Coffee?

Some things don't change. Kids like that. Consistency. At Aunty Lisa's house, Kavin knows there's always cool candy in my candy jar (li hing ume, plum sucker things, tamarind balls, etc.), the candy jar is always by the bed or under the coffee table, there's always snacks & seeds in the box under the tv desk, the cup is by the water cooler, George's carrots are in the right vegetable drawer, and ice cream or pops always in the freezer.

Kavin wanted dessert last night, and he was promised cake & ice cream if he ate his dinner first. Oh yeah, we don't always have to eat dinner first. Sometimes we can have dessert first (just to make sure we have enough room). After he "foun it" (the stool), he carried it from the bathroom to the kitchen to try to get in to the freezer. He insisted on "coffee." When I asked him, just to be sure, he told me no coffee, but he wanted "coffee." I told him to put the stool away, and I walked out. He followed me and insisted he wanted "coffee." I told him no coffee. Okay, I've got to admit, most of the time I get what he's saying. This was not one of those times. I think Uncle Jeff finally figured it out, or maybe it was his mom. Anyway, no coffee, but he wanted ice cream! And when it finally made it to the table, he wasn't going to wait for anyone to serve him.

Happy Halloween!

This is from Jeff's email....

What is the situation here?

A) The glowing necklace around his neck is too tight?
B) He fell face first into a porta-potty?
C) It’s getting kinda cold in Hawaii?
D) “I was eating a dark-blue ring pop that’s why!!!”

If you were Kason you would have answered “D”.

Courtesy of an event that FCF held (the teens watched the younger kids) on Saturday, Kason came back bouncing around with lots of candy. The candy didn't last very long. Whatever he didn't eat, Kavin did.

Happy Birthday Koen! (Oct. 30)

Happy 1st Birthday Koen! We did one of Koen's favorite things...EAT! But Koen's 1 now, so he wanted big people food, the kind you have to chew. Forget that baby stuff (I made squash).

Ooh, fire! Daddy's not here, so Kavin does the FFFFFFFFFFFF.

When I Foster...

This past week I spoke at four different events in three days. The third that I spoke at was the Native Indian Education Association Convention held at the Convention Center. There were over 5,000 people registered. I did an hour and a half session on the Challenges Faced by Native Hawaiian Foster Children & Families. I estimated about 45 people in attendance in a room that I had never spoken in, since it is usually used for keynotes or "high demand" speakers. Wow! Anyway, in trying to keep it humerous, my last slide was this....

Thanks Johnny, my audience had a really good laugh. Well, I had to explain it to the Indians who didn't quite get it at first.

Happy Birthday John Boy!

Happy birthday John Boy! Glad that ND gave you a good present this week. We missed you, but we didn't want you to feel like we didn't celebrate with you, so Jeff & I had Hawaiian food on your behalf! Just joking. We did the sound & video for City of Joy's luau at Nanakuli High School, so we didn't get a chance to call you.

Hope you have a great year!

Shopping...again!

It was a very productive day. I mean, very productive. We headed to Ikea this morning. Ikea has everything, well almost. The breakfast is one to compete with Mitsuken. $1.99 for scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, and pancakes. For $1.00 more, you can also get a sausage patty, french toast sticks, and a Swedish flag stuck in your sausage. The also throw in an unlimited cup of coffee. Makana had her share of pancakes, cheerios, and apples before declaring herself satisfied.

Elton met us at Ikea, where after following the arrows and going through the "as is" section, we checked out, visited the market strategically placed near the exit, and then headed to Arizona Mills Mall. If shopping at Ikea was not a treat for us (being that we are denied the experience in Hawaii), the outlet mall just about made it a day. Don't be fooled, when they say outlet, they mean outlet. And we're talking Bath & Bodyworks, Gap, JC Penney, Borders, and on and on. About half way through, I was hoping that Jeff would hurry and catch up, since I ran out of arms to carry my packages, and the ones that I had were getting very heavy.

Makana also enjoyed riding the zebra on the merry go round. Jeff bought Dave a tool set to help him with the assembly of the one that they'll need to get for their back yard. Either that or buy the frequent rider pass.

Arizona Sonora Desert Museum