Book Review: Issun Boshi by Icinori

Issun Boshi is about the "one-inch boy." It's a Japanese folktale, which is fine as far as folktales go. Frankly, the story isn't the star of this show, or what made me pick it off the shelves at the library.

For me, this book has wonderful illustrations. I'm tempted to order the book, cut it up, and frame the illustrations.

The story is about a boy who is a gift to his elderly, childless parents. While he does grow older, he doesn't get taller. Eventually, it's time for him to head off into the world and live his life. He meets a troll of some kind who offers to let him grow to full size if he, Issun Boshi, will bring back a certain treasure from the home of a nobleman in a nearby city. Issun Boshi isn't particularly tempted by this, but he and the troll are fated to meet again.

"Icinori" is a designer duo, so it's naturally for them the emphasis is on the drawings and layout. The illustrations are beautiful. They look like screenprintings with orange, blue, yellow, and black. I've included some below.

The Past Several Months: The Readers' Digest Version

Dear Readers,

We're sorry about being bad bloggers. I believe in the superiority of the format over the Facebook and Twitter, but my beliefs don't often lead to action. With those other formats I guess one's confidence is higher that the information will be read. (Not that that motivates me to share on those sites. That's too much exposure for me.)

Here's what we've been up to since our last post, present in chronological order:

The big girls (and the little girls) went horseback riding in Idaho. (Hannah had a pretty scary tumble, but made it through alright.) The big girls had horse camp a couple weeks afterwards.

 We went to the Idaho Falls Zoo with cousins. Here are some of the kids trying their best to be mauled by a tiger.

We bought a house!!! Adrienne was very excited. The rest of us were and are too.

Adrienne then got sleepy on the stairs.

The girls went back to school. Hannah was actually less excited that she seems in the photo. Maybe she'll enjoy college...

Cara became noctural. See how beautifully she sleeps in the middle of the day? 

We got a cat. She's kind of crazy, but she quiet and has the best of intentions.

 

Cara sings now instead of going to bed. (The white cardboard creation in the background is Hannah's tauntaun, inspired by a Mythbusters' episode.)

Someone tipped us off about wild giant muskrat things (called nutria) that will eat carrots and fingers right off your hand! Seems like a great idea!

There was a bobcat in our backyard!

The Ward Variety Show

     Our ward had a variety show 3/27/15. We decided to do something fresh and interesting that no one would think of - A lip sync! We performed to "The Night Time Is the Right Time to be with The One You Love" (a long title, right?) by Ray Charles and the Raelettes. We thought it was a great idea, and it would have the audience laughing. 

     We all dressed for the occasion. Dad got a fedora, the ladies were draped in fake pearl necklaces, and Caroline was granted a toy saxophone (which she ignored during the performance!). We all danced and swayed and had lots of fun. It wasn't too nerve-racking. We were all prepared. We practiced together, discussed the choreography together, and brainstormed ways to keep Caroline in the show without having her run off the stage together. 

     Everyone was amazing when they were doing their part. Maddie looked pretty like Cinderella singing with bluebirds, while I was pretty wild during my part. Adrienne was definitely the best. She held the microphone right. She balanced between looking like an opera singer and looking like Michael Jackson. She had worked hard to practice for her moment, and she was ready to shine. Everyone thought she was amazing, and she earned lots of applause. 

     At the end, there was the biggest round of applause yet. Everyone cheered and clapped for us and Caroline the Former Saxophone Player. We were granted the spotlight for a few short minutes, and we used them well!

by Hannah Meacham

SeaWorld in San Antonio

The following is an account of events that took place months ago...

This year for Thanksgiving, we kept things pretty simple and then left for San Antonio to go to SeaWorld. We haven't seen Blackfish yet, so we were all pretty excited. I've been wanting to go to SeaWorld since I was a kid and so have the kids.



We drove down Thursday leaving in the early afternoon and had a pretty pleasant drive south from Dallas to San Antonio. It was plenty long but not back.

The kids love to stay in hotels, but Caroline does a much better job getting to sleep at home.

The next day we loafed around the hotel until a bit before noon and then drove to SeaWorld, parking by about 12:10 PM. We got a great parking spot and headed in. We didn't leave until 9:00 PM.

We saw dolphin shows, beluga whale shows, and killer whale shows...and a pretty fun "pet" show.

I would bet that we had about as good a day at SeaWorld as you can have. The crowds weren't excessive, so we could always get good seats at every show we went do. Caroline got a little nap while I sat out of a show the girls watched with Natalie. We saw the killer whale show twice, once, with pretty serious sunlight pouring in, and again at night. There was a nice playground for the kids when they needed a bit of a break. Dinner worked out well too. It was a pricey pizza buffet, while as far as decision-making goes when you are hungry and have a bunch of picky-eater kids was just about perfect. We had a nice and relaxed dinner outside, to continue enjoying the great 70 degree whether, before scurrying off to watch the killer whales at night. I'll include some more photos and videos below.

 Natalie looking sharp for the camera.

Some killer whales during our day-time show.

A brief clip of the dolphins at work.

Caroline on the carousel.

Dallas Zoo (P.S. We moved to Texas)

It took nearly a month for us to get to the zoo after moving to Plano, TX, just north of Dallas. It's hot here after all, so we didn't want to go on just any Saturday.

I took the girls while Natalie had a well deserved break. But we'll be happy to have her along next time.

The Dallas Zoo is big. Texas-sized, in fact. We arrived a bit before 11:00 while it was still pretty nice outside.

I'm sure we'll have more blog posts in the future. But, for now, it's enough to say that this was a step up from the Oakland or San Francisco Zoo.

This would make a big turtle! I almost hopped on too, but these girls are starting to take up too much room.

Caroline really liked these kangaroo statues outside the children's zoo. The children's zoo had a big water feature, a stream, for kids to play in, shown below.

The San Francisco Zoo didn't have any elephants, and we didn't get to the Oakland Zoo a lot, so the girls were very excited to see them. There is a nice area to sit back, relax, and see the elephants from afar. Hannah was in the educational exhibit while the other three we putting their feet up. We did a lot of walking, some of it at a good clip to get Maddie back home in time for a birthday party at 5:00. We made it, but not by much.

The Dallas Zoo has a lorikeet feeding exhibit, which we loved in Philly, pony rides, great birds of prey, and more exhibits to see next time. Hannah and Maddie still love the zoo, and the young ones are at a great time for learning to love and appreciate animals.

Maker Faire 2014

Some time in our first May in California, we went to Maker Faire. I had heard about Maker Faire and when I found out about when it was I was super excited. We didn't go last year, but I took the big girls again this year.

Maker Faire is basically a DIY event, but without residential construction/home remodeling aspects. There is most everything else though: blacksmithing, pottery, rag rugs, drones, 3D printers, composting, gardening, etc. There are a few oddities thrown in like a steampunk village, cupcake cars, interactive light displays. People make things for fun, and then bring them to show. There are a lot of things for sale, like microcontroller kits, classes, iPhone controlled servos. To top it off, there's a bunch of "fried-stuff" fair food. It's fun, but close to overwhelming.

Here are the girls in front of a giant horse-head wagon thing that shoots flames out of the top. Fire is very popular at the Maker Faire. The horse head was made out of chopped up tires. Repurposed things are also very popular.

More photos after the jump...

Christmas and the New Year

We had a fun Christmas at home again this year.  The Christmas anticipation is starting to get intense as the girls get older.  Adrienne got the unwrapping part down this year.  

 We started off Christmas Eve with Pajamas and the "Joy to the World" movie

 Caroline liked her push toy and all the stuff to get into.

 One of Adrienne's favorite presents was this stuffed tiger Maddie bought her with some of her birthday money.

The crazy mess

 The girls did lots of Lego building with Dad.  The only toys he really enjoys besides nerf guns.

 Everyone got something with wheels this year.  Maddie got a bike, Hannah got roller blades, Adrienne got a scooter, and Caroline got her push toy.  It was 70 degrees on Christmas day, perfect for going out riding.

 Hannah and Maddie each got a rainbow loom kit and Maddie worked hard on making bracelets.
Hannah hasn't really gotten into it...she gets bored or frustrated quickly and gives up.  ;-)

 On New Years Day we went to the beach with a few families in our ward.  It wasn't a super warm day, but the kids didn't complain.

 Maddie loves to get buried in the sand!

 Adrienne and her buddies climbing on these giant pipes

 Hannah made a heart pool.  Beautiful ocean, beautiful girl!

 Before school started up again I let Maddie get her own library card.  She's been wanting one and we told her she needed to wait until she was six.  She was so excited!

 We also took a trip to the new American Girl store in Palo Alto.  They all loved it!  Adrienne hugged all the baby dolls and Caroline pushed the strollers around.

We had our new years awards for a FHE in January.  We did a more formal awards ceremony this year, starting with a family dance, then dramatic presentations.  We ended with Caroline getting the "cutest baby award," which the kids have been "presenting" her with in the car since she was born.  They all very loudly say in unison, "And the Cutest Baby Award goes to Miss (pause) Caroline Meacham!  Whoooo!"