Posts in Category: events
Bonding with my new village
Time to check out Battle Point Park (which has this huge field AND a huge, creative playground). First, we stopped for some shoes and pants. Then we grabbed coffee at Bay Hay, my new "Kalapawai" - it's a garden center and coffee shop that sells gear. How cool is that? I bought a Marmot jacket and Columbia hoodie while in there. I think I spent two weeks of allowance already. ;0 Bonding with my new island is fun, but I'm having to process and sort a lot of memories to do it. We lived in Poulsbo and I have very fond memories of my first year with Sam there. It's so tempting to want to recreate those years. Like wanting to step back into well loved shoes, but finding they may not quite fit the same five years later.
Krug family in Pacific NW!
Here is our guest house view for the next 7 days! We are in Poulsbo - staying at a place in Lemolo on the water. We are so excited to finally be here, but I am definitely struggling with being away from our dear Hawaii friends, stomping grounds, sands, sun, water, mountains. I am also COLD and it's summer here!!! We got in after midnight last night and Ben is still asleep late this morning. He really tired himself out with his shenanigans 🙂 So we pick up the truck today from the port, sign for our new house, and arrange for delivery of our household goods - which will be here in only ONE week. Amazing!!!!
Packout panic – but we made it!
In deep denial, I planning a camping trip, then a party for our friends the night before our packout. We were so tired that night we just postponed final safe-zoning until the next morning thinking the movers would arrive between 9-11am as scheduled. Well...they got there 2 hours early!!! We tried to tell them which room to start with for packing so we could catch up (i.e., take laundry out of dryer and stuff into a suitcase!) but they kind-of just grabbed things as they passed from one room to another. In the process, they bagged one each of Sam and Ben's slippers, and BOTH of mine. We ended up in Waikiki with three of us in bare feet! Yours truly, the woods-girl, is completely baffled by navigating around the big city. I can hear the ocean, but can't see it. I stood up on lava rocks in a fountain and found the ocean, but then couldn't get to it because of all the railings and walkways. We swam in a lagoon yesterday with a tiny island. Boys are loving the whole experience. More later when I have time. Aloha!
One last campout!
One last campout before the packers arrive! Whew - a bit crazy but worth it! Click for pictures 🙂
this is what molting must feel like
Moving brings mixed emotions – you have to shed old things to make way for now. Old routines, habits, even some things won’t quite fit in with the new, such as bookcases and tables. Does a gecko or snake feel this way? A bit uncomfortable, wondering how the new will feel?
Another random thought – boys are like the tides. They are really really into some things for a bit, then, like the tide, they drift away. But then something re-ignites interest and they are really into the next thing. Instead of mourning what seems to be a lost interest, I must await the next one, see what the tide brings in.
In case it’s too stinky to ship…
Turns out my shell had someone in it - Janthina janthina. It's a type of jellyfish which blows a big bubble of air to float on top of the water. I hot glued it to the mat and I guess the glue caused it to ooze and melt out. Three weeks later it's not as stinky and can actually come inside from the garage. I'm partial to it. Dave is not so much. Wonder what the USDA will think when the crate arrives? I found the goggles today on a last beach run at Bellows. I thought they complemented the mixed media creation quite well. If you look carefully above Janthina you can see a shiny string - it's glue, but it really looks like it could be a jelly entrail! I feel badly, Janthina janthina, but you are memorialized.
Totally turtle day!
We took a trip to the North Shore and stopped by Lani's - we saw SO many turtles! Dave says more than 50 were floating around the limu shelf greeting us. We saw many heads pop up - can you see this one? What a great send-off. Then on a walk through town we saw turtles everywhere, too - huge floats on top of cars, etc.! Boys had shave ice for lunch - they're sick, so that's like medicine, right?
A young man’s LIST
Sam said "I've been wanting to do this my WHOLE life. You just bait them (with a muffin) and sneak up from behind. I don't like holding onto the body because the little claws were going to get me. I like the tail better." So Sam has achieved the first item on his LIST! Wow. That's amazing. I asked him this morning what's next. He said flying on a plane to another country - he wants more adventures.
Happy July 4 – God Bless Hawai’i Nei
A "forever" day at the beach, with CheezIts and Gatorade for lunch. Lots of snorkeling this weekend with many humuhumu sightings! Also saw a few we hadn't seen yet, such as a big eel with mouth agape, a four-spot butterfly fish and a trumpet fish!
Saying goodbye to Kids’ Cache
"Jump-off tree" never fails to provide excitement and drama!
We had a great time hiking with Tamara and her boys today. We also had a special guest with us, a lady named Pam who is a writer and is doing a story about hiking with kids for a parents’ magazine oriented to Hawaii. We were excited to share our fun with her, and she fell right into the swing of things from the outset with the perfect cargo hiking pants, a hiking pole, snacks, water, pack, everything. She was READY! The boys were quite loud in the truck (four boys in Tam’s Suburban since we shipped our truck already) so I came up with the idea that they could maybe save up all their noise for when we got to the parking lot at the trail head and do a real Appalachian field holler. Well…they did, and it was LOUD! I told them they had 5 whole seconds of holler and they made good use of that. I have to look up what a field holler really sounds like so I can be more educated next time I introduce the concept, but the boys really needed no introduction. They did their thing! What a fun group and a great morning. We wrapped up the evening with a high-tide snorkel on base where Dave spotted a huge eel while snorkeling with Sam. Ben and I got to see its big head sticking out a bit later. And yesterday – you will NOT believe this – but I got to see a 5 ft SHARK just offshore in 3′ of water right where the boys had been swimming 5 min previously! YOWZER! But exhilarating to see it glide on by. Whew! Happy Fourth to everyone!
“Hey Ben, If you were a mammal…”
"...you could stay under water your whole life. Even eat your sandwich under there."
This is what Sam said in the pool yesterday as I was teaching Ben to “fill up!” with air before jumping in. Sam is very funny but sometimes I’m so distracted by Ben and his antics and lack of listening and daring-do tendencies that I miss Sam’s jokes until later. I laughed as I fell asleep the other night and made a mental note to come back to Sam the next day to tell him how funny he was. This picture above is of feverish boys (mostly Sam) outside for a little air. They’re resting on soccer balls. Ben jumped up and used his soccer ball to “crack open” a “nut” – like a brown tufted Capuchin monkey. Then he proceeded to “eat” the “nut”! It was so funny to see him come up with this move after watching some nature DVDs which show these little monkeys learning how to get into the yummy nuts. My boys are NUTS!
Cars 2 – first movie theater outing!
We're at the theater super early so we don't get mobbed! The boys are out of their minds. They were as excited last night as on Christmas Eve. It took them 45 min to fall asleep. Today they were so eager to get going we got there 40 min early and even ended up in the wrong theater because there were so many Cars 2 showings! We figured it out in time, got popcorn and got situated. Gramma was with us to capture these pictures of the cute little boys. So nice to have Daddy home again and celebrating a belated Father's Day!
swimming with a honu
We played hookey from work and commitments on Monday and enjoyed a long, slow morning then a long swim and late lunch. The whole time we were swimming there was a honu lazily cruising the shore only about 20 yards away from us! Everyone else (except for one man who was swimming nearby) seemed completely oblivious to the honu's presence. It was neat to feel like we were the only ones enjoying this exclusive experience. I was wondering if it is the same "guy" I have seen several times before, including when Doug and Mary and the family were doing yoga on the beach over Christmas. "He" was swimming back and forth then, too. The boys are really enjoying summer...as am I. We're going to miss Gramma when she goes back to CA on Tues.
A great birthday present
Ben doing some watercolor with me on the beach while Sam swims. Like our little coconut water tray?
I was a little bummed about my 40th today because I usually have some grand plans – a couple years ago I lined up 5 days of adventures with friends, different ones each day from paddling to horseback riding. But this year, on the BIG ONE, I was so busy with work and selling/buying a house all in the same week that I just did not have time to get my head above water to plan anything at all. Even a simple glass of wine with my longtime friend Angel became out of reach by 4pm. Turns out she didn’t get my voicemail and was at the agreed-upon restaurant anyway, so thankfully I had showered and was able to hitch a ride with mom and the boys to meet up with her after all! Angel gave me a huge, bright, feathery boa thing and a hat to wear. We had a great time catching and were then joined by April and her husband. I decided to walk home and try to catch up with the boys before bed, then that turned into a jog. It’s just transportation, really, and if you go fast enough you don’t sweat. The wind cools you right off. When I got to the intersection where I choose between running down Kihapai or Oneawa, the choice was clear. If I was going to run home with a bright boa flying behind me in the wind, it would definitely be Kihapai. I was so fantastical looking that even the dogs forgot to bark (the ones which normally scare the bjeebers out of the kids and I when we jog by in daylight hours). They literally just stared, quietly. Then when I was well past them they started yapping with their buddies across the street – like, “Dude! What was that?!” I didn’t know I’d be having an event to remember tonight but as it turned out seeing the boys’ faces when I blew threw their bedroom door just in time to tuck them in with that wild boa around me and sweat dripping off my face – well, that was a great present. And…Sam taught me a very special trick. I am glad to learn something new with each birthday. That is a wonderful tradition. Mom – thanks for my very special “jingly” present – I will always treasure it! And love to my hubby who also purchased the family a very special gift…Aloha to all and to all a good night.
Sam’s first tooth!
Sam's first loose tooth has been wriggling for a long time, and it finally got really loose yesterday. He was trying to pull it out on his own but couldn't get a good grip so I gave him some gauze then took care of a chore. I turned around to see him standing behind me a few minutes later just calmly holding his tooth between his fingers! Just like his dad to have a big deal to proclaim and keep it all low-key. So happy for Sam 🙂 So tooth fairy arrived last night and left 80 cents. He wondered how a butterfly-sized fairy could carry all those coins, then he decided boys must have strong boy fairies who take care of them and so they can carry more.