Words Escape Me

Sometimes I just don't know what to do with Evan...
today he comes walking home very very carefully and slowly, from down the street and around the corner where he had been playing, with extreme distress in his voice carrying a half dead bee on his shoulder. I laughed so hard and had to get a picture while Evan stood there having a major panic attack and seeing no humor it it at all, pleading to get it off. Ah Evan...how I love you.

I Wonder Where They Are?

Zoo Trip

We had a field trip to the zoo today, it was special in that it was a guided tour. Our guide had been one of the people that feed and take care of the animals for 15 years so she had a lot of good information and stories to tell.
Here's our guide and the boys in their Manning jerseys...my mom likes to torture me...

the kamoda dragon,

we got lucky, the dragon was pretty active today,

the cheetahs came right up to us to pose for pictures,

loads of beautiful flowers,

some I've never seen before,

the peacocks are the descendants of the peacocks Queen Lili'uokalani, the last Hawaiian monarch, kept. They roam all over.

This bird is just a visitor to the zoo. We see these everywhere and I have been trying to get pictures of them. This one walked on the bushes right in front of us.

This huge banyan tree is in front of the zoo, it is a maze in and among the the huge roots.

Thankful Thursday

great husband

great parents and in-laws

great kids

great friends who keep in touch even when I don't

YouTube - What IF

Bubble Girl

She has graduated from playing in the water to playing in the soap and water-at least she is a clean mess!

Saturday

The kids went to their friend, Joey's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese.

The boys had a blast playing games,

Erica and Keana folding their tickets they won from shooting baskets,

Owen is so lucky at these games.

Mission House Museum Fieldtrip

Today we learned about the Missions coming to the Hawaiian Islands. When the missionaries came to the islands in 1803 literacy was 0% because the Hawaiian language was an oral language. Also at that time human sacrifice was being practiced. The missionaries influenced King Kamehameha III to end that practice. They also made Hawaiian a written language and began teaching the people to read and write increasing literacy to 75%.

This, 188 year old house, is the oldest wooden framed house in HI. Many of the Hawaiian children that came to live here would run away because they didn't like the rigour and formality of strict missionary life.

Here Owen is demonstrating why the printing press operator was often the most patient as well as strongest man at the mission.

The tedious and repetitive process ends with rolling and pulling on a huge handle

then hanging each sheet to dry. Owen did a great job.

Evan really got the hang of rolling a wooden hoop.

The print shop and back of the old house,

plus an old lava rock wall.

Mr. Do-it-himself

The switch for one of the burners on the stove keeps sparking and shorting out. Erik sees opportunity to take something apart. Here he is thinking-why buy a part if he can fix the switch himself. He ended up ordering a new switch. I don't even ask anymore, once he had the whole fridge apart I asked if he was going to be able to get it back together his reply was, "if the Navy trusts me with 2 billion $$ submarines you can trust me with your fridge." Can't argue with that logic.

Halloween

Erik took the kids fishing with Carlos and Tano, two guys Erik works with.

Evan got the first fish,

beautiful scenery, we actually have hiked up these mountains from the other direction and can look down over this reservoir.

Erica has something! (That's Carlos behind her)

Owen helping her take her fish off the hook-beautiful day huh?!

Ta-dah! A "little mini" as Owen calls it.

Here is Erica in her Alice dress with our neighbors. Trick-or-treating is huge around here. The locals all make up goody bags (fold and tape or staple them close-yes, they are a pain to open when there are like over 30 of them, I'll have to post a picture next year.)

Pirate Mickey pumpkin.

Our neighbors dress up in something different every year. How would you like to have the door open and see this Little Red Ridinghood?

and her Big Bad Wolf?

Boys

These boys crack me up, they all hang at our house, plugged in, connected up playing Call of Duty together. They'll sit in anything they can find, even a stroller and pink princess chair.

Girlfriends

Even Yuki gets a seat at the table (Erica is about to sneeze).

Yuki is a girl and her name means Snowball in Japanese.

Bringing me plumarias.

Favored Cruise Purchases

This has to be my most favorite thing I bought. I love this tea! It's huge with 12 boxes of flavored teas, 96 total tea bags for $15. I am kicking myself for not getting all the boxes they had. If anyone goes to a Disney Park PLEASE pick me up 4 of these-you can toss the boxes.

I picked up one of each flavor-8 total boxes and again I wish I had gotten more! They were actually cheaper on the ship than on the island.

This was totally a great deal. The boys love the first book, it teaches them how to draw all the characters and I am amazed every time they draw one.

I think this is secretly why we went on another cruise-to get Erica these undies. They are the softest best fitting ones ever.

The bottom ring is my old band and the top is what Erik got for me on Grand Cayman. I love it!