!!! A NEW CHALLENGER APPEARS !!!

        Have to say, it's a pretty cliched sounding title for a new blogger on here. Anyway, this is the Husband, Jonathan, finally posting on this blog. I originally planned to post shortly after Mink started this blog, then I decided it would be a birthday present, then I decided that I would do it for our anniversary, then I decided after Meli was born I would post, and again after finishing school, moving, Minks birthday again, Valentines Day, Anniversary, Meli's first birthday, etc. Now I'm sure you're beginning to notice a pattern. So I've decided to just start now. Forget meaningful dates and excuses for next time.

         Anyway, all the readers out there are going to see a bit of a difference in writing style and even just style of these posts themselves. Good chance that there won't be as many pictures or colorful, but that might change as I get better at this.

         The last thing is what I'm going to write about. It will be a bit different than my lovely wife. My interests are just a bit different, Mostly I figure that I would write about whatever I'm most interested at the moment, you know, games, books, movies, video games. Mostly just the kinds of things that I want to talk to people about, but can't seem to find anyone to really talk about with, you know? Like how you get really excited about something and you try to talk to them about it and their eyes start to glaze over and even though they are nodding keeping eye contact you know that they have no interest whatsoever. Kind of like explaining pokemon to your parents when you were a kid. You loved it, but they couldn't figure the logic in a squirrel turtle. Anyway, so that pretty much is it, just an outlet for those things I need to talk about to get out of my system. 

Best of luck reading and I hope you enjoy,

The Husband (Jonathan)

Halloween(and a bit of Fall) Round Up

Can you believe it's passed Halloween?! Which means October is gone, which also means there are only 2 more months left before this WHOLE year is over!! How has all this time flown by?! 

October has been my favorite month. I don't really know why, maybe because it used to be school break(I went to school in Thailand. . .remember?) or that the weather would be getting colder, but no matter what the reason is, October has always been good to me! This October has been especially great since I got to really experience Fall - the weather, the color changing leaves, the pumpkin everything, the caramel apple, the hot chocolate. . .you name it! I've seriously been A M E R I C A N I Z E D!!

My Fall/Halloween Wreath

I baked pumpkin cupcakes first day of Fall

This year I got super-duper excited for HALLOWEEN that I even made our costumes! I made Meli's last year costume too, but it wasn't really anything. I just put the iron-on Bat Logo on a onesie then sewed her a cape from felt. 

Batgirl costume for Halloween 2013

Squirtle costume for Halloween

But this year I took it pretty seriously. I learned how to sew!! With a help of a dear friend, Amy, I made Melinda and Jonathan's costumes(Amy, I will always be eternally grateful for you! You're an angel!). J and I had pretty good idea on what we wanted to be for Halloween probably since Spring. I am one of those people who has no shame in dressing up for Halloween and I think I have convinced J. We were Pokemon Trainers and the Bean was a Pokemon. Yes, we were totally adorable! Well, Meli was anyway. She made a cute Squirtle. Jonathan was Ash Ketchum and I was Misty. I made Meli's costume totally from scratch. I saw a tutorial on the internet(go internet!) and decided that I would ask someone to teach me how to sew and make the costume. And then I made J's costume from 2 shirts that I bought from a thrift store and the rest is history. Mine was the easiest. Why you might ask?! Cause I didn't have to make it! haha Thrift store baby! 

Me showing of my work here. =)

J as Ash Ketchum with his Squirtle

My sister-in-law, Dawn, and I decided to throw a little Halloween party for the kids. It wasn't anything big. It was just an excuse for me to bake more cupcakes, make some silly games and so on and so forth. But we had fun. I sure hope the kids had at least half as much fun as I did. Due to my lame games some of them actually got mad at me for making them touch the brain made of Jello. 

My niece Sammy touching the skin made of tortilla 

My FAVORITE Halloween decoration this year

Carving pumpkin

I also learned that I'm not that bad at the whole carving pumpkin thing!

This is serious business

Our pumpkins! Mine are the one in the middle and right.

We went Trick-or-Treat'ing with the family. The kids had so much fun and got a TON of candy! Who came up with that anyway?! "It's getting colder so let's play dress up and go knock on your neighbors door who you never really talk to and ask for their candies and then let's eat them until we are all sugar high!" Brilliant! I love it!! I think that really makes it so much better than buying your own candies at the grocery stores.And the whole parent candies tax thing is awesome!! I'm actually eating my kid's Halloween candy as I'm typing this. . . parenting at its finest right?

My little Squirtle and Ash trick or treating.

Me as Misty hanging out with my Squirtle at Target

At church Trunk-or-Treat

Cutest little Squirtle

Kissing my Ash at the party

Anyway, we also got to go the pumpkin patch. I Think I was excited more than anyone else! The best part was that one of the pumpkin patches that we went has a PETTING ZOO! You can pet any animals that were there!!! Best $5 ever spent! Meli's petting zoo logic though, could use a little bit improvement. The BIGGER the animals were, the safer they are for you to pet. This goes without having to tell you that my silly Bean was afraid of little ducklings, baby chicks, bunnies, kittens, BUT she would love to ride on the miniature horse, donkey or a bull calf. 

The 'fake' pumpkin patch

Cool kid at the pumpkin patch

Typical family picture for us.

The Minions!!!

Bangkok girl VS BIG American Pumpkins

Cutest little pumpkin at the pumpkin patch

She loved petting the miniature horse

The scary duckling!

It's been such a wonderful month and season so far. I have baked everything pumpkin and apple and still have countless of recipes I want to try. The wild turkeys stopped coming to our backyard so I guess it's a sign that Thanksgiving is on its way. I'm loving our adventures so far and looking forward for more to come. 

Letter To My Daughter(s)

Dear Daughter(s) of Mine,

Let me just start by telling you how much I love you. I love you from the very first moment I knew you were mine. I love you since that two lines showed on the pregnancy tests. I love you before you were here.

Now let me tell you what is on my mind. If I see you dress like nothing but less than what you should have worn, I'll drag you back to your room and wait until you change and come out with something appropriate.

My point is, there is more to than being "Eye Candy". You, my love, are a loving daughter of our Heavenly Father. Please don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I understand what it's like wanting to be wanted, popular, hot, sexy, and etc. But the thing is, there is more to you than that! It really bothers me when people say. . .ready for this?

M O D E S T  I S  T H E  H O T T E S T

Modesty and hotness though. . .do you really think they go along? Um, I don't think so! How can you be 'hot' while dressing modesty, covering up all the so called 'hot' parts of your body? The answer is simple, it is NO! Because,

modest is NOT the hottest!!

(surprise! surprise!) It's just not. How do I know? I was once you. I wanted to wear something cute, and by something cute means something that gets ATTENTION from the guys or even girls. But lucky me, I guess, I'm very self-conscience with my body so I didn't actually have the nerve to wear those super-short shorts or even a tank top. 

Modesty is our value. We have been taught to love and honor our body. I'm not telling you that people that dress immodestly are bad people. But I do think that they are trying to get attention. But what kind of attention would they be getting though? Do you think love at first sight comes from personality? I'm not gonna sugar coat this for you, so NO! People wouldn't know how wonderful you are until they talk to you. So there goes the first thing they see, appearance. So it's what they can see which also means what you put on for them to see. What you wear is what you advertise yourself so choose wisely. 

This is perfect!

You can not be modest/dress modestly only on Sunday. Don't be a hypocrite! You're better than that! If you are out there looking for someone special, how special would he be if he is only attracted to you because of what you wear? 

You are worth more than those tiny little bikinis or low-cut shirts. There is more to you than your beautiful legs, cleavage, or even your pretty face. You're worthy of all the great things in this world. You will one day find your best friend and fall in love with him. He will love everything about you and even when there's no make up on your face or when you're puking your guts off because of morning sickness. He is worth the wait. He is worth being righteous, modest and patient for. After all I found mine. =)

I love you,
Your Mommy

A Quick Catch Up

Just like the title says, this is a catch up post! So for those who didn't already know,

We've MOVED!!

We moved from our 2-bedroom apartment in Bangkok, Thailand to a log house in Vacaville, CA! Yes, we did move across the WORLD. Why?  Jonathan finished school!! He did! And I'm so very proud of him. He finished in 3 and a half years. Isn't he awesome? 

Jonathan showing off his degree!

O.K. enough bragging about the husband. We moved since Fall(November) last year. . .it's been almost a year! Melinda was 5 months old when we moved. It was definitely quite an experience flying with a baby. We learned that she can not fly longer than a 5-hour flight. We had 2 flights, first one was 5 hour so it was a piece of cake. Second flight was a 13-hour long. . .we (accidentally) shared a glimpse of parenthood to the people on the flight and might have even scared some of them. 

Waiting at the airport

We stopped in Korea for a layover and since then, Korean has been on our bucket list. We NEED to go back there! What a beautiful country! They have the most awesome airport!! Free wifi, free shower, free lockers so you don't have to carry your carry on around, ice skating rink, good airport food, free tours to go out and see the city, etc. We just love Korea! We went out to for some sight seeing on our own and of course we were lost. . .only for a bit though, A kind Korean man who spoke no English took us to the police man and we were helped after all. 

Gyeongbokgung Palace 

The only bad-ish experience about Korea was that we didn't check the weather before we left. So from 80s degrees Bangkok to 40s degrees Seoul we did NOT dress for it! Our poor baby had to suffer most I guess. Poor thing was so cold and decided to sleep though the whole outing trip - good for you baby!

Anyway, we made it to C A L I F O R N I A!! It's been really fun catching up with the family. Meli apparently became best bud with her cousins, especially Hanna. These two are best buds! I'm telling you Meli's first world was HA-NA not mommy. 

We are so happy to be here in California. There is nothing better than reunite with family and Round Table Pizza. The Bean and I have experienced out first real Fall, Winter and Spring, not to mention real American Thanksgiving, Christmas, Snow, 4th of July, Bounce House(for Meli), Cold Beach, and so many more.

First time in the swing

REAL Christmas tree!

The cousins on Christmas

Our Winter family photoshoot

My first snow experience

Our family back to where it all began

Meli's first time at the beach!

First time experiencing sand.

I should frame this right? I absolutely love this picture!

The Mackleys' Beach Retreat

 

Boogie boarding family style 

4th of July

This post is longer than I intended it to be (#sorrynotsorry). But basically a lot has happened this past year. Meli has grown so much. She is now a cute little T O D D L E R. This girl is one strong willed child. We love spending time at the parks. If Meli could choose, she would choose to spend all her time outside at the park in the swing! She has met so many milestones from crawling to walking, from first solid food to cupcakes. 

You know you can NEVER have enough headbands!

It's either swing or pool for this girl.

Swing mania

Birthday Girl!

Can you believe she is ONE!?

Matching tutu - mama's dream come true!

Isn't she so cute?! She is and she knows it!!

Our summer family photoshoot

On Jonathan news, he has been looking for a job. It's been a long, rough year but we are so very grateful for the situation. He has been able to spend time with us. It's so nice having him home. And we are also grateful for his parents for letting us stay with them while he's been looking for a job. It seems like L U C K is on our side now though. He has been having interviews with two companies and they seem to be getting serious. So we may or may not move in the next couple months! *keep your finger crossed for us. Prayers, positive thoughts needed here!*

At the moment, we are looking forward to Halloween. I learned how to S E W and made Meli and Jonathan's costumes (of course, I'll blog about it!). We are also looking forward for more Fall fun - pumpkin patch,jumping on pile of leaves, baking more pumpkin stuff, etc. 

I hope this post helped you catch up with what we have been up to and get all excited and ready for our next adventures!