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Update on the Kids

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 19:42:37 -1000

What kind of mother would I be if I didn’t go on and on about my kids? We just spent the afternoon at the beach where it poured. And guess what? I didn’t care that I was wet and cold because the kids were having fun. Crazy huh?!
Aiyana has declared this is the summer she learns to surf. So Cris bought her a soft board from Costco and we have gone to the beach at least twice a week for the past three weeks. That’s more that we’ve gone in the past 10 months!
Isabel finally has her own friends’ birthday party to attend (that her brother or sister aren’t invited to). She is insisting that we drop her off and then come back to pick her up which her daddy says is not going to happen. He says it just to tease her. At least I think he is teasing because really, I’m over going to Chuck E. Cheese’s already!
Cortez LOVES his summer school electives of Cooking and Science (How Things Work) yet when he saw the Army Recruiting Office on Ala Moana Boulevard, he wondered out loud if he should join the Army or Marines before he becomes a FBI Agent. I’m not sure which is better because Papo (his grandfather) was in the Air Force and I’m thinking how I’m going to break it to him how I’m all for him achieving his dreams, but I really don’t want him having some dangerous job.

June 2008

June 2009

June 2010

A Quick Trip to Colorado

Mon, 7 Jun 2010 14:04:19 -1000

It was a difficult decision to make, but I determined, “When else do you spend money you don’t really have unless it’s to gather with family at a funeral?”
What made it more difficult was that Cris wasn’t going to be able to come with us to Colorado for Grandpa Smith’s funeral. Then, I had the added stress of closing out my federal grant and writing a new, competitive grant proposal all going to be due a week after the trip.
Regardless, we packed up and made the trek from Hawaii, to Las Vegas, through Arizona and Utah, into Colorado.
It was, as it always is, great to see family that we hardly ever hear from, or get to visit with, because of the distance between us. I can’t even keep track of how many kids my cousins have or where they work or who they are married to, but the great thing about family is -- well, we’re family, and we just come together.

After the family business was taken care of, we took a couple days to show my kids around the area. We saw deer right outside Aunt Leneé’s front door:

We saw Chief Ouray’s monument to his wife Chipeta (Grandma Smith said Great-great grandpa Elliott claimed to be part-Cherokee) and sang “Happy 44th Anniversary” to my parents:

We visited Uncle Delbert and Aunt Laura on an Alpaca Ranch where we saw llamas, camels, chicken, geese, and were just in time to see a cria (baby alpaca) being born:

We drove higher into the San Juan mountains and swam in the hot springs of Ouray:

Then we bunked in Silverton for two nights and enjoyed Aunt Laura’s cooking and Uncle Delbert’s hunting tales:

A three-hour drive (one-way!) to Mesa Verde and another hour drive to Four Corners is just a Saturday afternoon to most mainlanders. We saw the Cliff Dwellings of the Ancestral Pueblo people (“Anasazi” is no longer PC):

On our way to Four Corners (which was closed for construction!), we stopped for Cortez in Cortez:

I, of course, irritated the kids by making them take a bunch of pictures!

Our last big trek was back in Montrose, Colorado where we hiked through the Black Canyon and cooled off by the Gunnison river.

The drive back to Las Vegas was slow and easy because we stayed overnight in Cedar City, Utah. In fact, we got into Vegas ahead of schedule. A drive down the strip and a buffet lunch at Planet Hollywood’s Spice Market (thanks Wade for the buffet recommendation!) was a great way to end our travels. We miss home and even more, miss Cris!

My Grandpa Smith

Wed, 2 Jun 2010 02:02:44 -1000

It’s six in the morning and I’ve been trying to go back to sleep for the past two hours. The kids and I are in Grand Junction, Colorado with my parents for my grandfather’s funeral. As I lay in bed I began thinking of Grandpa Smith...
He was a man who worked so hard for everything he had. Someone who had the rough hands to prove it. Someone who watched every penny he earned and still made sure he gave his tithes to the church and offerings to missionaries.
Grandpa made biscuits. Every morning. From scratch. As the world changed, so did he. A little. We ate whole wheat biscuits instead of white flour ones, but we still always had heapings of jam and jelly. Homemade. Preserves he and Grandma Smith would make themselves, usually with fruits they grew - peaches, strawberries, even lilikoi when they lived with us on Maui for a couple of years.
I fondly remember those years on Maui. Grandpa taught me to plant, care for, and harvest strawberries at our house in Kula 200. That’s when he helped me build a solor dehydrator for my sixth grade science project. (Papo used it as an excuse to buy me/him a table saw.) We cut and assembled a wooden frame. Then cut soda cans in half and glued the bottoms in rows covered by pexi-glass. We constructed a screen tray to dry fruits - bananas, pineapple, apples. After that, I believed Grandpa could build anything!
He created things with iron. Beautiful pieces. I wish I were older when he did that work so I could have had some of them. Delicate leaves in a wall hanging, a wrought iron vanity with mirrors that pulled out so Grandma could see the back of her hair when she set it. All memories of what my Grandpa could make after spending years working in the steel mill here in Grand Junction.
Grandpa could often be found sitting in his recliner the the afternoon and evenings reading his Bible. It was worn and well-marked after years and years and years of use. I remember visiting him in his eighties and he told me what joy he had just reading God’s Word. What peace and what wonder. I admired his faith. He did hide God’s Word in his heart. He loved the Lord.
Grandpa married my Grandma after her first husband’s sudden death. I remember talking to her about it. She cried when she told me how she never believed a man would love her and want to marry her because she had three small children (ages 3, 2, and 1). Grandpa loved her. Grandpa loved her children. Grandpa loved the Lord and she cried when she told me how amazed she was that he had so much love for them all.
Back in 1992, some friends and I came to Colorado for a ski trip. My grandparents let us stay with them. Grandpa made biscuits for us in the morning and away we went for the rest of the day. When it was time to leave I told Grandpa how much fun we had and that we hoped we could come back and visit again soon. He said, “Well Michelle, you can’t always have fun.” That seemed too odd. But he also had tears in his eyes as he hugged me so hard -- that was how he hugged -- so hard it hurt. I understood what he meant. Nothing mean. Nothing grand. Just a simple reminder that life is not worth anything much if it is always fun. It’s worth so much more when you work hard. When you love. When you are loved.
And Grandpa did love. Ask anyone of his grandchildren about those hugs! Great big hugs -- that hurt because he squeezed so hard. Grandma would say that Grandpa didn’t know his own strength. I think he did. He just didn’t see the point in wimpy hugs. If he was going to give you a hug or a hand shake, it was going to be with all his effort, all his might. That’s how he lived every single day of his life. He gave his all.
Today the children are singing at his funeral. It’s a song that they had performed for their Christmas play in December. The words describe what I think Grandpa believed.
When my time on earth is done, and I stand before the Son.
Will you know me, will you greet me, greet me,
Will you whisper “Child, well done.”

The little child I stopped and feed,
the kind word I turned and said,
Did they see you, did they hear you,
through the simple life I lead?

I want to know Lord, from heaven’s view Lord,
What’s my review Lord? My life’s review.
Did a help a friend or two to come to you?
Did I live a life that you’d get glory through?
I will rejoice, when I hear your voice saying,
“Well done my child, well done.”

Were there angels sent my way, did I stop and entertain?
Were you looking, were you seeing,
if I lived what I proclaimed
I tried to live out what I’d say, not some actor in a play,
You were faithful, you were loyal to lead me through each day.

I want to know Lord, from heaven’s view Lord,
What’s my review Lord? My life’s review.
Did a help a friend or two to come to you?
Did I live a life that you’d get glory through?
I will rejoice, when I hear your voice saying,
“Well done my child, well done.”

Saying “Well done my child, well done.”

When I decided to keep my last name after getting married, a lot was feminist independence, but a little was also a tribute to Grandpa Smith. Such a common name -- Smith -- yet a wonderful and uncommon person. He adopted my father. He raised him in a Christian home. He lead a life that in turn, gave me confidence and strength. I miss his hugs so much. I miss that my children won’t know him. I miss those homemade biscuits and jam.
I know, without a doubt, that James Oras Smith was greeted in heaven and it was with all the angels rejoicing as God said, “Well done my child, well done.”

James Oras Smith

Tue, 1 Jun 2010 03:05:06 -1000

I found Grandpa’s obituary online and it’ll only be up until the end of the month so I thought I’d also post it here:
J. Oras Smith August 27 1913 - May 11, 2010
J. Oras Smith, age 96, of Grand Junction passed away Tuesday, May 11, 2010. Oras was born August 27,1913 in Dunn, Texas to James Ollie and Vivian Smith. He spent his childhood near San Jon, New Mexico. Oras married Lorene Fowler in 1950 with her three children and they later had a son and moved to Grand Junction in 1954.
Church was always very important to Oras and he contributed his time faithfully for many years until his health started to fail. Oras always enjoyed his work. He owned a general purpose mechanic shop with his brother Dorris in Lazear, Colorado. He was a mechanic for Mack Trucks in Seattle, Washington. He enjoyed his work most at Grand Junction Steel. While working there, he attended Mesa College and took drafting courses which helped him become a Lead at GJ Steel. He holds a patent for a multi-articulating mirror.
Oras is survived by two sons, Roy Chris (Flo) and Delbert (Laura) Smith, one daughter, Lenee Grisier, one brother Dalton Smith (Verlene), two sisters, Joy Bertrand and Loiese Bryan. Also surviving Oras are 9 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren and 1 great great grandchild. A service of remembrance will be held Thursday, June 3 at 10:00 a.m. at New Horizon Foursquare Church with a viewing one hour before the service. Burial will follow at Memorial Gardens Cemetery. Lunch will be served at the church after the burial.

A Little Dessert

Mon, 3 May 2010 08:24:15 -1000

Furlough Fridays have become our family “errand” days which works out pretty well because you get all the tedious stuff out of the way and then you have a proper 2-day weekend to just enjoy.
Two Fridays ago, the kids and I stopped at Pearlridge Mall before coming home from a slew of stops and activities to sample some treats from the newly opened Sanrio Cafe.

The mall was pretty crowded that afternoon and we had to trudge up to the food court to find a table and do a proper unboxing. In retrospect, it probably would have been easier to just drive home but we were distracted by the anticipation of enjoying savory treats packed in such a cute container.

I had paused for a moment as we walked away from the cafe to wonder if the counter had packed utensils and napkins. I should have asked, but there was a long line so we were forced to scrounged for the stuff from a food court restaurant. I thought it was odd that they didn’t automatically include at least a few napkins, if not spoons.
The girls choose Strawberry Tapioca. Cortez picked a Caramel Apple Square, and I went with the Strawberry Cheesecake. All came topped with a logo chocolate piece and the tapioca, with chocolate straws.
Now when I wrote “sampled” some treats from Sanrio Cafe, I wasn’t kidding. These $2+ desserts were tiny. Although delicious, and I always say, “You pay for quality!” It was a little underwhelming to take a couple bites and be done.

Cortez and I finished first. The girls took a bit longer. Partially because they are slow eaters, but also because (once Cortez & I helped them finish) I realized their tapioca had such an intense flavor. It was so good, you really did have to slowly savor each bite.
All in all, it was a nice little treat, but if you’re looking to be truly satisfied for dessert Ba-le Sandwich in Sears sells a heaping full cup of banana, chocolate, coconut, and now mango tapioca for something like $1.65!

Would I treat myself again? Probably if I were with the girls and we wanted to be decadent or if I were going to a friends’ house and I wanted a pretty gift to present. It’ll be interesting to see how well the sales go at the Sanrio Cafe once the initial curiosity dies down.

House Plants

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:27:14 -1000

I’ve never been good with plants. So much so that my co-workers would joke about how I killed the air plant in my computer lab.
That all oddly changed after I had my first child. Someone gave me an orchid plant in the hospital and unlike the fresh-cut flowers, here was something (other than my newborn son) that I would now have to keep alive.
Since that time, I’ve actually been successful keeping my house plants in the land of the living. So much so that even after our 10-day trip to California, the plants were alive and thriving.
I researched and found a site that said I needed to train the plants to be without water by gradually increasing the once a week watering to the number of days I would be gone. Then, right before leaving, I was to saturate the plants.
I began their “training” after repotting a few of the plants. When I got back, all the plants were doing just fine.

Then there’s this plant:

This plant has been on our side balcony for the past year and the three leaves never seemed to grow larger. Or die.
I moved it indoors so I could have some “freshness” indoors for spring and when we got home... not only had it grown, it had six additional leaves.
I think I’ve found a new happy place for this plant. Now why won’t the herbs grow?

Anaheim & Chinese Food

Sat, 6 Mar 2010 19:34:25 -1000

We’ve made it to Anaheim! After a forty minute drive from Tahoe to Reno. Then a forty-five minute plane ride from Reno to San Francisco. Followed by a two hour layover and then 90-minute connecting flight to Los Angeles. We picked up our rental car from Avis and drove about thirty-five minutes to the Sheraton Anaheim on Disneyland Drive.
Right now, it’s 9:38 pm and we can hear, but not see the Disneyland fireworks show because we specifically requested the opposite side of the hotel. (It’s closer to the free shuttle!)
They sure are serious about their fireworks because it’s been going since about 9:25 pm and it’s loud, continuous, and hasn’t stopped or slowed down at all.
We were so happy to get adjoining rooms. Cris and I have a room with a King sized bed and sitting area. The kids are next door with two queen beds and most importantly their own television and a door that can close and lights that will go off at 8 pm (their bedtime).
Cris and I decided we would go ahead and spend the additional money to get them their own room since our last trip to San Francisco meant we also had to have an early bedtime with lights off and no television after their bedtime. It was very difficult to just lay in bed, wide awake, hoping they would fall asleep so we could at least work on our computers since turning on the television would just wake them up or keep them up!
Tonight we found a really great Chinese Restaurant called Ten Ten Chinese Seafood on North Euclid Street. Generous portions, decent service, friendly staff, and complimentary warm tapioca dessert! Definitely a place to visit again.
Our plans are to focus on Disneyland tomorrow. Then it’s California Adventure on Monday starting with a Princess Breakfast at Ariel’s Grotto. Then a “free-for-all” on Tuesday. Cris is trying to convince me that we will take advantage of the early admission option we have with our three-day hopper passes. I don’t particularly have any desire to wake up at 6:30 just to get in early to the park. We’ll see.

Blue Skies!

Thu, 4 Mar 2010 18:31:32 -1000

This morning everyone was eager to eat breakfast and then head out because the sun was shining and we could see blue skies.
Cris was busy in the kitchen as I got the kids into their layers and layers and layers of clothes.

I also snapped a few pictures of Aiyana who wiggled her front tooth until it came loose last night.

The weather held for most of the day giving us many runs and in the end, ALL the children were fairly independent as evidence when Aiyana and Isabel went up on the lift by themselves!
Donner Downhill is a quaint and quiet ski resort. Perfect for families with younger children. The staff and instructors are so friendly. Today we discovered the fire pits and immediately someone came out and turned started a fire going. Isabel and Cortez had fun making s’mores while Cris and Aiyana hit Eagle Rock. It was as if their return to the lodge was cue for Cortez and Isabel to venture back out -- together of all things!

We toyed with the idea of turning in our equipment and just letting the children ski/snowboard tomorrow, but were peer pressured into keeping them because Isabel declared she was ready for the bigger slopes and is determined to ride the “cushioned lift” in the morning.

It’s difficult to get a group picture! I finally forced the two of the three kids to stop and got my picture taken with them. Who knows where Isabel was?!?!

It’s Still Snowing!

Wed, 3 Mar 2010 18:56:53 -1000

We woke up this morning and it had snowed all night and the snowing didn’t let up all day. Reports claimed 10 inches of “freshies” by lunch and by closing another 4 inches had been added.

All the snow did not stop Isabel. She had a Snowflake class (Level II) in the morning and once hot cocoa warmed her belly she wanted to get out and ski some more. You can see how much snow there was -- her boots are buried and this is right outside the lodge.
Cortez was moving all day and who knows where he got the energy. It didn’t matter to him that he was starting to look like a moving snow-boy -- his helmet shows the accumulation of snow from riding the lift.

Aiyana wanted an “Improving” lesson. I suspect that she just wanted to hang out with Geoffrey, her ski instructor from yesterday. They did the steeper run, called Eagle Rock, most of the the afternoon. I forced her to come down the bunny hill so I could get some pictures.

She went by too quickly for me to take pictures. Plus it was cold so I wanted to head down too.
Aiyana lead Cris and Cortez down the Eagle Rock while forced Isabel back to the condo. She complained the entire way back, saying she could do the big hill if I just let her. I let her play in the snow outside the condo and she seemed to enjoy it once she was resigned to the fact that I wouldn’t change my mind.

So far we are having a blast, but seriously... who is responsible to shovel all this snow?!?!

Snowflakes

Tue, 2 Mar 2010 17:30:07 -1000

Our first day at Tahoe Donner Downhill was a success! We were a little sluggish getting ourselves up in the morning after an entire day (5:30 AM - 8:30 PM) of traveling to get to Truckee. However, the pace picked up after we called to find out Snowflake lessons (for Isabel) started at 9:30 and we needed to get there thirty minutes prior to pay and rent the equipment.
The kids put on about four layers of clothes and we piled into the car thinking driving to the slope would be easier the first day since we weren’t sure exactly where we were going.
We drove up to the ski lodge and Cris dropped us off. He drove down past about fifteen parking stalls and found our condo!
Isabel checked in to the Snowflake lessons and Cris & I decided we’d go ahead and take refresher lessons ourselves too. Cortez & Cris rented snowboards and Aiyana and I opted for skis.
By noon we were ALL riding the Snowbird lift and coming down the bunny slope. Isabel surely would have done it all by herself except you need to be six to ride the lift alone!
We’re all back in the condo (which is nice and cozy) and I’ve come to the realization that Cris and I would never survive living in cold climates. Shoveling snow is hard and a lot of work and neither of us wants to build a fire because we know clean up will be even more work!
We’re thinking Isabel will take lessons again tomorrow morning. She is ready to learn how to turn and also I of no help to her if she fall because I’m not that capable on skis myself!
Cris is making pizza for dinner and I’m sure we will all sleep soundly tonight.