8 years

Our Anniversary was today, and we kind of spent it a little un-orthodox. David worked last night AND is "on call" tonight so he slept most of the day, and I decided to take my "little man" and myself to the water park. It was a lot of fun. Our friends and I have season passes so we paid all of NOTHING ( always an added bonus)to spend a day in the water! Here are some cool shots of Josh splishin' and a splashin' till the park closed. David and I will spend an Anniversary night out on Thursday right before I have to take him to the airport. (He is going for a "Sobek" family reunion in Minnesota. He even gets to see Hailey which I am jealous about, I miss her like crazy!! Posts to follow)

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

This ride I do not like, it twists and turns..the more weight, the higher/faster it goes down this tunnel, at times you feel you are going to fall right out of it..Josh of course loves this ride, you see him here DYING to get out to go on it again!


This ride is my favorite, you go flying down these tunnels and come out gliding across the water, it is so much fun, they caught me as I cam barreling out and I was about to fly past Josh (the more weight the faster you go)

Here is Josh, just doing what he loves best..SMILING!!!

Potty Training or BUST!

Yeah, I know the picture up top is "Oh, soo cute" but these little devils know how to drive Momma crazy! I have tried potty training two separate times but to no avail. These little stinkers do not show a lot of interest in this thing called a toilet. But oh how it would make mommy's life so much easier! Instead we take off our diapers when we feel the wetness and/or poops. We know diapers are cold and wet, but we still want to torment our mommy!
Help!!! I have tried "bribery", I have tried the "pretty, pretty princess underwear", I have tried following them around for a couple of days with just a shirt on, and making it a "party" when they sit on the toilet. If you have any ideas PLEASE share!!
I am going to have them potty trained by the end of the summer or I am going to die trying!!!

Surgery

My Josh had surgery this past Tuesday, and he was definitely a sight for sore eyes. My little guy was so teary eyed at the thought of going into surgery without one of us, so I got to go in, and be with him as they gassed him..(they in-abated him and put an IV in after they gas them with anesthesia). I was really anxious for it to be over to say the least. It took about 45 minutes, and then the real fun began! (can you sense my sarcasm?) He was so drugged that he had no idea I was even in the room..he kept screaming for me, and I was trying to soothe him telling him I was right there, and he wasn't comprehending anything..my poor, poor little guy. Throughout the night he was throwing up, and our biggest concern was keeping him hydrated. I actually am glad we had to stay the night in the hospital because I would of been concerned every time if throwing up was a normal side-effect or not. Anyway, we got to come home the next day, and it happened to be David's B-day as well, so we had a culmination of events happening in one week. We are on a soft diet for him for 2 weeks, and drugs every fours hours for 4 days and then longer stretches in-between after that. Oh! and I almost forgot to mention the next day (Thursday) Hailey left for a one month long road trip with the in-laws from one side of the states to the next! This week is definitely one for the books!

Last Day of School

For Hailey and Josh's last day of school they wanted me to take pic.'s of them with their friends. Josh had a "water fun day" so you will see him throwing water balloons, and going down a slip n' slide. Hailey's last day was a bit more traditional. She had a pizza party after a discussion on "Charlotte's Web" which they have been reading this last quarter. In Hawaii, the grading curriculum is.. well.. unique. I personally don't like it, they go by a "GLO" system, where they are given ME's, MP's, DP's etc. (Meets to exceed expectations, meets proficiencies, difficulty on proficiencies,etc) basically, there are no "letter grades" in elementary school here. What is also tricky is that they do not have the classes listed, for example, Hailey got a MP in "critical thinking", and a ME "spelling grammar". It is actually quite confusing, and to me not an accurate way to "grade" someone per say, nor when we move to the mainland, I don't think other schools grade this way, do they? But, her teacher did tell me that her "Lexile" reading level when she started 4th grade was rated at a 2.3 (2nd grade third quarter) reading level, and now she is at a 4.2 (4th grade 2nd quarter) reading level. She came up almost 360 points. So a big "Hooray" for Hailey!! I now officially have a Kindergartner and a BIG 5th grader=-) Have a safe and fun summer everyone!!


Hailey and her teacher Ms. Matsukawa..

Hailey and her "BFF" Julia..

No Sleep Sundays...

This is what happens when we don't take our naps during the week, like Mommy would like..our mommy finds us like this on Sundays....

Wouldn't it be nice if Mommy and Daddy could sleep like us; anytime they wanted?

Graduation

My little Joshy graduated from his 1st year of Kindergarten today. He will be doing his 2nd year next year. (Hawaii does a two year program of Kindergarten since they have mandated it. It is for anyone born after the first day of school through the 31st of December is considered Junior K for the first year and then regular K the 2nd year). They did a really cute program and his teacher made us a DVD with music to a whole bunch of pictures she took throughout the school year! You will notice they are in "Aloha" clothing, it is tradition here in Hawaii to "celebrate" the weather and the beautiful island on special occasions. It was a really nice surprise and it makes me cry (for once in a good way this past month) to see my little guy grow-up and change. They performed two songs, one was really about the sun and how this island is their "home" and the other was a Polynesian song. I hope this video downloads, it is too adorable to miss! (it is a little blurry due to the humidity..my camera couldn't adjust it all the way).

On another note David's Uncle passed away this morning in Chicago, so it is a somber time for the Sobek family. Josh is also having surgery on the 8th of June for his adenoids and tonsils, so he will have to stay the night in the hospital. (It is protocol for Tripler to keep them when sleeping and breathing can be an issue. (sleep apnea)) All in all it is a busy, chaotic, sad time in our household, but we are getting by with prayers and humble thoughts of the ones watching over us from up above. I love and miss you Dad, Happy Birthday tomorrow=-)))))))

PCC Field Trip

Josh's Kindergarten class when on their final field trip of the year to the Polynesian Culture Center. It was a lot of fun. The park was closed to the public, so it was neat to see the little kindergartners there from all over the island. They got to see Tahiti, New Zealand, take the canoe tour, and watch the IMAX movie (HIGHLY not recommended to see the Polynesian Odyssey with little children, VERY inappropriate, especially coming from the church, they should know better!!)

It was really cute to see Tahiti and watch them try to teach the little kids how to dance! For those of you that know Josh~he LOVES to dance, and of course he was the first one to volunteer is talent..tongue sticking out and all=-) the canoe tour was my favorite, they didn't have all the commentary like they do when you are on a "tour" instead they told you facts about every building, and when Fiji, Tahiti, and New Zealand became a part of the PCC etc. The only "downer" of the day was the horrible show they decided to play. It has been in the past, a film on the coral reef and how it is being polluted, etc. Well, this time they decided to change it up a bit and play something they haven't shown in a few years. Gee, I wonder why! The very first scene is of a woman giving birth, and Josh exclaims "Mommy, that baby is bleeding, why do they want to hurt the baby??" and he started to cry! It gets even more graphic as the movie goes on for 50 minutes!! Afterwards the teachers commented on how disappointing that was, and wished they had their 50 minutes of time back to do something else.

Overall it was a pretty good day and a nice way to end Josh's first year of Kindergarten!! Enjoy the pictures!

Isn't he tooo cute??? I love my little guy!!!