Day 1

Here we are in the backyard trying to put the pool together in the 90 degree heat!  Craig is a good helper and you can see what kind of a helper Jacie is!  We got this far and had to take a break until later in the afternoon when it cooled off a bit.  

There were what seemed like a bazzalion pieces!

Jacie put on her swim suit as soon as we got home from Toys R Us.  I think she thought we were going to pull the pool out of the box, blow it up, and jump in (I think I did too!).

At least she was very patient (and cute as always)!

Day 2

Got the pool set up and now to fill it up with water.  That took several, several hours with one hose! 

Day 3

We finally got the pool filled and wouldn't you know it, it was an overcast and windy day.   Oh well, that wasn't keeping the kids out of the pool.  I even got in and we had a blast.  From left to bottom, Marisa (Alexa's friend), Jacie, Craig, and Alexa!. 

Have a great weekend!  You know where I'll be!!

Craig (10), Alexa (13), and Jacie (7)

This elephant kept throwing dirt on itself?  I Googled it to find out why and found out it is to try and keep cool and keep the bugs off.

Another great shot of the elephants by Jacie.

Oh, oh.  I forgot what type of monkey this is.  They all started calling and making noises that sounded like kids yelling.  It was weird.  When we were first walking up to the exhibit, we all thought that it actually was kids yelling to the monkeys?!

Turtles on a log.  They were so still that Jacie thought they were fake.  We couldn't convince her that they were real until one plopped off into the water. 

Craig (goofy smile) and Alexa (pretty smile).  And yes, Craig does have a little mohawk going on!!  His older cousin Nicole was trimming his hair (with a shaver), and goofing around made the mohawk.  Mom and dad said he could keep it for a couple days, and then it's coming off!!

Thanks for stopping by to visit!  Hope you're having a great summer too!!

It's from my little niece Jacie, who if you follow my blog, you know is my little honie, honie!!  A shining light in my life!

In case you can't read it, it says " I now (know) that you are not a mom but you are like one to me and the Best I love you oxoxoxoxoxoxo Happy Mothers day! love Jacie

Hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day too!

Back in sunny Hawaii!

Little Miss Skier!

A few more pictures from their trip!

From what you can see of her face, you can really tell that Jacie is having a blast!!

Miss Alexa Wexa!!  Look how high the snow was!

Mr. Cool Craig Snow Boarder!

My sister and her husband, Alex.

Okay, next year I'll be standing in the picture with them!!

Thanks for stopping by to visit!  Have a great day!!

Here are some pictures that they've sent me this week (isn't technology wonderful)!

This is a picture of the great snow that they have at Squaw Valley.  It snowed almost everyday that they skied!

Jacie had never skied before, in fact she had NEVER even seen or touched snow!!  Here she is so excited and ready to go!!

Here are Jacie and Alexa all bundled up!  Jacie took skiing lessons and Alexa took snowboarding lessons!

Here's my little Jacie during her lesson.  The teacher asked if she was a rollerblader or ice skater because she picked up skiing so fast and was a natural!  She loved it!  Never complained once about being cold or tired!

She quickly graduated to the bigger slopes!  I couldn't do it with no poles!!

They even took the gondola up to a different run.  Here is Craig, Tori (a family friend) and Jacie.  You can tell they're having fun (well except for Craig)!

And here is a picture of Craig's first snowman!  Looks a little like an alien snowman!

Can't wait to go with them next year! 

Jacie is making the "shaka" sign (well at least with her right hand).  Here is a little trivia on Shaka!

The Shaka Sign is a common greeting gesture. It is often associated with Hawai'i. It consists of extending the thumb and smallest finger while keeping the three middle fingers curled, and raising the hand as in salutation with the back of the hand facing the person that is being greeted; sometimes the hand is rotated back and forth to emphasize the sign.

Hawaiian locals use the shaka to convey what locals in Hawai'i call the "Aloha Spirit," a gesture of friendship and understanding between the various ethnic cultures that reside within Hawai'i, and thus it does not have a direct semantic to literal translation. Depending on context it can also be used to communicate notions such as "all right," "cool," "smooth," and the like.

The sign is often followed by waving as a greeting or acknowledgement. It can be used when driving as a signal of thanks to other drivers (for example, someone who stopped to let another driver onto the road from a driveway).

Thursday night we went to the UH versus USC football game.  It was a fun and exciting game and as you can tell by the pictures, they have great season tickets!

Friday, took Craig to Football Practice!  He is so excited.  He is playing quarterback!

Craig got a prank kit!  Here are Craig and Jacie pretending that they have a nail through their fingers!  Little hams!  I emailed to my sister and told her they had a little "accident", nothing serious though! 

Jacie loves her stuffed animals (her little furry friends!)!

Here they are, all ready and excited for their first day!

Alexa and her little sister Jacie!

Hope you all had a great summer!

Here is Nicole and her proud dad!

Me, Craig and Jacie.

Nicole made her own table center pieces.  She was going to put water in the container and a little fish, but the sand clouded up the water, so we used them like this and they were very nice.  We attached balloons to the top so they were very festive!

Party favors, yummy cookies from Charmaine's Bakery!

A yummy lemon crunch cake from The Alley.  Known for their delicious cakes and food!

Great entertainment.  Manoa DNA performed first.  They were fabulous!

Next, Da Braddas did their comedy routine.  If you haven't heard of Da Braddas, they have a local TV show on OC16.  They are hilarious!!

And of course they make the family come up and get some ribbing!

And the Honolulu Dance Company performed some great dance routines.

But the best entertainment was Nicole's brother Thomas!  I didn't know that he was such a great hula dancer! 

Congratulations again, Nicole.  I'm so proud of you!!

I do think it's a good thing though to recognize kids for their achievements.  Heaven knows, it's not easy being a kid these days, and I think recognition goes a long way in incenting kids to keep plugging along and continuing their hard work!

Here are a couple pictures from Alexa's event.   I'm so proud of her!  She is a good girl, who studies hard and is kind to all!!

Alexa with her proud mom!  On to middle school!