Aloha 'Oe.

This is our last wk in Hawaii.  It's crunch time and we're getting the last of our bags packed and shipped to Florida.  We are moving to Florida.  I'm totally EXCITED to go and enjoy the life we'll make for ourselves there but i'm also sad to leave the island and the people we've grown to love.  We know this isn't the last time we'll be here so it's not so hard to let go.  One day last week Jesse and I cruised around the island and just stopped at random places.  My mom was wonderful and watched the kids for the day. On the drive we were thinking, maybe we shouldn't have done it because we realized how lucky and blessed we were to live in such a beautiful place, AGAIN, but this time with our kids.   black sand beach..so pretty can u see dude crush?  there were 6 turtles all together.

 

I'm glad we made the move to Hawaii even though our time here was short and definitely hard at times.  It made us appreciate the things we've come to love and also appreciate the things we've taken for granted at times.  We'll miss the ALOHA SPIRIT everyone has here.  One day we were shopping at the grocery store and while we were checking out, a random stranger bought the kids ice cream bars and told us how lovely they were and what a blessing children are.  It seems that everyone here is always looking out for one another and ready to lend a helping hand.  We are both excited for the kids to get to know the other side of our family too.  It's been years since Jesse's been home and we're happy to settle there, for now at least ;) , and expose the kids to the things that Jesse's done as a child....Disney World, HERE WE COME!! lol....

More BEACH Days!

Where else can you go out in perfect weather 365 days of the year?This is  ONE of the reasons why I love Hawaii so much! (splashing water at the turtle)  And this is why I will miss it even more!just a few random pics of different beach days.

2 mo check up

Sesi had his checkup today.  He's 16 1/2 pounds.  25 inches.He's getting heavy and smiling so much everyday.  The pics with Leva and Sesi were so cute.  Leva asked to hold him and so I placed Sesi in his arms.  As soon as I did he said, "mom get the camna, take a picture".  I did and after I took a few he said, "k thats nuff".. my big boy.  It almost looks like he's holding himself in the picture.

Keei Ward Nursery

This is an old post from Leva's nursery in Hawaii. I LOVED HIS NURSERY TEACHERS AND HE LOVED ATTENDING! They always had great things for the kids to learn, he NEVER came home empty handed, they were hands on with the kids there, and he loved every minute of it. His teachers were on top of everything from the minute those kids walked thru the doors to the minute they walked out. They had a shoe rug where all the kids would take off their shoes before entering the class. upon entering, the kids would go straight to a table and color for a few minutes until everyone in the class came in. Each child had a space on the wall with their names on it to collect all the crafts they made during nursery. AFter coloring, they would get to play with toys for a few minutes, and it was ONLY a few minutes. During 'toy time' they would take 2 or 3 kids at a time aside and help them to make crafts, which were usually things that had to do with the lesson for the day. Then they would all clean up and had snack time. Before snack time everyone would line up to go to the bathroom and wash hands. 2 of the teachers would take the troop to the bathroom while one stayed in the classroom to collect them as they came out. They used the time for washing hands for anyone who had to use the bathroom, which saved a bunch of time! Snack time was never just saltines or the usual graham crackers. They hooked these kids up! After snacks was a lesson and then a little bit of toys before singing time, which i loved because they didn't just sing they had bells and tamborines- sp? and rattles, things they used to make music while they sang, it really helped the kids get into it. Leva would come home each sunday with a different song he learned or saying some comment about church that i knew he'd learned from nursery. Well, I took leva to nursery here in Florida and he immediately took his shoes off when we got to the room. I tried explaining to him that he didn't have to do that here but he wouldn't hear it, off went his shoes. :( He looked around for a coloring table.. but nothing so he went straight to the toys. I left him there and came back for the last 20 minutes in church to find him playing with the same toys in the same spot where i left him. He had a look on his face like he was ready to leave. I'm not saying that i don't like our nursery here or that it's terrible, in fact i think the person who was there that day was just called to serve in nursery or fairly new to the callling.. but it made me realize how important EVERYONE is who has a calling in the church. I'm so grateful for teachers who put so much effort and heart into their callings. As a parent its such a good feeling to know that your leaving your child in good hands and that they're learning good things and being inspired, even at such a young age. I didn't mean for such a long flipping post, but i hope this will help me remember to be better and do better when i have callings in church. Here are just a few of the things leva came home with from nursery, i wish i had taken pictures of more. At the top is his "Book of Mormon", its filled with pictures from the bom, when we read scriptures he pulls this out. I love his scribbles in the front, thats him writing 'book of mormon'. The plate with the dif pics of food was when they learned about the word of wisdom and eating healthy foods.. the snacks on this day was mmm mmm good! This was valentine's day, which was also the chinese new year weekend. Each kid was sent home with a plate filled with cupcakes, not one cupcake per kid, but 10.. and some chinese candies.. it was pretty cool. Every holiday was like this, i would've had a picture of more but by the time we got home, Jesse had eaten his "crafts" or treats that he got sent home with... i guess another bonus with having a kid in nursery.. lol

UNDEROOS!!

It's been a busy month!  One of the things I've been up to is potty training this boy.  

He's doing great, he picked it up fairly quickly.  I tried potty training him before, the first time a few wks before world market in '08- which was just a TERRIBLE time to try to do anything.. but I bought pull-ups back then and didn't like the concept of buying basically a different "diaper" to teach him how to go to the bathroom. ( $30 down the drain)  After 2 days of trying to get him to the bathroom BEFORE he went, and taking care of Ke'ala, while trying to get our condo ready for world market and Gigi to visit, I threw in the towel.  The 2nd time I didn't want to go back to the pull-ups and we had already moved here to Hawaii, BUT we were staying with my aunt and uncle at the time.  I was also 7-8 months prego with Sesi and had Ke'ala crawling around everywhere.. I wasn't crazy or asking for a death wish, I was just bored and tried to find things to do to help me feel accomplished.  Well, after a few hours of trying to keep Leva by my side and scooping him up to go to the bathroom before he would go, and cleaning up maybe 2 accidents on the floor, thank goodness they were #1's!.. i gave up and decided that I was crazy for even CONSIDERING to try to do it at that time, in that condition, and thought maybe I should check myself into a crazy house.  My very sane other half suggested that I wait til I was ready, so I did just that.  I woke up one day in January and said it was time and we haven't looked back since!  I'm totally happy, but also sad because he's growing up so quickly, he lost his diapers and now he's a "big boy".  I read this book called Potty Training in 3 days.. yes 3 days, it's crazy I know, but that's my middle name, were you expecting anything else?  Honestly, I started on a Thursday and was done by Saturday.  It's so nice to have only 2 kids in diapers now!  I'm not excited to train Ke'ala though.. I know she will make it H-E double hockey sticks...i just hope she's potty trained by the time she starts school.. haha