5K Leapin' Leapers for the Arts

Maiya's 5th 5K in 5 years... here we are at the LA Marathon 5K at Dodger Stadium last Saturday morning.  Ten of us walked the 5K as a fundraiser for Great Leap.  You can't help but notice our beautiful green "Leapin' Leapers for the Arts" t-shirts.  Our youngest was Maiya at 5, and our oldest was Beatrice at 78, who actually came in 1st place our of 3 in her age group (women from 75-79).

Bea, Jo, Donna, Mike & Maiya in our new t-shirts

Maiya, Nobuko, Luke & Corazon marching in Elysian Park

Maiya and Auntie Nobuko walking backwards uphill.

Group shot of the 10 of us

Me & Maiya holding our medals at the finish line 1:13!

Afterwards, met Mamie (101 yrs old) & Clara at Empress for dim sum 

in Chinatown, our GL post marathon tradition

As I mentioned above, this was Maiya's 5th 5K, but actually it was her 2nd one to walk the entire 5K.  And she did fantastic.  Because she's older now, she can handle the walking--no more strollers.  She held my hand for the beginning of the walk, but also ran around with Luke, Corazon & Auntie Nobuko.  We enjoyed the pretty hills of Elysian Park, although I missed the grittiness of walking through downtown LA and the garment district.  Actually, about 3/4 of the way through the walk, Maiya was jumping around, fell and got a bloody arm and scraped up hand, so I carried her for about a minute while she cried.  After some comforting, she walked the rest of the way, stopping to rest a few times. 

5K Times with Maiya over the years:

2007 - 1:41 (Placed 2237 out of 2240) 

2008 - 1:15 (Placed 1897 out of 2137)

2010 - 1:13 (Placed 1781 out of 1867)

We are still tallying up the pledges, but I think Kuida-Osumi raised around $1,500.  

The impact of these generous donations for Great Leap is IMMEDIATE. 

Next year, we hope you'll join the Leapin' Leapers for the Arts.

Tony Does 26.2 for Great Leap!

Big Congrats to Tony for finishing his first LA Marathon in 7:11!  He's been walking for almost a year now, and he had decided a month ago to walk the marathon to help raise money for Great Leap.  I think he'll write about his experience walking through what he called "colonial LA." We left the house at 5:30 am to drop Tony off at Dodger Stadium.  Maiya and I went to breakfast and gorged ourselves, went home, did laundry and hung out.  

Then about 1pm, Nobuko came over and we drove to Santa Monica.  It took about an hour to get there, but mostly to drive a few blocks just to park the car.  We made our way through the traffic of people waiting for friends and family members, went down to the beach party, which was just about over.   

Then back upstairs back to meet Corazon, Great Leap's manager who ran the marathon, too!  Corazon had been training so we were so proud and excited to see her!

Others who registered under Great Leap were the amazing Lisa Okamoto, Sharon Yamato, and Don Johnson (who we don't actually know).

Another hour in traffic getting out of Santa Monica.  Whew.  For dinner, Tony ordered Johnnie's Pastrami and onion rings, and I split a chili-cheese fries with Maiya.  Shortly after, Tony fell asleep and was out for the night.  We're so proud of him!

Distance	MAR
Clock Time	07:29:18
Chip Time	07:10:59
Overall Place	20379 / 22538
Gender Place	12387 / 13339
Division Place	1485 / 1556
Age Grade	30.2%
Pace	16:26.6
5K	0:46:21
10K	1:38:03
15K	2:25:03
20K	3:15:25
25K	4:05:54
30K	4:59:19
35K	5:52:54
40K	6:49:25

Maiya's Fun Summer 2009

Here's a book Maiya & I made for Christmas gifts for our family about Maiya's Summer. It's easy to make on Shutterfly and fun to share with family & friends. Enjoy.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Maiya's 5th Bday Party

We had Maiya's 5th birthday party at the same park where Tony & I got married 12 years ago.  

 

Tony & Maiya on the play structure.  Note that Tony was able to relax and have fun since we ordered the food instead of BBQing.  Maiya spent most of the day with her friends in the playground area.  I barely saw her until cake time.

Speaking of food, we ordered Ono's BBQ Chicken, Mac Salad and Rice, Chinese Chicken Salad from Feast from the East Salad.  Uncle Bill brought chashu, and my mom brought a fruit salad.  Tony put together the appetizers, and I made azuki jello.

Maiya had a full plate of course.  Peanuts were surprisingly a pretty big hit.

Hawaiian Paradise cake from King's Hawaiian in Torrance.

It's all about Maiya, and she loves it.

Craft time!  I had bought foam door hangers and foam sticker stuff at Michael's Crafts the night before.  The kids were really engaged in the making of the door hangers. 

The other crafts were beads.  Not as easy, but some of the kids really enjoyed it.

Katie, Madi and Eddie, our neighbors.

Lily, Lisa, Kai & Miya.  The older kids played catch and other sporty games
while the littler kids played on the playground structures.

Lauren and Lindsey with Maiya.  Lauren and Maiya friends since they were 9 months old.

Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Lily

Saying goodbye to Devin from preschool.  Devin with his Japanese carp kite, pencil and DJ Maiya's music mix CD.  I'll post the playlist someday.

In all, over 40 people came, 19 children including Maiya.  And the nice thing is that we didn't have to really stress out about anything.  It was a lot of work the day before getting the CDs made and picking up the party supplies and crafty stuff, but I think everyone had a nice time.  Well, we did stress out over the possible weather disaster.  There was a big storm the entire week before the party, and even the day before.  But, luck was with us, we had a nice dry, sunny day.  A little chili and a cold breeze in the shade, but couldn't have asked for a sunnier day to celebrate Maiya's 5th bday.

Grandpa Walt's Bday

Dad turned 79 on Valentine's Day.  Here we are celebrating lunch with family and some Panda Express.  Everyone except me seems to go there quite often, I actually had never had it before.  It wasn't bad.  I made an organic sweet potato mochiko dessert that turned out pretty yucky.  Don't know what happened, it came from the Senshin cookbook.  Anyways, I must have done something wrong, or my stove runs too hot  Anyways, we had a nice time.  The kids are growing up so fast.  They made foam photo frames.  

Making Valentine's

Maiya designed Valentine's cards for her friends at school.  Unfortunately, we waited until 9pm the night before we needed them, so we were up late addressing envelopes and cutting out hearts with origami paper.  Despite the late start, we had fun making them together.  After Maiya went to sleep, I attached the cards to little flower pots with strawberry seed pods, rather than give candy.

Here is me & Maiya actually on Valentine's Day.  I had bought matching t-shirts for me, Tony & Maiya.  They have a phrase that says "Many Hands Help Lighten the Load," the proceeds of which went to Haiti earthquake relief.  Unfortunately, Tony's didn't fit, but we took some self-pictures wearing the shirt.  

That afternoon, we took Maiya to Uncle Bill's for the afternoon, then went to Toshi Sushi in Jtown for a delicious and healthy lunch date, then to see the "Making of Stand Up for Justice" the film NCRR and VC made about Ralph Lazo in 2004 for high school students, now available with Special Features.  Some of the interviews that Tony and I shot, back in 2002, made it into the DVD, including an interview clip of me dressed as  a 1940s Nisei reminding me of my grandma.

Pump it Up for Kevin

Kevin's 5th Bday at Pump, Pump, Pump it Up!

Ok, well actually the party was a month ago, back in January.  Wouldn't  you know that I really jammed my hand when I landed on it on the obstacle course and heard a cracking sound--it still hurts a month later.  No more pump it up for me.

A Bruin, at 5

Maiya started playing basketball for 3-5 year olds with the Bruins in January.  After taking a basketball clinic in November, Maiya decided she wanted to join Jr. Lakers with the Y.  Actually, she was kind of hot and cold. We'd ask her if she wanted to play, and she'd say yes one day, and no the next.  We thought she was going to be a no, but then she changed her mind and decided to try it out.

The first game was pretty scary.  Lots of kids falling down and crying, the kind of heart-tugging that goes to parents when their little ones are freaked out by the speed and craziness of the game.  Actually, a good word to describe 3-5 year olds playing basketball is "pell-mell," a little chaotic, a little crazy, just a little too fast.

Some of the kids are really good, they know what they are doing, they know how to run and dribble and pass and others are learning where and how, but not really why they are in the game.  Maiya's first game was a little deer-in-headlights-ish, but in her 2nd game, she actually made a basket.  And, even though they don't keep score, Maiya's into early math and she is keeping score and mouthing us the number of baskets each time one is made.

I like that the team has boys and girls, and that the teams are very diverse ethnically.  I like that I also like that the snacks are healthy fruits and water.  I like that she's a hustler and not afraid to run back and forth, and that she really wants to get the ball.  But mostly, I like that Tony, Maiya and I are getting out early on Saturday mornings and going to the games as a family.  Go Bruins!