lunch time

By the time Kaden and Jolee are ready to get picked up from Tiger Tots, they are usually FAMISHED!

A couple of hours of playing and studying can deplete their little tummies so before I pick them up from preschool, I hit the store for a couple of musubis or onigiri for lunch.  Which they both LOVE.

Plus, Kaden will often fall asleep on the way home so if I don't feed him before hitting the road, he'll end up taking a nap before lunch!  Which any parent will tell you is NOT GOOD!  

A hungry boy = a cranky boy!

Chowing down on their salmon onigiri's before heading home.  

Japanese meals are SO kid-friendly!

 Even Kaden can eat it all by himself!

 Although there is one drawback to nori-wrapped rice balls...(black teeth, anyone?)

 But it's healthy, easy, and cheap...so more often than not, musubis and onigiris are what's for lunch.

Side note:  That is one giant flower on top of that little head, eh?

waikiki aquarium

Considering how much my kids LOVE animals, it seemed a shame I never take my kids to see the aquarium!

The zoo, we visit quite often, but the aquarium always seemed too expensive or too far away...when neither is true!

I decided to buy a family pass so I could take the kids whenever I wanted, and I'm glad I did!

Today was our first trip with just Kaden and Jolee.

The aquarium here is super tiny and we can zip through in about 30-40 minutes, tops!

But the great thing about it is that most of the exhibits are indoors and therefore, air conditioned!

Ahhh...why didn't I think of this before?!  

It's small but fun for the kids regardless of the size.  

Plus, when we're done looking at the exhibits, there's a huge open field for the kids to run around and play, with some benches in the shade for us Mamas to sit and relax and eat a snack.  

Yay!  Hopefully we can take advantage of these passes and come out here more often!  

happy birthday daddy!

Today was Mitch's birthday and lucky for him, he had the day off!

And lucky for me, we are finally the same age once again!

(it's tough being married to a younger guy!)

 Anyway, when asked what he wanted to do on his special day, he told me that all he wanted to do was hit the beach and do some SUP!

And so, SUP he did!

I jogged around Magic Island with the kids (no Tiger Tots today!) while Mitch took out the SUP board and hit the ocean for a little bit of relaxation and exercise.  

Which, I know, sounds awfully like an oxymoron but it isn't! If you've never SUP'd before, it's hard to explain, but it totally IS relaxing and a great workout at the same time!

 On our last lap, we saw Mitch paddling out close to us so we stopped and let the kids try and chase him down.  He didn't see us, but Kaden sure saw and recognized Daddy from a far!  

And then later that night after dinner, I busted out the teeny tiny cake I bought at the Sanrio store to sing "Happy Birthday" to Daddy with.

You can't see, but there's a chocolate Hello Kitty candy on the top that the girls got to share. :)

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

good morning

Guess where Mommy and Daddy sleep?

I'm thinking our King sized bed was the best investment we've ever made...

late night snack

I'm not exactly sure when it all started, but Daddy has developed the habit of eating a bowl of cereal every night before going to bed.

Now, he has instilled the same habit into our son.

Not sure if it's such a good idea to pump the kid with sugar-laden cereal right before bedtime...but rather than wiring him up, it does seem to fill his tummy and help him sleep.

Guess we may keep this habit going for now...especially since most nights, Mitch is eating his bowl of cereal right next to him at the same time. 

preschool, shave ice, and haircuts

Now that school's in full swing and Jolee and Kaden are fully enjoying their Tiger Tots classes...things have settled down into a normal routine.

I drop off Kela and Anna at school, then zip onto the freeway to take Jolee and Kaden to Tiger Tots (on the days they have Tiger Tots, that is).

This was one of those days.

 Here they are getting ready to go to class!

 After less than 3 hours of preschool, Kaden is usually pretty beat!  

He will usually knock out on the drive home.  But since I just had a fantastic run, and Jolee is usually super happy and wired, I sometimes treat us to some shave ice on the drive home.

See that huge shave ice?  That's a keiki (child) size.  Seriously--it's bigger than Jojo's head!

 But between the two of us, we managed to obliterate it with minimal difficulty.

No, this wasn't Kaden's sad face from missing out on shave ice.

This was his face after he got his hair cut later that same day.

If he knew about the shave ice, I'm sure there would be tears as well...

tiger tots!

With Spring Break over, it's back to school for Kela and Anna.

Fortunately for us, it also marks the beginning of Tiger Tots preschool for Jolee and Kaden!!

*clap, clap, clap

 Here they are...waiting for the doors to open and let them in!

Ok, in case you're wondering what Tiger Tots is...it's a short, 7 week preschool program put on by McKinley High School for their early education senior class students.

It's super cheap ($25/child) and only lasts about 7 weeks at 2-3 times a week.

Each class is about 2 hours 45 minutes.

And since they take children from 18 months to 5 years, we got to drop off both Jolee AND Kaden this year!  Yippee!

 I'll admit...I was pretty nervous about Kaden.  Since Jolee went last year and loved it, I wasn't concerned about her...I knew she'd love it and have no problems.  But Kaden was a bit of a wild card-you never know what he's gonna do and how he's gonna react.

But as soon as we dropped him off, he barely gave me a second look, went straight for the toys and the student teachers and started to play.  

I sneaked in a couple of pictures before silently tip-toeing away for our very first child-free afternoon!

 After a fantastically carefree run around Ala Moana beach park, Mitch and I got to sit down and have a nice lunch together!  That was my huge salad and fried rice.  

Honestly, I can't recall the last time I got to sit down for a quiet lunch without a child I had to feed and/or keep from falling out of their seat and/or making a mess on the table and/or spilling their drink on the floor!

Needless to say, we loved it.  :)

And then all to soon, it was time to pick up the kids.  I was pretty nervous and not sure what we would find upon arriving back at the school...but wouldn't you know it, they were totally fine!

I saw Kaden peeking out the window as I walked up and I could tell he was having a blast and didn't miss me at all!  I was so proud of my boy when I saw how well he behaved and how little he fussed. 

 Although I'll admit to having a bit of dust in my eyes when I discovered that he didn't miss me at all?! Not one little iota?!    *sniff, sniff. 

Anyway...here's to 7 more weeks of stroller-less runs and carefree grocery shopping!

(Us mothers are SO easy to please, eh?)