June 2022

Summer at Home:

On June 12, we got to see baby JUNE! We had the Tau'as over to swim. Charles and Jasmine came, as well as Geli and Lahela.  Aunty Tammie was able to stop by too ;)

We made several big trips to the Library! The girls love going to the library and really enjoy reading books :) Lily especially is reading so much on her own, I can barely keep up! Emma is a budding reader and we try to find books on her level to read to me.

From the looks of the next picture I guess we went to the Rock Park, also known as Sundial Park in Mehana.

In June, we also did the Upper Waimano Ridge Trail hike (in Pearl City) to the first tunnel.

Emma lost her first tooth in June, but it took FOREVER! This is a picture of the new teeth growing in, but the old ones hadn't come out yet!

Uncle Logan helped Mike get the new sliding glass door set for the second time. It slides open so much better and Mike has peace of mind knowing that everything is level, even and perfect.

While the guys worked, the girls and I went to visit Amber in town. We swam in the pool and Cary did her best swimming yet without a puddle jumper!

We brought Amber back home with us, and Abbey came to babysit the girls. The four of us adults drove out to Turtle Bay for dinner and a double date. It was a lovely day with a beautiful sunset!

Emma sleeping with the lights on full blast in her bed. Lily couldn't stand it, haha!

The next day was Father's Day and we celebrated Mike by watching him surf at Swabbies and bringing him Taco Bell and Mountain Dew, his fave!

The following weekend, we hiked Lulumahu Falls as a family. It was amazing and the girls did AWESOME! Afterward, we made a quick stop at the Pali Lookout.

This is a picture of Lily's so-called "failure." We think it looked great, but then it got knocked on the ground and a little figure fell over inside and there was no way to fix it... but at least we got a picture while it still looked nice.

On one of the Saturdays in June, we met Alissa Makaipo and her boys out at Makua. It was a beautiful day! Mike stayed home to work on the house.

The Monday after the beach, we had the Thiesings over to swim! We were watching Leia that morning too. What a fun day :) John loves our keiki clubhouse.

FINALLY, Emma lost her tooth. Momma had to pull it very hard with a wet wash cloth to get it out!

We got the solar panels reinstalled on the roof after Mike finished painting it. We asked them to come back to make them straighter. We're glad they did!

Leia came over for a play date and tea party!

Mommy started a new series by Tracie Peterson--the Song of Alaska. Mike is reading Wheel of Time, which is super long! 14 books, and each book is over 1,000 pages...

Auntie Alyssa hosted a sewing class for the girls at her house. We love it! So far, they have made pillows, stuffies, scrunchies, and bags. They've learned how to thread their needle, how to do the running stitch and the whipstitch. So adorable :)

Emma gave us all a laugh when she buttoned her sweater on the way to family group!  She thought she was saving time, but actually took more...

I got a jumpstart on prepping for VBS Craft for July.

That's all we can remember about June. It was a blast and we had a great month. Wanted to make it to the beach a bit more than we did, but it was rather windy. It's not pictured, but we did go to Leftovers with the Pierce family on Kamamehameha Day, June 11.

My Attempt at Crafty

I'm happy that I still have a week of summer left!  It's a bitter-sweet feeling.

It's dreary outside.  I was supposed to leave for Molokai today on one last summer adventure, but my plans have been thwarted by tropical storm Flossie.  I don't think she'll be much more than a lot of rain here on the islands, but of course everyone takes necessary precautions.

The itch I've had on my legs and arms for over a week now STILL itches.  I'm breaking down and calling the doctor today to try and get some relief.  Today looks like it might be a "read a book inside" kind of day.  We shall see.

I don't have a huge house update, we've been plugging away at it little by little.  More pics on that later.

The update I did want to share is my latest DIY craft!  I have been wanting to put a little reading nook in my classroom for a while.  This summer finally afforded me the opportunity to make one that's perfect for the space.  It's an "L" shaped bench that my students can use to take a break from their desk while they read.

The finished product.

  

I made it all by myself; here's how it went down.  I don't know if you want to call it a tutorial, but here are my version of step by step instructions:

I started out with a few 2x4s and I used a 4x4 for the legs. 

I cut them the lengths I wanted using a chop saw.   I think the long
bench was about 60 inches, and the short about 30 inches.  

One I got them the desired length, I cut each piece at a 45 degree angle.

Using a circular saw, I cut the plywood to fit just inside the 2x4s with a little bit of wriggle room.
I think I used 5/8" plywood--it was thick--and leftover from house stuff.  

Here's the long piece cut.

The 2x4s fit snugly around the plywood.

A close up.

I measured each 4x4 leg post at 12 inches.  I want the bench to sit kind of low for my students.

Four of the eight.

On the long bench, I cut one extra 2x4 for the center to add some strength.

Here's everything laid out before I sand and stain.

I chose Dark Walnut stain.  I don't have a picture of it, but I sanded the boards pretty well before applying this.

Here are the stained pieces.  I let them dry overnight.

After cutting, sanding, and staining, it was time to screw them all together!
I screwed the posts directly to the 2x4s with 4 screws (3 inch I think?)

Then I cut the foam to put on top of the plywood.  The foam was rather expensive!

The foam laid out.  Time to add the fabric.

Mike bought me a staple gun!  It was super easy to use :)

I stretched the fabric a little and stapled.

Bam.

Action shot!

The underside of the long bench.

And voila!  This is NOT my classroom obviously.  I post a pic of the
finished product all set up and ready to go before school starts!

August 7th, I'm not really ready for you to come, but at least I finished my bench... I hope the kids like it!  It's S.U.R.F. time in English class...