Memorial Day Slideshow

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii

Journee and classmates at May Day
Journee's class doing their Pokeman dance
Journee's class walking back to chairs after May Day dance
2nd graders dancing -- purple girl is Journee's friend Katelyn
6th grade conch shell blowers -- the did awesome

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii

The first Lei Day was held May 1, 1928, and everyone in Honolulu was encouraged to wear a lei or many.  Festivities were held in downtown with hula, music, lei making demonstrations and exhibits and lei making contests.

At Journee's school, the keiki (children) celebrated multi-cultural awareness (which here is japanese, korean, samoan, american, hawaiian, portuguese, chinese, vietnamese).  The kids did an awesome job.  Journee's class did a Pokeman dance and wore oversized aloha shirts wrapped around them and tied with a sash to represent the Japanese kimono.  

I will miss the May Day celebrations.

Ballet Recital

Journee in her beautiful costume (Lilac fairy)
Kris doing Journee's makeup
Me and Journee after the Saturday evening performance
On stage
In their dressing room (6 and 7 year olds)

Journee's ballet recital was this past weekend.  She had so much fun getting her makeup done by Kris and then performing on stage.  She had good fun but has decided she wants to take up gymnastics rather than ballet in Oklahoma.  It was so much fun watching the kids dance and have fun.  

Puohala Concert and Craft Fair

Journee holding a bunny at the petting zoo

This year the 'pony ride' was actually a 'horse ride'
Me weaving my hat from palm leaves from a coconut tree
My palm leaf hat -- the finished product

We visited the annual Puohala Concert and Craft Fair for Puohala Elementary Hawaiian Immersion School.  The fair is tons of fun and they had awesome dancers and performers as well as crafts, bouncy houses and a petting zoo.  While Journee was playing on the bouncy houses I took the time to weave a hat with palm leaves.  It took me an hour and a half but the end product was worth it.

Kualoa Ranch

Kualoa Ranch from the road
Journee petting a horse with tourists in the background
Journee petting a horse.  She has begged me to stop by everyday since this...

We pass Kualoa Ranch everyday and I always say we'll stop by one day.  Journee had a field trip there once and had a great time.  Well, lately the ranch's horses have been out in the front area and we stopped by to visit with them.  Journee loves horses and is excited about coming back to Oklahoma and seeing my brother's horses.  My brother Tim raises Paint horses and has quite a few from what I hear.  

The ranch here is beautiful and next week during the holiday we'll stop in and visit the other animals on the ranch.  Hopefully more pics to come.

Our New Baby

Journee and Alana
Me and Thaoy
Alana sleeping
Thaoy's mom and Alana

My good friends Thaoy and Tin had their daughter 3 weeks ago.  Her American name is Alana and her Vietnamese name is Thuy Lyn which means 'gentle spirit'.  She is such a beautiful baby and I'm so glad we got to meet her.  It was amazing for Journee to know Alana in her mommy's belly and then to see her at the hospital.  

Thao and Tin are great parents and we look forward to watching Alana grow and see them in the future.  Hopefully they'll be able to visit Oklahoma in the future and we are planning a trip to Vietnam with them.

We also met Thaoy's mom (we called her Auntie) who came to visit from Boston.  Auntie and I went to Chinatown twice and had good visits.  She was also nice enough to sew up some clothes that needed fixing.  Thaoy's mom teased Journee about taking her back to Boston with her -- hopefully we can visit one day.  She cooked many different types of food and desserts for us and hopefully I can get the recipes and fix for Oklahoma friends (don't scrunch your nose -- it's good food).  heehee...

Mokapu Lighthouse

Me at the top of the lookout
Kris and Ata
The lighthouse in the background
Overview -- isn't it gorgeous???

Some type of cactus we saw growing along the roadway up to the lookout.  It looks like a seastar

Another day during my vacation, friends Kris and Ata (both from school) and I walked up to the Mokapu Lighthouse lookout.  It is a long walk up and I was exhausted but it was so worth it once you see the view.  This lookout is also the best place to see whales but we were late in the season. We had a great time and it was good exercise and good fun.  I was so happy and proud to make it to the top and I screamed delight when I made it to the top.  

Ocean Play

Steven and Selena paddling in
Steven and Kris (it was raining hence the jacket)

Recently I had my vacation and did some ocean sports with friends as well as other outdoor activities to be blogged about later.  

My friend Kris is a super outdoorsy type of gal and I love that about her.  She has gotten me out of my comfort zone and into the great outdoors recently and it was awesome.  Kris paddles for Kaneohe Canoe Club and she invited me out one evening to participate.  I had a blast even though they just stick you in a canoe  and turn you loose (12 man double hull for the newbies) and 6 man for the old timers.  Not really do they turn you loose.  They tell you to paddle out into the deep blue and it's awesome and scary.  They make it look so easy but let me tell you it was rather difficult and my arms hurt for days after -- and so did my fingers from gripping the paddle so tightly.  Paddling is really big here as you can imagine and I wish I had been introduced long ago.  It was good fun and if you get the opportunity -- take it.

Unfortunately I don't have pictures from paddling but we also did go out and kayak one day with Kris's family.  The same family who rides motorbikes (dirtbikes).  Yes, I did mention they are outdoorsy.  They would fit in well in Oklahoma.  Kayaking was different than paddling because you were by yourself in the kayak (one-man) and the paddles are different.  

I have pics of Kris's husband Steven and their oldest daughter Selena but when I paddled out with Selena I had Journee and their youngest daughter Korinn take pics and they ended up with a video.  Maybe I can make it work for you to see.

If not, just imagine me out there laughing and paddling and screaming for Selena to not paddle too far away from me -- all while I was trying to not paddle in (into the sand).

It was good fun and something you should all try.