Harvest Time

Happy Harvest Time!

Fall is certainly in full swing and all of the Bennetts in Hawaii are glad that October is pau (done). Last month was completely nuts with all of the parties, projects, and obligations that we had to attend to. The start of October was a bit more relaxing as Cory was on Fall break so we were able to get to the beach a few more days. Anyhow, here are some photos of the last month or so. It is nice to look back on these as it reminds us how important it is to just stop and take time to enjoy life...especially when you live in such a beautiful place as Hawaii.


Enjoying Fall break at Lanikai beach

Time for a snack

Digging out a huge fort

lounging at Ko Olina

Chicken Joe's (from Surf's Up) famous line: "I can feel it in my nuggets"

On Cory's birthday we found out that our second child will also be a boy. We were all quite happy to hear that he is looking fine and seems to be in perfect health. Leif has decided that the baby should be called "Boo" after the character in Monster's Inc. even though this character was a girl. Regardless, it made for a clever addition to Amanda's second costume for this year (see below). The due date looks to be March 23, 2010.

Beautiful baby "Boo"

Contemplating birthday cake

Happy 34 Dad!

One of the things that had Cory swamped was the annual Hawaii Association of Middle Schools annual conference in October. Cory is a board member, president elect for the upcoming year, and volunteered to run/present a "learning lab." Terry T., one of Cory's most respected colleagues, agreed to co-present and it was so nice to share this experience with her. Cory is hopefully nearing the end of his course work for his PhD, too. He met with his committee the other day and they agree that he is ready for is comprehensive examines and it looks like he will be writing them over Christmas break. So, if anyone is planning a vacation please do not come during this time as Cory needs to be extremely focused on this exam (answering four questions each answer being about 15 pages long).

Cory's presentation at the H.A.M.S. annual conference

We also made our traditional trip to the pumpkin patch. Each year it gets so much better. This time Leif was able to pick out the pumpkin he wanted all by himself.

Found a good one!

2007--10 months old

2008--22 months old

2009--34 months old

Leif painting his pumpkins

Amanda went gang-busters trying to make birthday gifts for Leif's friends, our Halloween costumes, and product for the Honolulu Mommies craft fair that was held during the HM Halloween party. I don't know how she pulled it off but she did (super mom I guess:). Unfortunately, Leif was scared of the Kermit shirt she made and we ended up being ghosts again for Halloween.

The costume that never was

This is as close as Leif got to being Kermit

Animal and Kermit at neighbor's costume party

Miss Piggy and Kermit at the same party

Honolulu Mommies annual Halloween party

The fruits of her labor

Getting ready to carve pumpkins

It's trick or treat time!!!!

Momma and baby "Boo"

Leif and Dad scoring big on Halloween booty

The only jack-o-lantern we made...guts were "stinky!"

We hope your fall has been less hectic than ours and sincerely hope that you might have a chance to come visit us in the near future (though Christmas is likely not a good time this year...see above). So, until then,

aloha!

Cory, Amanda, Leif, and baby "Boo"

Good Times

Aloha!

A lot has been going on here but we will keep this short and let the pictures and videos do most of the talking. Amanda is feeling better now that she is into her second trimester and she is even starting to show a little. Pictures of her and more details will follow with our next post.



Leif and Dad with their first homegrown pineapple

Amanda scored huge pile of free fabric and other sewing supplies. It was like Christmas came early! Of course she set to work making lots of projects and gifts for others.

That's a lot of fabric

Leif had been singing songs after dinner and decided to do it while being a strong man. We thought he was going to burst a blood vessel while doing this. Once again, another reason he keeps us laughing.

Wheels on the bus meets strong man

One day we took a trip to the Dole Plantation to kill some time. Leif loved climbing up on the pineapple pictures and sticking his head through. He has his legs spread wide in back and is standing on two posts; which he figured out how to do on his own.

Leif at the "Pineapple Place"

One sweet smile

Leif and Dad being silly

Amanda needed some time to get things done around the house one day so Leif and Cory took off to the zoo. We had a blast seeing all the animals, including the stinky elephants.

So excited to be at the zoo

Showing Dad the Meerkats

Deep in thought at the zoo

Leif came up with this one day. He found Amanda in the kitchen and wanted to show her the "pulley" he made. Amanda wasn't sure what he was saying as we had NEVER talked tohim about pulleys. On top of that, he wanted Amanda to be sure she knew what he was talking about so he clarified that it was "a pulley; a simple machine mom."

Showing off his pulley (a simple machine) invention

Leif won a slip n slide at a friends birthday party. Needless to say he loved it.

Such a strong boy

best part of the slip n slide...drinking the water


Having a great time on the slip n slide

Cory surprised his dad for his 60th birthday by coming back for the party. He had a great time seeing his mom, grandma, siblings, and other family members, too. It was a visit full of aloha though Cory really missed not having Amanda and Leif there.

Fremont country side views

Views from Cory's 12 mile run

Wild sunflowers and farm equipment


Shaka Mom

Fall arriving early in Fremont

Grandma Thor and Cory after talking story over ice cream


Cory's Dad's 60th B-day party


Sister, brother, Dad, and Cory

Leif missed his dad, partly because he wanted his " big huge pile of prizes" that Dad had promised him.

Excited to have his big huge pile of prizes



Its Mater!!!

We hope all is well and hope to hear from you soon.

Aloha

Cory, Amanda, Leif, and "baby boo" (as Leif calls it :)

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