A Compliment?

It was the last day of school today and I was out saying goodbye to the students and parents. One of my parents (who is always complimentary) asked me how my babies are doing and then complimented me on how good I look (probably because I was pregnant with Matthew when I had her older child in my class) said, "You look so pretty. You always look so pretty and you're not even wearing make-up." Now, is that a compliment? I guess it is, right? What's the purpose of make-up? Is it to enhance your features, skin tone, and complexion all while looking natural? I guess. But . . . I was wearing make-up!

Aloha

My five days in Hawaii were absolutely fabulous. Of course, it the trip was much too short, but I knew that going into it. I went with three other friends from work for a colleague's wedding. One other person was supposed to go, but she got caught up in the ATA mess. Two of the three were also involved in the ATA mess, but they were not going to give up and ended up getting on another carrier.

Anyway, Hawaii was absolutely beautiful despite the fact that the weather was not that great. It was cloudy and rainy most of the time but it was still beautiful. We hit the international marketplace, Pearl Harbor, the swap meet, took a bus to Lanikai, and even went to luau. I tried poi! Our last day was warm and sunny, the perfect beach day. We popped right up and headed to the beach at 7:00 A.M. I didn't even mind that the flight was delayed three hours because it gave us more time on the beach. The down side to the delay . . . I didn't get home until 2:30 in the morning and had to be at work at 7:25 the following day. Can you say walking zombie?!

Pearl Harbor was quite moving. Here's a shot of the oil slicked water around the Arizona. Oil is still seeping out even today.

This shot is actually from our last day and was taken in the morning when we were on Waikiki beach. There was barely anyone on the beach. What I like about this picture is that when I was sitting there (or swimming) I was completely aware of where I was and the fact that I was on an island. We also watched the planes come in and leave as they flew over the beach. Some people were probably happy and thinking wonderful thoughts of being in Hawaii, while others were thinking, "Oh, man! I 'm leaving!"

A view of Diamondhead from Waikiki beach.

This is the most blue sky I saw.

Me on the last day posing with a "dolphin" at our hotel, The Wyland.

What I loved best about Hawaii was the laid back air of everything. I could definitely adapt to the island culture and joked to my "cousins" that I would be Hawaiian in my next life! So aloha Hawaii for now and mahalo for the fabulous time.

My Little Scholars

After reading our nightly stories in Matthew's room I sent Natalie off to bed while I finished tucking in Matthew. I laid in his toddler bed and waited for him to climb up. He hopped over me with another book. I was completely tired and didn't want to read another book so I said, "You read it to me." He replied with an eager, "Okay," and proceeded to "read" the book to me. He started with the title and title page by reading, "Diego's Whale Adventure," twice. He then continued with the story pausing to look at the pictures for prompting. He even asked for interaction by asking his audience to "Say click." If he turned too many pages by accident (it's a paper book) he corrected himself and went back to the right page. He really did a great job retelling the story. I can't believe he did that at almost two and a half.

Oh, and have I mentioned that Natalie often reads us bedtime stories at night and knows 48 out of the 70 kindergarten sight words? I am not bragging. I am just so proud!

She got her progress report the other day from preschool. It was all very good and mostly in O's in everything and she even went up in a couple of academic areas from an S to an O. However, she had stayed status quo or went down to an S in a few things. They were things like takes responsibility for cleaning up after self, works neatly, works to the best of her ability. These were all things that we not a surprise to us. We know Natalie is not neat. She'd rather play than do schoolwork, and although she's very smart, she doesn't really want to do the work and makes up excuses like, "I am so tired." It's not news. I showed her her progress report and we talked about how good she did and I showed her the areas for improvement for kindergarten. She's all about pleasing her new kindergarten teacher. Then later Ryan and I were talking about the S's and how it was no surprise and then almost at the same time said, "She's only four!" To make a long story short, we're proud of her sparkling little personality, her sweet nature, and cheerful disposition. We know she's smart and I am sure as she gets older she will learn how to work to the best of her ability. But right now, she's four and I am pretty sure she'll do a good job of meeting the kindergarten standards.

My Fancy Party

It's been awhile since I've documented anything. This time of year is always so hectic and crazy that many things take a backseat. Over the next few entries I will try to highlight some fun memories even if they're old news.

I love this family shot from my "fancy" birthday party. Since I was planning on being in Hawaii on my actual birthday, Natalie decided to have my party a few days early. She had quite an elaborate plan. She took Daddy shopping to get the party supplies and made her wishes known. She even insisted on inviting friends so our good friends the P's came for a party of pizza and cake.

I guess the fanciness started the day before when we were shopping at the mall for last minute Hawaii items. Natalie decided she needed a new dress for my birthday. She tried on several until she found the perfect one with matching sunglasses. Of course I had to get dressed up too. But that wasn't all. Once I got home from work I had to get fancy too. Daddy even had t wear a tie and Natalie especially picked out Matthew's outfit too.

As for the night's festivities, besides the food and cake Natalie had planned dancing. The dancing ended up only being for the kids, which was okay with the grownups!

All in all, it was a very special birthday night.