Family matters

Loved having family in town this past August - the kids so enjoy their visitors!

Super chocolatey birthday cake!

The towering inferno

Pooped at the food court....

The two blondies!

What a great summer....

Only a few months late, but here are some pictures from August:

The Pink Palace (Royal Hawaiian Hotel)

Swimming by moonlight in Waikiki

Halloween!

Wonder what the kids will dress up as this year?

Bones Marones!

French Toast and Tomatoes

Saturday morning. Already completed some grocery shopping since Safeway had a great weekend sale (Barilla pasta for $1.19 per box!). Big K gave the family a treat and made breakfast - french toast with King's Hawaiian Sweet Bread and topped with powdered sugar!

Big K's Hawaiian French Toast

Also, our cherry tomatoes are going nuts! This morning I picked a bunch from the tree (need to get 'em before the birds do!):

How ya like them tomatoes?!

Cheers!

Three Year Hiatus!

Big K has learned how to find this site online. So, I guess I need start updating content! Well sadly, Grandma passed away this week - 92 years young!

Summer Fun

Take 7 children ages 6 and under, add 1 Slip 'n Slide and 1 inflatable pool on a Saturday. Mix in pizza, juice, strawberries and whipped cream. Blend and bake a few hours in the sun. Let cool before serving - yield: 7 long naps!

Beach Bums!

OK, everyone is worried about the tough economic times ahead. We all need to curb our spending and pinch those pennies. So how can a young family keep the rugrats entertained at a reasonable cost? At the beach, of course. If we play our cards right, the kids knock out by 6:30 p.m. and we get an evening to ourselves. Only drawback - gotta wake up early to cook rice and make Spam musubi that morning!

A Great Season!

Check out this slideshow of the past baseball season - Big K had a blast!

Newlyweds

We enjoyed a wedding at Halekulani Hotel - such a wonderful ceremony and reception! Ahhhhh....weddings! Enjoy the bliss before the kids come!!!! :)

Baseball Action Shots

We had our first game last Saturday - lots of fun for the team! They took their team photo too. What a hoot!

Batter Up!

We signed Big K up for baseball - he's on the Dodgers team. (Yeah L.A.!!!) Games are Saturdays at the beach park - play ball!

Memories of Grandpa

Last few weeks have been pretty crazy, not the least of which was the unexpected passing of Grandpa. He was 89 and quite a character. We had a simple but memorable Buddhist ceremony for Grandpa. I gave the eulogy and will post it here but we should remember all of the great times we had with Grandpa.

Here is the eulogy:

A EULOGY
February 28, 2008

Yesterday afternoon I sat in front of my computer, staring at the blinking cursor and wondering where to start for a eulogy for my grandfather. This being the 21st century, I quickly did a Google search and found a helpful web site on eulogy writing. The web site recommended that I develop a theme, since that would give unity to the eulogy and help my listeners visualize the rich patterns of Grandpa’s life. Those of you familiar with our household will no doubt appreciate the theme I selected - THE PLATE LUNCH.

I consider this a fitting theme because not only did Grandpa appreciate his plate lunches, but the dish itself is a metaphor of his life.

Grandpa was born on Lahaina Maui. He was the first born son and second child of parents who emigrated to Maui from Japan. We can only imagine how difficult life was for these plantation families and the backbreaking labor they endured to achieve opportunity in their new island home. Similarly, the history of the plate lunch is directly tied to life on the sugar plantation and believed to have evolved from the Japanese bento. As the story goes, each ethnic group of plantation workers would bring their own cultural dishes for the midday meal, gather together in the fields and share food with each other.

To me, the plate lunch is the true symbol of cultural harmony - differing ingredients come together on the platter to create a unique and tasty experience. Grandpa also embodied this harmony - though he retained the strong Japanese cultural ties of his ancestors, Grandpa was an American at heart. When our country was pulled into the Second World War, Grandpa enlisted in the 100th Infantry and set off to Europe. He embodied the fearless spirit of the Japanese samurai warrior while serving as a patriotic American, and did so successfully and without compromise. You see, Grandpa was part of that wonderful generation which understood their duty and responsibility to serve America, and in typical Japanese fashion, did so with diligence and quiet fortitude.

Recently, the buzz word “comfort food” entered our vocabulary. This phrase references dishes that we cherish because they are reliable, familiar and consistent. The plate lunch is definitely comfort food, and we each have our favorite lunch wagons and dish combinations because they capture these qualities. Those of us who have spent long periods away from Hawaii probably experienced times when we had the “onos” for mochiko chicken, beef stew or roast pork with gravy all over. We yearn for these items not only because they taste good, but because we find comfort in the familiar.

Similarly, Grandpa provided a familiar and consistent personality in our home. For example, if you stopped by their house, Grandpa would either be taking his afternoon siesta on the back porch or sitting in his La-Z-Boy chair, never far from the front window where he could monitor the activities on the street as the unofficial “block captain.” He was able to take everything in stride, with a steady and confident manner that was equally comforting to us as children and adults.

Visitors often comment on how after eating a plate lunch, they experience “Hawaiian stroke” or “Polynesian paralysis.” This is often blamed on the starch overload from two scoops rice and mac salad, or, my personal favorite - spaghetti with meat sauce, rice, AND garlic bread! However, if you think about it, the carb loading was necessary for the type of physically demanding work required for cutting sugar cane. The plate lunch was created to provide sustenance and energy, preparing the consumer for the grueling work ahead.

Similarly, Grandpa ensured that his family members could endure life’s demands. Like the energy the plantation workers got from their starchy plate lunch that allowed them to go back to work in the merciless cane fields, Grandpa taught us how to be strong and persevere. He prepared us for life in that unique Japanese way: Nana korobi ya oki, which means “fall down seven times, get up eight.”

Plate lunches are a local Hawaiian experience, and similarly, Grandpa was too. There are attempts nowadays to “refine” the plate lunch into a lighter, more acceptable and heart-healthy version. My personal reaction - why bother? Like nonalcoholic beer and decaffeinated coffee - sometimes a watered-down version just isn’t the same as the real thing. And like Coca-Cola, Grandpa was the real thing: a to-the-point, shoot-from-the-hip, no-nonsense guy. When he first met my then-boyfriend, the first thing out of his mouth was, “You one Pollock? I knew some Pollocks in the Army...they talk too much!” Grandpa entertained us with his funny Portagee jokes, grimaces behind the newspaper and gassy “signs of good health.” Yup, Grandpa was 100% local - nothing refined or watered down about him - and we loved it.

So think about what the plate lunch stands for. To me, it represents history, harmony, comfort, sustenance and the local experience - all great qualities that I saw in my Grandpa. But if you really need the details, I think right now Grandpa is enjoying a plate lunch with his favorites: rice, chow fun, mac salad, and hamburger steak. With sashimi on the side, followed by one good cup of coffee with cream and sugar!

Characters!

Big K found a new use for his Pokemon pillow - as a mask! He had quite a ball this evening jumping around the house, pretending he was the beloved electric Pokemon named Pikachu. Miss M always enjoys her brother’s antics...we then later caught her in the act of attempting to kick a toy off the bureau. As you can see from these two - we have our hands full!

Our Christmas Gifts

It's become a habit that we buy each other gifts that are tax deductible, so I got a cool paper shredder and Dad got a rotary carver. As my one friend says, "How heartwarming!" Sorry to say that we want to be green, but purchasing locally just does not cut it; products are never in stock and customer service is generally awful. Both gifts ordered from Amazon.com - three cheers for FREE Super Saver Shipping!

Conquering the World!

Don't be fooled by the feminine outfit - even though she's pretty in pink, she's a BULL!!

Miss M

Quite the little character! Uncle sent this picture from Christmas Night - so typical of her, notice how she's double fisted with candy canes! Her first taste of peppermint, oh Lordy!

Back to the Grind

Sigh....the holidays are over, as is school vacation. Went by much too quickly...the kids had a fun Christmas but it is good to be back in our groove again. We purchased an artificial tree this year. It was surprisingly easy to set up and prelit so not having to deal with stringing lights was a plus. It should be an economical investment, since we typically spend over $ 100 per year on trees, and we got this tree for about $ 120. However packing the darn thing up and getting it back into the bag that came with it...what a pain! I keep threatening Dad that one year we'll go to Dubai or some country that doesn't celebrate Christmas so we can escape some of the holiday madness. I know...Momma Scrooge!

Big K and M

From the first day of school, Big K and M became buddies. Their mutual interests in Kikaida and Transformers help cement the friendship, even though two years have passed and they are in separate schools. When the two get together, it's still wild and crazy times!

The Kids Are Alright

Big K got a digital camera for Christmas from Aunty C. He started clicking away and I suggested we create a blog for him to post his images. The resulting site is live and online.

Check it out!

Classroom Fun

Last day of school before a THREE WEEK holiday break. We had a classroom party with lots of fun activities, a "feast" of snacks and gave presents to the teachers. The kids had a blast!

Meanwhile, we parents are groaning about 21 consecutive days with the kids - how long until everyone is bouncing off the walls and overdosing on eggnog - with extra shots of rum. Calgon take me away!