Funky Tree Friday

These trees crack me up. They're like palms but all of the fronds grow in three rows which gives them a weird lined up look.

Gingerbread Houses

Jason went with the assemble then decorate

Before Christmas, I decided I wanted to do gingerbread houses. This is something my family did when I was little and I thought Anna was old enough to enjoy it. I made the gingerbread, and used meringue powder for the icing. Anna and I worked on one house and Jason did the second. It was a ton of fun.

I was putting on the icing and Anna added the candy. She wanted to do the icing but it was a bit tricky.

Anna loved choosing the colored sprinkles to go on our roof. We used all the colors.

Sadly, we live in Hawaii and the houses didn't stand up at all. I don't know if it's user error (I realized I don't think I've personally put up a house on my own) or weather related but the icing didn't really harden to hold things up and the gingerbread was too soft to hold up the candy.

Before, complete with cardboard for structural stability.

After (at least the cardboard wall stayed up)

Oh well. This way we don't have to wait until New Year's Day to eat them (I was worried they would get moldy before then, there is a lot of moisture in the air here).

Ward Christmas Party

This past weekend we had our ward party. Somehow I ended up on the committee in charge of the food. As we had the meeting to plan the menu, I was thinking they were planning an awful lot of food. When I mentioned this, they pointed out that it wasn't a mainland party. Apparently in the islands, they are all about food and lots of main dishes. It was good food but there was a TON of it. At the end of the night we were putting the leftovers into bags and trying to get people to take it home. I haven't cooked dinner since.

One thing we did food-wise that I thought was cool was we had a kid's table. We had chips, hot dogs, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and macaroni and cheese. I thought it was a good idea because then the kids eat what they want without throwing away plates of food. Ironically, lots of the local kids were more interested in the Kahlua pig.

For entertainment we had hula dancers. Naturally Anna loved it. At one point I thought she was going to go up and join them. Fortunately, she didn't. They also had the cub scouts read the Christmas story in pidgin. It was pretty funny if hard to understand.

This is when Santa first walked in.

They also had Santa. This was Anna's first time visiting Santa. Last year she wasn't interested and I wasn't sure if she would want to see him this time. She thought he was great. She stepped right up, was one of the first kids on his lap and wanted to go back and say thank you before going home.

Here she is on Santa's lap. The kids were all crowded around them so this was the best I could do picture-wise.

Funky Tree Friday (a day late)

I've been thinking of occasionally putting up pictures of funky trees I see around the island. I've been thinking of doing it on Fridays for the alliteration but I don't seem to be off to the best start. Hopefully I'll do better as we go. Here's the first one.


These trees crack me up. The roots come out of the tree part of the way up. As they grow, more roots come out farther up the trunk. Why they don't just grow down farther into the soil I don't know. Maybe this way gives them more stability?

Parent Teacher Conferences

Monday at Anna's school we had a parent/teacher conference. I thought it was a bit funny because I don't think of it as a 'real' school but I guess it is. Jason came with us and her teacher, Puhala, talked about where Anna is developmentally. She's doing pretty well. Puhala specifically mentioned how well she talks, sits for reading and interacts with the other kids.

Puhala also had some handouts that talked about general child development with regard to writing and talking. The writing one showed different stages of writing starting with scribbles on a page then moving onto separate shapes and then onto pre-writing. The other handout was about encouraging talking. We didn't need it but she was giving it to all the parents.

She also gave us a CD with a slideshow of pictures of Anna playing. Here it is.

As you can see, we have a lot of fun.

When I Grow Up

Recently, Anna has talked about what she wants to be when she grows up. One day we were in the car and she said she wanted to be a pirate. At first I thought she had said pilot but when I asked if that was right, she said, no she wanted to say "Arrr".

Here is a little video of what she says most if I ask what she wants to be.

Apparently I can get her started in classes when she is 4.

Christmas Project

I have a friend, Amanda, who had a baby scary premature. I don't know if I've blogged about it or not but her little girl is home and doing well. For Christmas, Amanda wants to put together baskets for families who are spending the holidays in the NICU and is asking people to send cards that she can include in the baskets. For all of the information, here is what she said about what's she's looking for and how to get it to her.

First Lesson

Yesterday I gave my first Relief Society lesson. A few weeks ago, I was called as the second counselor in the Relief Society presidency. I realized I haven't been in Relief Society since we lived in Utah and I was still in school, even longer since I taught there. I was a bit nervous but it seemed to go well and I knew exactly what I wanted to talk about: Sister Beck's talk from Women's Conference.

I loved pretty much everything in the talk and had a hard time cutting back so I could fit it in the time I had (although I did have to talk kind of fast). I wanted to share my favorite part of it here:

I have said lately that women are like lionesses at the gate of the home. Whatever happens in that home and family happens because she cares about it and it matters to her. She guards that gate, and things matter to that family if they matter to her. For example, if the lioness at the gate believes in the law of tithing, tithing will be paid in that family. If that family has a humble little portion of ten pesos coming in, that lioness will safeguard the one peso if tithing is important to her. If that lioness at the gate knows about renewing her baptismal covenants with God, she will be in sacrament meeting on Sunday, and she will prepare her children to be there. They will be washed, cleaned, combed, and taught about that meeting and what happens there. It isn’t a casual event, but it is serious to her, and it will be serious to them. The lioness at the gate ensures that temple worship is taken care of in the family. She encourages that participation. She cares about seeking after her ancestors. If the lioness at the gate knows about and understands missions, missionaries, and the mission of the house of Israel, she will prepare future missionaries to go out from that home. It is very difficult to get a lion cub away from a lioness who doesn’t believe in missions, but if the lioness believes in a mission, she will devote her life to preparing the cub to go out and serve the Lord. That’s how important she is. Service happens if she cares about it.Sisters, you are each like the lioness at the gate.

Even thinking about the term "lioness at the gate" can give me chills. I love the imagery and it makes me want to be more firm in my convictions and what I want for my family, no matter what the other people in the house say or do.

How I Spent My Day

I spent today canning. I've never canned before and thought of it like gardening and quilting: magical. Like from a Farside cartoon: then a miracle occurs and you have jars of food.

A while ago our ward got a bunch of papayas (they filled a truck bed) and we could just take as many as we wanted. I had two grocery store bags full and while they're yummy, it seemed like a bit much to just eat so I made chutney and canned it.

I was a bit wary but fortunately, Jason's mom is a crazy canning lady and talked me through how to do it. When she explained it, it seemed doable and simple. I was still a bit apprehensive but everything worked out just fine and now I have eight jars of papaya chutney. I'm amazed it worked and it's so exciting each time I hear the little thunk when the lid pops down. Now I just have to figure out how best to eat it.

Lessons Learned

The other day I was thinking about all of the things I learned during the year that I lived with my sister and her family. Here are the ones I've come up with so far:

-how to sacrifice my will for the will of the Lord

-the importance of living in a place as if you will be there forever (even if you won't)

-how to relax and let kids be kids

-making soups from scratch

-just how wonderful it is to have a vegetable garden (especially herbs)

-that my older siblings see me as a contemporary, not a little sister

-the importance of letting people know what I'm thinking and planning

-a love of visiting the temple every month

-that I'm a spring

-it's worth talking to people to get things cleared up (even if that conversation is uncomfortable) rather than avoid them

-a lot of great picture books

-the importance of generosity even if you don't think you have any to spare

-the joy of home decorating

-a little bit of what I want my home to look like some day

-how do-able regular family home evening is

-what kids are capable of an what they are not capable of

-the importance of toys and that they are worth spending money on

-that I am not ready to be the parent of a teenager (good thing I have a little bit of time before that happens)

-the need that men have to be able to support their family and women have to be able to run a home

-that Kristen and I look a lot alike (even we could see it)

-that we didn't have to live in a city for Jason to enjoy his job and I'm ok with that too

As you can see, it was a very productive year. I'm sure I learned more than this, I just don't know it yet. In a lot of ways living there was a tough year, but in other ways it was great. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything.

Akaka Falls

At the top of the path.

A little bit ago, we drove north up the coast to see what was up there. Along a scenic drive, we found a little walking path that went down so we took it. It was a nice, short little hike that we could all take.


It led down to the water where a river emptied into the ocean. Naturally, there was plenty of lava rock for the waves to crash into.

It was funny, when we got back to the top, there was a couple thinking about going down and Jason offered to take their picture over looking the area (where the picture of Anna and me is). We thought they could stand where we did so they could get the cool separate rock in the background but they didn't want the wall behind them and chose a different place. We thought it was an odd choice because there was nothing special about the rest of it, just cliffs and jungle. Then we realized, it's special if you don't live here. We're getting used to it and look for things that make one place different and set it apart.

Anna and I in front of some bamboo.

After that we got back in the car and kept going. We went to a place more inland a bit called Akaka Falls. From the parking lot is a path that goes in a loop through the jungle and passes two big waterfalls. The path was great and Anna was able to walk it all, even the many stairs up and down.
Even from a distance the waterfall was amazing. The moss really stood out against the black rock, which you can see a little bit at the bottom. Jason and I along the rail. Anna was too interested in playing with the little pavilion on the other side of the path to join us. While we were hiking along, there were a group of people off the path and it looked like they were meditating. As long as you can tune out the people walking by, it does seem like a great place to meditate.

Halloween fun part 2

Jason working on his pumpkin.

Friday we got to carve pumpkins. I was worried we wouldn't be able to this year because a friend of mine said she got the last 5 of the stores she went to. Fortunately, there were plenty at the store where we went.


I wasn't sure how Anna would like it since we didn't carve pumpkins last year. She loved it. No problems pulling out the goop, she knew exactly what she wanted on hers and was even willing to help me carve a little bit.



When we were done and waiting for Jason, Anna liked to put back the parts we cut out. Then she put a towel on its head and said it was cold.

This one is based on a little toy jack-o-lantern toy she has. The uneven grin (caused by the funky knife) cracked me up every time I saw it. So happy looking.


Jason's was Jack from The Nightmare Before Christmas. So we had a happy one and a scary one. Anna loved looking at them and I had to tell her several times to not put things in them.

Halloween fun Part 1

This year we had a fun-filled Halloween Extravaganza. Yessir, one day alone was not enough for us to enjoy all the Halloween goodness, so we did stuff everyday starting with Wednesday.

Anna dressed up as a pink bumble bee. I had forgotten that she was a bee last year but she wanted it several times so I went with it. I sewed ribbons onto a black leotard, got wings and made the antenna out of pipe cleaners. Simple and cute. The only problem was that the ribbon didn't stretch so getting it on and off was a bit tricky.

This is the best picture of me (sorry). I was a garden to go with Anna's bee. As you can see, her wings and antenna didn't last long.

Our ward Halloween party was on Wednesday night. We all dressed up and they had games and candy. They opted against trunk-or-treating this year (I don't know why) but there was still plenty of candy.

Anna got these crazy glasses at one of the games. She loved them, even sleeping with them a few nights.

Anna enjoyed the games and had fun seeing the other costumes. Except for these ones. She did not recognize her friends' parents and thought they were pretty scary.

The next day, we got to put on our costumes again and wore them to keiki steps. It was a special one with all the kids from the other two locations in a big gym.

Alphabet Song

I don't really know where the "sharp needles for little girls" part comes from but I think she's doing pretty good.

We May Never Need to Come in Again

The other day, while we were at church, Jason's mom saw a man putting a bunch of toys out on the curb. She pulled over and found out he was giving them away. So she went home and got Jason's dad and their trailer and picked them up.

Anna watched from the window while Jason cleaned them. He said when he pulled each one into her view, he face just lit up. Once we could go outside and actually play with them, she just giggled for the first while. Sometimes she still giggles when she first sees them.

The little kitchen, refrigerator and high chair are going to go into Anna's bedroom once we get it ready (that's a post on its own).

Needless to say, we spend a lot more time outside. Jason or I sit in a chair off to the side and Anna just plays. At first she used rocks to decorate and use in the little kitchen. Then Grandma too pity on her and got her a few plastic dishes to live outside.

Close Encounters of the Turtle Kind

This morning we went to the beach and saw a turtle! While Anna and I were playing in the waves, I felt something hit my leg. I thought it was Anna but when I looked down it looked like a snake next to a rock. Now, snakes aren't on the island but I thought that's what was bumping into me and got a little bit freaked out. Apparently I screamed too because a woman near me said she heard me under the water. Fortunately, it wasn't a snake next to a rock, it was a sea turtle. We were in a little cove and the waves were decent so he kept swimming around where we were. At one point he swam close to Jason and Anna and poked his head up to look at them. It made for an exciting day at the beach.

Keiki Steps

This past week we started Anna at a preschool called Keiki Steps (pronounced kay-key). I heard about it from my friend Becky whose neighbor goes there. It's technically a program for native Hawaiians (which we are not by any stretch of the imagination) but it's more like they give priority to natives and since there was room, they let us in.

Before we could apply, we had to get TB tests. The state does the tests for free every Tuesday so we just went down and stood in line. Anna did really well about getting it done. She watched the nurse do it and didn't start to cry until they put the stuff in. It was cute because then, when we said it was my turn, she said she didn't want it to be my turn.

As part of the registration process, there was a developmental questionnaire. It was for a 33 month old (which she will be at the beginning of November) and she does everything in it. Then there was a vocabulary test where there were four pictures and they had her point to one. She did really well until she got tired and announced she was done. We tried to let her play for a while and get back to it but at that point you could tell her heart wasn't in it. For several in a row she just pointed to the top left picture. In spite of that, the lady giving the test said she was doing really well. I love it when I can quantify how smart she is.

Now onto the program. They meet four days a week at an elementary school from 8:30 to 11:30 and a parent stays with them (which is why I needed a TB test too). They start with a circle time where we talk about the date, days of the week, a color, a shape, sing songs and learn a little Hawaiian. Then there are stations followed by snack time and outside time. I think the outside time is Anna's favorite. They have a water table, sometimes a bubble table and a birdseed table (like sand but with birdseed instead of sand) along with balls and other outside toys.

Last week we only went for two days to ease us both into it. Anna had a lot of fun and it was kind of nice being there with her. The downside is that then I give up my whole morning too. I'm not sure how much we are going to end up going on a regular basis but it's great for Anna to play with the other kids. I knew she needed something on the Monday after General Conference. She needed to get out and play because she hadn't had nursery that week. It's also nice to meet the other moms in the area that have kids Anna's age. Maybe we'll both get new friends out of this.

Update: I wrote this a while ago. We have been almost every day this week and we love it. Anna is very sad every time we have to leave. My friend Becky is there with her kids. We also got the score from her vocabulary test and she scored with the vocabulary of a 3 year 5 month old. All that reading seems to be doing her good.

Road Trip in Puna

Last Saturday we decided it was time to start exploring the island again. This time we decided to stay a little bit closer to home so we explored the lovely area of Puna. Puna is a funny place. It's mostly jungley and attracts some of the more free spirited types. It's not uncommon to see a drive way into the jungle and have it end at a VW van. It's along the southern tip of the island and this is where the volcano is currently oozing" liquid hot magma" (Austin Powers) into the ocean and extending the coastline.

To get to the coast we drove along some of the prettiest tree lined roads. They weren't wide and at times there were trees kind of in the middle but it was lovely and we lucked out because we only had to pass someone once and it was a place where there was space.

We stopped and had lunch along this beach and got to sit on a side ways tree trunk. Behind Jason there was a big tide pool place. We checked it out after eating but there wasn't much in the way of sea life. The waves were fun to watch though. There were a bunch of people there swimming at a boat launch. Apparently no one payed any attention to the "No Swimming" sign. It just about killed Anna that we weren't there to swim.

Then we went further down the coast and found this spot. The road to the park was not good but passable as long as we went slow. It was so cool to walk out to this point. We didn't stay there too long though because lava rock is not the most stable of places. Sure it seems stable, it's rock after all, but it's really porous and there can be air pockets that collapse if you stand on them. Needless to say, we didn't have any problems but we didn't want to tempt fate by lingering.

This park also had a lot of pine trees. For some reason, pine trees throw me off here. They just don't seem to fit with all of the palms. There were so many of them that there was hardly any grass, it was all just pine needles. We did find this little spot that was both grassy and sunny (I think there might be a connection there) and Anna ran around. We were the only people there and it was just so peaceful.

Around this time of the drive, Anna fell asleep in the car so we drove without stopping. There wasn't much to see anyway. At the end of the road we got to the active lava field. We weren't really dressed for exploring (we would need read shoes for that and Anna was still asleep) but it was fun to see the steam coming out of the ground (from a distance, this is quite zoomed in). We would like to go back and see it sometime. Hopefully we get to it before it stops. We had a fun drive and got to see more of this beautiful island.

New Friends, New Beaches

A little while ago, a new family moved into our ward from Utah. They have three kids and we seem to have become insta friends. Becky, the mom, is the type of person who is way friendly and brings out the talker in me. Their three kids are 2, 4, and 6. The six year old is a girl which is fun for Anna even if she has to go to school. Becky is a hue beach person; the beach is her happy place and she likes to go several times a week. This is another plus for Anna because then we go with them. Since they go to the beach all the time, they have explored more of the local beaches and have shared them with us.

This is a place called Champagne Pond. To get there you have to go off-roading so I know we wouldn't have found it on our own. Jason is getting ready to go snorkeling. These friends are also big snorkelers and have been working on getting us unto it more. After this trip, Jason was hooked.

The kids who don't go to school hanging out. The boy standing is Anna's age to the month. All three of them get along well.

Sadly, we all got sunburned on this trip. I'm beginning to think the spray sunscreen isn't working so well for us (maybe because it was windy?). Poor Jason only put some on his neck and shoulders then proceeded to spend the whole time snorkeling with his back up. He had one burned back and I had a lot of fun peeling it.

Here is along the "road" on the way home. I love the black rock against the blue water and the green in the background. I had Jason get out and take the picture. As he was out there, it occurred to me that I would feel really bad if the ground gave out under him and he fell into the sea (you can't actually trust lava rock to be solid). After that day, we found out from our neighbor that the water quality is really bad and it's not actually a good place to swim. Oops, guess we won't be going back there.

Fortunately, then Becky too us to this next place. It's more like a pool and since there is a lifeguard, we know it's safe to swim there. There's a little wall with steps down to the water which is where the kids played because it wasn't too deep on the stairs.

It's a spring fed pool that is volcanically warmed. The water temperature is generally in the low 90s although occasionally there's a cold spot. Instead of being yucky, the cold water is refreshing when the warm water gets to be too much in the hot day.

The trees go almost right up to the water and it was awesome seeing the bright blue water through the trees.

And here is Anna enjoying her snack while drying off. I had gotten some rub on sunscreen this time and we came out un-burned, the trip was a success. We'll have to bring Jason to this one.

Go Crafty Me!

I wanted to get Anna some of those lacing toys but wanted to choose the pictures so I decided to make some. While I like to do crafts, I generally only work from existing patterns. This time, I figured I could figure it out and I thought I would share how I did it.

First, go online and get pictures. The ones that worked best had no background (so more like clipart) and that don't have too many little parts sticking out. For Anna I chose some princesses, Dora, and a couple of animals.

Next comes the photoshop part. Divide a piece of paper into four parts. Add a picture onto each of two of the quarters and scale to fill the space. Copy each one and move it onto the other side. Flip the image so you can have a picture on both sides of the toy. Make a pdf file and print.

Then cut out the pictures. I did it right along the lines but that is just me.

Glue one of the pictures onto card stock.

Cut around the picture with an inch or more around it. Punch holes at the farthest points of the picture and use those holes to center the second picture on the backside of the card stock.

Clear contact paper on each side helps it last. You can also laminate it but this way doesn't require a laminator. Then punch holes all along the outside with the holes about every quarter to a half inch depending on the contours of the picture. Remember to re-punch the holes you had punched earlier. Tie some yarn onto one of the holes, add some tape to the end so it doesn't fray and you're good to go.