Wordless Wednesday

School Daze

My kids have officially gone "Back To School." This really is a major accomplishment (no, not because I want to get my kids out of the house) but because 5 days ago we found out that their current school was closing.

After I got over the initial shock, I got the kids enrolled in a local charter school. I broke the news to the kiddos while we drove to "Back To School Night" for their new school last week. And while I'm happy about the prospect of not having to pay for school (the kids have been going to a private school for the past four years) I was worried how they would fare in classes that have more than 10 kids in them :)

I am happy to report that the kids both gave a big "thumbs up" after their first day at school. Kobe was already asking for a "play date" with a new friend. And Tehani decided that she likes her class--the day before, she told me that there was no way she going to be able to remember the names of all the "new kids" (I didn't have the heart to point out that SHE is the new kid, not them :)

1 day of school down, only 179 days left to go!

Pass the croissant

I made the mistake of promising Tehani that we would redo her room. It's been all that she's talked about since coming back from Chicago so I decided that this was the project for the weekend (basically I was tired of listening to Tehani talk about bedspreads and paint colors :)

Anyway, after trips to JC Penny's, Sam's, WalMart, Koh'l, Ross, TJ Maxx, Target and a few others we finally found our new bedding. (I normally wouldn't go to so many stores but I was not about to shell out a lot of money to redecorate an eight year old's room) Let's just say I have a new appreciation for the clearance rack at Target!

Anyway, Tehani and I were getting into the car tonight after purchasing a new comforter set when she leaned over and said "Wow. Look Mom, a croissant moon." I made sure not to laugh out loud as I explained to Tehani that it' s actually called a "crescent moon." Crescent, croissant--I'm sure it all seems the same when you're eight years old (Though I suddenly have an unexplainable desire for some light and flaky butter flavored pastries)

SPF 0

The kids are now back from Hawaii. I'm starting to think that my Mom should have packed more sunscreen...

Flashback Friday

I figured this was a good photo to put up this week--kind of a before and after with the "Wordless" photo that went up on Wednesday. This family pic is from a past Annual Anderson Luau. I don't recall the exact year but you know it was while back when one of the "kiddies" in the pic has since graduated from high school and is now off to college!

Other things to note:

My parent's still have the arch that we are pictured in front of in their backyard. My dad loves impatients (the flowers the he still grows in this archway) and he even has a whole watering system that he's jery-rigged so these plants water themselves.

Just last weekend I actually made Kobe try on the exact shirt that my brother is wearing in this pic. What can I say, my family is into recycling! (Especially since this was originally my father's shirt) I went through a whole box of my Dad's vintage Hawaiian shirts and found a few that are almost the right size for Kobe (Either my child is large or my mother must have shrunk all of these shirts years ago :)

The Luau's are always a lot of work but we have fun (I mean, we are still smiling in the photo) I'm glad that my family makes the trek back to Chicago each summer to take part in all the craziness.

So here's hoping that everyone has a Happy Aloha Friday today! And if you're going to be in Chicago next summer, let me know--and we'll see you at the Luau!