diversionary tactics

Yesterday morning was the first in quite some time where I didn't take the kiddos to some sort of park. After a few minutes of general stampeding about the house, I decided an intervention was needed, and they spent the remainder of the morning working on spelling words and word puzzles at the table.

In the afternoon, we read SWEET DREAM PIE (Audrey Wood), and determined to make our own version of this delectable treat.







First, the boys took turns transcribing a list of all the sweet ingredients we stormed up in our brains:






Then we edited our list to increase the odds of our pie actually turning out edible. On paper, the kids helped me write everything we already had in our house, and then list the ingredients we needed to purchase.

We zipped off to the grocery store and happily zipped back out through the self check-out lane with our four items.

Home again, we assembled the pie. We began with a chocolate crumb crust, slathered on peanut butter, lined the edges with halved mini-Twix bars, and mixed up vanilla ice cream and crushed Oreos. After easing the ice cream into the crust, we liberally sprinkled on miniature marshmallows.





Next came a drizzling of chocolate and caramel syrups, followed by milk chocolate chips.







And finally, we crowned the über-sweet pie with whipped cream and colored sprinkles.





The finished product (albeit a little sprinkle-heavy toward the middle):





So, here's a tip in case you decide to try this out at your place: slice your pie really, really skinny to avoid stomach aches and potential enmity with the National Dental Association.

Also, consider these variations:
crust (regular pie crust, graham crust, cookie dough crust, crushed pretzel crust)
filling (pudding, ice cream, cream pie, peanut butter pie, or even no filling--just use a layer of PB and sprinkle the candies directly on top)
embellishments (instead of candies, try brightly colored fruits--strawberries, blueberries, cherries, raspberries, etc.)

Enjoy!

i don't think we're in kansas anymore

so i was popping in here to blog about something that very well may have changed the entirety of your existence, but alas, we shall never know as i no longer recall what it was. after logging on, you see, i was sidetracked by the sound of hail pummeling our roof/driveway/vehicle-that-is-sitting-in-the-driveway-even-though-there's-room-in-the-garage (whoops), and had to stop by weather.com first.

i was expecting a thunderstorm warning, maybe even a tornado watch (i have this tornado paranoia-borderline-fixation for no apparent reason, as i have never seen one (unless you count my ever-weirdening dreams, in which case i've survived about 247 monster twisters)), and lo and behold i see a flashing warning in bold letters that says--get this--POLLEN ALERT: POLLEN IS HIGH IN YOUR AREA.

um, yeah.

like okay, i do appreciate the hazards of some quality pollen, as i often take its sinister attacks on my nasal passages personally. but still, a little anticlimactic.

anyway, all this to say that i have not even a smear of a recollection of what i was originally going to tell you all. but. i do have a cute picture of one of my cute kids. and in the midst of all this cuteness, one ought to find it difficult to hold my decrepit memory against me.







happy sunday, in any case.

a tonic afternoon

click here for more photos

quintessential early summer

saturday was such a lovely day.

the kiddos and i went grocery shopping, and in spite of their proclivity toward imaginary light saber duels in aisles 1, 3, 4, 6, and 7-12, we had quite a nice time.

then we trekked out to the water park where the sky was this flamboyant azure (or, as elle put it, "the blue is so BIG, mommy!"), and we romped in the geysers and the raining mushroom, and lunched on vienna bread and cherries and cheese and grape tomatoes.

filmy puffs of cotton floated down from (i'm assuming) some kind of trees (somebody help me out with a botany lesson here), transforming the park into a wonderland, the air as viscous as water in a snow globe.

we hit an afternoon yard sale, where i scored an armful of jammies and tees for $13.50.

and after supper, elle and i took a languid walk through the neighborhood. we counted hot air balloons in the evening sky, hopped puddles, smelled thick purple weeds on the side of the road.

then just past dusk, as i scanned the treeline for flowering fireworks, i instead played audience to the first fireflies hovering above our front lawn.

it's official: i'm crazy in love with june.

on fathers

first off, i'm sending the happiest of father's day wishes to hawaii and michigan. to my dad: thank you for introducing me to God, for valuing me, for all those mornings you stumbled out of bed early to fry me a mound of chocolate pancakes. to my dad-in-law: thank you for cherishing your wife, for raising a son with strength and compassion and stability.


and to the father of my children:







you're a natural at this. happy father's day, babe.

home again

we survived the trio of flights home, and have unpacked and are now settling into the rhythm of our daily summer routine.

in the meantime, i still have several posts' worth of photos to share with you all.

here are a few from last friday at emi's house. we've been friends since mililani baptist preschool days, which is clearly longer than anyone should have to put up with me.

all the kiddos:



em's beautiful daughter:



i had the felicitous opportunity to hang out on several occasions with the talented wendy of waterfalls n rainbows, and i have to tell you, she is the sweetest thing and has SUCH a gorgeous smile.

in case you're hankering for some back story (and, well, even if you're not): my bestest bud from high school, gina, is also good friends with wendy (they both teach ukelele at roy sakuma studios), which is how wendy and i met. wendy has an extensive background in designing, so gina showed her my stuff online and said, "wendy, you should do this." and wendy, who already had quite a lot on her plate, said, "are you crazy?"

little did she know just how unbalanced we are.

so gina got us in touch with each other, and we convinced wendy to come over to the crazy side, and i'll bet she's muttering under her breath about us both every time she's satin-stitching at 2am.

wendy, i feel like i've known you forever. i thoroughly enjoyed spending time with you, even though we never convinced our hubbies that karaoke in gina's sauna of a garage is actually a good idea. maybe next year. ;)

left to right: wendy, me, em, gina



gina's adorable niece (if she looks familiar, it's cause she's wendy's primary model)



and a few more...



thanks for a lovely lunch, em. i miss all you gals already.

grandpa

thursday, kauai



my aunt flew the whole family over to celebrate my grandpa's ninety-third birthday. he was in quite a lot of pain, but still gave out hugs and kept us all laughing with his jocular advice and his stories of my father's childhood antics. he's one of the most precious people in my life.

it was so good to sit beside him again.

sandcastles

monday, Ko Olina






















maggie and millie and molly and may
went down to the beach(to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and

millie befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.

for whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea.

~ee cummings

kites

friday, central oahu park























ps i know i owe you all a may booklist, but the unfortunate fact that it is hanging out on my nightstand five thousand miles away is a bit problematic. my apologies.