Journal Writing

Emily's backpack was loaded up yesterday with papers galore the teacher is clearing out before the end of the year.  Thought my dad might like to see this story she wrote!  I like how in her mind he is dressed in fuchsia from head to toe! And...in the first picture he is shaking his head "no"

I had such a nice visit with him, it's fun to see it from her perspective. 

Alright, onto the important stuff.  

IT'S CHEERLEADER TIME AGAIN!!

Yep, that oh-so-important two days a year where my little one gets to be a "wild kitten" and cheer on the lady wildcats at a basketball game.  Oh the fun.  I think the ordering of the ice-cream afterwards took longer than the actual cheering, but hey, it makes her very happy as you can see.

BAM

It's over.

My "non" cheerleader has a reputation at school for being helpful and great with children so she was tasked to participate in the clinic and help teach the cheers to the little ones.  Haha, it was a hoot to watch her snapping her arms around and kicking up her legs...sooooooo not in her wheelhouse!  There was a lot of eye rolling behind the scenes!  

When it was all over I asked Emily if she was going to cheer when she got older or be one of the cool girls on the court.  The look said it all, wish I had gotten that on film.  

Goooooo T.E.A.M!! ;)  

Hawaii Fun

Mango Season!!

All you need is a tree, a neighbor who is willing to share, and a really long picker!

Oh, and silver high heal glitter shoes.  Duh.

You can let them fall from the tree but unless you're fast, the birds will beat you to them

Said neighbor also has a beautiful bougainvillea bush that my camera just couldn't resist.  

mango picking led to plumeria picking and a little science.

This is the Hawaiian version of a white carnation so we thought we would try the old rainbow trick.  Not sure how much plumerias drink after being picked - 4 hours and counting and still no change in the flowers.

Might be a big bust as far as rainbow flowers but do you see it?  It's finally making an appearance, 5 months later.  Not sure about the other 3 but I've gotten used to this look so it makes me a little sad to think of my little one with big giant teeth.  

I'll keep you posted on the flowers.  

Good Times!

Warning: photo heavy post!!  My cousin shared some of his photos of the catamaran trip, which inspired me to sift through my "extras" from my Dad's trip... 

WHALES!!!

Punchbowl Cemetery

The yellow hibiscus is the Hawaiian state flower, but it's fairly rare to see an all yellow one.  

This has been a fairly rare sight also!  Happy to report she has completed her makeover and is ready to sail again.

Aloha Dad

Not all visitors are created equal.  My Dad isn't much of a beach/swimming guy, but he does like hiking, gardens, birds and painting.  Luckily - we have something for everyone here!

We found a great hike on the North Shore that lead through some beautiful gardens to a waterfall and lagoon. 

We decided the King used to throw people up against this tree for punishment...ouch!

Naturally, Emily was a fan of the tree that left pink fuzz all over the ground.

Olivia was the first to make it to the waterfall

I was lucky to spot the great American Dad in his very un-natural habitat...the water!  Good thing I captured it.

We had a great visit, complete with my grandmothers world famous (or famous in my family anyway) pound cake!  It's a fussy recipe but we nailed it, it was as delicious as it was beautiful.