differences

are you just in awe of your children? i was thinking this morning, it always amazes me how different our girls are from each other. do you ever wonder about that? all three of the girls came from the same 2 people, with the same genetics, but somehow they are so different. the girls look a bit different but you can definitely tell they are sisters. but where i mostly notice the difference is in their personalities. is it because they were born with different personalities, or is it their order of birth, or is it that we parent them different because of their personalities. i know that it is a combination of all of those, but it is just interesting to think about.

what got me thinking about it was something that happened this morning. i had asked nani to take a shower after she made her bed. she went into the bathroom and came back out all ready to get in and asked me to turn on the shower for her. i reminded her that she knew how to turn it on (it is a bathtub shower so you have to turn on the water and then pull up on the little knob on the faucet to route the water up through the shower head). she began to whine that it was too hard for her to pull up on the knob and that she wanted me to do it. again, i reassured her that she could do it and that if it was hard for her all she needed to do was practice. more whining from nani. while all of this was taking place, lala, unbeknownst to us, had gone into the bathroom, turned on the water and pulled the knob up to get the water flowing through the shower head. she went back into her room and started playing again with her bristol blocks. i looked at her amazed and she said, "it's because i knowed how to do it!"

so, the three year old just went and did it, while the six year old "needed" mommie to do it. i think it is because nani is the first child and we did a lot more for her when she was little and so she has come to expect more from us. lala, on the other hand, has a big sister and hasn't had that one-on-one help like nani got at her age. so, in that aspect it is the parenting. however, nani is cautious and thoughtful, whereas lala is independent and curious, which would be a personality difference.

i love the girls and their differences, though it does lead to a bit of frustration at times and a need for some creativity when parenting. what works for nani does not always work for lala and vice versa. it definitely keeps us on our toes! it will be interesting to see what type of personality kawena brings into the mixture!

omsi

yesterday we went to omsi with our friends, the dimit's. for those of you who don't know what omsi is, it is the oregon museum of science and industry. we bought a year pass to the museum last may and it expires in 2 days, so we decided to take one last trip to the museum. we had a great time exploring the exhibits and learning through play. here nani and lala are learning about air propulsion rockets. they filled an empty water bottle with air and then released it. they learned that the more air pressure that builds up inside the bottle, the farther it would go up the wire.

one of nani's favorite places to play is in the water exhibit. they have boots and aprons for the kids to wear and they can learn how water works as they play and splash around in the water. as you can see in this picture she watching the water spiral around as she pours it out of the watering can.

by far, lala's favorite place to play is the sand. the moment we arrived she asked me where she could put her shoes and asked me to roll up her pants so she could go play in the sand. she was in there for at least 1 1/2 hours. we asked her if she wanted to eat, the answer, "no!" when nani and alexis went to get their faces painted we asked if lala wanted to do it too, the answer, "no!" she was enjoying herself way too much in the sand. when she was done she told me she had made a new friend in the sand who she help get sand for. what a sweet girl!

like i mentioned above, nani got her face painted with a purple flower. they also had a soft little leopard gecko that nani was brave enough pet.

lala and i found a fun area of the museum that was dedicted to water. she was able to build a sailboat using different boat peices and sails, to see what worked the best. then she put the finished sailboat in the water where a fan was blowing so she could see her boat go.

and little kawena was so good the whole time. very good, considering that she didn't get her nap due to all the fun her sisters were having! i though she might fall asleep in her stroller, but she never did. she was just content to snack and chew on her stroller seatbelt strap. how did we get so lucky?!

we all had such a fun day! the girls were great! they didn't throw any fits and when it was time to go they left without a fight or a complaint! surprised me! they each were rewarded with a long, rubber snake, (much to elizabeth's dismay! sorry elizabeth, i didn't know of your deep dislike for snakes!) who would have known that would bring them such joy! thanks girls for a wonderful day!

favorite sis

my sister came out for a week about 2 months ago and it was super fun! we stayed up late every night! one early morning before we finally went to bed we were so deliriously tired that we were super loopy. we were talking about our family and the things we remembered from when we were growing up.

i told her a story of when my older brother and i (we were like 8 and 11 years old) had seen these "his and hers" watches on tv, the kind with the digital hands. well, we thought they were the coolest things and we had to have them. so, we called in and ordered a pair, paying by c.o.d. (do you remember back when we could do those?) when they arrived we were so excited and we gave the delivery guy our cash and we were just happy as can be. they were totally cheap and were broken within a week!

well, the combination of our lack of sleep and the very late, or i guess i should say very early, hour sent us over the edge. we were laughing so hard we were crying at this silly story that wasn't even really all that funny! i love it when that happens, our faces were streaming with tears and we couldn't even stop laughing long enough to talk which made us even laugh/cry harder! when we finally gained some composure our stomachs were hurting and we just had to let out a big sigh and catch our breath! and then wonder, "why was that so funny??!!"

anyway, i came across this adorable picture of her with kawena and it made me think back to that trip and how much i wish we lived closer so we could have more nights like that! i love my sister so much! she is such a sweetheart. she is such a great example of genuine kindness and love. i wish a had more of her sweetness in me.

malia, miss you, love you and wish you were here. can't wait to see you in july! yea!

thank goodness for neighborhood pools

today was beautiful! sunny with a few clouds and a light breeze. the best part is that we were invited to bridget's neighborhood pool! thanks b! the girls had a blast swimming with their friends and splashing around in the water. lala had one of those floaty swimsuits which was great so she had greater freedom around the pool. nani is an excellent swimmer now which is a relief for me knowing that she is safe when swimming.

however, she had a little scare this afternoon. one of her friends, A, jumped into the pool where it was a little too deep for her and nani was near by. i think A panicked. she grabbed onto nani to try to pull herself up, but all she really was doing was pulling nani down. luckily, one of the ladies laying out on the pool deck saw this as it unfolded. she acted quickly and jumped in pulling A off of nani. nani was a little shaken but after taking a little break on the steps she was back out in the water playing again.





kawena looked so cute in her little swimsuit. i love babies in swimsuits, so adorable, and her little sun hat was too cute! all in all it was a great day at the pool! love the tongue baby girl!


when we got home the girls ran around the yard in their suits eating shrek push-ups and spraying each other with the hose. i love warm sunny days and spending time outdoors with our girls!

my 100

i've read several of these lists on other blogs and i wondered if i could come up with 100 things. so, here is my attempt.

my 100:

1. i am the first daughter and second child of four. i have 2 brothers and 1 sister. i always wanted more siblings
2. my dad is filipino, hawaiian, chinese; my mom is from idaho. people always laugh when i tell them this
3. my dad is 3 inches shorter than my mom and i don't think it's weird, but when i see other couples where the husband is shorter than the wife, i think it's odd
4. i am 5' 7", but have always wanted to be taller
5. i like things to be organized and for everything to have its own place
6. i don't like to be late, but have found that i will be as long as i have children at home
7. i am the mother of 3 beautiful girls and still can't believe i am old enough to be the mother of 3
8. i want to learn to play the guitar and the piano
9. i wish that i loved to run
10. i love sundays because that's when mitch cooks
11. i am a triathlete
12. i love the smell of grapefruit hand soap from bath and body works, it's so refreshing
13. i'm a good listener
14. i have a testimony of Jesus Christ
15. i have to sleep with my hair in a ponytail
16. i am the only one of my siblings who didn't marry someone from california
17. no matter how hot it is i have to have a sheet over me when i sleep
18. i am the only sibling that does not surf
19. i am an excellent swimmer and love to swim, but have a horrible fear of waves that i wish i could get over
20. i ran a marathon in alaska and it hurt
21. when i was a little girl my brother and i crashed our dad's friend's car into a restaurant. we were parked on a hill outside my dad's work and gavan released the emergency brake. i was perfectly innocent. boy were we in BIG trouble.
22. sometimes i suffer from insomnia (like right now), it drives me crazy
23. i have great pregnancies and actually love being pregnant until about the last month or two, then i'm uncomfortable
24. i gave birth to all 3 of our girls without any drugs and wouldn't have it any other way
25. i wish i could sleep in late every morning
26. i wish i lived closer to my family and hope to very soon
27. i love to lift weights, i feel so strong afterwards
28. some of my nicknames have been: haners botters, hina, mango toes, pocahantas, hermana typewriter, haners, mahi mahi
29. i got married in 1999 to my best friend
30. i'm whiter than i've ever been
31. i like to be tan
32. i want to have at least one son, hopefully 2
33. i was the first one in my family to get a college degree
34. i served a mission in san antonio, texas and spoke spanish
35. i went to byu-hawaii and loved it
36. i love to bungee jump
37. i want to sky-dive
38. i was a contestant in the miss byu-hawaii pageant and i won the speech contest and the modeling contest
39. in the winter i always have to wear socks to bed
40. i swam with turtles
41. i get sea sick and wish i didn't
42. i love roller coasters, but blacked out once on a ride on senior ditch day at magic mountain and i still love them
43. we just bought a fifth wheel and i can't wait to take a trip. i love to see how incredibly excited the girls are about the fifth wheel
44. i never thought i'd own an rv
45. we are taking an 8 week sabbatical in two weeks and i am beyond myself with joy. i can't yet imagine what it will be like to be able to travel for longer than a week without having to rush back home so that mitch can get back to work
46. i don't like to shave my legs
47. i love to drink water
48. i moved 6 times before i graduated high school, but stayed in the same city, the same schools, and the same ward
49. we named our houses; the red house, the yellow house, the green house, the white house, the flora house
50. i grew up in newport beach, ca
51. my first car was orange and i loved it
52. i wanted to get a bellybutton ring, but didn't. thank goodness!
53. my second toe is longer than my first toe
54. i have impossibly wide feet that are hard to find shoes for
55. i love to watch lala's facial expressions while she is talking
56. my favorite restaurant is macaroni grill. that was mitch's and my first date. i drew a portrait of my family for him on the table with crayons.
57. my favorite fast food is in 'n out burger
58. i love ketchup
59. my new favorite flower is a hydrangea, we have blue ones and pink ones blooming right now in our back yard. beautiful
60. i am addicted to blogging and love the connection i have with all of you
61. i want to learn to dance the salsa, the tango, and the swing, but i am not very coordinated
62. when i was in 7th grade i got pantsed in foods class and i got sent to the principal's office, i still don't understand why i got sent to the office
63. i took modeling classes in junior high school and have walked the catwalk
64. i want a blue eyed baby, but i doubt i'll get one
65. i want to take a trip to fiji with no kids, just me and mitch
66. i don't like to clean, but love a clean house
67. i've never cooked thanksgiving dinner
68. i love watching as nani becomes more independent and more responsible
69. i miss my sister and wish we lived closer
70. i love sunday naps
71. i love that my husband thinks i'm funny
72. i love that i have 3 girls and look forward to girls nights out when we are older
73. i love to take pictures and want to be a better photographer
74. when playing games i am highly competitive
75. i went scuba diving on our honeymoon in cancun and loved it, didn't love throwing up all over the boat once we surfaced. that was embarrassing. thank goodness mitch didn't get a picture of that!
76. we don't own a television and haven't since we've been married. don't really miss it
77. i love listening to my girls play happily together and to hear them laughing together
78. i am always amazed at the simple innocence of my children and wish i could be like that still
79. i love being home with my kids and am so grateful that i can be
80. i still think i am 21, maybe 22
81. i've never been back east, but would love to go someday
82. i love to hear my girls sing
83. it breaks my heart when my girls are sad
84. i love costco
85. i'm easily intimidated
86. i'm a perfectionist, but mitch is helping me to relax some
87. i have a new found love for dark chocolate, midnight milky ways are heavenly
88. i don't like clutter
89. when i was pregnant with nani i chopped off and donated 19 inches of my hair to locks of love
90. most of our furniture has been given to us by friends and family who don't want theirs anymore. one day i dream of actually picking out the furniture we have in our home
91. i don't like getting older
92. if i have driven somewhere once, i can always find it again
93. i do not like being in front of a group of people, i am a behind the scenes kind of person
94. i love white water rafting
95. i miss rock climbing with mitch
96. i look forward to serve several missions with mitch when we are older
97. i wish i had a better sense of style when it comes to clothing and decorating
98. i love getting advice and ideas from other people
99. i only dated mitch for 6 weeks before getting engaged. i swore i would never do that.
100. i love my life!

phew! that was harder than i thought. well, actually i thought it would be hard and it was, but it was fun digging into the recesses of my mind to come up with 100 things about me. now, let's see your 100!

biter biscuit face

you know those biter biscuits that you can give your babies when they are learning to eat finger foods? well, have you ever given them to your baby? we decided to try them with kawena and she loves them. the only problem... the mess! every time she eats one, somehow she manages to get it not only around her mouth and on her hands, but ALL over her face - in her hair, on her forehead, in her nose, between her eyes, she's even gotten it in and behind her ears (don't know how she managed that?!)! not to mention the mess that she leaves on the highchair!! so why do i keep giving them to her?! they keep her occupied for, at least, 30 minutes, minimum!! the mess is sooo worth the time!! plus she is such a cute mess!

look at me go!

uh-oh! get everything up off the floor because kawena is mobile!

yup, we have moved into a new stage in the life of kawena and the girls are learning pretty quickly that if they leave something of value on the floor it will get crumpled up, slobbered on, or just plain ruined! apparently, they are not learning fast enough! there have been some tears shed as a result of the littlest mason girl.

she is very quick these days and i believe she is loving this new found freedom! she loves taking laps around the couch, pausing only to look at a book or two as she passes the bookcase and maybe stopping again to suck on some plastic food in the play kitchen or a doll from the dollhouse. another favorite place of hers is under the desk playing with the cables to the computer. bad! i have seen mitch many times sitting at the computer working away while surrounded by a couch cushion barracade in an attempt to keep the baby out from under the desk! it's quite a sight, let me tell ya!

here is a glimpse of our little one in action.



she's quick, and i'm afraid she is only getting quicker. watch out!

flyin' high

lala is a thrill seeker! one of her favorite things to do is have mitch throw her up in the air. and when i say "throw", i mean really high! for lala, the higher the better! here is a little slide show i put together of lala "flying high":

library fountain

we have a great park next to the library that has this fun fountain that the girls love to play in. we went there this week after stopping in at the library and i snapped some great shots of the girls. they had to have their goggles on, which i thought was just to funny. of course, they were the only ones with goggles on! they had a blast!

messy blowout

today kawena had a lovely blowout! don'tja just love those!? mitch likes to throw her in the kitchen sink to get her clean after a blowout. so, that's where she went. here is a video clip of her bath. i loved watching her try to grab the water as it came out of the faucet. notice how big her eyes get. it was too cute. also, notice her tongue as she feels the water on her face. (click twice to get it to play)

lala's song

the other day while driving in the car the baby was tired and crying. mitch and i were deep in conversation when i realized that the baby had quieted down and lala was singing. she then said,

"mommie i singed, 'when the tree breaks, i love you and you love me. but i don't know if you love me, but i am concerned for you that you will roll off the couch.' and when i singed that the baby falled asleep."

i so love it when my girls make up these random songs that make no real sense to me, but make complete sense to them! i love the workings of children's mind's!

the new rig

we finally did it! we are the proud new owners of a fifth wheel trailer! it will be our home for july and august while we travel for mitch's 8 week sabbatical! yeehaw!! we cannot wait and are counting down the days till it starts on july 9th!

we brought it home this weekend (well, not really to our home, but to the home of a friend who lives in the country and can fit it on his property) and it official belongs to us! we found it last weekend and decided to buy it, and from that moment on we have not heard the end of it from our girls! everyday last week, several times a day they would ask, "are we picking up the trailer today?" then again a few hours later, then again.... you get the picture. we are so happy that they are so excited about it. they were disappointed when they weren't going to be able to sleep in it on saturday night when we picked it up.

the girls aren't the only ones excited, mitch and i are just as excited. the night we found it and bought it we went to bed and stayed up late talking and giggling about how much fun we will have. mitch told some funny stories of when he was a kid traveling with his family in their rv's. what memories we will make! we were like two kids on christmas morning! driving home that night i told mitch, "you know, i never would have owned an rv if it wasn't for you!" but this rv is amazing! and we got a great deal on it! the best part is that it is a bunkhouse, meaning the girls have their own separate room with an actual door. so we can put them to bed and close the door. they don't have to sleep in the middle of the living room! yipee! here's some pix of the rooms (it's a 2 bedroom!!):

the family that we bought it from are the original owners and they took it out maybe a total of 5 times since they bought it new in 2002. when we walked in it still had that brand new smell! if you've ever been in any used rv's that is a rarity! i was sold the moment i took a whiff! the girls were sold the moment they saw the triple bunks! they've already claimed their beds!

as i was looking through the kitchen cupboards, which were full of kitchenware, i jokingly said, "oh look it comes with dishes and pots and pans!" and they said, "oh yea, you can have whatever is in here!" so, it came fully stocked with towels, all the kitchen stuff, toilet paper, picnic blankets, collapsible laundry baskets, bedding, they even threw in the movie dvd hidalgo. i think there was even canned food in the pantry! haha!

anyway, can you tell i am excited?! here's nani showing how happy she is about her new "home away from home"! here she is sitting in the dinette (which actually slides out along with the couch behind her) about 3-4 feet to make for a very spacious (for an rv) living room.

we'll keep you post on our many rv adventures!

happy rving!

cousins!

saturday afternoon, mitch's sister and family came for a short visit. they brought with them "cousin logan" to play with the girls. our girls were so excited to see their cousin. the last time they had seen her was almost 2 years ago in albuquerque. you know it's been too long when she walks up to you and says, "hi! i'm logan!" she is such a cute girl. logan is only 2 months younger than lala.

they are traveling in their camper, so we invited logan to spend the night with the girls in their room. they were super excited. it was logan's first sleepover. the girls did great, although it took several times of telling them to stop talking and singing several songs to them, before they finally settled down and went to sleep around 11:30. ugh! and i was sooo exhausted from going to sleep that morning at 4 am and not having time to take a nap. then, of course, we had to wake them up nice and early to go to church.

"how are your rice crispies?"

"pretty good. and yours?"

"great! listen...can you hear them talking?"

can't you just hear the girls talking?! i love this picture, they look so deep in conversation!

here are logan and lala getting ready for church. i love this shot from behind with the reflection in the mirror and the two of them sharing the stool. they were so cute together and got along really well.

after church the girls went into the back and i was able to get some really nice pictures of the girls. the baby was sleeping this whole time (she took like a 3 hour nap!!) so we didn't get any pictures of the four of them together. but here are some more of the 3 older girls.

then it was time for them to go and we were sad to see them leave.

hugs goodbye

we look forward to seeing them this summer in albuquerque and colorado!

27 motherless children

oh where do i start?! myself and seven wonderful friends took a well deserved and long overdue ladies mini vacation (much too mini! next time, i think we all agree, we need at least 2 nights!). at 3:00 friday afternoon we left our children in the care of our dear, sweet, loving husbands and excitedly piled into 2 cars and made the scenic hour and a half drive out to the coastal town of seaside. once there, we checked into the penthouse suite (thanks to heidi!). we are talking 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms (each with jacuzzi tubs), 2 balconies and a great view of the ocean! and NO kids!!

as soon as we arrived we claimed our bedrooms, dumped our stuff, and broke out the snacks!! chatting and eating we lost track of the time and realized at 7pm that it was 7pm and we hadn't eaten dinner. so, we set out in search of some good seafood, since we were at the sea. while we were waiting we decided to do some shopping, only to find out that most of the stores had closed at 7pm. bummer! we opted to go take some photos at the beach instead.

the photographers

ready... set.... run, rachael, run!

the photos

we finally made it to dinner and chowed down on seafood and some more great conversation. we made our way back to the hotel just before 10 pm and unanimously agreed that we needed to relax in the hot tub, only to find out that the pool area closed at 10 pm! bummer, again! our timing was terrible!! we were all dressed in our swimsuits with nowhere to go, so we got in our pj's and stayed up until 3:30am talking! yup! you read that right, 3:30am!

it was such a wonderfully, relaxing time with friends! exhausting, yes, but a good kind of exhausting! there was at least a few times during the wee hours of the morning when we were a bit slap happy due to the lack of sleep, but that just made it all the more comical! we made some awesome memories!

quotable quotes and fun memories

• "i'm sending a live lobster to my father-in-law for father's day." "does he like lobster?" "i don't know?!"


• "isn't there another less painful way to kill a lobster?" "here, let me give you a lethal injection. it will just sting a little!" "hammer?!" "gun?!"


• "no glove, no love!"


• "your baby is crying! oh wait, we don't have any babies here!"


• "she's being a cow right now"


• "what do you have in your uterus?!"


• "you want to see our cheeks?"


• "we have jacuzzi tubs in our room." "yea! we could take turns, we each get 5 minutes!"


• "i just figured out we have 30 kids between the 8 of us!" (actually, i think it is only 27???)


• "will you be my valentine? -from Lester"


• "we could have just stayed in the motel 6 in beaverton."


• "is that all of your milk bottles in the fridge?"


• "how do you donate your body to be a cadaver?"


• belly button rings and bikinis -- oh la la!


• rachael, always remember to remove the applicator!


• if your a vegetarian it is difficult to breath through dinner in a seafood restaurant! sorry juliana!


• the roadkill racoon in the bishop's freezer, which he stealthily removed from the road to make a coon hat.


• nathan's uncle stopping the family caravan everytime they passed roadkill so he could look at it.


• unknowingly camping next to a dead horse, only to wake up to vultures circling


• "he would have brought it home if he could" (the dead bear)


• "you don't even move when you sleep!"


• hoarding bridget's quarters


• heidi is the "go-to-girl" what doesn't she know?


• nylons anyone?


• eye shaped pancakes


• "....school." "what was that about schools?"


• "do you know what this means? i don't have to wash my hair for 3 or 4 days!" (or was it "2 or 3"?)


• "i wanted to have a pig, but then i smelled them."


• "so, they were going to butcher the pig and they shot it in the head. the pig shook its head and ran away!"


• going hunting on a double date! sound like fun?


• while engaged showing your sisters positive pregnancy test to your mom pretending it is yours.


• chocolate covered cottonballs, chocolate covered kids chewed up gum.

man, this is a long list, but it doesn't even touch half of what we talked about!! i wish i could remember it all, but this will help me to always remember what a blast we had this weekend! thanks ladies for an excellent night away! and thanks to all the husbands for watching the kids!

i'm back!

well, i think this is the longest i've gone without posting! man, what a slacker! no, actually i have just come down from a very busy, exhausting, but super rewarding and exciting weekend! from an overnighter girls friday night at the coast, to purchasing a fabulous new rv, to a visit from family! i've got pictures from all three, so i will post them with more detail once i've got more time! stay tuned!

sad, but tender moment

for about the last month or two we have been watching a very diligent red robin build her nest and care for her eggs. this loving mother built her nest under the eaves on a water drain at the corner of our house. we have seen her carrying scraps of weeds and grass and other such materials out of our yard and the greenspace to make her nest safe and cozy for her baby birds. we have seen her digging up worms from our yard to feed her newly hatched babies. we have seen how very busy and dedicated she has been to her little newborns. they must have hatched sometime early this week.

well, this morning the girls wanted to show me something outside. so, they took me out to the back deck and there just off the back steps into our yard the nest had fallen from the waterspout. it was so sad! there were 4 dead baby birds laying around the nest. they were so new they didn't even have feathers on them yet. it made me want to cry! the girls explained to me that it had fallen the night before. they had been playing in the the backyard and the nest was up on the waterspout. they went inside to get something and when they came back out the birds and the nest were there on the ground.

i mentioned how sad i felt for the birds and pointed out how sad the mommie bird must be to have lost all four of her babies. then nani said, "yea! just like mary was when Jesus died!" how tender is that?! oh how i love our nani! she is so sweet and thoughtful! she has such a tender heart and a pure testimony of Jesus Christ!

wilbur

i just love kids logic and the funny way little kid's minds work! last night i was reading charlotte's web to the girls before bed. we were in the chapter where wilbur, the pig, gets out of his pen and the farmer and the farm help are trying to catch him to put him back in his pen. wilbur is dashing all around trying to avooid returning to his pen. as i am reading this intense scene, lala pipes up and says, "i know why they can't catch him! it's because he is kind of like a dog, but he's a pig!" can't argue with that!!

and the pampering continues...

i don't know who or what yon-ka is, but he/she/it knows how to pamper a girls face! my face enjoyed a yon-ka french facial tonight! so, i've never had a facial before tonight, but all in all it was pretty nice. i can't say that i enjoyed every moment of the facial, but now, my face is feeling great!

before the facial began, the facialist (is that what they are called? or am i just making that up?) told me that for the most part it would be a relaxing facial, however there was a part of the cleansing process that would "tingle". she told me that that is what i wanted it to do because it meant it was doing what it was supposed to. okay?!

she begins by alternatingly rubbing "product" on my face then wrapping my face in warm towels, and repeating this process. everything is going well and i am feeling very relaxed as she massages my face and neck and shoulders. then i hear this hissing sound. i think, "hmm that's odd." then i feel this mist being blown onto my face. it has a very strong smell that hurts when i breath it in. as i'm taking shallow breaths i'm thinking, "i sure hope this doesn't last long, i need to breath!" the hissing stops and gratefully i inhale deeply. then my face starts to "tingle" and i'm thinking, "oh good! that's what she said i wanted it to do." but then the tingle turns into a slow burn. while my face feels like it is on fire, she is massaging my scalp and neck. i think she does this to distract me, unsuccessfully, from my burning face. not soon enough, she rubs the burn from my face and i instantly feel it cool off. she does this only one more time and the rest of the facial i am able to relax!

i loved the cleansing and the masque, the massaging and the rubbing, but i could have done without the "nostril burning fire mist". but in all honesty, i think my face seems more refreshed now and not so tired looking. and in the end i would do it again if given the option!

i must say thanks to my awesome husband and my dear, sweet mom for this week of pampering! last october for my birthday they both gave me a day at the spa in the form of a gift card. they thought it would be the perfect gift for an 8 month pregnant mom. and it was! so, on my actual birthday (the 6th) i got a wonderfully relaxing pre-natal massage. however, kawena was born a week later (3 weeks early) so the rest of my spa day had to be postponed, and i am just now finishing the last of it. so, thank you , thank you , thank you for a taste of the pampered life!! i love you mitch and mom!

i've got teeth!!

my new teeth FINALLY broke through! maybe that is why i woke up last night at 2 am and the night before at 3 am! i know my mommie is hoping that is why i woke up! now i'm ready to eat anything placed infront of me!

chocolate papaya heaven

i just got back from my first ever chocolate papaya mud wrap! what is that, you might say? well, let me tell you it is heavenly! i looked like and smelled like a human brownie tonight! here is what i spent my night doing:

i get into my own private little room at the spa and i strip down to my bare nudies and climb under a towel. then erika, my personal chocolate papaya mud wrapper, spreads mud infused with papaya and chocolate all over my body. then, as she asks, "you're not claustrophobic are you?" she wraps me up like a butterfly in a cacoon. as i lay there, listening to sounds of nature and feeling my body get all warm an toasty, she massages my scalp and face for about 20 minutes. by this time i am feeling like a warm, chocolate noodle getting baked in the oven. i seriously smell like a freshly baked brownie, no joke!!

next, she takes me into this amazing shower with 5 different kinds of shower heads (there was a waterfall faucet thingy, a rainshower and three others shooting out at me) and asks me to rinse off. i've decided that in our next home i want a shower like this!! i then go back into my spa room where she massages shea butter into my skin to "replace the moisture".

talk about calgon taking me away!! wow! to finish it off they had a dark chocolate truffle waiting for me when i was done! i know who's sleeping well tonight!!

sweet dreams!

cheerio anyone?

so, my girls are really into this blogging thing. today at lunch while we were eating, the girls noticed a cheerio stuck to kawena's cheek and thought it was so funny. i asked them if i should take a picture and they got really excited and said, "yea! take a picture and put it on your blog!"

so, here it is girls!

lola

yesterday nani went to a birthday party at mcdonalds. lala was invited to stay and have a happy meal with all of the kids. the little toy was a "big z" with a surfboard from the movie surf's up. when we got home nani wantd to write an "n" on hers so they wouldn't fight over whose was whose. so she did and then lala wanted to write something on hers. mitched asked her if he should write "lala" on the bottom of big z's flippers. she thought about it and then said, "no, you should write LOLA!" i don't know where that came from, but we found us a new nickname for her, from now on i guess we'll call her lola.

12 hours

kawena slept 12 hours last night! yipee! she went down at 8pm and awoke at 8am.

for the past few weeks she has slowly been eliminating her nighttime feeding. in the past week or so she has been sleeping 9-10 hours at night, but last night was the first 12 hour night she's had! i am so excited! now, i just need to go to bed earlier so i can enjoy a full nights rest! that's the hard part!

note: still no teeth! ahhh! she is doing much better, though. no more moaning, miserable days, just minor grumps every once in awhile! i can see her pearly whites just barely under her skin!

lasts

this has been a week of LASTS! the last day of swimming, the last day of dance, the last day of taekwondo, the last day of preschool, the last day of music, and next week the last day of kindergarten. to be honest with you it is a great relief for me! i feel like my days have been filled with going here and there and sometimes i would just enjoy staying home. and now i can! i'm sure that in a few weeks i will feel differently, but for right now i am going to enjoy these chaos-free days!

new puppy!

today i finally gave in a bought a new puppy! she was just too adorable to pass up. i was walking through the aisles and this puppy just kept saying, "buy me! buy me! you must to buy me, now!" so i did. i brought her home with me and she was such a good puppy that i gave her some doggie treats! she really liked them. at first it was difficult for her to eat the treats out of the bowl, but she quickly learned and really enjoyed it! here she is eating out of her bowl:


and here she is showing me her doggie treat (aka grape):

good girl!

my puppy is teaching me how to speak "puppy". i will share what i have learned so far today. my puppy will say:

• "when i do this, 'ha' (pant once), it means i want to play!"
• "when i do this, 'bark', it means i can't get in."
• "when i do this, 'haha' (pant twice) it means look at me."
• "when i do this, 'ruff ruff', it means i got hurt."
• "when i do this 'hahaha' (pant three times), it means i am stuck."

she is a very smart puppy and i am sure glad i bought her today and brought her home to live with us! won't nani be thrilled when she gets home from school!

joyful singing voices

this morning nani and lala had a singing performance. they sang several songs and were so sweet!


"home, home on the range"

they finished with "what a wonderful world" by louis armstrong, one of my personal favorites. i don't think i've ever heard it sung sweeter than by those little children!

the creeks

yesterday morning we woke up to a very noisy, but short thunderstorm. the girls came into my room and i asked them if they had heard the thunder and if it had scared them.

me: "did you guys hear the thunder?"
lala: "yea!"
me: "did it scare you?"
lala: "no, it didn't scare us. but it gave us the..." long pause, "it gave us the...what did it give us nani?"
nani: "it gave us the creeps!"

so, this morning lala said she heard thunder again (i must have slept right through it because i didn't hear anything). she said, "it gave me the CREEKS again!" stiffling my laughter, i asked what it feels like when you get "the creeks". she got her best thoughtful face, which i absolutely love, and then she said, "well, (pronounced whale) it feels like a bad guy is coming into the house!" hmmmmm, very interesting!

kawena and teething torture

tutu lady said we needed more pictures of kawena, and i agree! so here are some recent pictures of our sweet kawena.


she love to make this "o" face and breath out as she is doing it. it is very curious!

bathtime is always a funtime! splash, splash!

she loves to stick her tongue out like this a lot! i love to poke at it because she thinks it is so funny!

she managed to get baby food and bananas on practically ever inch of her face!

look at me i'm standing!

our poor girl is teething and is miserable! she doesn't want to eat and even when i nurse her i can tell she is hurting and uncomfortable. her gums are all swollen and i can see the teeth showing white under her skin. she's got snot flowing (sometimes flying, when she sneezes) from her nose and she gets so angry when i wipe it off. i put her down for a morning nap and she just moaned in her sleep and didn't even get a good rest. she's napping well now, thankfully. she is such a sad creature right now.

teeth, please break through so we can have our happy, sweet kawena back!