Summer Camping at Kahana Bay

And here I am! Ten months later....back to blogging. Please forgive my absence, it's been a long, hard year! Instead of a lengthy, detailed explanation I am just going to jump right back in!

A couple of weeks ago my BFF asked me if I had ever gone camping. Uh, no. Then she asked if I ever would. Uh, no again. She must've waved some voodoo magic over me because the next thing you know I was out buying a tent and other needed camping supplies. 

The thought of camping stressed me out for the following reasons:

1) My husband wasn't going to be there. My own personal Mr. Outdoor/Wilderness/McGuyver/protector! Who is going to protect me from killer toads?

BFF's solution: Not to worry. My husband will be there! We will help you!

2) What to bring? 
    
BFF and I made a list. Many times. We made a list of lists. Again and again.

3) What to eat? (This was not a good time to be doing Whole30!) 
     
BFF's solution: Don't worry about the food. I will take care of the food.(Major hallelujah!)

And maybe the most important concern of all: 

4) What about coffee?!? 

BFF's solution: Starbuck's VIA! 

Okay, okay. I think it might be able to handle it!

We decided to camp at beautiful Kahana Bay. BFF's family got there before we did and had the camp already set up. I was impressed! They helped me unload and get my tents up:

BFF's husband then hooked up the hammocks: 

 

The kids were eager to hit the beach and play. They did, but soon afterwards we got hit with some rain. A LOT of rain.

 
The kids were disappointed. "Really? Rain?" But they managed (and the tents held up pretty good!)

Little did we know that the downpour would bring........

The Lickety Split ice cream truck!!!

While Carter ran to the next parking lot over to stop the truck the girls tried their best to flag it down. Can we all scream for ice cream?

 Great team work kiddos!

The rain stayed away and BFF got to cooking. For lunch (pre-rain) we had some whole30 pad thai (my most favorite whole30 meal yet!) For dinner she fired up the grill and made hot dogs for the kiddos and whole30 turkey tacos for the adults! She also made bacon-wrapped dates (which twenty something days ago I would have never been willing to try!); Okinawan sweet potatoes made with duck fat; beets; etc. You will have to check out her blog, Paleo Eats 808 to see what else she cooked, what was for breakfast; and for links to recipes! Here is a teaser pic:

Yeah, baby. Bacon.

And we had plenty of fruit. Summer isn't summer without watermelon! 

Much like camping isn't camping without roasting marshmallows! And let's not forget the head lamps. Functional at night and fashionable during the day!

We even tried making BANANA BOATS!!! Here is a picture before it was put on the grill. Of course there is no "after" pic because they were quickly inhaled:

After all the excitement we finally turned in. Some of us woke up early enough to see the beautiful sunrise:

And walk in the sand: 

 
The kids were ready to swim just as the sun was coming up. The adults preferred coffee first. Pour a little Starbucks Via into a water bottle and you have instant human!

Kailani went for a solo morning paddle:

And was later joined by the rest of the kiddos:

Lots of uncontrollable laughter coming from the ocean!

While the neighbor camp kids caught crabs in buckets:

We filled ours with:

And the kids went crazy:

 

Of course we had plans to do some camp type crafts, yet that was the one thing I forgot! UGH. The supplies! I was thoroughly bummed. But BFF's husband got a little crafty and made a drink cozie with mustache Duct tape. I was impressed and told him he should open his own Etsy shop.

 There was also some photo bombing that took place:

And the little ones had fun catching fish in the pond:

 

Kahana Bay was so magical we even "found" some pink flamingos on the beach:

 

Rare sighting for these parts.

I have to say, it was an amazing camping experience! A lot of memories were made and we are already talking about the "next time" we go! Thanks to my BFF for all her help and for convincing us to go! Be sure to check out her blog at Paleo Eats 808! :)

 

 

Halloween Finger Puppet Ghosts

Hellooooooo September!

I truly thought that with BOTH kids being in school it would free up a lot of my time, but not quite. I volunteered to be "room mom" for my daughter's kindergarten class only to be promoted to grade level mom. They have been keeping me busy!

As the grade level mom one of my responsibilities is to come up with crafts to do for the big "celebrations" throughout the year. This includes all three kindergarten classes, so approximately 65 or so kids. While our first celebration isn't until the end of October I thought I would get a head start and start brainstorming some ideas (thank goodness for Pinterest!) 

Besides being fun there are some things that I have to consider when planning an activity. The craft must: 

1) be age-appropriate and doable by kindergarteners; 

2) be completed in an allotted amount of time (in this case, one hour); 

3)be budget-friendly (doing the crafts via donations by the parents...either asking for supplies or cash) and;

5) meet the core standards for the kindergarten grade level. (The core standard for this particular art project is to create a 3-dimensional object.)

At the suggestion of a girlfriend (Thanks, Betsy!) my girls and I tried making some finger puppet ghosts. The end product turned out adorable! We showed our samples to Momo's teacher and she loved them as well! So I guess you can say this craft is mommy, teacher, and kid-approved! I am looking forward to sharing this with the rest of the kindergarteners in October!  

Here are our little ghosts:

The total time to make the ghosts? Less than 30 minutes! (Allow for more time if working with more kids.) Here are some more pics of the process:

Important note! While the supply list shows "Plaster of Paris" you need to have plaster STRIPS/cloths/bandages.  The packaging I bought looks like this:

There were other brands/sizes to choose from (please note, these are Hawaii prices - hopefully you can find the plaster cloths cheaper where you live!):

Hope this helps! Now go and make some little ghosts! :)

Linked up with:

Win a Happy Hapa Apron!

(Happy Hapa? What is that? Well, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for friends of mine that had no idea that I sew) it is my Etsy shop! I also have a shop Facebook page too. Come say "hi!" Keep reading to see how you can win something from me!)

My girlfriend from Sew Fierce Boutique and A Pocket Full of Buttons is celebrating her shop anniversary with a giveaway! Several shops have donated items to win, including myself! Here is your chance to win not one, but possibly several beautiful, handmade items!

Here's what you can win from my shop: 

 

Other items up for grabs include beautiful dresses, headbands, gift certificates and much more!

The giveaway is open until Monday, August 6th so go enter! Be sure to read the rules first, then start commenting to win! Good luck....and congratulations to Sew Fierce Boutique!

PS - Planning on updating my own shop very soon. Have a bunch of stuff to sell but still need to upload pictures! ACK!

Words of Advice for my Kindergartener

Yesterday was the first day of school for my fifth grader. Today was the first day of school for my kindergartener! Technically it was only a parent orientation/student assessment but try telling that to Momo.

As promised I made Momo a cake (see previous blog post for the story). Well, it's not REALLY a cake....it's actually a pan of brownies but that's what she wanted...

 

.....with sprinkles, of course. But she doesn't want to EAT the sprinkles. She just wants them on the brownies. I'm sure all moms understand.

As I send her off to school I think of all the advice that I should be giving her: be nice; make friends; listen to your teacher, etc. Instead, I think these are more important: (limiting it to five. Trust me....I can think of a whole lot more!)

1. DO NOT SAY "DONKEYBALLS" (like you did to your swim teacher yesterday).

2. DO NOT take your shorts/skirt off the minute you walk into your classroom like you do at home.

3. If you have to poop while in school do a good job of cleaning your butt. Nobody else is going to clean it for you. (Also - if you have to poop.....please don't announce it to everyone and/or show them your work.)
 
4. Do not threaten to do karate on anybody. 
 
5. Do not expect Pulehu ribs and a Diet Dr. Pepper for lunch (like you requested at Play School).
 
And those are the ones I got off the top of my head. Just imagine if I put a lot of thought into it!

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Update: She had a great day and did none of the above mentioned. One of the first things she said was, "Mom....they didn't take us to the cafeteria! They didn't feed us!" As well as, "Mom! I didn't get into trouble today!"

Sounds like a great start to me!