while the cat's away.....

....the mice make a movie.

i had a few sewing projects that really needed to be finished before we went to florida this summer, so james and the kids were left to entertain themselves.

this video is the fruit of their efforts:

don't you just love it?!

my favorite is the basket of arms - so effective!

i can't tell you how impressed i am by their creativity.

they're already talking about the next movie, so stay tuned for future productions.

o.t. joke of the week

hey, all!

as some of you know, i've been called to help teach seminary (early morning bible study for high school students) this year and we're studying the old testament - woot!

(actually, dad taught my seminary class that year, so i would roll out of bed and walk downstairs and slightly doze thru the lesson, so i don't remember much, but i know it's going to be exciting this year! the old testament has some wackadoo stories!)

anyhoo, here's your old testament joke of the week:

who's the best female economist in the old testament?

pharoah's daughter - she went down to the bank of the nile and withdrew a little prophet

oh, man, i just about bust a gut laughing at this. feel free to share any o.t. jokes you have cause i'm sure these kids can't get enough - i know i can't!

by request

recently, "the amazing race" was accepting applications for their upcoming season, so susie & i decided to go for it!

carpe diem and all that!

we haven't heard back from them, so i'm assuming we weren't selected to be on the show.

bummer.

however, that leaves me free to share our application video - you know, for posterity. and laughs and giggles.

enjoy!

not bad for taping without a script and on the fly, huh?

feel free to share your feelings of disbelief over how in the world we weren't picked!

1st day of school!

tuesday was the first day of school!!

don't they look excited?

and fresh-faced?

and dewy?

we only have pictures from before school because kalei and koa did not want me to stand around and take pictures of them walking into their classrooms, finding their seats, putting away their things in their new desks, etc. kalei especially did not want me to do anything remotely embarassing. (which makes me want to follow her around and break into show tunes and re-enact my favorite numbers from 'so you think you can dance,' for some reason.) man, kids hit fourth grade and suddenly they care if their parents are making a public spectacle of themselves. sheesh. (don't worry, i behaved myself.)

kawelo wanted in on the photo-op, and was sad that his school didn't start until thursday, but he took solace in a big hug from this guy:

... and then we came home and ate m&m's.

what is that teaching him?

that's right! we want our friends sweet enough to eat.

(and that's as close to homeschooling as i'll ever get.)

he turned 4 and left me

kawelo turned 4 in june and we decided to have some fun with it!

we had a hula contest, pin the surfer on the wave, slip 'n' slide, and good food.

he had a great time (even if it took him a while to "get" the slide part of "slip 'n' slide.")

silly kiddo.

then, he grew up way too fast!

today is his first day of preschool and he is so crazy excited about it (me, too, but with a little sadness mixed in).

we know his teacher (she had kalei and koa for preschool) and she is amazing.

i can't wait to see my little one (although according to him, he's "medium") grow and become a little more independent this year!

(look at my baby with that huge backpack!! i need a tissue!!)

we love you, kawelo!

where does the time go?!

i think i might have used that post title before, but it seems to be a theme this year - the time she is a flyin'! we have bunches to catch up on and i'm going to try to actually be more organized since tuesday marks the start of another school year and all three kiddos will be heading off to school this fall! woohoo!!! (kawelo's preschool is two mornings a week, but it still counts! free time - guilt-free-ish!!!!) so, no more excuses! this rear is getting in gear! look out, world! (but not till tuesday, since we're switching our internet providers and it won't be set up till monday. but, after monday, look out!!! you've been warned!)

p.s. can you feel the strength of my feelings in this post? the exclamation points are a good indicator!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

spring sports review

it's been an excitingly active spring for us!

kalei and koa finished tae kwon do and decided to try a few new sports.

kalei played volleyball and loved it! she had an amazing coach, and it was fun to watch her learn new skills. (and she is totally rocking those sports glasses - work it, girl!)

koa tried soccer and found he is super fast! like lightning! (seriously - he's a tiny turbo.) he had lots of fun and is excited to try basketball and baseball next (but not at the same time).

james ran the "music city half-marathon" again this spring. he finished in exactly the time he estimated for himself. (well, he was one minute over - but still the best guesstimate ever!)

kawelo honed his cheerleader skillz. he so can't wait to be able to do everything his siblings can do - we had to watch him for spontaneous streaks onto any nearby playing field. your time is coming soon, little man!

can't wait to crazy up our schedules with another round of sports in the fall!