I love surfing with Zachary. We try to get on rides together, and on this Saturday, we caught four or five that way. The waves were messy, it was windy and surf was generally small, but these little moments were perfect. I was excited this day because after a few sloppy rides, I convinced him to try a new break. He gets nervous at new places, and for good reason. Where there is surf, there is almost always reef. Reef is mean on the feet and body and knowing where to dodge it is important. Even though he was scared, he caught 5 waves at Koa Kea before paddling in. It was too far away for Brady to catch pictures.
Best friends Kate and Tate.
Owen and Heidi have been a cozy pair lately. She watched him while we were in Kalalau and the following Tuesday when I went to Oahu for doctor appointments. Heidi and Nic are Owen's second parents.
Lately, the kids build little ramps and slide down them into waves.
Todd hooked us up with a Koloa Landing swimming day that afternoon.
Giggle, giggle, giggle.
Walking through the waterfall with Daddy.
A series of Owen shots. The first: Owen eating bubbles.
I came out of my room the other day to find him with a salad bowl from the fridge and going to town on peppers and cucumbers. His favorite way to eat them is to chew, chew, chew, and then spit them out--usually right back into the salad bowl.
Owen, the soccer spectator. He's my coaching buddy every Monday and Wednesday and hangs with Daddy during the games every Saturday. He is usually emotional on practice days which means I carry him on my hip most of the time. I think 10 girls trying to pick him up dozens of times an hour is overwhelming for him.
Owen's least favorite part of every week: nail clipping.
This lucky boy plays at the park most mornings, and during all of Zachary's practices.
He loves the park, but loves playing in the car even more.
He steals shoes from closets, parks, outside classrooms (isn't it strange that kids can't wear shoes in their classrooms here?), and from the garage.
He made fast friends at a dinner party with this monstrosity.
He's obsessed with water bottles. He drinks some, but spits most of it out all over his shirt.
He's the hit of every dinner, exploring new words, giggling, and demanding attention. Some of his new words and phrases: cookie, yay!, out, please, more please, where did it go?, boo, no, thanks (tanks), head, hat, hair, elbow (bow, bow), eyes, nose, teeth, belly button (bee boo), ...
He plays tag with the kids every day, points out body parts, tries to play card games with us, colors, plays the piano, sets the table, and tries drinking from a cup. He comes up and asks for kisses constantly, snuggles in our arms, and begs for hugs. He is such a charm. There are plenty of days that I need an Owen break--especially after hauling him around practice or just before dinner when nothing in the world makes him happy. But most of the time he looks more like this:
Fall Break! The kids start school almost a month earlier than many on the mainland, and this makes it possible to have longer breaks throughout the year. Fall break is my favorite week of October. This year, we spent the day with the Clark kids, boogie boarded at Brennecke's, surfed at Sheratons, spent a day at Kalipaki playing beach volleyball and in the waves, and went to lunch at Bubba's.
Halloween slime, Kiwi Crate crafts, catching up on Kid Bizz assignments and of course piano and reading were a major part of the week. Zachary finished up the entire Harry Potter series this month (again) and watched all the movies (again).
Owen assumes the position: binkey, belly button and stroller.
Owen, not sure how he feels about getting transformed into a sand creature.
Owen mimics everything right now, including prayer.
Wednesdays at piano are getting more challenging with this toddler. Keeping him quiet and contained is impossible. With a 45 min car ride there and back, it's also not very fair to him to expect that he stay quiet. We just discovered this park down the street and I think my Wednesdays will be 50% less stressful now.
While Zac took huge boogie boarding waves at Brennecke's, we played in the sand and in the shallow water. Kate took some boogie boarding waves, too, before deciding they were too powerful for her. We went to baby beach for a while and she balanced on her board and impressed a bunch of tourists.
I came upstairs and found Owen nursing his baby, giving the baby a binkey and patting him on the back.
We played Wackee Six at least a dozen times this week, plus several other board games. Owen throws down cards but also throws tantrums when we play games too long and he's not involved. The kids made it up to him with his favorite game: name that body part.
Koloa Landing won a prestigious award and Brady flew to California for three days to accept it. With a free afternoon, he went to Universal Studios, and almost killed Zachary with his descriptions and pictures of Harry Potter World. He came back with a delicious chocolate-covered frog and the all-flavor, Bertie Botts Beans. The kids were stoked to try booger-flavored and vomit jelly beans and laughed all night.
This trip to the library melted my heart.
Our house, going up sllllooooowwwwwllllly but surely. This framer promised six weeks and it's been much, much longer. We're hoping things move along more quickly in the upcoming weeks and months. A/C, electric and plumbing are going in now, with dry wall starting next week! Brady and Zac work at the house every weekend collecting rubbish, sweeping, and measuring. It's a big project every day and night while we select fixtures, debate window sizes, appliances, tile selections, etc., but it's coming together and it will be over soon....ish.
Our Costco run became a crawl once we hit this diversion.
Kate, looking tall and sassy.
Kate has emerged as a stand-out player on her team. She races around the field and seems less intimidated every game. The second game, she was hit in the face with a ball and had a hard time coming back from that, but the last few games, she's been aggressive and a major player. On Saturday, she had a hat trick! Three goals in one game! At the end of the game, the referee was counting down the final minute. She thought, "Oh! I am going to get that ball and score a goal before this game ends." She did!
She also stopped 8 goals that game as goalie.
Her final score:
Zachary is getting better at passing and had 5 crosses Saturday, and one big goal. We were happy to see him share the glory on the field. He regularly dribbles through 4 and 5 defenders before heading to the goal. It's been fun to see him as the older kid on the team this year. His team is undefeated, despite being down one player most games.
Corner kicks.
His score:
Getting back into the swing of things after a week off is always an adjustment, but we're looking forward to the holidays and Mom and Dad Edwards visiting this week!
