Let's catch up..

Part 2

This was our first serious vacation as a family of 5. We had good times!

Of course it was stressful going new places with 3 small children who haven't had naps or regular bedtimes for a few days but Kansas City is a special place to me and it holds a lot of memories. It was priceless to be able to make new memories with them.


At the end of each day, when we finally got them all to sleep, I would think John had had it. I wish I could know what his blood pressure was sometimes (or maybe not). I've seen many days on this battlefield but he mostly gets glimpses. Honestly, I didn't know if he could handle it.

However, at the end of each day, we'd hide in the light of the bathroom of our hotel room and whisper about the day. He would actually tell me- without even a hint of sarcasm- that he was having a wonderful time. We always sarcastically proclaim ourselves Parents of the Year when we see one of the kids doing something like eating food off the floor, spraying themselves in the eyeballs, with sunscreen.... you know, events that good parenting usually prevents. Well, to me,
he is Father of the Year. Maybe even the last 4.

Back to the vacation! Here are some pics:

This is the main reason we made the trip. We had a family reunion of my dad's side of the family. This picture is everyone from my grandma and grandpa. It's been years since we've all been together and for some of the kids, the first time ever. It was nice to see everyone, however difficult it was while tending to the wee ones. Could have used more time.


Sunday we went to Crown Plaza and a chocolate store that was in there. Also in Crown Plaza, there is a restaurant called Fritz. Behind Kawika's head you can see rails. You order your meal over a phone and a train delivers your food to your table. It's one of our favorite places.
Hannah and Leilea enjoying each other at Fritz's.

There was a free exhibit of sculptures made of Legos by one artist. I forgot his name but this stuff was amazing.

Foreword

On this trip, John and I did a lot of talking about our kids- discipline, eating habits, funny quirks- just the kids in general. We got to talking about what things would be like 10- even 5 years from now.

We're not wishing for these days to come faster. I think we do a pretty good job of enjoying each stage with them as they pass trough, realizing that someday even this won't be enough. No- we don't dream of these days, but we don't dread them, either. We wonder what our days will be like when we're not wiping kids down from face to feet, cleaning off some unidentified sticky substance. What will their hands look like when their chubby dimple-filled fingers grow and learn to tie shoes, drive a car, write a check?

I'm sure they will move on to great phases of development and we'll have a whole new treasure box of memories to savor but I can't imagine anything more bittersweet than watching these babies become people.

Let's catch up..

Part 1

A bit has happened since I last blogged. Honestly it's partly because I've felt short on words, and guilty about just dumping a bunch of photos on here, and partly because this month is FLYING by.

Here are some highlights:

*My oldest brother and his wife and their two adorable sons came to visit us for a while the beginning of the month. We had a great time getting to know the boys. I think Kawika was pleased to have other boys to play with, since normally he is surrounded by girls.

*On the 12th, Nani (John's cousin who I've been friends with since I was in 6th grade), the kids and I went out for the day. We came home and put the kids down for a nap. Leilea woke up around 4:30 and I started to feed her dinner. About that time, we were hit with some seriously gnarly storms. I was so glad that I was not alone with the kids when the tornado sirens started going off!

We had to retreat to our not so sizable bathroom. Leilea just continued dinner in there. Kawika was taken from his bed in the middle of a much needed nap so he was pretty whiny. Iwa, my hardest sleeper, was sleeping so soundly that we put her in the tub, pillow, blanket and all, and she continued to sleep even an hour after the storms cleared and we left the bathroom.
(Don't you just love our harvest gold shower? We sure do.) When she woke up, she stumbled out of the bathroom and John, Nani, and I were messing with her, asking her how she got there- why she was sleeping in the tub. She had no idea so we really had to explain it to her. I don't THINK anyone has told her about black market organ harvesting but she was pretty freaked out that she fell asleep in her bed and woke up in a bathtub.

*The 14th of this month marked 6 years of marriage for John and me. Wow.

*I have been training for a 5K. I know, I know.... you're probably looking at the blog title again to make sure this is really me. Well, during soccer practice I found that running isn't too bad.

Also, my gym teacher friends introduced me to a podcast called Podrunner. It's basically techno music that you're supposed to keep up with- you run to the beat. I think it's a great idea because I find myself doing this when I just walk with music in my ears.

Podrunner has a 9 week running program that is designed to take you from not running at all to being able to run a 5K (3.2 miles). It's been pretty fun because I can tell a noticeable difference but even after 5 weeks I can feel my muscles wondering why the hell we have to move so fast.

I hope to find a real live 5K to run when I'm done. I'll let you know how that goes sometime in July or August.

*Finally, we just got back from our first road trip vacation as a family of 5. We went to Kansas City for a family reunion. That's more or less what the next few posts will be about.

to be continued.....

Spoke too soon

Alright, so I spoke too soon. This past week was my first totally home for the summer.

It's Thursday and we're so bored.

This morning after breakfast, Iwa disappeared to her room, only to re-appear totally dressed, shoes and all. She began putting her raincoat on. As she was readying her umbrella, she told me she was going to Kiko's house (that's John's old dog that now lives with Grandma Lorna) to see Hercules (Uncle Keoki's dog).

We have great plans but leaving the house with three small children isn't the easiest thing in the world. We'll get around to it, I promise.

Anything but bored

Last weekend was the All-American weekend for the Friskys.

Friday we went to a free concert on the base golf course and had a picnic dinner. It was the Depseys, a local pretty well-known Rockabilly band. It was a lot of fun.

Saturday we did yard work all day and cleaned up everything for the summer season. The kids were lots of help, as you can see. How tall do you have to be to run the lawn mower by yourself?

Saturday night we went to Tony's company picnic. John and I look forward to this every year. They have it catered with good food and there's always fireworks after. Leilea was not up for the fireworks so the kids stayed with Grandma and Grandpa to watch while we went home.

Leilea was passed out two minutes after I put her in the wrap. John and I were saying that Leilea is quite a mommy's girl- pretty attached. Grandpa Tony, in all his eloquence said, "Hell, I'd be pretty attached to someone who carried me around like that too!"