1st day of Kindergarten

Today was Ethan's first day of Kindergarten. It was pretty short since we were just introducing the new books, but Ethan was still excited to be able to say he is a Kindergartner now. If you're wondering why he is starting the last day of June it is so we can take our "summer" when baby comes in December. That's the great thing about homeschooling.

And if you're wondering about the t-shirt he is wearing....Ethan dresses himself now and the shirt was given to us by a former youth group student who now attends that University....not what I would have picked out for the first day of school but I'm just glad he can pick out his clothes and dress himself.

friend from the past

My roommate from college, Kim, was visiting Hawaii with her family. So yesterday they all came over to visit us on our side of the island. We hung out at the beach a good part of the day....kayaking, splashing around in the water, laying on the beach and talking while watching my two little fish having a good time in the waves. It was so fun to catch up. I love being able to pick up where we left off even though it's been over a year since we've seen each other. I just wish we would have put more sunscreen on...Ethan and I are pretty red today. Not only does it hurt to walk around (my legs are a nice shade of red) but I feel horrible that Ethan has red stripes all over his face (even though I reapplied his sunscreen...obviously not very well). It has been a while since we've hung out at the beach for that long. So I obviously didn't prepare very well for sun protection. Jude on the other hand has Jason's browning ability and walked away with a nice golden color. I think we're staying in today or away from any sunlight.

mango season

I just learned how to cut mangoes the right way a couple of days ago. Usually when I would buy them I would end up wasting a lot of the fruit because most of it was left on the center seed. But now that I know how to cut it we eat it at our house like it is candy....except Jason of course. So I thought I would share what I've learned.


First you cut off the end to see which way the seed is facing...the seed in the middle is actually flat. I didn't know that before.
Then you slice off the side next to the seed.


Next you slice off the other side leaving a thin slice with the seed in it.



Then you score the fruit in the peel, like you would an avocado. And flip the skin inside out.
Then cut the scored pieces off and there you have a cut up mango fruit...which is the most addicting fruit I have ever eaten. Thank goodness it is mango season here in Hawaii.
Here is a video clip of my boys enjoying their cut up mango. I promise I do feed them. This is actually right after they had dinner...but that's just how much we love mango around here.

definitely not green

As much as I wish I had a green thumb, I think I have finally admitted that it is anything but green. I have all these great plans of beautiful flowers, herbs and vegetables. But they always end up like the pictures above. They do so well for about 2 weeks and then it's down hill from there. The first picture would have been a beautiful Zinnia, that even had a bud before it wilted and died. And the second, a tomato plant, looked promising until it wilted a died. But it actually had about 3 tiny tomatoes on it before it turned brown and fell over. Maybe one day when I have the right yard or the time to remember to water it when I'm supposed to and tend to it...maybe. I guess right now I can just admire other peoples hard work.

an apple a day

Jude and Ethan have been on an apple kick lately. If I cut the apple up into slices it wouldn't be as great and the skins would be left behind. But if I give them a whole apple or half of one, they eat the whole thing. If I don't cut out the seeds, Jude eats that as well and hands me the stem when he is done (not sure if that is very good for him). Ethan asks every afternoon if he can have an apple....it does keep the doctor away right?

It makes me want to take them apple picking in the fall...except Hawaii doesn't have apple orchards. There is nothing better than eating an apple straight off the tree.

happy father's day!

We love you daddy! You're the best!

Our homemade, from scratch cake with our homemade frosting (after seeing the ingredients in box cakes and canned icing, I had to make one with ingredients that I knew and could pronounce). It's definitely not figure friendly but Jason loved it...and that's all that mattered. Ethan helped color the tie and cut it out for the decoration on top.

11 weeks

So I guess it is true that you show sooner with each pregnancy. My regular shorts definitely are not fitting at this point. If I didn't already have an ultrasound I might think that there was another little bean in there.

But in all reality all that bump is is probably all my belly fat being pushed up and out...that doesn't make it so cute anymore.

the language of Jude

This is Jude "reading" his truck book. I love listening to him try to pronounce such big words. Sorry it's a little long but we had to get through the whole book...it's worth it though to listen to such cuteness.

bears and bag

My latest sale. My friend wanted daisy and dahlia flower fabric for two little girls whose names are Daisy and Dahlia.

last day of pre-school

Yesterday we finished up pre-school with Ethan. He is now officially a Kindergartner. We will probably take a month off and then start Kindergarten...so that when baby comes we can take our "summer" then. Ethan was a great student this year and I am excited to see what he will learn next year. His enthusiasm and desire to learn helped this year to be a great experience for me also...that and of course God being with us every step of the way. So I am looking forward to starting up his Kindergarten year and Ethan is excited about the little end-of-school party we are having after dinner...with some special dirt cups for dessert. Congratulations, Ethan, for finishing your first year of school!

long time no write

I guess between the morning sickness and the low energy, my blog has been a little non-active. When it came to sitting down to post something or laying on the couch...the couch always won. So a little update from the past week...

• some sea glass hunting with my friend Milda. My first time and kind of addicting...the blue is the most rare, so quite a rush when you find one. The brown is pretty common but it goes with my decor. And the frosted glass or writing on the glass is even a better find.

• a little kayaking. When friends move they sometimes give us things they aren't going to take with them (surfboards, TV, furniture, etc.). So we are now the new owners of two kayaks. This canal is right behind our neighbors house, so Jason took Ethan out for the first time. Ethan loved it but before I could snap their picture, they were already out of the water...so I still made them pose for a picture, for memories sake.

• some fun beach time. As a family and also for our last MOPS group.
  
• water park day with the youth group. I've determined Ethan and Jude are part fish. They LOVED it and would go down the slides by themselves...well the little kiddie slides.
  
• visiting with old friends...well they're not old but Jason's youth pastor (and family) from high school (so old in the sense that he's known them for quite a while) were visiting Hawaii and we got to visit with them some this afternoon. Good to see you Urbans. Come back again.
• I've sewn three bears and two bags.
• Jason's last youth group tonight which we ended with a big finish...The Amazing Race. If you've seen the TV show we modeled it after that...my favorite show by the way. I keep trying to talk Jason into entering it. So tomorrow his title will change from Director of Family Life to Headmaster of the upper division school. It's sad to not be leading the youth group anymore but also exciting to see the plans God has for Jason and the expansion of the school. It will be a busy summer for us.

Alright, I'm off to the couch...