Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

Easter

~ Etc.

We had a fun Easter weekend that started out with reading books and telling stories about Jesus and why we celebrate Easter.  Then we did many fun activities, including 4 Easter egg hunts!

Easter egg hunt #1 at Nu Skin
Easter egg hunt #2 at Orem High
Easter egg hunt #3 in Provo
Easter egg hunt #4 where the girls decorated their Easter baskets, or in Ana’s case, her pumpkin basket.(Achilles chewed up her Easter basket but Ana was perfectly content taking her pumpkin along)
thanks to Uncle Wayne for inviting us to the Easter egg hunt!
then we went through the rainbow car wash, the girls’ favorite.  there’s always so much giggling 
by the girls when we do this, and it makes Jay and I giggle along as well!
went to McD’s and while the girls played, Jay snuck out and went to K-mart to get gifts for the girls’ Easter
a neighbor dropped off these cute bunny treats!
from the Easter bunny
We had planned to go on a nice, long family walk after church but as soon as we got home and I made dinner, I was pooped.  So while I took a 2 hour nap, Jay, the girls and Achilles went on a nice, long walk. 😉

outfit 1: jacket: romwe | dress: gap
outfit 2: top: diy | cardigan: anthropologie | jeans: diy | bag: brahmin | shoes: romwe

While I was in New York

~ Etc.

While I was in New York last month, the girls had so much fun spending time with their daddy for 5 days straight.  I asked Jay to send me pictures everyday and here are some of the things they did while I was gone.

 
went to go see a movie(can you spot two little heads?)

the girls went to bed holding a picture of me.  
went swimming 

had “fancy” dinner(the girls call it fancy whenever they put flowers on the table).  Jay made his bomb steak with asparagus and rice.  he knew I wouldn’t approve unless there was a vegetable, so he passed!

went to McDonald’s to play at the playground and eat an ice-cream cone 

and my favorite, he had a play date with my girlfriends and their kids and went swimming for the second time!  Jay even packed lunches and made musubi(Hawaiian sushi) for everyone, and my girlfriends even asked him for the recipe because they loved it.
I asked him what else he did and one of the things he did with the kids was play “mama bird and baby bird ”  where the girls were the mama birds and he was the baby bird.  They made a nest and he lied in the nest while the girls gave him food to eat through their mouths.  And his exact quote was, “and it was perfect because I got to cuddle with them in the nest the whole time.”  
Adi & Ana asked where I was and when I was coming home the first night I was gone, but they never asked about me after that.  I think it’s safe to say the girls were in very good hands and they didn’t even have time to miss me because they were busy having so much fun with their daddy!  That is one of the many things I’m grateful about my husband, that when I’m away and it’s him watching the kids, I don’t worry at all because I know the kids are in better hands than if I were to watch them.  I love you, husband!

Korean cooking night

~ Etc.

If you’ve been to our house even once, you know you can never leave our house without getting fed.  If you’re our friends, you’ve been fed numerous times, and if you’re our acquaintances, chances are we’ve had you over for dinner at least once.  I grew up in a home where there were always people coming in and out, staying at our house, coming over for dinner and getting fed, and my parent’s friends always joked to my parents, “So, how’s the Choi’s hotel business going for you lately?”  And I loved it.  But I didn’t realize I have unknowingly passed it down to my own home until one of our close friends asked me one day, “So, how many people have you fed this week?”  
Well, the feeding has slowed down drastically lately due to my pregnancy, and I don’t think it’ll pick back up  to the usual until I have this baby and recover, but my girlfriends have been wanting to have a Korean cooking night for awhile so as soon as I felt better with this pregnancy, I threw a little cooking party.  While all our little kids were playing together, I taught my friends how to make japchae-glass noodles with beef & vegetables, kalbi-marinated short ribs, Korean style pancakes, & a spinach side-dish.  These dishes are what I make when we have guests over(after we make sure they like Korean food), 95% of the time.  It is some of the most popular dishes at Korean restaurants, so I figure you can’t go wrong with these!  And it always ends up being a huge hit.
I need to compile a recipe of the foods I made that night for my girlfriends(I didn’t really use a recipe, oops), and if you’d like a recipe also, let me know by leaving me your email address below, and I’d be happy to send it to you!
HAPPY WEEKEND EVERYONE!

Ana’s birthday

~ Etc.

My sweet Ana turned 4 years old.  My inquisitive, sweet, sensitive, affectionate little girl.  She spent the day playing with her friends(and telling everyone that it was her real birthday today), and wanted to go see Wizard of the Oz, and eat cupcakes.

I love how Ana randomly says, “Mama?  I love you!” many times throughout the day or comes to me to get some cuddles and kisses.  I love how she lets me kiss her as much as I want, as long as I want and seems to love it just as much as I do.  I love how she goes to her room and comes back with her pillow and a blanket and puts the pillow under my head and tucks me in with her favorite blanket, two of which she is very protective over and doesn’t share with anyone else but me.  I love how she’s so into fixing or building things, and wanting to know how things are built everywhere we go.  “Mommy?  How is that floating on the top?  Is it with a super strong glue?” she asks while pointing to our kitchen cabinets hanging down from the ceiling.  “Mommy?  How are the birds sitting on the electricity wires and don’t get electrocuted?” she asks while we’re driving.  I love how she is so sensitive and “fragile” as her big sister calls her.  I only need to give her the look of disapproval and that’s enough punishment for her.  I love how she milks being the baby of the family as long as she can(“mommy, but I’m still the baby in the house since your baby in the tummy is not out of your belly yet!”), and wants to be carried by me or be on top of daddy’s shoulders whenever we’re out.  I love how when she’s hurt or sad she wants mommy, but when she’s scared she always wants her daddy.  I love how much daddy adores his little daughter, and I can just tell she melts his heart to the core and how much he finds her completely adorable.  She sure got him wrapped around her little finger.

Ariana, mommy loves you, daddy loves you, Adi loves you, Achilles loves you, and this baby in my belly loves you so very much.  Our family wouldn’t be complete without you, thank you for being born into our family.  Mommy loves you more and more everyday and nothing will ever change that.  You have all my love, and all my heart.  I am your mama forever.