children's discovery center, again.

You can tell we're running out of activities for little Kaden to do while the girls are in school...because here we are at the Children's Discovery Center once again.

But as you can imagine, Kaden doesn't mind one bit.

He could stay here all day, every day, if we let him.

This time, he got to go with his cousins Caleb, Knox, and Justus!

 They were SO excited to go...they walked hand in hand ahead of us.  

How cute is this?

 Once again, we probably stayed at this car station the longest.

No surprise there.

 And then we tried out the bubble view next to the water table. 

He was pretty freaked out when I dumped water on top of this dome.  

Even after knowing that he wouldn't get wet...he quickly ducked out and resumed playing with the water instead.  Not much for adventures, this one.

 He DID, however, like this huge bubble machine-thingy.  

The bubble wand wasn't working fantastic this day...but they still loved raising the soapy bar and trying to blow some bubbles.  Which ended up just blowing soapy foam everywhere, but for these little guys, that was entertainment enough.

 And since we are Japanese, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to retrace our roots!  Dressed them up in Japanese clothes and sat them down for some sushi.

Thankfully, no plastic food entered their mouths.  

But the favorite exhibit was, of course, the Jeepney.  

They all loved taking turns driving and crawling all over this Philippine taxicab.  

While Hawaii's children's museum may not be able to match the bigger, fancier museums on the mainland, ours is still fairly large and varied enough to entertain the kids for a good couple of hours!

All our kids LOVE this museum, and we are blessed to live close enough to venture here on days when we are in need of a fun and safe indoor activity for the tikes.  

(not so) happy birthday to me

There comes a time in a woman's life when birthdays are no longer happy occasions.

This year, I have reached that milestone.

When I reached the age of 30, I remember thinking to myself, "Wow, I can't believe I'm 30!"

And then shaking that off and simply moving forward.  30 wasn't so bad, really.

But 37? 

Where did the time go?  When did I hit my mid-thirties...and then surpass it?

I normally don't consider myself a melancholy kind of person.  I'm pretty easy-going and happy-go-lucky.  I know I've been blessed in so many ways and try to look on the positive side of every situation that comes my way.

But turning 37?  Not so much.

I'm sure there are plenty of positive things about turning 37.  Like the fact that I'm not turing 38!  Yet.

It is inevitable, though.

So, might as well suck it up and move on.

And eat cake.

 I told Mitch that I did't feel like celebrating my birthday, and that included no cake.

However, he chose to IGNORE my wishes and buy me a cake anyway.

I was glad for it because seeing my kids enjoy this cake and the happiness on their faces when I opened the box well made up for my moodiness.

Long story short, we all grow up.  

There is nothing we can do to stop time or prevent birthdays from coming.  The only thing we CAN do is age gracefully by appreciating the experiences and life stories made during each passing year.

And with that, I'll end with saying that I am so very grateful for these people in my life.  My husband who ignores my wishes to surprise me with what I didn't want...but obviously needed.  And for my children for making an unhappy day, happy!  By simply looking at the positives (cake!) and ignoring the negatives (their aging mama).

And so, Happy Birthday to me!

Here's to one more year of happy memories and experiences to enjoy...at least until this day next year.  When I will undoubtedly go through the exact same emotional roller coaster yet again.

great aloha run!

It's Great Aloha Run time once again.  And since Kela turned 8 last year, I asked her if she would like to take a chance and run it with me.  She knew her friend, Sophie, would also be running (and walking) it so enthusiastically said, "Yes!"

We set out to train and work hard at making it through the 8.15 mile course...but unfortunately, couldn't quite find the time or energy in the kids daily busy schedules to make it happen.

And so, with very little training in the books, we still managed to head out early the morning of February17th 2014 to the Aloha Stadium for the run.

 Here we are at the GAR expo the weekend before the race.

We are excited and looking forward to the challenge!!

Anna kept asking why she couldn't run it with us...I informed her that since she complains about walking around a store with me while I shop, running 8.15 miles will be much too difficult for her.

Understatement of the year.

 Race morning!  We met up with Kela's friend, Sophie!  They ran together the entire time...alternately walking and running for the whole 8.15 mile course.  

 Right before the start...we are all smiles here!

And let me just say, Kela never once complained or asked to stop.  We definitely walked a lot...but we also ran a lot too.  And all throughout, Kela really put on a good show!  She pushed herself hard, kept a smile on her face, and I couldn't have been more proud of her efforts!

Here we are at the end!

She was exhausted and sore for several days afterward...but still never complained and said she had fun.  Which was probably because she got to run it with her friend, but that doesn't make her effort any less commendable!  Running 8.15 miles as an 8 year-old with ZERO training is no small feat!

Our finish time was just about 2 hours.

Way to go, Kela!!

And I promise-we will train next year and do even better!  

Love you!

mommy's winter getaway

I truly am fortunate to have been blessed with a kind husband...who willingly indulges his wife's whims and allows her to do some traveling on her own.

Usually when I fly somewhere by myself, it's to run a race.

This time, however, I flew to Ohio in the middle of winter to see a show!

A cooking show, to be exact!

 I swung through Phoenix on my way there...stopping only at the airport for a couple of hours before flying on to Atlanta, and then to Dayton, OH.

 Upon arriving in Dayton, this is what I saw out of the airplane window.

This is actually the airport runway.

Where's the runway, you ask?

Let's hope the pilots of the airplane have better luck deciphering the runway's location than I did.

Mitch's family was gracious enough to not only host my stay, but to drive me everywhere!!  They picked me up from the airport, drove me to the store, took me out to eat yummy food and even accompanied me to the cooking show!

First things first, though.  Me and my niece, Brielle, and her princess Barbie doll.

You can't tell but it's actually snowing here!!

And it was COLD!

Before flying to Ohio, Jolee asked me to make a snow angel and send a picture of it to her.  

So, here it is.

I lasted outside in the snow for less than 5 minutes before calling it quits and running back inside. 

Ohio in February is in the 20's.  

Very, very cold.

 And we're here!

Collette was kind enough to come along with me and join in on the fun.

Alton Brown's Edible Inevitable show was SO MUCH FUN!

There was music, comedy, cooking, and lots of fun food facts.

We both agreed it was a fantastic time and I felt like it was worth the effort to fly all the way across the Pacific Ocean and half of the country to see. :)

(okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but I really enjoyed myself and was very glad that I got to go!)

And on my way back home, got to swing through Phoenix one more time.

However this time, I got to stay one night and enjoy some In-n-Out with Takuya and Lynn!

And early the next morning, I was back on the plane headed home to Hawaii.

As I was sitting in the plane, with a book in my hand and peace and quiet surrounding me, I realized that as much as I enjoy traveling by myself...I missed my family.

I am so blessed to have the opportunity to fly away now and again, to travel by myself to various destinations to run or visit friends/family, and to simply experience new adventures.

But always, happy to return home to Hawaii Nei...and back to Mitch and the kids. 

children's discovery center

With the girls in school, I have had to wrack my brain for fun things to keep Kaden occupied during the day.  He's actually a very easy to please little boy.  He doesn't demand constant attention, easily plays by himself, and never complains when I drag him on errands like exercise or shopping.  

It's actually been very fun and rewarding for me to have little Mommy-and-Me playdates with him. 

BUT, on this day, we met up with his cousin Caleb and headed out to the Children's Discovery Center.

Here he is trying out the snowboard exhibit. 

He wasn't too keen on how wobbly it was...but once he got the hang of it, he liked being on top of the board and pretended to "surf."

The water table is always a hit with the kids.  

Surprisingly, we managed to escape this area with minimal soaking of clothes!

 Ah, see? Back on the board.

And of course, Kaden's favorite exhibit was the car station.  He did everything from drilling the bolts on the wheels, checking under the car, beeping the horn and rolling the tires to and fro.

MY personal favorite exhibit was the Hawaiian Airlines airplane exhibit. 

Dressed him up like his Daddy and had to take a picture.

Will he take after his Daddy, perhaps?

Maybe!