Sewing on Vacation

Stella loves clothes and new outfits, especially hand-me-downs from little girls she knows. She will change her clothes 3 to 4 times a day. I have certain types of clothes that I like to wear and I hate to shop! So I decided it was high time I learned to sew. My Mom knows how to sew. She's sewed some very nice clothes that I love that are durable and long lasting. I knew we would be spending 2 weeks together so I bought some material and patterns for a skirt and top. I'm so glad I did! It was a great way to spend the days when we wanted to stay out of the sun. I learned a lot of tips and tricks from my Mom and Dad! Some of those patterns and instructions need an engineer's eyes! I learned a lot about my sewing machine too...changing needles, tension, length, feet...when I got stuck it was nice to have both my Mom and Dad there to help figure it out.

Above...the front of the hawaiian print top and denim green skirt. When we were looking at my measurements for the skirt we thought there was no way a size 12 would fit. We added 4 inches to the whole thing. It was a good lesson in changing the pattern, but in the end I had exactly 4 inches too much in the waist! Even though I kindly asked that Stella wait for me to get in the water with her, she did not! She thinks she can swim beautifully, but she sinks to the bottom with a big smile on her face until I scoop her up. I love that she's not afraid of the water and calls herself either a mermaid or a dolphin, but it also means constant vigilance on my part to help her back up to the surface for air.

 Above the back view of Stella the mermaid and my freshly finished top and skirt.
Below: Shaka Sisters

Okay time to grab the board and boogie in the perfect Stella size waves.

Dad in the blue shirt, and Stella hopping on her board to catch another set. At one point when Reeve was with her (he was on his board and she was on hers) I noticed they were heading out into deeper water. She was kicking and paddling with her arms and it came so naturally for her. Reeve was impressed. I swam out to them to reel them in and Reeve said that Stella wanted to paddle out to see Nana (my Mom) snorkeling. Stella has so much energy and love for the water she probably could have/would have paddled out to Maui!

 Here is a short video of Stella boogie boarding. The first wave is the best wave. I wanted to edit this so that you see the first wave last, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to do it with the software that I have. I also wanted it to be set to music. My song of choice is "Wade in Your Water" by the Common Kings.

 The second day we were at the condo we spotted a family from Reeve's class. It was their last day and they had just won an hour free hydra bike rental which they kindly passed on to Reeve.

 You can see him above peddling on the yellow hydra bike. He had a ton of fun, and he was especially enamored with watching the 8 kite boarders that were out just beyond and in the bay.