Aloha!

It is amazing to think that we fast forwarded through the holidays and already through "ski week" break. Where does the time go? Why do schools seem to have so many weeks off school? We have had a child in school now for 5 years and you would think I would have the schedule down, but I don't. It still amazes me all of the time kids have off school.

My point to my soap box above is that so much has happened since my last post. Because I don't have time to blog every week I miss a lot of milestones and fun things that I would like to include.

Right after I posted the last time I discovered head lice on Phoenix and myself!!!! What a week we had following this awful event. I feel so ignorant about ignoring the notices that have been sent home. I never had to worry about it with Axel. I now know that I need to check her as regularly as I can remember as girls with long thin clean hair are a magnet for the little suckers. I was exhausted after doing, home treatments, professional treatments, haircuts and 20+ loads of laundry and cleaning. I am so grateful for that event to be over.

To be extra cautious I made all of the boys get buzz cuts. I actually think they all look cute with short hair. I also like Phoenix's hair short. She looks a lot different. She looks older to me and brushing her hair is no longer a chore or whine/cry feast, which is really nice for me.


Rubix still loves playing with cars and airplanes. He brought 5 cars on our trip to Maui and he plays with his cars on railroad tracks, car tracks or anywhere he can.

Phoenix has been really trying hard to be a big girl. Her crazy screaming and tantrums have really come to a minimum compared to what we have experienced over the past year or two. We have all been trying very hard to not raise voices and learning to use our words. In the picture below she was VERY upset at me. I was not going to tolerate her fit. She escaped her room and instead of continuing in her fit she sought out Axel for comfort. She quietly sat there while I quizzed Axel for his Spanish test.

   
We decided to take the family swimming together on Super Bowl Sunday which resulted in Rubix missing his nap. Here Rubix is just about to fall asleep while watching the Super Bowl. I love how he puts his hands behind his back while relaxing and sleeping.

Here is another picture of the boys watching the game.


On Wednesday, Feb 6th, I had the privilege to go to the Exploratorium with Axel and his 4th grade class. We have never been before, but it didn't take long to figure out how to explore the exhibits and participate in the science experiments. It is  similar to the Discovery Museum in San Jose, but much bigger and geared to an older population.
 
It was much less stressful than the last field trip I did because I only had to watch Axel and two of his classmates. I was actually able to enjoy myself rather than worry about keeping track of half a dozen kids.
      
On Friday, the kids had their Valentine's Day celebration. I had to work because I took Wednesday off for the field trip. I was bummed to miss both of their classroom celebrations. We woke up bright and early on Saturday to head to SFO. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed by over an hour for "repairs". Rubix had a blast watching the airplanes, push back tractors and workers. Phoenix was not as happy. Daddy and I were a bit annoyed, especially when we found out that the repairs consisted of re- tapping the arm rests on a dozen or more seats! The flight was full and the service was minimal as the Captain had the flight attendants sitting all of the time for what seemed like very little turbulence. After over 4 hours of no water the kids started to melt down. Despite the seat belt sign I got up to get water for my very thirsty, cranky kids. It was awful feeling like a criminal stealing water as the flight attendants were not friendly or empathetic to my families needs.
     

Despite the long day we arrived safely and were at the beach by 4 in the afternoon. Here is the place that we stayed. It was just across the street from Whaler's Village and the beach. It was a nice 2 story townhouse with an ocean view. The kids loved the stairs and much time was spent playing on the stairs.



The kids were able to enjoy the beach and some outdoor play for a couple of hours before heading in for the night.

They loved this climbing structure at Whaler's Village. 

Sunday was a rain day so we headed to the Ocean View Aquarium. It is important to note that the Aquarium is an outdoor/indoor Aquarium so going from place to place with torrential downpour means that you get soaked without proper rain gear. My children hate getting soaked to say the least, although we all embraced the moments of no rain and the beautiful sea animals we got to see. 

We watched a 3D film on the hump back whale. Phoenix and I watched it and then Axel and Keith watched it as Rubix was not allowed in the theater because of "eye development". I love this picture of Phoenix being silly.

On Monday we did a lovely hike from Kapalua beach to DT Flemming Beach. It was a beautiful. 

DT Flemming Beach had hula hoops as it was part of the Ritz Carlton Hotel. 

We took advantage of the entertainment and the cold water. 

After the hike we played at Kapalua beach. Axel and Daddy went into the ocean and swam a bit. Otherwise, Axel and Phoenix played and played. 

Rubix was exhausted and really wanted to sleep. I tried to get him to lie down and nap on the beach. As you can guess, he didn't sleep, but he calmly hung out in the shade and watched others.

On Tuesday, we drove more North to do the Acid War Zone hike to the Nakalele Blow Hole and Heart Rock. It was an even better hike with even more beauty to see. I highly recommend the drive and hike to see it.

Here is Keith from the watch tower. 

 This is the decent down.

 The beautiful flat section with the "acid rocks".

 Nakalele blow hole.

 More Blow Hole.

 The 400 foot hike up the opposite way in. This was the "easy 400 foot hike". We took the "hard 3/4 of a mile hike." We all agreed we liked our way in better than having to try to descend these slippery rocks.

 King and Queen of the mountain!

We got back for Rubix to nap for the first time in 3 days. Phoenix also took a nap as we were headed to a Luau that night. Here we are all checked in and waiting to be seated. It was a beautiful night.

The kids really enjoyed the show. Daddy and Axel got up on stage to learn how to Hula dance.

 Rubix couldn't stop clapping during the entire fire dance which lasted about 5 minutes. We were all cracking up at how much he enjoyed it. He enjoyed the other dances as well, but you can see from the picture, he was more curious than anything.

All done and heading home. 

Ready for bed!

 Daddy loves to buy gifts for the kids. Phoenix picked out a hula skirt, lei and flower clip for her hair. She can't wait to wear it to school. I suggested she asked the teacher if it will be allowed during free dress, otherwise she is going to have to wait until Halloween to wear it to school.

We learned that the bigger the flower in your hair the more "available" you are. Females who are not married wear the flower on their right ear and those that are married wear it on their left ear. Phoenix loved how the flowers looked and found this big flower while we were playing outside.

More beach play time. 

Another rainbow after a swim workout with Daddy at the local rec center. They had an amazing free rec center and pool that was completed funded by the state. It was a great find by Daddy!

Axel and Daddy got to do an Escape Room. This was a highlight for both Axel and Daddy. 

For Valentine's Day we went out to breakfast. Here we are walking to breakfast.

We all enjoyed a delicious meal.

On the way back from breakfast we were blessed to see another beautiful rainbow. This was one of about 25 rainbows that we saw during our week in Maui.

It rained quite a bit 2.5 days that we were in Maui. We did some outdoor activities despite the rain, but during the downpours we stayed inside and enjoyed doing puzzles. We completed 3 puzzles during our stay.

On Thursday we enjoyed sunset beach play as the rain finally stopped before 4pm. 

The kids loved their last 2 hours of beach play. 

Rubix loved playing football with Daddy. 

Silly Phoenix and Axel!

Mommy and Daddy getting a picture!

What a beautiful last evening in Maui!

Since coming home Keith and I have been busy trying to get everything done. He finished the taxes, and started his long days to finish his 4 presentations for his work conference next week. I have a presentation next week, and have to catch up on nearly 4 weeks of work for my fellowship and to add more stress to my schedule my phone broke!!! It just won't turn on and it is likely I will need to get a new one. So if you have tried calling or texting I am without a phone for at minimum of another couple of days until I have time to purchase another one, for a very pretty penny! 

Next up is Axel's early birthday celebration on March 2nd, as he wants to go to the new Lego movie for his birthday. Then we have Rubix's birthday celebration the day after his birthday on the 16th. If I am got up with my assignments I will try to post after Axel's birthday celebration. 

Phoenix is 6!

 Over winter break Axel had an assignment for World Geography to make a special food item and to tell the significance of the food item. After much discussion a decision to use Challah bread, from Daddy's heritage, was made. We decided to do a practice run as we had never made it before. Daddy Keith remembers his mother and grandmother making it as it is a Jewish tradition around the holidays. Although, it hasn't been a tradition in our little family, it will likely become a tradition as everyone loves the bread.

We made a second loaf and brought it to class this past Friday as Axel shared the food he chose and a sample to his class. I was impressed with how clearly and articulately he spoke. He did not appear nervous at all. I commended him for this and Axel's response was that he has to speak in front of the class often and it is no big deal. I was really proud of him. 

 The 2nd week back to school after winter break, all three kids came down with the flu. Axel came down with it on Saturday afternoon and missed Monday and Tuesday of school. Phoenix started on Monday and she only attended school for 2 hour son Monday and until 1pm on Friday, which was essentially like missing the entire week of school. Rubix came down with it late Monday Night. Needless to say, I was home with all three kids on Tuesday. Keith was home with Axel and Phoenix on Monday and just Phoenix on Wed. I had Phoenix go to Angela's on Thursday so Keith could go to work as I was flying out to St. Louis for another Fellowship weekend as Wash U. Here is a picture of Axel and Rubix talking. I cannot tell you a day where Rubix has lied down all day. He played for a total of 15 minutes sitting all day. That was the rest he needed to get over his fever. I cannot remember a time where Axel has been bedridden for 4 days and I cannot remember a time where Phoenix has slept almost all day for 4 days! You can see here in the background asleep.

 Keith had a very tough weekend with the three kids solo from Thursday night until Tuesday morning. I was suppose to be home late on Monday the 21st, but my flight was delayed and I ended up spending the night in the airport because I didn't think it was worth leaving the airport for 6 hours and I didn't want to take any chances of missing out on an earlier flight. I had promised Phoenix I would bring in donut holes to her classroom on Tuesday and I didn't want to let her down.

The snow storm was suppose to come on Saturday and it ended up coming late Sunday and lasted through Monday. Apparently, Salt Lake City also had a really bad snow storm which is why I was so delayed. I did have fun taking this picture for the kids. I enjoyed my weekend of snow and cold weather. It was nice for a change. 

 I had a great weekend of learning and collaborating with the Wash U faculty and the other 4 fellows. I had great feedback on my presentation with the possibility of presenting it at another conference and maybe publishing my case report in a PT journal for the coming year. We will see how things work out.

 I was so sad to miss Phoenix's birthday, and I was even sadder that Keith had such a rough weekend with the kiddos. He was such a trooper. He has been recovering all week as he got sick himself. The kids are almost 100% but still trying to catch up on sleep and food.

Here is a picture of Phoenix and Ms. Sandoval on Tuesday afternoon. I made it back into town a couple of hours before school ended which allowed me to come to her class the last 15 minutes of school to celebrate with her.

 After school Phoenix went to Mandarin class while I took Axel to the dentist to figure out what we were going to do with that cavity. The dentist discovered that the tooth was rotten through to the root and that the tooth was unsalvageable. On Thursday, I pulled Axel out of school early to get the tooth extracted. Here he is waiting for the anesthesia to kick in. He was really tough and he has handled the whole thing well physically. He really didn't complain much except about an hour after the procedure he asked for something to help with the pain. Other than that, I have been extremely impressed with his physical toughness. The amazing thing is that we think it really shook him up emotionally, as he has been an emotional roller coaster trying to process how he feels he is as a person since this incident. It is amazing how children think through and process events in their life. We pray for wisdom on what to say and how to support him as he suffers internally with the decisions he makes.

 Yesterday we had Phoenix's birthday party. She asked for cupcakes, her friends and a jump house.

 So we had a bounce house, her friends over and cupcakes.

 The kids had fun in the park, playing with hula hoops and running around the house.

 We had her old friend for Challenger, Adella, over and her Harker friends, Jane, Leah, Nicole, Kyla, Maisey, and Ashley. What a fun, fun day. Phoenix was a little over the top with her emotions and had a tough time being her sweet self, but we think it might have been a good learning experience as her friends kindly told her she was being a bit too bossy. It is tough to be 6 and have a bunch of friends over at your house. We hope and pray that she will learn sooner than later how important it is to be graceful and sweet in all circumstances, even when it is "your day".

 I added this picture, because I thought it was funny that the little guy snuck in a cupcake. He had been asking for over an hour and I took my eye off him for just  few minutes and before I know it the entire cupcake was in his BELLY! Here he was asking for help cleaning his hands.

 After 3 and a half hours of playing hard the girls settled down for a movie together. It was just in the nick of time as the birthday girl was TIRED!

 After her friends left at 5 pm our three kiddos enjoyed another hour of the jump house. Axel is lying down protesting a bit, but Rubix and Phoenix didn't need in coaxing.

The kids played hard and then it was a quick bath, dinner and bed. 

 Here Phoenix is reading herself to sleep as I told her only one chapter and she wanted to read more. Now she is such a good reader, she doesn't through a fit when I keep my word about one chapter. She just starts reading until she is too exhausted to keep her eyes open. I am so proud of how good of a reader she has become. Hopefully, she will continue to become a better listener :).

We are headed for a family vacation to Maui in a couple of weeks so I likely won't write another post until the end of February once we return from Hawaii. Until then, God Bless!