Pencils down

School is out. Goodbye 2012-2013, hello summer vacation. It's been fun - not without challenges - and we're ready to play. Looking forward to the next ten weeks without homework fights, flexible morning drop-off schedules, and sneaking in an hour at the beach after work. And a Fourth of July on the Mainland with family. Blessings!

Happy Easter 2013!

Success! Got the bags for egg collecting made this morning. All ready for the boys to find these Lego-filled eggs in the yard today. Just had the idea to do this late last week. I love a good excuse to stock up with miscellaneous pieces from the Brick Wall at the Lego store. Sad that I think I need an excuse, but oh so fun to splurge. Have a great day all!

Easter crafting time

I've had this fabric in my stash before I had kids, so my boys will have to forgive me for these pastels I'm going to use for their egg bags. But aren't they great? What's not great—I have over 12 hours to make `em but I would also like to get about eight hours of sleep and I haven't started yet. Time to get out the sewing machine

Happy Valentine's Day 2013

Received this from Robbie earlier in the week. He received a conversation heart from a classmate and he wanted to give it to me. He wrapped it (thoughtfully albeit not quite carefully) in a piece of binder paper and pulled it out of his backpack after I picked him up from school. I'm a big fan of the conversation hearts and rarely pause before consuming handfuls, but as many hands and who knows what else had been on it, I felt this one should be photographed and not eaten. Enjoy whatever gifts and sentiments come your way today.

Ouch!

I snapped this at KoOlina on another walk. (Yay! February has rolled around and I'm still kind of sticking to healthy habits!) The sky was really orange; the post-processing added the texture and deepened the color variation. It hurts to look at it too long, or at least for me when I was flipping through my camera roll. Not as much sting as the 49ers loss, of course. That was hard. So close.

Take a walk!

NFL Pro Bowl week is winding down. Didn't go to the game and opted instead to watch a few minutes on TV. Looks like the game ended without a lot of rain, but they sure timed it right. A few showers passed in the afternoon followed by a few grey but dry hours at sunset. As I write this evening after dinner it has poured outside my window for most of the last hour. I've got to face the music and walk Cal one last time before we call it a night.
A much different scene from a little over 24 hours ago. I snapped this as I walked around KoOlina. A few weeks into the New Year but now working on those resolutions - trying to get an hour of walking in 3-4 times a week. With this backyard, it is easy once you step out the door.

Honor & Remember

Back in October I spent a week in Virginia for work meetings. During free time I went to the Mall and wandered as much as I could. Top on my to-see list was the Martin Luther King Jr. monument at the Tidal Basin. It was a beautiful, quiet fall day and very early in the morning when I walked around. A much different day in many ways from the weather and activity today, but it was on my mind as I watched some of the inauguration coverage. Took more pictures but will limit this post to just one. Of the multiple panels and inspiring quotes, I will share this: "We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." (1968)