4th Festivities

Our 4th of July started with a trip to church in the morning. It was a wonderful mass which concluded with everyone's singing God Bless America. After church, I was able to get a few shots of the boys out front decked out in their red, white, and blue outfits. L was being a tad bit more cooperative than B. The red chairs made for a perfect 4th picture setting!

Please don't mistake this for brotherly love. L is licking B's ear. Gotta love it!
For the fireworks, we walked up the hill and watched the fireworks display in Kaneohe from the base. We were able to see everything and didn't have to contend with traffic going out in town. I played around with my camera settings and was able to capture a few cool images. I think this particular one looks like a weeping willow tree.
To me, this one looks like an angel or a bird of some sort. Too bad fireworks happen only once a year, because you sure don't get too many chances to get it right!

During the day, we tried to take things pretty easy because we wanted the boys to be able to make it to the fireworks without a meltdown. We went to the beach for a bit and made sure they got a nap. Other than that, we took the day easy and relaxed around the house. As you can see here, my plan did not prevent an after-fireworks display (and yes, they have on Buzz Lightyear and Woody pajamas).

The next day we went to the annual Kailua 4th of July parade. This was the first parade the boys had been to. Initially, B was more interested in what food I had brought for them to eat. However, once he realized the parade people were handing out candy, he thought the parade was a little more interesting.

At the start of the parade, we had a group of horses standing in front of us for a good 15 to 20 minutes. They were beautiful and decked out with holiday leis. I will admit, however, that I had read earlier in the day about some parade folk who were trampled by horses, and I was glad when they went on their way.
L loved waving the flags the many politicians handed out. He planted himself there on the side of the road and waved his flag proudly at everyone who came by.
I'm not sure what group this little guy was with, but he sure was cute. And by golly, he marched his three-legged self down the street with pride. This vehicle was pretty cool all dressed up in Hawaii country finest. It belonged to one of the many political groups marching in the parade. Their group is "Keep the Country Country," which refers to their protest against the development of the North Shore. Basically, they are against hotels coming their way.
B's favorite part of the day had to be the balloons. He had more fun playing with those silly balloons than he did watching the parade.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. Between going to Waimea Falls, fireworks, and the parade, we had a great few days packed full of family time.

Waimea Falls

Waimea Falls, originally uploaded by Deanna Pecina.

It was a dreary, rainy day in Kailua. So, we decided to load the boys up and drive to the other side of the island to do the Waimea Falls hike. It would seem that the North Shore was one of the only dry areas on the island today. The hike is an easy paved hike to the falls. There are numerous side paths that you can take along the way, but with the mud and the boys this would have been a bad combination. We stayed on the paved path all the way there, and I must say it's a beautiful walk. My goal on this little adventure was to play around with my shutter speed while shooting the falls themselves. It took a few tries, but after playing around, I found the right setting and was able to make the falls have the misty look you see here. While it's probably not that big of a feat, I was proud of myself for figuring it out.

Along the way, the boys wanted to know what EVERY sign said. We would answer with things like, "Stay on the path," "Listen to your mommy." Here L was mimicking these responses and pointing claiming the sign said, "Do what mommy says."

This sign just struck me as funny. Only in Hawaii do you worry about getting hit by falling fruit!

L enjoyed exploring the different plants. He and B said they were on "an venture."

They were exhausted by the time we got to the falls themselves. They both wanted to be carried on the way back. I had to inform them that three and a half year olds don't get carried anymore.

B didn't want to be in many pictues today. I was able to snap this one of L looking at the falls.

This picture makes me laugh because I swear B looks JUST like his Uncle Darren. That pose is totally my brother! It makes me laugh because usually I think B looks just like his daddy, but in this picture it's clear he looks just as much like my side of the family as his.

I'm a dabbler

I’ve come to the realization that I’m consistent in my inconsistency. I do a little of this and a little of that. I have a million unfinished projects and even more ideas of things I think I’d like to try or do. I jump from one thought to the other pretty quickly and have found, lately, that I have a hard time following through. I’m also really good at telling other people what they should do or could do but often don’t follow through myself. And, often, I think that I’ll find the direction I’m looking for in a book (it’s the English teacher in me). As a result, I’ve crafted quite the book collection--the latest topics being focused on early childhood learning and discipline--just check out some of the titles in the picture below. So maybe I am good at something after all. In the end, though, I have felt as of late that I am lacking focus.

So, it is with an anniversary gift from my other half that I am diving head first into a new (not really new but not ever really taken seriously) hobby: photography. I got a Canon Rebel XT when the boys were about six months old because I got tired of missing the shot with my slower point and shoot camera. For our anniversary this year, he got me two lenses for my camera to encourage me to start taking pictures more seriously. However, after playing around with my camera and another, I decided that if I’m really going to take this seriously that I needed to upgrade the camera as well. I am already in love with the camera, and I hardly know how to use it. But I can say this: it has, so far, proven itself to be far superior to my other camera.

My plan is to take classes at the University of Hawaii this fall through their outreach college. This will be the first time in a VERY long time that I’ve taken any courses that aren’t education related, and I’m also VERY excited about that fact. I also plan to take pictures and more pictures and even more pictures. I’ll appreciate any and all feedback as I post my favorite photos. I’ll also be willing to take pictures for anyone for the asking. I figure the only way to learn is to do something again and again and again. This holds true to pretty much anything in life when wanting to learn to do it well. While I’m not sure where this will all take me, I’m looking forward to taking this next year to figure it all out. At the very least, I’ll end up with some really fun shots of our boys...