enough excitement for one day

today, we had two notable adventures: one i anticipate reliving every year, and one i never want to experience again. i finally looked at the information kalei's new teacher gave us last thursday and realized that there was an actual school supplies list in there! (amazingly, not much was required for kindergarten - just tissues and hand sanitizer.) luckily, i take advantage of the 1 & 5 cent back-to-school deals every fall, so there were just a few things we needed to go out and buy. shopping for school supplies was very exciting for kalei and kawelo (who liked to squeal and point to anything brightly colored), but sad for koa. koa would really like to go to school this year. thankfully, he's easily distracted and fruit snacks and capri sun cheered him up, and he's old enough to understand that he gets to go next year. the other adventure was horrific. picture this: it's 11:00 p.m., you decide to take the trash out, as soon as the door to the garage shuts behind you, you realize that the door is locked, you're shoeless, your neighbors are all asleep, and there is not a spare key anywhere outside your home - not hidden outside, not at the neighbor's - nowhere. oh, and your husband is halfway around the world. that was me about half an hour ago. after some intense praying and about 15 minutes of banging on kalei's window (that's right - 15!!), she woke up and let me in the garage. (again, picture this: me, standing on our a/c unit, knocking on kalei's window until my knuckles are raw, feeling like wee willie winkie as i'm yelling in her window for her to wake up. ...on second thought, maybe i'm glad all the neighbors were asleep.....) i was so worried that i had freaked her out, but she just let me in with a quizzical look and went straight back to bed. i love that girl! what an exciting day we've had! almost as exciting as james' trip out to china, but i'll let him write about that on his blog. the important thing is that kalei is so excited about starting first grade tomorrow, she doesn't seem to be permanently damaged from her late-night ordeal, and tomorrow is a whole new day with its own adventures that will include having keys made! yes!! bring it on!

pics of the day

well, he actually went through with it! james left early this morning to catch a flight to chicago, and then on to shanghai. to think, he'd rather go to china and the olympics for two weeks than hang around here and do household chores! (by the way, james, that fence will still need fixing when you get back.) anyhoo, we're excited for him, but miss him like crazyheads. kalei and koa each said today how much they miss their papa, and he'd only been gone a few hours! i guess you just can't get too much of a good thing. i'm going to try to post more in the next few weeks so james won't miss a thing going on around here. so, sorry if these posts bore you out of your skulls - if you want action, go check out james' olympics blog. (woohoo - kayak racing!!) here are todays top pics:

we love you and miss you, james!!!

summer highlights

kalei starts school one week from tomorrow, so i guess this summer vacation is winding to a close. here are some pictures of our fabulous summer highlights: visits to and from family, playing outside, zoo, beach, library activities, art activities, flying kites, soccer... i think we've all thoroughly enjoyed our summer break and are now pleasantly sick of each other. kalei is so ready to be in first grade and she and koa are each starting to do things to purposely annoy the other, so james & i are ready for her to be in first grade, too. the only highlight we didn't capture on film was koa's potty training - just trust us when we say that it happened and it's done and we're all the better for it. we hope you all have had a wonderful summer break and accomplished everything you desired so now you can shut yourselves inside with the a/c until the end of september. oh, the triple digit days of august!

fun in the florida sun

well, sorry for the long silence, but we're on vacation! woohoo!

we've been to the zoo, where kalei got to feed a giraffe.

(they have crazy long tongues, by the way.)

kalei, koa, & i got to ride a camel.

they're kinda lurch-y - not smooth like a horse.

kalei got to ride a llama and koa got to ride a pony.

they both loved the wild animal carousel, of course.

(kawelo and james rode on a fancy bench - it didn't go up & down, but kawelo loved it anyway.)

here's a picture to prove that kawelo & james were there.

of course, our days have been filled with beach and pool and sun and summer!

thanks, grandma & grandpa, for such a great visit!!!!!

evolution

kalei is an amazing girl and she loves art. she has never, not once, said that she "can't" draw anything. if she wants to draw something, she'll at least try to draw it. so, when koa kept asking me to draw things for him and, when i suggested he try to do it himself, he would reply that he "can't," i was a teeny bit concerned. however, he has slowly progressed from dots and lines to this:

the picture above is koa jumping (kalei wrote his name for him). this next picture is a bunch of people dancing. you can still see the dots he likes to poke onto the paper, and i love his use of space!
this bottom one is a door hanger that kalei made for kawelo. it's kawelo (in his diaper) thinking about koa (in the heart).
can't you just feel the love? she sets such a great example for her little brothers!

spoiled

no, the food is not spoiled, but james was! i made him these cinnamon rolls on sunday and i'm pretty sure he loved them. he had been hinting for a few days prior ("i was looking at the recipe for cinnamon rolls and it doesn't look that hard..."), and these babies were all gone by sunday evening. love you, james - thanks for being on potty patrol with koa during church!

abc tag

A- Attached or single: attached
B- Best Friend(s): james & susie
C-Cake or Pie: cake! i LOVE birthdays just for the cake!
D- Day of Choice: saturday (especially when kalei's in school!)
E- Essential Item: wipes
F- Favorite Color: blue - the shade varies day to day
G- Gummy Bears or Worms: worms!
H- Hometown: warsaw, indiana
I- Indulgence(s): cookie dough, marshmallows, quality rocky road ice cream
J- January or July: neither - i don't like weather extremes
K-Kids: three - one girl, two boys
L-Life is incomplete without: family!
M- Marriage Date: 7/8/99
N- Number of Siblings: one brother
O-Oranges or Apples: juicy, seedless oranges or crisp apples
P-Phobias or Fears: missing teaching moments or, worse, teaching by my own bad example - not adequately preparing my kids to be confident, faithful people
Q-Quote(s): "Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself." Og Mandino
R- Reason To Smile: it's a beautiful day, my children are entertaining each other, my husband will be home early, and we leave for florida in 9 days!
S-Something new: i survived a japanese game show! (that show is hilarious!!)
T-Tag: anyone who feels like being tagged :)
U-Unknown Fact About Me: i have to skim the ending of books so that i can tear myself away long enough to care for my family, my house, etc. - also, if the book does not have a happy ending, i usually won't read it.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: moderate oppressor
W- Worst Habit: like kam - yelling at my kids to talk lovingly to each other
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: ultrasounds
Y- Your Favorite Food: cherries, anything chocolate (but NOT chocolate-covered cherries), milk, pasta
Z-Zodiac: gemini