Tiptoe-ing my way back into BlogVille

Let's just dive right in now, shall we?

  

Hello, friends.  Just stopping in to change up the view on this here blog. Life is full, and busy, and lovely (most of the time).  I'm sorry to bore you, but no clever words this evening; I hope these pictures will make up for it.  We meandered into the city a few Thursdays ago for an IMAX movie and some playtime at the Pacific Science Center and The Children's Museum; apparently, we quit going to the Children's Museum before Youngest Daughter was born, so I felt like she needed at least one spin through to file in her "Happy Childhood Memories" bank.

The token "Space Needle" picture. 

Waiting for the movie to start; jus' keepin' it real and chill, dawg.
Swag.

Miki, taking charge in the kid-sized kitchen.  Or, as
it's known around here, "the Mom-sized kitchen."
(Don't think I haven't considered just loading these
DoRe'-sized cabinets into my car and
replacing my current ones with them, 'cause I have.)

Holding court in the Three Bears' living room.

Lol--Youngest Daughter's revenge.

Getting the message across--how Oldest Daughter
lets us know it's time to go.
Drama Queen    Party pooper   Teenagers.

Well, another busy day tomorrow; girls have testing, and we are working like little ants to get our school work done and out of the way, so we can welcome summer with open arms and lots of beach time, fingers crossed.

{Until next time}

Tsk, tsk...

Ack--I've failed; so much for posting weekly in 2014.  
(But, hey--I called it first.) 

You know who didn't fail?  These guys:

 Super Bowl Champs, baby.

 

(Who am I kidding?  I don't talk like that.)

 

 

 

Confession: I am a fan by proxy.*  The only real authority I have to talk football these days is via my husband, who is the real and lifelong Seahawks fan.  If not for this particular grown man jumping up and down in various living rooms across Washington state on Sunday afternoons, shouting pointless directives at other grown men he has never met, and, three hours later, initiating celebratory hug-fests with whomever will join him in his victory dances, then I would have no business doing the same.  But we do. 

 

Oh, yes, we do. :)

 

Okay, so we're not dancing here. 
But I think making pic collages on
your iPhone is pretty much the same.
(Thanks, Kiana.)

 *I must give a nod to my family of origin, all of whom are faithful football fans in a state which lacks its own pro-football team. I suspect living in paradise makes up for it. :-9

 

So how weird is it that he didn't make it to the Welcome Home parade?  Pretty weird.  But, his wife and daughters did. And his brothers-in-law.  And some of his friends.  And a few of his co-workers.  Pooooooor Dan....

 

Sad Face

 

 

Happy Faces on the ferry.

My lovelies.

Braddahs.

Roo's mom and dad. :)

 

 

The parade ended right there in the parking lot

in front of us.

 

I thought I got some great shots of the players as they went by, but I just checked again, and sure enough, they weren't nearly as good as they seemed when we were still riding high on the excitement of it all.  Actually, a lot of it is video of the head of the guy in front of me, or the coat of the little girl he kept placing on his shoulders so she could see.  (Being 4'6" is so totally awesome.)  No complaints, though; it was so much fun just to be in the city, and see the team.

 

What else?  We saw a little bit of snow last month, which lasted all of about 17 minutes:

 

 

 

Took a quick jaunt to the Great Wolf Lodge last week:



 

(My children found certain humor in looking up from unloading the car and having this view greet them; I found more than one shot of what appears to be an animal's backside on my phone.  Turns out, it's the chest of a howling wolf.  You see what you want to see, I guess. :-p)

 

 

Well, that's it, guys--I've run out of steam.

 

Welllllll.....maybe I've got enough for one more:

 

 

 



 

Teehee. :)

 

This was a cute routine the junior cheerleaders performed at Kiana's basketball game last week; I thought memorizing it so as to be able to reduce my children to shrieks and giggles later would be a worthy endeavour. 

I stand by my decision.

 

Happy Tuesday! 

Game Day

Today's post is brought to you by the letter S:

And the numbers 81,

29,

and 3.

Oh--and let's not forget the number 24 

and all {his} friends, eh?

Or this guy:

We're a little excited around here.

(Just a teeny, tiny little bit.)

And also a little envious: 

Oldest Younger and Baby Brothers will be 

At.The.Game.Yo. 

SO excited for them!!!

Here we go!!!

Go Hawks!!!

One of my New Year's resolutions for 2014? To update my blog weekly.

Yep.
It's pretty exciting stuff.

Admission #1: I didn't make this resolution on January 1st, exactly.

Admission #2:  Like many resolution failures-in-the-making, I didn't draw up a specific plan for meeting the goal, exactly.

So what do I have for you on this, the close of the second week of 2014?  Not much, my friends. I've kind of been beating myself up for missing the first week, but I just realized I didn't! (2014's first post was created pre-resolution, so I forgot to give myself credit for it.)

Anyway, nothing major this week, just a statement of intention, and hope for a higher-quality post next week.

Well, that, and-----> how 'bout 'dem Seahawks? :D

{All for now.}

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

...from our family to yours!

New Year's Eve 2012

(Another Draft.) 

 

Reminiscing/feeling sorry for ourselves: last year, we were lucky enough to be all together through the holidays; New Year's Eve found us in Leavenworth, a first for all of us.  Leavenworth is surely a special place, but I think the magic is always found in being with loved ones, no matter where you are.

Beautiful drive over.

Waiting in line.

Waiting in line some more.

Trying to keep up with Josh.

The Olders.

The Seconds--
Second Sister, Second Brother, Second Daughter.

Oldest Daughter, Oldest Niece, Baby Niece.

The Twins.

Girls getting ready for the dance competition.
Yes--there is video.

The video has mysteriously disappeared; I can only imagine Kale must have paid somebody off to get rid of it--there was some good stuff on there. :-D  Hope your holiday season has been filled with love, laughter, and yummy stuff to eat; looking ahead to another great year. 

{All for now.}

My Sister

And yet another one from the Drafts Folder.  This was a post I wrote as my sister turned 30; she has since celebrated another birthday.  (Do you see how ridiculous I am?!) Still, I wanted to share, because truth is timeless, and...well, because I love her. :)

Today, my sister joins me in the business of being thirty-something.  As per her usual modus operandi, she took 4 years and 11 months to join me in this; her husband will be quick to remind me that she is {always} worth the wait.  

Of this fact, I am well aware. I've heard often the story of the 4-year-old version of myself bursting through the door of our Ala Kapuna Place apartment on the day she came home from the hospital, flinging my backpack (and all niceties) to the floor, and tossing a token "Hi, Mom!" over my shoulder as I raced to the bedroom where she lay: my future playmate, sparring partner, secret-sharer, and accomplice in a very few, very minor crimes--I am, in fact, a quite boring and rule-abiding older sister.  (And I also would give much to hear our mom tell this story again.)

 

Physically, we are nothing alike, aside from the identical subtle (and finely-tuned) expressions used to remind our husbands who is {really} in charge (lest they forget).  Discreet death stares aside, my sister and I are opposites: I am the adorable and slightly squishy sister; she is the charming, beautiful runner whose mere presence can command a room--sometimes intentionally, sometimes not.  She has both the honor and the burden of bearing a beautiful resemblance to Mom; when I look at her, I catch glimpses of our mother that make me both smile and fight back tears at the same time.

 

Growing up, she quickly established herself as the child with a mind of her own, not easily swayed by the preferences and opinions of any who would care to divulge such things; this was sort of cute when she was 2 years old, and became slightly less charming as she got older.  Sometimes, it was downright scary, and there is a thankfulness for the grace and protection that has been hers through these experiences.  To this day, she continues to do as she sees fit, but has called to service the ability to listen more closely to that voice that comes from both above and within; her example has  reminded me to do the same.

 

I talked to her this morning; she recounted how she had fallen asleep on the couch last night, and when Terry woke her to go to bed sometime after midnight, even in her fog, she remembers realizing, "I'm 30 years old now!"  Funny; turning 30 did seem to be one of those things that was both everything and nothing at all, at the same time, in my memory.

 

 

 

 

I never could quite figure out how to finish this post; it's often the hardest part for me when I write of my loved ones, trying to summarize the depth of emotion that runs through this short little body o' mine. So I'll just close this today with a picture of us; love you, Keala.

 

{Thankful.}

 

 

 

ThanksGivingThanks



::GivingThanks::

{Four generations of love}

(Another "Drafty." I get it: I'm a month late--did you expect anything less?  No, you didn't. Enjoy this picture of a picture; my sister-in-law is still in process of creating her pièce de résistance from this beautiful wedding, so you'll just have to wait for the real deal. :D)

Prancercise

Another one from the drafts folder. It seems timely, as so many at this time of year are either looking for fresh workout routines to support New Year's resolutions, or maybe just looking for more ways to "bring it" to the dance floor during their next New Year's Eve party; this video can help you do both! :D  (This post has been sitting for so long and embedding has since been disabled for the video; you'll have to click through to watch it on YouTube.)

 

This is not a joke, people.  

(But you may get a giggle out of it anyway.)



Rock on.

Brain Storms

Another one from the "Drafts" folder.  It's been interesting for me to go back through these unpublished posts and kind of see where my brain was at the time: seeing what I first deemed appropriate to share, and then lost either the interest or courage to do so.  These were notes I found as I was going through a stack of paperwork/notebooks; this is often what the beginning of a blog post looks like.   

 

 

{All for now.}