snip snip, for a good cause

Almost on a daily basis, I find myself bugging my girls to get their hair cut.  And every time I mention it, they grumble and refuse.

Well, I invoked my parental authority and forced them to get it chopped.  And since their hair was SO very long, I thought it a good idea to donate it for a good cause.

After researching the net for a good and worthy organization, I decided on Children with Hair Loss.  This company provides FREE wigs to ONLY children who suffer from diseases and illnesses that result in hair loss.  Plus, they allowed for shorter hair lengths (10 inches, I believe) while most other organizations wanted a minimum of 12 inches.  

Anyway, the girls were not very happy with my forcing them to get their hair chopped...but I insisted and so, off we went.

I made several mistakes this day. 

The first was to force them to do something they didn't want to do.  In retrospect, I should have allowed them to make this decision.  They needed a trim for sure, but the amount I had cut was pretty excessive.  

And the second was the location of their haircut.  This place sucked.  I should have gone to a more reputable salon with more skilled stylists.  My mistake.  And never again.

Anyway, despite all of that, their cuts weren't terrible, and Kela wasn't overly upset....she didn't like the cut but managed to remain positive about it.  And she realized the sacrifice she was doing was for a worthy cause.  She knew that her hair would help other kids with feeling better and I was proud of her for that.

Anna, however, was far less accepting of her fate.

Once she saw how much the stylist cut off...she got madder, and madder.  To the point that she refused to look up at the end.  She cried and vocalized how much she hated the cut.  Honestly, the stylist didn't do a very good job at blending her cut.  She cut off way more than necessary after the braids were cut and I think that is what upset her the most.  

I thought it looked cute, but she was not happy at all. She continued to mope and complain as we were leaving, and I nearly lost my head for a few short minutes-scolding your child in the middle of the mall isn't something I have had to do often, but boy did I do it today!

Needless to say, it's just hair.  And it will grow back.

But for the time being, I have 2 less than happy girls with short hair to contend with for the next several months.  Doest this mean that I'm a mean mommy?  Maybe.  However, I've learned my lesson.  The next time my girls donate hair, it will be because THEY want to do it.  Which will probably be never again, but I am still proud of what they did and want to believe that deep down, they know they did the right thing to donate their precious hair to other kids who are less fortunate.

hickam air show

The Blue Angels are in town!!

And since Kaden LOVES airplanes (as does his Daddy) they decided to go to Hickam Air Force Base on the only day they allow civilians on base to go check out the air show.

Unfortunately, they didn't stay long enough to watch the Blue Angles actually do their stunts...but they did get to see them practice, check out some airplanes on display, and even got to sit in the cockpit of an old classic flyer.  

Despite his grimace-like smile, Kaden was in heaven!  

And since the girls weren't really interested in looking at airplanes, I took them shopping while Daddy and Kaden were at the air show.  This was our lunch.  

Now and again, it's good to split up so the boys can do what boys like....while the girls do what girls like.  

waikiki family fun fair

I'm not usually a fan of these school carnivals.  

They're usually super crowded, overpriced, and little more than cheap entertainment for the benefit of the school.

BUT, since the girls actually signed up to HELP participate at several of the booths, we were obligated to attend.  Plus, the girls really, really wanted to go.

So, even though Mitch was busy at work and Kaden was super tired and needed a nap, I parked a couple of blocks away, loaded a sleeping Kaden into a stroller, and headed to the school. 

And I was right.  About everything. 

It was super crowded with kids running around everywhere and all the foods were way more than I wanted to spend on cheap food...but buy some food we did. Does cotton candy count as food? 

While Anna and Kela had to help out with their class booths, I ended up following Jolee to the various booths she wanted to visit.  She kept asking to get sparkly tattoos and so even though it was ridiculously expensive, we waited in line and she got a pink, glittery seahorse.

She also fished for some rubber duckies...

...threw little balls in buckets (this was Anna's class activity)...

...and ate some popcorn.  And apparently also kicked her little brother out of his seat so she could rest after a full day of school and walking around the school family fun fair.

And even the older ones got to participate in a few activities after they were done with their booths.

I was hot and tired and slightly cranky after following these kids all round the school campus....but the kids really enjoyed themselves and even managed to score a few prizes at the end.

anna's karate exam: blue belt!

 I know what you're thinking...Anna has ANOTHER Karate exam?  Already?

Didn't she just have one?

The answer is yes, yes, and yes.

She has them every three months.

 And the other kids are always super antsy during the long examination in the stuffy cafeteria of Kapolei High School, so they usually run around and play on these bronze mudskippers that can be found all over the campus.  Weird, I know.  But highly entertaining for the kids.

Anna did well on her exam!

And her sparring.

And I was so very proud of her!

She works so hard, and truly loves karate.

As a parent, nothing is more fulfilling than seeing your child finding a sport or activity that they enjoy...and learning to excel at it!  

Good Job, Anna!!!

Next stop is BLUE belt!  

fishing at waiahole

It was a fine, sunny afternoon that my sister, Elika, invited us all out to Waiahole to do some fishing. 

In a pond.  For catfish and tilapia.

We had nothing better to do, and the kids always LOVE hanging out with cousins, so we said YES!

Actually, the kids also LOVE to fish!

This was a private pond, owned by a friend/work acquaintance of Elika's and he was very kind and gracious to provide extra fishing poles, bait, and nets.

There were chickens roaming around and even a stray goat that nearly knocked us over when it got loose...but the kids had fun!  It was also very, very, VERY, dirty.  But it was a Saturday and we were not doing anything particularly important, so what the heck! What's a little dirt, right?

Oh, was I wrong!

Dirt is NOT my friend.

But anyway, the fish were biting pretty good!  Anna caught this tilapia first.  We hadn't planned on taking any home so ended up throwing it back into the water.  It wasn't until later that we realized how much of a waste that was!  We could take it home and eat it!

So, after releasing one tilapia and one catfish, we all began casting in earnest to catch us some dinner...

And not to toot my own horn, but I ended up catching 2 catfish and a tilapia for our dinner.

A couple other kids caught some fish as well, but they ended up getting loose and swimming away.

However, with our 2 catfish and tilapia in a borrowed bucket, we packed up our filthy kids and drove up to Elika's to eat some freshly caught fish!

Please excuse the bloody mess...but with the aid of a couple of Youtube videos....I filleted all 3 fish successfully!  

Honestly, it was pretty gross and I don't look forward to ever doing it again, but I was pretty proud of myself today!  I seasoned it and dusted it with flour and then cooked it up with some garlic and olive oil and wouldn't you know it, everyone said it tasted good!  

Everyone, except for Anna, that is.

They were, of course, alive when we brought them home and Anna was none too pleased with our having to make them "un-alive."

She was the only one that didn't eat any fish that day because it hurt her heart to think of the fish no longer swimming freely in the water.

Poor girl...I wouldn't be surprised if she became a vegan one day...

hiking up tantalus

It's true that we live in paradise!  And since moving to town, we've made a conscious effort to make the time to enjoy all that Hawaii has to offer!

Which means going hiking on our days off when at all possible.

We were babysitting my nephews for the afternoon so decided to get them out of our tiny house and into nature.  Mitch thought a hike up above Tantalus would be a good idea, so we loaded up all the kiddos, slathered them with bug spray, and hit the road!

The trail that Mitch wanted to hike was relatively easy going, but narrow in certain spots with lots of tree roots sticking up.  A couple of the little ones were slipping and sliding around and Jojo was none too happy about that.  Mitch carried my littlest nephew in the backpack carrier and we took turns holding hands with Kaden and his 3 year old cousin, Knox.  It was slow going in some spots but the older kids liked to run ahead at times, eliciting a "stop!" from Mitch and I now and again.

All in all, it was a nice hike!  But as we were going (and going and going) the trail seemed longer than Mitch remembered so we turned around and decided to head back.

On our way back down the Tantalus, we stopped by the lookout...and took a snack break.

The view from up here was spectacular!  Plus, there was a nice open field below that the kids ran up and down (and up and down) while we simply enjoyed the beauty of our island.

Me and Kaden...he was getting pretty tired and needed to be carried.

Do I baby him too much?  Yes.

Do I care?  No.

The cousins, eating popcorn on the hill overlooking all of Honolulu.  

Lucky we live Hawaii!

pu'u ma'eli'eli hike

Summer is at an end.  The girls are back at school, but on this first Saturday in August, we decided to take the family (with some friends) on an easy hike in Kaneohe.  

I looked and looked for an easy, kid-friendly hike and came up with Pu'u Ma'eli'eli hike near the Valley of the Temples.  ALL of the guide books I read said that it was easy and great for kids.  

I don't know what kind of kids those guide books are talking about, but for our little ones, it was more than a bit challenging.  It was also longer than I thought it would be.

BUT, the view was spectacular!!

There were lots of mosquitos, some muddy slopes here and there, and even a rock hill that you had to use a rope to scale...but through it all, the kids were troopers and did great!

We were very proud of them for making it all the way to the top!

And then up at the top, we were equally scared that they would fall off this landing area...but there was an extra ledge right underneath this that would prevent any serious injury should one child end up toppling over.  That's not to say that we didn't keep a close eye (and hand) on them at all times, of course!  I think even the kids were impressed with this fabulous view.

Me and Kaden.

Kaden did so great!  I'm so glad that Mitch was with us, since he helped out quite a bit with both  Kaden and Jolee.  Elika also came so I had to help out with her little ones while she carried Nixon in the backpack carrier.  But despite all that, all the kids pretty much climbed and hiked all by themselves!  We were so very impressed and proud of these kids!

All in all, with friends and family, we were a pretty big group, with lots of little kids.

The hike was pretty challenging, but they all did so great and I really loved seeing the beauty of Kaneohe Bay and pretty much all of the the Windward side of the island from the top of the hill.  

And the McDonald's ice cream and treats at the end proved to be the perfect reward for a job well done!