Wrap Up

A Plumeria that shades the play area in the kids backyard was in full bloom.  I definitely won't see these trees Friday when I land in the part of the world where I call home.

Once in awhile there's a special treat to enjoy in the "tree house"

This funny Hawaiian-style restaurant had some mighty good food.  

I say "funny" because this is the kitchen where the food is produced.  

The kids were told they needed to clean up their room.   I was listening to the conversation and the suggestions given by big brother.   He informed E her job was to clean up the room while he watched out for any bad guys.   

When I looked in with my camera she was doing exactly what he had suggested.   

We took a little drive to an area where there was shopping, play area and food....

Sushi was the fare.

The food goes by on a belt in front of you. You pick what you want off the belt.   You can see that even Mack is trying chopsticks.   The favorite plate for the kids was Edamame, but they tried other things too.  The shock for me was how Ellie liked the Nori (seaweed) wrapped around the sushi roll.

New neighbors are moving in the neighborhood.   How exciting to see that next door the boy is a little older than M and a girl (not pictured) is a little younger than E.   

We had to make a stop at the Apple Store so Mack enjoyed a few iPad moments while he waited.   

What's the big deal?

Our outing for the day was a drive to the North Shore.   Rob had suggested we stop at Ted's Bakery so I thought I'd wait to eat breakfast.    I really had no idea it would be such a treat.   You see, the word bakery means a lot to a daughter of a baker's daughter.    Mom taught us what a real bakery was - she always had an opinion when we had something from a bakery.   Her pet peeve was under baked yeast items.   I know she would have loved this place as they were "melt in your mouth good"

There was no seating available outside the place so we walked to another group of tables across the parking lot.   The people that own this bakery are descendants of a Japanese family that bought the property in 1906 to do some farming - it eventually became a store and in 1966 a grandson named Ted starting baking and turned it into a real great bakery.   So, if you ever go to the North Shore of Oahu - make sure you don't eat breakfast.

A Good Time was Had by All

Carrie made this Flatbread Pizza tonight for our dinner.   It was super tasty.  After we ate we plopped the kiddos in the Bob and headed out to a Hickam Communities Block Party.  We had no idea what to expect.   Carrie had called ahead to reserve tickets and when we got there we found out we could have eaten dinner there.     

They really had a fun evening planned with rides in an Historic Firetruck.   The Fire Department  and the Police Canine Patrol were there too.   

They had balloons and silly glasses that Mack loved.

The ice cream truck helped end the evening with a treat.    

A Trap

Mack asked me to come outside to see the trap he had made.  First, he read the sign that said something about not stealing the ball.

Then he told me I should try to steal it and he would show me how it worked.   So, of course, I did what he told me to do.

Then he went tearing across the bars to the top of the tree house where he let the trap go. 

This seat came down quickly when he pulled the rope - thankfully, I was long gone.

He called it an "amazing invention" --- he was pretty proud of it but told me he was glad I didn't get caught in the trap.

Moanalua Gardens

A friend told Carrie about these gardens and since she had never been there she decided that would be a good outing for the day.  She packed up some peanut butter sandwiches and off we went.  The place is really full of Monkey Pod trees one of which is used for Hitachi advertising.   Actually, we might have been the only non-Japenese family in the park and everyone was trying to get a picture of the tree.   We tried but the pictures certainly do not do it justice so I decided to cheat.  http://www.hitachi.com/hitachitree/en/profile/

This is the summer home of some Hawaiian King.   Looked like they were trying to restore it.  Men were working there on Saturday no less.

A pond full of ducks and Koi which the kids loved.

The climbing area was a big hit too.

Great Trip - no drama

Shortly after I got to the house, E decided she wanted a new do.   After I figured out what she was trying to tell me we put her hair in a ponytail.   She was so proud of her herself and ran to get a flower for her hair.   However, the next morning when I thought I would try again, she would have no part of it.   

Carrie had some errands to do yesterday at Ala Moana so we headed off in the morning to get those done.   We hit the Lego Store too. Next time I think we'll spend time in the Apple Store instead.  

After several trips to Hawaii I can say I've never seen the Plumerias in bloom like this.....and, they smell so nice.

Words from Mack:
"I think I'm going to sit in my room and be thankful for what I have"
"Tutu, I need an listening ear"