Thunderbirds in the Sky

Ahhhh...the roar of an engine, the booming thunder over your head that makes your chest vibrate with the glory of freedom flying in the skies. We found ourselves living in the midst of the flight pattern during the base's open house in which the Air Force Thunderbirds were the highlight of the show. Although a proud Navy family, I find it hard not to marvel at the speed, sound, and skill of the Thunderbirds. We took our lawn chairs out and sat near the harbor and enjoyed the thunder over our head as the children played and ran pretending that they, too, were the awesome pilots at the controls. Although we may not have been part of the tens of thousands witnessing the first time since 2003 that the air force base opened their gates to the public, we enjoyed our own piece of history with our neighbors as the Thunderbirds took to the sky and made us all wish we soar in the sky. It was a marvelous way to spend a Sunday!

Tourist Family

While living in Paradise, one of the things that helps keep this place new and refreshing is to get out and be a tourist family. With annual memberships to the zoo, Bishops Museum, and the Polynesian Cultural Center, we can take a break from the sand and surf and wander around as if we've never been to the place we are visiting before. It's always loads of fun and we have learned to play it to the tee. In matching outfits, even!

HS and LD have been on a sibling kick lately. LD has marveled after big bro for quite sometime, but lately, he's taken an interest in being the best he can be at taking care of his little sis. Sometimes, his "father henning" works....other times, she gives him a run for his money! Regardless, HH and I are enjoying watching them figure out life together and look forward to watching the sibling relationship grow stronger over the years. They make quite the pair and are really good at discovering ways to get into trouble...together and ways of making sure we can't stay angry for very long with the same bat of the eyes and adoring smile. Yep. They've got us.

Caution...Artist at Work

Instead of just using finger paints during our art on the lanai, I had a hairbrained idea that came from my time teaching in kindergarten. Why not get the shaving cream out? Well, this is what LD looked like when the shaving cream was squirted onto her tray...

the look of amazement, excitement, and energy did not waver as she busily squished, moved, and played with the white foam. She started out pretty tame...pushing the shaving cream in little circles...then making waves with her fingertips along the tray.



Then, a new discovery: shaving cream on her arm. Hmmm...that feels funny...how about taking the shaving cream and wiping it all over both arms? Giggles insued and by the time she was done with the shaving cream activity, she sat proudly with a grin from ear to ear...

and shaving cream plastered all over her face as only a serious artist would do. Her lovely face became her favorite canvas!

Twirl

Music is an inspiring activity in our house. We listen to songs in the car as the van takes us to our many destinations and no one seems immune to swaying to the beat or clapping their hands. On my runs, the msic is blaring as I sing along to some of my favorite dance tunes and get myself motivated to push myself to go faster. As we cook dinner in the evenings, HS practices his piano and LD giggles as she taps her feet or jumps in a circle. At bedtime, both kids are lulled into dreamland with Enya or the sounds of the ocean lapping. Music. Don't enter our house without getting ready to groove.

Recently, I've begun to pay attention what happens when the music is on. HS can be found doing playing an air guitar with a huge smile and LD is doing what her chubby legs know how to do best...twirl. Life is always better with a little music. When in doubt, turn it on loud and go crazy! Move like you mean it, sing loudly and proudly, and whatever you do...twirl!

Jewelry Thief

Hidden inside every person is a thief of sorts. We hone these talents from an early age. If you are reading this blog, shaking your head and saying, "well! I've never been a "thief" I urge you to look deeper at yourself. We've all taken a trinket, a picture, or food because, well, it is in our blood. I'm not implying we are all destined for jail. Sometimes our thievery brings two closer together on a closer level and discoveries are made.

"Where's the flashlight?" HH hollers from the kitchen.
"Well, it was in the closet with the emergency supplies, hon" I reply.
"No it's not...." HS says meekly.
"Where is it?" I inquire.
"Under my bed. I didn't think you were using it anymore." he simply states.

This same conversation could be with pens, book lights, books, coins, paper, really anything that just seems to be lying in wait for little fingers to pluck them from their dusty demise. HS now has a partner in crime. LD.

The magic closet became awfully quiet while I was cooking dinner. I peered inside expecting LD's glowing face to look up at me over her Little People barn. Nope. No little head. Not even a trace of her. I called out for her and above my head heard the sound of pattering little feet going across our bedroom floor, followed by a little squeal. I slowly made my way up the stairs, fully expecting the two of them to be in our bedroom playing with the pillows or making a fort.

My eyes did not see that...instead, upon entering the room, LD came bounding across the floor towards me decked out head to wrists in my jewelry. Not just any jewelry, but the ones that are hidden in the recesses of my jewelry cabinet reserved for special occasions. She has clearly discovered the hidden treasures in my closet. She gleefully looked up at me, giggled, and then ran straight into the closet and peered into the drawers of my jewelry box pulling out strands of pearls, earrings, and bracelets. She is a girlie girl.

I've now had a glimpse at what will happen when she hits her teenage years. HH walked in as I was trying to get the bracelets and necklaces from her clutched chubby hands, and said, "oh, Lord...the thievery has begun! Guard your shoes, darlin' she'll be taking those, too when she's older." Yep. I can only be so lucky that when she is in her teenage years that I can enjoy her rustling through the jewelry on a quest for the perfect accent piece to her outfit...after all, I'm a jewelry lover, too. It's our destiny.

Magical Closet

A sign written very carefully in HS's handwriting now hangs in the magic closet: HS and LD's Fort: 2 girls OK and all boys OK

I've literally transformed the storage closet under the stairs. I've been promising HS for months that I would provide a spot for him to play downstairs...he found this closet when we first moved into this house last year and proudly proclaimed it "our toy place and fort!"

Well, his wish is now reality. Every evening, you can find the two of them enjoying their toys, arguing over where they are standing, playing, or building, and laughing over faces or comments they make to one another.

Ahhh...the power of magic.

Praying

We are all entitled to an "off" day every now and then. Sometimes, we pile up our "off" days and then have a few stellar weeks without problems. Other times, we may have one every other day. Still other times, we may experience an "off" day everyday. I've kept this little note from HS where I can see it. He wrote it as a surprise and the meaning behind it serves as a reminder that he is a sweet, compassionate, and caring little boy.

It helps me keep grounded. It reminds me that somedays are wonderful days and other days we may experience that bump in the road. Even then, I'm a good mom in HS's eyes. That keeps me praying that everyday he'll have a good moment in his day especially when it's a school day.

Advancing

The ultimate aim of Karate lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of character in its participants. ~Gichin Funakoshi

It is with pride that I write this post. I have two men who are dedicated to a way of life that most never understand. They've trained hard over the past three and a half months to be worthy of testing for another rank in Karate. This time...green.

HH has really embraced his training. Although time to practice has been challenging with his new job, it is clear when you watch him that he has found a niche that he would have loved to have found years ago.

For the first time, we watched HS become nervous before a test. He realizes that he is levels beyond where he began three years ago. He has spent the larger part of his seven year old life practicing Karate. The nerves have now kicked in. He inspired me during this test. His personal dedication shone brightly and proved that we were not "pushing" him to do something that he has no interest in. He is focused, driven, and dedicated all on his own. He completed the test with a very upset tummy (I just had the stomach virus a few days prior to his test) and refused to step away from the test even when his Sensei gave him permission to do so.

Ahh, yes. I am proud today. Two men who are at such different stages in their life continue advancing in one direction...up.

Early Wishes

Although this is a day early, I wanted to make sure to journal about Papa's special day: his birthday! He'll be away from the computer for a while on a very special adventure with mom. I'm thrilled that over this year he has been able to enjoy, relax, dream, build, and stay healthy. He is truly one of my top role models for what a successful, happy, and blessed person should be like. Today, I asked HS to list his top 5 favorite things of PopPop and his 5 birthday wishes for him (since last year, I dominated the blog...see Archives September 11, 2008).

Favorite Things

5. He keeps me safe when I am doing something dangerous (whittling, standing on a bike, boogie boarding).
4. He lets me go downstairs into his cellar to explore.
3. When he reads, he uses silly voices.
2. He's a lot of fun! (Playing Cowboys, helping at the farm, BB gun shooting)
1. He uses his imagination with me to build things that are really cool! (Fort in Roanoke and lots of Lego worlds)

Wishes

5. You keep feeling good to do those stretch things.
4. That you build some the biggest castle ever on a beach with me.
3. That we go boogie boarding again.
2. You laugh so much that your belly hurts.
1. Remember you're really a cool PopPop!

Hau'oli la hanau, PopPop! We love you all around the Pacific Ocean to you and back again a zillion times!

Kayak, Sail, and Relax

How do you spend a Labor Day weekend? If you are in our household you keep going and don't let your feet hit the ground...at least that's the way it felt when I first shared the plans with HH over our pizza on Friday evening. I think he was a little sceptical about doing something every day of the long weekend. "It's not long we're running the Boston marathon, darlin'...we are merely taking in the rays of Hawaii with our friends...I promise by the end of the weekend, you'll be going into work raving about what a great time you had!" I responded to his perplexed look of how in the world I planned to manage all the events. What he didn't see was the fingers crossed under the table and the silent prayer to God that my statement would become reality.


DF and I have been wanting to rent the ocean kayaks for a while now. Each weekend that we thought about doing it, one or both families were booked. Well, not this weekend! We headed over to the windward and met up for a wonderful day exploring the shoals, coastline, and coral with brightly colored ocean kayaks. Our big question: would LD and DF's youngest son handle the ride with us so that we could get the kayaks again during the week without the men. We set out together, kids bundled in their little lifevests and set our sights on the horizon. I expected LD to attempt to get off the floating vessel...she made a slight fuss and then discovered that their were "ish" and "Nemo" over the side of the kayak. She kept herself in one position...peering into the depths the entire time out. I on the otherhand, gave my arms, butt, and thighs a phenomenal work-out and am now begging to do it again. The boys built "Capt. Nemo's hide-out" and the grown boys had a great time just as we did with the kayaks. A picnic and one more round of going out on the water, LD even fell into a deep snoring sleep out on the kayak, solidified a great and relaxing outing with DFs.


By the evening, we were cleaned up and ready to go out on a double date with friends to a tiny, yet awesome Indian restauraunt downtown. They came over with two of their children (one babysitting age) so I think for all of us it was a win/win. They got more play time and we got couple time. The charm of this place lies within the limited table seating and the atmosphere...dollywood videos play, the air is laden with spice, and the portions are huge for the cost. We've been to this restraunt twice and both times we have found that the wait after 6:30 is astounding but I can guarentee the curry and naan are de-lish!


On Sunday we were feeling a little tired, but stoked nonetheless, for another big outing. Friends of ours from Newport, who now live right down the street from us, were celebrating a promotion by hiring out a local catamaran company to take a group of us out on the waters off Waikiki. It was to be an afternoon spent snorkeling, eating, chatting, and enjoying the festivities. It would be our first time since arriving in Hawaii to be by ourselves doing something on the water without the kids. We set sail on a beautiful little catamaran and enjoyed snuggling and talking. What a phenomenal setting for a "date" with stellar views of Diamond Head, Waikiki, and the mountains. We couldn't help but be ever so thankful that our friends invited us to this wetting down.


We sailed for about three hours. Snorkeling in 30ft or deeper water really challenged my fear of sharks, but I jumped in and enjoyed the super large honu (sea turtles) who were just as curious about us as we were of them. My breathing must have really alarmed HH who took me back to the catamaran after I held his hand in a death grip and sounded like the JAWS theme all on my own. I'm proud that I jumped in, swam, and saw the sea life beneath the water. However, I was just as happy to lay on the netting with HH, soaking in the sun, drinking a beer, and shutting my eyes as the water lapped and the honu came up for air.

Labor Day is not complete without a BBQ. We invited two families over for some kabobs (which I labored over for an hour skewering pieces of marinated beef, peppers, pineapple, and tomatoes onto little bamboo sticks) and drinks. The evening was wonderful and certainly was the perfect way to round-off a super fun weekend. As we snuggled later in the evening, I asked HH what he had thought of his "already planned out long weekend." A smile crossed over his lips and as he scooted closer, he whispered, "it was perfect. Simply perfect." Labor Day weekend just doesn't get any better than time spent together, with friends, food, and adventure.

List of Loves

LD has a long list of loves already in her 20 months of life. She adores the feeling of the sand squishing between her toes, giving hugs and kisses, talking on the phone, dancing to her hearts delight, watching mommy cook, and now...doing anything related to coloring. We got out the paints on our Family Friday and watched her just adore the feeling of turning a blank sheet into a colorful work of art. She can be caught glancing as she walks by the refridgerator at her masterpieces...now hung proudly next to big brother's. "aaaint!" she cries out as she desires to participate in the hour during HS's homework session. "aaaint!" she calls from the craft room, pointy up to the baskets that hold now one of her treasured activities: creating with color.

Schoolboy Grin

HS practically threw himself into the car after school. Panting and riddled with excitement, he handed me precious cargo with firm instructions: don't bend these, mom. I peered into the sleeve and this is what I pulled out...a classic. An all-American boy enjoying the delights of being in 2nd grade. Complete with head tilt, huge goofey smile, and the all important elementary picture prop, the missing front tooth!