7/24/2009
Playing around
I just finished taking another Jessica Sprague digi class, this one was on photo editing and effects. So I had to play with a few of the things I learned, here's the result.
7/23/2009
This n that
We went to the Hawaii Farm Fair last weekend which was a lot of fun. The boys got to see lots of farm animals raised by 4H kids. There were food samples and also some games for the kids to play, including one where they try to catch fish. Lucky me, we now have two goldfish again. Hopefully these live a little longer than most of our fish. They are cute little guys, I'll give 'em that much...
Cole is my animal lover, he reminds me of me as a kid. Adam is a little wary around most animals, but Cole just dives in there amongst the goats, pigs, dogs, cats, insects, pretty much you name it and he'll try to pick it up and play with it (yes, he has many a cockroach friend here and I've just learned to accept it. But his 'friends' are not welcome in my house...)
The kids had swim lessons this session again. I had to take a few pictures at swim lessons, I can't believe next week is the kids' last lesson already. Summer goes very fast here since school starts at the end of July. Adam is not the best swimmer in his group by far, but he seems to enjoy it. He's signed up for the next session too. Cole just loves his lessons, since he is 3 now he is old enough for the big kid class where it is just the kids and the instructor (no parents in the pool). He has taken to the water like he is part fish. In general, he is my fearless child, I wonder if I need to worry about hospital bills down the line.
Cole REALLY enjoyed snorkeling at Pupukea the other weekend and so he wanted to practice at home using a real snorkel with his googles. I think he'll have the hang of it and really be able to see more fish the next time we go out. I really need to plan a weekend to go to Haunama bay snorkeling soon! 
Adam has been taking a Kindergarten Readiness class for the past 3 weeks and only has two classes left. He has really enjoyed it once he got used to his new class and teacher. I hope this helps him a little when he starts his full day kindergarten. He has not had any preschool here since we moved too late last year to get into most of the good part-time programs.
One thing he has definitely improved in is his confidence level in writing. I could get him to write his name and maybe a couple other words before he started this program and now he will try to write most anything. He didn't want to try writing much because he couldn't do it well. I think just seeing that the other kids couldn't write all their letters perfectly convinced him it was OK to try it and make some mistakes. So I was so proud of him the other day when he asked me to spell out words so he could make a sign for his door (he was having a pretend party). This was by far the most he had ever written at one time.
Well I need to be off to bed soon since my two little alarm clocks will be up at 6:00 on the dot.
Cole is my animal lover, he reminds me of me as a kid. Adam is a little wary around most animals, but Cole just dives in there amongst the goats, pigs, dogs, cats, insects, pretty much you name it and he'll try to pick it up and play with it (yes, he has many a cockroach friend here and I've just learned to accept it. But his 'friends' are not welcome in my house...)
The kids had swim lessons this session again. I had to take a few pictures at swim lessons, I can't believe next week is the kids' last lesson already. Summer goes very fast here since school starts at the end of July. Adam is not the best swimmer in his group by far, but he seems to enjoy it. He's signed up for the next session too. Cole just loves his lessons, since he is 3 now he is old enough for the big kid class where it is just the kids and the instructor (no parents in the pool). He has taken to the water like he is part fish. In general, he is my fearless child, I wonder if I need to worry about hospital bills down the line. 
Cole REALLY enjoyed snorkeling at Pupukea the other weekend and so he wanted to practice at home using a real snorkel with his googles. I think he'll have the hang of it and really be able to see more fish the next time we go out. I really need to plan a weekend to go to Haunama bay snorkeling soon! 
Adam has been taking a Kindergarten Readiness class for the past 3 weeks and only has two classes left. He has really enjoyed it once he got used to his new class and teacher. I hope this helps him a little when he starts his full day kindergarten. He has not had any preschool here since we moved too late last year to get into most of the good part-time programs.
One thing he has definitely improved in is his confidence level in writing. I could get him to write his name and maybe a couple other words before he started this program and now he will try to write most anything. He didn't want to try writing much because he couldn't do it well. I think just seeing that the other kids couldn't write all their letters perfectly convinced him it was OK to try it and make some mistakes. So I was so proud of him the other day when he asked me to spell out words so he could make a sign for his door (he was having a pretend party). This was by far the most he had ever written at one time.
Well I need to be off to bed soon since my two little alarm clocks will be up at 6:00 on the dot.7/13/2009
Finally, more digi
It really has been a looong time since I've finished any scrapbook pages. Well here is one, completed!
Snorkeling
Here's a picture of my recently toothless kid... He just started a Kindergarten readiness program this past week. I asked him how he liked it after his first day and he said 'I didn't like it that the teacher told me what to play with. I want to do what I want'. I just laughed and told him that he'd better get used to that one.
After church today we went up to Pupukea Beach. This was somewhere I stopped briefly at once before when I gave my mom a tour of the north shore. I remember thinking it would be a perfect place to take the kids to because it had a natural breakwater of rocks surrounding a giant tidepool area. So today we finally made it up there.
The day was gorgeous and the place was packed. We stayed inside the sheltered area, but apparently there is also good snorkeling in the bay next door based on the number of snorkelers and scuba divers there. On a less busy day we should try that area, I bet there may be some live reef there. But I thought this would be a good place to get the kids' feet wet (and their faces) and try to see some fish in the tidepool.
Here are some shots I got with the waterproof camera. No idea what the fish are, but there is a sea cucumber in the second one and a sea urhcin in the third one.
We climbed over the rock breakwater to a large lava rock flats near the ocean.
This little fish took to snorkeling like he'd always done it. He didn't actually use the snorkel, but he held his breath and looked for fish.
He's perfecting his technique here in about six inches of water...
I think we'll have to come back again to this one. I'd also like to try Hanauma bay with the kids once they get a little more used to snorkeling. It's supposed to be a good snorkeling spot but also quite popular and busy.
After church today we went up to Pupukea Beach. This was somewhere I stopped briefly at once before when I gave my mom a tour of the north shore. I remember thinking it would be a perfect place to take the kids to because it had a natural breakwater of rocks surrounding a giant tidepool area. So today we finally made it up there.The day was gorgeous and the place was packed. We stayed inside the sheltered area, but apparently there is also good snorkeling in the bay next door based on the number of snorkelers and scuba divers there. On a less busy day we should try that area, I bet there may be some live reef there. But I thought this would be a good place to get the kids' feet wet (and their faces) and try to see some fish in the tidepool.
Here are some shots I got with the waterproof camera. No idea what the fish are, but there is a sea cucumber in the second one and a sea urhcin in the third one.
We climbed over the rock breakwater to a large lava rock flats near the ocean. 
This little fish took to snorkeling like he'd always done it. He didn't actually use the snorkel, but he held his breath and looked for fish. 
He's perfecting his technique here in about six inches of water...
I think we'll have to come back again to this one. I'd also like to try Hanauma bay with the kids once they get a little more used to snorkeling. It's supposed to be a good snorkeling spot but also quite popular and busy. 7/05/2009
4th of July Celebration
Happy Independence day to you all! We celebrated our 4th of July with a ride on the triple and some work around the yard. We also consumed the requisite shave ice and hot dogs... This evening we went up to Schofield Barracks to their 4th of July festival. The kids did the petting zoo and a couple of bounce houses before we went and found ourselves a spot to sit amongst a sea of blankets. There was a nice concert by a military band and the presentation of the flags. Then the kids just ran and wrestled around until the fireworks started.
This was our first fireworks show as a family that everyone enjoyed. Last year, Cole was 2 and he spent THE ENTIRE show with his face buried in Dan's chest. He could not be coaxed to look at the scary fireworks for anything. This year he was simply precious to watch. The first few fireworks went off and he said 'These fireworks are AWESOME!'. Then he just sat there for the longest time, completely transfixed with his little hands clasped in front of him in anticipation of what would come next. Adam got a little scared when they fired off a whole volley of the really loud ones, but other than that he enjoyed the show too.
As I was watching the show and listening to the music, I thought it was appropriate that we were at the army base to celebrate our independence day. It made the fireworks display a bit more special knowing that we were surrounded by folks who were willing to sacrifice to serve their country. And it was a great show.
This was our first fireworks show as a family that everyone enjoyed. Last year, Cole was 2 and he spent THE ENTIRE show with his face buried in Dan's chest. He could not be coaxed to look at the scary fireworks for anything. This year he was simply precious to watch. The first few fireworks went off and he said 'These fireworks are AWESOME!'. Then he just sat there for the longest time, completely transfixed with his little hands clasped in front of him in anticipation of what would come next. Adam got a little scared when they fired off a whole volley of the really loud ones, but other than that he enjoyed the show too.
As I was watching the show and listening to the music, I thought it was appropriate that we were at the army base to celebrate our independence day. It made the fireworks display a bit more special knowing that we were surrounded by folks who were willing to sacrifice to serve their country. And it was a great show.
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