30:30 You can do it, Brucey!

If this line does not ring a bell, it has been TOO long since you've watched Matilda. Here's the clip:

I figured I'd end the way I started: quoting the movies!

Am I going to continue the daily post? No. I'm too lazy. Maybe I should give myself that little speech, "You can do it, Kimi!" It HAS been fun. At the first, I felt like my brain was in "compose" mode the whole day long and I didn't love that. However, after the first two weeks, posting was more of a time of reflection on the days events. I liked that. I thought more of our "daily life" was represented, so I'll have to do more of that in my blogging. What am I going to do with the Project Life book? I'm still not sure. :)

Anyway, thanks for sticking with me. Until next time...

30:29

Today Lucy and I decorated for fall. This is a little shelf above my kitchen sink. The three apothocary jars are new this year (with old stuff inside). I got them from Ross for 10 bucks each. When I shop without children I can actually go into the glass section and find GREAT stuff! I thought I could use them for lots of different holiday decor, so into my cart they went. And it made my day! My original idea was to put candy corn, something chocolate and black licorice (since the jars are in my kitchen), but I have a hard time stopping once I start eating candy corn. I'd have no problem leaving the other two jars alone. :) Anyway, this little set-up should last me through to Thanksgiving (except the "Boo!" of course). Then maybe I'll put candy in them for Christmas.

Except I have the same "can't stop" issue with starlight mints.

30:28 Summersaults

New tricks!

30:27

I got the idea for the Nature Faces from this post. Austin needed a bit of help to make his into something that actually resembled a face, but the girls did pretty well. They made a few faces. Elise's next one was a monster with six eyes. And Lucy kept changing hers to resemble someone in the family and we'd have to guess who it was. Fun and easy family activity.

After the "creativity" thing with mom, they wrestled with dad. Isn't life as a kid great?

30:26 Playtime

30:25 K Bay Airshow

Today we went to the Airshow at Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps Base. Austin was in heaven. That was my favorite part of the day - watching that kid get so excited at the helicopters and airplanes. His eyes and "pointer finger" were glued to the sky. Lucy and Elise - um, not so much. Instead of watching the show, they colored on the notepads from the many booths offering free stuff. They also spent a lot of time in the YMCA playdough booth. I would say, "Look at that cool trick." And Lucy would nod and say, "Mmm hmm, " barely looking up. We didn't last the whole airshow (its a good 5 hours long) but came home with five waterbottles. I'd say it was a successful day.

30:24

September is a month of the Aloha festivals. Here is Lucy in her King Kamehameha hat she made at school. We went to one Aloha festival event and definitely chose the wrong one. Next year I think we'll hit the big parade (if I can talk George into it. He's not a fan of parades :).

**Bit slow on the posting. Internet was down yesterday.**

30:23 Sisters, Silly Bandz and Shoes

30:22

George got this nifty little Nook electronic book reader thing from the pediatric residents when we left. Nice "thank you" gift, don't you think? He loves the thing and recently got me hooked on sudoku. I've pretty much played a game every day for the past two weeks. I thought I was getting pretty good until a game on the "easy" level stumped me (not the one pictured above :). Guess I need more practice. :) I still haven't attempted a game on the "medium level" but you know what they say, "Put in 10,000 hours and you are a master at whatever you attempt." What a great goal!

30:21

This is what I see when I walk up the stairs... my little cuties at 9 months. Awwww.... can't help but make you smile.

30:20 Eating

Today, the toddlers and I went grocery shopping. This has been quite the event in the past, but today was better. I finally know my way around the commissary and was done with everything in an hour, using only two packages of fruit snacks as "boredom stoppers." I'd say that is success. As I was putting groceries away, I decided I needed to throw out a bunch of ice from the bottom of my deep freezer. So I unloaded everything and used my dustpan to scoop and throw to the grass. Naturally, Elise and Austin picked up pieces and stuck them in their mouths. By the time I took this picture, most of the ice had melted or was in their bellies. But they were spitting chunks out and saying "grass" so I'd say it was a learning experience.

Chocolate pudding was for lunch. Big improvement over dirty ice. Don't you love the difference in mess with these two? When Elise gets dirty, she immediately says, "Mom, I need a napkin." That word is not in Austin's vocabulary. By the time he was finished, his cup, the floor, his face, elbows, right leg, and both hands were very brown.

30:19 Face mask

30:18 Primary Party

Today was the quarterly primary party. It was held at Kualoa Beach park. We had a yummy lunch, flew kites, played kickball and (of course) played in the water.

Forgot the camera, so thanks go to Amber for this cute picture.

30:17 Friday swimming

For the first two months of school, Lucy's kindergarten class goes to a nearby pool every Friday afternoon. Another grade in the school joins them each week, but the Kindergartners go all 8 weeks! Today they were joined by the 2nd graders. What a party! Lucy has a ball and her swimming skills have improved too. I've joined in as chaperone/driver about half the time. Today I finally figured out how to keep these two toddlers from wearing me out during this little outing. There's no "baby section" and both of them (but Elise especially) are pretty fearless. Sometimes another mom will take one on a swim. But today Elise finally decided she liked the intertube floatie thing which meant I could handle both of them quite well. Funny its taken me this long to figure it out as I've carted nearly every flotation device we own to the pool. Its always the last thing you try, right? Next week is the last week, but I heard today that "Friday playtime at the park" is next. Yay for field trips!

30:16 Nerd alert!

30:15 Two new recipes

This week I tried two different recipes. Sadly, I usually experiment when we have company. Its good we have people over. Otherwise, its a lot of the same 'ol, same 'ol.

The first experiment was for Sunday dinner, a watermelon salad - watermelon, fresh mint leaves, and sliced red onion. I got the recipe from Real Simple magazine. They were doing a "3 ingredient dishes" article. I thought it looked beautiful and tasted fine. I must say that I love the smell of mint. It reminds me of my grandma Marjie, so I planted some. She put it in lemonade for many family parties growing up.

The second dish was last night's meal: grilled pineapple chicken quesadillas. They looked fine but tasted absolutely delicious. The tortillas were filled with BBQ chicken, grilled pineapple, monterrey jack cheese, jalapenos, and cilantro. I got this recipe from the Pioneer Woman. Her pictures are much more appetizing. But I must say, I think our pineapple would have been the winner in a contest. The pineapple here is as sweet as candy. And who doesn't like candy on a quesadilla?

30:14 Playgroup at Lanikai beach

The kids played in the water a little bit, but most of the time was spent on the sand - playing with trucks and chasing (and then running away from) the birds.

30:13 "At Grandma's house"

One of the not-so-great things about living far away from home are days like "grandparents day" at school. We just have to make the best of it, so we borrowed a "grandma" from church. She was very sweet to be willing to go, especially since she doesn't know us well at all and a chunk of grandparents day was looking through Lucy's workbook, page by page. Lucy brought it home afterwards and went through each page with me as well. It was a conversation like "See. These are rhyming words. So I connected fan and can. Can you see that rhymes?" Isn't the lady a saint!?! It was a bit long even for me and I'm actually related. The grandparents shared something they remembered when they were in kindergarten and they shared a big lunch together. Lucy told me she had three deserts and her substitute grandma said she didn't have to eat anything she didn't like. Sounds like a true grandma, huh? :) They also had a program. We thought the real grandparents would like to listen to one of the songs. We miss you!


I'm having youtube issues. If this video doesn't work, try this link.

30:12

Fun times at Nursery

In church, most speakers begin with "Aloha" and everyone repeats it back. Austin now does this. Its great. And I thought he wasn't paying attention? :) Elise says "a-hol-a".

30:11

Elise is very serious about taking care of her baby.

-------------------------

Since it is Patriot Day, I thought I'd share the link of a youtube video my friend shared with me. It doesn't have anything to do with the actual Sept 11 attacks, but results of that horrible day - more soldiers going to Iraq and Afghanistan. I watched it again last night and cried some more. Recently a friend came home from serving our country and more are coming home this fall. We are very grateful to know such fine families. God Bless America! Get a tissue: Soldier Homecomings

30:10

Today I wanted to quickly (while the two little ones were asleep) spray paint some metal for a project I am trying to copy. Lucy wanted to help. I let her do a few things and then realized she would be very red if I let her continue. We were planning on going to an outdoor movie at her school that evening and I really didn't want to bring a tomato-colored child. I told her to get the camera and take close-up pictures of things around the yard and I would try to guess what they were after I was done. I admit, she stumped me on a few.

30:9

"...fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness..."

and (in our family) be the main instigator of spontaneous fun.

This month, I've been reading posts on Chocolate on my Cranium and We talk of Christ blogs. They are celebrating the 15 year anniversary of the The Family: A Proclamation to the world by doing "family" posts and giveaways all month long. (can you really believe its been 15 years?) Its been interesting to read people's viewpoints on different family topics and sparked some good ideas for us to try. I sure love my little family!

30:8 Perfomance

On Wednesdays, our church holds free ukulele, bon dance (kind of like Japanese line dancing) and hula classes for the community. Lucy and I go to the "hula for fitness" class. Our teacher is Lina Girl (she's the one in yellow at the front) and she's so funny. Plus she's really kind to people who struggle. I finally rounded up a skirt at goodwill and when I put it on in class, she kept saying, "Its too high on your waist. LOWER. LOWER. LOWER. " and finally came over to put it where it goes. :) Her husband Bruddah Sam plays the ukulele while we dance. Great fun. I must admit, I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to remembering what comes next. I guess its been too long since the dancing days. Anyway... the Bon dance season goes April through Sept so they had their closing social and all the people from the other classes were invited to demonstrate what they've learned. Here we are doing "Ulupalakua". I think its a mountain? It has something to do with being home of the Cowboys? Yeah... not real sure. Anyway, I'm the one in the white shirt. And I'm sure you can tell which one is Lu.

First on the program was a pot luck dinner. Oh my. There were so many things I've never tried. If I wasn't in such a large company, I'd have sampled a bite of everything on the table. Sushi, some Filipino dishes that George loved, star fruit (the guy who brought those offered us to take a bunch home when he saw Austin practically inhale it, with juice running down his face and shirt. "He likes fruit, ya?"), all sorts of yummy flavors of ice cream... I could go on an on. I brought my best hot chili dip and tortilla chips. Hmmmmm... one of these things is not like the others...

The whole program was great, but we especially enjoyed the older "Uncle" (in his 80's?) who sang a Filipino solo and started dancing during the interlude. He got a standing ovation and deservedly so. What a party!

30:7 Tongan drums

Today we visited the Polynesian Culture Center with Brooke and her boys. A highlight for me was the drummer from Tonga trying to get his volunteers to copy his actions. All three of them couldn't figure out how to end the classic "shave and a haircut... two bits" rhythm. You know... dum dunna dum dum... dum dum! All three of the guys couldn't follow that he wanted them to finish the last two notes after he played the first melody. They would just copy what he did. I laughed so hard.

When we got home, I told Elise to tell her dad what she saw today. Her eyes got really big and she said, "I see Monsters EEEEEEEEEEnc!" ??? Not sure where she pulled that. Throughout the day, she kept saying, "I see scary face!" when she saw pictures and masks and such. Still... its a stretch.

Thanks for a great afternoon, Brooke and boys!

I just have to add something... remember how I bragged that I killed a big fat cockroach? Well, the truth is, it was close to dead already. You know... on its back and squirming. I was still proud of myself for coming that close to it and finishing the job. I have to come clean. Its important to the next story. SO.....last night I was going to bed (this is around midnight) and I see the roach's big fat older brother on my wall in the hall upstairs. He's was there for revenge, I am sure. My bedroom is at the end of the hall, so I squeeze myself as skinny as I can on the opposite side of the wall from the roach and run as fast as I can to get George. He is dead to the world and tells me to grab a shoe. I am thinking to myself, "I can do hard things. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can." I swat at it and miss (no surprise). It FLIES toward me. I had no idea cockroaches have this power. Call me a moron, I'm okay with it. I start SCREAMING and running (backwards) toward my bedroom as the roach is bouncing off the walls. George thinks I have cut off my finger and comes to my rescue. It flies AT ME and I (naturally) FREAK as I feel it hit my ponytail. I hand the shoe to George, who can't see it. A thought of horror. I throw off my shirt in panic and ... you guessed it. That's where the roach was. George sees it on my bum and swats it dead. All of this while I am screaming with the volume and hysterics of being chased by a lion. But the kids didn't wake up. :)

So...you think I am the biggest wimp you have ever heard of? Well... you are exactly right. And... I think I'm in trouble.

30:6 One, Two, Three... Jump!

After a bit of labor and a big 'ol Family Home Evening lesson on the importance/necessity of work (not that anyone in our family needs that lesson :), we relaxed by eating pizza and playing at the Aikahi school playground.

*This is Elise's favorite outfit. She calls it "my dancing" and wants to wear it every single day.*

30:5 Racoon

Missed a few spots applying sunscreen to Lucy's face yesterday. Oops!

30:4 Shrimp

This morning we hung out at Waimea Bay and had a great time. It was a beautiful day and the water was, as Geo described it, "swimming-pool" clear. Austin said, "I like-a da beach" and I think we all agree.

On the way home we stopped at Giovanni's shrimp truck on the side of the road. It came highly recommended and was really yummy. It looks like a dive (can you see Austin "reading" the signed truck?) but the shrimp was delish. However, the kids preferred the pina colada from the truck parked nearby. Hands down.

30:3 I killed this in my den

Lucy's Kindergarten teacher told me I would get to the point where I would kill cockroaches with my bare feet.

Not on your life.

30:2 Story time

On Thursday, we usually go to the library for toddler Story time. Sadly, the librarians are quite crabby. (On the first day, the library security guard gave me the "head nod" to the door. Honestly. But that is another story). Anyway, the convenience of location keeps me going back rather than finding a new place. Plus, I'm kind of stubborn. Two weeks ago, we checked out the book "Falling for Rapunzel" by Leah Wilcox. Both girls think it is SO funny. The prince calls up to Rapunzel and tells her to throw down her hair, but she can't hear him and throws down a bunch of other things. The one that gets the most laughs is "underwear", of course. Austin's favorite part is when the prince gets knocked out. We only know this because each time he sees the picture he says: "Night, night Prince!" Today we read it one more time before surrendering it back to the library.

30:1 Last Box

Name that movie:

Wife: I'm calling to celebrate a momentous occasion. We are now *officially* moved in.
Husband: That's great, honey. And the last three years don't count because...
Wife: Because I finally unpacked the last box. Now it's official! Ha ha ha! Why do we have so much junk?

Lacey, if you don't get the answer in 3 seconds, Benji would be very disappointed in you.

Every day?

My cousins got me interested in Becky Higgins Project Life. The basic idea is to take a picture every day and do a small bit of journaling about it as opposed to doing major scrapbook fancy pages. She has it in a kit so you basically just have to DO it (take a picture, print it and write something) ... all the cute stuff is already done and its all organized with little photo/journaling slots and everything. Anyway, I bought the year kit in January not knowing what I would do with it. Maybe use it for a scrapbook of our whole time in HI? Maybe use it as a "visitors" scrapbook and put pictures of everyone who comes over? I'm not sure. Any ideas? Obviously, its still in the box. Waiting for something. Ha! That is the story of lots of "projects" of mine. Anyway, I don't really scrapbook anymore and right now adding "one more thing" sounds overwhelming. I love the whole idea... to capture real life and not only the major events. And really, its not a hard thing to do. Its just once I start, I don't want to quit in the middle. So, I thought I'd give myself a "trial run." I thought I'd try a month of posting a picture every day in September. Sooooo..... here goes.....