End of school 2019

Brecons 5th Grade graduation- A fun program put on by the teachers and staff for the graduates-- even though Brecon will be back in elementary school when we move to Alaska! They had a few speakers, a hula group performance, and Brecon (with a few other students) played their ukulele for the school song. When they finished the song, Brecon had the biggest smile on his face, looked at our neighbor Sam Wiggins and then put his arm around him in a cool side hug "way to go- bro" way!
At the end of the program, the entire 5th grade danced to "Best Day of my Life" with motions, jumping and clapping! They looked like they were having fun, and it was so fun to watch them all. I thought Brecon looked the best- but I'm his mom so of course I would think that! I know that Brecon's teacher Mrs. Doster was a big influence for learning for him. I'm glad that I was able to reach out and help chaperone field trips for her class-- even if I was late sometimes-- oops! They were a pretty great group of kids!

WHAT A GOOD LOOKIN' KID-WAY TO GO BRECON!

Brielle's 1st grade teacher Ms. Kinsey pose for the end of school picture. The class party refreshments were heavy on sugar and carbs-- which is okay once and a while. I'm happy to say that Brielle did NOT finish her plate... I mean... that is just too much! Brielle thought her teacher was nice (and she was not married) which was something she would always tell me "Ms. Kinsey is not married." When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, Brielle would say "I want to be a teacher like Ms. Kinsey. I don't want to be married and I want a dog."

Connor and his teacher Mrs. Distefano. A kind and loving lady who had class projects for the English, Science, and social studies. Connor had to research an influential person, memorize the story and recite it back for a living history museum. He chose Walt Disney and it was interesting to learn more about this innovator and his creative imagination. "If you can dream it, then you can do it" --Walt Disney

CAEL FINISHED HIS FRESHMAN YEAR AT LEILEHUA

What a busy year for this kid. Out the door at 6:05 for early morning seminary, school all day, and then an extracurricular sport for every season, usually getting home around 7:30 at night. Cross Country, soccer, and then Judo. It was sometimes a crazy schedule trying to get him everywhere he needed to be, but we also were glad that he was involved with his school and still had a 4.0 GPA. Way to go CAEL!

LAIE TEMPLE TRIP
What a good looking group of youth doing the good work at the temple. I'm always glad to send them off to this activity, and Brother Asato makes sure that everyone gets a full tummy when they are all finished. Loco Moco or hot cakes... he is a good man to provide the food for these hungry teenagers on an early Saturday morning.

CUB SCOUTS RAINGUTTER REGATTA- Connor
Even though we had weeks to prepare a boat for the cub scout race- with everything going on and getting ready to move, this task had become last on the totem pole. About 30 minutes before we are supposed to leave for this activity, I yell "YOUR BOAT!" and we got to work on it right away. A quick spray paint job and hot glue gun for the sail really did the trick for our quick put together job- and surprisingly Connor won each of his races to get the 1st place ribbon. What a funny night!

Bro and Sis Rigby (and Leia) are stalwart cub leaders. They were always there to help their boys and I know that Connor sure loved having a cute baby in class ("she's so cute, mom")

Sock hop and surfin’ fun

SOCK HOP at Daniel K. Inouye Elementary. 

Family dance and fun for everyone. Food and goodies, a photo booth and a hoola hoop competition. Highlight of the night was Cael swining his hips so hard and so fast to keep his hoop going and then looking over at some ladies that we easy breezy without even trying! Ha ha ha!!

SURFING in HALEIWA

It was another enjoyable beach evening complete with a rainbow. Watching the big boys catching waves, swimming out and starting all over again. I am amazed that they can get out there so easily, for Ben and I it is a killer shouder & neck workout. Cannon and Brielle stay on the shoreline and let the waves crash into them and carry them out before they are pounded with another-- giggling and laughing the whole time. We sure are lucky to live where we are!

APRIL- EASTER, Spring Break, Brielle birthday, and short cuts PART 1

Our April was pretty busy with lots of the activities, visitors, and celebrating!

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS SPRING FESTIVAL
Usually a couple times a year, there is a huge party here on post at Weyland field. There are food vendors, carnival rides, and inflatable bouncy houses. We like to take the kids right when they first open in order to get some free "stuff" (sunscreen, fans, pens... more junk) and also to take our free picture with whatever seasonal character they have. It is one of my favorite things... and it is just funny to see how the picture turns out with my crazy crew. We let the kids pick one "ride" and this time they chose the battle balls/orbs. I think they all had a great time running and crashing into each other.

EASTER
I had to make sure we put together baskets this year because Necha & Josh and Maggie and Tessa were here! I think the morning was fun, but I will NEVER buy flarp or any substance that resembles a gooey mess. Also the indoor "sand".... uh... no!  So on the bright side, there was a plethora of candy and sugar-induced hyperactivity from the children while we watched (or tried to listen to) General Conference- now that was really wonderful this year!

STORY TIME with CANNON
We love going to hear stories from Miss Terry at the local library. She reads a few stories and then plays some songs with actions and the little toddlers and kiddos try to follow along. I think Cannon is the cutest kid there- very attentive and does well at following instructions!

BRIELLE BIRTHDAY
For a few years now, we have had cousins or Grandparents around for Brielle's birthday which is pretty lucky for her! Last year we went to the dole plantation and got the BIG treat with 3 tall spirals of dole whip with cherry, chocolate, and butterscotch sauce all on top of a 1/2 of a pineapple. It's expensive, but big enough for the group to share so we splurge a little! So of course that has been what Brielle has talked about all year and we had to go again this year. We walk around and look at the different varieties of pineapples, take a few fun pictures, and then we leave. It is a tourist destination after all, so we don't like to spend too much money there ;)

PCC FIELD TRIP
Brielle's Kindergarten class was able to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center and I went along as a chaperone. This is really one of the best field trips learning about the different island cultures and watching the presentations. Brielle is fun to watch in the group. She is excited and smiling, happy to be where she is. I'm so glad to have my parents here so that I can go and be part of the adventures with my kids while they are in school.

MARCH- Hiking, visitors, and springtime fun!

A few of the happenings from this last month:
CONNOR- March 16
Connor's class had a poetry jam with snacks after to enjoy. It is fun that we have family in town to support these school activities. Here is his poem:
PEACE
Peace is good to do
Martin Luther said to.
I like to be good.
by Connor

HIKING- March 19
While Ben's uncle Lee, Eugene, and my parents are all in town we went on a hike to the Waimano Tunnels. In hindsight this probably wasn't the best hike to take uncle Lee on. At the start of the trail he lost his footing and fell backwards into some bushes. I had Cannon on my back and tried to help him up, but couldn't really get him back up by myself. He cut his ear a bit, and I think we were all shaken up from the fall. We ended up walking farther up the trail, but I took the kids a little farther up while Eugene, Lee, and Cael got a head start going back to the vehicles. Cael took them down on the lower loop, which is steep going down and hard to climb back out of. I would not have taken them that way.. but Cael pushed uncle Lee up the hill when he needed help and we all got out of there alive.

March 21-We also went to Bellows to camp out and uncle Lee about got swept away in the ocean. The waves were fierce that evening- which was fun for the boys to boogie board, but still a little more rough than I like to play in. Lee went walking down into the water, but a big wave took his feet from under him. The waves kept beating down on him- I was actually fearful when Lee was under the water for so long. Luckily, Eugene went out and helped him up... and I got my pants wet when I went over to help him out too. He decided to sit on the shore the rest of the time, which I was glad about. It was scary!

March 22- The next day we hiked up to Pu'u Ma Ele Ele or Digging Hill. The view at the end is gorgeous of the Kaneohe Bay. It is always a great time taking the kids on trails that they have been on before. They complain just the same, but they know when the end is near and it is practically a race out when it is time to leave.

BEN's BIRTHDAY BASH- March 20
We had a little party with the family for Ben's birthday- surfing up at Ali'i Beach park and fruit pizza at home. Nothing too fancy, but a typical Platt Party at home.

WAIMANO WATERFALL (Cardiac Hill)- March 23
I had never been on this trail, but after going through my trusty hiking book, I wanted to cross it off of my list. There is a ridge trail that connects to the waterfall hike, so we decided to go on both of them. The Manana Ridge trail was pretty easy at first, and at the point where we turned around I was starting to feel nervous about one of the kids sliding off the steep ravine. The trail that heads down to the waterfall had a very steep decline with tree roots as the "stairs". There are some ropes and  parts that you really have to be careful with your footing, but we were all able to make it down to the river and double waterfall. Cael and Brecon joined with the adventurous group and climbed across a rope to drop into the pool of water below. It was nice to rest before making the strenuous climb out of there.
My favorite memory was going out for a treat after that hard hike. We took everyone to the Snow Factory, but remember, we have just been tromping through mud and dirt, swimming, and climbing out of the mountains- so we are not in the most clean condition. After placing our order and slurping up the delicious and cool treat, we looked around at the mess we had made. Not only was the table dirty, but the seats and floor had dirty mud tracks everywhere we had been!