2009 Headline News

2009 Headline News

Education

*Local Honolulu Man enters 23rd grade, and the family who supports him

*Surviving the Ivy League

Living
*From a Distance, Grandparents and their quarterly visits
*The Life of an Aspiring College Professor
*Working Moms and the schedule she juggles

Travel

*Family of 3 visits Hawaii 3 times and Arizona 3 times in one year

*Do's and don'ts- getting through a 10 hour red-eye flight with a toddler

Health
*Study suggests drinking 1-2 gallons of OJ a week decreases your child's chances of getting sick
*Surfing NH waters, good for mental health
*A Long Winter's Nap, A Parent's Christmas Wish

Money

*How to stretch your part-time salary

*'GBH buys 'CRB, employee dedicates weekends and long hours to merger

Entertainment
*When K met George-y
*Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, the song that sparked a singing enthusiast

Seasons Greetings

The holiday season is SO much fun with a two year old. You may recall our video from last year. Well, this year K is ready to have even more fun! And she hasn't even figured out the whole "present" thing yet.  

Our Halloween Pics

Before trick or treating, we took our annual family pictures at the Old North Bridge in Concord, MA. We couldn't have picked a more beautiful fall day, the weather was 70 degrees! Here are a few of our favorites: 

October In A Nutshell

October has been a busy month for us. In the midst of M's dissertation writing and job applications, S experienced some changes at work. Soon S's hours and workload will increase, but it's an exciting move forward. 

Both of K's grandmothers came for of visit, which resulted in some major spoilage. She loved the extra attention and daily gifts while they were here. Here's a brief table of events from the past few weeks:

 

We took K apple picking for the first time. 

She enjoyed going up and down the ladder (with adult supervision).

She loved the idea of picking, eating and then throwing the apple on the ground.

We went to the Lake Winnapesakee, New Hampshire area for a murder mystery dinner with friends. M dressed up as a vampire slayer and S as a investigator. 

We took Grandma I to Salem, MA for breakfast and exploring. We showed her the House of Seven Gables and other historic sites.

Grandma G, S and K went leaf peeping in Woodstock, Vermont. We saw a deer and some wild turkeys. K was more impressed seeing the sheep, horses and cows.

One of the nearby towns puts together a Haunted Hayride. This tunnel was K's favorite part of the ride.

K's other favorite part of the ride, she loved the "Itsy Bitsy Spider".

After the hayride, apples or candy corn were given to the kids. K picked the apple, we were so proud. ;)

So, the ladybug strikes back!  (yes, it's ladybug round 2! But at least this time she wore it for longer than 5 minutes).

Our Little Sweet Pea

Today during lunch, K decided to be a bit more adventurous with her dining options. As we ate lunch together, she noticed something new on her plate. 

K: "What's that momma?"

S: "Sweet peas. They're sweet like candy."

K: "I want some."

K: "Yummy, more momma!"

K then continued to eat 6 more spoonfuls. 

For some who has a strict no veggie diet, this was a major breakthrough in our home. Now we can add peas to our list and we're hopeful we can add other vegetables soon. Next up is carrots, green beans and broccoli. We might be getting ahead of ourselves, but its definitely worth a blog post.

Her Favorite Hour of the Week

We've enrolled K in a once a week swimming class. It has quickly become her favorite hour of her week. 

Clambake

Last weekend, we attended our 7th Annual Arlington Ward Clambake. It's one of our favorite New England traditions--a day at the beach, lobstah, and of course clams. 

Over the years, S has learned how to open clams, patiently pick out lobstah meat and figure out what is eatable. And M has learned how to adapt to colder ocean temperatures and pay for parking fees. (There are no fees to enjoy the Hawaii beaches.) And K, of course, is quickly learning these New England ways!

*Clam and lobster photos are care of EP

Like Curious George

Today is Curious George's birthday. He is 111 years old and K could possibly be his #1 fan. She loves anything "George-y" and faithfully watches his PBS show. K can correctly identify an episode from the brief three second introduction, which shows the title, song and credits. And she can't even read yet! (Or so we think she can't...)

WGBH celebrated Curious George's birthday at the Boston Public Library with story-time, crafts, screenings of the show and a chance to meet George. His #1 fan wouldn't miss it. She wore her George shirt and raincoat for the occasion. 

Shared her George encounter with her friend N

K enjoyed George stories and songs 

She only had a few minutes,  but had lots to share.

She was afraid of the Man with the Yellow Hat.

Made her own hat but it wasn't yellow. ;)

Cheating Fall

Its amazing how fast autumn sneaks up on you. As soon as September begins, the weather drops and the air's crisp. It's tough on a Hawaiian guy and a Arizona gal to accept, so we headed west for some AZ sun.

It takes a 7-8 hour flight (including the layover) and a 4-5 hour drive (including a stop for food and etc) to get to our AZ home. With a journey like that, we don't waste any time while we're there. We played on Lake Powell, enjoyed Grandma G's home cooking, and packed in as much family time as possible. Thanks AZ family for a memorable trip, and helping us cheat in a few extra days of summer.

Uncle D showing us how its done.

The Navajo version of a sand castle.

K's favorite water activity, using Mom as her flotation device.

Just Around the Riverbend

Canoeing down the Concord River has been on our summer to do list and today we finally completed it. Along with our friends, the F's, we paddled to the Old North Bridge, the place where the Revolutionary War began. 

K was excited for the first 5 minutes aboard the canoe. Then it took us pointing at anything and everything to keep her attention for the next 25 minutes. 

Our friends the F's helped us pass the time by reconnecting with our roots, singing "Just Around the Riverbend" from Pocahontas.

 Too bad Navajo's aren't known for their canoeing skills, we depended on the Hawaiian to paddle us there. (Notice the lack of paddling from the two of us.)

Land ho! It didn't take long for K+K to make their escape.

After arriving on land, K+N decided they didn't want to get back into the canoe. Off they went picking flowers and catching up on conversation.