Mother's Day in Koke'e

Soccer Saturdays make for hiking days that are few and far between.  Lucky for us, the kids both had bi weeks so we did morning chores and hit the trail early afternoon.

Zac asked to carry Owen, and he did for about 25 minutes.  That is no small feat, since that pack goes halfway down his hamstrings and weighs at least half his body weight.

The kids don't jump up and down when we say "hiking," but they always love it.  Since this was my Mother's Day adventure, they were good not to complain before the hike, too.

My favorite shot of the day.

We were socked into clouds at the start of the hike, but 5 miles later, we came back and found these never-get-old views.

My Mother's Day 2019 picture.

What's that?  Another sleepy Kate and Owen picture?  Another view that never gets old.

The next day was the official Mother's Day.  Brady gave me flowers, made his specialty grilled chicken, bought my favorite Lilikoi pie, and gave me a standout frame of me surfing.  The kids wrote cards, made videos for me, and dished out love all day long.  Owen wrote in preschool that his favorite thing I make is "crackers and cereal," and that I look best when I do my eyes.  He said I surf when he goes to preschool and I love reading him books.  This stage!  Ha!

Mom is my main title and I am proud of that.  I try hard to remind myself that I'm not raising a house, I'm raising children and the to-dos for school, church, home, volunteering, and projects should not take over the most important part of my life.  I love these kids with my whole heart, and it is an honor to be their mother.

May Day 2019

May Day 2019: Zachary's last and Kate's second.  Zachary was honored to be chosen as prince to represent the island of Lanai on court with his friend, Luna, as princess.  This involved plenty of extra projects to prep for the day, including all the flower arrangements.  I was so proud of the work we did--I helped put this bad boy together in the blazing heat.  May Day somehow corresponds to what feels like the hottest days of the year.  

 Keoni Pau, a 4th grade teacher, had all the court dads dance to a mix of songs.  Brady was hesitant to participate since he was off island both practice days, but learned from the demo with Kate and Owen's help.

 We hunted down bourgenvillea and I sewed together a (mandatory) hair piece for Kate.

 Brady did the parking for the event and I helped kids on court get dressed and ready.

 Jojo, Zac, David, Shayden, and Noah.  Shayden was chosen as king.

 The bros.

 Down time before the event.

 Kate and Cambry.  Zac calls her "Cranberry."

 Liam was the pili bearer, escorting Zachary and Luna.  Orange and yellow were their colors.

During the procession, they tell about the kids on court.  Zac's description included him wanting to attend BYU, and his career ambition to be an "imagineer"--an engineer that works on creating fun things like Disneyland rides.  He described his hobbies as reading, playing soccer, surfing and boogie boarding, and playing legos.

 The royal court.

 Brady busting a move with the other court dads.  Way to go, Babe.

 I love Liam's photo bomb in this pic.

 They required us to buy a long-sleeved white shirt and black pants.  You'd think the church kid would have that stuff but we have every color but...  I ordered them from Target and size 42 black pants showed up.  A friend bailed me out with her son's pants.  Kauai problems!

 I made Brady pose with Zachary in front of the other flower arrangement I made.

 Zachary cringes at anyone teasing him about girls but he handled the dance and escorting perfectly.

Kate!  May Day was so focused on Zachary this year, but Kate demanded her turn in the spotlight.  Every move she made was big and precise.  She flowed gracefully though the hula motions.  I know she is my daughter so of course my eyes were glued on her, but even watching the video back, it is clear she was a leader in her class.  Shine, Love, shine!

The grand finale, all-school dance.  

I asked Zachary to take a few pictures afterwards, and he said, "Ok.  But I am STARVING and I can't wait to take off all these clothes."

Kindergarden to 5th grade.

I wish my giant sun hat could have been removed for this shot but my hair was plastered to my head by that point.  The bros and mamas!

 Brady had a few minutes so we went to lunch with the kids.

 Kate and Owen fell asleep on the way to piano within minutes of getting in the car.  It's how we all felt!