Taro Patch-Hawaiian culture class field trip

The magic of the taro.....the force was not with us that day. The girls enrolled in a Hawaiian cultures class and at the end of the 2-week class, they had a field trip to the Taro Patch. I had heard really cool things about the experience but started to worry when they sent a list of items the kids would need to participate. A change of clothes to include panties, shoes and a towel. I thought maybe they would be having a water day too. When we arrived to the site, it looked rather tame. Our group was sent to the woods to gather nature pieces for a frame to put our group photo in at the end of the day. We gathered and had tons of leaves, seeds and kukui nuts.
The frames turned out beautiful. Then it was our turn to head to the patch. The muck was DEEP! The entire group was allowed to walk through the muck (patch) and gather stalk. It was an interesting process. Unfortunately, we were unable to go into the muck because we all had open cuts from running in the race the week before. Parasites are all in the muck and they refused to let anyone with visable open cuts in the patch. Knowing how sick parasites can make someone..I was all but thrilled to remain out of the patch.
The girls did get to go in the spring that was 99.9 % clear spring water. That water was so clear, it was beautiful. They had a wonderful time jumping in the water, learning some more Hula dancing, playing ancient Hawaiian games with stones and eating a traditional Hawaiian lunch!
I was very glad they had gone and even though we didn't get the FULL experience, we also didn't have to go to the ER for antibiotics!
AMEN!.....successful field trip



Our friend from Irwin!

The group of classmates and parents.

The girls Hawaiian class teachers....great leaders in their Hawaiian culture. The girls were STAR students....of course!

The logic of Bumpits

I entered an alter universe the other day and it was SO bizarre that I needed to document it before it disappeared and was never seen again.
I am not talking about aliens, strange arial sightings or even a 3 headed gecko...although the later would be really interesting.
NO, I am talking about girl talk. I never remember doing any of this when I was a kid. I DO remember my sister acting and talking like a girl, but THIS....I think this is even beyond her.

The first video is a little lengthy, but it SOOOOO worth the build up.
The second video gives a little more info than I needed about our trip to Costco, but now I know what I need to do....I need to get some BUMPITS going on here in my house!
If you are not laughing or freaking out that she is 4 YEARS OLD....I need to have you checked out as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbreyGFgLSw



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW2UG_tPnxo

TOO MUCH TO COVER!!!

It has been a HUGE amount of time since I updated the blog and I was feeling guilty for neglecting to keep up with EVERYTHING.

My semester ended with a HUGE bang. ALL the required classes are DONE!
Now it is time to play....literally! I have electives to choose from but I needed a break first.
I decided to take the first month of summer session off and relax. Well, not relax, but take time off for ME!
I DID update the 4th of July event only because it was special and something to celebrate.
So, here is the rest of the stuff I didn't get to before that.

Time covered: May 28- June 30
Reason I didn't blog until now: Too busy to slow down.
So, here is all the fun stuff you missed while we were jettin all over town!
The girls got out of school earlier than last year so we had a little more summer to enjoy here in Hawaii.


Pepere came for his first visit to Oahu just in time for the last day of school. We did the regular routine of walking to school (1 mile one way) and he soon realized that we were going to run him ragged.
The girls were very excited to introduce him to all their teachers. It was a great LAST day.
Since school ended on a MONDAY, we had the rest of the week to go have fun on the island. We decided that Pearl Harbor was the best place to start. Thorin gave him the key points of WHY Pearl Harbor was so important, why we failed at stopping the Japanese planes that day and who the key players were leading up the attack.
She was so proud to be the expert.

We took Pepere out to the memorial and showed him the Arizona in its resting place in the Harbor and history.
It was a beautiful day to explore the island.

Later that week we continued our adventures with a HIKE! We took Pepere to the lighthouse hike. The view is beautiful, it is not too steep and super easy to see other islands on a clear day. In the winter it is the prime place to whale watch. Even though it was too far for Pepere to go to see the lighthouse or the WWII bunkers, we still got some amazing views.
Even though it is beautiful from up there, that is NOT so much the reason it is our favorite . There is this AWESOME burger place on the way back home that made the girls beg to take Pepere there.




We also had a few NEW adventures while he was here. One day I surprised everyone and we drove to the DOLE Plantation. I had heard about the pineapple ice cream and thought it would be a great treat.
We stopped there and after eating pineapple ice cream topped with tons of pineapple chunks, we played around in one of the gardens. Everyone took turns being a pineapple. I think they looked very FRESH!

We ended up at the plantation a couple times during his visit. We also found a cute McDonald's, just check out the seats. We did a few beach adventures too. One to look for sea glass. This is glass that has ended up in the ocean but the water and sand has beat the rough edges out of it and it is fun to look for on the beach. It comes in several colors. Mostly it is clear or brown, but we have found blue, green and pink.

We also went to the TURTLE beach, but the tourists were chasing them and they were too annoyed to come on shore.

Another favorite of the girls was our shaved-ice outing. We got the local shaved ice from a very popular place on the island.

You can get it with ice cream in the bottom. It is really good!

For those of you who have never had shaved ice, it is NOT a snow cone!

This ice is shaved not ground or chopped. It is so fine that it is like fluff. It melts in your mouth like air....so awesome!

We were very sad that Pepere's visit came to an end. We did have one last fun outing. There were these GIANT bugs at the mall and the girls wanted him to see them. We went for lunch and then wandered around reading stats about bugs. These things were HUGE! The bugs would lift up their wings or legs and it was creepy. Pepere almost got eaten but the MANTIS, but the girls saved him! Cannon was so exhausted from all the fun, the next day was spent drooling on the sofa cushions.

After successfully finishing another semester & showing Pepere and the girls around the island to fun treats, I fugured that it was time for me to have a girl's night out. I went to my first Luau with our FRG ladies and several of my best battle buddies. It was really fun and the food was amazing.

It was so cute to watch these young kids perform hula. Some of the polynesian style was very fun to watch, but I kept thinking that I would not want my young girl girating her hips in front of a bunch of strangers....then I realized that they do it anyways,...might as well get paid for it in a family troupe! The fire performer was really cool. The sunset and fire were beautiful to watch.

View Sorenna's video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiSNEmpWWGI

We hope Pepere had fun and that we didn't wear him out too much.

4th of July in Hawaii

I am happy to say that our 4th was a LOT less eventful than some were predicting. That is NOT to say that the prayers should stop any time soon, but for now Korea has not tested any long-range missiles. That said, we had an AWESOME 4th of July!

We started off our day with a 5K run. Sorenna finished her very first 5K and in a very good time. Thorin had a good race once she decided to break from Sorenna and I ran to catch her when one of our neighborhood kids said she would run with Sorenna. Cannon was happy to ride in the running stroller for the first time this year. We have not needed any strollers or wagons since we moved to Hawaii and it is strange and liberating at the same time.

After the 5K we regrouped and Sorenna decided she was not going to run the 1-mile fun run with Cannon. She opted to take her spot in the stroller. She was very comfortable and I knew she was safe.

So, Thorin and I paced with Cannon and after watching her run, I think she is going to be a little dynamo! She completed her race in 11 minutes 30 seconds. She is a tiny little thing and has a really good stride. So, by 10:30 am Thorin and I had run 4.1 miles, Sorenna 3.1 and Cannon 1.

We also walked to the race and for hours all day. I think we did nearly 10 miles in 13 hours.

After the race, swim lessons registration (yes, they still did them the 1st Saturday even though it was a holiday!), and some craft time at a deployment support booth, we waited for a drawing for a chance to meet the band "Kansas" and we WON!

So, we had 45 minutes to RUN home (remember..no car all day), get a bath/shower for all 4 of us and get back to the field to meet the group who was taking us there. We did it with a few minutes to spare.
The girls got autographed photos and welcomed the band members to Hawaii. Then we got together for a group photo. The girls loved that!

They were looking forward to the live concert on the huge ceremony field on post.

We eventually ended up in our VIP front lawn area to enjoy some great music by "Kansas" and later, the 43rd Army Band. The girls got to see something that was special to military events. They fired off the Cannons while the band played "1812 Overture".

It was an official reading documenting our American history. "The Flags We Follow", detailed our country from 1776 to present and the flags that the United States has flown. The cannons also fired once for every state flag flown in America as the soldiers carried them across the stage. For those of you who have never witnessed the cannons, I included a clip from the event. Enjoy and be Blessed that you live in a land where someone is willing to die for your rights to freedom.

Cannons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7apz9vGpZE

Watch how their arms love positions to tell if the cannon is loaded and firing. It is really an awesome event to see live!

Of course we can't forget that there were also fireworks at the end of the night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcgiOBFoq5w

Micheal Jackson....an ICON in American history

Micheal Jackson is a LEGEND

He started out as an amazing child star; stealing the show from his older brothers and just lit up the stage with his brilliance.

This was (at one point) my future husband. I told my grandmother I was going to marry him. She told me to go ahead!

I told my mom that my hopes of marrying MJ were now gone. My lovely 4 year old daughter looked at me and told me "MOMMY, you already have a husband!"

It was still so unreal that he was gone, and yet....there was that reality.

Love him or hate him...he was Micheal Jackson. He was POP. He was and always will be amazing.

The glove, the moonwalk, MTV videos, THRILLER.

People waited around by their televisions to see the debut of the Thriller video. It was a mini movie, the hype was crazy!

The video is still legendary. The moves; the shuffle, the power clap....it was crazy how talented he was in his music and moves.

The later years were like a train-wreck to watch. You couldn't take your eyes off of it, but you were so horrified.

His appearance, the accusations, his pain....it was so sad.

How could someone who was on top of the world lose his way?

Tonight, I just pray he is finally at peace.

I just love poloroids!

Here is a blast from the past! These are the crazy cousins and my sister (and me of course).

Can you find me??I think these were Christmas photos with my Great aunt & uncle and grand parents. PLAID WAS IN!

Camp Erdman Day 3

Our last day was spent at the ALPINE TOWER again. This time they had a giant swing wired from a pole and the top of the tower. We all got into a harness and then clicked into the rope that would hold us when we dropped from 45 feet in the air. Cannon was not big enough, so she was the keeper of the keys.

We straped the harnesses on, climbed up a ladder to be attached to the rope and wire. We were handed a rope to hold while they pulled us up and at the count of 3 we were to let go of the rope and we would drop and start swinging back and forth. The girls did great and did the free-fall very easily, but for some reason my rope started to spin in a wide circle around the crowd below. Then if that wasn't enough, the rope started tangling into circles too. So I was spinning on the wire while to rope was going in circles too. It was a little much but I loved the thrill.

This is CAMP DOG "Cosmo". The girls loved this dog. He was the calmest, sweetest dog I have ever been around. He was so funny at the swing. He ran in circle trying to catch the swing enough though it was 15 feet off the ground.
This was our last moment on the beach and the girls were not ready to leave.

Sorenna started to get sad that she had not said goodbye to Paulo. We went on a search for Paulo to be sure the weekend ended on a happy note. Here is Paulo after the kid camp face painting.

Camp ERDMAN Day 2

Well, here we are Saturday morning ready to get started on the fun!

There were 9 kids in our cabin and 3 moms with husbands deployed and we all had a great night. My girls did activities while I was doing a crazy ropes course. Thorin went to a military "speak out" to tell what it is like to be a military kid. Thorin made a video to tell it like it is, the good, the bad and ugly! Sorenna and Cannon went to build sand castles and loved being at the beach...FINALLY!

CRAZY obstacle course! In the process of learning teamwork, we also learned that ropes shift and our ropes took us crashing into a wooden platform. One girl went to the hospital and I went to the TOP rope course to finish the obstacles. My leg is a little banged up, but didn't slow me down a bit.

After that fun I met up with the girls at the craft center and we geared up for our next event together.

We had a great cabin with a cute porch and a great breeze. We took a small break and then headed to the ALPINE TOWER. This is a huge climbing adventure. It is 45 feet high at least. I was so impressed with my girls. Sorenna made it about 2/3 up the tower. Thorin was AWESOME. She made it all the way up the tower and yelled down how beautiful it was up there.

That little spot on top of the tower is Thorin!

I went up this crazy thing too. I hurt my leg a little more, but I had to see what Thorin was talking about.

After tackling the tower we headed out for a hike. It was suppose to be 20 people, but we were the only ones who showed up. We had the VIP tour. IT was a very rocky hike, but Cannon was a trooper. She fell a few times and just dusted off and kept climbing. She made it through the spiders, ants, high cliffs and avoided the wild turkey too.

The view was really beautiful. We got a group photo at the top. The grass was really tall and thick, but my girls had a great time.

At the end of the day....we rested so we could gear up for the CAMPFIRE! That was something I had not done in forever! I didn't realize how much I LOVE FIRE! I really loved the skits, songs, warmth and bonding. I always loved having a campfire when I was a girl scout and my girls have never been camping or near a huge fire. They loved it. We are still singing campfire songs 4 days later. This was the best experience as a family. We really needed this after all the busy months we have had. It was wonderful. We really missed Robert, but the girls needed to just have some fun kid time.