A tribute to all the dads out there

Here's a big "Mahalo" to all the good dads out there who do so much for their kids, even when they're exhausted. Who's experienced this before -- whether it be on the horsey or the horsey itself?!

Ivy's concept of FOOD

We were walking down the sidewalk when Ivy gasped and called out loudly, "FOOOOOD!!!" I turned to see what she was pointing at and found a scrawny chicken crossing the sidewalk. Hmmm.... perhaps this mostly vegetarian diet is becoming too much for our girls....

The girls are just finishing up their lunch right now. A yummy lunch of bread, avocado, cheese, and yogurt. We were discussing what in our lunch is grow food, glow food, and go food. They were stumped on what the glow food was, so I gave them a hint that glow foods are the most colorful foods. Ivy answered, "lollipops!!" hmmm, no, not quite.

Speaking of lollipops, look what I found in our fridge the other day:




I went to the fridge to make some lunch and found it covered with Ivy's candy that she got from a pinata party we returned from. I thought this picture was so funny because anyone who knows me knows my fridge would never be filled with candy like this on my own doing!

September

Painting each others' nails. Oh-La-La!


Fun at a cove all to ourselves at Laniakea's

Whoa, Momma! Life is rushing past so quickly it’s difficult to stop and take a rest. Ok, so what has happened since Nate’s gotten back?...

KEZIA

Kezia finished her soccer season. I looooved going to her soccer practices and cheering on the cute 4-5 year olds as they herded down the field together, showing off their dance moves when they made a goal, and crying when someone kicked the ball away from them (“It was my turn with the ball!”) I mostly loved sitting on the lawn of the park with the blue sky up above and not moving. Kezia loved it too. She had a great coach and fun girls on her team. Go, Kezia!

Yo, what up,Kezia! Our soccer champ.

Kezia's goal

Go Rainbows! For more soccer pics and vidoes, click here.

Kezia is loving kindergarten. She is making great friends and has deserted her old ways of shyness and desire to be tucked under mommy’s wing. She tells me after I pick her up, “Mommy, I love school!” Although she has always loved learning on her own, her self-learning bug has grown since she began kindergarten. She received some Spongebob things from school (yeah, from school) and received a duplicate of something we already have for her birthday, so I said if we got rid of the Spongebob and the gift, we could get something different. At the store, she had a choice between a Carebear movie, make up, dress ups, and a kindergarten reading kit. She chose the reading kit. And she has been plowing through the workbooks! Sometimes I have to take them away from her so she’ll get ready for bed!

IVY

Ivy began Joy School and Great Beginnings this month. She is really enjoying both. I am grateful that Joy School grew. This is the parent-coop preschool that I had Kezia in last year. We started with just one girl and I and were able to form a whole group. Great Beginnings, on the other hand, has been slow beginnings. More on that later.

Ivy and Adam washing dishes at Great Beginnings

The Joy School Gang

I was worried how it would be for Ivy with Kezia in school, but she seems to be alright with it. We get to spend time together, just her and I, too, and I have loved that. It is easy to meld both girls together and treat them like a 4 year old, and this has made me realize that Ivy is a lot younger than I treat her most times. She has a wonderful imagination that is on fire. At one moment she’s a dog, then a princess, then she’s a scary lion, then she’s the mom and I’m “the kid”, then we’re walking through tall grass, then we’re going to a birthday party, then we’re being so, so quiet because we are passing the forest where the bears live. I love my Ivy! She is so much fun to be with.

The other day she was saying prayer and she kept interrupting herself. Then she explained she was doing that because “I’m making Jesus laugh!” hee-hee! I’m sure there was a giggle up in heaven!

And, look who finally decided to join the hula halau:

ELYSSE

Elysse is my too-fast growing baby. She made 8 months on Friday! She is standing while holding onto things already, crawling all over the place, putting all sorts of things in her mouth, and testing out her lungs. Her two bottom teeth popped through the gums a couple of weeks ago and the top teeth seem anxious to show themselves soon. She loves her sisters, and at times, they love playing with her too.

NATE

Wahoo! Happy Birthday, Daddy

Nate’s 32^nd birthday was on Friday. His celebration was taken care of by the delivery of four stand up boards, marking the official beginning of our stand up paddle school. After strapping the boards to the roof, we headed to the North Shore for a bit of beach time, then invaded Nate’s parents’ house for a bit of cake and traditional singing. We then spent much of the night covering two of the boards with deck pads to prepare for our first lessons the next day. With the rush of Friday and Saturday, the girls and I were finally able to shower him with gifts today (Sunday). The girls made sweet gifts: a book of colored pages, dinosaur coloring page he can do himself, bits of cut-up construction paper, etc. I somehow managed to reserve a “SUPSRF” license plate for him.

Check out the SUP surf school at www.rainbowwatersports.com and then come out and try it yourself! ;) We would love all kinds of feedback on the site. Please email comments to nateburgoyne@gmail.com. Thank you!!

HEIDI

I am doing great. And really busy. Mostly I am trying to keep my head above water and enjoying the ride in the meantime. Great Beginnings has had a super-slow start. I had an almost full class, but because of changes in parents’ schedules, the class size fell to just Ivy and a sweet boy named Adam. Despite advertising, I haven’t been able to make it grow. It may be for the best, though, because we are probably going to rent out the studio again to make a bit more income. Sad. I put a lot of work into the school, and it really is a good program, but oh well. Ce la vie.

I was grateful to be in the right place at the right time the other day. The girls and I went to a friend's birthday party. I left to get something from the car and noticed a 2 year old boy in the driveway across the street. He crossed the street and came over to me speaking goo-goo talk and saying "Momma". I figured he was lost, and as I tried to close the gate behind me, he started to go back into the street. I saw a car coming down the street. My arms were full with Elysse and things, so I couldn't grab him, and he was in front of a parked car that was higher than him, making it impossible for the moving car to see him. So I started yelling to make him stop and so the car would stop too. Gratefully I made enough commotion to stop the car right before it reached the boy. And we did find his mom, too.

I love this video of the girls at the beach a few weeks ago. It is so inviting -- makes me want to skip in the warm water. Hopefully it is inviting for you, too, and would come visit us!! We love visitors and are excited to see my cousin Stacey and Craig, our friends the Schields, Amy and Dan (hopefully) and Grandma and Grandpa Gunn in the next coming months !

The Not-So-Funny Dress

Last Thursday was Picture Day at Kezia's school. The morning thereof, I thought I'd share some of my picture-taking knowledge with my five-year-old, explaining that if she wore her sun dress over her pink shirt, it might look funny because the picture will only show the top of the dress. Kezia looked down at her dress and said, "But Mom, I'm not laughing!"

She won that battle.

YES!!! I made it!!!

Well, almost. Eleven hours from now Nate will be back home. I was able to care for the girls and our home and oh so many other things for two weeks while Nate was gone. YES!!! And yet my accomplishment can be likened to the ant who rolls a grain of sand to the bottom of an anthill compared to the thousands of military spouses who care for their children and homes while their spouse is at war thousands of miles away for a year or more, and usually on their second or third deployment. I have always had great admiration for them, and count it an honor to be in the midst of so many of them here, but my appreciation for them just grew tenfold.

But, at the same time, I can't really say to one of them, "Hey! I just survived 2 weeks alone while my husband surfed in California!! Pat me on the back, will ya?!" I'd probably get kicked in the shins instead. So that's why I am telling you.

Admittedly, at times it was a challenge for me, but I am a lot stronger too. And we had some good times too. Like last Sunday when my feet were aching so much I suggested that we have "Spa Day" and we soaked our feet in a hot peppermint bath, gave each other foot massages ("Mom, how much longer do I need to rub your feet?") and paint each others' nails. I wish I had my camera to show off the extra treatment I received, with nail polish dribbled around the tips of my fingers and pink, purple, glittery, and shimmery splotched here and there on my nails themselves. Fancy. The next day Ivy decided one coat just isn't enough for a real lady, and gave herself seven coats on top.

Or that same weekend when we had a North Shore vacation at Nate's parents' place in my favorite place, Haleiwa, while they were on the Big Island. It was sooo nice. I taught a stand up paddle lesson on Friday, then we played at the beach, then I watched TV and folded 1 1/2 hours worth of neglected laundry. And this time, America's Funniest Home Videos was actually funny! And then on Saturday we took an unplanned stop at a friend's house who just got a horse and a cow. Kezia got to milk the cow and the girls got to watch workers clean the horse's shoes. Cool. Then a car wash, then a block party in Waialua, more TV and laundry, and ah yes, the peaceful quiet of Haleiwa... Thank you, Kay and Eric!

And all the other times I felt really blest to have such wonderful daughters who are a lot of fun to be around.

Alive and kickin'

...and I'm HEALTHY!!!

Last November we applied for health insurance and were quite confident that we could obtain the highest rank of life insurance because of all the comments we get when we go to the doctor: ("What?! You don't smoke or drink?" "What?! You're not on any medications?" "What?! You don't have allergies? What?! You still have all ten fingers?" )

But my blood test results showed that I have very high cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Not being a red meat eater, hardly eating meat at all, and very few sweets, I was really surprised. I mentioned this to my mom who told me that my dad and all his brothers have high cholesterol. So then I became conscious of all the foods out there that have cholesterol, something I never cared about before. And each time I ate an egg or ice cream, I'd think, "This is going straight to my arteries!"

Well, I FINALLY got a second opinion last week. Again I got a comment from the doctor ("What?! You're not on cholesterol lowering drugs?!") I am totally healthy, with cholesterol and triglyceride levels way into the safe zones. It made me think the previous levels were the result of being pregnant or not being able to fast before the test was done.

Or maybe I should have followed my intuition better when the, like, bubble-blowing blood test girl, like, came over to our, like, house to, like take our blood. She seemed so sloppy with everything she did that in my mind I pictured her in the parking lot afterward, sifting through the blood-filled vials: "Hmm, let's see...let's put this vial here,...and this one there, and, Whoops! We'll just put this label on this one, and..."

First I'll Be a Mother

It's 10:00pm and I am so tired. Why am I still up blogging? Because I'm avoiding the mess in the house that accumulated in only a few short hours. If there is anyone out there that is able to maintain a clean home during the DAY and parent 3 kids PLEASE share your magic tricks with me!

I just spent a wonderful get away weekend at my favorite place, Haleiwa, at my inlaw's while they were on the big island. I took with me plenty of work to do. But all I got done was the folding of laundry-- 2 1/2 hours later!

I often find myself thinking about a poem my mom hung on her wall about a woman whose house was a mess but she was taking care of her kids. It ended, "I want to be a housewife, but first I'll be a mother." Personally, I'd rather be Nate's wife, but mothering is definitely taking priority over spray bottles and dusting. Well, at least during the day. (Why can't guests come over at 10:00 at night?!? (I mean besides this night.))

A Preview of What's to Come

For those of you who have been asking, "Wassup with no posts?!?" this one's for you. We have had a lot of things going on, and I feel like I am grappling for time with the same empty pursuit as trying to capture vapor in my hands. So, sorry, no posts.
Nate left to the mainland on business and took the computer, so I tried to post as many pictures as I could before it got packed away for 2 weeks. Then when I came to post, I realized the majority of them were sideways. So oh well. I'll add them later. Here's just a summary of some of what's been going on, the only order being the order in which I found the pictures. Kezia started soccer and is loving it! Grandma Burgoyne took her out to buy shoes and a ball. She insisted on a pink ball, and she found one! Can you believe this is her first pair of shoes?! Only in Hawaii.




Nate the super dad. Ivy is getting less and less fearful about the water. This is a time a Laniakea, I think after we went camping.


Speaking of being less fearful, Ivy actually ASKED to go out on the surfboard to "the big waves"(at least to a 3 year old) This is her first time I think. She went a second time and was even more courageous, asking to go again and again after riding the white water.

Ok, here's a picture of Ivy's second trip to "the big waves." Ivy has really been blossoming lately. Ever since she FINALLY got potty trained, she's more courageous to do things, has less tantrums, and has a WHOLE lot to say.


Kezia is now 5!! Can you believe it!? Wow. She is so grown up and she is such a sweet girl. How many kids ask their sister if she would like to open the biggest gifts for her? Really probably a whole lot. Kids are great, and I'm glad I have one with a big heart in my family. And now she's in kindergarten!

She insisted on a unicorn pinata for her birthday. I didn't see one in the pinata aisle, and as we were leaving, her eyes caught one on the top shelf on the corner. Here it is getting battered by a three year old. Poor thing.

Lost of loves for baby Elysse. Some of you know that Elysse has been my pain-in-the-neck baby, refusing to sleep for long periods of time and crying a lot for no apparent reason. I already felt like I was already going insane, and she just put me in the express lane to the asylum. So I thought, ok, I'll make it to the reunion in July and then other people can take care of her and I can relax a bit. But she thought it would be a funny trick (though highly appreciated) to calm down once we started our trip. So now I have family members saying, "What do you mean she's a hard baby? She seemed so mellow at the reunion!" If only you knew.... But, letting the past die, she is now a wonderful, cheerful, super curious seven month old. I think a big change in her temperment was her newfound ability to crawl, and now she's going everywhere, pulled like a magnet to small chokeables on the floor. She now has two bottom teeth and her hair is growing.
Ok, even though it's sideways, I had to include this one. Hee-hee! Embarrasingly, it brings back memories.

Ok, so besides that, Nate's been kicking out some really cool products online, one in particular that is doing rather well. He's in San Diego at the ASR trade show. If you want to check out his happenings, I just saw he posted some on his magazine website at www.supsurfmag.com. I just had my first day of Great Beginnings preschool, which I have been doing a lot of prepping for the last two weeks (and last two late nights). I am so grateful for my mother in law and all the times she watched the girls so I could meet my deadline. She is so great and an inspiration to me. So now that that's done, I just might post some more.