A little bit of this and that

The big thing on my to do list for the last week has been final preps for a training workshop put on by a group I chair called the Leadership Continuum.  It's designed for XO/CO spouses - and it's purpose is to train them for their unpaid leadership roles they assume through their husbands job.  (That role can include but isn't limited too; mother, sister, confidant, scapegoat, therapist, babysitter, party planner and superhero).  We host 4 workshops a year and this one was on disaster preparedness.   

I wish I had a better picture to represent how fabulous the event was.  The team in charge of this workshop was absolutely fantastic, they left no stone unturned in their preparation and they covered a wide variety of disasters both natural and situational.  I thought the centerpieces were cute too!  The local weatherman was our guest speaker and hopefully folks will start sharing their photos of the event soon.  He is a bit of a celeb in these parts and was a lot of fun!

Today we attended a UH football game with David's class.  He is attending the Asia Pacific Security school here locally and his classmates are from all over the world.

The school tries to come up with fun entertainment for them on the weekends and what better than a good old American football game?  We started with a tailgater and a little football of our own.

And proceeded to the game.   

The Warriors were up big at the half but Emily started to feel bad so we left.

How you can be having fun one minute and sick in bed with a 102* fever an hour later I'll never know!  I do know that someone in my family (mostly me) has been sick since July.  Seriously.  It is a never ending germ fest here.

This week I am all about the big T day.  We decided to host the foreign students in David's seminar for a traditional Thanksgiving feast.  Our count is up to 30 now so lets just say my fridge is packed and my stress level is threatcon A.  Despite all the work involved I am really looking forward to it. Some of the most memorable times in our overseas experiences were when local people took us into their homes and showed us traditional life in their country.  I am excited to share our world with them.   

The minute that is over I will shift to fa la la la la mode and to the dreaded Christmas card photo...oh can it really be that time again?

Hmmmm, we ARE wearing green....

Peoples Choice!!

Well, the house seems very quiet with our family gone but we are returning to the regular routine around here. It was a GREAT visit chock full of fantastic memory making events.  Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much) to Davids parents and Aunt for making the long trip to see us, we really had so much fun!

One of our highlights was the Fall Festival at Holy Family.  This year the theme was "carnival" and part of the festivities was a  "Chili Cook Off."   Olivia was excited to enter it but I had to confess that I'm not known for my chili.  I have heard rumors over the years that Grandpa is, so I signed them up!

While I was busy at school with set-up and cotton candy making (harder than it looks by the way) they were home cookin!  Here they are setting up their station. 

And here is Olivia accepting the first of their TWO wins!!!  They came in 3rd from the judges standpoint but they won the "peoples choice" which we all decided was the real prize!

 Ahhhhh - the victors!!  They called it Oklahoma Red Dirt Chili.

Oh yes, I told you we also threw in a birthday for Dada right?  The cake is a little short on presentation but delicious none the less.

Emily always gets Dada the perfect card - in this case Hello Kitty wishing you a very happy 5th birthday.  Nothing says I love you like that. 

Although we were busy with the usual "life" stuff - we managed to interject a few tourist stops, a few beaches and a boat ride in Kaneohe Bay. 

Seriously, can you believe this is real?  The only way this could be better is if David and I were on that boat.  Right honey?

                                       Fast friends!

She even stole his hat (and I'm thinking his heart too)

Thanks for a great few weeks.  Aloha :(

October Fun

I've been gone so long I almost forgot the password for my blog!!  Thanks to all of you for your patience - and you know who that excludes!

Here's my Dorothy...and her little dog too!  Not sure if you can tell but her dress was shiny satin and had sparkles on it.  We decided Dorothy needed to get with the times. 

Sunday was such a whirlwind in my house...church, swap meet, trip to Kaneohe and Bellows beach to show David's family around, pumpkin carving, forgotten book report (due the next day), dinner and trick-or-treating.  We carved pumpkins in record time and this was my creation.  It came out much better in my head but things usually do.  It's a wonderful place to be!

Of course...right.  Sheesh.

David...of course again right?  Oh I almost forgot, we threw in a birthday for him over the weekend too but the photos of that are on Grandma's camera - mine was lost temporarily in the shuffle! 

Ahoy matey! 

Pali Lookout

We have been having a great time with our family - unfortunately David and the girls are all in school during the week but we aren't letting that slow us down much. 

Koi Pond

View of the USS MISSOURI from the Arizona Memorial

Fancy schmancy Hawaiian Pedi's!!

Sunset from my lanai

Pearl Harbor

Beautiful!  They are enjoying the blue oceans, flowers, foods etc.  I have run them all over this island and when I'm not wearing them out the girls are!  It's so fun to have them here.  This weekend we are going to turtle beach and for a pontoon boat ride to sandbar!

Tears of Joy

He's back!!  David returned on Friday which was a day earlier than we originally thought.  We decided to keep it a secret and surprise the girls by picking them up from school that day.  Turns out Emily was still sick and home from school that day so I told her we had to run a quick errand.  She was watching a movie in the car and didn't see him until he was loading bags in the car. The look was priceless. 

She hugged him so tightly and actually started to sob all the while with the biggest smile on her face.  She was crying tears of joy - I don't think I will ever forget it.

On to the important stuff...what did Daddy bring me?  Why skinny jeans of course!  But not just any old regular skinny jean - hot pink hello kitty skinny jeans!  Naturally.

Think she was happy to get dressed for school today?  Since I attended the PTA meeting last week my girls both get free dress passes today.  This is a far cry from a khaki skort and blue polo huh?

Liv got new skinny jeans from Dad too.  They both looked very cute and cool!  Sorry about the blurry photo, we move fast around here in the mornings to get in the car by 7:20.  

It was a great weekend of doing nothing but hanging out as a family and I got to say one of my favorite things..."go ask your father!"

Huge shout out to the Chapmans for being the B&B weekend getaway for David for the last 6 weeks.  You guys rock and have your rooms reserved in paradise!

UGGGGGGG!

Seriously?  My kids were off from school for 10 days and wouldn't you know the very first day back Emily spikes a fever at school and is home by 1:30!!

I'm sure I'll have her all fixed up by next week when they go to school on Monday and Tuesday and are off again Wed, Thurs and Friday.  Dear Hawaii, how about we go to school.  5 days in a row. Every week.  Love, me.

This must be payback for no snow days ;)

Days Off

I must say this 10 day stretch of vacation has been pretty good.  I didn't knock myself out trying to entertain the girls every minute of the day and lo and behold they found things to do outside with friends!  Crazy, I know. 

Last night Olivia was invited by a friend to see Justin Beiber!  For those of you who are not 10 - 15 years old, he is the latest young heartthrob on the scene.  She isn't his biggest fan by any stretch but she was excited to attend her first concert.  I was just glad I wasn't the chaperone!

Emily and I took the opportunity to have a date at Ruby Tuesdays for what else...mac n cheese! 

David is on his final stretch and almost home.  Luckily we have stayed very busy but it's been a long few months and we can't wait to get him back!

The Zoo

Day one: the zoo.  It was fun, I haven't been since Olivia was a little tike.  We had one very up-close and personal experience with a lion and if not for the plexi-glass Emily would have made a tasty treat for his lunch!  Apparently the normally sluggish and docile fellow hardly ever moves around let alone leaps up to go face to face, paw to hand on the glass!  Something about her attracted him from the start - he locked onto her from the moment we got there.  Very spooky!

Must have taken it's emotional toll because by the end of the day Em was a bit of a mess.  Crying about stuff that happened a long time ago etc.  Finally I just hugged her for a while and she said "I just need something to cry about, I have all these tears in me!"  Sometimes you just need something to cry about I guess.  I think I remember my father telling me he could give me something...perhaps we should have called him! 

Group Outings

I think I told you I was accompanying Emily's class to their field trip this week.  Big news...she got to ride a BUS!!!  This is major for a kid who has only been to private schools in her young, little life!  She was very excited and even picked out an outfit for me to wear.  I sent her off to school and went upstairs to get dressed and discovered it laying on my bed: plaid skirt, floral tank top and high heels!  Um, yes, I promptly threw on my favorite jeans, t-shirt, and flip flops and headed out. 

Emily's reaction to my outfit when I showed up in her classroom and I quote: "what happened?"  Insert sad little puzzled look here.  Quick thinking response "I thought I might be cold in the theater so I chose pants!"  (Whew...am I good or what?)  Her response: "well, you could have worn the shoes!"  Yes, even when I am nestled in between her and 28 other 5 yr olds bouncing on the bus while loosing what little hearing I have left, I manage to fail her.

Somehow she mustered up the courage to be seen with me and had a fun time.  We went to a "dinosaur play" put on by a local theater group which was very fun and highly interactive for the little balls of energy.  Lots of yelling and laughing!  They are pretty cute aren't they? That little boy in the middle sat with us on the way home and he talked more than she did!  Really!  Funny how at that age they will tell you EVERYTHING.  I am happy to report that his dad no longer answers the phone in the car after two accidents :)

Fast forward 6 years and they are much bigger but no less loud!  Olivia's team (the Hot Tamales) took a trip last night to watch the UH women's soccer team play.  Late night + tons of sugar = 5-0 shut out on the field today :(  Not their best game but they had lots of fun!