Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Saturday, December 8 was our one year anniversary on the island. In some ways it's gone so very quickly and in other ways it seems like we've always been here. We spent Saturday in Kona -- went to the LDS temple in the morning, then out to lunch and to the beach in the afternoon.
Abraham "graduated" from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. The Troop is going camping this weekend and he's excited for that.
We've done some more tiling. The floor is flatter in the area we just did and WOW what a difference that makes. It's going much faster. Our stove is in the kitchen but still in the box. We want to tile that floor before we set it up. In the meantime, we have an outdoor kitchen. We have a Coleman stove, crock pot, electric skillet, etc. I miss my Christmas cookies! I'm going to mix up several types of dough and take them to our cousin's house to bake.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Hallelujah! We moved into our house on Nov 15. There's still plenty of work to do but I'm so happy to be here. In the midst of moving, "normal" life continued. Solomon and Abraham had testing and interviews as part of their applications to Kamehameha Schools and had a piano recital the same day. Thanksgiving morning, the boys and I did a 5K on the Hilo waterfront. We had Thanksgiving dinner with our cousins in Kea'au. They've been SO good to us! Abraham turned 11 on Nov 25. The photos below were taken with my phone. The resolution is low so I left them small.

Annu, the boys' piano teacher, was happy with their performance.

 Abraham at the Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning.

Solomon placed 61st out of 344 Turkey Trotters.

 The FIRST photo of Abraham as an eleven year old!

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Tsunami warning sirens went off at about 8:00 last night. We're at almost 500' elevation so we were fine. I was interested as I watched the news at the preparations people were making. Some people went for groceries, even more went for gasoline. I heard a woman talk about lowering the temperature on the refrigerator and backing up the computer. I hadn't thought of that. The tsunami wave never amounted to much, about 1.5 feet in Hilo harbor, but it caused me to reevaluate our emergency plans.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Robert's birthday was Saturday. We celebrated all day. Abraham and Solomon made waffles and sausage for breakfast and that evening we went to the movie Hotel Transylvania. A good time was had by all!
Since moving here I have pretty much given up buying bread. It's $3.50 and up for a lousy loaf of store brand stuff. Instead, I've been making my own. Last week I made the perfect accompaniment: guava jam. YUM!

Sunday, October 07, 2012

The boys had fall break and no school all last week. We barbequed at Kipuka Puaulu in Volcano National Park one evening with friends. It's a bird sanctuary (that's NOT what we barbequed!) and here's a resident.

Abraham and Solomon put in some hours working on the house, too. We'll move in at the end of October if we pass final electrical and plumbing inspections. The house won't be completely finished like we wanted, but we're really ready to get out of the rental house. Here's evidence of Robert's hard work. He has more just like this.

We watched the LDS General Conference this weekend. I haven't listened to the whole thing yet but I really liked Jeffrey Holland's remarks at this morning's session. Abraham re-created what looks like the Bern, Switzerland temple featuring Shaquille O'Neal as the Angel Moroni. I like to think both Shaq and Moroni are good with that.

In the afternoon we went to the "beach" (I use that term loosely) at the end of our street. Exploring the tide pools is one of our favorite Sunday afternoon activities. It was low tide when we were there today and sea turtles were in feeding on the seaweed. I love the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks and the sense of being at the edge of the world. All in all, a tranquil and rejuvenating day.

Sunday, September 09, 2012

Solomon turned 14 this week. I'm totally and unashamedly biased, but he is a GREAT kid. He's funny, thoughtful, compassionate, smart, and responsible. He makes strange, goofy faces and the best chocolate chip cookies ever. He is goal-oriented and honest. In our family you get to order what you want for your birthday dinner and he asked for pork chops with mango chutney: YUM! Robert made an 'ono apple pie to top it off. Here's Solomon pretending he doesn't know I'm taking his picture.

Kaela and her friend, Sam, visited Labor Day weekend. We explored Kaumana Cave. The caves are part of a lava tube from a 1881 eruption of Mauna Loa. Two miles of it are fairly easily accessible. History has it that Princess Ruth Ke`elikolani stood in front of the advancing lava praying, beseeching Pele to spare Hilo. The flow stopped a mile short of the city, so apparently her prayers were answered.

Kelsey works at Circling Raven Golf Course in Worley, ID. She told me about what I think is a terrifying idea: night golfing! She plans to take the GRE in October.

This is how I look when I'm grinding concrete. No wonder Robert loves me!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

I went with our Cub Scout Pack on the Hawaii Heritage Trail hike. It winds 6.5 miles around Hilo where hikers collect information at various sites of historical importance. Boys who fill out a questionnaire earn a patch. Five Cubs made the trek today. The photo with their Webelos leader was taken on a foot bridge in Wailoa Park (near the King Kamehameha statue, if you know where that is).

And this is after cooling off at Coconut Island. Yep. Cub Scouts is all about fun.

Robert is laying tile at our house. We have a fairly open floor plan so there are large rooms without a lot of walls. We decided to lay the tile diagonally so the length wasn't accentuated. I think it's tricky, but Robert is doing a great job. He is such a renaissance man! Here are two important things I've learned about tiling: 1) abandon all tendencies toward perfectionism, and 2) start with a flat floor!

Saturday, August 18, 2012

I ran my first 5K today. Well, ran and walked. It was a perfect day in Volcano, HI. I finished with a smile and I made sure I ran the last 3/4 mile so I could show off for Robert when I crossed the finish line. I came in behind a woman with a double stroller so maybe I wasn't all that impressive.

The race benefited the Volcano Art Center. I snapped a photo as I passed. The other photo is after I passed a turn around point. I was pleased to see that there were people still behind me. Look at the time on the finish clock below. I was going to tell my running family and friends that was a 10K time! It's only slightly faster than my walking pace.

The real story of the day was Solomon. He agreed to do the race with me but insisted we walk, not run, because he had basketball practice this afternoon and didn't want to tire himself out. We knew his cousin Jacob would be running the 5K. Jacob's high school cross country team all ran. Solomon talked to Jacob and some other friends while we were waiting to start. One friend told him that he'd won $50 for placing first in his age division in a 5K. That's all Solomon needed to hear. He was in the 9-13 age bracket. He's about two weeks away from turning 14. He's fit and he knew he could be competitive. He was. He placed 5th in his age division and was the 49th runner to finish overall. GREAT job! He's at basketball practice now so we'll see how dead tired he is when he gets home.

My sister, Amy, gave me some inspiration. Amy does marathons so anything she says about running must be gospel. She mentioned that she and her son had recently done a 5K and that her son "hates to run." BLING! The light bulb came on over my head. I can make Abraham run -- he hates it, too! And here's a perfect opportunity for the mom to make the child do something he hates that is really good for him (like brushing teeth, and taking piano lessons, and eating sweet potatoes, and using correct grammar). The Hilo Bay 5K is next month and we just might have the whole family there!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

The weather today was rainy, then sunny, then sunny some more, then rainy, then overcast, then sunny, now rainy. I was contemplating living in a rainforest. We get over 100 inches of rainfall per year. Average temperature is in the 70s and average humidity is higher than that. Rainforests cover 6% of the Earth's surface but produce 40% of our oxygen. More than half of all plant and animal species live in rainforests. Unfortunately, most of them are bugs.

 

Things I hate about the rainforest: mildew and cockroaches. Things I love about the rainforest: fresh fruit year round, rainbows, rain drumming (pounding) on our metal roof, waterfalls, geckos, and the smell of puakenikeni. Oh, the rain stopped. Here comes the sunshine.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

We finished painting the interior. We've got some bold colors in our pallet. The boys' bedrooms are blue. I was afraid it would look like a swimming pool but I really like it!

 There are a couple of red walls in the kitchen that are going to look great with our counter tops. You can see our gold bedroom in the back. That's right -- red, yellow, and blue.

 First day back to school. Already. Abraham is in 5th grade. Solomon declined the invitation for a back-to-school photo. Abraham didn't know declining was an option and I plan to keep it that way.

I just had my birthday and here's what 48 looks like. My poor, crazy hair! I briefly considered growing it out. The good thing about long hair is you can always put it in a pony tail. The bad thing about long hair is you always do put it in a pony tail. I'm really not a pony tail person.

I thought I'd have it a lot more "together" by the time I reached this age. Turns out I feel pretty much the same as I did at 28. And this might be an indication of a mid-life crisis, but I decided to run a 5K in two weeks. See rain forest runs. I've NEVER had a desire to run before and I don't even want to train, but this seemed like a good idea. Maybe I'll come out of it with a funny story to tell. I hope the t-shirts are nice.

Sunday, July 21, 2012

Abraham attended Robotics camp last week. Students made electromagnets and working radios. They used Lego NXT and VEX systems to build robots and then programmed them to move beanbags. Can you even imagine how much he loved it?

He’s still busy with Cub Scouts, too. Here’s an edible camp fire he made.

Robert’s brother, Moroni, and his family visited for a week. We snorkeled, hiked, and hung out with them. We love spending time together.

Partial family photo with Mom, Robert, Maxine, and Moroni.

We’re painting at the house. The interior is about half finished and I’m slowly getting through all the doors. 

Sunday, July 08, 2012

Robert and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary. There are many things I'm not very good at, but I am GREAT at picking husbands!
My brother Ken was here for a few days helping a friend get moved to this island. The day he arrived we went to the Kaphoho tide pools. It's one of our favorite places to snorkel and Ken is becoming a lover of snorkeling. The photo is a puffer fish. The Hawaiian name is o'opu hue, which means "stomach like a gourd." This guy is only about two inches long.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

It's been a busy summer for the boys. Abraham went to Cub Scout Day Camp. The theme was Medieval Days. He had fun making armor and a catapult, jousting, archery, shooting a BB gun, fishing and swimming.

 

In the meantime, Solomon was camping with the Boy Scouts in Volcano National Park. He was home long enough to get a couple loads of laundry done and then off to Ho'olauna Puna with Kamehameha Schools. It was a week of camping at the beach and learning Hawaiian culture and skills. He learned to throw a fishing net, shred coconut to make haupia, and how to use indigenous plants for medicine. He caught three rock fish with a line tied to a bamboo pole AND ate them!
Here's Solomon teaching Abraham to pound poi.

The students learned to recite their genealogy in Hawaiian, plus several songs and chants. Here are the boys doing a hula. Maybe the most important thing Solomon learned is that he can have fun outside of his comfort zone.

Robert, Abraham and I set up our water catchment tank. It looks just like a grain bin and was, in fact, manufactured in Spokane. It will have a food grade liner and will hold about 12,000 gallons.

Good help is hard to find. This particular laborer is snoozing in the hammock.

 

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Yesterday Solomon, Abraham, and I went to Waimea to visit Melody. We stopped in Laupahoehoe to explore. Most of the town is up on the cliff now, but "back in the day" there was a community of 1000+ people down on the point. In 1946 it was struck by a series of tsunamis. School children gathered fish dropped on the shore by the first two huge, but not deadly, waves when a third wave hit. Twenty-seven children and teachers were swept out to sea. Three survivors treaded water for ten hours until a rescue boat could be brought down from the cliff. All the boats on the beach had been destroyed.

We were standing in front of this monument reading the names when a tsunami warning sounded! Turns out they test the warning system the first Friday of every month. It was such a weird coincidence that we were ready to leave right away.
Here are some signs I've seen only in Hawaii. This is at McKenzie State Park.