A Day at PCC

I decided to take my "Keo" kids and one Sa'aga to PCC on Thursday just to get out of the house. I figured they would like to go somewhere and run around. So we were off. First off...I'm totally gonna have someone drop us off cause I'm never gonna pay $5 for parking. I still think its the dumbest thing. So just for that we totally snuck in to the villages. Ha! We sure shwed them!

We started off by riding on the canoe. The kids were so excited. But unfortunately that excitement wore off after the first 2 minutes. It's a good thing there were ducks swimming around just to pique their interest. But it wasn't so great when So'i and Malu, those monkeys, kept trying to jump in the water and chase the poor birds. The tourists that were with us were probably so grateful when the tour was over, cause I know I was. I already knew this was gonna be a long day. After we got off the canoe, we headed over to the Hawaiian vilage to see if Maria was working. She was, but she just wasn't there. So we just walked around a little, and that's when the boys discovered....STICKS!

They started swinging everywhere! At first I was like, "oh my gosh, they're gonna kill each other!" They refused to listen to my warnings, so I just let them go. It took about 5 minutes til one came running back to me crying. I was sure this would stop the chaos. Nope. After they were done with their time out, they were back at it. So I just ignored the crying, trying to pretend I didn't know these kids. I think they got the message then.

It started to get a little hot so we went and got some shave ice. HUGE mistake. Half of it ended up in the dirt with the plants. And by the time they got to the juice, they were sooooooo over it, and were ready to reak havoc on the rest of the center. So we headed over the Maori village cause I knew they would be excited to see Brookie. Great decision. She took the kids to get tattoos and do other activities while I just sat around and let her deal with them for a while. We stayed to watch her perform, and I knew by the looks of their faces that they were soooooo ready to go. Which I was grateful for. On our way out we grabbed a poni popo from the samoan village and headed home.

Mesmerized

Thanks to all those Twilight fans who kept ranting and raving about those books, I've been hiding in my room/living room/garage/car trying to find some peace and quiet just so I could finish those books. Addicting doesn't even describe the effect this book has on you. Oh my gosh! Friday, I went to Borders and bought the first two, and I had already finished the first one by the next day. I didn't read too much on Sunday because...well....I thought I should read something a little more spiritual. But as soon as that clock hit 12:oo I was back in Forks, Washington! Of course I had to pick up the third one on Monday, and by Tuesday, the series was done. All I have to say is FREAKIN' A! I have my fourth copy on reserve at Border's, and I'm totally contemplating on going to the Midnight party they're having there to celebrate the release of the conclusion to this amazing series. Is that corny? Hahaha. Maybe I'll just go to a late movie and then pick up the book after.

So, thank you SAVANI for mentioning these books on your blog cause you totally got me hooked!

Oh Sooooo Crispy!

Beach days are definitely the best part about Summer in Hawai'i, and the ultimate destination for said event would have to be Waimea Bay. My niece, nephews and I decided to take advantage of my day off and the gorgeous weather to spend the day there. We took the "Beach Day" essentials:

- Tuna mix
- Bread
- Corn chips
- Cream cheese and salsa mix (thank you honey girl for introducing me to this amazing concoction)
- Water

And of course we had to pick up some toys for the kiddies. Since the kids are little fishies in the water, I HAD to buy them goggles. They're constantly opening their eyes under water, that by the end of the day they're eyes are cherry red. Those darned kids never listen. Lol. After we got the car packed and ready to go we were on our way.

The only downfall with Waimea is that you have to wait forever and a day for parking. Lucky for us, we only had to wait five minutes, thanks to the tourists who can only handle an hour of being in the sun. Lol. The kids were so excited to try out their new snorkel masks that we picked up from Foodland, that they raced across hot sand with their bags and towels. Man, do I wish I had half the energy those kids have. They straight BOOKED it across the sand, I couldn't keep up.

After we found our spot, I got their masks ready (since they didn't even want to bother with the snorkel), and off they went in the water. The boys used their mask for a good two minutes before they got tired of it squeezing their faces, or as So'i put it, "the ting is squishing my eyeballs!" Hahahaha. I swear...why do I even bother buying them these things.

We swam and swam our little hearts out. Later on, Naona built up enough courage to jump off the rock..the little one that is. We swam on over with our trusty floaty thingy...just in case Naona got tired of swimming. Nikki and Kaua Po'uha were with us, so Nikki helped Naona up the rock, while I waited in the water. It was so cute. She got up, and had the "what the heck am I doing?" look on her face. But after a few words of encouragement, and a "one...two...three" she took her first leap and SPLASH! She was so excited that she insisted on going again, and again, and again. She usually doesn't do things like that, but her love for the water is definitely a confidence booster for that little girl.

We spent a total of 5 hours at Waimea. We could have stayed longer, but we had to pick up the rest of my sisters kids. After getting all the kids showered and fed back at the home base, it was my turn to shower. As soon as I saw myself in the mirror, all that came to mind was "oh so crispy!" Yup...I was pretty much burnt all over. Lol. See what happens when you think you're hard and don't need sunblock. But it's nothing a little cocoa butter can't fix. I live for days like these, cause that redness only turns into a beautiful sun kissed brown. Thank you Waimea. Until our next visit...which will hopefully be on Friday!!!!

Ohana means FAMILY

I already know what you're thinking...two words...OLD SCHOOL! Yes, this picture was taken approximately 15 years ago. Besides the fact that I look 10, wait...I really was 10. Anyhoo..besides that, our clothes and One's hair totally dates this picture. Lol.

Sadly, this is one of the few family pictures that we have with ALL of us. I just wanted to take some time to talk about my family. I LOVE THEM TO ETERNITY. Yesterday was one of those days where I couldn't help but think of my brother Jason. He passed away 12 years ago! It seems so long ago. I can't help but think how life would be different if he were still here with us. Would he still be playing football? Who would he be married to? What would his kids look like? All these thoughts seemed to race through my mind yesterday, and I just broke down and cried. I haven't thought about my brother in a while. I was only 13 when he died, so we didn't develop that same relationship that I have with my other siblings. You know, that mature relationship that develops when you get older. That's why I am grateful that I will have that opportunity after this life.

I like to think that our family is pretty tight. We may complain and vent about each other, some more than others, but we know that we can always depend on each other. And boy do we vent. I think the one that vents the most is, surprisingly, my DAD! Now that he's retired, he spends so much time with each of us, and I swear he always has something to say about us. But I just sit there, listen and laugh a little inside because no matter what he says about my brothers and sisters, he'll do anything they ask him.

Last night my brother Aaron and his family were stranded at the Wal Mart in Mililani because his car wouldn't start. So, One and I canceled are plans to go to the movies with some of our cousins, and were on our way to pick them up. While we were driving over, we were complaining about how we missed out on our movie. But as we pulled up and I saw how excited my niece and nephew were to see us, my heart dropped. How selfish was I to think that they had inconvenienced me because I had to cancel my plans for them?!

That's the thing with family. You can kick and scream when they do things you don't agree with, or when they ask you to do things you don't want to do, but in the end you still love them. And I do. I love my family.

The Dark Knight

Last night I was accompanied by my two friends "White and Rice" (Ben Chase and Granny Goo...lol), to watch the highly anticipated summer blockbuster Batman: The Dark Knight. I, like everyone else in the world, was dying to see the potential Oscar nominating performance of the late Heath Ledger. So, we called and order our tickets over the phone, and set off to the Ko'olau Consolidated Theaters to watch the midnight premier.

Now, everyone in Hawaii knows that you HAVE to eat either before, or after a movie. So, in a rush to get to the theaters, we hurried to the McDonalds to pick up a few sandwiches. Can I just say, that was SERIOUSLY, the LOOOOOOOOONGEST wait ever in my life. We were sitting ducks for a baffling HALF HOUR! All because someone tripped up the ordering thingy majingy-so they were taking the orders at the window. It was a good thing we left home a good two hours before the movie started,


By the time we got to the theater, they just let everyone get seated. We had another 45 minutes, so we weren't all that stressed, but it looked like we would be at the very end of the line, thus placing us at the very bottom of the theater. But alas, just as we were about to enter the theater, the lovely usher directed us to another theater that would be playing the movie. Happy Day for us. I guess that wait in line at McDonalds paid off.

So, here's MY review of the movie.

On a scale of 1-10 with high being the highest, I would probably give it an 8. Only because it was a little too long, and there were some parts that were drawn out. Christian Bale's "Batman" voice was irritating the crap out of me. I mean seriously...couldn't he do something else to disguise his voice better. And the girl they cast to play Rachel Dawes, I don't know her real name, but I think they could've done better. She was a huge disappointment.

But this guy right here was the saving grace for this movie. If it wasn't for him, I probably would have fallen asleep after the first half hour. Thank you Heath for making it well worth my $10. It amazed me how he was able to portray the idea of the Joker to the tee. His little one liners kept me laughing for days! Sadly I was stuck in a theater full of people with no sense of humor, because there were times where I found myself laughing all alone. I must admit, it was a little eerie watching him, knowing that he left this Earth earlier this year. His performance in this movie was definitely a defining moment. We've lost another talented soul. My heart goes out to his daughter and the rest of his family.

I got a CRUSH on you!

Butterflies in your stomach. Smiling from ear to ear. Face turns red, you start to blush. Whether you like it or not folks, these symptoms only mean one thing...you've got a CRUSH!

Ahhhh....we've all experienced this at least once in our lives. How does one overcome this? Time. Lots and lots of time. I remember my very first crush, and for those who know me best know who I'm talking about. As I look back I can only do what I do best....LAUGH. Funny thing, my very best friend felt the same way. And THAT is why we're friends...we knew at such a young age that we shared the same interests. Not so much now considering I despise her husband...but that's another blog in and of itself.

Man, I would get so excited every Sunday because I knew this person, lets call him Bob, would be sitting in the pew to the right of my family. Ward camp was always the best cause we always hung out. We would stay up late talking story, playing cards, and sometimes even take the occasional late night dip in the water. Nothing came out of it but a friendship, but oh how I wished for more. I was such a kid! I look back at my old journals and just laugh at what I wrote about him.

Too funny. Now that it's like 20 years later (well, not that long...but it feels like ages) I can't help but giggle inside because we are totally different. For one...he's about eye level. Well, not really, but he's still really short. And he's smaller than me...and that sooooo doesn't work. He's married, and I'm single. Lol. But we're both happy with our lives. Don't you think it's funny how you change with time?

TheBus

*Picture courtesy of www.thebus.org

• With the gas prices soaring to almost 5 freakin' dollars a gallon I've been catching the bus to work every now and then. It's not that big of a deal if I don't have any errands to run. Thus bringing me to my story. WARNING: It's a LOOOOOONG one!

• Normally it takes about two hours to get from my house to work if I catch the bus. Just because I have to transfer at Ala Moana. But, today I had to pick up the mail in Kaneohe, so I planned to leave an hour earlier than I usually do. So I wake up at 6am to get ready and be at the bus stop by 7 am, anticipating the bus' arrival at 7:15. Lo and behold 7:15 comes and goes. So I think to myself, oh maybe it's just a few minutes late. Yeah right! Next thing I know it's 8 freakin' o'clock! Grrrr! Oh...did I forget to mention that I was hauling my purse, computer bag, AND a small carry on bag?!

• So the doors pssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhh open, and I haul all my stuff on the bus. Luckily it was pretty empty so I had two seats all to myself. One for me and my bags. As I plop myself down, I let out a sigh of relief thinking, FINALLY....I'm on my way. I figured the driver knew he was running late, so he'd probably pick up the speed to stay on schedule, and I'd still have a chance of getting to work on time. NOOOOPE....I figured WRONG! Homeboy was driving 20 mph! I wanted to deck him and drive the bus myself!

• So 45 minutes later, we get to Kaneohe, my first stop. I get off the bus and proceed to check the mail. What are the odds I have not one, but TWO boxes. And these aren't no small boxes that can fit in my bag...no...these are the same size as my bag. So lucky me gets to haul more on the bus. But before that, I have to wait another HALF HOUR for the next bus. How many of you feel sorry for me by now? But wait it gets better! When the bus finally comes, I'm hauling my bags and boxes towards the bus, and NOBODY helps me! They all just watch and walk on by. To make things worse, the bus was so dang packed, I ended up piling my stuff by some guy in his wheelchair and had to stand up for the next twenty minutes.

• Finally, as we enter Downtown Honolulu, majority of the people on the bus get off, leaving me, again, with my own two seats. By now it's 10:00am and I should've been at work already. I still have another 10-15 minutes to get to Ala Moana and catch the connection. So, we get to Ala Moana, and this lady sitting in the seats by me, bless her heart, helps me carry the boxes off the bus. So I get off and make my way to the other end of Ala Moana to catch the next bus. Again, I waited another HALF hour til the bus came. And AGAIN, no one helps me as I get on.

• So, I give it to them! I push my way, bags, boxes and all, to the front of the line where I insert my one dollar bill, and one dollar in change. Apparently, the money machine on the bus can't handle nickels, so the money got stuck!!!! Hahahahahaha. The poor bus driver, bless his heart, was trying to be nice, but I could tell he wanted to kill me. He was probably thinking, "io, shoots! Break my machine!" Hahahaha. But I wasn't that sympathetic considering he was LATE, and I already had a lot to deal with. Homeboy was whacking that machine like there was no tomorrow. After the last stretch, I finally made it to work and was only ONE HOUR late!!!

• The best part is, as I headed home, with a much lighter load mind you (just one bag), I realized I was on the same bus with the broken money thingy! It had a plastic bag over it, and because of me, everyone that caught that bus today got to ride for free!!! So, that made me feel a little better knowing that others benefited from MY bad Bus day!

Summer Heat

So, it's official! Summer is here, and hotter than ever!!! The weather has been pretty hot and sticky the last couple of days. Its so bad that I even contemplate sleeping outside sometimes because the house literally feels like a sauna!

But I must say, Sundays seem to be the worst. Sundays always seem to be the BEST, I repeat, BEST beach days. Satan that little devil....always trying to tempt me. I tell you, one of these days he just might succeed. Hahaha...just kidding. But sad to say...I blame the heat for making me miss church. It was so dang hot yesterday that after I took a cold shower and got ready for church, I fell asleep and missed church! Who does that?! OMG....I tell ya. No motivation whatsoever.

So I pretty much spent the whole day at my sisters new house. My poor sister...I think this is like the 10th time she's moved. But I think this house just might work for them til they purchase a home of their own. It has more than enough room for her family of 8, and the occasional visitor, meaning me. Hahaha. Moving for them is a FAMILY effort. Our entire family will be there helping to haul boxes, furniture, and kids...lol. Then, when we get there, she needs help cleaning and organizing the new house. Here's some of our little helpers and some random stranger we found roaming the streets (hahaha...j/k mahea!)

Helping her move in just makes me excited for my big move. It's almost been a year since I moved back in with my parents, and I think it's just about that time that I leave that nest. So, I'll be moving out on my own on September 1st. I'm so excited. It's not too far from home considering I'll be going back to school, but I just can't wait to be out on my own in my own space again. But we'll save that for another blog.

Takin' You Back to Memory Lane...

I saw this on a friend's blog and I thought it sounded like a lot of fun. Please play along!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Alexis, apparently you're not the only lazy one because I copied and pasted this from your blog. :)

25

June 28th came and went. It's only now, two weeks later, that I'm able to fully reflect on the last 25 years of my life. I've met amazing people that have and continue to influence my life. For that I am forever grateful. Its exciting to see what this year will bring. I must admit, I wasn't too excited about celebrating this year. Usually, I'm all about my birthday, but this year, it just seems so overrated. So, it was pretty much a chill day.

It started at 1 a.m. at the Plantation Home while cruising with the Moleni's after Ken and Ari's wedding. That's when Crystal came out singing with the following cake.

I must say, it was pretty entertaining, considering we were all hangin' from the hecka long day. So if any of you need a cake decorator, I can get you in touch with Crystal herself. Hahahaha. She can even hook you up with your very own tea light birthday candle.

The rest of the day consisted of me cruising at my parents ward camp. I was lucky enough to have the day off. With two jobs, a day off is definitely one to be taken advantage of. I spent the day playing with these little monkeys for a little while. I tell you, being an aunt is probably one of the highlights of my life. These kids never cease to amaze me. They literally SAY and DO the darndest things.

The night capped off with a late dinner/dessert at good old Chili's with my best friend Maria, and 1/3 of the Moleni clan. Thanks again guys for a fun filled nite. I will definitely remember that "drama" filled nite. Hahaha.

I celebrated with my family the following day. You know you're getting old, when your family starts singing Happy Birthday to you when you're still eating dinner!!! Hahaha. Either that or they just really wanted to eat that cake!!! Chocolate Dobash baby!!! But that is sooooo my family for ya.

So with that, I must say thank you to everyone who has made this and all my other birthdays a memorable one. Memories that will last me another quarter of a century!

Another Tuesday Afternoon

I never realized how much work it would be just to maintain a blog. It wasnt til I got a text from Line reminding me to update her on my life. Hahaha. Just kidding Line. Well, sorry, this post has no pictures, but I will post some later.

First off, I have to say "Happy Birthday AMERICA!!!!" I was fortunate enough to celebrate the Independence of this awesome country from the comfort of a king size bed in the Sheraton Waikiki. Yes...you read right. I was stuck in the room while the rest of my family roamed the streets and beaches of Waikiki due to an upset stomach. It was even better when the whole family crowded outside on the balcony to watch the fireworks while I still lay there...sick in bed. Whatever you do, never, I repeat, NEVER eat one week old pasta salad...unless you want to lose 5 pounds in ONE day!!! If you do...thats the diet for you.