we need a better trap

St. Patrick's Day has never been a holiday on either of our radars... however, now that we have Gogo - every holiday is a celebration!  So, to get into the spirit, we diy'ed ourselves a festive leprechaun trap.  (Apparently, if you catch a leprechaun, he has to take you to his gold.)  

Sadly, our trap was not successful.  The leprechaun did come to visit in the night, but he escaped.  The good news is that before he fled our house, he left a small note with a riddle to find a secret yummy snack hidden in Gordy's rubbish truck.  

Gordy is already planning "a better trap" for next year.  

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Townies for a day

Todd happened into a job doing some "COVID theater" for a photo/video shoot in Waikiki, so Gordy and I tagged along.  We brought our bikes which turned out to be an incredibly good decision because Todd took the car and went off to work leaving the two of us on our own in the heart of the tourist strip. So, we slept in, went walking in search of breakfast and coffee, went back to the hotel for some pool/hot tub time, and then hopped on our bikes to go check out the town.  

We enjoyed a nearly empty zoo for the last hour before it closed.

We went to the Health Bar for an acai bowl and veggie wrap both of which Gogo loved!

We found some cool trees to climb around in at Kapiolani Park.

And, we found a cool playground with swings (which is rare in Hawaii).

After a long day, we met Todd back at the hotel and we all headed home... with a sleeping kiddo in the back :)  I don't know that we need to be townies very often, but it's fun occasionally!

our monarch

This month is bug month at Gordy's online school.  He's been learning the difference between insects and arachnids, he's been told to investigate around our house to see what kinds of bugs we have at our home (we have lots), and he learned more about the process that caterpillars go through to change into a butterfly.  His teacher even offered for the kids to pick up a monarch caterpillar from her garden to keep and watch the transition.  And, while we've cared for a few other types of caterpillars, we've never done a monarch - so we picked up a little guy and brought it home.  After two weeks of feeding, watching, and waiting, our butterfly finally arrived!  And, the best part was that it hung around with us for about 8 hours before finally deciding to fly away.

At one point, the butterfly was hanging out on Gordy's belly watching cartoons with him, and it decided to climb up towards his neck - Gordy was less than thrilled because the feet actually do grab your skin quite a bit.

All in all, it was a great experience.  So great, in fact, that we got a small milkweed plant from his teacher that we will plant in our yard to attract/feed future monarchs.  Yay for bug month!

aloha Oscar

I’m so sad to write these words, but… Oscar has died.  On Thursday, he was hit by a car on Waialua Beach Road and was left by the side of the road right outside our house.  Todd and I found him in the early afternoon, we told my mom, and the three of us spent the rest of the day/night grieving.  Gordy didn’t ask about him until the next morning, so we waited until then to give him the news.  We decided to go with the honest approach and to tell him the truth about what happened.  And, while we still think that was the best way to go, Gordy has definitely taken it hard.  At times he puts on this weird smiling face to try to be brave and act like he isn’t sad, and then the next moment his emotions overcome him and tears fill his sad eyes.  

To help us all to cope with our loss, we buried Oscar under our Christmas tree that we’ve had since Gordy was born.  

We planted him/the tree near the dog park at my moms’ house where the tree will have plenty room to grow.  And, while I’m certain that the burial gave us all a little closure, it does not change the fact that we are sad.  Oscar didn’t deserve to have such a short life.  He was a great, happy, fun kitty.  He would chase Gordy around in the yard while Gordy giggled uncontrollably.  He would come into the house at night and cuddle each of us until it was time to go to bed.  He would follow me around in the house no matter where I went.  He loved to sleep under Gordy’s bed.  He loved boxes – jumping in them, hiding in them, laying in/on them.  

Oscar was a great cat and he will very much be missed and remembered.  We loved you my friend.  

Aloha.

free-styling man

Being that I didn't learn to swim free-style until my 20's, it's so cool to watch my 4.5 year old crank out a (short-length) lap of it without hesitation.  I'm a proud mama :)

Oscar Kitty

Gordy has been asking to go to Nana's house nearly every day so that he can go play with the kitties.  So, since we aren't planning on traveling anytime soon, we decided to borrow one of Nana's kitties for awhile.  We settled on Oscar as the best candidate as he's always been pretty happy to be outside, he's very friendly, and he comes when you call his name.

The first day we brought him home, Oscar asked to go outside, so I let him out.  He then disappeared for 24 hours.  When he came back the following night, we kept him inside so that Gordy could see him in the morning - very bad idea.  He played and jumped around and kept me and Todd up nearly all night.  Since then, we've all found our groove a little bit.  Oscar sleeps outside and only whines about it for a few minutes as long as the lights are off.  He comes back in the morning for some breakfast and cuddles and then he's out for the rest of the day chasing lizards and eating lemon grass.  When he does come home, he comes inside for a few hours which is Gordy's favorite time of the day! 

We aren't sure how long Oscar will be staying with us, but Gordy is happy, Todd is tolerant, and we are all enjoying him in some way or another for the time being.

Merry Chrissy COVID -19 style

With a new strain of the virus now in the US and cases on the rise, we are doing our best to keep to ourselves and stay as safe as possible.  So, our holiday was a very mellow and small celebration.  Keeping with tradition (we miss you Granny Goodwitch) we made painted sugar cookies that we then handed out to our mail lady (Ivonne), our rubbish man, our neighbors, tenants, and a few close friends.

We brought in our living tree and decorated it with lights and ornaments.

We did an advent calendar for Gordy and, while it was a big hit, it was a lot of work.  We went to the stadium for the Christmas lights show and had a picnic in the back of the truck - thanks Nana!

We had Nana over for a salmon Christmas Eve dinner complete with tickly drink and a sunset on the lanai.

We left a cookie and vino out for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.

And, then we opened our stockings and presents.

All in all, we had a wonderful holiday.  Mele Kalikimaka!