What's Fun about Ivy

Ivy sees creativity in everything. Her mind is wild with imagination. Yesterday we were eating lunch at a party. She was a table away, but came up to me every few minutes to show me the things she saw in her food. Like the "secret passageway" in her pizza made by a bubble in the crust, or the "boat with passengers" made by potato chip crumbs in a tortilla chip. Or the white part of a boiled egg that's like a "bouncy castle". And when she shows me these things, you would think she just discovered the secret to life -- bouncing up and down and showing the same great smile as in the photo above.

What's fun about Elysse

Elysse just learned to make a "shaka" by herself. Here's a picture of her showing off her accomplishment. Elysse says the cutest things, like when we went into a public bathroom the other day and she said, "Oh, this is such a clean, delightful sink!"

Some things she says are not so cute, like when she got into the car this morning chanting, "dead woman, dead woman"

Other times I hear her quoting things she's heard her older sisters say, like "Well, the question is, ..."

Mostly, Elysse loves to give compliments. From "I like your shirt" to "You look so beautiful" to "Grandma Hicken is my favorite big thing", Elysse always has something nice to say.

The Funny Birthday Cake

I had a wonderful birthday this week. Thank you for the kind birthday wishes! I think what made this birthday so great is the attitude I woke up with: "It's my birthday so I'm going to do what I want." Sounds like a selfish attitude, but I'll tell you what, it's a secret to a great birthday.

I took things slow, took time to talk to friends even when I was supposed to be "hurrying", bought a gift for a friend who I share a birthday with, and went paddling up the river with Ivy and Elysse. We went to a restaurant that night in town where we met up with Kay and Kezia (Kezia was staying in Honolulu with Kay for the day).

It was an Indian restaurant with generous portions of delicious food. Wanting something to call a "birthday cake", I ordered the "Dankshan Ghambul" (actually I have no idea what they were called -- it was something Indian!) -- meaning 3 doughnut balls for 6 dollars. The photo in the menu displayed what looked like 3 large doughnuts, half- justifying spending so much on dessert (the other half excusing myself on a birthday treat).

So when the dessert came out, I laughed out loud! It was sooooo small that all three were no bigger than Elysse's hand!

Nate said I was being rude for laughing so hard, but hey, for six bucks, this was a real joke! Haha!

Nate placed a candle in a pancake when we got home that I got to blow out. It was a sweet thing to do.

Camping at Kahana

Father's Day weekend we went to camping at Kahana Bay -- one of the most beautiful places on the island in my opinion.

Although we wanted to leave Friday after lunch, we didn't get out the door til 5:30!! We all packed into the van and headed off. The van makes things so much easier, maybe not safer, but easier. Just pack it all in, kids and all. No need to play Tetris with all the camping gear.

We got there in the dark and realized there were no fire pits. Nate returned to the store and returned with a turkey pan and skewers, but by the time he had returned, the girls had chosen sleep over food, even though I offered to make them bagels with cream cheese or PB&J. What Burgoyne child chooses sleep over food?!? Must have been a long day.

The next day after a breakfast of toasted bagels.

and then played on the beach. Even 25 feet out the water was still thigh deep, and with rolling waves, Kezia and Ivy LOVED boogie boarding. I guess it's a lot more fun when it's shallow and sandy. They were having so much fun. Elysse and Kezia also tried surfing.

After, Kezia, Ivy and I traversed Kahana Stream on our stand up board, going under vines and ending up at a fun tire swing. (If this all seems like you have read this before, it's becaus I've posted about a trip we took here previously. Thank you for reading our blog!)

We came back for a lunch of hot dogs and s'mores -- the dinner we didn't get to enjoy the night before.

Give me s'more of that smile, Kez!

Then we headed out for some horseback riding at Kualoa Ranch, followed with some close encounters with some animals.

Elysse found a hibiscus that matched her dress perfectly, so we had to take a photo.

The trip was sooo nice and relaxing. I love love love camping with our kids. Everyone has a great time and we feel like family, instead of two working parents with kids in between.

Sunset to Haleiwa Race

Nate and I completed a 7 mile downwind race from Sunset to Haleiwa on June 12th, a week after the SUP into Summer race. Nate had been training for it, and I wasn't planning on doing it. However, the night before the race we were driving down the coast and I had a great desire to do the race. I had always wanted to paddle from Sunset, and do a downcoast run, and paddle longer than I had paddled before.

Well, fate must have been looking over me because an hour and a half before race time the next day my friend called and practically begged me to race, saying she'll watch our girls. Then Nate's friend texted him saying he has a race board if Nate wanted to borrow it. What other excuse did I have?

I got to the beach just as the pre-race speech was ending and the paddlers were getting into the water.

I've got to admit, this was a gruelling race for me. And I am sure that a lot of that was because I had not trained, and being 4 1/2 months pregnant probably didn't help either. But I finished and I did my best, and for that I am happy.

Nate did well too, but not as well as he had hoped. Nate always tries everything twice, this time with the board that he paddled at the Battle of the Paddle, the board that was obviously not the right size for him. I guess he had to prove it to himself with a second round, and as a result, he was fighting it the whole way.

I did end up getting 3rd place though, but as I knew I was near the end of the race, there must not have been many women in my division to begin with. Oh well, I'll keep the prize.

Me and Wendy, an instructor at our school, showing off our winnings. Hey, it's a new race sponsor-- we'll let them fly with a laminated piece of paper. Whoopie!

I swore that that was my last race of the season.....but then I found out that next week's race has a keiki tandem division, meaning we could race with a child on our board...one more race and then I'm done. ;)

(video was too long -- thank you, YouTube)

My favorite part about the whole race was how the finish line ended up at the "free lunch" line. Eh, family and friends can wait. Mama and baby want FOOOOOOD NOOOOOWWWWW!!!

We're having a BOY!!!

Can you believe it? We're having a BOY!!!

I've gotta tell you, though, the girls are not that thrilled about the masculinity that's going to enter their girlhood.

The technician announced it was a boy, and through outbursts of "boys are horrible!" and "Not aboooooyyyy!", Nate and I tried to make them feel good about the prospect.

"Your friends have baby brothers, and they love them."

"Now there will be a prince in the castle!"

Nothing seemed to console them, until Nate said, "You know, boys can do some really good things."

"Like what?"

"Like cook."

"You mean, like Daddy?"

"Uh huh."

The girls were silenced. Their eyes got big, and their eyeballs jump around as the idea sunk in. You could almost see the thought bubbles above their heads: "You mean, he'll cook for us, and we can eat his food?!?"

All of a sudden, the thought of a boy was not so bad.

For both Nate and I, of course, we are excited, and to be honest, we will be excited no matter what it is or how healthy it is -- so long as it has a heartbeat.

But to be honest, I am a bit nervous. Thoughts of raising a boy flashed in my head: In my opinion, boy babies aren't usually as cute as girl babies. Sometimes that "cute" factor is the only saving grace when the baby is screaming his or her head off.

And then what about when he's a toddler? Images of my friends with boys flashed in my head -- their tired eyes and constant chasing after their son, real life reenactments of Bill Cosby's "Jeffrey" skit.

And then as the boy gets older, what about the boy interests that are soo boring to me -- cars and trucks and WWF. And what about when he's a teenager - the dangers that seem to be so strong in boys' lives - video games, pornography, macho-ism, girls, and girlfriends, "cool-to-be-dumb" syndrome -- AAHHH!!!

So I decided to try to observe boys to calm my nerves.

We went to a restaurant right after. There was a boy throwing paper airplanes at every patron who walked in.

The next day I went to the library. There were three boys playing ninja in the middle of the library.

Elysse had a boy friend come over. He was dressed all drab -- jeans and a shirt -- no frills or cute-ness. No hair to fluff.

Now, don't get me wrong -- there are a lot of great boys out there, and even some cute ones. And as his mom, I am excited. Change is good, right? I'm just a bit nervous, not feeling prepared for what might lie ahead.

If you have boys, leave me a comment! I'd love to hear about all the great things about raising boys. ;)

Hula performance

June 5th ALL the girls performed at a hula concert. This was Elysse's first concert! What was most impressive was that their kumu (teacher) was not there, so they were performing with a singer who they had never practiced under before, and some of the things he did were different. However, all the girls just flowed with it and did great.

hula sisters and

hula sisters

Elysse is the farthest on the left in the front. Elysse is second to the right on the top, and Ivy is fourth to the right on the top -- right in the middle.

Surf n' Sea Race

The beginning of this month was the SUP into Summer race -- a 4 mile course race in the same location where we teach lessons.

Nate did great-- getting into the Top Ten male racers and being able to do a second race to compete for money prize.

I got fourth of the women, with our instructors getting 1st and 3rd (go Rainbow Watersports team!)

Afterward was a keiki division.

Kezia wanted to join, and guess what? So did Ivy, our girl who hasn't ever wanted to paddle before. (She always just wanted to be towed -- a very "Ivy" thing to do). So Ivy's first experience paddling was in a race. And she did great! Now she loves it.

girls and a friend playing in the water

Battle of the Paddle 2011

Yesterday was Battle of the Paddle, a big stand up paddle race held in Waikiki. (This is the same race as last year when Nate's board split in two -

- remember that?) Nate and I and one of our instructors and good friends, Jodi, all competed, I in the open-age 4 mile race, and Nate and Jodi in the prestigious Elite Race.

We piled kids, boards, equipment, and PIZZA!! into our (new) van, rigged up some car seats so it was "safe" and were on our way for an adventure.

Taking a Hawaiian road trip!

We stayed on Kay's boat in the harbor Friday night so we were already down there for the race the next morning. The girls were extra-excited to see fireworks that were set off right next to the harbor, which takes place every Friday night. We barely made it in time to check them out.

Both Kezia and Ivy made some good friends at the beach. Kezia was sooo excited to find a friend who is "7 years old and loves cats -- just like me!

" Here's Ivy with "a good friend....I don't know her name...."

And here's Elysse with our good friend Kaden, obviously having been in the sun and fun for way too long. Plus her bum hurts --- see the next post...

All the girls were such great sports carrying all the gear down to the race, taking turns pushing and pulling a bulging wagon/skupboard. I don't care what others say, life is easier when your kids get older. I remember trying to lunge all this stuff to the beach last year with complaining girls, and carrying a 2 year old.

Coming in from the race...being pregnant, of course, I wasn't going to push myself above what I thought I should handle, so I was excited to have finished the race.

Me (and baby) accepting the third place trophy for my division. The placement to me didn't matter so much -- (3rd out of only 6 women 40 and under) -- but I beat my time by last year by a whopping 3 minutes/lap -- pregnant and on a shorter board!!

Nate and Jodi, one of our instructors, are pumped before the "Elite Race", a grueling 5 mile race in and out of waves, with intermittent sprints on the beach, where it's a feat just to finish the race.

Nate's beginning of his race. Go Nate Go!

Nate coming in at the end of the race, still smiling. ;) He said he had difficulty with patches of dry reef throughout the course, having to swim over reef in knee-high water.

We are all doing the Surf n Sea race on June 4th.. I am anxious to do better at this race by using a longer board. Wish us luck!

Swensons' visit

It was super fun to have Erica and Sam and their family here with us! And somehow, they managed to come out at a time of perfect weather, sandwiched in between weeks of rain. If only every tourist was so lucky.

Every time our girls are all together, there is so much cousin-love in the air. They all get along so well, like best of friends. A great moment was when Ivy realized that, although Mia looks younger, she is actually near her age. After that, they were inseparable.

Here are some great moments from having them here.

Lots o' love for Grandma!

Dying Easter Eggs

Lucy and Elysse

Kezia and Leila at the waterfall at Shark's Cove

On an adventure at Shark's Cove

All the girls and grandma, posing in the beautiful Easter dresses Aunt Erica made for them. They all fit perfectly!

Sleeping in a heap.