Extra Super Creepy

My evening entertainment is generally watching a movie. As soon as the kids are in bed I run down stairs and put on a movie.

But tonight I found I'm fresh out of movies. I thought I'd try to catch up on Grey's Anatomy, but, sadly, ABC is not wanting to work for me. Then I remembered that my friend Sarah told me I could watch movies on Netflix, so I decided to try that.

I saw that I could watch Hero's - a TV series, I guess. I vaguely remember hearing that it was good, so I'm watching the second one right now and I'm a little creeped out. ew. and yikes.

Not my best solo viewing choice.

And now I'm going to have to find something else to watch to get all un-scared.

The fact that we are having a big rain storm is not helping.

Mele Kalikimaka!

We are having a sunny Hawaiian Christmas! Did santa visit you? Did you get everything you wanted? Are you planning to shop the day after Christmas sales?

Deployment Diaries:

Nathan and all his guys were able to take off last night. Just before they left we met with the other families and local Air Force leadership. I was feeling a little irritated about that meeting, because it meant one less hour spent at home, and I had been so weepy (sorry Mary) that I was worried I would be a blubbery mess. But I was fine, and it was actually really nice to visit with the other ladies, shake hands with the 4 star general, and hear from the Wing Commander. I had a really nice feeling as we left the meeting and headed to the airport.

We did not go into the airport. We just pulled up to the curb, unloaded Nathan's four bags of gear, and said goodbye in the departure lane. We miss you, Nathan!

We cried off and on all the way home, but something really funny happened just before we got home: I had to stop at the Shoppette for some last minute candy for stockings, so I locked the kids in the car (luckily Hannah is old enough to stay in the car with the little ones) and headed into the shop. My good friend Kelly was leaving the store just as I was going in. She gave me a big hug (ahhhh) and then I went on into the store. I had picked up two bags of candy when I heard our big car alarm going off. I sped past an MP and ran out into the parking lot to stop the alarm - I guess Kelly had stopped to chat with the kids and when they unlocked the door the alarm started.

So there I was with my puffy eyes and red nose in the middle of the parking lot with two bags of stolen candy, my car alarm honk-honk-honking, and an MP right behind me. Yikes!

That made me laugh all the way home (after I had returned to the store to pay for the candy.)




Hope your day is Merry and Bright!

I'm Makin' a List. Checkin' it Twice

To Do:

Make a List
Sleep In
Go Running
Commisary
Hem Nathan's fancy new camo pants
Lay out gifts and figure out if I got everything I needed
Wrap-o-rama
Bag up gifts for YW
Deliver neighbor gifts
Laundry
Sugar Cookie Fun!


What are you doing to get ready for Christmas?

***************

PS - I seem to be feeling better deployment-wise. I'm not so weepy or grouchy. That's good. Today I'm feeling very calm and ready to have some fun.


Here's our Christmas Eve deployment plan:

Traditional Christmas Eve potato soup in bread bowls on Sunday evening.
Followed by acting out the Nativity with scripture readings and carol singing.
I'm not sure if we'll do the PJ's on Sunday night or save that for after we drop off Nathan.

Monday morning will be our big Christmas breakfast before we open all the gifts!
Then Nathan leaves that night. : (
Note to deployment scheduler: would have been so bad to wait just two more days?
We will go meet Mr. General before heading to the airport.
Emily wonders if Daddy will see santa while he's flying?

Santa will still fill stockings and leave a gift for each of the children to find Christmas morning.
We will be sharing a Christmas dinner with some friends, if we feel like it.

Ho Ho Ho!

It's Aloha Friday

Mele Kalikimaka!

You know you are celebrating Christmas is Hawaii when it's your slippers and sandals you leave at the door, not your snow boots!

The Hawaiian language does not have as many letters as the standard English Language (notably the letter R.) When the missionaries and other Westerners first brought the custom of Christmas to the islands the Hawaiians had difficulty pronouncing Merry Christmas and turned it into words that rolled more easily off their tongues. Doesn't Mele Kalikimaka just roll right off your tongue?


*************

In other (deployment countdown) news -

I seem to have moved directly from weepy to extremely crabby (with extra tears thrown in for good measure). Poor Nathan.

I was going to type an example of my bad behavior here, but it started to make me grouchy just thinking about it. In the interest of having a good morning I'll just stop typing now.

******

One good thing, though - with all my extra bad mood energy, I have gone running every single day this week! I haven't run 5 days in a row since June. Go me!

Tiny Bubbles

I found some of these at WalWart today, and now they are bubbling away on our tree.

We had bubble lights on our Christmas Tree when I was a kid and I remember wondering how they worked.

When Emily gets home from school today she is totally going to love them!

Remember Pearl Harbor

Today is the 66th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

***********

And it is also out one year anniversary in Hawaii. We had been in Hawaii for just one day, this time last year. What a year! Last year we were able to attend a ceremony in memory of Pearl Harbor at Hickam Air Force Base. This year we are happy to have power after a week of big storms and high winds.

Nathan had the kids out early cleaning up the debrit in our cul-de-sac. Luckily our big trees didn't lose any big branches. We did have a lot of limbs down.


Tree limbs fell on the fence behind our neighbor's house.


This big tree fell across an intersection, taking out powerlines and a stop sign. All that wood and Nathan without his Lathe!


Good work John!

Tuesday

It is recess at our little Preschool. The boys are playing trucks and tinker toys and I have about 10 mintues to sit here at the computer.

Our letter today is K. We ate Hersey Kisses and shark bite fruit snacks. We made a letter K that can Kick, and practiced some of our own kicking. Next up is reading the Cat and the Hat and making Kites, then running aroung the house like Thing 1 and Thing 2. For lunch we will have turkey sandwiches and french fries with Ketchup. Fun!

*****

Thanks for your kind words yesterday (ooo, Kind starts with K, must talk about being kind...) One thing I decided yesterday is that we really need to make our weekends count. Not that lazying around the house is bad, but I think it will be fun to make some great memories in the next 3 weeks.

Some ideas for us:

Snorkel at Hanauma Bay
Go to the Zoo
Hike to the Lighthouse and keep an eye out for whales
Go body surfing at Malaekahana
And wade out to that little island
Go to the Temple
Play Sequence and Clue and Chess and Sorry
Netflix some Christmas movies

That sounds good.


************



Last night I finished The Life of Pi by Yann Martell. Have you read it? It is the story of a young boy from India who survives 227 days in a lifeboat after the ship he is on sinks. His only companion is a 450 pound bengal tiger. The adventure of his journey and truce with the tiger are amazing and full of rich detail - gathering rain water, catching fish, eating turtles.... But I found the ending rather disturbing.

After finishing the book I couldn't sleep, So I spent some time checking my blog statistics (hello to you reader in Spain!) and searching for Christmas presents online. I even ordered one...

+++++++++++++++++

The tinkertoys are being used as swords - time to go!

Monday Morning

It is December! And so we start our Christmas Countdown. and our deployment countdown.

We have a few weeks until Nathan heads to Iraq, and I've become a little weepy at odd moments. This is strange for me because (a)I think I'm generally a happy person - I like to smile at strangers and wave at people I pass on the street. When pregnant I get grouchy, not teary-eyed. Waaa! and (b) I don't remember being like this when he's deployed other times.

I probably shouldn't write about this, because I don't want my mom to worry and I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me, but this is like my journal and I'm keepin' it real!

I've found that it's not a good time to read WWII novels. or listen to sad songs. I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane is on my banned music list.

This wouldn't be so bad if I could cry in a grown up kind of one tear down my cheek kind of way. Instead my nose runs, my whole face turns red, and I get a little snorty. One good thing is that my eyes are at their most lovely green when I cry, if you can see them past my puffy eyelids and running mascara...

On Saturday at WalWart I saw a friend whose husband is leaving this week and I got all teary eyed. She seemed in great spirits. I'm sure she was wondering what's wrong with me.

The worst thing is that Aloha Oi song. Here in Hawaii there is a beautiful tradition at church of singing Aloha Oi' to families and individuals as a farewell just before they move away. They go to the front of the Chapel. We stand and sing, then line up to give them a lei and a hug. I love it, but it makes me a little choked up even on a good week. This Sunday we sang to several men who will be deployed soon and I was crying in a very unattractive runny nosed way.

Awe, shucks, I'm getting teary just thinking about it...

Earlier this year I read "Rilla of Ingleside" by L. M. Montgomery. It is about Anne's family during World War One. I was struck by the strength of the women and their ability to send the boys to war with a smile on their face and no tears.

I wish I could be like that, but I'm not sure if I can. I can already see our airport scene... I wonder if Nathan will mind if we just pull up to the curb and dump his big green bags onto the sidewalk...

I'm just telling this to you guys, cuz I know you can keep a secret. You are absolutely NOT allowed to say, "oooo, are you OKay?" or pat my shoulder, or tell me how much worse it was for you, or say anything mushy, got it? I'm going to be too busy to mope around, and if you say anything about my red eyes, I'll say I have allergies.

Friday Already?

My sister, Mary, mentioned craft stress in her post today. She cracks me up! And, since I want to be just like her, I decied to share a couple of tips and a bad craft moment.

I love kid crafts! It's the kids that make the crafts difficult, though...

I have found that the most stressful kid crafts are the kind that have an expected outcome. The cuter the project is supposed to turn out, the more I start to twitch. But John loves crafts - so what's a mom to do?

Luckily John has very limited cute craft experience. Glitter? That's just for the big girls. Sequins? What's that? Plain paper and markers are still exciting for him. And if I pull out the glue his eyes light up!

But glue is tricky. And messy. And dangerous.

Here's my favorite glue tip: A little puddle of glue on a plate and a q-tip is just the thing for spreading glue. No chance of over-zealous squeezing, and easier to use than a glue stick.



For today's craft I let him chose a large piece of construction paper. I gave him some markers. And I cut circles and squares out of more construction paper. He colored. He glued. He had fun. That's what I call a successful craft time!

*****************

Craft stress does not end as your kids get bigger. Two weeks ago at our mid-week youth activity we decided to have the girls dip candles. This was to illustrate the mutual theme for the year

"Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God" (D&C 121:45)

Our Young Women's president did a great job illustrating that verse. She held up a little piece of wick that had been dipped in wax a few times. It had not waxed strong! As we gain our testimonies by following the Savior and daily choosing the right, we will wax strong a little at a time, just as the candle will become stronger after repeated dipping into the wax.

Then we dipped candles with the girls.

We had 7 colors of wax and we discussed each value as we dipped wax (ie - how can having faith help your confidence wax strong?, etc.) I thought it was a rather brilliant lesson. The problem was the wax.

Wax on the table. Wax on the floor. Wax on girls finger tips. Wax over on the drinking fountain.

The clean up took for-e-ver.

We were just about done when I notice a pot of hot water on the stove. We had used a lot of hot water to keep the jars of wax warm as the girls were dipping, and I thought it was just one of our pots, waiting to be emptied. So I picked it up and poored it right down the drain. I heard Diane yell NO! and I could see immediately that I had made a big mistake.

That pot of water was actually a pot of hot wax. I had noticed earlier in the evening that the hot wax was totally clear and looked just like water. But I forgot....

The wax was all over the inside of the sink. and down in the drain.... I was able to clean out the sink, but the drain was another matter.

It took a plumber to fix my big mistake (luckily there is one in another ward). The wax had solidified into a candle shaped piece right in the drain of the sink - too bad I didn't wash down some wicking, too....

How embarrassing...

Thursday

I should probably be doing a little tidying up, but instead I'm here!

Busy week! and busy day:

This morning Nathan's squadron had a Change of Command Ceremony. I was able to go, but it was a race to get myself dressed in real clothes (as opposed to my usual morning ensemble of running shorts and tennis shoes,) mascara on, the kids to school, John to preschool, and make it through the morning traffic down to Hickham AFB.

I had exactly 15 minutes between the time I dropped off the girls at school and when I could drop off John at his little preschool. So I decided to run to the Commisary to get a lei for the new commander's wife. The Commisary opened just as we were walking in, and the floral guy was stocking a fresh batch of lei's - what luck! But when I got to the register it turned out that the machines were not working. And they wouldn't take cash. or a check. or a card. So no lei. Oh well.

Nathan needed to wear his beret today for the event, but he hasn't worn it before, so he spent last night washing and rewashing and shaping and shaving his beret to get it into the correct shape. He even slept in it last night. Apparently wearing it all floppy is bad form. Who knew a well shaped hat took so much work?

Nathan had to be down there early, and by the time I got there, they were already standing in formation. And I couldn't spot Nathan in the crowd of green, even with his new hat.

The ceremony was lovely - the view of the ocean was beautiful and the speeches were short! It was a fun morning - wearing my favorite dressy shoes and pretending to be a grown up. Do you ever feel like that?

There is mosquito around here biting me. and now I'm all itchy. guess that means it's time to get up and get some laundry done.

Next up: Hula. then a training thing for YW. I would just like to mention that Young Women's is sooooooo much work and time...I had no idea what I was in for....that's another blog post...

It's Aloha Friday!

Thanksgiving in Hawaii was lovely.

The kids spent the day outside having a waterballoon fight while I basted the turkey and baked my favorite rolls.

John got a sunburn (bad mom award)!

The turkey was good. Maybe a little dry, but not bad. We had way way way too much food, and the leftovers are excellent! The Turkey and the Lumpia should last through the weekend.

I got up at 4:15am to go to the NEX with a couple other ladies. There was a crazy long line of people who had been waiting since midnight. Yikes! We were able to go right in and find the few things we wanted. There were lots and lots of the item I was interested in, so I could have slept in, or waited until tomorrow, but it was kind of fun to be out there in the craziness. Did you find any hot deals today?

Christmas music was all over the radio, so I guess it's time to search for the Christmas decorations...

After I hid the loot in the garage, I ate a piece of pumpkin pie and took a nap.

I think it's time to eat again, but all the rolls are gone, so I'm going to have to go whip up another batch to go with the turkey...

****wave report for Nathan***

The waves are up on the North Shore so head that way if you want to try see some surfing. Waves are calm down by Waikiki, so head that way if you want to do any SCUBA or spearfishing.

*******

Mele Kalikimaka!!!

Wednesday

We had preschool here this morning and let me just say that those 4 little boys are so cute. If I was a real blogger I would have taken photos of them in their Indian feather head bands. Today's letter was Ii. Indian. Ice. And Icing. We iced cupcakes. We used ice to write the letter I on construction paper. We made Indian headdresses and had a little Thanksgiving Powwow.

It was fun. I had fun. John had fun. I think the other boys had fun. Yea!

Piano lessons are happening right now. Our travelling piano teacher is great. But this song Hannah is working on doesn't really sound like a song. I hope it sounds better for the recital coming up in 2 weeks.

Next up is a trip to the Commisary (Eeeeeek!) for a few more Thanksgiving supplies (ie flour, onion, and canned pumpkin) How did I forget to buy the canned pumpkin?

After that adventure I am going to bake my pies and maybe go ahead and make Ree's Sweet Potatoes tonight to be re-warmed tomorrow. Or maybe I'll save the pie and sweet potatoes for tomorrow and I'll put on my jammies and start a movie, instead.

Luckily it has been a tiny bit cooler and a little rainy - it's feeling like Thanksgiving, even over here in Hawaii! I'm even wearing socks.

CupCakes

I need to make cupcakes today to take to church tonight. Do NOT let me forget.

I wonder if Family fun has a turkey cupcake idea...

Sure enough - turkey cupcakes!



gobble gobble

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

It's Monday, and once again the pile of laundry awaiting me is overwhelming. I just don't wanna do it.

I wonder why I am suprised(I am also surprised each time the spell checker tells me I've misspelled surprised. Does it really need that extra R?) each Monday morning by the vast quantity of dirty clothes that piles up over the weekend? It's like amnesia. It happens every week, and yet every week I am shocked at the sight of the overflowing laundry baskets. I should remember and do a load (or five) over the weekend.

I looked back through my blog and noticed a Monday morning laundry post trend, so instead of coming up with something new and clever, I just copied and pasted an old post here (originally posted Jan. 24, 2006)- it sounds so hopeful - an empty laundry basket? Is it possible?:

Each Monday Mrs. McNosh washes all the clothes and hangs everything up on the clothes line. She starts to get a little carried away and:

She hangs up the dog
and his dish and his bone.
She gets a wrong number
and hangs up the phone....

After a long weekend I feel like Mrs. McNosh. Every thing needs to be washed (including the dogs.) So far today we have washed, folded, and put away 4 loads of laundry. Emily and John have been folding and delivering for me. John is good at remembering whose is whose (sometimes rather tricky with 3 big sisters.) Right now our fancy new washing machine (thank you Nathan) is washing our sheets. Today is a beautiful breezy day, so I will hang them out to dry on the line.

An empty laundry basket seems like such a great accomplishment.

All about me?

If you had to write a little something to introduce yourself in 50 words (or less) what would you say?

Here's some ideas for me:

Wendy B is a member of the stroller brigade, the worried mom of teenagers club, and laundry haters anonymous.

Wendy B lives in Hawaii with her husband and 4 children. She enjoys eating pineapple, scuba diving, and surfing working on her tan.

Wendy B wants to be able to write something interesting here, but it turns out she's mostly likely to be found sitting on the couch picking her toenails.

Wendy B is a superstar mom of 4 brilliant children and wife to Air Force man who looks Hawt in (and out of) uniform.

Wendy B needs counselling, some new shoes, and help with her hair. You can read more about her fascinating life at www.rapidlife.blah blah blahgspot.com


??????

Night Ray

This is a short video of a Manta Ray during our night dive. Last one, for reals this time!

One Last Dive post

Back to the boat dive.

After enjoying a nice afternoon dive, we came up for a snack and a little rest. Then, after the sun set, we got ready to dive again.

Before our first dive I was worried about jumping in with all my gear on. I was worried that my fins would trip me before I even had a chance to get in the water. I was worried that my mask would mush my nose and fill with water and I would lose my contacts. And I was worried about embarrassing myself, so I decided to hold my fins and mask in my hands while I jumped in and put them on after I was in the water.

Bad idea. That was no fun. I forgot that I have a hard time reaching my feet when I'm all geared up. My head kept going under water while I was trying to reach my feet, and I thought I might drown. No fun at all. I was finally able to get my fins on, but I decided to jump in all geared up for the second dive.

That worked much better. I put on my fins and mask, waddled over to the end of the boat, and took a big step off into the ocean. I didn't trip. My mask was fine. And I didn't hold up the group while trying to reach my toes. Much better!

Manta Ray (is ray plural without the s?) eat plankton. Light attracts plankton. So the plan was to sit on the bottom of the ocean and shine flashlights up hoping to attract plankton and manta rays.

Several boats had joined us at our dive spot and there were lots of divers and snorkelers with flashlights. We all settled in and shined our lights up, and sure enough, here came the Manta Rays. It looked like a scene in a science fiction movie. Lights and bubbles above and below us, and huge creatures looking right at us!

There were more than a dozen of those big guys swimming just above our heads. They were much closer than the ones we had seen earlier in the daylight. And with the dark sky above and the lights below we could really see what the Manta Ray look like.

They have different spots that make it easy to identify them. They open up their mouths and gills and just swoop over you. One even batted Nathan's head as he swam past. They seemed to be having a fun time - soaring and tumbling in the water. It was an amazing sight.

More Dive

Me and Nate at Sunset

Our first adventure on the Big Island was a boat dive with Jacks Diving Locker. We headed out at about 4pm and saw dolphins on the way to the dive site.



Those dolphins were really fast swimmers and came right up to the boat. They wanted to race!

I had never done a boat dive before, and I was a little freaked out about jumping into the ocean with all my dive gear on. That was my big worry on the trip - not sharks or other scary fish.

For this trip we did an afternoon dive and saw lots of interesting fish and a few manta ray. Then we came up and had a sandwich and got ready for another dive. The second dive was after dark. I'll post a video of that later.

Here is a moray eel and ? a cool polka dot fish?

And here is a trumpet fish - what an interesting looking thing!

My favorite under water creature

Manta Ray Dive

wednesday

Having fun on Big Island stop

Saw Manta Rays, Waterfalls, and Rainforest stop

Hiked cauldera and lava tube stop

Miss you stop

Home tomorrow stop

Getting Away

Remember my sob story?


Apparently my tears worked, and we get to go after all!




We are running away to the Big Island tomorrow...














If you get bored while I'm gone you can read all about Pele, the goddess of the volcano.

or you can study up on Manta Rays. Did you know those guys can be as big as 13 feet across? Wowza!

or plan your own trip to the Big Island!

Aloha!

Post-Halloween Stress Disorder

Hannah here - Sorry that I didn't write my Saturday blog last week - there wasn't really anything interesting to blog about.

But today, oh, today, I've got a nice, tasty, fattening treat for you.

That's right.

Candy. Chocolate, Starbursts, Smarties, Bubblegum, anything you can possibly think of. This is why I hate Halloween. Because, even thought I am a young, fresh, thirteen-year-old, I still have fears. BIG fears. One in particular, the most dreadful two words in the history of dreadful words: Getting Fat. So, this Halloween I decided that I would boycott candy.

Haha. Ha. Hahahahaha.

I even forced myself to stay away from houses passing out candy. But, when you are sitting around with a HUGE bowl of candy to pass out to little kids, you can get carried away. The same goes for having three siblings who are all very much into the Halloween movement.

Every day starts out normal: I wake up, I get ready, I eat breakfast, and then I head out the door. But wait! What's that I hear?

"Hannah, Hannah, come heeeeere!"

"We are caaaaaalling to you, Hannah."

"Don't you want just ooonneeee little snickers bar?"

NO! I will fight the urge. I drag my unwilling feet out of the door and go to school. My tummy rumbles, all day long, no matter how much I eat for lunch. For it has heard the call of the wildly tasty candy, and will stop at nothing to get to this deadly treat.

I get home from school. Conveniently, every piece of candy in our house is strung about on the kitchen table. Oh, Three Musketeers, oh, Tootsie Rolls galore, oh, bliss.

Until I eat about five hundred pieces.

Then my dear stomache stretches out to unbelievable lengths, all in order to enjoy the full effects of an afternoon of candy.

EVERY DAY!

Can you feel my pain?
Am I the only one?
Is it wrong to feel this way as a thirteen-year-old?

Help me out, here!

Halloween Round Up

Yee Haw!




The shoes were too big.




Do my beads hang straight?




Hope ya'll had a spooky Halloween!

Spoooooooky Week!

This is one of those weeks where all of my little projects are happening at the same time.

Sometimes I feel a little bored, so I volunteer to help here and there, and usually that's great. But this week, all of my commitments are happening at the same time. Here's what's going on:

Gave a talk in Sacrament meeting on Sunday
And fixed 6 pounds of taco meat for a youth activity
Next Sunday I'm teaching all the Young Women together
Helped at middle school on Monday
Preschool here on Tuesday, and back to the middle school at lunchtime
Plus Hula Tuesday afternoon
And Young Womens Tuesday night
Halloween on Wednesday (and one last costume to finish up - sorry Hannah)
With a Spooky Science activity after school
And piano lessons Wednesday afternoon
And Trunk or treating at the church after a little neighborhood trick or treating
Thursday I help at the elementary school
And Nathan's parents are coming into town Thursday evening


eeeeeeeek!

It's Aloha Friday

I dedicate this edition of Aloha Friday to my new best friend, Oxy Clean.


When we moved to Hawaii almost a year ago I was ready for sun and sand and surf. I was not ready for red dirt. Who knew that red dirt would take over my life?

King of the Red Dirt Hill

My dad would tell you that it's not dirt, it's soil. I don't know the difference, but let me tell you, it is dirty. Red dirt is like a permanent dye on your socks. And your favorite white skirt. And your new white t-shirt.

Once dried in, it is impossible to remove. One little dirty sock thrown in with a load of whites can cause all sorts of trouble.

But that natural dye can be a good thing - you can buy authentic Hawaiian red dirt dyed t-shirts. Though red dirt socks would probably be better for John.


Oooh! Shoes on over those socks! That's a good start, but if it's wet out the red dirt will seep through your shoes and still stain your socks...

I find red mud footprints on the tile. And red mud footprints on the bathroom vanity. And red mud fingerprints on the refridgerator. And red dirt rings around the bathtub...

The soil in Hawaii is high in iron. When the iron rusts it causes a red color. That's how we get Alaea or red dirt!.

I have seen this red salt at the store, and have wonder what it is. It turns out that it is sea salt mixed with a little hawaiian red dirt. It has a high amount of natural minerals and it is supposed to taste great. I'll have to try it...

Also, there is a legend that when King Kamahama was out with his soldier and they ran out of Poi and got really desperate, they would swim to the bottom of a river and eat handfulls of the red mud to survive. Yum!

Hope your Aloha Friday is a clean one!

If

If you had planned a little getaway to a neighbor island with your honey,

but it turns out your sweetie was,

then wasn't,

then was again,

and then probably for reals wasn't actually going to be able to "get away",

what would you do?




Cancel? Cry? Go Shopping? Eat Chocolate?




Keep your reservation, go to the Big Island, hike the active volcano, and swim with the manta rays....alone?




Reschedule for a one-day in your own hometown kind of get away? (Waikiki Beach is just a few minutes away, that wouldn't be so bad, would it?)

TetherBall

++++++++++++++++++

I have a new calling. (Mormon-talk for volunteer church job that you really didn't volunteer for, but you're (mostly) happy to do.) Last night was my first night on the job at Young Womens.

The Beehives (my assigned group) were in charge of teaching some sweet sports skills. We did soccer drills, volleyball bumping, jump roping, and yoga. We did not get to play tether ball, but John and I play sometimes at school.

I am embarrassed to admit that I'm a little sore this morning. I think from the sideways shuffling up to a line and back and up to the next line and back again.

A couple of the girls in our ward are on their middle school jump roping team. They have the cutest routine evah! I am so jealous. I must learn it.

They also know how to do double dutch, and gave each of us a chance to try jumping in. I'm proud to announce that I was able to jump in on my first try! Go double dutch! Now that I think about it, swinging those ropes may be why my arms are a little sore. (don't tell the young women, they already think I'm oooooooold)

I think we need to start a neighborhood jump roping club...Where do you buy those long jump ropes?

Home Alone.

It's 8:30am on Tuesday. The girls are in school. John is at preschool. and I'm home alone!

I am doing a little neighborhood swap preschool with 3 other mom's, so I have the boys here every other Tuesday. On Thursday while he's at preschool I help at the elementary school. For some reason all of my "off" Tuesdays have been spent at the school or visiting teaching, and this is my first all-alone-with-nothing-to-do day this year!

Not that I really have nothing to do. I am going to sew until 11am, then go get my run. along with a little laundry and mopping.

I am also going to enjoy a nice breakfast out on the lanai.

What do you do when you are home alone?

Ta-Da!

From now on, Saturday blogging will be revolutionized. Mwahahahaha. Does this sound like Wendy right now? HAH! I think NOT! This is her fabulous daughter, the eldest one, Hannah. I am going to be the Saturday "Guest Blogger". From now on, every Saturday, you will get to examine the brain of the modern thirteen-year-old girl. For today, I'll start with thirteen things about me, myself, and I.

1. I love the show The Hills.

2. Beauty and the Beast makes me cry.

3. I love, love love love love love, Pride and Prejudice. All of the movies, and the book, too.

4. Bride and Prejudice, however, might be even better. I wish I could do that snake dance.

5. I get straight As, without fail. So my parents never have to fear in that area.

6. I love sarcasm. Not many adult readers may agree, but I look at sarcasm as a new mother looks at her child.

7. A Room With A View makes no sense. At all. And the whole skinny dipping thing, it really just makes me afraid.

8. I love my family. All of my aunts, uncles, siblings, cousins, whatever. They are the greatest.

9. I joined Theater club a few weeks ago, and I don't think I'm ever going to go back. Again.

10. I am destined for great things. Fame, to be exact. I don't know how yet, because the whole theater club thing scared me. No offense to theater enthusiasts, but those kids were really weird.

11. Jacob is better than Edward.

12. I wish the Harry Potter series would just keep going on forever.

13. I love shopping. Especially at American Eagle, Hollister, Pac Sun, Wet Seal, and Old Navy.


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This whole guest blogger thing is a test to see how dedicated I really am. Eventually, I might be allowed to have my own blog.

Hostage

I'll never forget the day I found this note sitting on the desk.

Oh the wailing.

and the gnashing of teeth.

The terror.

The loneliness.

The laundry and the dishes and the sewing and the reading (how much more I am able to do in a day when the computer is abducted...)

But, the terms were met. (or the term papers were finished, which ever)

And the computer is mine again!

Hurrah!


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ps - it appears that the same outlaw who hijacked the computer has now taken control of the TV....

More Air Show + John

I can't help myself - Nathan took too many great photos!

This one always scares me. I have to close my eyes...

And this is my most favorite!

I could keep posting Blue Angels photos all day! But I need to do laundry, and I really wanted to write about John:



John makes me smile. He also makes me do hopscotch. If you haven't done hopscotch in a while, you should. It's fun!

Each morning when we drop off the girls at school he says: I'm thirsty! and I say: You know where the drinking fountain is!

But that drinking fountain is tricky!

Try again!

There you go!

Air Show

We drove over to Kaneohe Marine Corps Base on the other side of the island to see the Blue Angels fly.



Luckily, I brought my photographer with me. He was able to catch some amazing photos! (thanks nate) As we came through the the check in, the Marine looked though his big bag of lenses and asked if he was with the media...



With the mountains in the background, the bay in front of us, the clouds above us and the Blue Angles flying it was a breathtaking show!



A friend gave us grandstand tickets, so we had a great view and seats! (can you tell that is two planes?)



The kids had fun - it was John's first time to see them and Emily hadn't seen them since she was a baby.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

— John Gillespie Magee, Jr

I've Been Boo'd

October is a dangerous month, with temptation lurking around every corner.

Temptation of the miniature candy bar variety.

Last night as I was reading about airplanes to John and Emily, the doorbell rang. Sydney answered the door and yelled:

"Somebody Ding-Dong-Ditched us!"

and she was right. There was just a bag of candy and a ghost picture sitting on the porch. How fun!

I let each of the kids have one candy before bed. I ate a miniature Baby Ruth.

After the house got quiet and my movie started I could hear that candy calling out to me. I tried to ignore it, but before the movie was over I had eaten 2 miniature Kit-Kat bars and a Crunch bar. AND as I went around turning out the lights I ate one last Kit-Kat bar.

That makes 5 all together.

Booooooo!

And they weren't even my favorite kind.

There are 20 more days until Halloween and to avoid turning into a pumpkin myself, I've decided to give myself a little chocolate challenge. No more Halloween Candy until Halloween. On Halloween I will only be allowed 10 candies. I think 10 is a good number. More than a handful, but not an entire plastic trick-or-treat pumpkin full.

I'll let you know how it goes.



Boo-Yeah!


****5:45am is too early to blog. sorry - no time to edit. I was thinking it would be fun to make that ghost into a little side bar sticker for you, in case you wanted to join me, but if I don't get off the computer right now I won't have time to run. I'll try later.

Boo-Hoo to you.

I'm not really blogging right now

It's bedtime.

The kids are awake, but in their beds. Things are getting quiet around here.

And I'm not blogging.

I am going to lay on the couch and watch a movie.

Instead of night-blogging I'm going to get up a little early and blog before my morning run.

I already know what i'm going to write about....stay tuned....

Toilet Tag and other PottyTalk

Some people have gratitude Tuesday. I'm going to go with Toilet Tuesday.


Toilet Talk #1

The downstairs half-bath has the worst stinkin' toilet ever. I am currently engaged in daily battle with the stinky toilet and I'm not winning.

I think I can identify the 3 1/2 foot toilet troublemaker in a line up. We have 3 girls, and a boy. The boy is the youngest. He's been potty trained for a couple of years and he is very reliable at staying dry. He is even staying dry at night (see below for complete story.) But I have a feeling his aim is a little off.

If you are a veteran mother of boys, please help!




Toilet Talk #2

We have a family history of bedwetting. I won't discuss which ones of us had bedwetting troubles because I don't want to embarrass myself anyone, but basically it has been rare for any of our kids to be dry at night before 1st grade. Pullups are my first line of defense.

A few weeks ago we ran out of pullups. I did not want to have to go to the Shoppette in my jammies, so I decided to try night training. I have used this method successfully before, but I had been too lazy to try it with our current bedwetters.

Here's how it works: Put plastic sheets over your mattresses. Please. Then you can make the bed as usual. Make sure your bedwetter uses the bathroom one more time after a bedtime story (around 8pm). Then wake up your bedwetter just before you go to bed (around 11pm) and make sure she goes potty. I find it best to make that bedwetter walk to the bathroom. Sometimes running the water in the sink is necessary to inspire a performance. If you or your spouse get up really early in the morning, it's a good idea to once again take your bedwetter to the bathroom.

I can guarantee a 33% success rate with this method. The other 66% may inspire me to resume buying Pullups for a few more months....




Toilet Talk #3

On the way to Young Women's tonight Hannah told me that she had planned tonight's fun combined activity. I asked her what they were doing and she said they were playing some getting to know you games. Like Flush-Away-the-Bad-Attitude-and-Just-Be-Friends Tag. Otherwise known as Toilet Tag.

I'm so proud of my daughter for coming up with such a noble and inspiring activity. Brilliant!

If you've never played toilet tag, you're in for a real treat! Toilet tag is played like freeze tag. One person is "it" (you can have more "it's" if you have a large group.) "It" has to freeze everyone. The last person tagged becomes "it". If you are tagged you must instantly freeze, and put your right hand out to the side, like a little toilet flusher. To become un-frozen, someone has to come along and "flush" your hand. Flushing sound-effects optional.

Hannah said everyone had fun and there were no accidents!