Striped Sibs

Stephen's borrowing Makana's glasses, and Makana's using mine. :)

Shake's + Friends = Good Times! :)

We were blessed to have met up with our friends from our church in Hawai'i on our last trip to Florida. They moved to the area a few years back, and when Dave spent a summer at Hurlburt Field, we saw them then as well. :) Now their children have grown even more. Laura suggested a variety of places, but when she mentioned Shake's, an ice cream place near our hotel, we were game! :) Yummy! :) I surprised Dave and ate a Chicago Hot Dog first, which had everything from sweet pickles to green colored yellow onions. :) We soon got rained out and went shopping together, where Makana had a fun time playing with Candace, and Justin smiled when he finally held Stephen.

Yikes! We remembered about how Kyle and Justin were born extremely close in age to Kayla and Kyle (Mary's 2 oldest). Those were the two that we met in Hawai'i before we left for Japan. Somehow seeing children grow measures time more tangibly than other things.

We went to their church the following morning, where Candace danced for the Lord! It was great! :) Laura and I danced together at Faith Christian Fellowship (At that time, we were only allowed to dance hula).

A Must-See!

Dave couldn't believe his eyes when he came home from work to find Grandma on Makana's swing--swinging with her legs up! :) It's quite amazing what a three year-old can convince her 66 year-old grandmother to do. :)

I Feel Food

Stephen LOVES food! :) He watches every bite each of us takes and smacks his mouth LOUDLY. Stephen was extremely excited to finally start solids, especially after the initial cereal only stage. He started his tasting with peas and was thrilled to have a new taste in his mouth. :) After about a month of solids, he even recognizes the names of the foods. When we say food words like peas or carrots, his arms and legs start dancing, and his mouth starts smacking. Believe it or not, his favorite channel is the Food Network. No kidding, when that channel is on, he is fixated and smiles at the food. :) I've told my siblings that he definitely fits in with our family with his enjoyment of food. :)

Stephen's actually sitting on my lap at the moment, and he is also excited to see his pictures. :)

(I almost forgot to explain the title. My friends who spent a year in Japan studying together with me will automatically know what I mean. We'd find the Japanese-English funny, particularly on clothes, billboards, and in TV commercials. There is one advertisement that Coca-Cola Japan used: "Sawayaka tasty, I feel Coke." The general gist was that [as far as I could tell] because Coke is satisfyingly tasty, one would desire it. I think that's how Stephen thinks about his food. :) )

1st Day of School

When we arrived in Alabama, there weren't any children Makana's age at the chapel. She relied solely on Daddy, Mommy, and Grandma to be her playmates. After deliberating for a while, we decided to send her to preschool for the social interaction. She is doing incredibly well, as she enjoys the structure (AND RULES!) of school. Makana gives me a report each day about who went on to "yellow and red lights." I remind her that the important thing for us is that Makana stays on "green light," and she assures me that she does.

These pictures were of her first day, and she was extremely excited to use her new backpack and lunch bag. (BTW--whatever happened to lunch bags coming with the thermos? Oh, those are the days of yore! I show my age again. Seriously, piecing together her lunch bag is spendy!) Dave asked me if I was ready for this day as we were entering the building. Yes, indeed! She only goes for 3 mornings a week, so it is just the right balance at this stage.

We are thankful that her day is full of a variety of experiences. Yesterday they "made sand" out of peanut butter, for this week's theme is "vacation." Makana also tells us of the Bible stories they are learning, which enhance the Bible story times at home. :)

Last week, her teacher informed me that Makana and another girl were quickly becoming friends. Makana would ask me, "What is my friend's name again?" for it was the first time Makana's heard that name. We figured out who it was the next day. When I picked up Makana the other day, she gleefully introduced me to another new friend. After fussing to me about not wanting to go to school all summer, Makana's has pleasantly surprised us all in her first two weeks of school.

Big Beach Holes

Each time we go to the beach, Makana thinks it is Daddy's and her task to make the largest hole in which to play. This one was created in May, during our cross-country trip. :)





When we went this past weekend, Makana's hole was so large that it had a small cave in which Cinderella was being held by her evil stepmother (at least that's her story). The story developed throughout the day.

Makana especially loved it when people would pass by and exclaim, "Wow, that hole is HUGE!" or, "This hole is awesome!" The best for Makana was when some children came by and asked their parent, "Can we make a hole like that?" Makana told Dave that she hoped more children would come by to look at her hole. So much for humilty! :)