Preparing for Halloween

Elysse is getting ready for Halloween. She's picked out her pumpkin on a field trip to the pumpkin patch, been wearing her raggedy snow white outfit to be sure it'll perform well on Halloween night, and practicing all her silly faces.

Our Menehune Champs

The Menehune contest was ON this weekend, and the girls did an OUTSTANDING job!!!

* I cannot get my videos to load, but I will soon, so please check back soon! ;)

Thanks to all who sent out their virtual cheer. The waves were ideal, the weather was gorgeous, and the crowd was rocking.

Kezia

Kezia hit the waters at 9am, after an inward struggle of fear, charged the waters and tried catching wave after wave, successfully riding 2 in.

At the lineup with the other 7-9 yr old girl competitors. Kezia's in white.

I am so grateful for this water patrol man who kindly took Kezia under his wing out there and helped her out.

Catching the wave...

Getting up,....

and she's riding!!!

Here's her second wave:

Part of the cheering section

Her friend Moon helping her in

Oh yeah, I was a proud mom (still am beaming)

And does she look happy or what?!

And the true reason she competed: The goodie bag ;)

IVY

Ivy competed later in the afternoon in the kokua division for kids ages 3-6, In this division "anything goes" and everyone's a winner. Although during practice she was hesitant to ride te waves by herself (without someone on the board with her), she decided to go at it alone (with Daddy pushing her). She was "no fear" going out there.

On her first attempt she wiped out, going under the water and the board flipping upside down above her, but like a champ she got back on and went for another wave. At one point she said she was done, but when I told her she still has a few more minutes left in her heat, she went for it. Yeah, Ivy!

Getting ready for her division and totally psyched that she scored the pink jersey

I was to catch her as she came in, and I tried to play photographer at the same time. Unfortunately, I didn't capture one of her waves and the other is not that great, but here it is anyway.

Can there be a bigger genuine smile??

The winning team coming in

Jessica Monson and her sons, Natalia and Kai and her friend Krystal all came to cheer us on. We had a fun time chilling at the beach surrounded by friends. Ivy found this cool path between volcanic rock. When a wave crashed you'd get sprayed and water would run up your feet.

At one point, Elysse gave us a scare by disappearing on us. I found her way on the other side of the beach looking for her daddy. I'm so glad I found her before she had left the beach, which was where she was headed.

Night Surfing

Some of the most fun I have ever had occurred this last Friday night. The girls were tucked into bed and Grandma was home. With a full moon overhead and no breeze, Nate and I headed out to the beach to night surf (of course, no pics).

It was surreal. The whole reef lit up under the moon's light and stars dazzled up above. Black lines in the distance meant a wave was coming...or maybe it didn't. It was hard to tell, so sometimes a wave would come up and surprise us, but most of the time we were able to anticipate them alright. We caught wave after wave after wave and laughed at the fact we had the whole break to ourselves. What a luxury! Being in the dark, it was difficult to tell the height of the wave, so sometimes we'd have a big drop while catching the wave, or a big drop while going over the wave. We laughed, joked, played around, and had a most amazing time in the water at night. In fact, it was so fun we went Saturday night as well!

For those of you who are thinking we are out of our minds, I will tell you we went on stand up boards. I liked being able to see below us and did not like the thought of dangling my legs in the water. There happened to be a security guard on the beach because of the Menehune contest, just in case something happened. And the waves were chest high at the most.

Documented proof

Happening to have my camera in hand, I had to capture this moment of Ivy praising her mommy. I hope I won't need it for proof 10 years from now, but just in case I do, here it is. ;)

The girls are surfing!

The Menehune contest is this coming weekend. This is the surf contest for the kids, and the kick-off to the surfing contest season. Both Kezia and Ivy want to enter, despite their experience on the water. But their determination is still there, especially after learning that all contestants receive a t-shirt and a goodie bag. I was really impressed when I asked Kezia what we should do if her heat was on Sunday. She quickly said, "We'll just cancel the contest, then."

So we decided we'd better start practicing.

I was absolutely blown away the first day we went out. The waves were pretty sizeable, and even though we were only on the inside waves, they still had quite a bite! But Kezia wasn't even faded, and she called out, "Let's go! Let's go!"

Nate paddled out with her and pushed her a few times. Then they went out together and Kezia tried surfing side by side with Daddy.

Then to our surprise, she said, "I don't want you to come with. I want to go out all by myself." Wow. Was this the girl who just a year ago was terrified of the shore break?!?

So off she went, and like a giddy mom watching her child ride a bike alone for the first time, I watched her paddle out into the surf and try to catch waves. She fell off her board and her board flipped over, but like a pro she flipped it right back over, got back on, and tried to catch more waves. I was glowing this whole week -- in fact, I'm still glowing!

Ivy was no less a champ. She is in the kokua division, meaning she can have help in the water. Nate pushed her, and one time she fell off. It was pretty scary for her, but she got right back on the wave and rode one to shore. When she got to shore, she said, "That was scary, but it was so fun!"

Even Elysse played the "No Fear" card by playing in the rough shore break.

And can you believe I didn't have my camera to capture the moments?!?!

With it being Fall Break this week, we've been going out to the beach to practice as much as possible, but ironically, although the waves continue to get smaller and smaller, the girls' fears have become bigger and bigger. Both of them have caught more waves, and Elysse even caught one, but we'll see if their nerves allow them to compete this Saturday.

Here are some pics of them surfing and our time on the beach during the week:

Look how far they went out -- they're the 2 specks on the inside of the lineup (lineup: where the surfers gather to catch the waves). (Ivy and Elysse are playing in the foreground)

Once Elysse went out with Daddy to catch some inside waves. It was the wrong time to go out, since a set just came through, and she got pounded in the face three waves in a row. Thinking she'd come in shaking and fearful, I was surprised when she said, "That was fun. I liked that!"

And here is Kezia catching the Wave of the Day:

There was such a beautiful sunset one night, I want to share it with you in progression:

wow.

If you would like to send the girls some motivational comments, or give them a call, I'm sure they'd love it!

Happy Birthday, Nate!

Nate's birthday was this last week!

Kezia set up a pinata in a paper bag the day before.

(here we are with our pinata prizes)

If there is someone who is hard to find a gift for, it would be him. His passion is stand up paddling, and as the editor of supsurfmag.com, he's usually able to get what he wants for a very steep discount, so no need for me to pay full price for something! But there was one thing that is always on his mind that he does not get discounts on, and that is food. So I made him cinnamon rolls for breakfast and (drumroll please) BACON. And not just the skimpy transparent bacon. I got him the thick and juicy kind.

Kay gave him a new white shirt and nice shoes, a well-needed gift. The girls, as always, were so thoughtful in their gifts. Ivy colored pictures of him and made him a ball out of tape and streamers. Kezia asked me what he really wanted. I said a massage, so she gave him tickets for a free massage and a gold necklace. As a gift from me he received frozen burritos, beef jerky and Milano cookies. It turned out to be a gift for me as well, since he hasn't complained once this week of being hungry. ;)

Since it was conference weekend, and he said he was able to lie around without a bit of guilt, and even got the pleasure of a midmorning nap. (see him in the background?)

Our good friends the Plotts came over and we walked to the beach to watch the surf.

(Elysse, aka, snow white, promenading to the beach)

The girls and I walked around the rocks looking for shellfish.

(Ivy relocating a mollusk into her collection)

Nate received calls from family and friends. Thanks for calling!

Nate at 34 -- Does this man look relaxed or what?

Kay made chicken curry and Kezia and I made beef and broccoli for him. We had a bunch of friends over to enjoy the delicious chocolate-coconut cake Kay made. The crowd was bigger than we expected, and we crossed our fingers that there will be enough for everyone, and yet somehow we ended up with leftovers! And it wasn't because it didn't taste good.

So I hope he had a good birthday -- full of "Man"-food, plenty of rest, and good friends.

And then the day after, another birthday gift -- a new company sent Nate a "Skupboard" to review for the magazine. It's like a skateboard, but more geared toward surfers, kind of like a surfing training board, and it's super fun.

Kezia and Ivy had fun with the box of peanuts the board was sent in...

...but was it just a box of peanuts?!?

A Stand Up Paddle Wedding

Our friend Jodi Kealoha married Ricky Giaccaglia this last Friday evening...

on stand up paddle boards!!

Jodi is one of the head instructors for our stand up paddle school, Rainbow Watersports, and when she mentioned she was getting married, I suggested she get married on the river on stand up paddle boards! It had never been done before, as far as we know, and she and her fiance are big water people.

Well, they decided it was a great idea, and on Monday they said they wanted to get married the following Friday. They were excited to hear that the bishop of our church performs marriages for free, and better yet, he's such a fun guy that he probably would be willing to try out stand up paddling for the wedding. And he was.

Kezia and Ivy were the flower girls and Thursday night we went out for a trial run in a storm. I brought the girls back home late cold and hungry, but we were blessed the next day with beautiful weather.

I busied myself that day making bare every flower bush and tree I could lay my hands on, making hoku (head lei) and baskets of flowers for the wedding guests to through on the bride and groom as they passed under Rainbow Bridge. Next, what were we going to wear to the wedding? Especially since we are in it? (To be honest, this was a "wham, bam, thank you, ma'am" kind of wedding, with me keeping a prayer in my heart that everything would turn out alright, despite the lack of time I had to put things together.) I was able to find some sarongs in town that matched the color of the wedding, and I think the leis came out nicely.

I paddled while the girls threw flowers off the side from their baskets.

Many of the guests were paddlers in our SUP FIT class that Jodi, who is a physical trainer, teaches. It was so nice of them to come out. Most importantly, Jodi and Ricky were very happy, and, perhaps because I held my breath for so long, they did not drop the wedding rings as they transfered them over the water. It really was a nice wedding. Here are some pics that Nate, the photographer, took. Just a few hours beforehand, I told Nate, "Oh, by the way, you're the wedding photographer!" Did I mention how rushed we were to get things together? Thanks, Nate, for being so willing to help out.

Bishop Dale Rowley who performed the wedding, and their pastor, Larry. Bishop Rowley (and the groom) were willing to do this with only a short lesson I gave him the night before!

As soon as it was over I remembered, "Oops! I forgot to get things to decorate their car!" Kay was kind enough to go to Long's to get some goods and we had it all decorated for them by the time they came up from the bay. A week later, they still have remnants hanging off.

I'm glad it was a good memory.

I won!!!

I won a trip for 2 to Las Vegas!!

Not the most exciting location to be, in my opinion, nonetheless, I won!

I had entered a contest in a local magazine (Hawaii Parent Magazine) a few weeks ago in the hopes that I would find a cheap way to get to the reunion last August. Well, that plan didn't work out, however, they called at the beginning of September and I still won! Ha!

It made me realize that entering contests with a small readership will greatly increase your odds at getting picked; maybe I'll do so more often!

The package includes round trip airfare, 6 days/ 5 nights at the California Hotel, and meal vouchers for 3 meals a day for all 6 days. Wow. Nate and I have dreamt of going on a cruise so we don't have to worry about anything. This would be like a land cruise, and since we aren't big Vegas fans, we won't even feel pressure to even leave the hotel. Wahoo!

Now we are just trying to figure out when to go. Coordinating babysitting for 6 days is a bit trickier.

Anyone want to come stay in Hawaii for a few days? Round trip from LA right now is $344 on Hawaiian Airlines ;) Not free, but cheaper than usual!

Kezia's 7th Birthday Party!!

Kezia celebrated her 7th birthday August 21st while we were in Colorado with her cousins (Brent and Janae's families) and Ryan and Honey Hunt's family (Ryan and I were friends growing up). She is such a good girl, and I can't believe she is 7!! Older parents have 7 year olds, not young punks like us, so how did that happen?

Kezia wanted a unicorn party, and directed the decorating of the cake. Didn't she do a good job?

We first decorated unicorn horns, then played "Pin the Horn on the Unicorn". Then a witch came and turned everyone into unicorns, so they had to put their horns on their heads. We had an oat eating contest, but as everyone knows, unicorns don't eat just regular oats; they eat sugar coated oat cereal with marshmallow gems!

The kids had a contest, then the adults. I couldn't stop laughing as I watched the men snarfing down the cereal bits on either side of me, so I came in dead last. ;)

The witch had also hid the unicorn's jewels, but the unicorn had left hints all over the backyard on horseshoes. The kids scrambled to go find them then we put them all in order to find out where the treasure was.

It turned out they were water balloons! A whole cooler of water balloons was left empty in about 3 minutes.

Afterward, Kezia opened her generous gifts.

It was so nice for everyone to come join us, and for the help my sister and brother in law gave in putting it all on. I know Kezia felt really special, and that's what mattered.