No Lion, The Zoo Was Grrreat!

The end of the year is near. The signs of it are everywhere: painful moments in the morning when the alarm goes off, more buying lunch days, nervous energy after visiting the 2nd grade classrooms, and fieldtrips!

I enjoyed strolling around the Honolulu Zoo today with HS and some of his friends. They marveled at some of the animals, peered into see the gekos and lizards, jumped at the chance to take photos together, and talked the day away.

LD had her 1st petting zoo experience and was in awe of the goats as HS led her around their pen. She waved to each of them and made the circle saying "hi!" at least a dozen times.

As we ventured back home, LD promptly fell asleep snoring and dreaming of the goats, no less. HS babbled in the backseat and retold tales of his visit with his friends to the zoo. I declare the last 1st grade fieldtrip of the year a resounding success. It was grrreat!

Bridging Over

What the Scout Law Means to Me ~ John Wayne

TRUSTWORTHY
The badge of honesty. Having it lets you look at any man in the eye. Lacking it he won't look back. Keep this one at the top of your list.
LOYAL
The Very word is life itself, for without loyalty we have no love of person or country
HELPFUL
Part sharing, part caring. By helping each other, we help ourselves, not to mention mankind. Be always full of help -- the dying man's last words.
FRIENDLY
Brotherhood is part of that word. You can take it in a lot of directions - and do - but make sure and start with brotherhood.
COURTEOUS
Allow each person his human dignity which means a lot more than saying, "yes ma'am" and "thank you sir". It reflects an attitude that later in life you wish you had honored more... earlier in life. Save yourself that problem. Do it now.
KIND
This one word would stop wars and erase hatreds. But its like your bicycle, its just no good unless you get out and use it.
OBEDIENT
Starts at home. Practice it in your family. Enlarge it in your friends. Share it with humanity.

CHEERFUL
Anyone can put on a happy face when the going is good. The secret is to wear it as a mask for your problems. It might surprise you how many others do the same thing.
THRIFTY
Means a lot more than putting pennies away, and it is the opposite of cheap. Common sense covers it just about as well as anything.
BRAVE
You don't have to fight to be brave. Millions of good, fine, decent folks show more bravery than heavyweight champs just by getting out of bed every morning, going out to do a good day's work and living the best life they know how against the law of odds.
CLEAN
Soap and waters help a lot on the outside. But it is the inside that counts and don't ever forget it.
REVERENT
Believe in anything that you want to believe in, but keep God at the top of it. With Him, life can be a beautiful experience. Without Him, you are just biding time.

Last night as the sun set over us, a time of being a Tiger cub also passed by. It seems just like yesterday that we were signing HS and attending our first den meeting. Throughout the year, we've watched him grow, love participating in events with his fellow pack members, and shine as he worked toward the moment of walking across the bridge to the waiting new kerchief, slide, handbook, and hat of a Wolf.


After watching all of his den mates cross the bridge after being asked two pivotal questions, it was HS's turn. He stood at the edge of the bridge and beamed as the Cub Master's voice boomed, " ____________ are you ready to continue on in your cub scout journey? Are you willing to continue to follow the laws of the pack and uphold the cub scout motto?" Without hesitation, HS responded, "YES!" and made his way over to receive his new colors.

I must admit, tears welled. For HS, this evening marked a steady progress toward a goal that he set for himself. HH and I did little to encourage him joining. We wanted him to set out on this path, but he announced the desire before we could even steer him towards it. Our times of watching him fulfill a goal, however major or minor, will always bring a tear. He has drive, determination, and a spark for success. May that intentness and focus for things that he believes are important reach new heights and empower him to always leap over the next hurdle that life throws. Cub Scouts will endeavor to teach him skills to surpass the hurdle, HS will absorb as much as he can, and by next year's end, we will once again find ourselves tearing up with pride as a bridge stands before him and he awaits his turn to announce and cross over his awaiting pack.


Way to go, HS! A proud new Wolf! You will continue to be inspired and achieve the symbolic meaning behind being a Wolf as you hone your power, strength, and courage.

Flags, Leis, and Scouts

The greatest glory of a free-born people is to transmit that freedom to their children. ~William Havard

The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (otherwise known as the Punchbowl) is now officially draped in the beauty of the red, white, and blue. Hundreds of scouts descended upon the hallowed ground with one mission: place flags and leis on each of the stones. HS and HH set off early this morning to help fulfil this mission and returned home late this afternoon full of pride. I asked them each to answer the following questions: What was the most rewarding thing you did today? What was the reason for placing the flags and leis for each stone? What will you remember the most from today?



HS: I went with daddy and I got to say thank you to all the dead people. It was nice to place the leis down. I'm going to remember that. We went and placed the flags so that all those who are down in the ground will know we thank them and remember them. They will like the flags that all the kids made. It makes the cemetery very nice.

HH: Watching HS place the leis on the headstones was my most rewarding. Placing the flags and leis is a good way to remember those who have done so much for our country. I will remember the moment of looking out and seeing all the scouts working so hard.



As you prepare for Memorial Day tomorrow, what are some of the things that you could find yourself doing besides enjoying a hamburger and chips? Memorial Day has signified the beginning of the summer for many, but you can modify and add a few things into your day to ensure that the true meaning of the day lives on in the hearts of our children. A website I found today provided many ways to observe Memorial Day and restore the true meaning of this significant holiday.

Memorial Day reminds us of our duties towards the wounded soldiers and the bereaved families, orphans and widows of the dead soldiers. We should honor the dead by adorning their sacred remains with flowers and garlands and show our gratitude towards them in the following ways:

Adorning the graves of the soldiers with flags or flowers.
Visiting cemeteries and memorials.
Furling the American Flag at half-mast until noon.
Furling the 'POW/MIA Flag'.
Keep silence for a minute at 3 p.m., 'National Moment of Remembrance' and listen to Taps being played.
Take a pledge to aid the disabled veterans, widows, widowers and orphans of the dead and keep it.
You may support the efforts to restore the traditional day of observance of Memorial Day back to May 30th.
Offering thanks to the veterans and appreciating the ultimate sacrifices of the soldiers to the bereaved families personally may help too.

Mamma Mia!

Aye, aye, aye! I've got the music of ABBA pulsating through my veins tonight! HH is truly a gem. For the past eight months I've been doing a countdown for May's main event. Our anniversary. Yes, I've already blogged about the fact that we celebrated our 13th this year, but did I happen to mention how we were celebrating? Well, gimme! gimme! gimme! just a moment and I'll tell you.

HH surprised me with tickets in my ultimate favorite section for musicals: the orchestra. He lay all his love on me and took a chance on me being able to find a sitter for the matinee. HH is a real super trouper. After enjoying Thai curry for lunch (one of our favorite styles of food), it was time for us to enjoy the show. The seats were close enough to not only feel the music reverberating within my soul, but just one look and I forgot everything as I watchrd the faces and marveled at the sound. There was no way that from these seats anything would be slipping through my fingers.

For those Chiquitita's who don't think anything can be better than watching the movie of Mamma Mia, you'll be the dancing queen and be singing thank you for the music as you leave the concert hall. The costumes, actors, and dance sequences were spectaculor. I teared up during the prelude as I realized that my dream of attending this show had come to be my reality.

Honey, honey if you don't know it yet, I would say I do, I do, I do, I do all over again!

Aloha on the Lanai

It's Friday...do you know where your neighbors are? Well, if you're in our neighborhood, you'd find yourself once a month enjoying conversation, drinks, music and the tradewinds of Hawaii during Aloha Friday.

This month, I stepped forward to host and enjoyed gearing up a good Memorial day themed event with two of our returning back from deployment neighbors as the guests of honor. The tiki bar was decked out in the red, white, and blue as the paper lanterns danced in the breezes over our heads in the lanai. Refreshing cocktails, laughter, and conversation flowed easily as we all relaxed. Now this is the way all Friday's should be in the land of A-loooo-ha.

Ap*pre*ci*a*tion

Ap.pre.ci.a.tion~n. Recognition of the quality, value, significance, or magnitude of people and things.

This morning I attended the last PTG meeting of HS's 1st grade year. It's so hard to wrap my head around the fact that within two weeks, HS will no longer be a 1st grader. [I will save my thoughts on this for another post] The year has gone so quickly. I've really tried to immerse myself in volunteering with his school projects. LD has been a real trooper and from her stoller, can supervise all the tasks: goody basket assembly lines for Teacher Appreciation week, care packages for soldiers, distributing holiday grams to all the classrooms, cutting laminated items for teachers every Thursday, monitoring the lunch recess, or glue gunning American flags to dowels. Trust me. She's one tough supervisor. Don't let that cute chubby cheek smile fool ya!

I owe a lot of the school's success to not only an outstanding group of teachers, but a very active group of parents. It has been fun to step forward. With a relatively inactive military spouses' group for this current command, I have found that I have double the amount of energy to pour into the school. HS seems to thrive off the days when I say, "yep...I'll be in school today!" He seeks me out just to give a hug and a kiss, and yes, it is my way of ensuring he knows that wherever he goes, I'll be interested in what he's doing (LD's school experience will be much the same only I won't be the noobie in PTG work).

Today, after giving a lot of time, talent, and love into school projects, the faculty and staff held a breakfast in honor of the parent/grandparent volunteers. It was a way to say "we appreciate you" when most of us don't even blink an eye when a request is made...we just raise our hand and say, "I'll help." So, what a nice way to finish off a PTG year. Breakfast, caring volunteers, and a wonderful faculty and staff. May next year be just as good only with even more eager volunteers.

Hero's Homecoming

Today I felt honored. Honestly and truly honored to be asked by one of my friends in the neighborhood to take photos of her family as they welcomed home her husband from an IA. It was to be my first military homecoming that didn't take place within the comforts of a military base. I've been watching and helping out with some of the preparations leading up to this day. The anticipation has been building within them for a while now. Banners were meticulously made, hung, and arranged. Yellow ribbons flanked the pillars on their front porch. Dresses and shirts were purchased and the pantry stocked with favorite yummies. All that was missing was the hero of their home.

What an awesome moment it was to watch their family be reunited. How fantastic it was to hear the clapping of the civilians around me as I snapped the family's first embrace after saying farewell months ago. They touched me today. They've also made me thankful that the military provides such a wonderful extended family.

As we were driving back to the neighborhood, I could hear their eldest daughter (7) sigh with relief and then whisper, "I'm gonna remember this day forever." Remember she will. Just as I remember all the times my father walked back through our door after serving. A hero exists in all military families. One wears a uniform with pride, the other is the one who is less obvious. The one who makes the family continue on as if life were just as normal as any other child's would be.

Only on a homecoming day, the realization is that only a few are called to the duty to their country and the nation praises these individuals with applause. The nation rejoices in the arrival of one of these hero's and the sacrifices they and their family has made in order to keep the freedoms they enjoy. Is it worth the separation? Is it worth the loneliness? Is it worth the sleepless nights? Yes. I believe it is. The future of what these heroes, both military member and spouse do now will impact the generation whose eyes glow when their daddy return home.

I, too, will remember this day. So should you. Honor those men and women who are paying the ultimate price for your freedoms. Say thank you. Offer to assist a spouse who is taking care of the home front while their spouse fights for those things that you hold dear. Hug the children whose daddy or mommy can't hug them or kiss them goodnight. Applaud them when they return so that the room reverberates with your thanks.

Reach Out, Fall In, Leave an Impact

Sometimes all it takes is a little piece of paper and a quote to provide just the *Wham!* over the head that you needed to get yourself motivated. Today, was my day to get hit over the head by the quote bug.

Communication is depositing part of yourself in another person. ~Anonymous

It hit me hard enough that even the basic morning tasks, like getting my coffee, went to the side burner. Used to my morning routine, HS had to remind me that I was in the cabinet to get my mug. "Thanks, darlin'. Mommy will be right back to reality once she rubs her head, puts on her big girl panties and says, geesh...I need to communicate better." I thought.

I've gotten worse about communicating over the years. The phone rings and I have to admit, sometimes I let it ring. Calling people back, writing letters or emails, or stopping by for a chat are infrequent. They used to be vital. What on Earth happened? I'm missing a key element of life: sharing.

I need to stop:

checking Facebook so frequently. That's not listening to my friends, that's reading about what's happening in their lives and not being their in person or over the phone to hear the excitement or sadness.

getting so bloody angry whenever HS has a bad day at school. It destroys the rest of the afternoon and pushes him away from talking about the little things.

holding on to grudges. It's not staying on the high road and only makes me feel worse about past events. Let it go. Listen to the words, "forgive me" and allow the forgiveness to flow.

being so forgetful. Paper is an excellent tool to remember to call to say, "how is your day? thanks for calling me earlier!"

saying yes to everything. Things that aren't important should be tabled to a later time. Too much of saying "yes" to every request has led to a decrease in the availability I once had just to talk to friends.

I need to:

call a friend out of the blue just to say, "what's going on?" and then listen more than being the main focal point with what I'm doing.

listen to HS without critiquing his every move.

be willing to listen to office "drama" without complaint or advising. I don't know the military, I'm just the spouse.

Skype with my friends and family more often. It's a double win: free and I can see the facial expressions as they talk.

I've set my goals. Communication is a two way street. It's time to reach out, fall in, and leave an impact on my friends and my family. My path had become very jarbled. Listening and speaking with others became more of an annoyance because I felt like I lacked the time and energy. Enough of waiting for the "perfect" amount of time to talk. There's never going to be enough time in the day...it only takes a second to call and say hello. I've begun to do some roadwork on the bumps and potholes in my ability to communicate. How about your side?

Thirteen Years

An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow. ~Author Unknown

If I felt like a Queen yesterday for Mother's Day, I feel like an Empress today. This day marks our 13th Wedding Anniversary. I went to sleep last night pondering that number. 13. 13 years of sharing my life with my HH. 4,745 days spent thinking of one another and building our lives together. 111,380 hours relishing in life's joys and sorrows. It is amazing.

When we announced we were getting married, I can remember the low grumbling among those who we held dear...they're too young. They may not make it. Well. 13 years later we are still together and stronger than ever. HH is still the one that makes my heart sing, my mind go dizzy when we're able to have life slow down enough to truly relish the joys of just being together, and yes, no matter how many times I may think we got married too young, the same point always comes back: we've grown up together just like a mighty tree and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Trece . Ju-san. 13. 13 Wonderful years. I may be very superstitious (those who have known me since before we were married know that everything was an omen)when it comes to numbers (I would take an even number over an odd any day) but right now, I'm relishing. We've had some pretty wonderful moments together over those years. I'm ready to dive back into another year spent with a man who certainly worked very hard to make me realize that he was my soul mate.

Here's just a brief snapshot of 13 things that make me love being with HH:

13. Dreaming of our future over glasses of wine are always nice on the lanai.
12. Watching movies snuggled up on the sofa are heavenly.
11. Eating delicious fresh sushi in Tsukiji is awesome.
10. Seeing his face in our children's faces when he's deployed.
9. Snorkeling just the two of us holding hands.
8. Hiking and stopping to sit on a log just to look at eachother for a moment.
7. Crawling in to bed and and then just listening to him breathe. Thankful he's
home.
6. Traveling Asia together and being shocked that we fit in so well with anal
retentive countries.
5. Singing crazy songs just because.
4. Craddling our children as babies for the 1st time and realizing we get to do
that forever with them.
3. Deployment homecomings
2. Thinking enough about me on a run that he brings back one of my favorites:
plumeria.
1. Kissing and then realizing that one of kids is staring up at us with a smile
from an ear to ear.


I love you, darlin'. Happy 13th Anniversary.

Queen for a Day

This has been the best Mother's Day ever. It all began with listening to the sounds of my family try to sneek up the stairs:

"Here...let me take this, HS, it may fall."
"NO. I have it Dad!"
"Mum mmmeeee"

The door creaked open. Then, the patter of feet, the touch of my children's hands on mine and a loud shout roused me from my slumbers: Happy Mommy's Day!!! I focused my attention to the proud faces of my children holding onto my breakfast for the mornin'.

As they climbed into bed with me and shared toast with honey, HH chatted away to me with his morning coffee. For today, I will be Queen for the day. My family has certainly pulled the red carpet out and put a crown on my head that resides within my heart. I can't dream of being anywhere else than here.

New Smile

Oh, I lost a tooth,
Whatever shall I do?
I'm left with a window and my tongue is sticking through.
I laugh and I giggle each time I look at you!
Oh, I lost a tooth
Whatever shall I do?

Today was monumental. I'm quickly beginning to discover that everyday is pretty important around our household. There's always something going on. It can be little minute details that make you pause briefly as you continue on to another task...like Kendo snuggling up on my computer chair whenever I stand up to tuck it in. It can be the necessary day-to-day activities, laundry, emptying the dishwasher, taking HS to school, or sitting and playing on the floor with LD. Or, pretty darn important things. Like losing a tooth and preparing for the tooth fairy.

HS has been waiting for weeks for his second wiggly tooth to decide to fall out. Each morning and before bedtime and many moments in between those time periods, HS would announce the current state of his wiggly tooth.
"It's kinda wiggly."
"I betcha if I eat all those apples my tooth would come out!" (I betcha you'd be on the toilet a lot too if you ate a bag of apples)
"Guess what...it's wiggling more today than yesterday. I'm really working on it today."
"Mom, by the time you see me again I'll have a hole in my mouth. I know today is the day this wiggly tooth will come out."
"Maybe if I wiggle it all day long each second of every hour it would come out. I'll have to tell Mrs. B that I can't do any work today because I've got to get this tooth out." (hmmmmm....seems logical, but nope. School work is more pressing.)

Well, you get the idea from just the brief snippets. He has been a riot to listen to. I've really enjoyed watching him gear up to lose this tooth. So, today was the day. Upon picking him up from school today, I got a bullet fire of thumbs up signs from him as I pulled up the cat bus in the carpool line. As he clamored into the car he was glowing and giggling to himself. He looked at me with a smile ear to ear and a tongue...a tongue sticking through the space where that wiggly tooth used to be.

It had happened. All that hard work and dedication to seeing that tooth come out had reached it's final boiling point...during the phonics lesson. "Boy. You should have seen it mommy, I was bleeding and holding the tooth out so everyone could see it. Then, I got to go see the nurse. WOW! Look! I've got my little, itty bitty tooth right here." He proudly held out a Ziploc baggy holding the sacred tooth. "I'm telling you...the tooth fairy is going to love adding this one to her castle...it's so shiny!!!" The litany of the tooth went on as we drove home, stopped to get gas, and got out of the car to make our way inside. Before heading inside he made a victory lap through the neighborhood to show off his lost treasure to all his little buds.


As we placed the tooth in the special tooth fairy box, HS pondered what would happen. "Do you think she'll [the tooth fairy] be able to get the box open? It's awfully tight." "What if the box falls off the bed in the middle of the night?" "Do you think she gives kisses to all the kids before leaving with the tooth or does she just do that for me?"

When I peered into his room before going to sleep that night, HS was deep in sleep. One hand, of course, draped over the precious box. Protecting. Dreaming. Preparing.

PS: HS's announcement the following morning: "Mom! The tooth fairy left me a half dollar! Guess I'm going to keep her busy...the tooth next to the one I just lost is wiggly!" So the new quest and daily wiggle tooth announcements begin.

Celebrate a Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Your year has been busy,
Your smiles have crossed the waters
and made us all giddy!

Mom's like you are hard to find
I'm so thankful that you are mine!

You've grown another year older
but in my eyes, you'll always be just the
same mom that has always made my heart sing!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Thank you for all the smiles, the laughter, the love, and the help you've given to me over the years. I know I kept you on your toes when I was younger and boy am I glad you stayed on my side and always pushed me further than I thought was ever possible. You've instilled a love of learning, a joy in adventuring (can't wait until we have another joint adventure together!), and a desire to think outside the box. Your mothering and personality is now being passed to the next generation who clearly think the world of you, too! Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you all the way around the world and back again a zillion times!!!

Morning Gardener

It's Spring and rapidly approaching summer. The days have gotten longer, the sun has stayed more intense, and the birds are singing so sweetly around our bird feeder that I couldn't resist planting more flowers. We had already begun the planting process and after a trip to the NEX garden shop, we were ready to resume our try at being green thumbs in Hawaii. Typically, LD may peer at the flower caddy, but nothing more. However, that would all change in one rising of the sun.

LD was drawn to the flowers as they trailed from their holders. She marveled at them as she sat in her chair munching on a piece of toast and gulping down milk as we enjoyed her breakfast on the lanai. She couldn't take those baby blue eyes of hers off of them. I am convinced that her love affair with them began the evening prior to her breakfast. During that time, she had taken it under her responsibilities to wander around the lanai gathering plants that I had so meticulously placed in preparation for their final potting moment. She had other plans. She carefully bent down to pick up the temporary pots and then one by one she brought them over to me. Beaming. So, needless to say, this morning infatuation was otherwise postponed due to her sleep time the evening before.

After finishing her breakfast of oatmeal and banana, she toddled right to where those precious temporary pots had once again been placed. She carried them back to me and that was when the reality hit. She was ready to don her gardening gloves and get into that dirt and make something grow. She was a riot as we tried to plant those flowers yearning for the earth's embrace around their precious roots. LD tenderly pulled them free and then plopped her chubby hands down beside it as gingerly as one 17 month old could possibly do.

LD is now officially a "gardener" and a little caretaker to God's petaled miracles.

Lei Day, May Day!

"...May Day is Lei Day in Hawai`i
Garlands of flowers ev'rywhere,
All of the colors in the rainbow
Maidens with blossoms in their hair
Flowers that mean we should be happy,
Throwing aside a load of care,
Oh, May Day is Lei Day in Hawai`i
Lei Day is happy day out there."
~ Red Hawke, 1928

I remember when I was a little girl, we all gathered outside, usually in the freezing Montana winds, and danced around the May Day pole with flowers in our hair. We had performances by the band and choir, and each grade level showcased whatever dance they had worked on for the past month or so before May 1st. That memory doesn't go far into my childhood. It seems as though in many parts of the mainland we've lost that tradition and celebration.

Well, in Hawaii, my fleeting childhood memory is alive. Here May day is a huge celebration of song, tradition, and hula. Throughout the islands, schools,and parks, May Day or Lei Day as it is known here, are held. It iswonderful to see so many flowers, enjoy the hula dances, and see the kids dressed in their Hawaiian attire. HS wore his Aloha shirt, kukui nut lei, and declared as he got back into the cat bus at the end of the day: "This is the day to rejoice in what the Lord hath made!!!"

Well, although not exactly the literal meaning of this celebration, I can't wait to marvel once more at the flowers, smell the fragrance of plumeria, gardenia, and ginger waft through the church as the band plays Hawaiian music, and the hula kumu (teacher) sheds a tear as she watches her students preform their sacred dances in front of a sea of Hawaiian fabric clad children.