On hot day in June after church, the hubby and I decided to take the girls to the city library where there's a water fountain for everyone to enjoy. We packed the bags with towels for the girls, a blanket to sit on, and sandwiches for lunch. We stopped at a store on the way to buy some chips and drinks to go along with our sandwiches, then we were on our way.
Taylynne and Neveah right before they dashed off to the fountain. It is an amazing thing to see. There were so many people young and old enjoying the refreshing cold water of the water.
They just couldn't keep still long enough to take any more pictures. Off they go... "Wait girls, I want to take more pictures."
I have a little point and shoot and my photography skills are non-existent so these pictures are not that great, although I like how this one turned out. I bet with a little photoshop this could be a great picture.
I did not run through the water with the girls but I did get a few splashes here and there while I was walking around trying to get pictures and boy was the water cold.
After a few minutes in the cold water, the girls grabbed their towels and decided to get their tans on. Of course they brought along their stuffed animals with them because they needed tans too.
I love this picture of them. With a little photoshopping, I could probably lighten up the area around their faces.
It was a beautiful day. The girls had fun in the water fountain, taking tans, and playing in the playground. It was a relaxing day for me and the hubby. I brought a craft project and he brought his Soduku book. We sat under the trees that provided us with some shade and some sun and a cool breeze. A perfect day.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Cooling off on a hot day
Monday, July 6, 2009
Tahlia's Graduation Party c/o 2009
{This event occurred in June 2009 but I wasn't able to post it back then.}
On June 7, 2009, we took a road trip to Central Oregon to help celebrate the graduation of our friend's daughter, Tahlia. She graduated with the Class of 2009 at Redmond High School. We weren't able to make the actual ceremony but we did make it in time for the party.
Tahlia is a beautiful young woman with a bright future ahead of her. I'm not sure where, but she is planning on attending college come Fall.
Her graduation party was held at a beautiful park in Redmond on a gorgeous day. Earlier that week, the weather was kind of crappy, but it held up for the weekend. There was nothing but sunny skies and a gentle breeze.
Family and friends from both Hawaii and Oregon was there in her honor. We laughed, we ate, we drank, and we were entertained with a game of kickball, touch football, and a hula show.
The lovely ladies and gentlemen told their stories with their graceful hands and their facial expressions while moving those hips and feet to the beat of the music. It's always nice to see our Hawaiian culture live on even in a place far away from our islands.
The keiki (children) was cute as buttons with their colorful costumes and beautiful smiles. At this age, the hand feet coordination is not all there but they did a wonderful job interpreting the song.
This is Kiani, the daughter other friends who also live in Redmond. A couple of months ago she had broken her leg. They had just removed the cast and she was then fitted with a boot. I just love how determined she is to still dance even with her injured leg.
And this is Gabby and Logan, Kiani's younger sister and brother. They were so adorable I could just eat them up.
We also had the pleasure of watching Tahlia's mom dance her favorite song, but I can't remember what song this is.
The grand finale, as it is at most hula shows, was the Tahitian dance. Just like hula, you use your hands and faces to interpret the song, the only difference is it's a little more upbeat with a little more hip shaking. I just love the color of this costume.
But wait, we can't end the show without our guest of honor doing one dance. This song I do remember. She danced to He Aloha Mele with a couple of the girls. It's the same song she used as her Talent when she entered the Miss Teen pageant last year.
Congratulations Tahlia on your graduation from high school. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and may God bless you through your journey in life.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Ikaika & Tevin's Birthday
{The next few posts are events that took place back in May and June and I just never got around posting them until now.}
On May 24, 2009, we celebrated the birthdays of two of our friends kids, Ikaika and Tevin. Ikaika was turning 9, and Tevin was turning 7. It was held at the Griffith Park in Hillsboro, Oregon. Ikaika's mom, Stacey, went with a baseball theme with red & blue streamers and balloons.
It was a beautiful day in Oregon: sunny with a nice cool breeze. We enjoyed the day with all of friends and family that have travelled to Oregon from Hawaii.
There was game of kickball where it was boys against girls. I'm not sure who won the game but I'm going to say it was the girls. Yeah, girl power.
There was great food and yummy deserts. Stacey bought Ikaika's cake from Fred Meyer and they were able to put his picture on it. Tevin's cake was big construction truck theme. It was pretty awesome.
Tonsils out -- Part 2
I did this in two parts because I didn't want to have super long posts.
So here we are on Friday, June 26, 2009, at the Kaiser Interstate Clinic. T & A surgery's are not common any more and they do it as outpatient surgery.
We had to be at the clinic by 6:30 am for an 8:00 am surgery. I was a little nervous and Tay would cry a little every now and then because she was afraid.
Despite my nervousness and her being frightened, she was in rather good spirits before they wheeled her away.
She was so proud of her hospital clothes that they gave her to use. She cracked up laughing because the pants was just so big and long.
The anesthesiologist came in and talked with us. She tried to explain to Tay what was going to happen in a way that Tay would understand. She also let Tay choose her oxygen mask. Apparently they come in different scents: strawberry, bubble gum, and grape. Of course Tay chose the strawberry because it smelled better and it was pink.
Next the surgical nurse came in and introduced herself and a few minutes later the doctor came in to make sure everything was okay.
We were able to stay with Tay for a few minutes longer after the doctor came in. We took pictures with my camera phone and sent them off to everyone so they could see that she was in good spirits.
This is my absolute favorite picture of her. This was taken literally right when they were wheeling her out of the room. Except for the cap on her head, you would never tell that she was going into surgery.
The surgery lasted for 45 minutes. It was the longest 45 minutes ever. There was just so many thoughts running through my head. So many that I pulled out my little tablet that I keep in my purse and started writing. This is what I wrote:
"Today is a day of nervousness & uncertainty. Will she come out okay
after this simple procedure? Will she be the 1 in 100 to experience serious
complications?These are the questions that run through my mind while I sit and wait in the
waiting for my 7 year old daughter to come out of her tonsillectomy &
adenoidectomy surgery."
As a mom, I couldn't help but worry. I'm sitting in that waiting room with a purple wall, a flat screen tv, an activity table for the kids, and a room full of strangers who are also waiting for their loved ones.
After exactly 45 minutes, her doctor came out and told us that everything went okay, Tay is doing great. They removed her tonsils and her adenoids which was bigger than he thought it was.When I walked into the recovery room, my heart dropped when I saw her. She was still sleeping from the anesthesia. It took her awhile before she woke up and then she went back to sleep. While she was awake, she had an icee pop and two cups of ice chips. My poor baby was miserable and I couldn't do anything to make her feel better.
She was required to stay in recovery for two hours. We didn't leave the clinic until after 11:00 am. We took her home so that we could care for her and try to make her feel comfortable.
Six days later and she is only now starting to talk. She also wasn't into the whole "I can eat as much ice cream as I want to." She preferred to eat regular food that was soft enough for her to swallow. But even that was just too much for her.
I'm glad that she is on the road to recovery. It's funny to hear her speak because the sound of her voice has changed. She already had a high voice, it's even higher now. She's eating more and drinking more. She is returning to her old self slowly but surely.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Rachel's Surprise Birthday Party
{The next few posts are events that took place back in May and June and I just never got around posting them until now.}
On May 22nd, 2009, we attended a surprise birthday party for a very good friend, Rachel. She was turning the big 3-0. It was held at Coyote's Bar & Grill in Hillsboro, Oregon, and all of her friends were there to help her celebrate this milestone in her life.
Patty was our little party coordinator and she went with the flip-flops theme. It was too cute.
^The girls did a little hula show in honor of Aunty Rachel's birthday. These are the older girls.
It was a wonderful night filled with happiness, laughter, love, good food, and good friends. Nothing beats sharing these special moments with the people you love the most.
Tonsils are out -- Part 1
This past Friday, June 26, 2009, Tay had surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids. I'm sure this has come to a surprise for many of our friends and family who had no idea but this is something that has been progressing for some time.
Here's the back story: Tay always had some huge tonsils, the right side bigger than the left. It was so big that the right tonsil would touch the little dangily thing in her mouth. So when she got sick it pretty much blocked her passage ways.
Last year, Tay had at least 3 strep infections and a few more viral infections. She was also developing sleep apnea.
Earlier this year, I took Tay in to see her pediatrician because once again she had an infection in her throat. Her pediatrician looked at her records and, to my relief, referred us to an ENT specialist.
When she went in to see the specialist he told us that after reviewing her history and what we had to say, he recommended that she have her tonsils and adenoids removed. Actually, he said that Tay was borderline, she could live a regular life without the surgery, but he did recommend us to do it. So after careful consideration we decided that Tay should do the surgery. It'll only benefit her in long run.
Her initial appointment with the specialist was back in May. I had wanted to wait until she was out of school before we did the surgery. I knew that it would be a two week recovery and I didn't want her to miss that much school.
So here we are today, 5 days after the surgery. The next post is all about the day of, some pictures, and my thoughts while I was waiting.
June Goals Review & July Goals
I'm a day late but here's my review of the goals I set for myself for the month of June.
1. Finish reading the Twilight series. {I am currently reading Eclipse, Book 3} I didn't finish the series yet but I did finish reading Eclipse.
2. Set one day a week for scrapbooking. {Try to complete a 2 page layout a week} Nope not even close.
3. Clean my refrigerator. {This has been on my to do list since forever. I keep putting it off} Still putting this off.
4. Drink 64 ozs of water every day. {I started doing this a while back then stopped for whatever reason} I started out really well but my water consumption dwindled by the middle of the month and kept going downhill.
5. Start the Couch to 5k Training. {I've been thinking about running for the past few weeks now} Still dreaming about this one.
6. Find a dentist & schedule appointment {If I do one of these goals, then this one should be it} I didn't find a dentist yet but I did schedule my eye appointment.
Six goals and I couldn't even complete one. It's not like they were very hard to do. Oh well looks like my list for July will be the same as June.
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