The Best Field Trip Ever

Eve has apparently become a field trip connoisseur this week...she's been on two. Monday the entire school went to see Te Vaka at BYU. Yesterday, she went to the Pumpkin Patch. I picked her up from Nancy's after school and she informed me that the Pumpkin Patch was 'the best field trip ever'. Sometimes it's hard to get info out of her about things she did at school...not so with this one. I heard a blow by blow of the trip, how she selected her pumpkin, how she wanted a white one but they were gross, how the hay ride went, how two groups missed the hay ride but not her, what she ate for lunch and where...it was hilarious. She loved riding the bus too...thought that was very cool.
After school, we came home and went to the North Shore to see some of the huge waves. CRH estimated that they are 10-15 feet right now. They were some of the biggest waves I've ever seen and they aren't even at their peak yet!!
Then, we went to a Halloween party at the Kahuku library. They had face painting, chicken skin stories, and snacks. Eve had fun...deemed it a much better time than the Haunted Hayride!

The Haunted Hayride

I am typing this sitting in the living room with the AC on. It is so hot here right now...mostly because there are NO trade winds at the moment. It does NOT feel like Halloween. Don't get me wrong...so not complaining...I'm just saying it's not what I'm used to with fall weather.
Anyway, we took Eve on a Haunted Hayride tonight with Knristy and Tracy. We thought it would be fun and she might enjoy it. I'm not sure why...take a 5 year old kid and put them out in the dark where things are jumping out and scaring them...I believe we had a lapse in judgement. Eve rode most of the ride with her face in her shirt begging to go home. After the ride, she said the scariest part was the lawn mower thingy...she was referring to the chainsaw. In our defense, there were other kids there...young ones too. CRH is sleeping in her room tonight to ward off any evil spirits. I hope we haven't done permanent damage.

It Snowed in Hawaii Today

Seriously, it snowed an inch. Google it...not lying. Today, Mauna Kea on the Big Island got an inch of snow. It melted pretty fast, but still. It does not seem possible that it could snow here! It was a chilly 73 here on Oahu today and rainy...it rained ALL day. It's still raining actually...I guess that's why they call this the rainy season.

Eve's 1st Report Card and The Hart Family Voted Today!

Eve was out of school yesterday and today for parent-teacher conferences...yes, I said out of school. We met with Ms. Taylor today to hear about her progress. She's doing great...talks too much (gets that from her Daddy)...but otherwise is doing very well. She's doing great in Math too...how in the hell that happened is a mystery!

She goes to the Pumpkin Patch on Tuesday. I so wanted to go, but only one parent gets to go and since I waited until the last minute to speak up...it wasn't me. I think she's ready after 5 years of preparations to pick out the perfect pumpkin. If you have ever once picked out a pumpkin (or a Christmas tree) with me, you know it's a tedious task and I have to look at every single one and make sure that it's the MOST perfect one...CRH hates it. He's probably thrilled that her class is going and he's off the hook this year.

After the conference, the Hart Family went to the mall and participated in early voting. Why stand in line on election day? Eve went in with me and we discussed who was on the ballot and I showed her where I voted. Any guesses on who we voted for?? :) I was watching CNN at work the other day and I was shocked to hear the number of people that are still undecided. How are you undecided this close to the election...seriously??

Why I Feel Bad About My Thoughts Sometimes...

Today I went to work at 10:30am and Eve went to Khristy's since she was out of school. We were busy at work for a little bit, but I was counting the minutes until I got off. CRH and I were going to meet and watch sunset along the North Shore. Bobby is usually right on time to relieve me at 4pm. At 3pm, I get this couple in that were waiting out a road closure. It was reported that THE road (There is ONE rd around the island from Kaneohe to Haleiwa and I live on it) was closed due to a wreck. I silently cursed the people that had caused this. I was told it would be at least 2 hours before it reopened. Then I got a call from Khristy, she knew the woman that had died in the head on collision between a van and a Marine Convoy and it had happened within a few blocks of her house. I instantly felt super sorry for my friend and even more horrible about my thoughts of inconvenience. The road finally opened up tonight around 8:30pm. On the news clip, you could see the pain of the very young soldier involved in the wreck. I went to see my friend and listened to her cry and I hope that this day has made me a nicer person.

Medical Hysteria

I have strep throat...again. I have had horrible allergies since birth I guess, but since moving here...nothing. I am no longer even taking ANY allergy medicine. This is quite remarkable for someone that has been on shots, pills, and sprays for years (literally). The flip side to this is that I keep getting other things...like strep throat. I just had it a few weeks ago when my parents were here. Monday night I started feeling it again and was up a lot Monday night. It sucked last time and I didn't want to go through that pain again. So, I called yesterday and made an appt. to see the Dr. so that I didn't let it go like I did last time. I went yesterday afternoon to the Dr. and I get a list of bored questions. He's asking me things in a certain tone like "So, you just started feeling a sore throat last night?", "Are you coughing (or having ANY other symptoms)?", etc. He does the obligatory listening to my chest (which sounds fine). He then tells me he's going to look into my throat...all still sounding very bored. I open up and he goes "WHOA! You really have only been hurting since last night? It's so red in there!". I suddenly felt very vindicated and like maybe, just maybe I wasn't wasting his precious 10 minutes of time.
So, this morning I log onto my CNN homepage to see a headline claiming 'Strep throat leads to amputation of legs'...feeling even better about my decision to rush into the doctor. I'm tempted to send him this article.

My Good Little Citizen and Her Dad

Eve got her award this morning! Aren't they cute??

Princess Party

OMG...I just dropped my kid off at her 1st away from Mommy party! She was invited to Ruby's birthday party this evening (our next door neighbor) so she is there and I'm here...all of 20 ft away! I have never dropped her off at a party before. This must start the age of it, huh?
She has been very independent lately...wants to do it all by herself. She just upgraded her table and chair set to a real desk too...so she thinks she's big stuff!
The desk is another story...I need to stop buying furniture that requires assembly...it really ticks CRH off...big time. I'm sorry honey...it looks great and she super loves it!

UPDATE
Eve came home twice for crazy reasons all before 6:15pm and asked me to go back with her the 2nd time. She was having a great time, but apparently missed the parental presence. I was sort of happy on the inside...I know I shouldn't be...but I was.

Proud Parents

CRH and I picked Eve up today to learn that she has been selected for the Ka'a'awa Elementary School Ocean Warrior Citizenship Award for the 1st quarter of the school year. She earned this honor by utilizing exemplary efforts to follow the rules and by being her very best at all times. There is a ceremony on Monday morning...so very proud.

A Picture Is Worth a 1000 Words

I Like Saying Her Name

Christropher got home early yesterday, which was very nice. We actually had more than an hour to see each other! We even got to talk about things, like the upcoming election. I'm going to out him a little here and say that before me, CRH did not vote. He had an opinion, but did not vote. So, we are driving in the car yesterday to lunch and here's our conversation.

Me: "Who do you think you are going to vote for Mayor?"
CRH: "Kobayashi"
Me: "Why is that?" (Fully expecting some rational ideals on what she stands for...etc)
CRH: "Because I like saying her name."
Me: Well, what I said next wasn't very nice, so I won't repeat it...OMG, the scary thing was he was actually serious about it and the reason!!

Moving on...we went sailing with Wally and Duke last night. It was a full moon and the sand bar was exposed enough to build a fire and roast marshmallows. We stood on a piece of sand in the middle of the bay and roasted marshmallows...how freaking cool is that? We loved it. The only downside, it poured on the way out and on the way back in...but it stopped while we were actually out there. It was too cloudy to see the moon, but we didn't mind. Have I told you guys lately how much I LOVE it here??

Dolphin Encounter

Friday was THE culminating event of the Junior Trainer week at Sea Life Park, ending with a Dolphin Encounter. It was a little different than the one we did with her for her birthday, which was neat. She got to touch his back, belly, and tail. She got to feed him fish several times and they commanded Maui (the dolphin)to jump and dance. It was super cute...we video taped the whole thing and took a million photos, of course. Here is one of her petting his tail.

Fall Break

Eve has been out of school all week for fall break, but don't think we have been lazing around the house! She has been at Sea Life Park every day as a Junior Trainer and she has LOVED it! She has met and talked to all the animal trainers, swam with and touched the stingrays twice, seen all of the shows, visited the touch pool like a trillion times, and today we get to go watch her have a Dolphin Encounter where she kisses, dances with, and touches a dolphin. She did this for her birthday, but we were in the water with her...so this time we get to actually watch her...so exciting!

I have killed much time this week hanging out on that side of the island as to not drive 4 hours a day. Today, I decided that I was exhausted though and needed to come home while she frolicked. I was going to the beach, but I laid out ALL day on Wednesday and burned the crap out of myself. Tuesday was a particularly fun day for me though, as I traveled around that side of the island taking some photos. I finally found the Halona Blowhole, which is so cool. Here's a photo of it.



Essentially (that's a shout out to Bourke), water comes into this lava tube when a wave rolls in and shoots up through this hole. It's so freaking cool. I'm taking Eve there today after her Dolphin Encounter experience.

Hawaii Friends

Eve and I went sailing today to the Kaneohe Sand Bar with Wally and Duke the Wonderdog. It was awesome. I love being out there. A lot of people go out there on the weekends and drop anchor. They float around, grill (seriously), fish, play volleyball (saw it for myself), and just hang out...all in the middle of the bay on a strip of exposed sand. We saw a pirate today, or rather this lady dressed in a pirate costume kayaking around in the bay. We saw a guy catch a stingray and a baby hammerhead shark today in the boat next to us (and yes, I still got in!). Tonight we went to dinner with Khristy and Tracey...Eve adores them...she actually adores all of our friends here and gets ticked if I see any of them when she's in school.

It is so nice to have people around that you know care about you and your family. I had that in abundance at home and I think I took it for granted...I just assumed that y'all would love us. Now that we are here on this island separated by land and sea from you guys, it's nice to start building it here too.

The Glove Finally Fits and Other Randomness

It looks like 13 years after he was acquitted for a crime that he clearly committed, a jury has convicted OJ! Hot Damn! I hope this gives the Goldman family some MUCH needed peace. Karma...you get what you give. I think we all knew his time would come.

Onto happy news and news that actually concerns my life...Eve and I had a fun "touristy" day. We went to lunch at Turtle Bay with Wally and then Eve and I toured the North Shore some. We took lots of pictures for a current project of mine. I have no idea if, where, or when this project will culminate into something, but I'm working on it.

We stalked the sea turtles, watched one go back into the sea, watched surfers and kite surfers, had shave ice, and finished with sunset. It was spectacular tonight, but then again I think they all are.

On a note about the shave ice, there is a place in Haleiwa that ALWAYS has a line out of the door and around the building...every single time I go by there. People apparently come from around the globe for shave ice at a place that begins with Matsu and ends in moto. Today there was NO line, so we stopped. I don't see what all the fuss is about...so not my fave. I got pineapple and it was blue. I have not seen the blue pineapple yet, maybe I'm missing something. I am a big fan of the Haleiwa General Store's shave ice which is ridiculously inexpensive and/or free with a purchase. Their pineapple is yellow, as it should be.

Kitty is still here...I guess that happens when you continue to feed an animal...duh.

I talked to CRH today on his way to visit his Grandma Collins in Florida. Incidentally, she is one of my favorite relatives on his side. That woman will tell you just like it is...whether you want to know it or not. I love people like that. He said that his Aunt Sandy has called his Aunt Betty to report that Jamie (CRH's cousin and Betty's daughter) is holding Grandma hostage. I suspect some funny stories will come from this visit. Grandma Collins moved in with Jamie not too long ago. We think this is a great idea due to health concerns and her living alone previously, but apparently Sandy disagrees.