Family Updates

Weekly Update #15

April/August 30, 2016/ Leave a comment Edit"Weekly Update #15"

August 20th – 26th, 2016

Praise be to God for another wonderful week.  I’ve been battling a sore throat all week, but other than that it’s been fun. Week #15 since I started this endeavor of chronicling life for a bit, and it has been another full one.  Here we go!

Saturday we spent the morning in Kaneohe at Ho’omaluhia Botanical Gardens.  See full post with all the pictures here.

Sunday was spent lounging around the house and “doctoring up” an injured bear.  The stuffing came out in the washing machine, so mommy had to stitch him up.  Lily checked his vitals.  He’s better now in case you were wondering 

Monday, we ran some errands and enjoyed samples at Costco.

Tuesday, we headed out to Waimanalo with MOMS Club for a short Toddler Trek out to the beach via the Kaiwi Shorline Trail.  See full post and more pictures here.

Wednesday, we had a play date with some friends and were able to hang out with these cuties.

Thursday, was an adventure in town for the grand opening of the International Marketplace followed by pizza on the beach with friends. Did you know that Domino’s delivers to the beach?!  The girls wore their new PJs from our shopping excursion at the beach (after showers of course).  So cute!

Friday was recipe club and cleaning.  Later, a night out alone for this mama!  I checked out a friends’ band, Delta Fleet, in Manoa and met up with some friends at Eat the Street, Kewalo Basin. Awesome band by the way!

And check out this bad boy…

That’s all for now!

Adventures

Kaiwi Shoreline Trail

April/August 30, 2016/ Leave a comment Edit"Kaiwi Shoreline Trail"

So we did this trail for the first time last week.  I can’t believe I’ve never taken it, but then again, I rarely frequent the other side of the island… Those who had hiked it in the past said that they’ve widened it recently making it less of a hike and more of a rocky pathway to the water. Either way, the keiki had a blast!!

We met up with our local MOMS Club (Leeward Chapter) for this awesome hike together.  Everything is always more fun when friends are involved!  We parked at the Makapu’u Lighthouse trail head.  Of course, all the close spots were taken, so we parked as far away as possible. One mistake I made for this trek was that I dressed for a hike (tennis shoes and regular clothes).  Next time, I’ll bring beach attire (slippers and towel) and wear my swim suit.  Noted.

Anyway, we checked the map and the kids were off.

They loved running down the path towards the ocean!

Pit stop under a kiawe tree.

All the little trekkers.

Running to catch up with friends.

Encouraging one another.

Keeping each other in line.

Enjoying the lagoon.

Eating the sand.

Being a beautiful explorer.

Dancing on top of dirt mounds with Pele’s Chair in the distance.

Swimming in a tide pool.

Holding hands.

Taking rides.

It was a wonderful day of adventures, and mommy’s shoulders were very sore for a few days 

Happy Trails,

April 

Adventures

Ho’omaluhia Botanical Gardens

April/August 30, 2016/ Leave a comment Edit"Ho’omaluhia Botanical Gardens"

Interested in taking your toddler fishing?!  I was.  It was cute for about 30 seconds, then she was over it.  The fish were already full once we arrived.  Oh, and it’s catch and release of course.

What I do recommend is feeding the fish and ducks…  This was a much better alternative!  The girls loved being outside in God’s beautiful creation, and so did we (aside from the humidity). And boy were there FISH!

I packed a yummy lunch, lots of water, sunscreen, bug spray, beach mat and our jogging stroller.  Then we were off to Kaneohe!

You’re only allowed to fish on the weekends on the far side of the lake.  It’s about a 20 minute walk from the visitor’s center.  Check in with the staff and you can rent bamboo poles for free!  Just bring plenty of white bread for feeding the fish and ducks.  Enjoy the path and beautiful foliage, then you’re off…

If you want to fish, you’ll head down towards the water and follow the signs to the lake.  Keep left, cross the bridge and you’ll see the path.

If you don’t care about fishing, I still recommend feeding the ducks and fish.  Choose a nice cool spot under a tree or snag a picnic table to eat your tasty lunch.  Can you tell we’re ready for football season?!

Watch out for the wild boars.  There were three roaming around while we were there.  No sign of mama though, which made me a little leery.  People were feeding them, but I don’t recommend it!

Lily loved this adventure… especially her time with daddy   Overall, a wonderful family spot. Happy Trails!  Anyone have fun stories to share about fishing with your toddler?!  I’d love to hear from you.

April 

Family Updates

Emma is Eight Months!

April/August 23, 2016/ Leave a comment Edit"Emma is Eight Months!"

Emma Joy,

Well, this month it seems you have made changes by leaps and bounds!  You are mobile now, and a little more vocal as well.  You can’t quite keep up with your sister, but you like to try!

You don’t like to let mommy out of your sight for any amount of time.  We’ve tried the nursery at church seven weeks in a row, and we get called out of the service every time!

You started crawling on August 14, 2016.  Daddy took a video.  You aren’t quite pulling yourself up to the standing position or cruising on furniture yet, but you can go from a crawling position to a sitting position pretty easily.  We lowered your crib this month.

You have a big appetite, and haven’t turned down much of anything yet.  You eat lots of Cheerios and table food.  You even had your first Twinkie (though it was unplanned)!

You gave us quite a scare this month by running a high fever for about a week.  Turns out it was a bladder infection.  Once you got on antibiotics you were fine.  Praise God.  It was scary for us though!

You love playing in the toy room and need to nap every few hours still.  You are a beauty, and we love you very much! Happy eight months, sweet baby girl!

Love,
Momma 

Family Updates

Weekly Update #14

April/August 22, 2016/ 2 Comments Edit"Weekly Update #14"

August 13th – 20th, 2016

The Lord continues to bless our family.  I’m am so thankful each day for happy, healthy children and a healthy and hard-working husband.  I know everyday is a gift, and I do my best to live it as such!

Mike was working second shift this last week, so it afforded us mornings together as a family.  Although I was a little hesitant about the schedule, I have to say that it was a nice change of pace.   He left for work around 12:30pm and got home around 10:00pm.  I don’t think I’d choose it permanently, but  having daddy home in the mornings was a real treat for his girls.

This week was full of adventures as usual.  It started on Saturday with a trip to Nanakuli Beach to visit our friends at Nanaikapono Protestant Church during their annual church camp. While Aunty Momi held her, Emma helped herself to her first Twinkie (it was banana flavored).  Later that day, after nap time, we headed down to Makaha for some “family time” with the Garretts.

Frankie and Lily did “cheers” with their blow-pops.  They were all super happy about the extra sugar!

Sunday after church, we headed back to NPC’s camp at the beach.  We spent all afternoon there again…

When we got home, we were inspired to set up a tent of our own in the backyard.

*Side note – In the house that evening, Emma decided to crawl for the first time!

Monday morning was spent working on projects around the house.  Mike watched the girls while I did some painting. Tuesday morning, we met some friends at Chuck E. Cheese and spent some quality time together.

That evening, the girls and I played then walked to the park.  For some reason, the umbrella came out.  Lily loved it!

Wednesday morning, I was able to go surfing with a friend [dawn patrol].  This is what I came home to:

Later, I took Lily to Park Day with MOMS Club to play with lots of friends.

Thursday morning, we hosted Surf Club.  There was a good turn out and Mike got to join us this time!
Friends and beach time are always a hit…

That afternoon I did some baking.  I whipped up these delicious coconut cookie ice cream sandwiches.

That evening, we met up with some friends for pancakes at Denny’s!

Friday morning, we enjoyed some poolside fun!

Friday afternoon, we enjoyed some more poolside fun… this time with friends.

And yes, ALL of our children ate Cheez-Its off the ground.

See you next week!

April 

Food

Coconut Cookie Sandwiches

April/August 20, 2016/ 3 Comments Edit"Coconut Cookie Sandwiches"

So,  we’ve been veering off the healthy eating just a little this week since Mike is working a weird shift. That’s no excuse, I know, but a girl needs craves her sweets every once in a while!

Anyway, yesterday afternoon was quiet and rainy. So while the littles were napping, I decided to whip up something tasty.  I turned on The Wedding Planner to play in the background and got started.

I originally wanted some simple thin and crispy oatmeal cookies, but after I checked the pantry, I realized I didn’t have enough oatmeal. So, I went with what I did have–COCONUT!  I got on Pinterest and looked for a delicious recipe.  It wasn’t too hard to come up with something. My search immediately took me to this lovely blog called Mikey’s in My Kitchen.

There, I found a delicious recipe which I followed to a T ————————>   Chewy Coconut Cookies.

Easy peasy.  Here’s how they turned out:

Now, I can’t take credit for the cookie recipe, but when I went to reach into the cookie jar today, I had an epiphany…

These cookies are chewy and flat.  
They need to be made into an ice cream sandwich! 

Low and behold, we had ice cream in our freezer.  Not sure how long it’s been in there, but it didn’t seem too freezer burned (ok, maybe it had just a few ice flakes).   Two months maybe?  Anyway, the ice cream sandwich was delicious.  We happened to have Macadamia Nut which was the perfect combo with the coconut.  Island flair for sure…  Like a hula dance in your mouth… I’ll stop now.  But seriously, ono.  

If you’re in the mood for chewy, buttery, melt in your mouth, coconutty delight, then you should try these.  They were super easy.  Happy baking, friends!