Cub Scouts

Somehow, someway, I didn't take a photo of Cam's Cub Scout Pinewood Derby Car this year! Will someone slap me in the face please?!? Sheesh. Here is the pre-finished wood-carving pinewood derby. Cam had a hard time deciding how to paint it, but since the theme this year was "Racing Through Time", I showed him how to to a Delorian-style tin foil with "modge podge" skin on the car and whala! no paint needed. 

He took fourth (?) in his pack and was right in the middle of the 200 cars raced at the whole island Cub Scout Jamboree. Jonah was a big part of setting up the immensely complicated derby track, so in the hours he spent on that, I think we both forgot to take a photo of the fancy car. 

But, man, are we grateful for Cub Scouts. What a great program!

Random February Shots

Here are some random shots from February.

Po sometimes loves her "beach time". Other times she begs, "No beach time! No beach time!" We try to take her to the beach at least once a week. She's so spoiled.

 Ana and Cam have begun tennis lessons with an excellent coach. The coach was a protege of Billie Jean King! She's able to get more into their weekly 30 minutes lesson than other coaches did in four. We are glad we've found her-- Jonah's siblings and parents are tennis nuts, so we work hard to make sure we fit in. Jonah has been great about taking the kids to practice throughout the week too. I need to get my practice in as well!

The kids and Jonah helped clean our chapel on the Saturday I was out of town. I think Cam liked the leaf blower someone let him borrow. I'd love to have one of those too! Think of how quickly I could dry my hair!

The chickens are finally consistent with their egg laying, so I sold about half of them (I'm down to 20 from 50) and the others make enough eggs that we have plenty to sell to pay for their expensive feed. I have to admit, they generally drive me crazy, but I still can't NOT keep chickens. What is my problem!?

I'm gearing up to send them all to babysitters over the summer while we are off island. I hope they all do well. It has not been fun raising baby chickens on Maui (actually, I don't know if it's fun anywhere), so I'm glad to be past that stage with them and would hate to have to start over. 

 Somehow I missed out on this "beach time", but this is a fairly impressive fort, don't you think? Maui sand is so incredible. 

Paper Masks

(Not shown: dorsal fin on back)

Every few days, Elsie surprises us by coming out of school in a new form. She is obsessed with art and drawing... and she especially loves making paper costumes in school. Sometimes she makes costumes for the other kids in her class so she doesn't have time to do it for herself. I just have to say that her teacher is a saint, giving up all the tape and straws and paper needed to fulfill Elsie's creative demands. 

I especially liked the full length mermaid costume and a giraffe costume she did, but I can't find the photos presently. For now, enjoy the dolphin (above) and the cat and bunny below. 

(not shown: fluffy tail)

(check out the claws!)

Cam has recognized Elsie's ability to communicate through art, and has taken a different approach and has been attempting to get her to understand him through drawings. The other day, during an argument in which Elsie could not understand why he wanted her to give him some privacy, he took out paper and drew four comics of how what she was doing was affecting him. The first drawing was very angry, but as he drew, he calmed down. (I'll have to find those photos, too) Not surprisingly, after she studied his drawings, she drew a comic back showing how she really just wanted to be with him because he is a fun brother. He studied her drawing, they stopped arguing, and they worked out a compromise. Good job Cam!

Here's a drawing Cam did to try and show the different emotions he faces:

And while we are on the subject of artistic expression, here was Ana's sweet Valentine's Day "Heart Attack" that she put up to surprise us for V Day. XOXO

Nine Years of Cambo and Luvy Comes to Town

Ana is getting a little shortchanged in the blog of late since her birthday is way back in August, so I just want to give a shout out and say that she is an incredible daughter and is getting to be a good surfer too! 

One of the things she does that helps me so much is she folds the laundry... and not only that... she folds it into the neatest piles you have ever seen. Hooray!

Another thing I really appreciate is how she takes care of Po with total patience, kindness and adoration. She always offers to help Po whenever she needs it and even lets Po sleep in her bed and helps her say her prayers at night. She is an angel. 

Cam got to be on the "Morning Broadcast" one morning because he had done an exceptional job on teaching kids in his class how to clarify words, so he was asked to present his method to the school. I peaked into Elsie's kindergarten class to watch him. He did a great job... but he didn't get Elsie's incredibly loud voice, so it was just a little bit hard to hear him, but he looked very knowledgeable. 

Right before Cam turned nine, my mom came to the island!! Then to top it off, our old friend Mark came to visit too! it was a little packed having them both here at the same time, but Jonah and I gave our room to my mom and the guest room to Mark, and we enjoyed our super comfortable hideabed in the living room. 

We dragged Mark and my mom to the school events... 

And enjoyed Luvy's help in reading to Po (she can't be satiated...)

But every time my mom comes to visit, I feel bad that we aren't more adventurous. It's just so relaxing having her here. She gets my house in tip top shape, instantly turns all the kids happy, and just gathers us all like a hen under her wings. So sorry Mom. I hope you had a fun time. We just love to hang out and gaze at your beauty and marvel at your efficiency. But man oh man do we love having her here. 

Cam's birthday was a little less exciting than in year's past, but I think he had a good time with a chocolate sheet cake with a Lego guy on top. He also got some nice presents. He chose to have a birthday party this year, but we haven't had a free weekend since he turned nine, so we have yet to have his party yet... but when we do, it'll be epic! (BTW, just so you know how bad I am, I make my kids plan their own parties. Cam just couldn't decide what he wanted to do in addition to every weekend being booked, so I've just waited until he took the initiative, which he finally has, and he's planning one for the week after next). 

I used to have a photo here of my mom eating a Dorito! She made me take it down and replace it with this one. But that's okay. She has a reputation to maintain. 

We were so sad when Luvy and Mark (or Chocolate Mark as my kids named him) had to leave. We did spend a monumental amount of time at the beach and we went on some great walks and Jonah and Mark did some crazy stuff... but, alas, no photos. 

But here is a photo of Elsie's homemade kite!

And here is a photo of Elsie with a monarch butterfly that she caught in the garden. 

(She released it later, don't worry.)

Some Cute Kids

I'm biased, but seriously, these are some cute kids. 

I'll keep them, goofy faces, buck teeth and all!