Big Island Part 2...

You know how you go on vacation and you feel like you did nothing but eat?? Well, it seemed like we literally gained 10 lbs on our vacation. All we did was eat, go to the beach and eat some more.

Every morning we woke up and had the buffet breakfast. We ate good size lunches and we always went some place nice for dinner.

Hapuna Beach Coast Grille:


Four Seasons - Pahuia

Hualalai Grille by Alan Wong:

Big Island Part 1...

We went to the Big Island last week to finalize the passing of my father inlaw. My father inlaw liked the Mauna Kea golf course so we went to sprinkle his ashes and say farewell.

We took a golf cart out to hole 3 which overlooks the ocean:




Susu hiked down to the ocean to sprinkle the ashes:


Mauna Kea - Hole 3:

Jack practicing his 'caddie' skills:

Swim class...

I don't know if this is good or bad, but on Saturday Jack's swim teacher informed us that Jack will have to move into an advanced swimming class next month.

Usually that would be a good thing but I have a feeling the swim instructor is just tired/frustrated of teaching Jack every week. Jack still doesn't like to put his head under water and he doesn't voluntarily hold his breath for long. Jack also doesn't swim across the pool.

Why do I care about that? Because Shirley's daughter can do all those things and I don't think she is going into the advanced class yet. That is why I think it is bad news that Jack is getting booted out of her class. Boo.

Oh well, that means in one month I will have my Saturday morning free again and I won't have to drive to Manhattan Beach for swim classes!

Happy Hour...

This month we changed up our Happy Hour location from a bar to my house.

We also doubled happy hour for Sam's birthday as well.



Out of all things Sam wanted to do on her birthday, she wanted to play BINGO. So we made it various rules to make it drinking bingo!

Notice my drink is gone and Jenny is about to do more Jello shots!


Luckily Dawn and Brian came with their house party jungle juice! It was good and next time forget all the other drinks I am just going to get everyone hammered on her rum drink!

My ear...

For the past 3-4 weeks my ear has been hurting me. Not the inside of my ear, but the outside of my ear.

My ear does not hurt when I do 99% of my daily activities. I mean I can fold my ear, poke my ear, twist my ear...none of that hurts. It only hurts when I lie down on my ear. So if I lay down on the sofa or lay down to go to sleep and I lie on that ear, it hurts. Hurt like painful, "OW, dude my ear hurts" type of pain.

I asked my sister about my ear pain and she just laughed. I asked if she thought voodoo Victor would know and my sister said, "Doubtful".

Luckily, Aya had an appointment with voodoo Victor recently so she asked him about my ear for me and he didn't really know either.

Aya said I should go and see a doctor. I figured it would go away but the pain got worse. In fact, the pain would wake me up in the middle of the night if my head moved and that ear hit the pillow. Unfortuantely, I was just starting a new contract so I said if I still have the pain in 2-3 weeks I will go to the doctor.

Well, my contract is over and I still have ear pain so I decided to call the doctor. I called to make an appointment. I got put on hold. Then the lady comes back online and says her computer is down and if I could call back in 4-5 hours! 4-5 hours?! The office would be closed in 4-5 hours! Grr.

Funny thing. After I tried to call for an appointment, that night my ear pain went away...sorta. It still hurts but not as much. It almost feels like it is all gone or fading away. Bizarre. I wonder if I should still go and see the doctor?

Yucko...

I was watching HBO’s boxing documentary and boxer Juan Manuel Marquez doesn't want to waste any of 'his' proteins so he drinks his own pee.



I was thinking:

1. Yuck
2. If your body didn't absorb it the first time, what makes you think it will absorb it now?
3. If you are going to drink pee, shouldn't you just gulp it down and not drink it like it a refreshing thirst quencher?
4. Yuck

Some baby names mark trouble...

Does your child's name mark him as a teacher's pet, or a troublemaker?

If you named your baby Brooklyn, he already packs a mean street rep. Of course, the same would be true if his name was Jack or Kyle.

Certain names put teachers on edge, according to a survey by Bounty, a British pregnancy and parenting club.

The 3,000 British teachers surveyed by Bounty said names can peg kids as potential troublemakers. Boys named Brooklyn, Jack, Kyle, Liam and Jake reportedly strike fear in the hearts of educators, as do girls named Chelsea, Aliesha, Brooke, Demi, Jessica, Casey and Crystal.

"Teachers are only human and make assumptions like the rest of us," said Bounty spokesman Faye Mingo when unveiling the survey on the group's Web site.

"Rightly or wrong, most of us make assumptions based on something as simple as a person's name, and we base these on our previous experiences," she said. "It's only natural for teachers to make assumptions based on behavior and performance of former pupils with the same name."

Mingo added: "But I bet they're happy to be proved wrong."

The poll reported that 49 percent of teachers said they make assumptions about students as soon as they see the names of the class roster. However, while teachers may roll their eyes at little Brooklyn or Chelsea, 59 percent of teachers said those same kids are usually the most popular among their peers.

The teachers surveyed said half of the naughty kids chill out as the school year progresses."

While many parents may worry about the name they choose for their child, all children will make a name their own," said Mingo.

First Day of School...

Aya flew out to Boston Tuesday morning and work called to tell me not to come into the office until Thursday so Aya and I were able to take Jack to his first day of school.

It was a bit sad when we got to school this year because most of all the kids in his class last year and more importantly ALL his friends from last year are in a different class. Most of the kids are older than Jack but I felt bad to drop him off back in his same class with all new kids while all his other friends were on the other side of the preschool.

I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later since Aya and I want to hold him back a 'school year' since Jack is born so late in November. Here is hoping to a year without flu's or colds and no swine flu!!

Potty Time...

We are still trying to potty train going #2. He has gone poop at my parents house several times now but never at home.

This weekend was the first time he went #2 at home!


Miracles do happen!! I still wonder who will poop in the toilet on a regular basis first, Jack or the new baby.

Miniature Golf...

This past weekend we took Jack miniature golfing for the first time at Boomers in Fountain Valley. He really enjoyed himself and he did pretty well.


Yes, Jack's ball is PINK! He picked it himself. The man running the golf shop offered pink, blue, green and brown and Jack picked PINK...HOT pink at that! Ugh.

After our round Jack wanted to play AGAIN but it was so hot that we bribed him with a ride instead.

This guy loves the carnival rides!

Tattoo...

No...stooopid...that is not my leg and not my tattoo....but it is DAWN'S leg and Dawn's tattoo!!

Yes....another cousin now has a tattoo so to the remaining cousin's without tattoo's and piercing's here is your chance to go out and get that tat you always wanted and just say, "Dawn has one so it must be okay to get one!"

Hmm, what should I get???

Lucys Birthday Part III...

Lucy's 9th Birthday:

Lucy:Maggie:

Jack:

Lucys Birthday Part II...

Man. Time sure does fly by. I was going to say, "Some things do not change with Jack." I know last year Jack was afraid of the water and didn't go into the water even though Harrison, Lucy and Maggie where all the in the water.

However the year BEFORE, I know Jack liked going into Tom's home made jacuzzi:


And like I was saying, "Some things do not change." This year Jack stayed in the home made jacuzzi more than the pool:


He takes up the whole bucket and then Jack thinks there is room for a beach ball! Genius.

I thought Jack was closer to age 2 when he first went into the red jacuzzi bucket but he was only 39 weeks old!! He wasn't even one yet!

Lucys Birthday Part I...

Man, if I thought it was HOT on Saturday in Culver City...I dunno what I was thinking because it was AFRICA HOT in Valencia on Sunday!!!

As HOT as it was in Valencia my cousin's pool was ARTIC cold. I kept waiting for penguins to swim by...or for me to get hypothermia.

The kids didn't seem to mind the cold water as they had fun playing in the pool:

Maggie and Lucy:

One of the few pictures of Jack and I:

Due to the cold pool water and home court advantage I lost in pool H-O-R-S-E. Tom in action!