ONE very big run-on weekend/week

Like I said in an earlier post...life doesn't slow down with 3 very smart award winning kids. This was the competition where our school got a first place trophy. The team worked very hard getting these robots to work. We were there all morning and rushed out as soon as photos were over to arrive at girl scout camp for our overnight adventure on the Wainiae side of the island. The girls did skits, sang songs and enjoyed being together one last time as a complete troop. Soon girls will be moving and we will be getting new members to our group. Change is always hard but exciting too. After camp was over the girls regrouped at home for a few hours before heading to the ice skating rink for a THANK you event to the youth for all the volunteering they do for the chapel during the year. I am proud of my girls in their drive to serve in many arenas around post. They have a true heart for giving back and will be well prepared for when it matters on an application to college....but the fact that they beg to do it says it really means more to them than most.

May Day is Lei Day

Hawaii has a festival celebration called MAY DAY. It is to honor the royal court and history in an educational way. The have a royal court to include a couple representing each island and a brief history is given about the islands as each couple walks to the front of the crowd. Each grade level performs to a song. Cannon did a surf song, Sorenna danced to the Hawaii 5-0 theme song and Thorin did FIREWORK....it was an interesting choice but at least they had fun. They did a great job at it was nice to see all my girls in one school for the last time in their education. Now it gets crazy.

Girl scout pampering/SPAM JAM and a little friend

This was one BUTT kicking weekend and I LOVED every minute of it (except finding this little friend in my back yard). We of course were slowed down by this guy in my back yard and I sprayed him with A TON of RAID and flashed to photo...then killed it and threw him out. We then raced to the mall for our ALL day Girl scout reward for all the hard work during cookie sales. We started with NAIL primping. All the girls enjoyed the special attention. Mine were a little freaked out since it was their first time to a salon. We immediately ran over to calfornia pizza kitchen to be first in line with 16 girl scouts and chaperones with orders in hand to keep us on track. After lunch we ran to the movies to see HOP complete with popcorn a drink and candy. And finally after a little shopping at Claires and Barnes and Noble.....we were done at 4pm.

But the adventure didn't end there. We met our friends in the parking lot to carpool to Waikiki for the biggest party: SPAM JAM! We chased that giant can of Spam for photos and danced for hours. The bands were great, the SPAM burgers and tacos were great and we had a blast. The next morning I woke at 4am to run a marathon on Hawaii's NORTH SHORE...it was beautiful. LIFE IS GREAT!

RACE RAGE & magic shows

These are just a few of the medals, crown, rewards I have collected this year in my crazy RACE RAGE...I promised to do at least one race a month during this year and in the heat of race season I did a half and full marathon as well as two 10Ks, a 5K and and 8.15 miler....looking forward to the next 8k, 5k and 10 miler....I wonder how many it will end up being once Robert returns...hmm?

Sorenna's birthday week/Easter

Easter Week was all about Sorenna...Since her birthday fell just days after Easter Sunday we lit up the cake early. They had given up all sweets so it was nice to have a really Yummy treat and celebration at the end of our 40+ days. They dressed up in some very original dresses. Each one geared to their personality...gone are the days of matching and color coordination...they look great in their own styles.

Sorenna is also turning into a great leader. She was the team leader on her robot team for the stacking section. AND they won a first place trophy for never giving up. She was in charge of the junior troop field trip to the Police station and led them in a tour, activities and the thank you card that followed. She is growing up so fast and becoming so motivated....and her sisters are her biggest cheerleaders. These girls light up my world and I would be lost without them.

geckos and opera and more

We have some very strange things that happen here in Hawaii but we roll with it. The geckos are one of those things. We see them all the time and love them but the one we saw in the bathroom was super cool and we had to have a photo. I have about 7 at any hour of the day hangin out in my room...but this one was much cooler than most. We also went on a nature hike with the girl scouts to finish some of our badge work before all the girls moved up to the next level and got new vests and badges.

As always Thorin got a cool adventure. SHe was chosen to perform with the opera at her school. She and a few friends dressed in a costume piece and acted out an original version of Little Mermaid. It was fun to watch. Cannon finished her year with a CHUCK E CHEESE day. I can say that I actually enjoyed the day there and can now say I did go to the CHEESE in every state we have lived in...took us 3 years to get in that one....not really a fan, but the happiness on all the girl scout faces was a great bonus.

Nene award

The nene award is a student generated honor. A list of books is submitted according to a list of criteria. The students read books off the list and vote for the one they enjoyed most. During the school year students submit voice threads, artwork and skits portraying a piece of the book they enjoyed or they wish had been a part of the story. Students who WIN the contest are treated to a day to listen to and view the winning entries as well as meet the author and eat lunch with them....THORIN won that chance and sat across from Margaret Haddox for her work on the book SENT. She also wrote for the 39 Clues series and many more. Thorin and Sorenna were also allowed to perform Hula for a special event at the school. The author visited 3 schools during her week on the island and since our school had so many winning entries she chose ours. Thorin really enjoyed her talk with Ms Haddox and was glowing for days after her luncheon.