spellcheck

so, today we received a great surprise: thad, james' former department head, just happened to have four tickets and a parking pass to western's game this weekend vs. indiana university at indiana, and he couldn't use them. someone gave them to him, he can't use them, does james want them? let's see.... yes, please! the game starts at 11:00 am on saturday, so we're thinking maybe we might drive up to indy on friday, perhaps see jeni & alan and their construction zone/new house. i decide to check out hotwire to see if they have any deals. however, i'm instantly confused because when did hotwire start peddling hollywood gossip and post anime' girls sporting immodest outfits on their site? then i check my spelling: i had forgotten the "t." i had looked up howire.com. james could hear me laughing from the back of the house. thank goodness it wasn't as riske' as it could've been! believe me, i'll be a little more careful with my typing from now on. speedier is not always better!

copycat

kawelo cannot get enough of kalei and koa and wants to do everything they are doing at the exact moment they are doing it. i remember koa going through this with kalei (and, to be honest, he's still going through it). kawelo has decided that he is big enough to brush his own teeth. every evening, when the big kids go in to brush their teeth, kawelo chases them into the bathroom, opens the drawer with the toothbrushes, grabs one at random (i don't think he can actually see in the drawer, yet), and brushes away. it's actually kind of nice not to have to introduce this hygiene habit to a reluctant toddler - kawelo just loves it because the other kids are doing it and he can, too. sometimes peer pressure is a beautiful thing.

mall rats

our local mall has this glorious carousel that the kids LOVE. we love it, too, cause it's only a dollar for the kids to ride, and parents ride free. plus, there's a frequent rider card that gets you a free ride when you fill it up - i've got about six of those floating around somewhere - i think they're hiding out with some misfit socks and the missing cherries from the hi-ho cherry-o game. anyhoo, i wanted to check out a sale at gymboree, so we let the kids have a ride. they loved it, of course. kawelo got to watch from the sidelines with me, and had fun smiling and waving to his beloved siblings. i love it when everyone enjoys a shopping trip!

home at last!

sorry for the silence, but we've been enjoying james being home

AT LAST!!!!

in honor of his homecoming, we ate chinese food for dinner on monday. (except for james - it seems being adventurous and trying the exotic foods of his host country did a little number on his digestive tract.) the kids had fun using chopsticks, and managed to eat quite a lot of noodles with them. i was impressed!

james generously jumped into mr. mom - mode yesterday. two friends and i traveled down to the church cannery in nashville to increase our food storage. here they are in the attractive hair nets and rubber gloves we got to wear. (they promised to take a picture of me the next time we go. um.... yeah, we'll see.)

also, yesterday, i went to a farewell dinner for my great friend, bethany, who is moving to italy with her family for three years. i will miss her so much, but am excited to visit her while she's there!

dove' il bano? i'm set!

(this is bethany with her mom - two craft queens! seriously - they can slipcover anything.)

anyhoo, we are so wonderfully happy to have james home again and he has been quickly restored as favorite parent - his rightful place, of course. it was so fabulous to have the day yesterday to get my stuff done, and to be able to leave the kids in his capable (and possibly dozing) hands. we love you, james!!

flightless bird....

....cuckoo bird, that is. i heard the crying and followed the sound into the boys' bedroom. now, it is common knowledge that jumping on the beds is strictly prohibited. koa was quick to clarify that he was not jumping on the beds - he was trying to fly. his flight attempt left him with a giant goose egg with a gash across it. what a weekend for our poor koa! first, he was set upon by a deranged, ginormous bear, and then he finds out he can't fly. plus, he gets a concerned mama who is trying to determine if he has a concussion or not (look at the lights - don't go into any lights, just look at them). to top it off, james is stranded in chicago, and won't be able to get home till tomorrow morning sometime. i am so grateful that he is in the states and safe! now, if everyone could do me a huge favor and never fly american airlines again, that would be great. oh, the adventures of flight! (to which both koa and james can attest!)

saturday happenings

kalei had another soccer game today, but this time i did my mom thing and brought an umbrella for shade, sunscreen, bubbles, and chilled drinks. i also brought a 12-year-old! this is lici with the boys and a little girl who adopted us during the game. she was such a help!!!

to reward the kids for being such great helpers while james has been gone, we went down to nashville to the build-a-bear store! the kids had fun picking out their bears (anything from the cheaper half of the display - except some ugly puppy that i didn't want in the house), but kalei was the only one that would push the pedal for the stuffing machine to fill her bear. koa watched with his hands over his ears the whole time. things were actually going really well until they announced that it was bearemy's birthday and marched out a grown-up in a giant bear costume. koa promptly flipped out and was crying and saying that he didn't want to go near the "big bear." so, i was calm and reassuring and we did everything possible to stay away from the gigantic bear. we even waited extra time to be at the cashier that was the furthest away from the humongous bear. then, as we were leaving the circuitous route around the extreme edge of the store to avoid the hormone-imbalanced bear, it was time for bearemy's break and an employee was leading him to the back of the store - by way of our sheltered aisle. at this time, koa is borderline hysterical and convinced that this deranged bear is coming to get him. with my cat-like reflexes, i attempt to grab koa and steer the stroller out of the way, and end up with koa melting onto the floor and the stroller ramming into a display rack. yes, wonder-mom to the rescue! the employee guiding bearemy somehow picked up a on our distress signal and waited to the side while i herded our group out of the store to safety. the kids were easily calmed with treats from the food court. good times.

p.s. everyone has sufficiently recovered from the sensory near-overload of the build-a-bear store - and the kids still love their bears. it's a win-win situation!

an object in motion...

heavenly father knew i needed more exercise, so he blessed me with three children with boundless energy. i can hardly catch them to smother them with kisses! (i affectionately refer to this as the "kissing machine," to which koa always responds, "enough! enough!" and runs away, the little stinker.)