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