Potty Training

Though we have yet to enter that phase of life when we have to worry about potty training, I thought I would post this gem of a video. Kendall and I found it very inspiring, and thought that our friends currently involved in the potty-training process would, too. Apparently the potty-training success rate is higher among Japanese children because of it. We will definitely have to archive this for future use.
I translated it and put subtitles on it today. I have to say the Japanese is better so if you can understand it, great, but if not, I think I did well enough on the translation to get the message across.
As a word of warning, don't look for the English translation version on YouTube. I found that the translation was far from correct and actually horribly wrong and bad so don't go around looking for it.
Enjoy the video.



For those that speak Japanese, here's the link to the original version.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5ZoGf47Z3aY&feature=related

Happy Birthiversary!!

Q: What is the best anniversary present ever?

A: That's easy - a trip to the temple and sushi afterwards.

Trick Q: What's the best birthday present ever?

A: That's easy, too. Getting married to your best friend the day before your birthday.

Sound confusing? It's really not all that complicated. It's called a "Birthiversary". Get married the day before your birthday - that way, you can make the celebration last longer. Your husband really only has to remember to get you presents once a year - you just spread them out over two days. In fact, it is very convenient and has solved a dilemma that has plagued me since childhood. I remember hating to go to bed on my birthday because I would think "only 364 days until my next birthday" - which seems like forever to a child. If you have your birthday and anniversary back to back, the celebration is very satisfying because it lasts twice as long. Thus, when you go to bed on your birthday, you think "only 363 days until my next birthiversary" which doesn't seem nearly as long as 364. I would assume that the converse is just as great (birthday the day before your anniversary) though I have not experienced that myself. And when you get older, since you only keep track of how many birthiversaries you have celebrated, you feel younger. It's a win/win/win/win situation. Everybody wins.

So, with that being said. Happy Birthiversary to me/us! Our second annual Birthiversary was held on June 9-10. Here's what we did:

This is Kenta and I outside the temple. He is pretending to be excited about me kissing him.

Mmmmmm....Japanese food. We went to Tokyo (the restaurant) and stuffed ourselves silly.

Showing off our mad chopstick skills:

Kenta displays a single grain of rice

I stun the crowds with my ambidextrous wasabi consumption.

What a great celebration. The only thing that could have possibly made it better was going to see Glenn Beck on the 9th (Kenta was thisclose to surprising me with tickets). Oh, well. And while we are on the subject of birthdays and anniversaries (birthiversaries), today my parents are celebrating 42 years of wedded bliss. In my humble opinion, the last 25 years or so have been the happiest for them.

And I just turned 25 on our second birthiversary.

What a coincidence.

Kids, don't try this at home

So...Sunday mornings are kind of interesting around here now that we don't start church until 1:00. I am constantly looking for ways to make the time pass faster. Luckily, I'm a SuperSub in Primary, so when they need a teacher, I'm their go-to girl. Preparing lessons has, thankfully, become a welcome distraction as I wait for church to (finally!) start.

The lesson material has been pretty interesting lately. Last week I taught the 9-year-olds about a choice man named Korihor - and the meaning of the word Anti-Christ. This week, the topic is......

That's me pretending to be a wicked Zoramite. Check out my fine-twined linen and costly apparel.

So, maybe I have a little too much time on my hands. If the above pictures were not proof enough, maybe this next one is (Kenta was going to blackmail me with it anyway, I thought I'd beat him to it).

Proof that I have adult onset ADHD.

So, If any of you are looking for something to do Sunday morning, come find us. We'd be happy to entertain you.

P.S. Kenta published his firsthand account of the BolderBoulder on our blog. You might have to scroll down to read it. The video is great, too.

Don't Stop Believin'

Okay...it's been established before that I am a sucker for good youtube videos. Let me preface this clip by saying I frequently categorize Journey as one of the Most Annoying Bands Ever - mostly due to the fact that Steve Perry, in all his mullet glory, just irritates me. I was listening to the radio this morning and the DJ was talking about how Journey is coming to town and they have a new lead singer. Then he played this clip - the guy is amazing. Even if Steve Perry irritates you as much as he irritates me, this is worth taking a listen to. This new lead singer is some dude from the Phillipines who not only sounds just like Steve, but (in my opinion) he sounds better (okay-there are a few awkward pronunciations, but that's forgivable - English is his second language). So, enjoy. Please don't send me hatemail if you like Journey - I happen to like a few of their songs. And the Journey-Randy Jackson-American Idol connection is a saving grace. Anyway- prepare to be amazed.....