a good read

when we go to the library i pretty much just let the velzy and ivy run wild (yes, i am that mom.  your not surprised are you?) they are so excited to see the fish tank and elementary students mission projects and thousands of books i just can't hold them back. ok, i do try to keep them calm, but i let them run around kids section and pick whatever books they want.  as a result, we get some pretty funky books in our bag.  sometimes we get winners and we have had some huge duds.

a few weeks ago, velzy picked a book titled the pink refrigerator by tim egan.  

it rules.  i clap when i am done reading it.  the first time i read it to velzy she said "i didn't like that one too much!"  and i told her it was the best book ever!  and now, it's her favorite (what if it was always that easy to get your kids to like things you like?).  

it's about a little mouse guy who's motto is to do as little as possible and he sits and watches tv all day.  one day he discovers this pink regrigorator in the junk yard that has a new note on it everyday and inside is everything you would need to to the noted activity- make picutures, read more, plant a garden.  then one day the note on the fridge that says "keep exploring" and there is nothing inside.  he is sad and goes back to sitting on his lazyboy.  then, in the middle of his favorite show he gets up and packs up all his things and goes out to explore the world around him, leaving a note on his door that says "went to find an ocean".

una fiesta

we had so much fun with the kositwongsakul gang this weekend.  velzy and ivy are nothing short of obsessed with this little girl:

she is pretty cute.
we had a fiesta one night and kris cooked up some carne ascada that was amazing.

we discovered a little mexican super market called redlands ranch that sells it. needless to say, taco tuesdays are going to be really good around here from now on. we cooked our own tortillas (you know the costco ones that need to be cooked? so good.), all the fixins and mexican sugar water- i mean sodas. and what fiesta is complete without a pinata?

and yes, we did tie up the pinata with a phone chord.  it was a fun filled 4 days, we swam, went to sea world and the park, and played at the beach.  and if i get motivated enough i just might post some more pictures.
thanks for coming to play with us kris, betsy and niki!  we love you!

rest in peace to my mom's twin.

and that mj guy too.

and now, off to sea world!

happy friday.

velzy could not fall asleep last night

i think it's because these guys are coming to play with is for 2 days!

velzy and ivy are so so so excited to see niki, it's all they are talking about.  velzy told me yesterday that when she sees niki she is going to give her a big hug and tell her she missed her so much and she wants to play with her forever.  and ivy keeps asking if she and niki can go swimming and even offered to let her use her new bathing suit.  they have missed their cousin!

this pretty much explains last week:

in the mountains (my cabin is in the background of the video), over 100 teenage girls, ninja game, puffy paints, lanyards, skits, high adventure, ropes courses, devotional, olympics, archery, crafts, canoeing, mountain bikes, pranks, a lot of laughter, a few tears, and a whole lot of craziness. if they offered to fly me back to go next year, i would do it in a heartbeat.

busy

i feel like we have been really busy.  we have been having a lot of fun lately and i have not blogged about any of it.  i need to blog about friends from hawaii coming over for dinner and ivy falling in the pool while we were eating and luke diving in with his clothes on (and phone in his pocket) to save her, a fun night with the hardy's laughing at velzy and holly having a lettuce eating contest then watching velzy spit it in the trash, going to a super fun carnival reception this weekend, surfing san-o on friday, getting lots of stuff ready for girls camp and teaching the girls to make candy lei's, luke's finals, and a saturday of fun at doheny with the billings clan.  sometimes it seems like there is nothing on our calender, then all of the sudden we have so many fun things to do that the girls don't go to bed before 9:30 all week.  

and i have no pictures of any of it.  except for saturday we took a few:

the billings brothers and their mamma, missing jonny wonny pretty as a flower.

woodys

ivy and i with gidget

and this one is for you amanda, i know your reading this!

i love saturdays.  especially saturdays with family at the beach.  and i love surfing doheny.  even if there were way, way too many people in the water, it was still super super fun.  and of course, no surfing pictures.  i really need to work on that. 

tomorrow, i get to go with all the crazy young women from church into the mountains to play for the week.  luke gets to enjoy some peace and quite at home while he does his homework.  velzy and ivy get to enjoy hangin with grandma, papa, biny and brockie.  i think they were really excited to see me go (at least i know velzy was).  and i have to admit, i wasn't super sad as i drove away with all the windows down and my music blasting.  and getting to go to dinner at ono hawaiian barbeque and do some target shopping just luke and i was not half bad either.  it's going to be an interesting next few days, but i am looking forward to them! 

and now i have to see if i can tear luke away from his laptop to take me to ohana yogurt, it's a hawaiian themed evening of eats tonight!

some good words to read on a sunday

here.

enjoy.

3 o'clock

everyday.

ha ha!  ok, i scheduled this post and then the weather here got crappy and cold, so i thought i had put it on hold, but some how it got posted today? weird.  oh well.

as fun as this looks, it is not what we are doing this week, it's what we were doing last week and dreaming about this week! 

i just put this on etsy.  it's reserved.  i am pretty much out of this color, so i can't make one for myself.  i am a little heart broken.  i need some extra sunshine on this otherwise june gloomy day!

oh, and check out the cute onesies the girl makes who this bobby was made for here.  they are adorable! 

budding artists

lately we have been painting.  it started with water colors a few weeks ago and then the girls got some paints from their grandma in the mail and painting has not been the same since.

velzy is really into it.  she asks to paint at least 10 times a day.  and she loves to hang her art up in her room.  ivy doesn't really get the whole paint on paper part yet.  but, we encourage all forms of artistic expression.

speaking of expressions:

and then off to the pool to wash off.

it's, uhhh, my collection

our walks on the beach lately have been in search of treasure.

 a few of the specimens we have found lately:

a summertime storm

i love these pictures, the sky is so beautiful and intense. i think it looks like the underside of a wave. i spent a good 10 minutes pretending to be a national geographic photographer trying to catch some lightning, but after my arm got tired and the girls got bored i had to give up my quest.

after some dancing in the rain we were off to run errands. i only took this pictures because i love how cute skirts and legging look on little legs, especially velzy's bean poles.

new shoes! *from target, less than $20. love them!

and now, back to reading where the wild things are, all snuggled up listening to thunder.

karma

remember when my car got broken into?  remember when i said i am a believer in karma?  remember when i gave away a bag on good day sunshine?  it all comes full circle.  i entered a giveaway on the lovely mrs jamie's pineapple luv blog a while ago and won! yippie! 

ironic that i am citing karma with the topic of the book?  i think not!   the book came yesterday, along with printed card of her's and a mix cd with some very groovy aloha grooves!

thanks jamie, i love it.  actually started reading the book last night (a big deal since i don't really read these days!) and look forward to reading it all!

aloha!