aloha, island air!

Today was Mitch's official last day at Island Air. Mitch forgot his camera so this pic was taken with his camera phone...not the best quality, but at least we got one for the memory books, right? This is after his final flight. It's been a great 4 years with the company, and it's a little sad to say goodbye! I must say, it hasn't quite sunken in yet. But we're excited (and a bit nervous) for what lies ahead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a side note...give yourself 10 points if you know what this is!

(you local people reading this don't count!)

With the summer months creeping upon us, so does the best fruit season Hawaii has to offer. This is a lychee, and it's probably my absolute favorite piece of fruit. If you live in the mainland, you may have seen or eaten canned lychees, but make no mistake, it's not the same thing! Our good neighbor (whom Mitch mows and trims her lawn and trees) has a couple great lychee and mango trees and we're very fortunate to enjoy their fruits! I know, they look kinda freaky on the outside, but they are oh, so good on the inside! If you never get a chance to taste one, you're seriously missin' out!

memorial day

Happy Memorial Day! Mitch had the day off, and although he really wanted to do some more work on our house, we dragged him out to the North Shore to hit the beach. Ok, so it didn't really take that much convincing to get him out there since the weather was PERFECT and beautiful!! He just worked on the house a little before and after we got home.

The beach we went to is called Mokuleia...it's pretty close to where they film the show LOST! I'm not really a watcher, but I'm guessing all of you have at least seen it or heard about it! Anyway, the weather was great and fun was definitely had by all (even though it doesn't look like it in some pictures because Anna was pretty tired...). Let's just say they all slept great on the 40 minute drive home, and then 2+ hours after we got home! We'll probably have a late night tonight...but oh well. No more preschool for Kela so here's to sleeping in tomorrow!! :)

hawaiian...here we come!!!

Yesterday morning, we finally got the call we've been waiting for....

About 2 weeks ago, we were in Waikiki and Mitch got a call from Hawaiian Airlines for an interview! After some serious testing and interviews, it's been pins and needles...waiting in anticipation for the results. And just yesterday morning, we found out that he got it! In about a week, he'll be off for some more training with a brand new company, flying brand new airplanes! Jet planes! :) (he's been flying turbo prop planes at Island Air)

It's odd how all of Mitch's career changes have always coincided with a major change/addition to our family. Mitch began flight instructing right before we got married, and just when I was about to give birth to Kela, he got a call from Island Air and began his commercial flying career. Then about the time Anna was born, he upgraded to the larger airplanes at Island Air, which meant better pay! He upgraded to Captain last summer and just as we were thinking of creating the addition to our home, he was able to upgrade to instructor at Island Air. Which was an incredible boost in our pay and allowed us to afford to pay for all the construction costs! And now as we are preparing to welcome our third little girl, he has (finally) gotten on with Hawaiian Airlines...pending his passing of training, of course! We are so excited for him and know he'll do great! Although, this does mean a significant cut in our income (pilots always start at the bottom and have to work their way up...regardless of experience. It's all about seniority within the company), it does mean that he is finally where he has always wanted to be, and we are able to stay here in Hawaii for good! Horray for Daddy!! We are so proud of you~

park & primary activity

Saturday afternoon, we said Aloha Oe our good friends the Au's. They're leaving the island to move to Utah for Li'i's residency in Utah. We'll sure miss them! Their son, Zion is Anna's age and they are good Nursery buddies. It's especially sad for us since there aren't too many families our age in our ward...we'll miss you guys!

The park was super hot. And the girls were super tired before we even got there! But, we all had fun eating some yummy food and playing at the playground. It sure does feel like Summer's definitely here!

Then, after a short hour and a half, we were off to the primary activity. The one we've been sort of stressing about all month long. Kela and Anna came later since they were still waking up from their nap when I had to leave. The topic was "service" and my station was preparing bags of "hurricane popcorn" for some of our less-active kids. They had fun. And this was Kela's second ever Primary Activity...I'm so glad she enjoys primary as much as she does! And since Anna loves Nursery as well...Makes my life so much easier on Sundays!

happy graduation!

Kela and her cousin Hugo had their last day of Preschool today! I'm so sad! I love being able to drop her off and have just a couple of hours of free time to exercise and run errands...with only one child. It's insanely different when you have more than one. I'm seriously worried I'll be house-bound once this next baby comes! I doubt I'll ever want to leave the house by myself! But, with Kela starting a more steady preschool come August, I'm sure that will likely not happen. I forsee some seriously chaotic mornings in my near future...

But anyway, enough about the future. Kela's last day of her preshool was nice. Instead of exercising today, I had to run around to get some shopping and other errands run, so I got there later than I had hoped to pick her up...she was basically the last student there. I felt so bad! My sister in law had waited for me to come so I was able to snap a couple of pictures of the two of them before heading home. They had little certificates and had even colored their own colorful caps! It was cute. *sigh* I miss it already!

Tagged

I've been tagged again-by Gini again, too! Anyway, here goes.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

- Finishing up my year-long study abroad in Okinawa Japan, at the University of Ryukyus.

2. Five Snacks I Enjoy

- Silk chocolate soy milk (not really a snack, but I gotta have it daily), Kettle corn w/ mochi crunch (rice crackers) a yummy combo, ding dongs...but only every once in a while, Caramel Creme Frappuccino from Starbucks...just had one today! :) , and recently the Nachos from 7-Eleven. 'cmon, for less than 2 bucks get all the nacho cheese, chili and jalapenos you could want! Elika, I blame you for getting me hooked on these!

3. Five Things On My To Do List Today

-1.Take Kela to preschool...her last day! boo hoo 2. Shop for another crazy weekend (baby shower, luau, primary activity) 3. Sew a hooded towel & taggie blanket for a baby shower tomorrow.

4. Run permits (my job...had to take a cranky and sleep deprived Anna to the library to meet a client-not fun)

5. FEED & BATHE MY KIDS!!

There's so much more...but really not worth writing down-

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

-First, pay our tithes & offerings (of course), then pay off my family's debt. Set up a retirement, college & mission fund for our kids. Buy a home here in Hawaii. Sell our car and get THIS ONE!, and then possibly travel to places we've wanted to go-like to our old mission sites in Japan, parts of Aisa & Europe, the Sacred Grove...etc. Invest the rest & save for our fabulous retirement future. (selfish, I know...)

5. Five jobs that I have had

-1. I've waitressed at 3 different restaurants (all Japanese). 2. In college, worked at Photo Polynesia at the PCC-I took pictures of tourists, even developed some, and sold them to the tourists. A GREAT college job! 3. Worked at a chiropractic office (my bro-in-law) 4. Mission 5. Mom. The most stressful & exhausting, but most rewarding job to date!

6. Five of my bad habits

-1. THIS BLOG!! 2. computers in general....I have a bad habit of web surfing when I get bored 3. Ebay...although nowadays, Craigs list is getting up there, too! 4. Staying up waaaay too late. (scrapbooking or on the computer....and often on this blog! ) 5. Sleeping in. Although sometimes, I don't see the wrong in this!


7. Five places I have lived

-Okinawa, Japan (Preschool & 1 year of college)

-Sendai, Japan (Mission)

-St. Petersburg, Florida (2nd-3rd grade)

-Edmonds & Lynnwood, Washington (3rd grade--High School & College)

-Oahu, Hawaii! (post-mission, college to present)

8. Five People I Want to Get to Know Better:A nice way of saying “Tag. You’re it!”
Really? Do I have to tag someone else?
Naomi, Starr, Janee, Jenn & Val. (Although you're not necessarily obligated to do this!) I'll leave it open to whomever would like to "tag" themselves as well.

9. 6 Random Things:

1. I'm soo excited about the new X-Files movie coming out, I can hardly contain myself.

2. I have a brown belt in Aikido

3. I can't stand raisins...

4. My right pinky toe has 2 toe nails...happened when I ran my first marathon & lost 5 toe nails. My right pinky toe just didn't quite grow back normally. Gross, I know.

5. I have horns on my head...just kidding. BUT, I do have 2 "bumps" on my head where horns would probably be. That's why I can't wear head bands, or sunglasses on my head. (So, the next time someone asks if Mormons have horns, you can say that you know one that does! )

6. My friends and I are "extras" in the Heber J. Grant video of the "Modern Prophets" series from Living Scriptures. We were Japanese passers by in the scene where President Grant opened the mission in Japan! :)

first cleaning

Ok, ok...it's not like I have something against dentists in any way, but this was Kela and Anna's very first trip to the dentist. Ever.
I was so dreading this appointment because I had planned to get at least Anna down for her nap beforehand so she would be well rested and happy...but no such luck. Wouldn't you know it, that the one day I want her to sleep-she's wide awake! Oh well...also, Mitch was supposed to come with me, but work went longer than expected so he only came in the last 10 minutes or so-just in time to see Anna take the seat.
Anyway, despite their tiredness, for their very first cleaning they did pretty well! Kela didn't cry, or get too scared. She didn't care for the sucker thingy and really didn't like the flouride treatment, but was so brave throughout it all & held the sucker thing all by herself. Even Anna didn't cry or fuss until the very end with the flouride treatment. Both of them didn't care for the sucker thing (whatever it's called...I don't like it either, so can't blame them!) Mommy was so proud. And yea! No cavities!

That "happy pic" of Anna was before they did anything...the one on the left was right before the flouride treatment. Can you tell the difference? Still, though...she did very well for her very first dental cleaning.

Right afterwards...Kela tripped and hit her head on those bars right behind them, so she wasn't too happy. And Anna didn't make it past the parking lot-she was sooo tired!

A successful trip, I must say!

our painters

Yesterday, we started priming our room for paint. Mitch had promised to let the girls help, so we dressed them up in their scrubbies, gave them a couple brushes and let 'em have at it. They had so much fun. (you'll notice Anna's paint brush was a very small one...we didn't trust her with a big one-I think she made a big enough mess with this little play one. And, she still has the paint on her arms and tummy to prove it!) Anna kept saying, "Look! I'm painting!" Kela painted her name, and pictures of her grandma and grandpa...but I forgot to take pics of it before Mitch rolled over it all. Shucks.
I even got in there for a short few minutes, but Mitch kicked me out after it got too fumey. I took the girls to the park and let Mitch finish up on the interior. It's finally starting to come to gether! We're so excited & Kela keeps saying that our house is gonna get big! (little does she know that our house will still be tiny...just a tad big-ger).

tax rebate!

I just checked our bank account on-line and found out that we received our second tax rebate from the IRS! We were only expecting a couple hundred dollars and even then, didn't think we'd get it so soon! What a great surprise to get it so quickly and secondly, to get more than we originally thought! Woo hoo for being poor, I guess! :)
Now, what to do with this extra money....? Oh, yea, the construction of our house. Guess it'll go to pay for our new room...and new bed. (yea anyways!)

construction update...

I haven't really updated on the progress of the construction of our home because...well, it's been REALLY SLOW GOING the past few weeks. There's just been too much "other stuff" going on that we've really only been able to do a little here and there. But, anyway, we've finally gotten where you can actually see the difference, so I thought I'd post.
First, we had to remove the door leading out of the girls' room (it's an exterior door) and replace it with the new interior door. This doorway which used to lead outside to the lanai, will now open into our new room! I know, sounds like a weird layout...and it is, but it's all good. The old exterior door just got transferred to its new location on the other side of our new room--which was a bit of drama in and of itself... Long story short, there was a bit of mis-measuring and we had to do some cutting into the framework, replacing some paneling, etc., but with not too much effort, the door was in place. (Thanks, Dean!) Then, it was up with all the interior trim--which took a while because Mitch did it all by himself. But what took even longer was all the caulking and spackling that Mitch had to do on all the walls, doorways, windows, and ceiling. We enlisted the service of our missionaires for some of that "grunt" work.
After that, it was time to build the stairs. My handy-man of a husband built the steps leading into our room--he was so proud of this (as was I)!

Finally, all set and ready for paint! It feels like it took forever to get to this point...but we're so excited to be almost finished! With a fresh coat of paint and some new carpet & flooring, it'll be ready to move into! Yea!

Oh, and in case you're wondering...yes, that is our washer/dryer in the room. We didn't want to hassle with moving all the plumbing so we're keeping them where they are. It's not too weird having a washer/dryer in a bedroom, right? hee hee. Like I said, we're not too picky-just happy to have some extra space to roam. Ooo~I can't wait!

happy mother's day!

Just wanted to say a Happy Mother's Day to all the Mommies~Hope your day was quiet and relaxing...although if you're a Mommy, is that even possible?
Mine started out and ended wonderfully! Events in between, however, is a different story! :) For starters, Mitch was great to wake up with the girls & even made me pancakes-from scratch! They were surprisingly even better than out of the box! Sooo good!

After breakfast, we rushed out to pick up Mitch's Aunt Celia and her new hubby Larry for a quick trip out to the Pali Lookout. Basically a super windy (can you tell from the pictures?) cliffside lookout with panoramic views of the Eastern side of Oahu. Did I mention windy? It's beautiful and despite the rain we had in the morning, all cleared up and the views were spectacular. Celia and Larry have really been lucky with the weather here-May tends to be fickle with lots of rain or "Kona Winds" (hot and humid and smoggy wind from the South), but it's actually been very nice for them! Yay for their Honeymoon! So, we checked out the Pali Lookout and then drove them home...after all, it is Sunday and we had to get ready for church!

Church for us is insanely late (starts at 2:30!!) so while Anna was well-rested after taking a nap, Kela was cranky because she didn't. She was a bit challenging during sacrament meeting today--which is especially lovely for me because Mitch's calling in the Bishopric means I have to fend for myself in the pews while he gets to watch it all unfold from the podium (at times, loudly). Sacrament meeting is often a challenge for me--but more so on days like this when one or the other hasn't had their pre-church naps). Thankfully, Kela fell asleep in the middle of one of the talks so all I had to worry about was keeping Anna from running up to the front to find Daddy. Today, she ran up only once...some days she doesn't even bother, but others, it's 4 or 5 times and then I have to take her outside 'cause she tends to get persisitent. I don't know what I'm going to do when baby #3 comes!

Anyway, after church, we had a nice family dinner with all our extended family-including Airi's family-which means there were 12 kids running and screaming around Airi's house. Just a bit chaotic...but pretty much the norm when it comes to our family get-togethers. The kids all had fun, as did the adults, since these are the few times we get to sit back and let the kids entertain themselves while we mingle, gossip and catch up. :)

Then at the end of the day, Mitch was great to get the girls ready for bed and even put them both to sleep! What a great husband! I felt pretty spoiled today...except at church...but that's every Sunday, so I can't really complain. I was also looking forward to my Mother's Day massage that Mitch had promised...but since he's already fast asleep, and I'm catching up on this blog--no such luck. Oh, well. Like I said, at least my day started and ended blissfully and quietly. What more could a mother ask for? :)

the bash

Now that the weekend is over, I feel like I can finally breathe! It was a LONG weekend, but everything turned out better than we could have hoped for...so YEA for a successful party! We simply took too many pictures to post individually, but I made a slideshow of just some of the highlights from the day...

For starters, the weather forecast said scattered showers, but we were blessed with beautiful weather--sunny and breezy. It got a bit gusty here and there...but since we were on the East side of the island (where it's known to be more windy and often rainy), we weren't too surprised. It actually made the heat more bearable and was actually quite welcome.

We weren't able to do all the games we had planned (over-planning on our part...) but got in most of the activities we had hoped to. Waterballoon fights (this was not planned...but we managed to save a few waterballoons for our waterballoon toss competition), limbo competition, races (did you notice my sister Airi competing with the kids? oh, and the Dad's got WAAAY into the race and asked for a "photo finish" to see who won...just a tad too competative, don't cha think?), pin the tail on eeyore, and then the pooh pinata. The pinata looked a bit creepy since it was only the "head" of pooh...also, it was one of those pull string pinata's (where you pull ribbons and the "one" ribbon opens it up instead of having to hit it), but we decided to let the kids take turns at bat & they ended up hitting it open at the last "whack." Yay for more sweets!!

Finally, after all the games were done and the food eaten, we hit the beach. The beach on this side of the island is a bit rocky (and out deeper, is known to be shark infested!) but along the shallow shoreline it's super warm and crystal clear. The kiddies had so much fun splashing around, we seriously had to pry them away from the water when it got time to go. Especially Anna... our little Mermaid. She loves the water & the waves. We have to always watch her because she heads straight out into the water with no fear--and me being the paranoid person that I am, had to literally fight to keep her close by. And since the weather was so breezy, we completely forgot to put sunblock on the girls until the very end...so we all got a bit pink at the end of the day. Oops. Anna didn't even stop to take a nap the entire day-until it was time to break down camp. She was "out cold" before we even left the park, and Kela followed soon after we left the parking lot.

I so wanted to join them and take a long nap, but we actually had a busy evening as well. After letting the girls nap for less than 2 hours, we headed out to Waikiki to meet up with Mitch's Aunt to take them shopping and run some errands. We ended up getting home at midnight...TOO LONG OF A DAY FOR ME!! I don't think I've yet to recoup all my energy! But, it was a lovely day and we all agreed that it was a success! Especially Mitch who hasn't gotten a day off in FOREVER, got to enjoy a day of no flying, teaching, or stressing about the construction of our house...Horray!

p-day

This week has been a whirlwind of shopping, baking, planning, etc., etc. Tomorrow (hmmm...I'm looking at the clock and realizing it's actually TODAY!!) is Anna & her cousin Aya's big birthday party and so in preparation for it all, my sister Elika and I have been crazy running around making sure we've gotten everything taken care of. Maybe a bit stressful, but oh, so exciting! :)
Today was the pinnacle of chaos. Trying to get all the shopping and errand-running done with two kids in tow is no easy feat...but horray for getting it all done! (I hope!)

Shopping at Sam's Club for all the last minute perishables...I often shop like this when Anna's nap time comes at "inconvenient" times. Remember Mom's! Always carry around a blanket in the car just for these times!

Here we are putting together the goody bags. And trust me, with a stomach this big, sitting on hard wood floors for an hour is no picnic...the things we do for our kids!
And, I don't think I've ever met a kid who didn't like waterballoons! We filled close to 200 waterballoons today...and looked like it! All of us were drenched-especially Anna who seemed to enjoy walking through the stream of water while slipping and sliding around Elika's deck...Anna's our water-lover.
*P.S. The pictures of us with the goody bags and me filling the ballons were taken by Kela...not a bad photographer (for a 3 year old, right?)



Ta-Da!!!
The Winnie the Pooh birthday cake I made for the girls. I am SOOO proud of this, you have no idea. Especially since I'm NO artist and have zero drawing skills whatsoever! Plus, thanks to Gini and her "Betty Crocker"-esque recipe of Devil's Food Cake, the inside of the cake tastes even better than it looks! Thanks Gini--your cake was SOO good (I actually licked the beaters when I made the batter--haven't done that in years!) and I know because I saved all the scrap pieces after I cut out the Pooh shape. :)
Is this not just the Cutest cake ever!?!
I took a picture and posted it tonight just in case it doesn't hold up to the weather tomorrow...but here's to hoping it will!!

9 years ago today!

Exactly 9 years ago today (May 4th, 1999), I entered the Missionary Training Center in Tokyo, Japan to serve a full time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The beginning of the (literally) most incredible 18 month journey of service, self discovery, and challenges I have ever experienced. Choosing to serve a mission was absolutely the second best decision I have ever made. (The first being marrying my husband, Mitch, of course!)
I had the opportunity to serve in the Japan, Sendai mission. It's the second most Northern mission in Japan, and the most Northern mission on mainland Japan.
I can't even begin to describe all the different emotions and experiences that my mission opened my eyes to...only to say that if given the opportunity to serve again, I wouldn't hesitate for a second! I would go. I would go again in a heartbeat. And, I plan to go again one day with my eternal companion when we're old and wrinkly and the kids are grown up. Because the only thing that could possibly top the 18 months I served in Sendai, would be to experience it again with my Mitch.
So, for those who I had the opportunity to serve with (my awesome Dodes, fellow choro's & shimai's), here's a little slideshow of just a few of the images from my mission. I apologize for the quality, as I had to scan them in...and I was rushing and didn't adjust the quality level too well.
For those who missed their opportunity to go before getting married...I hope you choose to one day with your spouses! You absolutely won't regret it!
**And, I know most of the pictures look like all I did was play around...but I promise we worked our tails off, too! We worked hard, played hard and enjoyed every minute of it!

***And for those who have absolutely NO idea what I'm talking about, visit this site for more information on our Church, its organization, its beliefs and practices, and how to truly find peace, happiness, and understanding in this life & in the next, for you and those you love! :)

my first patchwork!!

I'm quite proud of myself! My very first patchwork quilt, ever! And quite possibly my last. :) I've made several quilts before but this was my very first attempt at a patchwork quilt. And I must say, it was quite a bit of work! Okay, well I sort of cheated a little...I bought a pre-quilted white batted material to sew the patterns onto. Which means, no quilting necessary!

BUT, I did measure and cut the squares by hand, as well as measure and cut the green fabric to sew together the trim. And, of course, googled some tips as to how to sew the patchwork together. (I live by google...)

So, anyway, my bragging moment! Yea! Now I can at least say that I've done it!

boo-boo

Today, while at work, I was so busy getting changes made to some building plans (my part-time job is running permits for a construction company. I handle running around getting approvals from different departments when people decide to build homes. It's great work because it's super flexible, I can take the kids if I need to, and it's a no-brainer kind of job. Perfect for me! :) ). Well, I lost Anna a couple of times behind the counter that says "Authorized Personnel Only" and finally resorted to placing her on top of the desk while I made some last minute changes to some blueprints. Anyway, Anna was spinning around on the desk when I heard a "slap" and when I looked, her face was still plastered on the desk and I noticed some blood. Basically, she did a face plant on the desk and hit her lip. I felt so terrible! So, she now has a fat lip.
She was pretty tired and cried for only a little bit...after that she just kept on licking it and whimpered here and there. All in all, she's totally ok. Just looks so pitiful to see her with a little bump on her lip--but it doesn't seem to bother her too much. She ate and drank fine afterwards, so I was relieved! Look! She even smiled for the camera!

the newleyweds!

Congratulations to Mitch's Aunty Celia and her new husband Larry! They just got married last weekend and decided to make Hawaii their Honeymoon destination! So, we ate dinner with them last night at the Seavey's favorite restaurant, the Shorebird. It's kinda fun-it's right on the beach, has live music and whatever you order, you get to grill it yourself on a HUGE grill! I usually leave the grilling to Mitch since I'm not too fond of standing in front of the smokey grill when the weather is already hot and humid & then chasing around a couple of kids on top of that! Anyone who knows me, knows I'm not the fondest of buffet's, but we like it here at the Shorebird (and we always eat here when the Seavey clan is in town...)!

Dinner was nice and it was fun seeing them again--and since we couldn't join them at their wedding, this was our celebration dinner with them.

And for some strange reason, Kela and Anna were hyper beyond the norm and I seriously had to run around and chase them everywhere! The only time they sat still was when they had food in their mouths...so while everyone finished up their meals, I took them outside into the lobby to let them run around and blow off some steam. I seriously don't know where all that energy came from...they really didn't even have sweets that day--however, they both did crash out on the drive home which was ever so blissful~

hmmm...I'm beginning to get comfortable with the idea of having only 3 kids lately.......

(another) day at the zoo

With Mitch's Aunty Celia here, we headed out to the Honolulu Zoo (yet again) to visit the animals and spend time with Aunty Celia. It was a hot day, but surprisingly, a lot of the animals were out and about! We got to see the giraffe up closer than ever before, the goats were roaming around everywhere (as well as pooping everywhere, too! As soon as they started pooping, we were outta there!), and then the Tiger was pacing back and forth right in front of the windows! If you know the Honolulu Zoo at all-it's a miracle to even get a glimpse of the Tigers, but so neat we got to see it right up close! Well worth the HOT trip out there!

anna's singing card

(note: you may want to stop music below before pushing play...)

Anna's Uncle Brian and Aunty Collette sent her a Dora singing birthday card. Since both of them LOVE to sing (at the top of their lungs at times!) you can imagine big of a hit this was. They couldn't stop opening it and singing along...it got a tad annoying after a while, but they loved it & it sure was fun to watch! Thanks Brian and Collette!!

(Oh, and that sound after the card stopped singing -and when we started laughing-was Anna burping...)