Memorial Day Weekend

Happy Birthday, Kay!!

Wow, just look at that fire!

Friday was Kay's birthday. She had mentioned how she always wanted a watermelon cake for her birthday, and also that she used to love the game of tennis. So we got her a watermelon and stuck some candles in it. Nate thought it would look better with its skin off. I thought that was debatable. But this was the kind of cake that I didn't mind if my girls had seconds, or thirds, or fourths. And it was delicious with vanilla ice cream!

The next day the rest of the family went to play tennis and go to a birthday party with a real pony (way cool) and went paddling while I was teaching lessons.

Then on Monday we played tennis some more as a family, Nate and I trained hard for the race this coming weekend, then we biked, skated, and ran to a war memorial on the beach to pay our respects and teach the girls what Memorial day is all about.

Then we transported ourselves to a long line to get shave ice, because, due to these fallen soldiers and all other soldiers, we can do that and feel safe.

Rainbow brain freeze!

MAHALO.

We're famous!! Well, not really

A few months ago I took the girls on a "field trip" to watch this commercial be filmed across the street from our house at our favorite beach, Ali'i. We watched the section where they were knocking down the sandcastle. It took them over an hour to do just that 2 second section. And you see the very small speck next to the lifeguard tower? THAT'S US!!! We're waiting for our check....

Our 10 year anniversary celebration

It is 2:15 on Sunday afternoon. I just finished cleaning Nate’s Mom’s boat and Nate is taking a nap on the bench at the back of the boat.

Occasionally bells and ropes and chains chime as they clang against the masts in the boat harbor. But no sound of children.

We are celebrating our 10 year anniversary. We return home today, but it has been so wonderful. We dropped the girls off at our friends the Skafs then arrived down here in the evening. Nate's mom has generously given us use of her boat for the weekend.

After dropping off our things on the boat we walked along the beach to Tiki’s bar and grill to get a virgin pina colada. Then we came back home and fell asleep.

Saturday morning we stand up paddled against a mighty wind with Waikiki on one side and Diamond Head gracing us on the other. It was a real workout, but as always, a lot of fun. And it was more our style. Just being in the city for one evening was enough to satisfy any need I may have had for the bombardment of humanity. It felt good to be away – just me, my husband, a few canoes, a catamaran, and a few honus.

Afterward we walked to Foodland at Ala Moana and picked up food for lunch and the rest of the weekend. A trek across the street landed us at Magic Island where we had a picnic and watched the surf, then sunbathed and laughed at the funny people around us. Like the woman who (oops!) wore a nude-colored bikini bottom, or the woman sunbathing who was wearing a white mask over her face as though she were a burn victim or the lifeguard that decided to change out of his suit outside his lifeguard tower. We were very tempted to stage a drowning and see what he did. And most of all we just laid there. No “Mommy, I want cheese” or “I’ll go in the water if you go in the water”. Just Nate and I laughing and trying to move as little as possible. I don’t think I’ve been that still during waking hours for over 6 years, so I asked Nate to take a picture. (Don't I look so happy?)

Ahhh, two love birds under a heart shaped cloud! How cute! ;)

That night we went to the Jim Gaffigan performance and laughed til the sides of our mouths hurt.

And as we were both delirious with sleep (so much relaxing in one day is hard work), we crashed after watching a bit of Iron Chef.

Today we slept in til 8:30 (that’s 3 ½ hours later than I usually wake up!!!) , went to church, and now here we are sitting. Or in Nate’s case, sleeping. And nothing else.

Sweet thought, Ivy

Tonight I told the girls Daddy wasn't feeling well (he has the beginnings of a cold). Ivy said, "Oh, I know! How about in the morning we cover him with hugs and kisses? That would make him feel better!"

It's better to ask than to assume

Last night the girls and I made plans to watch Extreme Home Makeover after cleaning up after dinner. I reminded them to do their chores, and when it seemed like they were just goofing off, I let off a bit of steam, and when they kept trying to interrupt my mounting frustration with "But Mooom"s, I reminded them of a time before when they were not able to get the consequence they wanted because they didn't complete their chores. Finally when I was done with my conniption, they were able to explain, "But mom, we were trying to divide the things on the table so we can all put them away."

Ooops. Girls 10, Mom 0. They won themselves a piece of chocolate.

10 years

Yesterday was our 10 year anniversary! I remember when my oldest brother had his 10 year anniversary. I thought that was so old. Thank goodness I'm not old like he was! Not that a time factor really matters, but there is nothing more I want in my life than to have Nate in it, and to be so lucky as to spend the last 10 years with him makes me feel really, really blessed.

Next weekend we're going to celebrate by taking a weekend to ourselves and leaving the girls with a friend. We can't wait. I got Nate tickets to Jim Gaffigan, a comedian he really likes, and besides that I don't care if we do nothing at all. Yesterday it was nice to glow in the realization that we've been married for that amount of time, but then come evening time the girls were all complaining in the "she's touching me!!" fashion, and we wondered why we did this in the first place. But then after they were in bed we were able to take a quiet walk along the beach with a blanket of stars above and the moon shining on the ocean and it all felt right.

I thought that would be enough, that being married for 10 years would feel just as good as I'd want to feel. But then I woke up this morning with the thought, "Wow, now we've been married for more than 10 years!" And I've been grinning all day.

Happy Mother's Day!

Our potential mothers, feeling happy in their leis. I think Mother's Day is a great time to spark pride in girls of their potential to be mothers one day. Kezia made the pink lei she's wearing.

Nate gave me a great mother's day (as always). I was aroused from my sleep by a screaming Elysse. I found Nate trying to take care of the girls and prepare his talk for church. He had already gotten up early to make pancakes!

Kay made a beautiful lei and then after church Nate made a total deluxe lunch -- coconut sweet potatoes, salmon, salad, rice, asparagus and broccoli, huli huli chicken. It was really good, just like all meals Nate creates. Then I got a back massage. ahhh...

Thanks, Nate! I feel like a queen!

Nate's aunt MaryJane and Uncle Randy were here visiting. It was so fun having them here! They attended the concert yesterday and we got to go stand up paddling together on Friday.

Concert at Waimea Valley May 8

Yesterday was the much awaited concert at Waimea Valley. This was a benefit concert for the girls' hula halau, with well-known performers Liko Martin and Kekoa Kane and the Abrigo Ohana. The girls did GREAT!!! I kept reminding them (and bribing them) to keep smiling, and as you can tell from the videos, they did just that. I was so proud of them, and they were happy too. Elysse would have loved to have performed as well...maybe next year! She loves to sing and dance hula around the house.

In the line, they are the 2nd and 3rd ones from the end. The woman in front is their "kumu", or teacher.

As the secretary of the halau, I was in charge of the silent auction. It was a lot of work, and I am so happy it is done. Having zero experience with silent auctions, I was so grateful for the people who helped provide ideas and those who helped set up etc. Nate was stellar. I am grateful for his support and help. It was a great success -- everything was sold! All proceeds went toward the halau.

Gymnastics

Here are some gymnastics videos that may not be that exciting to watch, but now they're posted for posterity's sake.

Fascination of the small and simple things of life

I love the simple things in life that bring great joy! Like blowing blue soapy bubbles through a straw in the bathroom sink,

picking the first harvest of tomatoes from a self-grown garden,

and watching a butterfly lay a tiny egg on a leaf.

Randy Saunders visits

Our cousin Randy stayed with us for a few days. We haven't seen him in over a year and it was fun to get reacquainted. We went hiking on the Keala trail and paddling down the river. Fun for the whole family!

Ivy striking her "Yesssss!" pose with the beautiful view of the North Shore on the Keala trail in the background

The girls are attached to me by a leash attached to a suction on the nose of their board.

Up and riding!

Easter

Our Easter was simple, so simple, in fact, that I can't even remember what we did (I'm writing this more than a month later). Obviously, from the pictures, we dyed Easter eggs and found eggs the Easter Bunny hid. And we must have had a good time because everyone is smiling.

Mother's Day Mother Daughter brunch

I was informed that the link to the invite didn't really work -- sorry! Anyway, we had a great brunch yesterday. There were 14 mothers and daughters all together, and my great friends didn't mind being scrunched in our small backyard. The whole point of the brunch was to celebrate moms and moms to be, and to help the girls feel happy about the gift if motherhood that is divinely given to them.

The daughters and moms filled out "How well do you know your mom/daughter" sheets, answering questions the best they can about their mother or daughter, and then compared their answers to the real answers. (If you want a sheet, let me know) I loved Ivy's answer to "What is your mom's favorite thing about your home?" She put, "That we're a family." Yup, that's true.

Then mothers and daughters could make cardstock magnets with words or pictures that represented them and their families. I think Kezia covered our fridge with 12 of them already! And I loved that she really wanted to make them with me. She said, "Draw a picture of you and I playing at the beach."

We played charades where the girls acted out things their moms do, and the moms acted out things their daughters do. As a game prize, I passed out chocolate (aka mother medicine) with a picture and a description of an influential woman who was also a mother. All the while we ate the delicious pupus that the moms and daughters had made together.

Then the girls were off playing hide and go seek, giving the moms a chance to talk story. It was fantastic and I hope we'll be able to keep it as a tradition.