Scratch Built

Jeff just finished building another plane from scratch so we took it out for the maiden flight. It wasn't completely from scratch, of course. He didn't have to cut down the balsa trees himself, but it takes so long to follow all the instructions in the kit of pre-cut sticks that you might be fooled. The finished product us always so beautiful and worth all the extra time and effort.

I have to admit that the only reason I accompany Jeff on these journeys to the flying field is in the hopes that he might crash. It's not really him crashing that I like, so much as seeing the crash. They are quite spectacular, usually, and worth watching for. I much prefer if someone else crashes so that I can oogle them guiltlessly, but Jeff crashing isn't bad either. He always takes it in stride.

For instance, the last plane he built from scratch crashed on the SECOND flight. He flew it a fence, where it cartwheeled and landed on the sidewalk on the other side. Excellent. I felt pretty bad about that one, though, because it was only the second flight and it wasn't like he was trying to do something crazy. He just wanted to test it out and the wind took it and BAM! Still, I did enjoy all the post-crash discussions about how he wasn't going to built another plane again ever, and he was done with the hobby, and here we are: at the flying field with the next plane. I love that man.

Matthew was a big help to his papa. He helps tighten screws, or at least holds the screwdrivers for Jeff. He carries the radio for him, until Jeff gets tired of telling him not to fool with the antenna and takes the whole thing away. He also managed this day to hide some tools so well by sticking them in hidey-holes in the tool box that we spent an hour looking for them in the grass in disbelief that they could have simply vanished. What a helpful little guy!

Bucket Fun

Here are some pics from our morning at the beach the other day. I'm posting these to insight some jealousy among the folks who are suffering from the worst winter in decades. We are also experiencing some bad weather here in Hawaii. It's really windy. It's so windy that school is closed tomorrow. (I'm not kidding.) It's a big deal because we don't have air conditioning and we depend on gentle breezes to cool our homes. So we're really worried about big wind. What if it blows back the curtains. It could be scary.Just so that you all don't think that life out here is always paradise, I'll have you know that I have taken apart our carseat TWICE this week because Matthew peed buckets all over it and my upholstery. Buckets of pee. I'm not going to go into all the reasons that Matthew was in his carseat without a diaper on, but suffice it to say that the reasons were valid and any of you would have done the same thing. (I hope that at least some of you who are parents have, at some point, found yourself without a diaper in the middle of a blowout. If not, count yourself lucky - and well-prepared - and feel free to laugh at me until it happens to you.)

This Weekend

This weekend we had some house guests and went to a birthday party in the park. All in all, a wonderful weekend. Matthew and I went shoe shopping the other day because apparently children outgrow shoes instantaneously and will no longer move in too-tight shoes. The sight of him in big-boy shoes AND socks is still bringing tears to my eyes, but that's probably hormones. Still, doesn't he look like a little man with his muscle shirt, tennis shoes, and football?

I love the pictures of everyone in the tree, though the exposure didn't quite work out right. Our family will soon be four, which feels right, but I still want to capture this all-too-fleeting moment of our family as a threesome. Matthew even knows to look at the camera and smile, sometimes. So sweet.

Baby Hui

Here's a shot of the ladies (and gents) in the baby hui (pronounced who-ee) I hosted from October through December. These ladies were so great, and their babies were, too! I was hoping for a few trouble infants that I could help sort out - using all of the wonderful knowledge I gained with Mr. Matthew - but all of these little ones are sweet and healthy! I couldn't join them this weekend at the zoo, but here they all are in front of the keiki (children's) zoo. It really makes me happy that they are still getting together, even though our program is over. I think the little ones like it, too!