Mama On The Move

The outside of our house is being painted today. I'm not sure why. I didn't request it. I was just given a notice on Thursday: Your house is scheduled for painting; move your stuff indoors. So today, a bunch of men showed up and fenced off the house with orange webbing.They trimmed all the hedges, then they papered over every window. It was like being in a cave. The dogs were not pleased. There were strange men surrounding our house looking through the windows and the dogs first tried to eat them through the glass then they cowered at my feet under the computer desk. After talking soothingly to them for an hour, I finally got them to settle down but they still couldn't totally relax. Ringo was willing to partially lie down, but he was poised like the sphinx on full alert. Rigger crashed on his side and started snoring, secure in the knowledge that Ringo and I would protect him from whatever was out there. Ah, the security of youth. Eventually, Ringo started whining...

Today we were on Hickam AFB and realized that a Navy ship was coming into Pearl Harbor. We pulled into an area where we could get a good view of the ship as it came closer....... ...and closer.... ....and closer! All the sailors were dressed in their whites and were standing at attention all along the sides of the ship. The people on shore were waving and calling out the names of particular sailors they were there to see. It was quite exciting to see them arrive!

Ben and Emily will come home from missionary training camp today! It will be good to see them again although they start their Bible clubs on Monday so they will be busy all summer. Fortunately, someone on Facebook posted photos from camp so I'm able to see a little bit of what they've been doing. Because this is Ben's third year, I pretty much know their routines, but it's still nice to actually see them doing their work. Emily's first club. She's wearing the yellow shirt designating her first-year status. Blowing up a beach ball. I remember this game from last year. There are questions written all over the ball. The kids all toss the ball around and when you catch it, you look at the question under your right thumb and answer it for everyone. It's a way of getting to know more about each other. Ben's white "this is my third year" tee-shirt. Something about this tree invites people to pose in it. Emily's hiding in the leaves up ther...

Katie and I got to go visit Ben and Emily at camp for family day. Emily had missed Katie and spent a lot of time talking with her and playing with her. Katie was thrilled to be missed. That's Emily's bunk on top. She had hung her beach towel from the rafters so it would dry. This is how Ben gets to his bed. He climbs up on a neighbors bunk...... ....crawls across the beams in the ceiling....... ....all the way to his mattress, which he has hoisted into the rafters.

Who knew? We have friends who are staying in a house right on Papa'iloa Beach on the North Shore. This beach is in a private, residential area. All beaches in Hawaii are public, but because this one is in a neighborhood, it's not as popular because there is no public parking. So there aren't usually very many people there except for the folks who live there. You can walk to it from further down at any time though. It isn't restricted. The kids enjoy it because there is a big sand dune they can sled down on their boogie boards. It's a very pretty, quiet beach. Three young sea turtles were swimming just off the shore. At this time of year, there are just enough waves on the north shore for boogie boarding in the shallow areas. Everyone got a chance to go paddle in the kayak. But the thing that makes this beach so noteworthy is that a number of episodes of the television show "Lost" were filmed here . I have never seen "Lost", so was completel...

Ben and Emily have gone to camp. It is a beautiful area to camp in . They have group cabins and bunk beds. Ben is going to have a blast. Emily is not going to get enough sleep. I only had my cell phone with me, not the camera, but there is a sailboat sitting out there in the water at the end of what used to be a dock. I don't remember ever going to an away-camp. Possibly I did and I've just forgotten. It wouldn't be the first time I've forgotten something. I do remember that my sister went to camp and got to spend the night and our mother bought her Pearl Drops Tooth Polish which was quite the glamorous tooth paste and I coveted it. It's funny that I remember nothing else about her camp experience except her toothpaste!

Ben turned seventeen this weekend. He's now at that age where he's too old (says he) for birthday parties. He did not want a cake, he did not want a party, and he absolutely did not want anyone to sing to him. He finally agreed to have a few friends over for an ice cream cake (no candles) but told them not to bring presents and he insisted on opening his presents from us before anyone got here. Just for the record, I still want everyone to throw me a party on my birthday and I want presents and lots of them. Katie drew a book for him which is about a girl with a magic flute which magically makes a birthday cake for him. He promptly tossed it aside in a big brotherly fashion. I thought it was adorable and I'm saving it for later. He'll appreciate it more when he's forty or so. I'll give it back to him then. Emily crocheted a birthday cake. That girl is all kinds of talented. I can't even crochet a string. Ben has a really quirky sense of humor so we a...

Emily got her first chance to play guitar in public! She joined the worship team for a Sunday morning service!