Our Stell

As promised...Stella's first day of "school". She loves it when we set up the bed into the couch and tables and then get out her "learning tools".

She was all set to go with her abacus and tea:) We actually have a lot of fun and spend a couple hours each day learning new material and review previous material. It's fun to watch her grasp math concepts, learn phonics, and creatively draw.

 There was a rainbow around the full moon the other night.

 Stella in her Red Hot Cowgirl boots and cute outfit. She loves to play by herself. Reeve took these pics of her when he saw her having fun riding the Solarayetor.

 She loves to be goofy!

 She was so excited when I surprised her with a trip to one of her favorite beaches, Onekahakaha.

There was hardly anyone there on this Thursday afternoon!

 Afterward we dropped Kyle off at Tae Kwon Do and walked up to the skateboard park to play at the playground and watch Reeve catch some air.

She's a no slippah kine of wahine :) (Translation: The girl does not like shoes)

 Reeve in green helmet and green shirt.

 The picture does not capture the beauty here. We are at the highest point in Pahoa town...looking toward the east and the Akebono Theatre. Our home is just a mile down the road. Kyle's Tae Kwon Do Class is in the white building.

Skatepark & 1st Day of School

View from our downstairs office... a lovely morning rainbow. We are lucky :)

Ahhhh the days of summer, where the boys spent nearly 3 days a week at the skatepark that is 1mile from our house. The other days of the week they were recovering...mostly from the sun exposure :)

Above...Kyle is ready with his white helmet and knee pads. Very proud of him because it looks like he is the only one with a helmet on this day! Below, Reeve...he's got the knee pads, but no helmet.

Kyle re-adjusting after coming up the hill.

 Our pineapple garden :) So far I've turned this rock wall into a huge pineapple garden with no less than 17 pineapples planted...now to wait 2 years for the fruit :)

 One day after going to Maku'u Farmer's Market, Tommy brought home 3 banana plants. They need mulch and fertilizer, but they are doing well.

Okay, can you tell I am proud of those pineapples? 

 Today is the First Day of School!!!!! Yippee!!!!! Kyle woke up at 4am (so excited!) They were bouncing off the walls at 6am when they wanted to walk to school. I told them they had to wait until 6:50am before they could leave (school starts at 8am and is a short mile walk).

 Sorry about the sideways picture...when I find time I will change it :)

 I wanted to take a pic of the boys walking to school, but I missed it. They left at 6:45am while I was in the middle of my Shiva Rea Yoga DVD. However, Kyle came running back to get his skateboard.

Bye Kyle, Have a Great Day in 7th Grade!!!

A Glimpse

Stella loving her new fancy dresses. This one she wears everyday!

 Stella helping to paint the wheel covers for the Solarayetor (the solar generator that Tom built with help from a welding friend).

 Reeve decided that he wanted his head shaved by me.

 Tommy & Stella in front of our house.

 Me giving "off-grid" laundry demonstrations at the Maku'u Farmers Market.

 Stella likes to help with the wringer.

 Stella (age 4) riding a two-wheeled bike with no worries. Thanks to her grandparents who gave her a no-pedal bike at age 2! She learned to balance and be comfortable on the bike to ride a real bike with a couple hours of coaching from Reeve. Reeve has now helped 3 girls learn how to ride a bike :)

 The Solarayetor at a free concert in Poho'iki to kick off the summer!

 Tommy operating the shave ice maker...why are we always so drawn to the good ole fashioned hand machines?

 Kyle has been dedicated to taking Taekwondo classes 3 days a week from 3:15-5:15pm! There are about 10-15 kids in his class and six of them "tested" for their uniforms.

Kyle tested and passed. His teacher, Master Loren Avedon,  presenting Kyle with his new uniform.

 So far our summer has been awesome. I started to do yoga twice a day. I find it much easier to practice daily when I do it twice a day. I'm not so sore when I practice morning yoga if I have a good stretch at night before supper. Reeve has been very helpful around the house and with Stella. Both boys have been sweeping, cleaning the bathrooms, and doing dishes on a regular basis, which gives me time to focus on bookeeping for our business and squeeze in some gardening and "me" time. Tom has been steadily working for our business and has been able to take days off to build shelves and work at home.