Riding in Cars with Kids

Not a bad experience if you are prepared.  Books, crayons, coloring books, movies, video games, snacks, drinks, a few toys and you can't go wrong on an 18 hour road trip.  If you want to pack light and if your kids are anything like Sesi, just take a video game and you won't hear a peep from them the whole 2 day drive. They won't ask for food, or water, just the game and the occasional bathroom break and they'll be good.

We didn't know what to expect on such a long drive, but the kids were great!  They like to travel and it was all very exciting for them.  The 2 youngest boys, no fussing or crying unless they had dirty diapers or were hungry.  I couldn't have asked for better road buddies.

Cleaning Up

I woke up this morning at 3am for a bathroom break and thought, ugh this place needs a good cleaning. So I got out the cleaning supplies and attacked el baño.  Who cleans house in the middle of the night?  Only mom...and now I can add myself to that list.  It was just one of those moments where I couldn't put it off another minute. As I was cleaning a slur of things flew through my mind.  General Conference being one of them.

I love General Conference.  I really do.  It's usually a time of year when I reevaluate  myself.  Self reflect.  Start new resolutions.  Let's face it, anytime is a good time to do good and be better, but rather than starting at the beginning of the year, I like to start new resolutions with Gen. Conference.  That way I can check myself (physically & spiritually) every 6 months (til the next conference) and see if I'm following through with things I started or not.

This morning I focused on the physical aspect of my reevaluation. As I was scrubbing away I asked myself what else needed a good cleaning in my life?  My teeth, for one.  Why? Because I eat so much sugar.  I often hear from my other half phrases such as, "I've never seen anyone eat as much sugar as you do.",or, "You are the sugar queen.", "How does that not hurt your teeth?".  Ok. What else could use a good cleaning?   My body.  My gut.  Why? Cause I made sure to drink enough soda to store  away there for hibernation this winter. Sugar!  My friend.  My enemy.  To get myself ready for Conference this weekend, when I get to clear and clean my mind and spirit, I'm starting a sugar cleanse.  Thank you , brother Sale for bringing it to mind. If I'm going to clean up my spiritual life, it's only fair to give a little TLC to my physical self.  It won't be forever.  It could.  It should be, with all the sugar I've eaten in my 29 yrs of life, I'm surprised I haven't started to sweat syrup.  More details later. For now, I'm doing it, my bathroom is clean, I'm clean-(I can't clean a bathroom without showering, can you?), feeling good, going sleep.

Buddies

    

         

  They're  brothers.  They're happy and they're playing and they're colored.  Give me a high five!  

Vita's bday is in October and Baby J's in November. They are so much fun together! 

Kids on a Plane

                        

Flying from Kona to Texas with the 3 older ones and the baby wasn't too bad.  We had an overnight stay in the LA airport which worked out better than expected cause my only problem was that I hardly got any sleep. Which is normal for me anyway so not a big deal. See? ^^ that's my "this is so much fun I'd do it again" face at midnight.

 We had 2 stops and didn't get a hotel room cause we flew into LA at 9:30 pm and our next flight was at 6am the following morning.  Can you imagine trying to wake up these kids around 3am to get ready to be at the airport after only 4 hrs of sleep? I don't think so.  Besides that, all the hotel rooms were booked that night.  LA is such a busy place! I chose to let them sleep til close to boarding time at 5:30 am. They love to fly and did great. Camping out in the airport was "cool" and "awesome" until they were sleepy and wondered why someone wouldn't turn the lights off and why a lady kept talking loudly on the speakers.  They asked if we could do it again when we were done and  I told them only if I get the big chairs to sleep on next time. 

       

   

Til We Meet Again...

  Best buds, neighbors, classmates, cousins, family and this wonderful place we call home, Aloha 'Oe.  Til next time Big Island!

             

                                 

                        

Kua Bay-bies

                       

Pictures and videos of the family at the kids favorite beach.  It was a very mild day in the water.  A nice change because usually the waves are huge.  

Cousin Time

I took this bunch of little people to the movies last month.  It was Salesi's first time and he was so happy!  Scared at first, because of the dark room, but happy once the screen lit up. 

                     Kalolaine is the same age as Sesi.  She's a spunky gal, I've enjoyed spending time with her.

Ke'ala likes to make jewelry and will whip something up with materials she finds anywhere.  She made me this cute bracelet out of a weed and plants she found on the farm. Adorable!

             

Meet Squeaker McSqueaketh.  Ela Olivia has a wee munchkin voice.  It's the cutest thing listening to her convo's. 

We walked down the road passed the warehouse where Jesse works to ride bikes, trucks and skateboards. I don't know what 

she's doing here.  I think she took her shoes off and told her she couldn't come with us til she put them on.  She got them on, huh? Ha!

                 

                                   

                                

One of the benefits of living on a farm is when the kids get hungry, there are plenty of snacks to choose from and they do all the work!  That's half the fun for them. 

Ride Hard, Goldie

  We put Goldie up for sale a couple weeks ago in preparation of moving.  

Little did we know that last night would be the last time we'd ride in good ol' Goldie. We loved this car.  It's been the perfect vehicle for our adventures. I will miss our scenic lunches and dinners in the back of the car and our impromptu stops. 

   

                

With all the packing we've been doing I haven't had energy to do dinner at home.  We got a quick bite and ate at Old A's.  The view was a million times better than this and the ocean was beautiful, the sun huge and bright,  shining different hues of pink orange, red , purple and yellow that my phone just couldn't pick up. Thanks, Goldie.  It's been a fun ride!

                           

Ya Gotta Laugh!

I have a few pictures that make me laugh out loud. The 2nd picture is one of them. 

It might help to know that after the kind lady took our picture, I told Jesse he might want to check it to see if it was any good.  "Pssh, I'm not Gona do that." No need, he was sure it was fine.  It was the only picture we took of Jesse with the waterfall.  We finished the hike, got in the car, he checked the picture and said, as Napolean would, "What the heck!! I'm standing in front of the waterfall!!"

I had a good hard laugh for the next 30 minutes. The kind that just kept coming back when you stop.  When you're quiet for 5 minutes and it starts all over again the minute anyone speaks. 

I didn't think, "I told you so", was necessary...but laughter, yes, laughter was. 

Big Sis, Lil' Bro

                                         Lesi Boy.  He likes to swing.  Ke'ala was so sweet and asked if she could swing with her little brother. They had tons of fun.  I couldn't say no.  Could you?