Gwyn's 3yr, 11mo Birthday Present

I know, I know.  She's isn't four just yet.  But, the grandparents wanted to see Gwyn get her birthday present.  (I blame them, not Wes....LOL).

Shhh, it's a surprise....

Gwyn's new bike

Brooke's new bike...(yes, it's Lightening McQueen).

They see the bikes for the first time....

Getting their helmets on and ready to ride....

I am sure you notice here that Brooke is no longer riding her new bike.  She seems to prefer the Radio Flyer we already had.  We're not too sure she's ready for the training wheels.  Not yet anyway!

The three of us climb on our bikes for a little rounding.

Ahem, Can I Have Your Attention?

Now that I have your attention.... I have to take a moment to brag a little bit on my dearest, talented husband.  I know most of the time you read about our two little girls.  But this is something I just had to share.

Our church podium was in need of a little tender, loving care.  Here is what it looked like:

From the front, you can see that the fabric covering the podium was "weathering" a tad.  (It used to be bright white.)

Wes and I were asked to recover it.  I guess my fabric magic spells have reached many ears by now.  But who needs fabric when you can use wood!!  Wes picked up the podium from the church building on Sunday, the 8th.  Monday night, we stripped it down to it's bare bones.

Tuesday night, Wes took it to the mystical, magical wood workshop and started transforming it into something better.

And then Wednesday night.....

Finally, Thursday night....

Isn't it amazing?  If you ask Wes, he will tell you not to look too closely.  However, I disagree.  I think he has a talent for wood and for detail.  (To brag on him even more, he built me a jewelry box a few years ago for my birthday that is absolutely beautiful.)

At this stage, the podium was mine.  I don't understand why the men in my family do not like to paint.  I love it!!  And so, painting the inside of the back and polyurethane-ing the outside was my job.

There is a plexi-glass protector on the top surface to give the preacher a complete flat surface to work with and to protect the monitor.

I wish we had taken a picture of the podium before we ever moved it from the pulpit so there would be a side-by-side comparison.  Nevertheless, I think you can tell that it looks much better.  I am quite proud of Wes and his handy work.  He put several hours in working on it.

Herbs, Herbs, Herbs

Have you purchased herbs at the grocery store lately?  Unbelievable!!!  I get so annoyed when I know I have to buy cilantro or basil at the store.  It's the same story every time.... they are out or it's expensive OR the stuff goes bad after a few days!  Frustrated is probably a better word for it.  Yes, frustrated.

So, what to do.... what to do....

Build me an herb garden.

I would love to be able to have a gorgeous, lush herb garden with all the herbs I could think of.  But, let's be realistic here.  I live in Hawaii where land is more than a premium.  It's greater than gold just about.  And if you can't go outward, you go upward!!

Here is my new lovely herb garden (that I hope not to kill before I reap any benefits).

The tipsy potted plants.  (I plan to add at least one more in the middle.)

This is Osmin Purple Basil.  I found it quiet interesting at the nursery.

I would love to say that I completely built this thing all by my lonesome.  But, I can't.  I had a helper (or two).

Gwyn loves to help me plant stuff.

PS. I do actually have another daughter.  She just doesn't like to have her picture taken.  NOT AT ALL.  I am lucky if I get one picture out of 500 of her.  The next good picture I get of her will definitely be posted.  

Princess Gwyn

Gwyn and I had the greatest honor to attend a Princess Tea Party this afternoon.  This has to be one of the best birthday parties I have ever attended.  Imagine it: seven little girls (and one boy) all sitting around a table with breakable dishes, eating food while wearing princess (or prince) costumes.  The best part was that they were quiet and behaving and quiet.  Did I mention they were quiet?

Upon arrival, Gwyn decided to be her typical self - non-conforming, withdrawn and shy.  She didn't want to change into a princess dress, nor have her make-up done, her fingernails painted, or hair did.  I thought we were doomed.  Then, there was a flicker of hope when she wanted her fingernails painted.  That's when I saw the light opening up at the end of the tunnel.  Next came the make-up, then the hair.  Lastly, she finally asked me for a dress.  Pink, it had to be pink.

Here's what we ended up with:

Throw in some accessories and you have Princess Gwyn:

First, they talked about manners at the table.  Then, out came the "first course" with cheese, goldfish, grapes and carrot sticks.  I don't think I have ever seen Gwyn eat so much in one sitting.  It didn't stop with these snacks either.  "Second course" was little sandwiches and hot dogs bites - Cleared. Her. Plate. (Insert smiling mommy face.) 

Here is Princess Katelyn and her royal court:

These seven little girls (and one boy) were amazing.  I have never seen such good behavior for such a long period of time (1.5 hours or so).  Cupcakes, gummy bears, twizzlers, and animal crackers finished off the "meal" like no other.  Of course Gwyn ate all that, too!

A huge THANK YOU to Katelyn for inviting Gwyn to be a princess for the afternoon.  She had so much fun (once she moved past the shy stage)!

Another First...

Back in March, Gwyn started Pre-school at the Armed Services YMCA on base.  I absolutely love her teachers and how they have given her so much more than I ever could (in the educational department, anyway).  So, tomorrow is Gwyn's last day of school for the spring.

It's my first time showing her teachers how much we appreciate them.  I searched and searched Pinterest to find the best gift I possibly could find and make.  There were so many to choose from that I was getting overwhelmed.  Wes even told me that I was over thinking it, too.  Ha, me?  No way!

I settled on this....

It may be hard to tell from the picture, but it's an insulated cup with candy (chocolate, of course) and a Starbucks gift card.  The flag reads "thanks a "latte" for quenching my thirst for knowledge".  I love it.  And, I think they will, too!

Here's to Ms. Joanna and Ms. Katie for all that you do for a little ones!  I am utterly grateful!

May Day... Lei Day

As I am sure you have noticed (or maybe not), I haven't written in a while.  There is a perfectly good explanation for that.  I have been completely busy!

Back in March, I was asked by the Navy Hale Keiki School to make twelve lei day dresses.  They had a dress from the previous year that they really liked.  I liked it, too.  However, I didn't like not having a pattern to use.  And this is where my adventure began....

I would never suggest charting a pattern from anything that you can't take apart.  But, I had no choice.  I sketched the pieces out onto some $1.99 fabric, measuring and drawing, re-drawing and re-measuring.  I feel like it took me forever, but in hindsight, it probably only took me a few hours.  Day 1, I had a pattern.  About day 10, I had fabric and a mission.

I won't go into all the details of making each dress tailored to each girls' measurements.  Because first, I would never divulge anyone's measurements, and two this blog post would be a mile long.  The ending results was absolutely beautiful.  There's nothing like seeing a rainbow of color.  Here's what I mean:

You can see most of the eight colors.  Each color represents an island of Hawaii.

Red - Hawai'i

Pink - Maui

Yellow - Oahu

Purple - Kauai

Green - Moloka'i

Orange - Lana'i

Blue - Ni'ihau

Gray - Kaho'olawe

These two were the "ladies in waiting".

My friend's daughter, Ashley.

Ka Moi Wahine (the Queen), Alaina Morgan

I was privileged to be able to watch the whole performance.  These beautiful ladies performed a great hula.  I was absolutely honored to have been apart of this celebration.

Eleven of the ladies did one hula performance.  But, the Queen had her own.  Alaina was amazing - poised, elegant, and beautiful.  I was utterly impressed.

While there was so much work involved in making these dresses, I would never trade it for anything.  If I cross my fingers, I may even get to do this again next year.  Here's to hoping!!

Strutting the Runway

You know the first rule to overcoming an addiction is admitting you have one. My addiction is being a D-I-wifer (get it? DIY-er but I'm a wife, ha!). There, I said it. I have an addiction. Whew! Glad that's off my chest.

What does a D-I-wifer do, you ask? I shall give you my prime example. Last night was the Submarine Birthday ball celebrating the 112th year of the US Navy Submarine service. It's like prom but much cooler. And, you cannot go through like without ever attending a Sub Ball. There's hilarious speeches, tolling of the bells, the "presentation of the CMC's and COB's", gentlemen in their dress whites (looking all handsome), and even yummy food. But the best part, though, is the all beautiful ladies in their gorgeous dresses - last night was no exception.

Now, as a D-Y-wifer, I can't just go buy a dress. Oh no! It's against the nature of all by being. I have to make my dress. The first step is finding the shoes. Then I can build up from there.

The shoes....

I wanted something tall (check), colorful (check) and comfortable (check). Oh, and cheap.... I mean inexpensive (check). Thank goodness for Ross Dress for Less.

I won't go through the step-by-step procedure, but the final result is the dress. I always struggle with how to make the dress fancier since mine always seem to look so plain. I guess simple elegance is my thing.

Without further ado...

I had to have my handsome hubby in the picture with me. He's the reason I try to look my best.

I can't stop at the dress. Oh no. We have to accessorize...

See how this is an addiction? It just builds and builds. But, I didn't stop with my dress this year. I had the great opportunity of creating a dress for one beautiful lady. She told me what she wanted and I think it was perfect.

Thank you, Jill, for allowing me to do this for you. You looked stunning!!

(If you were there last night, she was the sparkly one with the grand entrance.)