Sunday morning

Ryan caught pictures of us right before we piled into the van for church.

For Jon

Sunday stroll

We finally got our van (liberation!) and we decided to take a family stroll around temple grounds today (we have such an early session of church--we're home before noon). So after a quick lunch, we headed up to Laie.





She really isn't presenting the water--I caught her as she was waving at the camera.


The temple obviously isn't looking its best since it's under renovation at the moment. But we all still thought it was beautiful.






I'm sporting my new Aloha dress that I bought at the swap meet yesterday. :)



Absolutely in her own little world in the gardens next the the Visitor's Center.





One of the missionaries was kind enough to take our family picture for us.


Jacob informed me that this was his favorite photograph.


All the kids had such fun watching all the church videos. They also liked that they could choose the question on the screen and have answers from small children just like them.





Marcus and Ryan having a fun moment. :) And me in behind the camera saying "Shhh! REVERENCE!!!!"


Julia also enjoyed talking to the sister missionary outside the Visitor's Center. They talked about the temple, where we're from, and Julia received a flower for her hair.


All in all, we had a wonderful time. Julia didn't want to leave (neither did Ryan and I--but the other kiddos's attention spans just didn't give us the leisure of time) so I promised her that I'd take her back--just her and I. Then we could explore and take as much time as we'd like to enjoy the scenery and all around feel of temple grounds.

While we are still waiting for our van to arrive, we take turns going out exploring (Ryan's car is only a 5 seater. :P). Evelyn went with Ryan to go and check out the temple (under reconstruction--but we're excited that we'll be able to take the kids to its open house next year) and to the visitor's center.





Then of course Ryan couldn't help but take a photo of the vast ocean in front of him. :)


Here are some random photos of today--the girls sporting their new dresses that they picked out. They both have very poufy skirts (Evelyn LOVES to twirl in hers) and are just adorable! Gotta love the sales at The Children's Place. :)

a little May Day background.....

In early 1928 writer and poet Don Blanding wrote an article in a local paper suggesting that a holiday be created centered around the Hawaiian custom of making and wearing lei. It was fellow writer Grace Tower Warren who came up with the idea of a holiday on May 1 in conjunction with May Day. She is also responsible for the phrase, "May Day is Lei Day." If you are ever on O'ahu on May 1, you'll get to experience this Hawaiian holiday first-hand for yourself.

The first Lei Day was held on May 1, 1928, and everyone in Honolulu was encouraged to wear lei. Festivities were held downtown with hula, music, lei making demonstrations and exhibits and lei making contests.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported, "lei blossomed on straw and felt hats, lei decorated automobiles, men and women and children wore them draped about their shoulders. To the city Kamehameha's statue extended a garland of maile and plumeria, which fluttered in the wind from its extended hand. Lei recaptured the old spirit of the islands (a love of color and flowers, fragrance, laughter and aloha)."

In 1929, Lei Day was made an official holiday in the territory, a tradition which was interrupted only during the years of World War II, and which continues today.

On O`ahu, Lei Day festivities are centered in Queen Kapi`olani Park in Waikiki. As is tradition, the dozens of entries in the annual contest are placed at the Royal Mausoleum in Nuuanu the next morning. The City & County of Honolulu, Department of Parks & Recreation has details of the 2009 Lei Day Events. They also have details on the 2009 Lei Queen and her court.

Dr. Kent (Kim) Bridges, Associate Professor of Botany at the University of Hawaii at Manoa has several excellent galleries of photos of the 1999 and 2000 Lei Day Celebrations.

Many celebrations are also held at local schools. Elementary schools hold celebrations crowning Lei Day kings, queens and princesses, such as occurred in 2005 at the Barbers Point Elementary School.

Lei Day celebrations are not just confined to O`ahu. There are festivals and celebrations found on all of the major Hawaiian islands.



***taken from this site: http://gohawaii.about.com/cs/festivals/a/lei_day_hawaii.htm

May Day Celebration

We just came home from the May Day Celebration at the kids's elementary school. I still have NO IDEA what May Day--all I know is that each of the grades learned a special song and dance to present to the "king and queen". I can't BEGIN to describe how cute it is to see a bunch of four year old preschoolers doing the hula!!!

But I'm getting ahead of myself....let's start at the beginning. He were are walking the beaten path from our home to the elementary.




Here are the king and queen of the celebration. There was a huge ceremony explaining it all (which I didn't catch since we were chasing Marcus and Evelyn) and introducing them. Lots of music, representation, and the blowing of those huge seashells (awesome!). As each class presented their song/dance, it was all dedicated to the king and queen. I have no idea what the saying is on the left, but the right is celebrating 50 years of aloha. We were given quite a few fascinating history facts about Hawaii and it's origins. Oh, check out the girls's dresses--yeah, almost all the grades had costumes to wear and it seemed that everyone's classes (oddly, except for my kids's) wore native hawaiian clothing).


Chilling out while waiting for the next grade to begin...aren't those flowers in the trees pretty?





Yeah, those purple flowers were raining down on us and Marcus was trying to clean them all up. :)


Let the show begin!!! Actually, by the time 1st grade came, the hula dancing preschoolers and the sassy-something-bird kindegarteners (who are sitting right there in front--those weird hats that are obstructing the view of Jacob are their bird hats) had already done their songs/dances. But here's Jacob singing/dancing to "Spread A Little Aloha". It had to be the cutest thing I'd ever watched!!!!!





Now onto Julia. She did an actual dance--not just hand movements like Jacob's grade. She was sooo nervous about messing up--but I think she did a marvelous job. :)






And here is the Hawaiian bow? Or at least that's what Julia told me. :)


Hooray for such a good job!


Jacob and some friends from his class.


Julia and her teacher.


Doesn't she look pretty?


After all the grades performed, all "the ladies of _________ elementary got up and did a certain hula for everyone. It was very beautiful, so graceful. Then the men got up (to much cheering and laughter from the all the kids) and did one especially for the king and queen. In closing, the queen got up and did a special dance about aloha love and how it goes on and never dies. Soooooo beautiful. There was a lei involved and at the end she presented it to her mom. Apparently it's a huge honor to be chosen to be the queen because of this dance which you would have to perform in front of the entire school. This young girl did an amazing job.

Anyway, it was an extremely fun celebration that the kids have been practicing for ever since we moved here. We are so proud of how well they did--and can't wait til next school year when little Miss Evelyn is going to be one of the little hula dancing, lava lava wearing dancers!