Basically 30

It's true, Derek is 28.  I've been teasing Derek that he is basically 30. 

And what cake do we have every year for Derek's Birthday?  The SAME Cake we have every year!!

(Say this with a sinister Pinky and the Brain theme song and voice)

Hali asked Derek today how old he would be.  He replied "28".  Hali's response "You're basically 30!"

So you see.  Derek is really 30. 

We had Derek's high school buddies come, ya know, the usuals, Scott, Mike and Caleb.  They drank apple beer, some Brazilian pop, brats, and watched some movie.  I think this is what we do every year with his friends.  

OBTW, Derek's 10 year HS reunion is also coming up (which just adds to the oldness) and are currently looking for a prank wife for Scott to take to the reunion.  Know anyone up to the challenge?

Aggie?

Oh my, we are sitting at a 10 pm game in Logan, Utah. The students are insane.    IT IS DEAFENING. So weird to see all this student pride.   There is even a star student, a very large star. Bill is a three hundred plus guy with no shirt.

"When shirtless bill locks eyes with his prey they rarely leave unharmed". Quote for ESPN.  The ESPN.

Basically, he is the reason Derek wanted to come. What a beauty.  Tonight, Bill dressed up as a mermaid.  He had some kind of wrap around his large bosom area with long flowing, neon green fins, complete with a blonde wig.  Don't worry, Derek has become friends with him on Facebook now.

Why we heart Derek

Straight from Kona’s Mind

He eats a Cherry Twizzler Nib, I get a Cherry Twizzler Nib, He eats a Cherry Twizzler Nib, I get a Cherry Twizzler Nib, He eats a Cherry Twizzler Nib, I get a Cherry Twizzler Nib.

He likes me even when I am a bad dog.

He eats a Cashew, I get a Cashew, He eats a Cashew, I get a Cashew, He eats a Cashew, I get a Cashew.

He bites the gummy bears head off, I get the rest, He bites the gummy bears head off, I get the rest,

I can bark at him and he’ll always ask me what I need.

He comes and finds me every time I run away.

I walk in the room, he pats my head and tells me I am cute.

He cleans up my poop.

Straight from Harmony’s Mind

He will come to the library with me and carry my neon green tote full of books, even though he knows I never read all of them.

He makes me laugh, even when I pretend his jokes aren’t funny.

He will tell me when I have a weird outfit on, even though he know I’ll wear it anyway.

He rarely gets mad but when he does, he folds lots of laundry until he’s not mad.

He will come to the grocery store with me and we have to go up every row.

He takes care of me.

He’s always happy.

He likes to shop at the DI and thrift stores with me.

He’s not a picky eater.

He looks good in his soccer gear and he plays soccer with me.

He is super cute.

Happy Valentine's Day Boy!

Coloradness

Mochi.  Or Rice Cakes.  My family makes these babies every New Years.  Thayne went on his Mission to Japan, so we took the Mochi maker to Denver.  (Southwest also has free baggage check...which I've never done in my entire life)  We boxed up the Mochi Maker and took it with us.  Which I'm sure looked very suspicious, especially since the picture on the box of the mochi maker looks like a bomb.  Needless to say, they opened and inspected it (with fear in their in hearts I'm sure).

They are DELICIOUS.

Thayne also made some homemade Ong and Okonomiaki.  

(Cabbage pancakes with noodles and egg) Excellent Dish. 

Why did we go to Denver?

Southwest Airlines had $25 each way tickets.

 (Depending on the city).  We had to go somewhere and since the other Walker's live in Denver and it was in the $25 range we went!

We went hiking in Denver's own Red Rocks.  This is the walk up to the Amphitheater.  It's basically like in Tuacahn, St. George, but I'd daresay much cooler.  You'll see why.

The building was built into the side of the mountain.  The group that built this is called CCC Civilian Conservation Corps.  They also built Zion's and a lot of other parks. 

See how many seats there are?  They have concerts and also let people run.

It was a gorgeous view, except for all the people running, jumping, doing pushups, leg lifts and walking the stairs.  It was crazy.  And more and more and more people kept coming. 

They have all sorts of people come.  They have a full and complete list in their museum.  There is also a restaurant.  Santana, The Beatles, and all sorts of other popular people have played there. 

        

There was a loop trail that we walked around.  It actually was pretty warm too.  

 

The Boys. 

Sadly, we were not allowed to climb the rocks.  But the sign said otherwise.

See this cute picture?  We could literally chop it in two, zoom in on Corbin.  He's just grinning.  He thought he was pretty funny.

Cute family of 3.5

Cactus Derek Liked. 

This was the ramp to climb up to the Amphitheater. 

This cool sculpture was there...I'm not sure what it is.  Our guess was Aloe Vera, but what really comes to mind is the Kracken, from Pirates of the Caribbean...or claw man.

It was great fun!  And even more fun because it was a great deal!  Thanks for hosting us Walker's!

<3 you.

Grams

Meet my champion 90 year old Grams

This was her last trip to Disneyland.  Always the trooper!  I daresay she's been to Disneyland more the my sisters...and that is ALOT

Uncle Sammy.  Always the gracious host, we go to California to enjoy Patty's gourmet cooking, beaches, and of course Disneyland

Isn't she pretty?  Grams Grams. 

My Grandma when she graduated college in California.  

Grams totally went to school with THE Jackie Robinson and knew him personally.  

Uncle says Jackie spent a lot of time with the Japanese kids. 

Grandma on her wedding day.  She first married Art Fukushima, who died in Italy in the war.  (again for my posterity's sake)  My gram and her family were sent to the relocation camps.  She doesn't really talk about it much, obviously, it was a terrible thing, but my Grandma is a very STURDY person. She's always and is a very big part of my life.  

People always ask if we speak Japanese (we don't), my mom doesn't but Grams does.  People then proclaim that we aren't really Japanese, even Grams was born in Ogden, but really?  She was sent to camps because she was Japanese...so Japanese?  I think so.
There is a pretty good size Japanese culture in Ogden Utah.  Grandma really does know almost all the Japanese in Ogden.  It's sad to hear about all her friends dying.  It's like the culture is dying.
Her whole family has Japanese names and English Bible Names (hence Christian Japanese).  Her father was a Japanese Christian Pastor and ran away from home when he was young.
We have a lot of Asian Pride as we put it...really why not?  I come from an awesome heritage (on both sides) and love it.

There...my nostalgia is done with. Sigh




Note*  Totally Stolen from Sister Hannah's Blog.  Saves me the trouble though!

Togetherness

Poor, poor neglected blog. The biggest news of the last two weeks? Gram's 90th birthday! It was a celebration of astronomical proportions, as it was also TLT's birthday, who is now one whopping quarter of a century old.

The day started with family photos taken by Cousin Kacey, who is a wicked cool photographer. We got Grandma all did up, as well as the rest of us, and commenced two hours of positionings, lighting, crying, laughing, etc., etc., et cetera. However, we had a few family members missing so Lincoln played the part of Jan and Uncle Scott, who's heads will later be Photoshop-ed in, as well as my Dad's head on Cory's body in our family photo. It was awkward, funny, and amusing.

Baby Julia - cutest baby ever, is she not?

After family pics, we went over to Ruby River in Ogden and party hardied! Props to the two servers who successfully managed to take care of all 35 us.Everyone was here except Jan, who is in Iraq, and my Dad, who had to work that weekend. Even Uncle Kenny flew in from California to be there for his mama! That there projector was playing old family videos from the '50s and '60s when my mom and her siblings were just kids, and some weren't even born yet!
It was a great time! We also put together a book for Grandma with all our favorite stories of her and photos! Everyone read their story to Grandma - there were laughs, tears, and somewhat awkward moments.

After that, everyone headed back over to Gram's house for what else? Sledding, of course! My family is awesome! We have fun no matter where, no matter when! The summer equivalent of sledding? Extreme slip 'n sliding.

Here we have cousin Jordan upside down doing a flip off the jump.Cousin NickIt's kind of hard to tell, but if you look closely you can see that Jordan is flying over Tracey, who was going down the hill straight toward him. What does Jordan do? Well, Jordan being Jordan, he does not just jump out of the way, he jumps over her.Lincoln has been introduced to the Oka ways, and now that him and Tracey are officially engaged, I can say welcome to the fam!

Tradition has it that we end every sledding venture with a train down the hill. Anywhere from 8-12 people, adults and children alike, pile onto 4 or 5 sleds and tubes and go down the hill. It usually ends in disaster, and this time was no different. I have no idea what happened, but it started out okay...

...and then they went down the wrong side of the hill, straight toward the walnut tree, several bushes, and a tomato cage. It ended....badly for the tubes. It was the first and only time these tubes were used - sorry, Auntie Mitsie!After that, it was back inside for some naps, Pizza dinner, and games. See this photo below? Yeah, no big deal. This is pretty much what it's like at Grandma's house. People everywhere - on the beds, on the couches, bodies all over the floor. It's a beautiful thing.So many people that you can hardly move and kind of have to wander from one room to another just to find somewhere to sit. Eventually, you end up cramming your butt between two others on the couch, sitting on someone's lap, or finding a tiny crevass on the floor to lay down on. All the while, Grandma sits in her chair, watching and listening.

The great thing about having a smallish family (in Utah terms - only 9 grandkids) is that we are all really close. We spend every Sunday together, every holiday, and even live with each other! I'm closer with my cousins than a lot of people are with their own siblings, and I love it. I was with my family from 5 pm on Friday until 11 am on Sunday morning. We even spent those two nights together! That much time together and still wanting to hang out? Yeah, I'd say that's pretty awesome.