Brian and Kim were able to come early so while they played with Madison we finished up everything for the party...
We had buddies from her bible class, her pre-school and of course Liam and I think we had about 40 people that showed up for Madison:-)
このカードを見ての通り、マディソンのパーティーのテーマはミッキーマウスクラブハウスでお祭りみたいに４、５カ所に変わったゲームを設置して子供達は貰っ多コインを使ってゲームに挑戦、そして景品が貰えるという計画...　ボーリング、ボールをバケツに入れる、ミニバスケ、そして魚釣り...私達のベッドルームがとても広いのでそこも使ってゲーム...：）マディソンのお客さんは、保育園で仲の良いお友達、教会の同じクラスのお友達...　そしてもちろんリアムの合計約４０人：）

I have to say this $5 fishing game was a huge hit for all the kids... The two boys in the below picture fought for this game later on...

なんでか知らないけど、このたった５ドルの魚釣りのゲームがみんなのお気に入り！下の写真に写っている男２人は、最後には取り合い間でする事に...

 

 

Madison checking out her prizes...
景品の確認中...

 Madison's Play area was also a hit with the kids...
マディソンの遊び場も他の子達のお気に入り...

After the individual games we gathered in the master bedroom and played two group games...first it was Pin the Nose on Mickey for the Boys and Put the Ring on Minnie for the girls...they took turns being blindfolded and it was cute too watch...

ケーキの前に子供達揃ってゲームを一つ...目隠しをしてミニーの指に指輪をはめたり、ミッキーに鼻を付けたり...順番に一人ずつ挑戦します...

We were sure Madison would cry when she has to put on a blindfold on but she didn't and actually did great playing this game for the first time...:-)

マディソンは一番最初に挑戦しなきゃいけないし目隠しを嫌がって絶対泣くなーと思っていたら、そんな事も無くミニーの指の近くにシールを貼る事が出来ました...：）

Not too bad for the first time!

初めてにしては上出来!

  

 

 

 After the pinnings it was time for some Madison's Clubhouse Bingo...for this game Anna designed a wicked cool Bingo Card full of different Disney character for the kids to find. The game went really great and the birthday girl actually ended up winning, but she shared her prize with second and third place...such a good sharer! 

次のグループゲームは、私がデザインしたビンゴ：）マディソンが本当は一番最初にビンゴになったんだけど、景品を譲って次にビンゴになった人にあげたんです。いい子：）

After Bingo it was time for CAKE!! Anna had special ordered the cake because she is in love with it. Someone at work would order this type of cake for various office parties and Anna thought it was the best cake in the world...after two weeks straight of eating the leftovers, I am inclined to agree :-) The decorators did a great job however and the cake looked as good as it tasted. And next year we have to remember to get a half sheet cake instead of full sheet... for our health sake...:-)
On your right is Strawberry Shortcake and on your left is Taxido...!
ビンゴの後は待ちに待ったバースデーケーキ！もちろん特大のミッキーミニーケーキを注文：）写真では分からないと思うけど、このケーキが本当においしいんだよね：）右側半分がストロベリーショートケーキで左側半分はチョコレートムースが入ったタキシードと言うケーキ...：）

Anna was kicking herself for not filming the song part... It was so nice everyone sang beautifully for Madison and I know she was feeling pretty special...:-) Madison stepped right up and did a great job on those candles!!
せっかくみんながマディソンに歌を歌ってくれたの、ビデオに撮るのをすっかり忘れてしまいました！でも、マディソンは本当に嬉しそうに聞いていたよー。そして、ちゃんとろうそくも吹き消す事が出来ました!!

After CAKE the party really got rocking as the afternoon moved outside, which could mean only one thing...shivering kids in a freezing pool :-) Well it wasn't that cold and we were so impressed that everyone had brought their stuff...it was really fun to watch as Madison had a blast swimming with her buddies!!

ケーキに後はみんな水着に着替えてプールにジャンプ！まだ５月の初めなので水は結構冷たいんだけど、みんな楽しそうにおよいでいました...マディソンもお友達みんなと一緒に泳げてとっても楽しそうでした!!

 

 

 Finally, after most of the guests had gone home, tuckered out from the swimming and needing to prepare for the second party of the night as another girl from Madison's Bible Class was having her birthday party that evening...Madison opened her gifts.
パーティーも無事終了してみんな帰った後、ちょっと一息休憩しながらみんなが持って来てくれたプレゼントを空けました...

 

She got Princess dresses, which is all she will wear these days
たくさんのプリンセスドレスを貰いました...今マディソンはプリンセスドレス大好きで毎日着ています：）

 Tinkerbell PJs
ティンカーベルのパジャマ

A Princess jacket from Brian and his friend Kim
プリンセスパーカはブライアンとキムから

And a huge kite from her downtown buddy Liam!
そして、リアムからは大きなチョウチョの凧！

 At the end of the day...it was official...Madison was three!!
これは終わりの方で...マディソンは晴れて３歳だ〜!!

 Both she and Ellie Bean enjoyed the celebration!!
エリービーンもお客さんいっぱいのパーティー楽しめたみたい!!

HIP#2: Landscaping/ホーム改善計画：第２弾 前庭

About two weeks after we moved in we said good bye to these trees/monsters circled in red... Let's make a list to make sure you understand how big the whole project was...:-)
新居に引っ越して２週間後に沢山あった変な木/お化け植物にさようならしました...下にある写真を参考にして数えてみましょう...：）

Tree1: On the very right was a half chopped pine tree that was taking up space and hideous.
変な木１:一番右にあるのは上半分が切られて無くなっていた松の木でした。

Tree2: Right in the middle was an over grown cypress tree, we did not care for it.
変な木２:真ん中にあるのが変な形のサイプレスの木。

Monster1: Right in front of the middle cypress was a monstrous birds of paradise on steroids... The craziest thing was that those monsters have crazy long meaty roots.
お化け植物１:変な木２の前にあるステロイドを取りすぎた楽園の鳥と呼ばれる植物...この根っこが特に問題。

Tree3: A huge pine tree that cut through our nice bay window.
変な木３:台所にある大きな出窓の前を通り過ぎて見た目がとっても目障りな松の木。

Monster2: Of course the previous owner planted another birds of paradise on the left side of the bay window. Their roots were all over the front lawn as we tried to turn up the dirt pre-lawn seeding, really, really pain in the butt!
お化け植物２:もちろん前に住んでいた人達が楽園の鳥お化けをもう一つ植えてくれていました...一番小さい赤丸がそれを示しています...

Tree4: Right behind the monster2 was another over grown cypress tree.
変な木４:お化け植物２の真後ろにあるのがまた変な形のサイプラスの木...

How many do we have so far... 4 trees and 2 monsters... Let's keep counting!
ひと休憩をして途中合計を出しましょう...変な木が４本とお化け植物が２匹...
さあ、どんどんいきますよ〜！

Monster3: On the right was another over grown plant with giant leaves that could be used as umbrellas...

お化け植物３:一番右側に居るのがまたとっても大きな植物...となりのトトロで使えそうな葉っぱの傘のような一枚一枚とっても大きな葉っぱです。邪魔。

Monster4: On the left was a combination of over grown birds of paradise like plant and aloe forest.

お化け植物４:左側にあるのが楽園の鳥お化けとアロエが合体した物...

Looks like we are tied at 4 - 4 at this point...

何と今４対４で同点です...

Tree5: Where the small circle is against the house was a huge stump and that had to go...
変な木５:真ん中に見える小さい赤丸は腐りかけていたとっても大きな切り株...　とっても目障りでした...

 Definitely a better picture of monster4...
この写真だとお化け植物４がもう少しよく見えるはずです...

 Oh no it's not over yet... We were so disappointed to not have taken pictures of our side yard but there was a really tall poplar tree that the previous owner had in a pot but somehow the roots have busted out of the pot and secured themselves into the ground but since it was never properly planted it stuck out of the ground in pot shape... Very hard to explain, that's why I wish I had taken a picture...

So A Grand Total of 5 Trees and 4 Monsters were removed from our property that day... and we stayed under $1000 which was a great deal! Our Tree guys we found on Yelp were very professional and did such a great job so if you are in need of a tree guy and live in Southern California let us know!
これで終わりだと思ったら大間違いです...残念ながら横庭の写真を撮るのをすっかり忘れていたんだけど、そこにあったのはポプラの木...
と言う事で合計は変な木５本とお化け植物４匹のでした。そして、１０万以下でこのたくさんの邪魔者削除が出来たので私達はとても満足です：）

Right away we got busy trying to make our front lawn nice and edible:-)

In front of our beautiful bay window are a Raspberry bush, Blueberry bushes and a Blackberry bush...

On the left of them we planted a palm tree which was what we really wanted in our home... Also, you may noticed some green patches of our new lawn... Since I'm composting I can use all the lawn clippings for it...:-)
そして、木とお化けが無くなって見た目すっきりした後、食用植物庭園計画の開始です：）出窓の前に植えたのは木いちご、ブルーベリー、そしてブラックベリーの木...そして、その左側にはいつも夢だったカリフォルニアに住んでいる証拠のパームツリー...
２、３週間前に植えた芝生もだんだん出てきました...：）

 

 Depending on the amount of Sun this palm tree will grow very tall over time...
日当りにもよると思うけど、ゆっくりと大きくなる予定のパームツリー...

On the very left is our Fuji Apple... Last few days we've noticed that some flowers are starting to bloom... Then to the right of it is our Washington Navel Orange tree... This tree is covered with tiny green future oranges to be harvested early next year...:-) We will keep you posted on these fruit trees I'm sure!
一番左側にあるのがフジリンゴの木...ここ２、３日かわいい花が開いています...そしてその右側にはネーブルオレンジの木...今小さい緑の赤ちゃんオレンジでいっぱいです...来年収穫予定...：）

  

Meet our Avocado Tree... Someone told us it takes 8 years for avocado trees to fruit but when I checked with the nursery where we got the tree from, he said it should fruit this year... Small crop but should fruit some so we'll wait and see:-)
これはアボカドの木...誰かがアボカドは実がなるまで８年くらいかかると言っていたけど、この木を買った植物園によると同じ年に少しだけど実がなるはずだと言われたので、それを祈って待っています：）

This Lemon Tree was here when we moved in and didn't have much fruits but I can see now it has tons of baby lemons so that's exciting:-) We discovered how delicious fresh lemonade is!
家を買った時にあったレモンの木は、そんなにレモンがなっていなかったけど、今はたくさんの赤ちゃんレモンが付いているので今年の秋の収穫がとっても楽しみです。家で摘みたてのレモンを使って作るレモネードは絶品です！

Another fruit tree we forgot to take a picture of is a Cherry Tree... Apparently Cherry trees need about 500 chill hours and they don't get that here so we have a low hope of actual delicious cherries but we are expecting very pretty cherry blossoms in the spring to remind me of back home...:-)
もう一本写真を撮り忘れていたのがサクランボの木です...買った後に知った事実は、サクランボは５００時間のすごい寒い気候が無いと実がならないそうで、この暖かい地域では綺麗な花が咲くだけ...でも日本を思い出せる花が咲いてくれるだけで私は満足なのです：）

From another angle of our front yard...
少し離れている所からの風景...

 

 Our next to do for our yard was to build a raised garden so we can start growing our own veggies, fruits and herbs...
私達の次の計画は野菜とハーブを育てる用の箱を作る事でした...

I am soooo proud of Dave for putting this beautiful raised garden together!! Since Lowe's circular saw was broken when we went to buy materials we asked our very friendly handy neighbor to chop them up for us... After Dave finished the frame I applied stain/weather proof coating and let it dry... Then went back to Lowe's to get some soil... Wow that was some soil alright! My raised garden recipe called for soil that had top soil, compost and one other thing I can't remember right now so when I asked Dean, an associate at Lowes, (who is like the agriculture wizard and has been super helpful) told me that they don't sell soil that has all of them so I would have to buy them separately and mix them ourselves... and what we like about him is that he will try to get what we need without breaking our bank! So he got us what we need for around $100 which was great but wow that was a lot of materials we needed to fill 32 cubic ft... Anyways we made it home with all the bags and we got busy... Dave emptied one of each(as per Dean's suggestion) so I can evenly mix them and spread them out...
すごいでしょ？デイブが作ってくれた箱!!デイブをよく知っている人にはこの箱を作ると言う事がどれほどの達成感なのか分かると思います：）この箱はとっても大きいので、そこに入れる為の土を買って持ち帰って来るのがとっても大変でした！そして肥料、土、そしてもう一つの３種類の材料を一生懸命混ぜてやっと、マディソンスクエアガーデンの完成です...：）

 

 The Madison's Square Garden is ready for planting!!
野菜を植える準備完了!!

 

There is still tons of room after planting ones I bought... which is great!
沢山野菜の苗を買ったと思ったら、ぜんぜん場所が余っていました！

 On the right: Green Beans
右:さやいんげん

On the left: Japanese Cucumber
左:日本のキュウリ

Front: Cherry Tomatoes which I thought was Heirloom Tomatoes
手前:間違えて買ったプチトマト

On the left: Japanese Eggplant
左:日本のなす

Front: Green Pepper
手前:ピーマン

 Two different kinds of Strawberries... We are actually harvesting first 3 or 4 tomorrow:-) Madison has been checking on her garden and really excited to see them turn from green to red this week...
２種類のいちご...もう早速最初の３、４個の収穫が明日の予定です：）マディソンも毎日楽しそうに緑色から赤色になるのを観察しています...

We gotta have watermelon!!
スイカにも挑戦!!

 

 It's been about two weeks and we have more new additions to Madison's Square Garden and huge progress in those veggies and fruits you just saw but I will update you in another post... Stay tuned!
この日から２週間経ちました。そして、新しい区仲間に加わった野菜も沢山あります。そして、この野菜達の成長の早さにビックリ！でもその報告はまたちがうポストで...：）