Okinawan Festival

Growing up on Kauai, we spent our summers going to the different Bon Dance on our side of the island. The music, the food, the games, and just hanging out with family and friends made it a special way to spend the summer weekends. I was so sad when I moved to Oahu and found that the Bon Dances here weren't nearly the same, and over time, I didn't even bother going unless we were at home. But, this year my brother told us about the yearly Okinawan festival that also combines with the final Bon Dance of the season. And so...we went to check it out.

Sadly, I was absolutely starving when we got there, so there are no pictures of the awesome food. We had sushi, chicken plate, yakitori sticks, andadogs (first one, and then a second, and I think even a third), an oki dog, and andagi. Oh...and then later, shave ice.

After we were full enough, we headed toward the games. Ola headed straight for the bouncers and decided to try an obstacle course first. He was a bit confused as to what he was supposed to do and where he was supposed to go, as is evident by his face in this picture.
Luckily, mommy could barely see over the edge and tried to guide him through as best as possible.

After our fair share of obstacle courses, bouncy houses, and inflated slides, Ola and Daddy headed for the mini golf. By the end, he was kind of getting the hang of it.
And our last game was go fish. When I was a kid, this was my favorite Bon Dance game. But back then, all you had to do was hold your pole out and they'd throw your line over a wall, attach a prize and give it a little tug. When you pulled your line back, you had a prize. Here, Ola actually had to catch his fish (or in this case, crab). He was VERY focused and got it right away. Then took it off, threw it back, and went again. lol. Eventually, he took his "catch" to the prize table and chose his goodies.

Once we'd had our fill of games, we just let the kids run around for a while. We tried to snap a family picture, but with our crazies, this is the best we got. lol. Gotta love em!
While no Bon Dance will ever be the same as the ones I grew up loving, we did have a fun afternoon. And the kids loved it, which is really what matters.

Oh, and one last shot. As we were walking to our car, Kupa'a made a new friend.
He was so tiny (as is obvious next to our already tiny child) and very sweet. He let Kupa'a hang around and pet him, but really, I'm not sure Pa'a knew what to do with something so much smaller than himself.

Turning 3!

This month, our oldest son turned 3. After his brother's sizeable first birthday luau, I think he was hoping for something just as big. Luckily, he was more than happy with what he got.

Our little man had lots to do on his big day. The biggest surprise, and the one we don't have any pictures of, was his trip to the movie theatre with Daddy, Granna, Grandpa, and Uncle Eli, to watch Transformers III. According to daddy, he was on the edge of his seat, leaning on the seat in front of him, the WHOLE movie. In fact, he'd only turn around long enough to ask for a snack or get a sip of his Too funny. When he got home, he was running through the house trying to find me to tell me everything that happened in the movie. Too funny.

Back at home, he got a large Elmo balloon arangement from Tutu and Papa, which he drug around the house for the next few days.

We went for a walk to feed the fish, which is quickly becoming one of his favorite activities.
We had birthday cake! Well...birthday pie.
And of course, some presents. He was so happy with his transformers toy, cup, and plate...
he couldn't wait to use them.
But, that wasn't it. After his brother's big bash, he asked if he could have a transformer birthday party, and so that weekend, we had a small one with just family.

Our Deceptacon Pinata (cause we didn't want to destroy any Autobots)


Optimus Prime goodie bags for the kids
And our birthday boy with his LONG awaited transformers cake. Check out that smile!
and our autobot cupcakes.
It being a birthday party, there were presents, but since he snuck in the house to open them, there were no photos. Except for this one of his very own bag of candy. Thank you to our families who came to help celebrate our little man's big day. He was so happy to have you all there. And be prepared, because he's already talking about his next birthday! Love this kid!

Crafting...

Ever since I started all the crafting for Kupa'a's party, I haven't been able to get it out of my system. With the party being done, I had to find myself a new outlet. And thus, a new kind of craziness was born.

It all started with a baby shower I was going to attend...and led to these...Wipes containers. So cute...and strangely...so addictive.

(Btw Nedra, if you're reading this, this one is yours)

And if you're carrying wipes, you probably need something to carry the diapers too...
So why not a clutch that fits your diapers and your cute new wipes container. lol.

But it didn't stop there...oh no. There were headbands, a tie appliqued onesie, burp cloths, and then...even though I've always said I wasn't sure if I could do a girl, making this little pink ruffle butt onesie for the soon to be newborn, just might have pushed me over that edge.
After two weeks of being lost in a baby crafting phase I realized...wait...I need to focus! I have a transformer birthday party to plan.And now I fear I may be falling into a cookie decorating phase. Oh boy!
Pretty soon, I'm gonna have to take my hubby's advice and start selling something or I'm gonna go broke crafting!

My crazies...

With two boys, our house NEVER has a dull moment. These are just a few of our crazy funny moments the past few weeks.

Kupa'a sporting his new shades. (Thanks to Aunty Chelsey and Kaedyn)

Got another pool to replace the broken one...and added a slide! (video of the crazy sliders wouldn't post, but believe me...those two are nuts!)

Warmed up in the tub each day after freezing in the pool.

Tried to fit into daddy's shirt. That's a BIG shirt to fill!

Went to an awesome pirate party, complete with eye patch, shoulder parrot, and pirate hat (only the patch stayed on).

Discovered the awesomeness of glow sticks!

And packed it in the ka'a!

Just a few of those precious moments I have with my crazies.

Pa'a's First Haircut

If it seems a little odd that I'm posting a first haircut for Kupa'a when his older brother has yet to have one, don't worry, you didn't miss anything. While our almost three year old has never had his hair chopped, our 13 month old couldn't wait any longer. Why such a difference? Well, its because our two little ones have VERY different types of hair!

Waiola's hair is VERY curly. So much so, that even though it's well below his shoulders when wet, once it's dry, the curls keep it in check. For that reason, and the fact that his father has hope for a Polynesian afro, we've yet to cut his locks.

Kupa'a, on the other hand, has completely straight hair. And no matter how much I'd brush it out of his face, there was no getting around the fact that it was over his eyes and driving him nuts.

So, a few weeks after his first birthday, he got a little trim.
I figured it'd just be easiest to do while he was busy and snipped away while he was eating.
He wasn't very fond of it and the cut didn't last that long, which made no difference since Daddy said I could only trim the front. (Kupa'a...when you look back at your baby pictures and see a mullet, blame your daddy!)
And even though it wasn't the best, most professional job, he's much happier having his hair out of his face. ;)
Gotta love this kid!

Kupa'a's FIRST birthday (BEWARE...VERY long!)

As much as I hate to admit that our littlest man is growing up, I've come to the realization that there really is nothing I can do to stop it. All I really can do is embrace it. And so...we did. ;) On June 17th, our "baby" turned ONE, and the following day we had a sizeable birthday bash to celebrate. Since I had so much fun with his party, which you'll see was owl themed, I had to document it from start to finish.

Starting with his invitations...
we sent out sweet little owl invitations, complete with pictures of our little pueo, that began...Guess whoo's turning ONE!It turned out to be a pretty inconvenient day for a lot of people, but we were still ready to party none the less. Luckily, we were able to have Sean Na'au'ao and his band as live entertainment once again.
To go with the owl theme, we had owl clip favors perched on little trees...
and owl stuffies for our centerpieces.We also had chocolate drizzled pretzel favors...YUM!
There was great Hawaiian food (Thanks to Lavern's), and 'opihi and poke (Thanks to Aho's Uncle and Aunty).
And...can't forget the pupus and desserts too (this was probably my favorite picture).We had lots of activities for the kids:Two balloon artists, who made our birthday boy his own owl, and a fish on a pole, among other things. We had a combo bouncer, which our oldest made GOOD use of. You can just see the absolute joy on his face in this shot!
There were also two games, Nest The Owl:where kids tried to land these little owl into their own little nest;
And Owl Toss:where they tried to get these little owls back into their tree;After playing, there were lots of prizes to choose from including, but not limited to: candy, punch balloons, slap hands, bouncy balls, and my favorite...homemade playdough!And there was also a Paper Bag Owl craft where the kids could color and create their very own owl. And most importantly, we had fabulous friends and family to help us celebrate. A few, like Aho's beat partner Sam, rarely make an appearance (hence to photographic evidence). While others, like my Kapi'o's, are always there to help us mark our milestones. ;)And what would a birthday party be without a cake and a "Happy Birthday!"
Kupa'a was serenaded by his big brother, who couldn't wait to sing him "Happy Birthday."And both our boys were drooling over the very large chocolate cake. In this shot, you can totally see Kupa'a eyeing out his owl topper. After the cake, we also had a Kupa'a Trivia game, and a slide show of his first year.

Other than yummy cake, Kupa'a made out with quite a load of cards and gifts. Luckily, his brother was more than happy to help him open them.Which led to the final leg of his birthday celebration, the many thank you cards to all those who shared in his special day. "Thank Whoo? Thank YOU!"
While it may be hard to acknowledge that our baby isn't really a baby anymore, it was so much fun making such a big deal over his birthday. His is our precious little pueo in so many ways and we can't wait to see how he'll spread his wings. Happy Birthday Pa'a boy! We love Who? We love you!!!