55 posts from 2008

Today was Nalu's first day of first grade.  I don't know who was more nervous me or him. . . ok I was.  I had no problem sending him to kindergarten but since he's moved to a different school I'm so extremely nervous for him and how the other children will interact with him.  I've lived in a world of a false sense of security because of the military for so long and now that Nalu is attending an off base school I'm totally fearful of the world around me.  If someone's kid messes with mine there will be no repercussion from a First Sergent, I have to deal with it and I don't like to get angry because it's not a pretty sight.  I wish I would have gotten the variance for Kanalu to stay at his old school. . . I'd feel so much more at peace.  Ok so there are some good points about the new school. . . it's closer, my friend is the PTA president, they serve breakfast in class at 9am and the principal seems just as nice as the principal at the other school.  The school's open house is on Wed night so hopefully I'll be feeling better about this change after that.

Through Nalu's perspective he had a good day. . . he got a bloody nose today cuz he picked out a big booger.  He's decided he doesn't want to make any new friends and just concentrate on learning. . . that's a bit strange but I think he's trying to cope with not making any new friends today by saying that.  When I asked him if he likes the school he said yes even though he said he didn't have as much fun as he wanted to.  We'll see what happens within the next couple of days. . . after all Nalu is so emotional. . . I wonder where he gets that from?!

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Kolu did something funny last night.  After we got home from our friends' baby blessing which was so wonderfully spiritual. . . thank you Elvin and Callie for sharing such a beautiful moment with us and for the great food afterwards.  Baby Kaleo is so handsome and such a sweetheart.  Ok again. . .  after we got home from the blessing Kolu went to the bathroom to change his clothes and what not and came out with a bloody upper lip.  I thought maybe he'd picked his nose and it got bloody. . . yes both of my boys have an awful habit that ends up bloody. . . well I looked closer and notice that there were four distinct marks in a row, one on top of the other. . . I then asked Kolu, "did you use daddy's razor?"  He just shrugged.  I smiled and asked again.  He frowned and said,"yes".  I wanted to start laughing but instead I said, "you need to apologize to daddy now for using his things without asking".  So he did and Piko wanted to throw a fit but decided to calmly tell him not to do it again and had me put some neosporin on it.  I then told Kolu, "Boy, you don't even have a mustache to shave so don't do that again ok."  He smiled and went his merry way after we patched him up.  That was a classic moment of a little boy wanting to be just like his daddy.  Definitely one we'll never forget.

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On with more about our trip to Hawaii.  On our last few days on Kaua'i we made it a point to see Piko's dad as much as we could.  We met him at the Waialua River Marina, where he drops off his tour for a boat ride up the river, and had fun taking pics in the bus he was driving.  His actual bus is featured in the new Ben Stiller movie Tropic Thunder. 

Here's what I scrapbooked so far.  The next post will feature what we did on 'Oahu. 

Papa's bus

Papa

Keiko's sick

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Opaika'a falls

We were on Kaua'i for a week.  It would have been longer if it wasn't for the delay in getting to Hawaii from Cali but I'm not complaining because the flight was FREE!  So the adventure begins and you will soon notice that our vacation is centered around food, folks and fun.  Yes, nearly every morning that we were on Kaua'i we went to McDonald's for a meal you can only get at the Hawaii MickeyD's. . . Portuguese sausage, eggs and rice breakfast.  Piko was in heaven and so was I because I didn't need to cook.  After two mornings of our heavenly breakfast. . . Kanalu and Kolu wanted one of their own. . . no more sharing and they ate it all.

Hamura saimin

To add to our food centered vacation after we spent the entire day at Lidgate we went straight to Lihue for our favorite saimin place Hamura's.  OMG, if you've been to Kaua'i and haven't been to Hamura's you have to go next time.  It's a real local favorite and is a totally old school local place to eat.  We love it tons.  In fact after I was done scrapbooking this page I was so craving their won ton saimin and I am again.

With Aunty Jenny

Piko's cousin's own this restaurant in Waimea called the Shrimp station. . . you couldn't miss it while driving through Waimea.  They make some good garlic shrimp.  Anyways, we stopped there to say hi and ended up with some food for ourselves and to take to their grandma whom we call Aunty Jenny.  We stopped by her place to say hi and she checked out the back of each of our children's heads.  She saw my big pregnant stomach and said, "Ahh you having another girl."  Nuff said about why we love Aunty Jenny.  The boys enjoyed helping Piko pick some mango from Aunty's giant tree. . . I enjoyed eating them later. We had a short but nice visit.

Koke'e

Sadly we didnt' make it all the way up to Koke'e to see Waimea canyon.  We were planning to meet Piko's dad up there.  He drives a tour bus and as we were going up he was coming down.  I'm so glad we didn't go all the way up because with Piko's driving and the smell of garlic shrimp in our car I was getting really nauseated.  So Piko turned around and stopped on the side of the road so I could rest my stomach  and he took the kids on a little path that over looked the west coast.  It was beautiful from where I was seated in the car. . . smelling mangoes and then I started to eat them because it was making me feel way better.  The above page is of the fam walking up the trail back to me in the car.  I love that we can rarely get a pic of Kolu making a nice face. . . he's such a monster.

Tutuman's house

We love Papa's house.  It smells like vanilla (he hangs those vanilla tree car scents all over the place)  and is so cozy.  Yet he is getting too fragile to keep it clean and organized.  He is one reason we'd like to move to Kaua'i. . . . he needs someone to help him take care of his home so he can live the rest of his days a little more healthy.  We love you Papa and we're so grateful for Tutu Malia for taking care of you when you need to go to the doctor and need some tender loving care.

This is all that I've scrapbooked for now.  There are several pages more to scrapbook of our stay on Kaua'i. . . including Opaika'a falls and Piko's dad and his bus.  Stay tuned for more.

Hello everyone!!!
I've been on vacation for the month of July and only now I've unpacked and am straightening up my house.  I just needed to keep my feet up for about a week to recover from the plane ride and car ride and blah blah blah!

Let me tell you we had quite the adventure.  We drove to Travis AFB in California (Sacramento area) to catch a FREE military flight to Hickam AFB in Hawaii.  It was the only way we were able to afford to go home for a family reunion and some fresh air.  When we got to Travis (gorgeous base) we found out that the next flight to Hickam was going to be the next day so we got a hotel and made the best of the beginning of our vacation.  Well three days later and 2 more hotels and a night in the USO (military lounge in the passenger terminal) we finally got on to a plane (cargo plane which had passenger seats instead of cargo nets thank goodness).  We managed to get on a flight from 'Oahu to Kaua'i (thanks to our dear friend Michelle`) and made it for the last day of our family reunion.  We had way too much fun.  We went all over Kaua'i (well as much as you can drag three kids and a pregnant mama around) and showed the kids where their Daddy grew up.

Here are some of the scrapbook pages I've completed so far.  

While we waited for an available flight to Hawaii from Cali we had some fun in the hotel pool.  I'm so grateful that we belong to the Star Vacation Club. . . they saved us so much $$$ on hotels and rental cars throughout our trip.

Pool at hotel

Tutuman on Sunday

While driving through Omau to find where my mom grew up, we came across Piko Rd.  Of course we had to take a picture just for Piko's sake.

Piko Rd

Right after we were done with Piko Rd we took the kiddies to the beach.  They had so much fun but the hotel pool seemed to be more inviting to Kanalu and we had to convince him that swimming in the ocean is way better because you can run around and the life guard won't scold you.  Bubba just loved the sand.  He kept rolling around in the sand and his face would get totally covered.  When we got home from this great vacation we cleaned the kids ears and let me tell you half the sand in Hawaii came out of Bubba's ears.  Keiko just loves to be in the water and enjoys digging in the sand with her pink shovel.

Lidgate

I have a thought that comes to me every time I am pregnant. . . "those we love leave this life to make room for the lives of our children." 

When I was pregnant with Kanalu my dear Uncle Tommy passed away and during that time I prayed that my child could only be so blessed with the love of his 'ohana and talents in music that my Uncle possessed. 

A year and a half later I was pregnant with Kolu and during my pregnancy I was able to go to Hawaii and meet my Grandparents there for a family reunion.  Kanalu got to meet my Grandpa Baptiste and loved stealing his cane.  I'm grateful to have those little memories because a couple months later after we found out that Kolu was a boy my Grandpa passed away and then right before Kolu was born my favorite Uncle "Mac" Arthur Pacheco passed away.  In my heart I hoped that Kolu would be blessed with my grandpa's patience and my Uncle Mac's sense of humor.

Then while I was pregnant with  Keiko my favorite Aunty Chiyoko passed away and therefore I felt the need to give Keiko a Japanese name.  Aunty Chiyoko always had something to do. . . she used to make ceramics. . . I still have a few of the things she has made me. . . she was a volunteer police officer. . . she danced hula and was very involved in her community.  She also was such funny lady. . . I think humor runs in the Fuchigami family. . . there is always something to make fun of!  I pray that Keiko has the same love of life that Aunty Chiyoko had.

So now I'm pregnant again and yes there has been yet another passing in my family and in Piko's family too.  Piko's Aunty Haunani Kaili passed away this month as well as my Uncle Bryan Baptiste.  I got to know Aunty Haunani during our Niau family reunion in Vegas when I was pregnant with Keiko.  She is such a graceful woman and loves her hawaiian hertiage. . . she has a beautiful oli voice and dances hula so lovingly.  She also has a great devotion to family history work.  I wish I had more time to spend with her getting to know her and discovering her other talents.  Within a week of Aunty Haunani's passing my Uncle Bryan passed away.  He was the mayor of Kaua'i.  He was such a people person.  He would go to everyone's parties on Kauai to say hi and get a bite to eat of course.  I got to spend some time with him when I was pregnant with Kolu. . . he treated us to lunch at this little Portuguese bakery/restaurant across from the county building.  I'm taking Piko there in two weeks for some Pocho sweet bread and Pocho bean soup. So naturally I pray that our little Lynea is blessed with Aunty Haunani's grace, love for her culture and ancestors and with Uncle Bryan's love for the people she lives amongst. 

As tradition since 2004 my little 'ohana has gone to Iosepa, Utah for a little bit of camping (we really don't ruff it we borrow my in-law's fifth wheel camper), a little bit of Hawaiian food, a little bit of Polynesian entertainment, a lot of spiritual reflection, and a whole lot of fun!

We experienced a small miracle one of the days that we were camping.  The weather forecast said that it would be a stormy weekend so I went a bought the boys raincoats and rain boots.  I wanted to be prepared for all weather cuz you never know what's going to happen at Iosepa.  On the Friday before Memorial Day there was a huge nasty storm rolling toward us.  So I put all of our out door things away and made ready for the storm then went into the camper to take a nap.  When I woke up there was sunshine beating on my face.  I thought I was dreaming.  I got up and went outside and that giant storm was totally gone. . . it disappeared.  My boys were running around with some friends they made and Piko was helping up at the main kitchen area.  The wind was blowing still and it was cold but there was no rain.  I felt greatly blessed.

 We missed some of our favorite friends that didn't make it to Iosepa this year.  I must say that Saturday's entertainment was really good. . . especially because it didn't storm during the show.  It was nice to eat Kalua pig outta an imu. . . I'm so tired of crock pot Kalua pig.  I never want to eat crock pot kalua pig again!!! 

This year the boys did a better job at helping clean the cemetery.   Our cousins buried their daughter who was stillborn in the cemetery last September and during that weekend they put her headstone on her grave.  If I ever die here on the mainland I'd wish to be buried at Iosepa. . . it's the closest place to Hawaii for me.

This year like every other year we spend at Iosepa was perfect.  I can't wait to go back next year. . . maybe we'll go back sooner for our own little camp out!

On the Tuesday after Iosepa we went to the Dr and what did we see. . . three little lines staring at me.  If any of you know what to look for on an ultrasound you know what those little lines mean. . . It's a girl and we're naming her. . . Lynea Ku'uleianuenue.  To be honest I really wanted to name this baby after me but it didn't really feel right and even when I'd seen her on the ultrasound Lynea didn't seem right then but I kept having crazy dreams about her and that I really needed to name her soon.  So I racked my brain over and over for weeks and then I asked Kanalu what he thought of a couple names that I picked and he really liked Lynea. . . pronounced lin-nay-ah, which I'm happy with because it close to my first name Lynne and feeds my ego.  Ok so her Hawaiian name is super important to me.  I promised Heavenly Father that I'd have one more child if He would give me a girl when I was pregnant with Keiko.  So Lynea is my child of promise. . . therefore her name Ku'uleianuenue means my rainbow lei literally which I interpret as . . . Lei means adornment or to Hawaiians figuratively child for when you put your child on your shoulders their legs wrap around your neck like a lei. . . the rainbow was Noah's symbol of promise from God that He would never flood the earth again; so for me every time I see a rainbow it reminds me that God always fulfills His promises; for Hawaiians figuratively it means royalty.  Therefore for me Ku'uleianuenue means My Child of Promise. 

All four of our children have very special names and I pray that as we teach them about what their names mean and why we gave them those names their lifes' actions will magnify thier names.