Hapai

Aloha to you all,

Here is a little clarification on the title of this blog. It comes from "Eye of Hawaii: Pidgin, the unofficial language."

Hapai (ha-PIE). With child. Amanda wen come hapai, ass why she no moa surfing.

or, "I thought Amanda stay momona, but she come hapai"

foa mo da kine try wen look at: http://www.eyeofhawaii.com/Pidgin/pidgin.htm


If you have further questions feel free to call!!

aloha

Cory, Amanda, and Leif

School Begins

Aloha!!

Yes, August has just begun and for most people that means they are enjoying the warm days of summer but for us it means Cory is going back to work. This will be his fifth year teaching and the start of our fifth year in Hawaii; we can't believe how fast the time has gone by. During our time here we have met MANY new friends who have gladly welcomed us into their lives...it is hard to describe what "aloha" means, but we have vividly clearly feel it time and time again.

Leif got a package from Grandma a few weeks ago and it included Great Grandpa Thor's old binoculars. Leif loved them and wouldn't put them down for hours

Checking out the "big pine cone trees"

A "whole huge big pile of friends" at a play date in our backyard

The "mac cheese tower"

During the last few weeks we were able to get out and have some fun together. Including play dates with Leif's friends, a Thomas the train play time at Toys R Us, the water park, the Prince Lot Hula festival, and simply hanging out at the beach. The surf has been incredible this summer on the south side, too, so Cory has had some great days in the water (including some overhead sets at Swabby Land).

The Thomas the Train paper hat stayed on for nearly 2hrs

Leif and Momma at Prince Lot

Even the aunties and tutus rock!

Leif loves watching hula and says he "might try this someday"

Kumu Cazimero's halau at the Prine Lot Hula Festival

All in all things are ok though the affects of a broken economy are now knocking at our door. The Hawaii Dept. of Education has had their budget cut by several hundred million dollars and the Governor (the primary agent on the other side of the teacher's union bargaining table) has threatened mass layoffs if the union does not accept a major pay reduction, furlough days (shorten the school year and no pay teachers), and an increase in medical premiums. If the Governor gets her way, Cory will be taking a 20% reduction in wages. This is perhaps the scariest time for our family. As such, Cory will be looking for a second job hopefully teaching part time (evening or weekends?) at one of the local community colleges. And yes, this is on top of his regular work, his increased course load at UH this next semester, and being a husband and a father. C'est la vie.

Besides that, Leif is growing bigger though not really putting on much more weight...he is still 27.5 pounds and we think he has been at this weight for nearly a year. He is still growing taller though so the doctors say there isn't anything to really worry about. Amanda has always been a petite person and was relatively little growing up so perhaps he takes after her in this way.

Learning to ride his "bike" with his new Elmo helmet


Leif riding his bike on his own for the first time

Amanda has also been creating some very cool gifts using her quilting and sewing skills. Be sure to check out her blog to see the latest...they really are quite cute and creative.

"Might be a monster???"

Leif is being Leif. Still attached to his mom in many ways ("Mom loves to give big up hugs all the time.") and is learning many new things. In particular his sentence structure is getting much better and the complexity of his sentences is also growing. He often puts together nine to twelve word sentences that are unique thoughts, not just responses to a question or a repetition of what we have said. And, as usual, he is obsessed with balloons; water, big, small, hot air...it doesn't matter. Leif is also really in to helping cook things now. Often he wakes up in the morning and says, "maybe we should make some waffles," or "Oh, Yeah! Lets make pancakes," or simply "I want to make cupcakes." We either need to remind him that we just made a "big pile" of pancakes or waffles and that they are in the freezer or that we don't eat cupcakes for breakfast (though grandpa might argue otherwise).


The pleasures of baking!

On a final note, Cory has started his training to run the Honolulu Marathon on December 13. Does anyone want to come out and support him as he seeks to complete this crazy stupid endeavor?

We hope all is well in your part of the world and look forward to seeing or hearing from you soon!

Alooooooha!

Cory, Amanda, and Leif