Saturday, May 28, 2022

End of School Year - May 2022

Lily and Emma just finished school for the year. Lily second and Emma kinder. We celebrated with ice cream at Baskin Robbins! They had great teachers and learned a whole lot this year. Emma learned to read and Lily made great leaps and bounds in her reading skills as well. They are barely on par for math, but I'm hoping it will click this next year as we move back toward a more traditional approach with our homeschool curriculum. 

We recently finished up AWANA and hosted pool parties for their classes. Not a ton of families came, but it was neat (at least for me) to see them interact with their classmates outside of school!

We went camping at Malaekahana the beginning of the month with our bestie families. We had Lily's piano recital at church and attended Prisma's Dance and Acro spring recital in Waimanalo. We soaked up time with the Olson's as we'll have to say Aloha when they move this week. We had Tucker, Logan, Alex and Jordan over to help us with house stuff. Lily's baking skills improved as she made treats for Family Group on Wednesday nights. Emma continued with gymnastics in Aiea. I bought a table for the back lanai and refinished it. I messed it up, then kinda fixed it again... I also found outdoor chairs at Marshalls and TJ Maxx. We celebrated Quinn, Lyla and Etta Rae's birthdays early in the month and several baptisms at KoOlina! And finally, I attended the annual MOMS Club banquet with the ladies at the Hideaway.

Mike just came out of a long and tiring month of shift work at the ship yard. Working around the clock for almost the entire month of May. He didn't have many days off and there were a couple of weeks when he worked twelves. I know it was hard for him, but he didn't make it a habit of complaining at all. I love that about him.  He does what he needs to do and tries to honor the Lord in everything, even when it's not easy. 

For both myself and Mike it has been a little depressing health-wise these last few weeks/months. It seems we have had various sicknesses plaguing our house on rotation. Also, because of feeling unwell and working a ton, neither of us have been very diligent about focusing on exercise. It's just a domino effect really, when those endorphins aren't flowing it seems to trickle down to mood and other physical issues like back and shoulder pain, etc. All that to say that we are looking forward to a summer of fun! Less strenuous work for Mike at the shipyard and more focus on exercise and eating healthier and working on the house plus family time together.

Here are some recent pictures to remind us of the end of the year:

Oh, and we got our first family pet:  Meet Cupcake in the second picture :)






















 


Thursday, May 26, 2022

A Poem for the Season

A poem for this season we're in right now...

Spring has sprung, the breeze is here On top of this mountain, a brand new year.
The sun is shining, the water is shimmering
The trees are dancing, the birds are flittering. 

Quiet assaults me, big girls at school
Later, I want to go sit by the pool.
Candle alight, the pool pump is humming
Hints of floral remind me summer is coming.

Lanai is unfinished, wood is still showing
Jets overhead and lawn mowers mowing.
Swingset abandoned, clubhouse intact
Plenty of toys are remaining, in fact.

Puddle jumpers and balls strewn about the yard
Bug catchers, buckets, dolls with faces marred.
Watering cans, slides, zero gravity chairs
Deflated flamingos and blocks litter the stairs.

The clouds float by westward, and tiny birds feed their young
The Ponytail Palm–with its crown of five branches–looks glum.
Pink and purple lawnmower, blue trampoline
A tarp on the roof, and grass that is green.

These days are precious and fleeting I must say
For soon my girls will be off making their own way.
For now, I’ll enjoy the time we’ve been given
Messes and crafts–it’s just how we are livin’.

Teach me, O Lord, to number my days
Help me to know and walk in your ways.
My life’s not my own, it was bought at a price
Help me to honor YOU as a mother and wife.