Fun and Fantastic August 2013, or Getting Back into the Swing of Things

Well, I'm glad we came back a day early from Oahu, because otherwise we would have come home only 12 hours before the first day of school Whew. We had one little day to recover and dig the kids' school shirts out of storage. They were a little peeved that I didn't have all their school supplies ready yet, but they survived in the end. 

Both Elsie and Cam have great teachers this year. We feel very blessed. They also have some great friends. Cam especially is a friend magnet. Elsie seems well-liked, but she's so distracted sometimes, I think she simply forgets everyone's name. Anyway, they were excited to get back to school... well, actually, Elsie was afraid that first grade was going to be "super hard", but she's doing fine. She's just afraid of hard work, but we're surviving that too. 

We were glad to go on some of our old favorite hikes with some friends who came to visit from LAs Vegas-- remember Anthony and Melissa and their kids (think Old Ghost Town Nelson in Vegas...)? Well, Anthony and Melissa can for five days on the tail end of their 15 year anniversary they had spent on the Big Island. We loved showing them around and spending some good quality time with them, since usually we can't even sit and talk since there are eight kids between the two families. Anyway, we took them on the Bamboo Hike...

Which tempted Po to disrobe, even though we said we would NOT be swimming this time.

and Cam cannot be kept out of the trees either...

Cute sisters.

August was a great month to just hang around at home and enjoy not needing to be anywhere or do anything (well, besides clean up the yard and garden that had died and overgrown over the summer, get the chickens back from their summer "babysitters" and get them happy and laying again, unpacking all of our stuff we put in storage, cleaning the house, restocking the food, helping the kids adjust to school and homeschool/online school (Ana), do doctors and dentists visits). In our downtime, Po practiced drawing and writing. LOOK! She was so proud of herself when she actually wrote "Po"!!

At open house, Elsie once again wowed us with not only her excellent artistry, but also her ultra-blondness in every self portrait. But, I have to say, she really does stick out here in Hawaii. 

Po was glad to be back in her outdoor bath

and back to "Beachtime!"

Down at Ho'okipa, where there are a dozen turtles sleeping in the sand behind them, we found three little mermaids (thanks for the sand construction, Amy!). 

And then, just like that, the month ended and my baby girl Ana turned 12!!!!

We had a small family party on her actual birthday,

And she got some great presents from her parents, siblings and grandparents...

Including her favorite--collectible Breyer horses and accessories. (No, she's not obsessed. Did I say she was obsessed?!)

And then we had a much anticipated friend birthday party, which started with a mall scavenger hunt and shopping excursion (this was all meticulously planned and executed by Ana... even the cute invitations),

Followed by a burrito and taco salad bar at home. 

Ana has made and solidified some really great freindships here. We were so glad to have such a nice and fun group of girls to help celebrate. Turning twelve is a big deal! Ana is a delight to have as a daughter and a friend. I can't believe she's already twelve, except that I sort of feel like she's been twelve since she was born. :) 

Happy Birthday Ana!!!

NOW! Attention readers. Rigth after Ana's birthday, my sister Sonna came to visit. She took all of my photos and her photos and combined them into a more excellent blog post here. You must read it. It's fabulous, as was her visit. It was a dream to have her here. Miss her and Sloan and her kids so much. I also like her little advice/tidbits on the left side of her blog... especially the one about laundry.