Catch up time

It's been a while since I last posted on here, so I will now try and catch all of you up on what's been happening with us. Let's see... After a week with no name, and then a few days as "Kona" the dog has a new name. Grandma, Great Grandma, and Auntie Noe came over, and decided that he is definitely a Kaipo, which means lover in Hawaiian. It's been a lot of hard work, but so worth it. He is really a great addition to our family. Big sister Sassy, seems to like him as well. We'll see how much time passes before he just becomes her "annoying little brother."

We've had two soccer games, since the last time I've posted. We won both games, and last week...... drum roll please.... Kainoa had his first goal!!! It was sort of a 1/2 goal :o). Him and another player kicked at the same time, but it was confirmed that it was Noa's foot that touched the ball before it went in the goal. He didn't even realize it, and even after the game, I had to convince him that he got a goal. Then he started telling everyone that would listen. There are only three more weeks, and the season is over. He seems to think he has a lot more games left than he really does. He is going to be so bummed when he realizes that it's almost over.

We had a busy Halloween week. It started with a block party at Auntie Noe's that Noa and Logan were invited to. They were both so excited to wear their costumes. Then we had a Harvest Carnival at church on Tuesday, which is where we were when Kainoa felt his very first earthquake. It was pretty scary, we were all standing outside, and all of the sudden the ground just started shaking. The bad thing about quakes is you never know how big it's going to be, so you just stand there and hope it's not a bad one. Kainoa tried to hide, and when it was over, he asked me what it was and I told him it was an earthquake. His response? "Oh, I thought it was something from Darth Vader." The things that boy says.

Trick or Treating was a lot of fun this year, he finally got what it's all about. Him and his cousins actually RAN from house to house this year. All of them some kind of Super Hero. This morning Kainoa told me that he hoped it would be Halloween again. I told him that it would be, but not until next year, in which he responded, "That's ok mom, I can wait that long." I love my little boy.

Introducing Kona

Last year, Kainoa and I went to the Children's Discovery Museum, and they had seeing eye dogs. All of the dogs were Golden Retrievers. Ever since that day, Kainoa has wanted a "Golden" because they help people. I've tried to steer him towards smaller breeds, but every time he would say "awww, that's a cute dog, but they don't help people." So... after months of showing me that he is responsible by taking care of Sassy (feeding, brushing, playing), we gave the boy his Golden Retriever. Kona was born on July 23rd and is just as sweet as the little boy who hoped and prayed that one day he would have a Golden Retriever.

This is what Pre-K looks like

I look at this picture and my heart has mixed emotions. It's sad because my baby is no longer a baby, yet excited about the adventures to come. He's struggling a little with going to school this year. It's a whole new world. He keeps telling me that "it's not so fun." With each day it gets a little better. As much as he says he dislikes it though, he's doing great. His teachers are constantly telling me how great he is in class, and what a good listener he is. Then I look at this picture and think OH CRAP, I AM IN FOR IT!!! Look at how handsome he is, what are we going to do? The girls already act silly around him, all giggly and stuff, they laugh at every silly thing he does. I just want to look at them and say, "really, he's not that funny." When I go to pick him up, they're usually on the playground, and all the little girls come running up to me saying, "Hi Kainoa's mommy," as if they're already trying to score points with me. I'm really thinking that keeping him locked up at home is starting to look like a good option. :o)

The Walk

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Walking for Grandpa

Tomorrow is the big day. Mom, Koa, Brent, Auntie Noe, Uncle Pat, Auntie Theresa, Shaun, Nicole, maybe even grandma, Dante, and I, are walking for Alzheimer's. Even though he passed on over 9 months ago, I still see him in everyday things, and remember him always. Sometimes I remember with a smile, but more often than not I still remember him with tears. It still seems so fresh, and I still can't believe that he's gone. I'm so happy that my family is pulling together and walking as a team tomorrow. He was our rock, and I know he's going to be looking down, and be so proud of us. We love you grandpa.... Thanks again to those of you that have supported any of my family including myself with the memory walk, and if you haven't seen my page yet, follow this page to get you there, and check it out.

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=222415&supId=169134219

Homework

So, I HATED homework when I was in school, and I still hate it now. Since Noa is in Pre-K, he is assigned a homework packet at the beginning of each week that needs to be turned in the following Monday. When I first went to back to school night, and then came home and told Noa that he would have homework, he was not happy. How does he even know what homework is??? So I've officially decided that I never would have been a good pre -school teacher. I forget how hard things are as a four year old, and I get so easily frustrated. I have already seen a huge difference in him academically this year though. He's learning to write, and yesterday his teacher showed me a picture he had colored, and I asked her if she was sure she had the right one. When he takes his time, you would think that he's known how to do these things for weeks. He reminds me a lot of my brother Koa in the sense that he puts pressures on himself that don't need to be there, and because of these pressures he gets stressed out. However, you tell the kid he did a great job, and all you get is a huge grin from ear to ear. I sure do hope Pre-K gets easier, for me that is.

Soccer Update...

We just got back from Kainoa's last game of the first half. We tied 4-4. Tying seems to be a pattern of ours, but I am so proud of these kids. Only three out of our thirteen players, have played soccer before, so they are really holding their own. It's so neat to see them finally start acting like a team. The first couple of games were a little awkward, but now they are really working together. Kainoa really gets a lot of support from our family, there is never a game when he doesn't have at least four other people besides Dante and I cheering him on. Big cousin Brent has really been working with Noa quite a bit, which is awesome because even though Noa is one of the smallest players, he's probably one of the most aggressive ones out there. Aside from the chilly weather outside, I can't wait for the second half of the season to start! I truly am a SOCCER mom at heart!

FINALLY, Kainoa gets to play some kind of sport. It's not my fault that it happens to be soccer, and he LOVES it. Those of you that know my family, also know that soccer is a big no no, it's ALL about the baseball. There will come a time when he will have to choose, but right now, he loves what he's doing. In fact during his first game, the other team was short players after the first half, so Noa offered to play for them, just to stay in the game.

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The Billups Family Blog

So a friend of mine started a blog for her family, so that she can keep all her family and friends up to date with all that is going on with them. So, I decided to try it out as well. Some of us see each other often, some of us not often enough, and some of you live too far, and we're lucky if we get together once a year. So anytime that you want to check in on what's going on with The Billups Family, this will be the place to get all the latest and greatest. You will have to create an account, since I am making this a private blog. So consider yourself one of our closest and dearest if you've received this. :o)