August 2024

 

Jane started 4th grade. She was nervous about school this year because her BFF wasn't going to be in her classroom. 

She was excited about her teacher, Mrs. Apio.

Meanwhile, Kate was sick at home with pneumonia for a week. She was really sad to miss the first week of school.

Rebekah leads a group of women hiking every quarter. This has been our highest attended group with 7 people! We hiked the 2 mile loop at Judd Trail.

Finally!! She was able to feel better and go to school. This girl HATES missing school. This will be her last year at Kanoelani Elementary- 6th grade.

To celebrate the new school year, we took some friends to Wet N Wild with

 Auntie Koko and Uncle Jesse.

Hiking/exploring Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden.

Baby shower for my work friend, Sara.

Photos by Auntie Koko

Honolulu Century Ride 2024 - a tropical storm hit the night before, so there was a lot of debris on the roads. I think Bryan ended up getting 2 flat tires and had to Uber to the finish line because he had a plane to catch later that evening. Phew!

Kate's first attempt at making grandma's Sloppy Joes.

August 2018

Vacation is over.  Time to get back to real life!  We headed back to Texas to pack up our house and move to our new house in Harker Heights.  The girls were pretty curious with the packers and moving truck.  I think it was good for them to see because we had been talking about it for quite some time.  Our neighbors were so helpful with watching them, giving us treats, and making sure the trash was out and plants watered.  

Bryan started in-processing and I started finding information about gyms, schools, gymnastics, library, stores, swim lessons, and putting the house back together.  This move wasn't too difficult as it was only 150 miles up the road.  We were able to keep all of our cleaning supplies, plants, and garage scraps. 

We've been busy learning the neighborhood, exploring the school grounds, and riding our bikes.  The girls like to get fancy when they ride their bikes!

We met our brother-in-law Kent for dinner while he was in town.  It was nice to catch up with their family's happenings!

Grandma Koplin is already sending my beautiful girls packages in the mail (at their new house)!

Bryan and I completed the Hotter than Hell Hundred (HHH) in Wichita Falls, Texas.  His brother Mike only lives 4 hours away, so we dropped the girls off with him and headed to the race.  It was really hot, but we survived! Our overall time was 6:30, but our bike time was 5:40.  My goal was riding less than 6 hours!!

Kate lost her first tooth at Mike's house.  Luckily, Bryan pulled it out so we didn't have to pay $200 for his dentist skills!  The tooth was literally rotting.  Bryan barely had to do anything.  She was so excited to have the tooth fairy visit.  She wrote a cute little note about giving the tooth to a baby and possibly getting some candy.  She sure got some candy- a whole bag of chewy gummy lifesavers. 

Visiting with cousins in Ardmore, Oklahoma while mommy and daddy ride their bikes.  The girls did really well together.  It is so nice that family lives only 4 hours away.  Can't wait to do stuff together!

Kate started school at Skipcha Elementary on Monday August 27, 2018. She laid out her clothes and shoes the night before.  She prepared her backpack and I made her lunch.  When I woke her in the morning, she told me she could hardly sleep throughout the night because she was so excited!  She rode her bike, while mommy ran with the stroller to drop her off in Mrs. Rich class.  She was so brave.  i almost shed a tear.  Kate gave Jane the cutest kiss right before we left.  She told her she was going to miss her, but would see her after school was over.  When we picked her up, she said "School was soo awesome!"

I am so proud of her.  She will do great things.

BUSY APRIL

Lots of house projects this month.  We finally got around to fixing up the Master shower.  Bryan did a fabulous job!

We painted the deck and laid down grass in certain areas of the yard.  

Bryan ran in the SAMMC half marathon with some friends.  The girls were pushed in the stroller as well and he did awesome! Even for not running in quite some time.

 The finished project! Looks AMAZING!

HOPPY Easter!! The girls were so excited to look for eggs and get lots of fun toys and treats in their Easter baskets this year.  They each got a swim suit, bubbles, chocolate bunny, marshmallow peeps, and a giant swimming pool. 

 Kate sporting her new Frozen swimsuit.  

 Jane in her Moana swimsuit.

 Our landscaping project.  We got these bricks and put a circle around our front tree and a loop around the front part of the house.  Bryan got it all ready for when my parents came and it looked so good!

My parents were so helpful when they came down to visit this month.  We got to work on the house and they we got to play.  We went to the Aquarium...

and played at the inflatable park.  We went down to the River Walk and did a boat tour.  My dad helped trim the palm trees, lay down grass, fix the downstairs outlets, and plant some flowers and plants in the front yard.  Mom and I went shopping.  It was so nice to have them around.  They were so helpful.  Dad also built the girls this beautiful playhouse from Costco that the girls absolutely adore.  My parents are awesome!

I went on my first 100K bike ride.  Getting ready for the Seattle to Portland in July!  This race was called the Fiesta WildFlower 100K bike ride.  

We have also been working on this little number.  Bryan purchased a fixer upper back in December.  It has been a lot of work.  We had some walls torn down, new support beams put in, opened up the kitchen a bit, fixed the bathrooms, had the walls painted, painted the kitchen and bathroom cabinets,... still lots to be done!  This video was sent to my mother to show her the progress.