The morning of Sunday, August 4, we flew to Hawai'i for a Hastings family reunion. It was a really early morning, but we made it fine. There was some rental car confusion, and we ended up wasting an hour or so in Kona (where it was incredibly hot) trying to figure out if we could/should cancel our car and have someone in the fam come pick us up. We ended up taking our car, going to Waimea for a minute, and then heading to Kalopa to meet up with everyone.
We played with the frisbees and boomerangs (yes, we got a boomerang stuck within the first two minutes) and did the nature walk. On the walk, Tiny thought it was quite fun to run ahead. Tucker tried to keep an eye on her for us, which was very nice. She really has a problem with running off.
My camera can't take a decent picture to save its life, so I'm stealing pictures from Anna and Courtney for these Hawai'i posts. I'm trying to keep it to pics involving Jim and my little people to avoid an overload.
Tiny was a) so sweaty and b) all over Anson. After the nature walk, she just followed him around the whole time, undeterred by the fact that he was just not that into her.
That night, my people were very, very tired.
Monday we went to Hapuna. Anna took this pic on the way down the hill. The lines on the road were inexplicable. I've never seen anything like it.
Haps was beautiful, as always. The water was incredibly warm. It was so nice. I don't remember what it was like when I was a kid, but in the years I've been going back as an adult, I don't think it's ever been so amazingly warm.
Left to right: Tiny, Wren, Anson
Much to my dismay, Ever somehow learned about throwing peace signs for pictures.
Despite intense sunscreening, the girls got burned, which devastated me. I can't figure out why Ever gets burned every time she's outside, even after I go nuts on her with sunscreen. Her face got burned. Wrenzy's legs were terrible. So sad. I hate ruining my children's skin and giving them cancer.
We stopped for shaved ice in Kawaihae after the beach. The line was insanely long, but we waited. Everyone else in the fam went straight to Christian and Shandra's house (loaned by friends of Mamo and Papo) for swimming and barbecuing.
After the shaved ice detour, we met everyone at the place where Christian and Shandra were staying. It was incredible - super cool and fancy house with a great pool and lovely view.
Then we headed back to Waimea and played a fun "how much do you know about everyone?" game. Dustin got in a lot of trouble, and we all had a good laugh, when he tried to make his answer about what he likes to do in his spare time not so obvious by describing hunting as something like "walking around and looking for animals."
I knew the girls were wasted, but I felt bad making them go to sleep when everyone else was up having fun. So I let them hang out. Wrenzy just couldn't make it; she passed out on the floor in the middle of the game. Super-burned legs on the most tired child:
Other than Tiny's birthday, this is what happened in July.
Wrenzy went princess for a second.
The girls played a weird game wherein Ever goaded the littles into whipping her in the head and face with clothing.
I heard Tiny singing a line from the Pippi song over and over while she colored in the playroom.
We swam at Leela and Rafi's. Jumping from the back is always a highlight.
I realized that because of recent swimming lessons, Goosey's hair had turned quite green.
Jim did a sparks show for the girls while building our closet.
Wrenzy showed her independence by putting a stool on top of a chair and getting her own cereal.
Melanie Oddou started hosting Bunny Book Club for all the little girls we know. Each child was supposed to bring a book to read with the group. My girls never wanted to be limited to just one.
Apparently none of the other kids had the attention span to sit through more than a couple of books. Mine wanted to keep reading, but the group moved on quickly to lunch or yoga or something else. One time, they prepared a skit (based on a book) and performed it for us parents when we came to pick them up.
Tiny wanted Pippi braids and freckles for no reason.
Topless Wren was caught reading to herself from the books and magazines by the fireplace. There were many mentions of prophecy, as well as a story that ended with a person who was bad living with God again and turning out good.
I very minimally assisted with the building of our closet by putting together the Ikea drawers. (Some of our new walk-in closet is custom; some is Ikea.) Ever and Wren were desperate to help (crying was involved), so I had to turn it over to them.
The littles got silly in the bath. The song had changed by the time I started filming, but I love them.
When you say something about Wrenzy's being tired, she says, "I'm not tired because see?" And she makes her eyes giant and turns them to the side, like this:
There was some Sabbath block building.
The new (eighties) Pippi movie - the one Tiny got for her birthday - has a theme song with two verses, which we refer to in shorthand as "world" and "town." One begins, "Pippi Longstocking is coming into your world," and the other begins, "Pippi Longstocking is coming into your town." Ever really wanted Wren to sing one verse while she sung the other. Wrenzy tried but never could hold her verse on her own.
Sweet Wrenzy sang "Master, the Tempest is Raging" to herself while alone in her room. I tried to film her unawares but failed.
Anna invited us to bowl with them and another friend because kids bowl free in the summer. (You still have to pay for the shoes.) Tiny was not into it and just wanted to play on the video game machines. Wrenzy bowled a little but then joined Tiny on the games. (See Tiny in the background.)
I find bowling with the ramp thing pretty boring, but I guess at their age, it's the only option.
We made bread, and the girls kept a close watch on the dough.
Then that night, there was a sweet daddy/daughter reading session before bed.
Ever got hold of my phone and took an artistic selfie.
She started dance at Cadence Dance Project this summer. I kind of wanted to wait until the fall to start her, but ithe ballet/jazz/tap combo class we wanted was likely to fill up if we waited.
Anna took them for Icees on the way home once, much to my dismay. My kids already get way too much sugar.
Anna also took Ever to Legoland.
My friend Chelsea Wixom visited with her family. They arrived in the late afternoon/early evening of Thursday, July 18, and we got off to a rocky start. As they pulled up, I was scrambling to get dinner done (my bad for not preparing it in advance), it was time to pick up Ever from dance, and Tiny vomited right inside our front door. I went out to greet the Wixoms on the driveway and told them the vomit situation. We discussed the possibility of their staying in a hotel. Chelsea was scared, as she didn't want to have kids barfing on the plane home in two days. Spencer voted to chance it and stay, so they did. Jim cleaned up the vomit while I talked to them. Then he ran to pick up Ever (and was not happy about it because he wasn't feeling good, either) while I tried to chat while finishing dinner, which is really hard for me. I desperately wished I had put dinner together earlier in the day and had everything ready to go when they arrived, but I had spent the day trying to clean my house enough that Chelsea wouldn't think I'm the worst homemaker ever.
They wanted to do a beach day on Friday. Chelsea asked what beach we usually go to, and I said we never go to the beach - as in, we probably went twice last year. I explained the hardships of getting kids ready for the beach (sunscreen, food prep, etc.) and the hardships of having kids at the beach (food dropped in sand the instant we get there, sunscreen reapplication/fear of sun despite sunscreen, etc.). I'm sure Chels and Spencer thought we were super lame. Then we got to the beach, and their oldest, Libby, who is 10 months younger than Ever, started losing her mind. I believe it had to do with having sand on her or something, but she got super emotional and dramatic. The Wixom kids kept walking all over their towel, and Chelsea kept yelling at them about the sand just as I do mine. It was really gratifying to witness. Chelsea was at her wit's end with Libby, who was crying and freaking out, and thought we were going to have to give up and go home. Fortunately the kids started playing, Libby recovered, and we ended up having a lovely time. The only sad part was that Jim had the day off and was supposed to go with us but stayed home sick.
Tiny was a huge fan of Evie.
Ever and Libby played with body boards on the shore while Gibson and Wren frolicked.
We got Pizza Hut pizza and Handel's ice cream that evening. The Kringel ladies went feeding-frenzy nuts over our three scoops, including the melted ice cream at the end.
That night, Tiny cuddled with Gibson over a magazine, and Wrenzy showed Evie our "You Are My Sunshine" book.
Saturday morning, Tiny and Evie enjoyed the play kitchen.
Chelsea has a good friend who works for BYU and had just given her a ton of BYU shirts all in the same size. Chelsea bequeathed three to us. I've never owned BYU paraphernalia in my life (not even while I was there), but I'm happy for Ever to sport it. Note how blond she was looking by this time.
The Wixoms took off Saturday morning. The kids had so much fun together, and we really enjoyed their visit despite the illness. The Wixom kids never got sick, thank goodness, so no regrets there.
Jim felt well enough on Saturday to take the girls to the beach as penance for missing the outing the day before. Ever and Wren sported their new Rip Curl wetsuits. (Jim had made a trip to the San Clemente outlet and purchased wetsuits for them and me.) They took turns going out body surfing with Jim, and Ever did a brief stint on the surfboard. Too-cute surfer girls:
We have a spring suit that Jim bought when Ever was a toddler, but Tiny refused to wear it. She just played happily with rocks on the beach.
This summer ended up (finally!) being the summer Wren and Ever got comfortable in the water and started to learn to surf. After that first time after the Wixoms left, Jim started taking them as often as he could to the beach - on Wednesdays or other days when he had a half day, and even in the evening after a regular workday. Before long, Ever was standing up on the surfboard. By the end of the summer, Wren was, too. We finally became a beach family and really enjoyed it.
Jim had an odd technique for caring for the children when he took them to the beach without me. He would take the biggers out in the water and leave Tiny alone on the beach, where she happily played with the sand or the rocks the whole time. Once, Jim said, a group of teenage girls started talking to Tiny and hung out with her for about an hour until they left.
We all went together one Saturday. Jim wanted me to take one of the biggers out in the water while he took the other. We both tried to keep an eye on Tiny, but it still made me uncomfortable leaving her alone on the beach. I saw people notice her, realize she was alone, and send an older child over to her. I quickly made my way out of the water to head off the girl who was walking toward her. Fortunately CPS was never called. Tiny is so good at solo play.
Wrenzy continues to be our "fruitarian." She can eat so much fruit. She'll take down a whole container of blackberries or raspberries in one sitting. At this meal, she showcased her orange-eating skills.
I took the girls down for a short visit in San Diego with my cousin Rachael Curfew. We picked Rachael up, grabbed some Subway sandwiches, and picnicked at a grassy area at (or near?) Balboa park. It was a hot day, but we had a nice visit. The girls just hung out while Rachael and I talked. Next time we'll need to go where there's play equipment, but they were good. Mostly. Tiny got into trouble and was placed in a time-out away from where we were sitting. She just started playing in the dirt and having a grand time.
Marc and Melanie Oddou had some families over to celebrate Elle's fifth birthday. The kids enjoyed a game of Headbanz before we left.
Annie Bunnell had major back problems, culminating in a disc-fusion surgery that left her unable to do much for months. I didn't do as much as I should have to help, but I did have Fox and Remy over once or twice. They are good boys. Fox and Ever spent a long time on an airplane craft that began with a Kleenex box.
Meanwhile, Remy played dress-up with the littles.
Last, Fox and Ever spent probably an hour choreographing and practicing a routine on the big swing. Then they performed it for Jim and me. Notice how Ever had to check her notes about next moves.
Tiny got so she was doing some good independent swimming.
