movie date

Watching a movie in the theater is a luxury that our kids rarely get to experience.

Maybe because we are too cheap to take them?

Or, because we can't possibly take Kaden for fear of him fussing and running up and down the aisles?

Or, maybe because we know that we can get nearly any movie on DVD soon enough for way cheaper?

Probably all 3...

(our poor kids)

 Anyhoo-with the girls doing SO well in school this year, I decided it was time we celebrated and awarded their fantastic school year by taking them to see a movie.

We saw "Epic."

Daddy volunteered to stay home with Kaden and I took the girls.

We LOVED the movie!

And the girls LOVED getting to see a movie in the theaters...with each their very own popcorn and juice.

Which cost more than the movie.

birthday skating party!

Happy Birthday to Aya and Knox!!

Elika decided to have their birthday party at Ice Palace and my girls were THRILLED!!

They are always asking us to take them ice skating and we always find a reason to not go...so thankful for my sister for providing some different entertainment for my kiddos.

 Our ice skating gang.

Lots and lots of little ones...

 Kela has been ice skating a few times and so pretty much stayed with her cousins Rumi and Hugo the whole time.  She also tried a couple loops without the "walker" thingy...but I really wanted her to use it because there were SO many kids!  And lots of them were cruising and crashing into each other!  

The paranoid Mama in me keeps worrying about run-over fingers and broken arms!!

Thankfully, no injuries for any of the kids! 

Besides the blister or two from improperly laced up skates and to short socks!

 Here's Anna who also skated on her own for most of the day!

Jojo had lots of fun...but wanted me to skate with her the whole time.

Needless to say, I got a pretty good leg workout since Jolee kept wanting to go around and around without taking very many breaks!

Mitch stayed home with Kaden and Knox (even though it was technically Knox's birthday too...he's just too little to enjoy ice skating...) while the rest of us skated away.

My kids had LOTS of fun and managed to stay cool on this super hot day!

crabs, fish, and shave ice

It's Saturday! And wouldn't you know it, we were blessed with another day of low tide!

We headed out to Diamond Head to do some tide pooling with some cousins. :)

 How's this cute little hermit crab?

I love these little guys!

 Our fishing/crabbing gang.

With it being such a HOT day, we headed out to Waiola's for some shave ice afterwards to cool off.

LOVE Summer!

school's out!

It's officially Summer Break!!

The girls got out of school and we headed straight to town to my sister Airi's house to celebrate!

And by celebrate, I mean, go swimming!!

We are anticipating many, many swimming days in our near future...

Why not get started ASAP?!

story time craft

I've been slacking in taking Jojo and Kaden to the library's story time.

I really should make a more concerted effort-since it's FREE and the kids get to listen to a story and do a craft.  I know I need to get these kids out more...but sometimes, between trying to fit in some exercise and getting errands run...I'm mystified at how little time I have to do things like this!

I know, I know...sounds like excuses.  

Well, I should also say that whenever I take Kaden, he rarely sits still long enough to listen to a full story.

*sigh

 I think it's a sign that he's starting to grow up...because he actually did pretty good at sitting still!

Not the whole time, of course.

But enough to make it worthwhile to attempt a return trip, that's for sure!

And then after the stories, it was craft time.

They both got to make some "hats."

Jojo loved her fancy hat, while Kaden was...not impressed.

end of school treats

The girls always ask to pass out treats to their friends at the end of the school year.

This year, I realized how ridiculous it was for ME to do all the work when the treats should be from THEM!  So, Daddy bought some individual packs of cookies from Japan and I printed out a short but sweet message for the girls.  I then cut out 50 hearts (because combined, that's how many students are in their classes!) and told them to do the rest!

They wrote their names on each heart, glued it onto the message, and then stapled it all together.

Easy-peasy!

It was a simple handout...that I think turned out cute!

And if the girls were up until past 10 o'clock at night finishing up on a school night...well, at least *I* wasn't doing all the work by myself (like the last time...)

Hooray for school (almost) being out!

not even sleep can part a boy and his motorcycle...

Walking around the mall with Jolee and Kaden & Kaden fell asleep.

Holding his motorcycle.

This boy sure does love his cars and bikes!

where's a third hand when you need one...

Kaden is kinda obsessed with the iPad.

I know, it's probably not a good thing...but I must admit that he's gotten quite adept at learning how to navigate in and around all the apps the girls download.

When he has a free hand to tap and swipe with, that is.

children's discovery center

Have I ever mentioned how great a company Hawaiian Airlines is?

It's fantastic.  They take care of their employees and provide so many fun perks for their families!

We have been truly blessed these past 5 years that Mitch has been flying with them...and hope it continues for many years to come.

Anyway, recently, Hawaiian Airlines donated a new exhibit at the Children's Discovery Center in Kaka'ako.

And to celebrate its grand opening, they provided free admission for employees and their families during the month of May!  How lucky for us since our kids are ALWAYS begging us to take them!

 The giant chair.

 Cooking up a meal for Daddy and Anna!

All these make-believe corners are the girls' favorite!

 I decided to take Kaden to the "toddler" area for a bit while the girls were playing at the play diner.

He actually liked the padded walls and spinning toys...but not this boat.  

He didn't like being in the boat very much.

 I think the girls's absolute favorite station was the grocery store.  

It got super crowded in here since I'm pretty sure this was most kids' favorite station...but they persevered and soon enough, the rest of the kids cleared out and they got to shop and ring up fake food to their heart's content. 

 They also got to fix up a car...

 ...cycle next to a skeleton...

 Oh, and fly an airplane!

This was Hawaiian's contribution to the center.  It was an actual simulator with a moving video screen!

Kaden loved sitting in the cockpit!

 While Kela and Anna played flight attendant and passenger.

 The fancy new Hawaiian exhibit!

Our kids approved!

 We meandered onto the 3rd floor where all the cultural rooms were.

Here's Jolee channeling her Chinese side...

 While Anna enjoyed some fake sushi.

 Oh, can't forget the kimonos.

How cute are our little Japanese girls?  :)

Oops, caught a Jojo in the fishing net!

Hopefully we can make another trip here soon since all 4 of them had so much fun here!

last day of preschool

Summer is definitely speeding our way!  

Today was the last day of preschool for Jolee and Kaden with Mrs. Neil!

We had a small potluck gathering at Moanalua Gardens with the kids from class.

It's been a while since I've been out this way!  And I forget that we have this beautiful, quiet field to run and play in!  We started off by feeding the koi fish in the pond in the back of the park.  There were also lots of ducks, too, so the kids got to have fun throwing pellets at the fishies and ducks...all while making sure none of the little kids actually fell INTO the water.

After fish/duck feeding, it was time to feed the kiddos.  We brought a tub of chocolate donuts (sorry-pulled the lazy card and bought them at the store! See top left picture.) while other people brought juice, salad, chips, and even ice cream.  Did I mention this party was at 8:30 AM?  

The perfect time of day for donuts and ice cream, right?

Thank goodness it's almost Summer Break!

so long, tiger tots...

Well, these 7 weeks just FLEW by!  

We are ALL very sad to say that Tiger Tots preschool has come to a close...*sniff, sniff.

Both Jolee and Kaden LOVED it! 

 As did Mitch and I.  

(No more child-less runs and lunch dates, alas.)

But in just a few more months, Jolee will be in Kindergarten (gasp!) and we'll just Kaden home with us, so I believe this has been good preparation for Jolee's next step towards school independence.

And next year, Kaden will be back at McKinley High School for the Tiger Tots program once again!  

Can't wait!  Just 11 more months!  Ha!

happy mother's day

“Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling...It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. 

It is what God gave you time for.” 
-Neil L. Anderson

 Mother's Day Sunday with my kids.

I feel SO blessed to have been entrusted with their care...I'm sure I don't comprehend the magnitude of this responsibility, but I sure hope that I am at least partially living up to the Lord's expectations of me in raising these special spirits here on Earth.

 It has become something of an annual tradition for Mitch to cook dinner for all of us mothers (and the families, too, of course!) on Mother's Day.  He usually makes his Mom's Bulgogi recipe... which is actually pretty tasty!  This is the 3rd year in a row, I think, that he's done it.

And we are all SO very thankful since Bulgogi is delicious!
And the fact that we get to eat it without any work, is just plain fabulous! 

 And while waiting for dinner to get cooked, we played around on the trampoline at Airi's house.

Jolee and Caleb...before Caleb started getting handsy with her.

See?

 I got to relax and hang around with my favorite little boy.  

Who likes to stick out his tongue at the camera these days.

And then we got invaded by ALL the other kids on the trampoline.

I'm so grateful for my own mother who was such a wonderful example of love and sacrifice. And I'm grateful for my children who give me the opportunity to try and be more like her. 

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom! And to all Mothers out there! 

pool day with cousins. again.

So, if I posted a picture every time we hit the pool...there would be so many pictures, you wouldn't be able to tell them apart!

I know this.  

But still, I continue to take pictures after pictures...

Since this was just after the cousin sleepover, I had all the boys with me!

My sister Elika came down to join us on the super hot Saturday afternoon for some pool time.

Pool time with cousins is SO much more fun!

pajama jammy-jam!

This doesn't happen too often...so when it does, my girls live it up!

My brother had an appointment early the next morning and with his wife away for work...my girls got to have a sleepover with their cousins!  

They stayed up way later than they were supposed to, but how can you put a value on some fun time with your cousins! Sardine-like sleeping conditions, notwithstanding.

solar eclipse

May 9th 2013

I had heard about the solar eclipse happening in our islands and decided to find some way to catch a glimpse of it.  I mean, solar eclipses (partial or otherwise) rarely happen, right?

So, after some Googleing...came across this simple and rudimentary way to safely view the eclipse without buying any special lenses or expensive telescopes.

So, this Pampers box was ALL I had to work with...but after attaching the requisite foil and poking a tiny hole in it and then taping a piece of paper on the inside of the box, voila!  

Wouldn't you know it, it actually WORKED!!

Sure, the image wasn't crystal clear, and since the clouds came and went, there was some hit and miss and waiting around...but our patience paid off and we got to see the solar eclipse! In a diaper box!  Ha!

We felt a little silly standing outside with a diaper box on our heads, but it was well worth it!

Yay for science!

is my driving that scary?

The other day while I was driving to town, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw this.

Really kids?  

Your Mama has ZERO accidents and ZERO speeding tickets to her name!

it's a hot one!

Summer is OBVIOUSLY approaching because the temperatures have been near scorching lately!

Thankfully, the pool isn't too far away!

 I told Jolee we'd go to the pool after we picked up her sisters from school...but that didn't stop her from soaking up the rays in style while waiting!

 Kela and Anna.  

They're fish in the water.  I shudder to think of what we'd do if we ever moved some place that doesn't have access to a pool!

I considered myself brave for coming to the pool without Mitch to help with the little ones.  Since Jolee and Kaden cannot swim yet, I have to split my time watching both of them in the water.  Thankfully, Jolee tends to stay on the steps..which is fantastic because Kaden likes to be held in the water the whole time.  

zoo field trip

Every year, the Tiger Tots preschool has one field trip.  

They take the kiddos the zoo!  And since I was asked to help chaperon, I got to go too. :) 

 We rode the school bus down to the zoo.  Apparently, Kaden preferred to sit with his teacher instead of me.  Which was totally fine by me!  

I mean, he's only my youngest child....and my only son.  Nah, I was completely fine sitting all by myself on a crowded school bus surrounded by tons of high school kids and toddlers all chatting happily while I sat in silence...*sniff, sniff.  

 Ok, so we arrived at the zoo but had to wait a few minutes for a couple straggler parents who decided to drive separately.  Which means photo-op for everyone!

Here's Kaden's group of zoo explorers.

Lame side note:  since they were short handed with parent chaperons, I had to walk with a different group than either Jolee or Kaden!  Hence, hardly any pictures of them while inside the zoo.  Kinda lame...but what can you do, right?  It's not like Kaden was attached to me or anything...(note bus picture above).

 Here's Jolee with one of her teachers.

 Sorry for the butt photo-bomb next to her...we were in a rush and I had to choose between a photo-bombing butt or no photo at all.  I chose the lesser of the two evils.

 And here's Kaden walking with one of his teachers.  

Just a side note:  I am SO proud of how much Kaden has grown in the few weeks he's been attending Tiger Tots!  He's totally come out of his shell and become so much more animated and independent!  He still doesn't talk and gets frustrated when he can't express himself with words...but he has been having fun around other kids and has shown so much improvement with his separation issues!  Yay!

And we ended the field trip with some playtime at the playground...where Daddy caught up to us after going jogging.  We stayed for a few minutes and then headed home in our car instead of the rickety and bumpy school bus.  It was a hot day, but the kids had fun and Kaden survived his very first school field trip!

homemade slip n slide

What to do on a lazy Saturday when the weather isn't great for the beach but you don't want to stay indoors all day?

You make do with what you got!

We drove up to Hau'ula to spend the day with my sister and her kids.

Really, my kids would be happy doing anything (or nothing at all!) with their cousins, but since we couldn't let THAT happen...my sister busted out her kiddie pool and tarp and we decided to get a little (ghetto) creative.

 First off...the pool.  Which happens to be much larger and nicer than OUR kiddie pool.

We filled it up and the kids jumped in and out of it onto...

 ...the ghetto slip and slide!

Haha, basically a tarp with lots and lots of dish soap.

But in our defense, it was Melaleuca lemon dish soap so it's totally non-toxic and earth & kid friendly.  :)

 The little ones liked the pool better, I think.  

 While the older ones had way too much fun with the sprinkler and soap...

 It was pretty slippery. 

(Anna's dancing, by the way.  In case you were wondering.)

 But they all took turns slipping and sliding...

 And jumping over the sprinkler to wash off.

Hey, no need shower after this, right?

Good, clean fun on a cloudy day!