Logan and Vaughn

High School – for both of them!  

It’s here – finally – our boys are back in the same school together for one last year, and it’s already half-way over!!  I think any parent can understand how your heart can be so full and yet also kind of heavy at the same time. That’s how we feel!

It’s all about new experiences for Vaughn.  He played tackle football for the first time and was the Safety on the Frosh/Soph team.  He’ll tell you that football – especially the pre-season training – was the hardest thing that he’s ever done…and that he absolutely loved it!  There is a camaraderie with football that is unlike any other sport – the suffering, yes, but also the gladiator nature of game day – and he might be hooked!  

You’ll see that he also had his first high school Homecoming, and he had a blast with all of his friends.  So far, so good on the academic side with finals coming-up!

For Logan, we keep joking that our big boy turned into a man child over the last year…cuz it’s true!  He barely looks like a high schooler these days, but OH how glad we are that he still is…even if only for 5 more months.  He’s currently in the middle of his last season of soccer and is one of the captains on the team.  He’s also somehow managing the obligatory “Senioritis” and his active social life with a pretty tough class load.  But that’s Logan!  This kid seems to always figure it out – on his own – and makes you question yourself as a parent for ever doubting him for a second.  

His goal is to stay in California for college next year, and we’ll have a better feel on that in a couple of months when most of the local schools send out their notification letters in March.  Otherwise, he could already be a Wildcat, a Sun Devil or a Duck, but one of his parents would really have to adjust (his) game day taunts if that were to happen! 😉  

To say that Emily had her busiest year ever would be an understatement.  She completed 13 murals in the area – was the featured artist in the Hermosa Beach art fair (serenaded by you know who) – and she’s thrilled to be one of the key creatives for the design of California SMASH, a new pickleball social mecca that is coming to El Segundo this spring.

Eric is still slugging it out in the I.T. equipment world and, if Emily keeps up her current pace, might just look for an exit plan (ok, mostly joking).  There’s been some minor health challenges – nothing serious but annoying nonetheless (hernias…yes, plural!).  You’ll see a couple of moments with guitar in the video but not all solo!  Indeed, with the encouraging nudge from Emily, he’s occasionally playing with a group of friends who may aspire to play in front of…their wives!

FAMILY BIGGIES & TRAVEL

In October of this year, Eric was the officiant for the wedding of his sister, Pauline, to Art Dotson.  It was a super fun day!  It had an appropriately beachy feel to it and ocean view, which jives with their day-to-day, as they live on the beach in Oahu.  (I don’t want to remind Art but, since their wedding day was also Pauline’s birthday, he promised her two gifts each year, selflessly offering to get her two new surfboards every October 5th. There’s a room full of witnesses who heard him!)

This summer, Emily’s dad, David, finally had his wishes fulfilled, as the family all traveled to a beach house and had an amazing vacation together in Florida!  It’s taken some convincing to get Eric to travel to the other side of the country to go to the beach – when we live at a beach – but it was beyond worth it.  There is nothing like family, and we’ll cherish these memories forever.  That vacation took the place of our annual summer trip to Emily’s Indiana home, and that ended-up being too much to forego.  Solution?  A quick weekend trip in October just to set things right! 

Over Thanksgiving, we traveled to Spain with our great friends, the Argentos, who were our traveling partners 13 years ago when we last went to Europe.  A lot has changed since then, and – OMG – it’s a lot easier when 3 of our collective 5 children aren’t in diapers!  Nope – this time, instead, they all had metro passes and begged for solo teenager time to explore Barcelona & Madrid on their own. Eh hem – fine by us!  (Logan even had “clubbing” time in Madrid with Dante. We also had a wonderful reunion with our great friend, Antonio.)  We all had an amazing time, and I think one moment really made us smile when we got back.  You know that you must’ve done something right as a parent when your kids both say, “Mom…dad…that trip was fire!”  YAY!  

It’ll get harder & harder to have family time together – to schedule time together – and we wanted at least one more truly amazing memory…with them still as they are now (still kids, barely).

We’re going to enjoy the rest of this school year, and we’re going to celebrate everything about it.  And then we’re going to embrace what’s next and savor every moment along the way.  

We hope 2025 brings you joy, peace & happiness.

Love, 

The Tanakas (Eric, Emily, Logan & Vaughn)  

Here’s our annual video . . .

Where’d all the time go?

It’s starting to fly…

We hear that all parents go through this, this feeling of both joy and some melancholy as we watch our children reach a certain age where we can really feel them separating themselves…kinda from us!  They’re growing…that’s it, and it’s all organically perfect.  It’s independence & freedom…the(ir) theme of 2023, we think.

Logan is 17, and he’s halfway through his junior year of high school.  It seems impossible that he only has 1 year left… 1 year left of organized sports… 1 year left of that certain kind of freedom & weightlessness that really seems to define the high school years…his anyway!  We’ve often joked that since he got his license a year ago, we have a new roommate, because he’s seemingly always just coming & going.  
He’s showing his independence in so many ways, taking the initiative to get a job over the summer and also starting a car detailing business with his friends. Eric has some thoughts on Logan’s definition of “detailing” though, and Emily is wondering how he can clean the inside of cars so well, yet not his own room!  He’s got a great group of friends, and they have a ton of fun.  And, while he can still use a nudge here & there on certain things (i.e. his room, the bathroom…basic teenage dude stuff), we’re watching our oldest become a wonderful young man.

  
Vaughn will be 14 in May, is in 8th grade, and he is so ready to be in high school.  He’s actually taking 2 high school courses now, his first two of the day. So, if it’s a good morning at the house, the boys can go to (the same) school together!  Next year, they’ll have their only full year of high school together, so this is a nice little preview.  
We bit the bullet and got Vaughn an e-bike for his birthday last year, and that has certainly helped him find more room to explore…more freedom, more independence.  You’ll see in our video that he has explored another sport this year, having a blast on his middle school’s volleyball time.  Baseball is still his #1 though!

The boys are still thick as thieves. Vaughn has designed his room to look like a modern hotel, so you’ll often find Logan hanging out in there with him.  (See note above about the general state of Logan’s room, so he’s making a good choice here.) 
With the kids doing more & more of their own thing, we’ve had more free time in the evenings. Kinda loving the impromptu dinners out for two again!  On the flipside, however, we’re now those parents waiting up for our teenager to come home for the night!

The additional free time has definitely allowed Emily more time for her art.  And, if you’ve followed her on any social media, @havetocreate, you’ll know that she had a super busy year. Most notably, she joined-up with Armelle Ngo, and they completely transformed the Hermosa Valley School gym with a 2,700 square ft. mural that is breathtaking.  You’ll see it in the video!  She is also super excited about her group called, “The Art Hive,” who recently produced their own DEBUT show which was a blast. Watch out for her in 2024!  Eric is hoping that this additional time will (finally) manifest into more string time.  Stay “tuned.”

Other tidbits:

We had the Savages out here for the first time since 2019!

Couple trips to Indiana.

Took a quick trip to see Pauline and Art in Oahu, and the boys got to surf in some famous spots!

Eric’s mom is regularly coming over a few times a week for dinner, and we’ve loving the additional time with her.  She’ll be 92 this year!!

As we wave goodbye to 2023 and welcome 2024, and feeling the pending big changes for our kids coming-up, we are trying to remind ourselves to slow down and enjoy every moment.  Hoping some of those moments will include more great times with you, our family & friends.

Cheers,
Eric, Emily, Logan & Vaughn

Here’s our annual video . . .

“Is Vaughn home? When’s Vaughn coming home?”

No, that’s not Eric or Emily asking…that’s a daily question from Logan…whenever he’s home for more than a minute.

We’ve been saying for years that we can’t wait for them to actually become buddies and – knocking on wood – I think they just might be!  That all starts with the older one accepting the younger, and we may look back on 2022 as THE year it really felt like it happened.   

It’s beautiful!

Some other beautiful moments in 2022.  

In last year’s blog, we mentioned that Vaughn was gearing-up for his last year of Little League and then his travel ball team’s final tournament in Cooperstown with all of his buddies.  SUCCESS!  Vaughn’s Little League team won his local league’s championship (humble brag, with Vaughn pitching a complete game in the final!).  And Cooperstown exceeded all expectations.  It was the perfect ending to a wonderful 5 years together with some of our favorite families.  See the pictures & video of both his Little League team’s championship game and a couple of his bombs in Cooperstown…good times!!

Last year, we also mentioned that Logan was looking forward to us not driving him around anymore, knowing that he would turn 16 in 2022 and get his license.  CHECK!  After a minor parental snafu on the scheduling, he got his license at the end of December, and he’s thrilled with a bit of newfound freedom (and responsibility)!

Logan also had his sophomore homecoming, and this time many of his extended crew went as couples.  See the pictures, and you can see the fantastic (and smart) trend of both boys & girls wearing comfortable shoes with suits & dresses.  Why didn’t we think of that all those years ago?  He’s still on the surf team at South, now on the JV soccer team as well (plus his club team). He’s busy, he’s having fun and doing great!

BTW, just quickly back to Vaughn…have you seen his hair?  It’s big.  Really big!  If you thought he had nice eyes, you might have to wait a while to see them again.  They’re covered (and there’s no talking him out of it)! 

Emily is more engaged than ever with the local artist community, and she’s loving being part of the buzzing & thriving gallery/non-profit in Hermosa Beach, Indivisible Arts.

Eric still has his company, nice and close, right by the Redondo Beach pier. Last year’s supply chain woes were actually a good thing for his industry, so no complaints. No complaints, but not a lot of free time either. However, with the gentle – yet not so subtle – nudge from Emily, Eric found the time to learn a new guitar piece and is live on our video below! (Special thanks to Karl Grossman for his beautiful arrangement.)

And last, not that we’d expect anybody to notice that this blog is late this year, but it is…for a really wonderful reason.  We always mention here that we want more time with our friends & family and, for the first time in 10+ years, we decided to travel and visit Emily’s family in Indiana over New Year’s.  So glad we did!

Love to you all,

Eric, Emily, Logan & Vaughn

Here’s our annual video . . .

Back to life, back to sports, back to live music, back to adventure…

Hope you enjoy our annual video . . .

“Can you believe that when they look back, our little ones might remember this as the best summer of their lives?”

– Coach Mike

And can you believe that we could possibly say something like that in the year that is 2020?

We could all write about how much this year sucked, and it did – even right now! –  it still does.  But with every mention of the word, “Zoom,” in 2020, I also want to remember our kids’ new favorite sayings this year, like “Send it!” or “Getting barreled!” (Warning: beach & surf theme below.)

I hesitate to say it, but these new classic phrases may not have been possible without the lockdown that we’ve basically had here in LA County since March.

Every year, we talk about how much we miss (and love) seeing our friends, and it seems like 2020 has taken away that very thing we all love the most.  For the kids, whether that was at school, or through their sports & activities, the sleepovers – or just the freedom to improvise and roam, that just hasn’t been an option this year…not really.  Shoot, like so many of you, we went from 5 sports teams on March 13th – to zero – a day later.  

What has gotten us through . . . the beach. So grateful to have a place where the kids can get outside, get some exercise and see people – us too!  

Logan has been going to the beach on his own for a couple years now, and he & his friends will ‘make a surf day happen’ on their own, whenever (um, but they still need a ride!).  But he also missed-out on Junior Guards which was canceled this summer – a huge loss!  When we asked Logan what he missed the most this year, his response was immediate, “Junior Guards.” 

As a teenager, he and his friends are still able to connect through their phones & gaming.  God help us, because we both simultaneously cringe, and then knowingly nod to each other, thankful that he’s still staying connected – even when it has to be inside.  Such is this generation, and maybe they’re just a bit more equipped to adjust to what 2020 has brought onto them.

Vaughn, on the other hand, still needs an adult to help make some good times happen!  So his trips to the beach have opened the door to a little surf tribe of kids & parents who happen to have the same general flow.  We’re so grateful to have found this new little group to hang-out with, some old friends, some new.  

It’s like we can’t get enough of it, because one kid – or even one of the adults – is always going to suggest that we maybe do a sunset pizza delivery on the sand, or maybe donuts & mimosas for Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve morning.  Why not?  These aren’t just “consolation” memories.  These are what we’ll remember so fondly – forever – with smiles and tears in our eyes.  

So if the moments in this video look like a party, it’s on purpose.  We don’t want to remember the hot mess of stress, anxiety and isolation of 2020. We want to remember the little blips of good times and moments of normalcy.  What’s more?  We want to think about the moments that 2020 gave us that we wouldn’t have had otherwise. Crazy to say that, but it’s true.

But, having said that?  We’re so ready for 2021, ready to see as many of you as possible, as soon as we can.  

Here’s our annual video . . .

Love,

The Tanakas (Eric, Emily, Logan & Vaughn)

 

Happy New Year!

We love putting together this annual blog post, reviewing all the highlights of the year, both in pictures & video.  It reminds us of just how lucky we are, and it’s a welcome reminder, especially here at the end of the year when each day rushes by so fast.  Hope you enjoy our video and some quick words about our family in 2019.

Logan (13)

OMG – we have a teenager in the house! Once Logan turned 13, Eric remarked, “Not a big deal. He’s been acting like a teenager already for years!” Ha! We love his free spirit, and we can see him growing in so many ways right before our eyes.  He had a fun year of soccer, baseball and Junior Guards in the summer. Had a new experience with his first sleep-away camp which was on Catalina Island (we think he’s now got the bug for more).  Of course, being a teenager, he’s increasingly wanting for more independence, and his favorite activities might be roaming the neighborhood on his scooter, eating in the Village with his friends or, no doubt, sleepovers.  If you’re ever in a car ride with him, he’ll delight you with his singing at the top of his lungs (and we apologize – in advance – for some of the lyrics).  

Vaughn (9 ½)

Baseball, soccer, flag football, basketball, baseball, baseball, baseball. Did we mention that Vaughn really likes baseball? It’s taken hold, and it’s super-fun to watch him play…any of the sports, really.  Still loves his crazy socks, and he used to care about everything matching, head-to-toe.  Not so much anymore, and the weirder the better. He’s helped Emily a bit with her murals which may have, in some part, inspired him to customize his own pair of Vans shoes!  He loves his crew of friends, and if only he could have a play date…every day. Like Logan, he loves to scooter, looking-up new tricks on YouTube to perfect as quickly as possible. 

Other Quick Hits

We finally got the kids to the snow this year, trying snowboarding for the very first time.  I think they liked it just about as much as throwing snowballs at each other…and at us!

Emily has become a muralist for hire!  Two years ago, she hadn’t ever painted a mural, and now she’s a registered vendor with Torrance School District, recently hired to paint her 3rd at Riviera.  It’s inspired her art in so many ways, not to mention the desire to just do more of it.  It’s helped push her into launching her new website which was a lot of work and, we think, a really nice result for the effort. Check it out at havetocreate.com.

Eric has become a bit of a Peloton addict, but that’s gotta be a good thing – right?  (His doctor thinks so; but, in the spirit of full disclosure, he’s also an addict.)  

He’s struggling with the depths that USC football has sunk to, while reveling in the glory that is Liverpool at the moment.

He’s trying to balance the reality of not a lot of time to play guitar with – like every guitarist – the never-ending desire to acquire more guitars (so far, it’s been held in check for almost 4 years now!).

We’d like to close this year with a nod to the “village” that helps us every day.  As our kids expand their circle of friends, we are continually reminded of how grateful we are for the wonderful parents who are constantly having our kids at their houses, coaching them in sports, carpooling them, helping us divide & conquer as best we can.  We’re fortunate to have a group of friends who have created a neighborhood that, indeed, feels like a village of people looking out for our family. We love you for it!

 

Here’s our annual video . . .

Cheers,

Eric, Emily, Logan & Vaughn

 

The beach, the dog, sports, Fortnite, their own rooms, middle school, independence…

This photo of Emily with the boys was on their last day of school from this past year.  We think it will remain a favorite for the rest of our lives, as there is a lot of significance behind it, as it’s the last time the boys will be in the same school until Logan is a senior and Vaughn is a freshman in high school.  Even then? We don’t imagine that they’ll want Mom picking them up that day, so this is it!

But it’s a wonderful sign of the times…

Logan is in middle school now, loving the change and the increasing independence that it brings. He’s doing great and really taking responsibility for his work and his grades.  So far so good!

He’s already pining for Summer again and rolling with his crew, mostly back & forth to the beach. This last Summer, he started to learn surfing and loved it!  He’s still playing soccer and, this past year, he played baseball again for the first time since preschool…since t-ball! He did great, and he’s looking forward to the upcoming little league season which starts-up soon!

Vaughn almost made it through another year without breaking a bone, only to suffer a small buckle fracture in his left arm a couple weeks before Christmas.  Fortunately, it was after his flag football & soccer seasons ended.  We’re mostly “in-between” sports at the moment, with basketball just starting-up and baseball about a couple months away, so this really is the “best” time to have a clipped wing!  

Clipped wing = Fortnite?  Not necessarily, but let’s just say that Logan & Vaughn have fallen victim to the Fortnite bug in 2018.  We realize they’re not alone, but we also realize that – right now – they’re probably, “…in the middle of a round.”  Anybody else? While it is not how either of us grew-up, we also realize it is a super-social game that they absolutely love playing with their friends.  

And they get to play in their own rooms now!  Both of the boys had started to want their own rooms this year – especially Logan – and we finally made it happen for them in November.  They love it! We think it might actually help them miss each other a bit (eh hem, or, perhaps better said, argue a bit less!).

Along with our annual summer trip to Indiana to see Emily’s family, Emily got to take a bonus trip for a really special reason.  Her dad, David, was inducted into the Southeastern Indiana Music Hall of Fame, recognized for a lifetime of contribution to the local music scene.  She’s so proud of him!  

This year, Emily had the opportunity to paint a mural for Logan’s graduating class from elementary school.  Her first time ever painting a mural! The theme was “Endless Summer,” and you can see it in our video, along with a picture of our Summer-blonde-eyebrowed Logan!  A wonderful project, and Emily really enjoyed it. It’s motivated her to launch a new website with her artwork, havetocreate.com.

Eric’s company is wonderfully (even more) local, and he’s enjoying the short 8 minute commute, all the while, staying within ¼ mile of the beach.  While shown in Dodgers gear here, and with both of the boys playing little league now, he’s taken this year to really (really) get back into baseball caps. He even has some that no self-respecting Los Angeleno should ever wear (but it’s all for the kids!).  

In putting our annual video together, we’ve realized that many of the pictures were taken by others, not by us.  We’re seemingly with our kids’ friends & families every day, and it’s wonderful. We’re so grateful to have this village – this circle of people – who we get to call our friends.  We hope to see all of you even more in 2019.

Happy New Year, and please enjoy our family video.

Love,

Eric, Emily, Logan (12) & Vaughn (8 ½)

 

 

 

“We got a doggie! We got a dog!”

“Wait . . . Is it our dog?!”

-Vaughn

Yes! It’s our dog, Josie!

The boys have been wanting a dog for a couple of years, but Eric kept saying “maybe.”  Finally, Vaughn, the self-proclaimed dog whisperer, said, “Either you tell me we are NEVER getting a dog, or I need to know when!”

We finally decided to pull the trigger and, while Eric and I were on a research mission, we fell in love with a puppy and brought her home that night. Logan and Vaughn had no idea and were so surprised (see Welcome Home video). We quickly found out how unprepared we were and have since invested in baby gates, LOTS of chew toys, a bottle of Nature’s Miracle and a pheromone diffuser to chill out the cats. We are all over the moon for Josie (except for one of the cats, but she only likes Emily anyway). 

Vaughn told us one night, “This is the best thing that has ever happened.”  

 

Summer of Independence

Logan did Junior Guards (JG’s) for the very first time, and his summer went something like this . . . JG’s in the mornings with friends, maybe lunch at the snack shack, the rest of the afternoon at the beach or at the pool with buddies, then try to scheme that into a sleepover…repeat.  I think he really only wore shoes & a shirt when he went to soccer training.  Logan – “Yes, I know, my summer was pretty epic.”  While Vaughn’s summer was great too, with similar afternoons at the pool or beach with friends, it wasn’t as over-the-top as Logan’s.  You bet he’s jealous, chomping at the bit for all the independence his older brother has.  His new year’s resolution?  2018 will be the “Year of Sleepovers” for him.  Um, shot across the bow to parents of Vaughn’s friends.  You’ve been warned!

While our annual summer trip to Indiana was pushed-back a few weeks until Junior Guards ended – and kept a little shorter too, our boys got to go fishing for the very first time – in Paw Paw’s pond and loved it (thank you, Dad & Sara!).  Barely had time to fit-in a venture to Kings Island with their cousins, and we certainly missed some family & friends on this trip.  Looking forward to a return trip!

The summer started-off with a California visit from the Savages (my sister, Sara, Chris, Jonah & Ila).  They don’t get to visit us that often and, now that the kids are older, we get to broaden our adventures.  It felt like we really got to have them feel a bit of our summer life, and we want more times like these!  A simple walk home on the beach from dinner at the pier – with both families together – will be a lasting memory for us.  I think Eric might add that he can’t wait to take Chris back to Old Tony’s “crow’s nest” bar for another Mai Tai!  

Spring & Fall filled with Sports, Sports, Sports

Both kids played soccer this year, baseball and flag football, and Vaughn played basketball too.  We know many families with 3-4 kids that do the same, and we have no idea how they keep up.  While it makes for a lot of craziness with scheduling, carpools, etc., we enjoy watching the boys learn new things and, let’s face it, keep active.  Eric’s mom, aka Nana, was a trooper, sometimes going to 3 games in one day. She particularly likes the baseball games and those burgers from the snack shack!  😉

In the free moments between school and sports, the kids want to see their friends AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. It always seems there are 4-5 kids in our car or at our house. We are thankful for the amazing parents that have our kids flow in and out of their houses each week too. It definitely takes a village and we feel very lucky to have one.

A Year of Clearing out the Clutter

I went on a kind of psycho-whole-house-cleaning-mission and rented a storage pod to park in the driveway for a month.  After dumping one room at a time into it and clearing the clutter, we had a big yard sale. While I never really want to do a yard sale like that again, a big positive was Vaughn selling his artwork at it. It was something he’d been wanting to do for a while and it was fun to see him get positive feedback. Looking forward to planning an “Art Sale” only next time around.

Eric also cleared out the clutter and moved his office space this year. It was a big project to overhaul and clean out a warehouse he’d had for 17 years. Now that the dust has settled, he’s very happy in his streamlined new space that is West of PCH and 10 minutes from home.

We are now ready for NO MORE CLEANING PROJECTS! At least not for a while. 🙂

 

I think I might know the answer to, “Where does the time go?”  We fill it up!

More & more on the kids’ plates, more & more on the schedule…and then we throw-in a puppy!  It all just means only more new memories to make, and we try to capture as many as we can.  But, shoot, looking for a picture of just the 4 of us from this year, this is the best we could do.  At least my eyes made it in!

After a year of big changes, we know more changes are coming – inevitably so – as we look ahead and savor Logan’s last few months of elementary school.  Can’t believe this is the last year the boys will be in the same school together until Logan’s a senior in high school!

What’s next?  It won’t be a slowed pace in 2018 – it just can’t be, and that’s just fine.  We’re grateful for our health, friends & family.  Happy New Year to you all.

 

Please enjoy our video.  

Happy New Year!

The Sweet Spot . . .Logan just turned 10, Vaughn 6 and a half

A number of times this year, we’ve caught ourselves thinking how great these ages are and how simple things are at the moment. Logan and Vaughn’s major requirements at this stage are lots of exercise, lots of food and time to play with their friends. Not that complicated. There’s no big drama with friendships, and most arguments or tears can be resolved with letting that person take a penalty kick. There’s no big interest in girls yet, unless they are good soccer players and join-in on the game. While the decibel level can be extreme when hauling around packs of boys in the car, we love listening to the giggles, conversations and silly car games they make up.

The car is packed with soccer balls, footballs, baseball gloves (recent addition), snacks (probably mostly crunched in the seats) and water bottles (to drink and flip, ohh…the flipping). We have a good ortho on speed dial, know which local urgent care is the best and have lots of bandaids in the glove box.

It’s been a few months since summer, but the kids still wax poetic about it (maybe when they shouldn’t be, like when doing homework!). But who can blame them? It’s hard not to smile when thinking about a typical summer day: meet friends at the pool or beach, swim, boogie board, play soccer in the sand, and eat a snack shack dinner. Bonus if we see the sunset with their crew & parents. Rinse off. Repeat.

While school days & evenings are packed with activities, usually once a week the kids will meet friends at the park. Again, we’re in the sweet spot of the 4th graders being patient with the 1st graders, so these epic games of soccer & football happen with both kids’ sets of friends. We love that the kids play together a ton, and want to enjoy it while it lasts. We’re starting to see the need for more independence coming soon.

Ever since Emily’s Dad & Cathy had their Oktoberfest-themed wedding in 2013, it’s become a tradition for them to host an Oktoberfest Reunion every other year. Not only is it a wonderful occasion to remember their wedding, but it’s such a beautiful time of year in Indiana.  Just a few months after our regular summer vacation there, it was wonderful to see family & friends again so soon.  

While we still miss Eric’s dad so much, we’re really happy that Eric’s mom, Margaret, moved back to Redondo Beach this summer.  Her apartment is right across the street from the beach, so close to us, she can come over any day of the week to visit.  Here she is on Christmas with the Tanaka boys.

Going back through this blog on an annual basis, we appear to close with a similar picture of the two of us every time.  It seems appropriate, hugging each other tightly, as we smile & exhale at the end of another year, wishing you much love & happiness as we welcome 2017.  

 

Please enjoy our video.  

Happy New Year!

 

The Tanakas (Eric, Emily, Logan & Vaughn)

 

 

When I was young I used to wake up early in the morning
When I was young I could climb up a mountain didn’t matter how tall
When I was young I didn’t listen to anybody’s warning
When I was young I could jump; I wasn’t afraid to fall

-The Wood Brothers

Indeed, not afraid to fall.  In fact, we hesitate to say “final” score when the year isn’t officially over as we type, but we’re counting 2 broken bones per kid so far, plus 4 stitches in Vaughn’s right eyelid as a bonus on Christmas week.  All recovered!  Knock on wood?

Logan (9) & Vaughn (5 1/2) have been playing a ton of soccer, with both of their seasons just finishing before the holidays.  A love for “American Ninja Warrior” arose this year, so every seemingly harmless object is a potential “obstacle” or “challenge.”  Nothing is safe, and we have found the kids “spread eagle” at top of the walls, like Spiderman under the ceiling.  Our white walls?  OY!

The year brought us two trips to visit Emily’s family in Indiana, and we couldn’t be happier to welcome Sonya to the family, marrying Cathy’s son, Jared, in October.

This year also brought us profound sadness as well, as Eric’s dad, Arthur, succumbed to Parkinson’s in July after battling the disease for the last 3+ years.  We miss him so much, and we toasted to him during the recent holidays.  Margaret joined us for both Thanksgiving & Christmas, and it won’t be long before she moves back to Redondo Beach.  We look forward to having her here!

Here’s our annual video with some slices of this year!

The circle of life has a way of making you appreciate everything just a little bit more, and we’re so grateful for the health of our boys, for the smiles on their faces.  With Vaughn having started kindergarten in the Fall, both boys are now at the same school, and it’s wonderful.  They have a routine every morning where they hug one last time before heading to their separate ways to their own classrooms!  Hope they continue to hug it out for years to come!

Happy New Year!

Love,

The Tanakas (Eric, Emily, Logan & Vaughn)