New clothes and a A-gong / granddaughter moment

She's sporting one of several 0utfits A-ma and A-gong gave her.

2007-7-25
Doesn't she look absolutely adorable? Can't you see why Johnny-Cash would stick her entire foot in his mouth, now? Hee, hee.

Too cute, too sweet. A beautiful A-gong / granddaughter moment.

Difficulties coping with friends leaving

All these pictures were taken on Tues., July 24.

Johnny just loves, loves, loves Isabella, and she loves him, too!

A daddy-daughter moment.

Manda, Johnny, and Ashley came over for dinner. Here are the sisters. Manda's the older of the two.

Thankfully, I've had my parents here for a few days, Wednesday night to this morning, to distract me from Manda & Johnny's departure. But frankly, their leaving the Valley has been hard. I'm sure I still haven't seen the worst, yet. When we were certain of their imminent (did I spell that correctly?) departure this past spring, instead of distancing from them, we became even closer. Troy, Isabella, and I ended up spending even more time together with Manda & John.

I'm elated that they're in a good place, from what Troy's described of their home and other stuff, so far. What they're doing is also a tremendous challenge. They have so many adjustments to make, to be sure.

The knowledge that they are where they need to be doesn't take away the difficulty of their move. When I show up at church, I won't see them. When I'm at Target, won't see Manda there. Won't be going over to their home for Friday night bible study. We won't be getting together during the week or on the weekend. Manda doesn't have the greatest reputation for keeping in touch on the phone, and she doesn't always reply e-mails (if you're reading this Manda, I do have to give you a hard time on that!). I'm stuck!

See off the Huddles on the same day my parents come

I'm terrible at saying goodbye. Though we haven't seen the last of Manda & John, seeing them off for their cross-country drive to Los Angeles, California, will be super hard. Looks like that day is this coming Wednesday. Troy's going to do some hefty driving of the Penske truck. Some of you may know that Troy has a license that allows him to drive anything under an 18-wheeler. On his list of driving experiences, he used to haul a school bus full of rowdy kids on ice in Kansas City. So, I definitely think he can handle a moving van.

We are so going to miss Manda & Johnny. This inevitable day is fast approaching. Not that I don't want the best for them; I do. It's time for them to move. But, we are going to miss them terribly. Don't know how (given that both families don't have abundant amounts of money) or where we'll meet, but heart's desire is to see them regularly.

At least to soften the blow and for companion's sake (while Troy's gone), my parents will be here. They will be keeping my sister and niece company for a total of four days, while her husband is on a back-packing trip. While they are traveling, they figured that they might as well come and see their other granddaughter. Yes, I've come to the realization that visits are not about us anymore; it's about the grandchildren. But, that's okay with me. We still get the company, and we still get really good food.

I'm supposed to be working right now (doing research and writing), so I'm signing off.

How Isabella was spending her time while her parents went on a movie date

Tonight, Manda, Ashley (Manda's sister), and John entertained Isabella (and vice versa), while Troy and I went on a date. We went to see the most recent Harry Potter movie.

Funny, funny. Isabella loves Henry and Juicy.


She's getting squash from Auntie Manda. Been fighting baby food feedings lately. She loves rice (got plenty at Kumori), yes, plain rice. Also loves Cheerios.

Ashley just got into town this afternoon. Troy and Ashley are going to help Manda and Johnny drive to Los Angeles. Here she is with Isabooboo!

Taking Manda out to lunch at her favorite restaurant, Kumori

Today, I took Manda out to lunch, at her favorite restaurant, Kumori. Next week is the dreaded week; Manda & Johnny (and Henry and Juicy, their beloved dogs) are moving to California. We're getting in as much time with them as we can. Anyways, here's some shots from gals' time out on the town.

Thank goodness for Manda & her camera!


I am so glad Manda took this shot of us. There aren't that many pictures of Isabella and me, because I'm usually the one holding the camera. It was her idea to take this picture. Thanks Manders!

2007-7-20

She loves to examine faces by grabbing. Nice to see her grabbing someone else's face besides mine.

She's waving!

Look at our spread of food. And that's not even all of it! I had already eaten a lunch special, equipped with rice, vegetables, and chicken, by the time the sushi came. Oh, and I forgot to mention the four bowls of miso soup I had already consumed.



Here's a must see video Manda took while we were at Kumori. Isabella's showing many of her tricks within a matter of seconds!

Isabella doing her tricks at Kumori

Isabella doing her thing!

Here's our happy little camper!

2007-7-14

She's been pulling herself up onto the futon. Glad she got some workouts out of it before we got rid of the thing.

2007-7-17

Hello couch, goodbye futon

Manda & John were willing to give us both of their living room couches, if we had the space to accommodate them. We took the love seat. As of last night, we officially have a real couch! This morning, Troy put the futon on the sidewalk, in front of where we live, and within ten to fifteen minutes, it was gone.

Isn't it great when it takes precious little for life to be utterly exciting. I am so pumped that we have a COUCH! We have something besides beds, that's comfortable to lay on. Adult furniture. Love it.

Isabella & her boys!

2007-7-19

Manda took these pictures. Yup, the craziness is captured digitally; Johnny's got Isabella's foot in his mouth, and who knows what Troy's doing.

Bye bye Benny

Yesterday, Benny bit the dust, to be sure. Benny's our goldfish. He hasn't been doing very well lately, and now he's gone on to fish heaven.

Cat sitting

We're happily cat-sitting for our dear friend, Junko. Tamarindo seems to know us pretty well, from our many visits to the Terada home. Unfortunately, Tama isn't used to our place. Junko brought him over Saturday afternoon for a little while, so he could get accustomed to our home. Spent most of the time under the futon in the livingroom or under the twin size bed in Isabella's room. Junko and her husband (Jun) are taking their son, John, to orientation at the U.T. - Austin today, and they won't be back until late tomorrow night. Tama is Junko's baby, much like Niao Mi (remember my sweet cat of 17 years?) was to me. So, instead of sitting in a cage for a day and a half in a smelly, strange environment, he's staying in our palace. Hopefully he'll come out to play some time. Might have to tempt him with some fresh catnip!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July everyone. We are thankful for the independence of what we know today as the United States of America. Definitely an important day to commemorate folks.

Isabella's sporting overalls that Auntie Abirami bought for her awhile back. We thought we'd show her off. After all, she's much more interesting to look at than her parents!

2007-7-4

2007-7-4

2007-7-4

2007-7-4