Hello Friends!

 And Happy Easter!

We have been pretty busy with the usuals...holidays, sicknesses, school work, work work, and a sprinkling of shopping!

Here is Emily's new dress

And HEELS.  So very grown up right?

My new dress (and yes I know, I'm pretty "grown up" too)

and her new dress

He did not get a new dress, but he did get to wake up at 4:30 to take Olivia to church to help the youth group prepare breakfast :)  

And of course the Easter Bunny came and delivered all sorts of goodies!

My Easter Basket...yum!

Thankfully I have two pretty good bakers in the house (I'm not one of them) so I always get delicious holidays treats without the work.  It's a win.

David and Emily went YouTubing one day and found a new way to color eggs.  That (sadly) is not whipped cream, but shaving cream.

Add in lots of food coloring drops and swirl it around

Roll your egg around in it until it's a big mess

wearing gloves if you're smart

and let it sit for about 15 min when you are done swirling

Not spectacular - but not horrible either

Of course, nothing beats the old rubber cement regular method which we also had going

Ta da...

I'm also happy to report that our deviled eggs did not taste like soap :)

So, lets see, what else have we been up to?  Well, this one was sick for most of the month of March!  In retrospect I think it might have been the flu, she stayed sick for days and missed 9 days of school.  Not fun.  Especially while you are working on the dreaded science fair project!

  She powered through this night until 8 pm at school and gave a great presentation.  She tested which household item was the "dirtiest".  We had petri dishes, an incubator and the whole deal!  It was cool but now I have to sterilize my house after seeing the results - yuck!  

Olivia had a nice long spring break (that didn't coincide with ours) that she spent mostly working but also a little funning!  We did have a few days off together so we got to go prom dress shopping!!!  

This was the winner.  We are busy accessorizing and hemming, can't wait to see the final result.  So very pretty.

When she isn't playing dress up, working on college prep, doing homework, or being a barista, she is working hard on the sailing team.  She was very excited to make the Varsity 1 team this year and yesterday they had their first regatta.

Apparently Varsity 1 sails out on the open ocean vs in the channel so it was hard to see what was going on from the shore. 

Obligatory Diamond Head shot

Obligatory sunset shot

Ok, back to sailing.  That's about what it looked like - I honestly couldn't tell who was doing what but it was fun to watch.

After the races were over I was able to get some good shots of them returning through the channel...

So that's that.  We have had a few bumps lately with family issues.  David's father is battling cancer at the moment and while we are hopeful for healing we appreciate any and all prayers for him and the family as it's a very difficult time.  My aunt also passed unexpectedly last week and we are keeping my mom and her family in our prayers.   These are not easy things to handle as adults and certainly difficult for the kids.  We are thankful for the happy moments, our faith, and definitely our friends.  Thanks for the prayers, chats and laughs - they go a long way!

February Mash Up

When Olivia asked what I was doing and I said "updating my blog," her response was "oh that thing you never, ever do?"  Don't judge.  I'm busy (who isn't) but I've got photos to prove it

Not sure if I mentioned it but little Miss Thing thought basketball might be fun.  Turns out it's work so she's pretty done with that thought, but they had a good season and only lost one game.  This was a rare sighting of her getting some actual court time doing her best homeless child impression.

This is much more her speed (and mine)

There are a few really great milestones in your children's lives, and I count being able to carry your own board and catch waves by yourself as one of them!

I think that's 13 seconds of Olivia and I catching the same wave!

So yeah, yeah, enough about the beach in February.  I know it's snowing and bitterly cold where you are and I can hardly complain about being "busy" boogie boarding.  We did come home to this freakishly strange cloud formation over the mountains that evening.  Thought I'd share.

My little pride and joy herb garden.  Gardening IS actually work, but very rewarding.  Especially when these little babies turn red.  Nothing like a homegrown tomato.  

You will be happy to know that playing the flute is going better than basketball and Emily is really enjoying it.  She performed a duet (with a trumpet of all things) at the University of Hawaii a few weekends ago.  Both girls received a medal for being excellent in the beginning band category.  

Don't know how it happened but this one turned 17!  Of course, in true Olivia fashion she had to take her college ACT's on her big day so we postponed her celebration for a week.  

We went downtown and had a girls shopping day and dinner in Waikiki.  

And lots and lots of selfies

Now the real busy of course involves my actual job.  We finished up Catholic Schools Week a few weeks ago and although I'm not in charge of all the festivities, there are many and they are exhausting.  It's a week of mayhem and madness but I must say it was full of fun for all.

I took WAY too many photos that week but did manage to put them all into a 9 minute slideshow if you are so inclined.  

HFCA Catholic Schools Week Video

As if that wasn't enough fun, the next week we celebrated the Chinese New Year with traditional lion dancers

And Fat Tuesday with a Krispy Kreme doughnut treat for all!

While that probably doesn't sound like a big deal to you mainlanders, we have to fly our Krispy Kremes in from Maui.

So there we were at school at 5 am (well, my bff was at the airport picking them up) to deliver a sweet treat to all these little munchkins.  It was a hit.

And then...it was time for the BIG day.  You know the one.  The one that takes all the goodness of rainbows and puppies and unicorns and swirls them into one happy day dedicated to pink, fluffy, glitter hearts!

Another milestone: when your child wants cupcakes for schoolmates and can make and decorate them herself!  It's like my work here is done.  

As for our home festivities, one might say I'm growing weak with age.  We had spaghetti.  Because it's red.  I know, weak.  

No worries though, the Valentine fairy showed up with magical chocolates...

cute socks

sparkly decor

fancy desserts hidden under a mound of whipped cream

and some ridiculous, oversized, had to have, aviator sunglasses.  

Peace out.

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

Full disclosure: I'm not known for my late night partying or my New Year's Eve festivities.  I made an exception this year though as little girl's birthday hadn't really been celebrated yet and what could be more fun than a 'stay up past midnight, watch the fireworks and make tons of noise sleepover'  

Not much.  Of course, if you're going to do it... 

Ya gotta go all in!

We started the fun back at the outdoor skating rink

Came home for tacos and sprinkle doughnut cake and lots and lots of selfies

General shanagins like glow stick tag, makeovers and a movie that never got watched

Until it was finally time for the real noisemaking to begin!

The fireworks in Waikiki were amazing, lasted almost 20 minutes.  So did the shouting, giggling and horn blowing!

But like I said, you gotta go all in!  May your 2016 be full of excitement :)