First attempt @ notecards

So, taking some inspiration from my old friend Tammy, I decided to make an attempt at note cards. My Auntie's 50th b-day was coming up, and the invites didn't say "no gifts", so what was I going to do? As people get older, it seems to get harder to find the right gift. After much thought, I decided on personalized note cards. Now, Tammy's cards are absolutely adorable, I would know, since I have some of my own. That being said, I had some pretty high expectations for myself. I decided that since my family is Hawaiian, and LOVES the islands, I would use photos that I took from our family trip last summer. The theme was Honus. Let me know what you think!


I needed something to put the cards in, so I bought this plain tin and decorated it with Hawaiian themed scrapbooking paper. I cut the letters out of brown card stock using my cricut machine, which I love!


These pictures were all taken on the Big Island of Hawaii. I've always loved the Honus, and had a blast seeing them and capturing these shots. I adhered the pictures onto a cream colored note card, and inked the sides of the cards, along with the envelopes to match. I then hand wrote my aunt's name in the corner of each card.

So, I've had a few weeks to digest that Kainoa is actually six now. I was a little worried for a minute that we might be experiencing the "terrible sixes", but it only lasted a few weeks. See this happens to me every year, I have yet to experience any of the "terribles", however about a month before his birthday, this strange boy enters my home, who isn't very fun to be around. I beg and beg for him to bring my son back, but he just doesn't listen. Once Kainoa reaches his birthday, the "terrible" is gone, and my love bug is back. Just look at that sweet face...

Coolest Avo Ever!!!

For Father's Day, we decided to get out of town, and take a trip to my dad's vacation house in Sonora. My daddy is happiest when he's here, and Dante and I could use the break. As usual, we left about two hours later than planned, and arrived somewhere close to midnight, (this drives my dad NUTS). However once he knew we were safe, off he went to bed. We woke up the next morning to a PERFECT day in the mountains. Saturday we lounged around pretty much all day, (Dante slept till 11:00AM, but he needed it) and then we went and saw UP! GREAT movie! Had something in it for all of us, I believe my tough husband even had a little bit of watery eye syndrome. Through out the whole day, Kainoa is trying to convince his Avo (grandpa in Portuguese) that he should open his Father's Day present. Well Avo wouldn't budge, Kainoa would have to wait unil Sunday. So, first thing Sunday morning Kainoa was begging to open presents. First he gave his daddy the cool Superman shirt he picked out, and then it was time for Avo's present. Kainoa could hardly contain himself.

We got Avo a water gun!!! When Kainoa opened his for his birthday Avo said he wanted one, so that's what he got. The minute he opened his present, they were plotting on when they could have their battle.

After the presents were opened, we packed up and headed to Aunt Lilly's and Uncle Manuel's house on Lake Tulloch to get some lake time in. Kainoa had fun with Nana riding on his rocket. I on the other hand was a wreck, the water was so choppy, that they flew up in the water more than a couple times. I was relieved when the ride was over.
After we brought the boat in, it was time for Kainoa and Avo to battle it out! I remember playing with my grandpa as a kid, and thinking that he was the coolest grandpa ever. I always wanted that for Kainoa, and am so happy that he has the coolest Avo ever!!!

Six years!!!

Last Tuesday, June 9th, I celebrated 6 years of being the mom to the most amazing blessing I could have been given. To think that six years have actually gone by, just blows me away. Gone are the days of needing mommy to do everything for him. Now we celebrate the days of independence and being a "big" boy. It's amazing to watch him grow, and slowly become his own person. To see him take on some of my traits as well as Dante's and still manage to have his own as well. Being the mom of a six year old takes a little more patience then in the past. He knows EVERYTHING (I thought those were the teenage years), and loves to speak out of turn to get his point across (again, teenage years), but he is still that same sweet love bug he's always been, which makes it so much easier to look past the not so fun stuff. Sunday night, he came and sat with me and said, "Mommy, now that I'm six, next I'm going to be seven, then eight, then nine, then ten." I told him that I will be excited for ALL of those birthdays, but right now, I'm just going to sit back and enjoy SIX.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Field Day

Last Friday Kainoa, Dante and I experienced out very first annual field day at school. Dante and I are so happy we took the time off to help out. We all had a blast and are already looking forward to next years field day.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Independence

Our friends the Dupler's told us that they were going to Disneyland Memorial Day weekend, and asked us if we wanted to go. It wasn't a really good time for us right now to be going, so they asked if Kainoa could still go. Kainoa's best friend Jackson is part of this family, and they just thought Jackson would have so much fun if Kainoa got to go. So after much deliberation, we finally said yes. Those of you that know me pretty well, know that after Hawaii, Disneyland is my second favorite place in the world to go, so this was not an easy decision on so many levels. We all decided as a group that we weren't going to tell Noa until the day of. So when he got in the car yesterday, I sprung the news. Here was his reaction.



Once we started driving to the Dupler's house, there was a little bit of crying by both of us. I think it hit us that we have never been away from each other for more than two nights, and he was going to be gone for FOUR!!! They are sending me iPhone pics here and there, but it's still not the same as me being there with him, but I have come to terms that Tink can't come sprinkle me with some pixie dust and fly me there, it is what it is. A friend of mine from highschool told me today that it's good for him to be "on his own", and she's right. He will always be mama's boy, but he is growing up, and I have to let go just a little bit more. So I am going to be excited for him, and be happy that he's having such a great time. I can't wait to have him home safe and sound, and hear all about it.

**** SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT ****

I have just been told by my news reporter husband Dante Billups, that Kainoa Billups is now married. At approximately 7:38 this morning, somewhere along interstate 85, Kainoa Dante Billups and Sydney Nicole Jackson got married in the back seat of Kainoa's dad's car. As of yet, there are no specifics on the vows, or who performed the ceremony. Here is a picture of the happy couple.

One more step away from being my baby...

Sunny Seattle???

My husband Dante is in LOVE with Seattle. If I said let's move to Seattle, I don't think he'd be able to contain himself. I've been telling him for at least three years that I'm an island girl, and island girls don't do cold, wet Seattle. So, for our 10 year wedding anniversary last Friday, he decided that we were going to spend the weekend in Seattle. I think he thought that if he took me to Seattle, I would love it as much as he does. He's always told me that it doesn't rain "that much" in Seattle, because every time that he's been there it hasn't rained. So, I checked the weather report before we left, and the forecast stated rain on Friday AND Sunday. I smugly passed on the information to my wonderful hubby, and felt like the true victor in this Seattle battle. Well, the weather channel lied!!! It was the absolute most beautiful weekend, in an even more beautiful city. My heart has softened toward you Seattle. Still don't think I could live there, but I sure can't wait to visit again.

My little slugger

A lot of people seem to underestimate my boy because of his size. Look at him smash the ball. His daddy gets so proud when he's out on the field being a base coach, and the other coach is telling his players to get ready because "this one's a hitter."

Warriors and Giants and Earthquakes oh my!!!

There is a transition brewing. I'm trying not to acknowledge it, but I know it's happening. I am losing my son to sports, which means, less mommy bonding, and more daddy bonding. Good for the two favorite males in my life, bad for me. In a two week time period, we have been to see the Warriors which I wrote about below, the Giants,
and the Earthquakes
Thank God for freebies, all but the Warriors game were free. Kainoa is living the good life.

David

I have finally been able to upload Noa's video from his class chapel. It's almost 8 minutes, so just be warned. This was just the only way for the grandparents to see it.

Go Warriors!

Kainoa has been asking to go to a Warriors game for probably the last TWO YEARS! Dante and I finally broke down and took him to one. He had a blast. I truely do have a little sports fan on my hand. He loves all the fan participation, and was screaming just as loud as the grown man next to me. The Warriors lost, but he still wanted to know when we were going to our next game. Maybe in another two years, or like Dante tells him... "When you get a job." Just kidding, we will definitely be back soon.

An Adult Field Trip

Yesterday was such a FABULOUS day. Dante and I both took the day off of work and had what I call "An Adult Field Trip." We started the morning off with dropping Kainoa off at school, which just made his day to have mommy AND daddy dropping him off. After the drop off, we headed out to our favorite spa in Palo Alto called Watercourse Way. It was so nice, I told the lady that I would love to relax, but more importantly I wanted these knots out of my back, and boy did she get them out. I'm feeling a little bruised this morning, but it was so worth it. After the spa, we had a light lunch in Downtown Palo Alto. Dante was such a good sport and took me to sushi, he doesn't like sushi at all, (thank god for bento boxes). After lunch we headed out to the city to see...



It was incredible. Such a fun story, that I only knew very little about. The actors and actresses were phenomenal, and the singing was amazing. If you haven't seen the show, and get a chance to, you should definitely go.

Once the show was over, we were off to dinner at Sundance in Palo Alto. Dante had been there once before for a work thing and loved it, so I was pretty excited. Dante had their famous Prime Rib, and could not stop talking about his food, and I had the halibut special. Our waiter Jim was awesome, and Dante let him know on more than one occasion. We will definitely be back there again. Not any time soon because it was pretty pricey, but we will be back.

After dinner we were off to mom's to pick up Kainoa, when all of the sudden Dante pulls into this parking lot off of El Camino... All I could see in the parking lot was a Hawaiian BBQ place, and a dry cleaners. I asked him what the heck he was doing, and he just ignored me. So I just sat there and waited... When he came back, he opened my car door, and gave me a single long stem red rose. What a perfect way to end such an incredible day!

Take me out to the ballgame...

It's that time of year again... We had our little break between soccer and baseball, but the break is over. Kainoa had his first game this Saturday, and he did AWESOME! At this age, they only play two innings, so it's not so long for ALL of us. He had quite the fan base out there, there were all the regulars, grandma, grandpa, Avo, Nana, Uncle Kekoa, cousin Brent, Auntie Noe, Uncle Bob, then there was also, the Jackson family, the La Buguen Family, and the Shim cousins. So Kainoa really had to make sure he brought his A game, and he did. His first at bat he whacked one right down the middle, and hit his coach. Once he saw that the ball hit coach, he just stood there, with all of us screaming "RUN, RUN." I later explained to him that it doesn't matter in baseball, you have to just run. Kainoa and Uncle Kekoa have been having this debate about whether or not Kainoa can hit the ball over all the player's heads. Just like my son to rise up to a challenge. Here is a video of his last hit. I was too focused on him, so you can't see how high and far the ball went.

It's been a while...

Wow, it's really been a while since I've posted anything on here. This week has been a week of reflections. With Kainoa's SIXTH b-day coming up in just three months, I've started to get a little emotional about how fast it all happens. Here are two conversations that happened this week, both of which had me on the verge of the full on water works.

Tuesday, March 17th -

Noa: "Mommy, I have to tell you something"

Me: "What's up buddy?"

Noa: "I rode Titan's bike today."

Me: "Cool, that sounds like fun."

Noa: "And guess what..."

Me: "What"

Noa: "It only had TWO wheels."

Me: Three deep breaths... Speechless

The real kicker is that he taught himself, I had to break the news to daddy that he no longer had to worry about teaching him, and that it was time to take the training wheels off of his bike.

Thursday, March 19th -

Noa comes busting outside, bypasses his grandma, and doesn't even say hello to me

Noa: "Mom, I have a loose tooth. I got it from eating my apple"

Me: "Really buddy, that's awesome!" My voice only cracked a little.

Where has the time gone??? I told him last night, that we're just going to skip six, so that he can stay five for one more year.

His response: "No way, then I can't go to 1st grade"

What about me, doesn't anyone around here care what mommy thinks???

I took two days off last week, so that I could spend some time with Noa since he was out of school. With my mom being newly retired and all, her and I decided to check out the newly renovated California Academy of Sciences at Golden Gate Park, and decided to bring my nephew Logan along as well. We arrived just thirty minutes after the place opened, and it was already packed!!! There was a line to get into the Rain Forest exhibit, so that's where we started our trek, however after a while, we realized that we had just reached the "30 minutes from this point" sign, and we decided to try the planetarium, that line was even longer. At that point we decided to just focus on the aquarium, which was a lot more than what I remembered from my visit as a kid. They had so much that we were down there for a good 45 minutes or so. Kainoa touched a star fish, Logan was too scared, and we saw lots of different reptiles, fish, jellyfish, etc.




After we were done downstairs, we headed back upstairs to the Galapagos Islands. The photographs on the wall were absolutely amazing!! I really wish I could post more pics on here, but there are just too many. Here are the boys sitting on the back of a giant turtle that is commonly found on the islands.

There were so many other things at the academy that we enjoyed. So, even though we didn't get in to see the Rain Forest, or the planetarium, it was still worth the trip. Once we had enough of the crowd, we went to lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe near Fisherman's Wharf. The boys were a little scared at first, but then ended up enjoying it.

After we re-fueled, we headed down the strip to Pier 39. Kainoa couldn't wait to see the sea lions. When we reached Pier 39, almost instantly the boys noticed the carousal. Grandma got suckered in to buying them tickets, so they each rode TWICE!!!

I also convinced them both to let me take this picture at the hat store... They're such good sports.

When we got to the end of the Pier you could see Alcatraz clear as day. The boys wanted to see if they could see any people out there, so they each hopped on a telescope, too bad all the could see was black, but hey at least I got a good shot of them.

Like any other day out on Pier 39, you could hear the sea lions while looking at the view of Alcatraz, and Noa was ready!!! He was so excited to see them all. I swear he could have stayed there the whole time. In fact, when we told him it was time to go, he wanted to know why, he just wasn't ready to leave them. It was the perfect end to a wonderful day!

Sonora for Avo's birthday

This past weekend we took our yearly trip to hang out with dad for his birthday in Sonora. Dad had called me earlier in the week to share with me how much snow they had gotten. He said it just kept falling and falling. This concerned me a little, since I really didn't want to purchase snow chains just to go to Sonora for the weekend. So we decided we would take our chances. We left Saturday morning, and when we had gotten into town, you could see the snow on the side of the roads. This was crazy, I've never seen the snow so low. As we headed up the hill it was everywhere. Kainoa was so excited, and couldn't wait to get out there and play.





Here is a picture of him and Avo having a snowball fight. My dad was having just as much fun as Kainoa was. It was so much fun to watch them.



Here is Kainoa sledding down the hill on the side of the house. I love this picture!! His face was so excited, and filled with joy.



Here are the boys playing cards (Winnie the Pooh Uno). Can you see Kainoa's poker face?



This is Kainoa and his Avo after blowing out the candles... We had a great weekend. Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

A "little" man's best friend

My son loves his dogs so much, that I decided to finally post some pictures of him and his best buddies on here.

First we have Sassy, she's a rottweiler/boxer mix, and I've had her for 14 years now. She can get a little grouchy at times, but she's been around longer than both my husband and my son, so she's earned her right. She's always been a great dog, except for the time she almost got me kicked out of my apartment when she chewed through the toilet pipes... Other than that she's a doll, and she runs her pack which consists of Kainoa and Kaipo.



Then there's the baby of the family, our 18 month old golden retriever/lab mix. It's been an adventure with our little Kaipo. Daddy has threatened to find him a new home on more than one occasion. I think I've finally made daddy understand that family is family. Just like little Lilo said, "Ohana is family, and family means nobody gets left behind". Well lucky for little Kaipo, he has won over my heart and Kainoa's. Kainoa cried twice this weekend when he thought of being away from Kaipo for two days. Kaipo truly is my "little" man's best friend.

It goes beyond the color of his skin...

So I was on facebook, and noticed that there were quite a few people that weren't excited about what happened today. People were upset because the fact that his mother isn't white wasn't mentioned. People were saying that all the hoopla is just because Obama is black. Well for me, it goes beyond that... To me, today means we are one step closer to being one. I know where he came from and who his parents are, and I thought that this would bring us one step closer to stop seeing people for the color of their skin, but apparently not. Why can't people see that America is excited that NOW you can be purple, pink , red, yellow, and inspite of your heritage, and how you were born into this world, you too can be the President of the United States. Does it hit me a little more because my son relates his skin to the color of Obama's? Absolutely it does, but I would've still been excited if he was hispanic. Do I agree with EVERY SINGLE THING Obama stands for... Probably not, but our world desperately NEEDS change, and Obama is someone who is willing to except the challenge. What hurts me the most as a Christian, is that there are people out there who say they love Jesus and believe in what he stands for, yet they are out there judging people who are excited about the future. Who are you to judge? We don't all have to agree on what we feel is right or wrong, but we all must live with love and understanding in our hearts. Was I happy with our last president? No, but yes I agree that he should have been shown a little more respect. He did what he believed was right, whether I agree with that or not, he was the President of the United States, and deserves that respect. Let's just be excited for what's to come, and keep Obama in prayer, he will need it. We are one...

A silly little creature called a "boy"

It's been a long time.... First the Holidays, and then my brother had a minor surgery while my parents are away in Hawaii, so I've been hanging out with him at their house. So, I've been quite busy. However, yesterday I took a break, and I went on a field trip with Kainoa's class. This is the third field trip we've been on, and the first time that I drove with all boys. They're interesting little creatures. All this talk of rockets, super heroes, and who's better than who at wall ball. All of it is all so foreign to me, even though I'm surrounded by boys everyday. Why do they find all of this so interesting. There is one thing that stands out more than all the others that really boggles my mind.... BURPING and FARTING. Seriously, why is it all so funny, and why is it something to be proud of? Well yesterday in the car the game was that everytime we went under a bridge (overpass) you made a fart sound. Thank God for me, we were only driving from Campbell to SC University, there were more than enough overpasses there and back to last me a lifetime. They all sat there anticipating the next bridge, and would yell at one another to get ready, I guess in case someone wasnt' paying attention, and then all of the the sudden they would in unison, make a fart noise. As if that wasn't enough, they all acted like it was so stinky in the car, screaming (like girls) and cracking up. So everytime you go under an overpass, you can think of me, and my car full of little boys, and their "stinky" farts.