May is all pau

Playing Catch Up...

I was awful at blogging this month. We just had so much going on. Here are a few highlights that I didn't get a chance to blog about :)

I had a great visit with my friend Brianna and her sweet baby girl (who's almost 1!) Maile. It was nice to just get in some visiting since there always seems to be something going on.
Gotta make time for girlfriends! <3

(Me and Brianna '07) (Me, Maile and Nohea)
We visited my cousin Kimisue and her lillo-ones at their new apartment! Yay for the new place!
silly kiddos! and silly auntie!

I got to get in some quality visiting with my sister in law Adriana (check out www.misfitmama.wordpress.com) and while we chatted, the young'uns horsed around! Love these guys to pieces!! I can't believe how fast they're growing!


Jack had his last T-ball Game and the whole fam came out to support him! Thanks so much for cheering him on this season. He had a ton of fun being part of the Braves!



Nohea rolled over for the first time! It was to her left and toward a silly Auntie Nini!


We got to spend some time with Tom (Robert's dad) while he was on a short break from the "Walking With Dinosaurs" tour. They came down to Bob's Hawaiian Restaurant (where my dad plays music every Friday) and had some onolicious dinner with us.


Love my mom and sister, Part of our Booth Ohana, Silly Grandpa, Oochie knows it ;) Nohea, her daddy and his daddy ;)

Abby and Judith's First Communion

Last Sunday we went to watch Abigail and Judith's first communion! They were so pretty all dressed up! We were glad to be there to support them. We LOVE YOU girls!
Here are a few photos of the girls on their big day!

Our River Trip

We took our annual river trip May 17th to Laughlin, Nevada. We hitched up the boat and headed up to Ontario to meet up with the Imbachs Sunday afternoon. It's amazing how much you have to pack when you're traveling with a baby! Everyone was taking off together so that we could caravan up to Laughlin. We had a total of 5 cars/trucks towing boats following eachother! It was awesome. There were a few blown out tires, an air conditioner belt issue, and 106 degree weather that really helped start off the trip with a bang!

We got all checked in to the hotel (Jack LOVES staying in hotels) and tried to get as set up as we could so that we could keep the baby's night time routine as normal as possible. Everything was pretty awesome, kids settled in just fine.

The next morning we launched and thanks to the boys help, we got both boats on the water just fine. After everything was set up on the beach (ie. pack-n-play, easy up, chairs and most important food totes!) The men headed out to play and tow. It was nice and warm, Jack had a blast playing in the water on the beach and talking to the "ladies". Nohea did alright considering we didn't really have any of the comforts of home. She wasn't feeling the water since it was a little chilly for her tastes. I managed to keep the majority of the sun off of her. I wasn't messing around this year and lathered my family up with SPF 50. I got all of Robert except for his face! Oh No! That afternoon, the wind REALLY picked up and Nohea was definitely ready to go in. When we got back to the hotel, I had to get sand out of both keikis ears :(
The next day Robert put the bimni up (it's a shade thing) and that's when I really fell in love with our boat! Nohea LOVED going fast on the boat, Jack and Kurtie enjoyed riding up front and I was so much more comfortable on the seats than I was on those darn canvas chairs. We spent the whole day on the boat. We drove around, stopped for swimming in the middle of the lake, and towed a few in the Gyro Spinning tube that Robert bought at Costco online. Even Jack rode in the tube by himself. He got to go for a few Jet Ski rides and then when we came back and pulled the boat onto the sand, he swam from one end of our little cove to the other, stopping at everyone's boats to say hello. We had the best time that second day and really got to get comfortable on our boat. We didn't go in until about 6ish that evening! We had to pull the boat out since our family had to leave early the next morning in order to get back to Long Beach for Jack's T-ball pictures and game. We were sad to leave and have our little vacation be over but we're looking forward to taking a lot more trips on the water this summer!

The Funeral

just a handful of the ohana <3

We drove out to Mesa, AZ to attend my Auntie Nani's funeral services and support our Brandow Ohana. Because we had our annual River Trip planned for the next day and we had two boats to tow out, we decided that it would be best to drive out to Mesa early in the morning and then drive home directly following the service. We rented a 14 passenger van and left our house at 4am on Saturday the 16th with Myself, Robert, Brina, Jack and Nohea. We headed up to Ontario where we picked up Cissy, Craig, Mara and Kurt, got ourselves some donuts and started our 5 1/2 hour trek. Brina made sure to catch lots of pictures of us sleeping ;)

We made it into Mesa about 10ish and thank goodness for google maps on our blackberries! Finally made it to the Chapel and quickly changed clothes so that we could go in and join the family. There was a special viewing before the service for the family members in the Relief Society room where we could all say our special goodbyes. Auntie looked very peaceful and beautiful. In the chapel we were able to reflect and remember Auntie Nani through stories and loving words spoken by her family. Nohea was quite comfy in the sling and hardly made a peep! I was so proud of her. Jack found a seat with his cousins.
After the service, we headed to the cultural hall for some onolicious Hawaiian food and visiting. It was so nice getting to see everyone and talk story and listen to the kids all playing together. We drove home later on that afternoon and made it back in time to turn in the rental car 5 minutes before it was due! Alohas to our family <3

And We've Made the Switch

May 2009
Well we've made the switch to cloth! I decided to buy 21 bumgenius 3.0's in an assortment of super cute colors. They're a little bulkier than disposables but not nearly as bulky as the prefold and cover diapers we used for a little while with Jack. Nohea doesn't seem to mind the change. Everyone has taken an active roll in the big switch and that makes it easier. It's a nice feeling to be doing something that benefits the environment and saves us money :) That's a definite plus. We have to use a detergent that has no added fragrances, brighteners, enzymes or whiteners in order to keep the diapers in the best and most effective condition. We finally found a soap at Whole Foods called Eco Sense. It's made with coconut oil... who knew?! We're happily on our path to a greener lifestyle!