It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

Last weekend, we hit the pumpkin farm out in Kapolei.

Of course, it was just as dusty, windy and dirty as we remembered it from last year! And I'm talking SERIOUSLY dirty! As in, taking a wipe to your arms and legs - not to mention blowing your nose afterwards - gives you a sight so disgustingly hideous, I couldn't even show it on this blog without it getting flagged for inappropriate content!

Anyhoo! This year, we met up with our cousins so the girls had a blast!

What's a little dirt for the sake of Halloween, right?

Jolee in the stroller. This is how we started out.

By the end of the trip, Jolee was kicked out by EVERYONE'S pumpkins!
Kela and Rumi.
Sheesh! The pumpkin is bigger than their heads!

The little cousins.
Awwww...so cute, huh?

Didn't believe me about it being dusty and dirty, did you?

Eenie, meanie, miney, moe...

Ezra.

He hopped around in this box for a good 15 minutes at least!

Ah, simple minds...

We sort of found it odd that they had a "Ewa Sweet Onion" background at a pumpkin patch...

Um...pumpkin, onion--same thing, right?

And before we left, we let the girls ride in the fishie ride.

It was seriously the most rickety, rusty ride I've ever laid eyes on!

But, at least they had fun.

All in all, we stayed there for a little over an hour.

It was super hot, sticky, dusty and dirty. But, it really doesn't feel like Halloween without first picking out your very own pumpkin, right?

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Here comes the holidays! Are you ready?

e komo mai

Welcome, welcome, welcome!

So, this is it!

Our new home, sweet, home.

Isn't this the most welcoming mat you've ever seen?
No? Well...come on in anyway!

And...just to forewarn you. I actually did try to clean up for the pictures, even though it may not look like it. However, keep in mind that I live with 3 kids all under the age of 5 - and cleanliness isn't in their vocabulary quite yet.

So, here's the kitchen. Yes, I'm aware that our fridge is white while the stove/microwave is black. And NO, I don't care.
Granite counter tops, open kitchen (LOVE THAT!) and hard wood flooring throughout (except for the bedrooms). No dishwasher, but I have a husband who does it without asking - which is, I think, even better!



The dining table that our friends (Thanks D&J!) gave us a LONG TIME AGO that I'm so ready to exchange for a solid wood dining set but Mitch isn't quite yet. I guess it does it's job for now.

Sigh...maybe next year ...



The stairs up to the 2nd floor. When I say I'm gonna give a tour, I don't skimp on anything! Because I'm nothing if not thorough...


So far, no major accidents on these stairs yet (knock on wood!). Even Jolee is quite adept at ascending & descending skillfully on her knees and bum.




Our 2nd floor bathroom. Tile surround with green glass tile accents...my favorite part of the bathroom! And you can't see the floor, but it's marble tile.

Our hallway...exciting, huh?

Shall I take a break so you can get your bearings? Digest what you've seen so far? It's okay, take your time...

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And here's the girl's room. Well, their beds, at least.

And the master bedroom. We didn't pick the wall color ...we were just not in the mood to repaint.

And Jolee's crib...which she sleeps in on average, about 4 or 5 hours a night. Because at 15 months, she STILL doesn't sleep through the night. And after 3 kids, I'm not above co-sleeping.

Why do you think we bought a king size bed for?

So, there it is! Our new home...and we love every inch of it! Well, except for our smoking neighbor...but even they are nice so we really can't complain too much, I suppose.

And you'll notice hardly any wall decorations. Mainly because I have embarrassingly NO decorating sense, but also because Mitch doesn't like "clutter" - even on the walls. Don't worry-I'll eventually get around to hanging a few pictures and things up on the walls...one day.

ch-ch-ch-changes!

Ok...so I know I've been out of the blogging sphere for some time. But honestly, I have a REALLY good excuse! I swear!

The big news is that...

Drum roll please......!




We've moved!!
And not only that, but we have moved into our VERY OWN PLACE!!! Yes, for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, in layman's terms-WE JUST BOUGHT OUR VERY FIRST HOME!!!!! (well...townhome, that is).
Are you applauding? I am!

So, it's not like we've been lounging around like this...

...or anything.
We've been busy moving! And unpacking. And buying area rugs.



Isn't it beautiful? I think so.

And installing microwaves.


Like this! And yes, it's quite low, we know. But since we weren't going to move any wall cabinets and I'm only 5'2", my awesome handyman of a husband installed it like so. Love it!

Add to that a big list of a whole bunch of little things and basically, that's been our lives these past couple of weeks.

Oooh! And since our Internet hasn't been hooked up yet, I've been putting off this moving post until I could actually use our pc...that is, until I discovered this Blogger App for my iPhone! Who knew I could blog on my phone?! Technology these days is INSANE!! (I honestly believe this phone saved my sanity these past 2 weeks! Internet, email, facebook, and now blogger?! Can you say, AWESOME!?!)

So anyway...I apologize for the bad pictures, and any misspellings (blogger app doesn't have a spell check!), and most of all, for waiting 2 weeks to finally let 'cha all know the good news of our move! Once my pc is up and running, I'll be sure to get some nicer pics and fun updates of our family up here.
Till then, tootle-loo!

hisashiburi!

Seriously, Long Time No See!!!

I know I'm WAAAYY behind on blogging...and not to make excuses, but things really have been quite busy around here!

And I'm forewarning you...I haven't had a chance to "digiscrap" these photos so please bear with the large quantity of photos-

although technically...and other bloggers can attest that it takes more effort uploading numerous pictures and rearranging them than it does to simply upload a single collage, so...you know. Keep that in mind. (just kidding)

My cousins from Japan came over to visit Hawaii last week on their way to Seattle to see my parents. I hadn't seen them in AGES! Seriously, we're talking 10+ years! Since I don't have too many cousins (and the ones I do have are far, far away...) it was GREAT getting in touch with some family from "across the pond" (that's Japan, for those unaware of my nationality).


Me (and Airi) and my 3 cousins Junko, Mayumi, & Risa.
Do we look alike? ha ha...probably not.


My uncle and cousins at Kaimana Beach in Waikiki.
It was a HOT, HOT day...
(come to think about it, it's been super hot everyday lately...)


Anna, Jolee and me cooling off in the water.
I love the beaches here...


Kela and Riho making sand something-or-others...Castles? Pies?
I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine.


Jolee during one of the rare few moments she wasn't shoveling sand into her mouth or trying to body surf.
This girl loves the beach-and everything about it!



Anna and Daddy checking out the wildlife underwater.
Apparently there are quite a lot of fishies to look at!

Then....


Since it's Fall break (Hawaii has year-round school) finding activities to keep the kiddies occupied without FRYING TO DEATH from the heat is a lot easier said than done!

Here, we visited the Bishop Museum. And despite the A/C in the buildings, there were TONS of people there (duh, everyone thinking the same thing as us!) and it was HOT!




Entering the dinosaur exhibit.
So far, so good, right?



Anna NOT liking the dinosaur exhibit...
At all!


Jolee--future paleontologist, perhaps?

On our way home.

I think someone is a little TOO happy to leave...

And finally....

Another languid day at the beach...

This time, we got to paddle out on Uncle Paul's stand-up paddle board! Mitch and I got to try it out and I must say, it was FUN!

A little scary for me since I'm not too keen on the "open water" (I mean...we do have shark sightings, you know!) but it was beautiful and calm and I'm definitely hoping to head out again sometime...

A few more days and it's time to head back to school....

But, we're enjoying them in the meantime!