Moo, Baa, La La La

Indestructible books for babies?  Brilliant.  Whoever invented board books is a genius.  Some of the best board books my babies ever heard (or chewed on) are by Sandra Boynton.  We discovered her through one of her non-board offerings, 

after that hippo party we were hooked.  Her books are simple and engaging, and very, very clever.  I read The Going To Bed Book every night for years,  long after my kids stopped chewing on it. 

Legacy

When Dagny was born her Grandma Caren started a library for her, and every month she would add a book to it. It was Dagny's own private book club.  This lasted until Grandma Caren passed away when Dagny was 2 1/2.  Some of Dagny's favorite and most beloved childhood books are from that collection, not just because they came from her grandma, but because her grandma had excellent taste in books. She was an elementary school teacher for over 30 years, and she knew her way around children's literature.  She was someone who loved and appreciated books, and she wanted to help instill that same love in her grandchildren.  I think Dagny and Dane's love of reading would please her, and I'm certain she would love knowing that she had a hand in it.  

Time To Celebrate

A week celebrating children's books?  Count me in!  Books have always been an important part of my children's lives, I  think I'll celebrate Children's Book Week by sharing some of our favorite books.   Stay tuned. 

Summer Movie Guide

Summer is still a month away, but the summer movie season has already started.  The critics are lined up telling us what we should and shouldn't see, and what is worthy of our movie dollars. I won't tell you what you should see, but I will share my criteria for movie selection. 

There are 3 categories of movies;

1. worth seeing in the theater
   
2. worth Netflixing
   
3. not worth seeing
   

Movies worth seeing in the theater are action movies that need to be seen on the big screen, movies that you want to see but can't wait until the DVD is released, and any movie that your girlfriends will go see with you. 

Movies worthy of a spot on your Netflix queue are things you wouldn't pay $10 to go see but are still interested in, movies that will make you cry, and any movie that you don't want people to know that you watched. 

Movies that are not worth seeing are the majority of new releases.   

A Commercial Break

I have a new obsession, and it's called Photobucket.  After a performance people from the Halau upload their pictures to various photo hosting sites so everyone can see them.  I was especially interested in other peoples pictures this time since I didn't get any shots of my own. (remember the armpit?) I am familiar with all these different photo sites, but this time Photobucket stood out, and now it's my new favorite thing.  I chose some shots that I wanted, ordered them, and picked them up at Target an hour later. The prints were cheaper than I could print them at home, I am very pleased.  I'm going to upload my photos and videos to Photobucket and then I can easily share them on Facebook and my blog. They even have an app for my iPhone.  I love technology.  

Long Ago In A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Happy Star Wars Day

May The Fourth Be With You

Rain, Rain, Go Away

It's been raining off and on all weekend, which normally wouldn't be a problem, except that Dagny had a dance performance scheduled at an outdoor venue.  Her halau has danced at this Pacific Islanders Festival before, it's something everyone looks forward to.  They dance in an outdoor amphitheater that's right on the water, it's lovely and different from every where else they perform.  Due to the threatening skies everything was moved indoors this year, that put a damper on things. It was so crowded in there Dagny said it was like being in Disneyland. It wasn't quite the picturesque event everyone was looking forward to, but after the initial disappointment, nobody seemed to care that they were inside. They gave a great performance with tons of energy, the crowd loved them.  None of my pictures or video of the actual performance turned out very well.  There was a giant man right in front of me, I was literally watching the show and taking pictures through his armpit.  He didn't seem to mind, but it wasn't a great vantage point. 

making a neckpiece

adding flowers to the ti leaf hip-hei

posing by the water despite the cold and wind

Vahine