anna's karate exam: first blue patch

It's that time again.  Anna had her Karate Exam in Kapolei for her first blue patch.

She was very excited because this kata, apparently, has a jump in it.  

And to be honest, it was pretty cool to watch.

I actually felt bad because I must have gotten the time wrong.  When we arrived at the test, everyone had already concluded warm-ups and practices.  Anna had to jump right into her test without any preparation or warmup!  I was so nervous for her, and felt terrible because Anna seemed so upset that we were late! BUT, despite all of that, Anna did great!

She didn't make any mistakes and was steady on her feet and remembered all the moves.  

After the exam, she did some sparring with her fellow students.

And then with her friend.  

The video I took of her doing her kata is too long, otherwise I'd post it as well..

Here we are after the exam.  Jolee wasn't feeling too congratulatory, but we were all proud of her!

And ready to go eat lunch!

Me with Anna!

So, so proud!  Good job, Anna!

black light run!

A group of friends extended an invitation to run the Black Light Run...a short, 5k run around Aloha Stadium dusted with neon powder and decked with every imaginable glow in the dark accessory we could find. How could I refuse?

So, here we all are...all dressed in our clean white shirts.

And then some of us managed to procure some powder from the DJ's on stage...who threw packs upon packs of powder into the crowd.  And then we threw said powder all over each other.  

ALL OVER EACH OTHER.

Seriously, who comes up with these things?

 Can you see our powdered faces and hair?

It wasn't just our hair. Oh no...we were powdered from head to toe.

Which glowed like this under the black lights stationed throughout the course.

Freaky!

And then after the race, we were sweaty and sticky and still powdery.

I don't think I've ever had such a fun time at a race...with such a fun group of ladies.

Good times! 

thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving this year was spent up in Hau'ula at my sister Elika's house.  It was pretty chaotic cramming so many people into one house, but since Elika has a nice yard outside, we took advantage of the added space and relegated many of the little ones outdoors.

It's pretty much a party whenever we all get tougher, no matter the occasion. This is something I am so very grateful for.  With so many cousins to play with, my kids are so lucky they have already-made friends at every holiday gathering.

See?  Eating outside on the lawn.  The kids don't mind, though.  They alternated between eating and running around and wrestling and football.  Everything Thanksgiving should be about, right?

Oh, but we can't forget about the food.  Which was all very delicious. 

 I promise my salad was on the "other" plate.  

Eating on top of their bike shed.  I'm sure there is some danger to having them sit up so high...but they were thankfully safe and ate all their food like good kids should.

Some kids had to improvise a little on their entertainments.  Since Elika's ride-on toys were being used by others, he decided to ride this toy police bus.  

So sad...someone buy this kid a REAL ride-on toy!!

It's always sad when one of the kids get sick...even more sad when it's on a holiday or when we are playing with cousins.  Jolee had a relapse of her fever from 2 days ago and was out like this for most of the evening.  Poor thing, didn't even get to eat her favorite mashed potatoes and gravy. 

Mitch had to fly in the morning and afternoon, but managed to drive up to meet us after he finished work.  It was a long drive for him, but we were thankful that he was able to spend at least some time with us on this special day.  

I have so much to be thankful for, that the list could go on and on.  But let me just say that I am thankful for my Heavenly Father. He's given me and my family SO much joy and progress this year.  I'm also thankful for my family.  It's not so common for families and extended families to get along so well, but we do!  We love each other and the little cousins are the best of friends.

Happy Thanksgiving to our friends and family, both near and far!

vegas rock n roll!

I feel a tad selfish for taking so many little trip away from home...but this was a particularly fun one for me. I flew to Las Vegas to participate in the Rock n' Roll half marathon.  I was excited and nervous and so very cold!  Who knew that Las Vegas got so cold in the winter?!

 Here I am...landed safely in Vegas after a long, red-eye flight.  Bright and early...with temperatures in the 40's.  Brrrr....

I've been to Las Vegas a few times before, but this was the very first time coming here by myself with no kids.  I met up with my friend Sachiyo from Seattle and we had the most fabulous night!

First was a super fancy dinner at the Wynn.  

Followed by a show!!

We watched Cirque du Soleil's Mystere and it was absolutely incredible!

The feats and stunts that they did were just mind boggling!  We left in awe of what the human body can accomplish when put to its limits of strength and power.  Wow! If you ever have the chance to see a Cirque du Soleil show, GO!  It will blow your mind!

The following day was a day of rest and preparation.  I ran some errands, did a little bit of shopping and after a short nap to rest up, it was out to hit the road!  The Las Vegas Rock n Roll marathon (half marathon for me) is a night race, running along the main Las Vegas strip.  They closed the entire strip down for the race and it was chaos for drivers, I'm sure!

But I got to meet up with my good friend, Gini, who was also running the race.  We had a yummy lunch together before the race at a funky Irish pub.  I think our waiter was even sporting a fake Irish accent when he came to take our order....but the food was yummy and it was so fun getting to catch up before the race.  We didn't get to meet up during the run, however, since she blew past my time and left me in the dust, but it's all good!  

I told myself that this would be my final half marathon...but honestly, this was probably one of the funnest races I've ever run.  The atmosphere, the people, the crowds, and the scenery was just so much fun and excitement!  Plus, I actually had FUN in Las Vegas, which was something I didn't think possible.  I may have to reconsider that vow and sign up for next year's race there as well.

But despite the fun race, the same could not be said for AFTER the race.  It was about a mile and a half walk back to my hotel from the finish line and I was FREEZING.  Literally, a frozen block of ice walking back to my room.  The temperatures had dropped to right around the low 40's and with my wet clothes, I was a popsicle within 15 minutes.  By the time I got back to the hotel, I couldn't feel my fingers and I couldn't stop shivering -even while soaking in a hot bath.  It probably took a good hour before my body temperature returned to normal and I had full function of all my digits.  

And by then, you can bet I was starving!  So, I donned my jacket and headed out to get some sustenance to refuel my body.  I walked about a mile and a half to Bobby Flay's burger joint and ordered myself a burger, fries and onion rings.  Which were probably the BEST onion rings and burger I've ever tasted! (although that could possibly be due to the fact that I was FAMISHED, but either way, it was good!)  And then on my way back, happened upon a Krispy Kreme stand so had to get a couple (or more) donuts for dessert and breakfast the next day.

It was a whirlwind 3 day, 2 night trip but I am SO glad I got to go!  I had so much more fun than I thought I would!  And am so grateful to Mitch for allowing me to get away for a weekend and do what I love to do. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention that since Mitch had to work during the weekend, my Mom stepped in and helped watch the kids for me while I was gone.  I am truly blessed with the best family!  

happy halloween!

Halloween this year was almost a week-long affair.

We had our Ward Halloween party on Tuesday night.  Anna and Jolee informed me at the end of last year that they both wanted to be peacocks for Halloween the following year.  So, technically, I had an entire year to prepare for this night and I wanted to make it good.  But then...I forgot about it until close to September so I had to frantically search the web for ideas on making a memorable peacock costume without having to break the bank.  

This was the result.  I ordered the peacock feathers online, used a glue gun and stuck them together onto pieces of cardboard cut out to fit their backs and covered the ugliness with teal felt and stuck it all together with a long ribbon for tying around their waist.  I then made teal and green tutus for each to wear over black leggings. The colorful feather boa was a bonus.  

I was pretty proud of myself for this creation.  It took some time, but I thought the result was well worth it.  But most importantly, the girls loved it and that was my main goal.

Then came Kaden's costume.  

Ok, so last year I totally flaked out on costumes so I was determined to redeem myself with his monster truck costume this year.

I bought a cardboard box, painted it, cut it out & taped some pieces together.  Add some embellishments and some suped up tires made from paper plates and bubble wrap tucked inside contractor garbage bags and voila!  Kaden was a monster truck driver.  

Seriously, SO proud of this costume!  I spent way too much time on it, but it was well worth it, in my opinion.  And Kaden LOVED it! He kept wanting to put it on and "drive" all over the place, making "VROOM!" noises as we went.  Yay!  Success!!

Here they are in the light of the church gym.

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but we got a lot of compliments.  

(okay, okay, totally tooting my own horn!)

And here are all the kids together in the room that I helped decorate.  

Kela took forever to decide on a costume so I had to improvise and buy this ensemble at the store.   It wasn't anything exciting or flashy...just a witch costume with a wooden broomstick. 

And here are the cousins together.  It was such a hectic night and the party was pretty much a blur, but the kids had fun collecting candy outside in the parking lot and playing games inside the church afterwards.  Honestly, I've never been much of Halloween fanatic, so for me, this was more than enough.

 Oh, and did I mention they had a costume contest?  They did.  There was no grand prize, but the kids were definitely in the running for best costume.  It was pretty exciting, I must say.  They paraded around the gym and I could tell Anna and Jojo loved showing off their peacock feathers.  I was simply happy that they were happy with their costumes. 

And then on Thursday night, we decided to finally carve our pumpkin.

Wait, I know what you're thinking.  "I thought there weren't any pumpkins at the pumpkin farm when you went?!"

And you'd be right!  There were NO pumpkins at the farm, but Jolee happened to grab a pumpkin from the Aloun farm when she went on a field trip with her class from school! 

Yay, for Jolee saving Halloween!  Daddy cut the top and the kids got to scoop out the goo.  Jolee then got to decide and draw the face of her Jack o' Lantern and Daddy cut it out.

With this on our porch, it's finally starting to feel like Halloween! 

Friday, Halloween Morning, Kaden had a dress-up and Trick or Treating day at his school.  

I brought his costume and the parents all spread out around the school while all the kids got to go Trick or Treating around to the parents.  It was SO cute and fun and Kaden loved it!  How cute are his classmates?! I'm so happy we found this school for Kaden.  He absolutely LOVES it here and loves his teachers and friends.  Plus, he's improved in so many ways with his speech and language!  

Yay for school!

And then it was Halloween night.  Our neighborhood turned out to be a great place to go trick or treating, with lots of neighborhood kids walking around as well.  Unfortunatly, Mitch had to work, but I had my Mom stay and guard the house and pass out candy while we went around a couple of blocks near our house with the cousins.  

Anna and Jolee were tired by the end of the second block so after returning home, they decided to take over the passing out candy duties from Obachan.  

Happy Halloween!! Hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween too!

waimanalo pumpkin farm...minus the pumpkin

It's the weekend before Halloween and we have put off getting pumpkins for the kids because, well, we've been so busy and didn't realize that Halloween was already here! Yikes, where did the time go?!  Anyway, last minute trip to the Waimanalo pumpkin farm turned out to be a semi-bust since there were NO pumpkins left in the fields.  As in NONE.  ZERO.  ZILCH.  

But, the kids got to hang out with cousins and pet some animals and ride the tractor, so...I suppose it wasn't a complete waste of time.

Justus, Jolee and Nixon in the pumpkin.

These cut out signs are so ridiculous, but we can never refuse!

The kids in front of the stinky sheep.  There were also pigs, cows, and a little bunny they let loose that the kids got to pet.  This was probably the highlight of this excursion for the kids.

The highlight for me, however, was this lemonade.  Seriously, the best lemonade ever.

I bought extra to bring home as well.  

The kids on the tractor hay ride.  Squished onto one seat, but they didn't mind.

Me and the girls.  If you're wondering where Mitch and Kaden are at, they were at home taking a nap on this muggy Saturday afternoon.  

And here are the cousins. 

Maybe we should have snatched up one of these pumpkins on display here...because seriously, how can a pumpkin farm have NO MORE pumpkins left?!  That's just crazy!

pink dragons!

Soccer season has come and gone yet again.

Anna joined the Pink Dragons in mid-August with 9 other girls for her very first season of U-10 soccer.  I'm not going to lie..I was a bit worried for her!  The field at this age level is HUGE!  Plus, the teams have goalies, positions, and did I mention the field is huge?!  

But, she jumped right in and had a great season and we couldn't have been more happy for her!

Here she is with Coach Rehan and her teammates.

This season also happened to be her first season with a new district, in our new neighborhood!

I must say, this district doesn't seem as organized or structured as our previous experiences with AYSO...but all in all, it was a good experience and we sure enjoyed watching her play hard every Saturday.

Or, well...some of us did, anyway.

Here she is on her first game day!

Rather than show all the individual games...I'll just post a few pictures I took of her throughout the season...

She really did work hard and improved in so many ways!

She was one of the youngest on the team, and definitely the smallest.

But she hustled and tried her best every game, and we were very proud of her.

Coach Rehan was a very patient and kind coach, and the girls really responded to him.  

We were glad to play with him and the rest of the Pink Dragons!

Good Job, Anna!!

arizona in the fall

For Fall Break, we decided to fly to Arizona to visit with our cousins in the desert.

The flights were surprisingly full, so we had to fly into L.A and then drive to Arizona, which put a bit of a damper on our plans, but the kids were all for a mini-road trip and we were exited to get off the island for a bit of cooler weather.

Here we are...waiting to board the plane.

Kaden LOVES flying and was so very excited to ride in an airplane!

 We actually flew to Maui first and then flew out to L.A...here we are, keeping busy with some friendly cards while waiting to board.

 After landing late at night in L.A, we headed straight out to Arizona without resting.  

We were a bit naive in thinking we'd have enough energy to do such a long road trip after a long flight.  Truth be told, we were both exhausted and had to switch drivers almost every hour in order to stay awake.  The kids, thankfully, slept the entire time.  Mitch and I, thankfully, managed to drive safely to Arizona WITHOUT any accidents or problems.   Whew!

Long road trips are NOT a good idea when coming off little to no sleep on an airplane.  

Anyway, despite the LONG drive over, we made it safely to Arizona and got to meet up with our cousins.  We had a pretty packed schedule and one of the items on our "To Do" list was to visit Mitch's favorite cupcake shop.  We patronized this cute little confectionary at least twice if not three times.  Cupcakes and cookies were enjoyed by all!

 Since the weather was too cold for any outdoor waterparks, we decided to visit an indoor one instead.  The kids loved this place since it had a good variety of small coasters, tea cup rides, trains, and even bumper cars.  Kaden was in heaven when Mitch took him on the race track course.  

And since they also serve food, we ate dinner and called it an evening.  

We always (always!) have to visit Bass Pro Shops at least once while visiting Arizona.  I'm not sure why, but the kids love this place.  We happened to come right at feeding time, so all the kids got to throw a few fish pellets into the Koi pond.  

And then we headed upstairs for some target practice.  We all tried out a few rounds and realized that Anna was the best shot out of all our kids.  

Jojo and Reina were content to simply "look" like cowgirls instead of acting the part.  Gun shooting wasn't really their thing.

Since the kids had SO much fun shooting at Bass Pro Shops, Mitch decided to bust out Grandpa's ol' BB gun and let the kids do some actual target practice in the back yard.  The weather was a bit rainy, but that didn't deter the kids.  Mitch set up some targets with empty bottles and and even bought a case of club soda so they could shoot some exploding targets.  Seriously, who in their right mind buys a case of soda for the sole purpose of shooting it with a BB gun?  That would be Mitch.

And for the record, it was a blast.

And on our final day in Arizona, we took the kids to the Children's museum in Phoenix.  This place is HUGE!  And since the Arizona public schools were also on Fall break, the place was super packed with kids galore!  But despite all the crowds, the kids had fun and managed to do all the fun activities they wanted to do. 

We were all famished by the time we finished at the museum and so took all our kids + Lynn's kids (because Lynn was working) to Matt's Big Breakfast.  This place is so yummy!  The kids ate their fill of some delicious breakfast (except for Kaden, who fell asleep) before heading back home.

Last evening swim before flying home...the weather was a bit chilly, but they all didn't seem to mind too much!  Although between you and me, they all spent an equal amount of time hanging out in the hot tub as they did the large pool.

All too soon, it was time to say goodbye to Arizona and their cousins.

We stayed for a total of 5 days, which was longer than most of our Arizona trips.  The kids were surprisingly happy to head back home, and so were Mitch and I.  We love vacations, but it's always nice to come home to our own house with our own beds.  

Oh, and the awesome flight attendants on Hawaiian hooked us up with some extra iPads so the kids were fully entertained on their flight back home.