Hawaii- Part I

My list of things to blog about is daunting. It seems that my days are not long enough. But I can't let our latest summer adventure go unnoticed.

We traveled for the first time as a family of five to St. George, Utah where Brian's parents live. Keeping 3 kids happy and entertained on a cross country flight is a workout. It also requires a lot of luggage. And snappy retorts to passengers who have zero tolerance for young children in a public space. But I digress.

After a few days, Lucy and I said good-bye to Brian and the girls and ventured off to Hawaii to meet up with girlfriends, Annette and Akiko. A girls' trip has been in the works for quite some time and what better place than the Big Island? Heavenly...Indulgent...Too Good to be True...are adjectives that come to mind. Three ladies and two nursing infants in tow--we were quite the sight. We moved at our own pace, could be out the door in a matter of minutes (compared to the planning and foresight required to haul multiple children out the door), ate and ate and ate (Akiko and husband Grant did us the favor of testing out ALL the good restaurants in prior trips), we laughed a lot, and were so sad when our time was up.

Highlights from our splendid four days together:

Lots of Beach time
Fabulous snorkeling--Mauna Kea was my favorite and little did I know Annette was such a diving/snorkeling pro. One of her many, many hidden talents. I loved being able to just walk out into the water and have great snorkeling at your finger tips.

Lucy and Makoto chilled in their beach tent. They could possibly be the two most easy going infants around. Since they are betrothed to each other already, we hope this will be the first of many trips for these two to Hawaii together. I just hope Makoto likes taller women. :)

Sea turtles! We saw them both on land and while snorkeling.

Visiting the Kona LDS temple

Visiting friend Jackie Auna and family
Jackie used to live in our ward, but her family moved back to Hawaii last year. You might recall she was one of the women I ran with last year (though she was brave enough to do the full marathon.) We met up with her, husband Aaron and their two little kiddies to see some of the Volcanoes National Park. The smoking volcano is behind us, but hard to make out in this pic.

Elise and Elijah

Hiking to the Lava Tube

About to enter the lava tube--

A hike the next day overlooking lava fields

Here's a better picture of the volcano during the day

And the same view at night--glowing from the hot lava inside.

Farmers Markets
Hawaii has some of the best produce I've ever had in my life. The pineapple, tomatoes, avocados, were like "butter" as Annette would say. I would go back to Hawaii for the produce and fish alone.

Given that this was my first trip to Hawaii, now I know what all the fuss is about. It is breath-takingly beautiful, and to enjoy it with good friends was absolute luxury. We literally had to drag ourselves to the airport to catch our respective flights--we just didn't want the time to end.

***Stay tuned for the recap of another week in paradise--with wedding pictures to boot!

Earthquake!

I interupt this blogging absence to report that I experienced my first earthquake this morning.

(The dots are where people reported feeling tremors.)


It woke us up at about 5am this morning--a whopping 3.6. I know it's piddly compared to those on the West coast, but it doesn't take much to excite us Easterners. Blizzards, hurricanes, earthquakes--see all that the DC area has to offer?

Eat Your Heart Out

An update is sorely needed, but to tide you over until I manage to get my act together, here is a scrumptious June recipe that I think you need to try. Why has it taken me 32 years to realize that chocolate strawberry shortcake would trump the yellow kind?
It would make a scrumptious Father's Day dessert...here you go.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Strawberry-Shortcakes-238533

I think I rolled my cakes out a little too thin, but it gave us extra shortcakes, which went next door to our neighbors so Brian and I could withstand the temptation of a second helping. So I guess you could say that's the reduced-fat version. I also didn't use the part of the recipe for the strawberries--we just like ours with cream and lightly sugared berries.

You won't be sorry!

An update will hopefully come in the next couple of days...


PS- there was a flurry of excitement in the Bowcut household yesterday when 2 mystery boxes of pirate booty showed up at our door.
Every flavor you can imagine--I didn't know they made it in so many flavors. It's our 3 month supply. The girls think we struck pirate booty oil--and request it for every meal. Who knew that p. booty could bring so much happiness to two little girls?
(The mystery was solved when Brian informed me we had dinner the other night with the East Coast sales representative for Pirate Booty on Saturday. I suppose I missed that part of the conversation.)

Word to My Mother--on Mother's Day

This year my Mom turned 60. She is a high school principal and has worked within the same county public school system for about 25 years. Her close friends from different points throughout her career, held a birthday brunch for her several months ago, and I was flattered that I was invited to attend. I had probably been introduced to some of the women at some point in the past, but didn’t know them well. I enjoyed getting to know them, and I could see why they were all friends with my Mom—they were very smart, successful, funny and personable. Not surprisingly, and not that I minded, the conversation often turned towards past times of working together—funny anecdotes and challenging experiences. They shared their professional journeys and obstacles they overcame to hold the positions they hold today. Some of them shared obstalces such as inappropriate advances from male superiors or co-workers and how they handled sexual harassment in a time where they had little power to combat it. Even though sexual harassment was part of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, sexual harassment litigation didn’t take off until the late 80’s, and not really part of the social consciousness until the 90’s.

That afternoon with my Mom’s friends enabled me to see my Mom in a new light. It hit me that it was my mother’s generation who was responsible for some of the social change that we take for granted today. I had always viewed my mother as a pioneer—one who was thrust back into the workforce after my parents’ divorce, and who built a successful career and earning her doctorate while balancing the demands of four children, and then three more when she and my stepfather blended their families. But I had never even considered how historical and social events would have affected and perhaps impeded her.

Later, as I was recalling my thoughts about this to her, she talked about other types of social change. How she spent most of her childhood in Long Island, New York, but her parents would often drive the family down to Florida to visit relatives there. She remembers her father preparing her and her brothers about how blacks are treated and how they should be sure to use the designated “white” bathroom while in the South. She recalled driving down I-95 down to Florida and seeing shack after shack built alongside the highway where blacks would live. She recounted how concerned her parents were about buying their home in a place where she and her brothers could attend the “white” schools (even though schools were integrated, there was still self-segregation). And how when her parents were readying their house to sell before moving to Utah, they worried that a black family would want to buy it, which would bring down the home values of their neighbors’ homes. Why had I not ever known this? I always knew that my Grandparents had a spark of racism—it’s generational, of course. And then I thought about how my Mom has worked tirelessly throughout her life to educate children, black and white. And to elevate the performance, test scores and self-confidence of many disadvantaged minorities. She works closely with minority communities to address problems their youth are facing and how to help them succeed. She loves her students intently--regardless of their background or ethnicity.

It's clear my mom left the biases and preconceived notions that pervaded her upbringing and has been a force for change. I’m honored she is my mother and hope that I can be a similar force for positive social change for my daughters.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom. I love you.

Sidekick

Batman had Robin

Sherlock had Dr. Watson

Peter Pan had Tink

Lucy had Ethel

just like....

Ella has Sam

Every day their little lives become increasingly interdependent.

I see it when Ella reads books to Sam.

When Sam insists on being present and involved in E-V-E-R-Y one of Ella's violin practices.

Or when Ella talks emphatically using hand gestures and Sam stands beside her copying the same gestures.

And the giggling and singing to each other after lights out.

Or when I wake up at 4am to Ella standing at the side of my bed to tell me she had a bad dream. And then see Sam standing right there next to her.

Dynamic Duo

Thick as Thieves

Two Peas in a Pod

Or just simply SISTERS.

PS- Jen, aren't they SO darling in their dresses? I adore them.

PPS-Happy Happy Birthday to my favorite mother-in-law, Rhonda. She's one of the most thoughtful, talented and skilled people I know. Hope your day was fabulous!

Fairy

Sometimes you just need a little fairy magic to get the kitchen cleaned up.

Thanks, fairy Sam.

Practice makes...pandemonium

This past weekend Ella (and I) attended the 40th Annual SAGWA Violin Festival at the recommendation of her teacher. She attended classes on Saturday and then performed in the concert on Sunday. She got to perform in the beautiful Strathmore Music Center and played with about 500 other violinists. It was kind of cool.

(You can see her better if you enlarge the pics--she's towards the front in the green dress.)

But the coolness was outweighed by how lllllllooooooonnnnnngggggg the concert was. I almost stood up in my seat and screamed at the top of my lungs in front of the thousand people in attendance:

STOP THE MADNESS. WHY ARE WE MAKING OUR CHILDREN SIT HERE FOR THREE AND A HALF HOURS???

AND EXPECT THEM TO BE WELL-BEHAVED?

WE ARE TAKING THE FUN OUT OF MUSIC.

I couldn't even sit there well-behaved.

Thank goodness I brought books for me and Ella to read. I texted. I sneaked snacks. I took my shoes off. Ella kept puffing her chest out, and fake singing with the music, pretending to be an opera singer. And Ella kept poking Booker, the boy next to her (whose name we practiced saying many times last year, because Ella kept pronouncing it "Booger".) We left and returned to our seats in what I now realize was all the wrong places in the concert.

Our concert etiquette was so unrefined. You'd never know I was an Oberlin grad.

I did not care.

Thank goodness my daughter still wants to play the violin after that painful, Sunday afternoon.

However, Ella did great in both her classes and concert. She is progressing beautifully and I'm proud of how far she has come in just a year and a half.

But let me give you a glimpse into what our daily practices entail. Picture keeping a 6.5-year old on task throughout a 30-minute practice each day.

Now picture keeping her on task with a maniac 2.5 year old having meltdowns and running around:

Note: Nursing, wiggly infant was not pictured.

Some day Ella's playing will sound angelic and I will think it was all worth it.

At least that's what I keep telling myself.