first grade, good/school at home, not so good

mese started out the first day of first grade with delicious pancakes and sausages(thanks mason). he was anxious to get going and get gone but we had to take a pic. and so we did. i did fine all the way up until his teacher put a lei around his neck and said"mese, welcome to first grade!" i almost had to run out, i could feel the tears swelling up. i made him his lunch(with a notecard in the shape of an m&m) he told me later how excited he was when he saw the card because he thought it was a cd! sorry big guy-just a note from your mama who loves you. so, first day was good.
now, school at home with sila also started today. she did fine writing her name but writing the letter "A" was a challenge. she gave up before she even started and said,"i can't, i can't, i can't do it!" i tried to show her several times how easy it was but she wasn't having it, and after a minute or two of the crying, i wasn't having it either. we came to a mutual agreement that we should try school another day. i'm going to try some different things with her-any suggestions?

poor thing

first week back with orin-it's been quite fun. we've been spending our mornings outside(weather has been very nice). he plays well with the kids and he pretty much entertains himself when mese and sila go outside and he and nani are left inside with me while i get lunch ready. he's likes snack time and he's just so much fun because he's mobile, he's older and he's growing in leaps and bounds.
so-today, orin and nani are both climbing onto the bottom shelf of the bookcase(it's deep). and i hear laughing, then orin's high pitched scream-what went wrong? i asked nani and she ever so clearly tells me,"i bite him." oh no, i said. she got in trouble of course, after i located the bite on his arm-poor thing. then later he bonked his head on the kitchen cabinet while he was reaching for his cup-again, poor thing. i held him and he fell right to sleep. i'm sure next week will be much better orin! and we love having you(hopefully you feel the same about us:))

message in a bottle?

i checked the mail this morning and found a plastic bottle filled with orange sand, a tiny umbrella(the kind you put in those fancy drinks), tiny sunglasses, and a note. at first glance into the mailbox, i thought someone was playing a trick on me and put their trash in it. but after close observation, i discovered it was a letter in a bottle to mese from his 1st grade teacher(he'll be starting first grade next monday). how cute! after some intense handiwork with the tweezers, i was able to retrieve the message, an invitation for mese to first grade-way cool. he loved it. the note is now on the fridge. the umbrella he immediately took out and played with, the sunglasses-too hard to get out. so we put the cork back in the bottle and it has now found its place on mese's dresser. he's so ready for first grade-quetion is...am i? thanks mrs. c. smith.

a pleasant visit

last week thursday, we had a fun visit from the overtons. it was good to see tim & bethany and of course, their ever so cute girls, gracie and melina. thanks for coming to see us, and next time we'll be extra careful about the door!:)

hooowaii (according to nani)

oh what a lovely time we had in hawaii-paradise! i missed my babies terribly, but we managed to have lots of fun nonetheless. we saw many beautiful places and we loved it all. we ate delicious food(except for senor frog's, not so good). thanks to the westbrook's guide to oahu, we had a blast checking out all the fun things to do there and all the wonderful things to eat. mahalo ben & lynn!

faavorite foods:(in no particular order)

puka dog-yummy! love that mango salsa and lilikoi mustard

keneke's pork sandwich-the kalua pork was sooooo good

macadamia nut pancakes @ boot's & kimo's-to die for(mason wanted to lick his plate)

giovanni's shrimp truck-the shrimp of course was so tasty and we tried the sausage too, also yummy

the luau buffet @ pcc-awesome! everything was grand(darcy was right about those taro rolls, yum yum!)

the food co.-shared the breakfast special(paki's bowl) oh sooo good(i think a little too heavy for mason-what a wimp.)
and we had lots of other yummy treats and foods that are too many to mention.
as for sights and sounds, we enjoyed the following:
snorkeling at three tables
swimming/snorkeling at waimea bay
swimming at lani kai beach-breathtaking!
walking all over waikiki and just taking in everything there is to see. people are fun to watch.
we drove almost all the way around the island-and it was amazing! we stopped at different beaches to take pics. and just to stare in awe.
we visited one of mason's friends from his mission. he lives in waimanalo-gorgeous place. thanks to cory & heather for dinner and a fun time at the water park!
all in all, we had a glorious time(i'm running out of good adjectives to use) and a huge thank you to nia & carrie for taking good care of our babies. and thanks to everyone who was so generous and kind in letting the kids come over and play. mahalo everyone!!!
stay tuned for pics. of our trip...