Max's Birthday Wish? A New Cake!

You couldn't have made an uglier birthday cake if you wanted to and we did not want to.    It started with a crack that we had to cover up and Catherine made two trips to the store to buy "decorating" supplies to cover up the crack with a poorly designed football goalpost, but we didn't have a tip for the icing so it looked pretty bad but the cake didn't hold together and even though we kept throwing more decorations on top, I guess we should've cut or losses and just bought a new one but we had spent so much money trying to fix it that we didn't want to waste it, plus it didn't totally fall apart until the trip over to my parents.   Max was a trooper and didn't seem to mind the ugliest birthday cake ever.  He had fun showing his grandpa and cousin how to play his new ds game and building with his new electronics snap circuits set.    Somehow Hayes ended up in a fairy costume.   So who's to blame for the Ugliest Birthday Cake in the World...well, Catherine was the one who took the Cake Decorating class... I was just her humble apprentice.

~Jeff

Aloha and Asset Allocation

We had to bid a found farewell to Hawaii and fly back to Peoria.  It was a race to see who could get home first as Catherine and Hayes were on a different flight than myself.  Catherine's flight was delayed out of Honolulu which made her miss the connecting flight to Peoria and there wasn't another flight until 12 hours later, so she had to take the bus back to Peoria.  My flight out of Honolulu was on time but I had to fly with a connection in LA and then to Ohare but that's where I got stuck as well.  I would have arrived before Cat's bus but a mechanical error made for a fun 4 hour delay which gave Catherine the edge.  Anyway we can remember our days in Hawaii fondly...except for the Catherine's impromptu freak out about saving for retirement and wanting to go over every detail of our 401k... on a VACATION, on the islands of HAWAII!   If there is a time and a place for everything then that would be neither the time nor the place.  Yet in spite of my wife's inability to ever relax, we did enjoy a few more days in Hawaii.  Aloha.
~Jeff

A hui hou kakou...

I've got four generations of family...the people I love most in the world...right here in one place. It only happens once a year, so I try to savor every moment. So do my parents! They are madly in love with their only grandchild, Hayes. They relish his every word, every diaper change, every bath...of course Jeff & I undid all of their hard work by letting him loose in the park where he frolicked in the trees, grass, and even the trash can! Earlier in the day, Jeff & I were treated to a snorkeling excursion off the coast of Waianae. Dolphin pods circled all around us. We heard dozens of dolphins whistle to one another in the wild while some spun to show off their skills.  Unbelievable. I'm so grateful to call Hawaii my home. It'll always be my home sweet home.

Mid-Pacific Alma Mater

High above thee Mid-Pacific
Mountains greet the sun. 
And Leahi watches o'er thee
When the day is done.
When I donned my graduation gown as part of the Class of 2000 at Mid-Pacific Institute (one of the oldest college prep schools on the island), I never imagined that I'd return twelve years later, longing to re-live the days of my youth. When I was a kid, I failed to realize the sacrifice my parents made in sending me to a private school that now costs a staggering $17,000 a year! I didn't appreciate growing up in such a racially diverse culture. I couldn't wait to leave and make my mark on the world. My life morphed in a different direction in the past decade but re-visiting my past inspired me to get back in touch with that girl who had big dreams. And I wanted to take my husband on a mini-tour of my alma mater, which included a visit with one of my favorite teachers, Deb Zeller. She introduced me to Sylvia Plath & Isabel Allende and for that I'll always be grateful. She also looks pretty damn good--she always had the best sense of style! 
We capped the day by taking our beach boy to Waikiki Beach. When the waves recede, Hayes counts off THREE-TWO-ONE until they crash back on the shore. Hayes loves the beach while his parents are enjoying a culinary adventure on the island which includes foie gras sushi and shaved ice with azuki beans and condensed milk for dessert. Ahhh....Hawaii, how I've missed you. It's the only place in the world where my soul can breathe an AMEN. 

 

Island Living

Well it was my first full day in Oahu and Catherine's sister Chelsea decided to drive us up to Makaha beach.  The leeward coast is an area of the island that I'd never been to, so it was interesting to see.    We laid on the beach for a while and I got to do some bodyboarding.  It was slightly overcast but we had fun.  We then headed home for some sashimi that Cat's grandfather brought over and of course Hayes enjoyed playing with Grandpa.
~Jeff

 

A New Year, A New Birthday for Beezus

My niece Brielle had a party on New Year's Day for her birthday last year.   We had fun celebrating and Beezus got a bike to boot.   Hayes and Brayden enjoyed wrestling with Max and even my dad got into the festivities by playing a game...(okay it was candyland...but still...)  

~Jeff