From the category archives:

Photos

Maile Girl, Tomb Raider

by Papa K on June 26, 2016

The day before we left Kauai, Maile and I went on an adventure. It was a kayak hiking trip to check out a small waterfall on the island and, most importantly, go on a rope swing. Maile was most excited about the rope swing.

Maile and Daddy ready to rock our kayak adventure...

Maile and Daddy ready to rock our kayak adventure...

Maile got her very own paddle and actually did a good job manning the front of the kayak.

Maile got her very own paddle and actually did a good job manning the front of the kayak.

Maile showing off some of the pretty flowers she collected along the way...

Maile showing off some of the pretty flowers she collected along the way...

Kayak part done, now off to hike to the rope swing...

Kayak part done, now off to hike to the rope swing...

Maile Girl leading the way...

Maile Girl leading the way...

We had actually gone on this trip once before a couple years ago – that time we compared Maile to Dora the Explorer, but this time she was indeed more of a Tomb Raider! She didn’t even hesitate with the rope swing – she walked right up and jumped on – our little girl that used to hesitate at the top of the slide has come a long way!

One unfortunate part of the trip was that despite using bug spray, poor Maile’s legs got eaten alive and she developed a slight reaction and developed pretty big welts on her legs. They were super itchy and I felt so bad for her. Going in the cool water at the rope swing helped her out and she was a trooper all the way through. The bites were bad enough that I took her to the doctor the next day before we left for home and he prescribed some stronger medicine that really helped get the bites under control. She is indeed my daughter – but didn’t let that stop the adventures!

(Click here for the video.)

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Kite Flying with Papa

by Papa K on June 23, 2016

Today, I took Maile out for a kayak/hiking adventure (more to come on that). While we were away, Lauren got some quality time with Grandma and Papa (and Mommy too). With two little girls competing for their attention, its nice some times to get some 1:1 time!

The wind was blowing nicely, so they decided to head out and fly some kites. Lauren had a blast!

Go go gadget kite!

Go go gadget kite!

Quite proud that she her kite way up high!

Quite proud that she her kite way up high!

Papa Cal helping Lauren keep an eye on things...

Papa Cal helping Lauren keep an eye on things...

Something about flying a kite that just makes you smile…

(Click here for the video.)

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Non-stop Water Fun

by Papa K on June 21, 2016

A trip to Kauai means lots of time in the water for our girls – they basically become fish.

Beach time with Papa Cal!

Beach time with Papa Cal!

Sometimes the water is fought over with water guns...

Sometimes the water is fought over with water guns...

... even Papa Cal got involved!

... even Papa Cal got involved!

On Tuesday we spent the day at the Marriott pool and spent hours goofing around...

On Tuesday we spent the day at the Marriott pool and spent hours goofing around...

Maile is no longer afraid of the big throw from Daddy!

Maile is no longer afraid of the big throw from Daddy!

Lauren most have gone down this water slide 50 times...

Lauren most have gone down this water slide 50 times...

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Today was the end of year picnic for Maile and Lauren’s school. Hard to believe we have another school year in the books! We had a lot of phone running around the park with our friends and playing all the different field games they had from three-legged race to the tug o’ war.

Lauren didn’t need official games there – she and her friends just enjoyed launching themselves off this cement stoop. They must have done this for about an hour…

Lauren, how high did you jump? Wow!

Lauren, how high did you jump? Wow!

And then it was Maile’s turn to crush the tug o’ war with her friends…

Maile's game face for the tug o' war!

Maile's game face for the tug o' war!

Maile and Mommy

Maile and Mommy

(Click here for the first video.)
(Click here for the second video.)

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Hard to believe the end of the school year is almost upon us! On Tuesday, Maile and her first grade classmates put on an end of the year performance for the parents. They sang songs in both English and Chinese and they also read us books that they wrote (in English and Chinese).

Maile and friends ready to perform!

Maile and friends ready to perform!

Maile’s reading has definitely come along way this year – her English reading is better than her Chinese, but she’s making good progress with both. And her writing is awesome – it was fun hearing the stories she came up with (even though Christine and I had a little trouble following along with the Chinese one 🙂

Reading to a very proud Mommy and Daddy :)

Reading to a very proud Mommy and Daddy 🙂

Here’s a video of Maile performing a song about Harriet Tubman. She loses the verse in a few places – but nails the chorus!

(Click here for the video.)

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One of the parents in Maile’s first grade class ran track in college and offered to train some of the kids for a mile run. Over the past couple of weeks we met a couple times at a nearby track and he taught them about running as a group, how to pace yourself, etc. The goal was for them to complete the mile run without stopping.

As it turns out, Lauren tagged along for the training sessions and ended up chasing after Maile and her friends. In the training she finished the mile without problem and became kind of a mascot for the team. So when we signed Maile up for the run, we signed Lauren up too.

Today was the run – called See Jane Run over on a course in Alameda. We headed out in the morning and had a great day – and all the kids did an amazing job. Not only did they all finish, but they also cheered each other on – and in Lauren’s case, Maile and some of her friends ran back and finished the mile with her. Christine and I were quite proud of the girls.

Part of a race is picking up your numbers...

Part of a race is picking up your numbers...

All dressed up in our green PKS t-shirts and ready to rock!

All dressed up in our green PKS t-shirts and ready to rock!

Lauren played the part of mascot well...

Lauren played the part of mascot well...

Stretching out to get things started...

Stretching out to get things started...

Maile Girl too.

Maile Girl too.

Lauren had a few pre-race jitters, but good thing Mommy was there...

Lauren had a few pre-race jitters, but good thing Mommy was there...

Here’s a video of Maile Girl finishing her run…

And here’s Lauren (with Maile and friends cheering her on!)…

Chocolate milk at the end of the run! Christine said she kept Lauren going during the run with chats of Chocolate Milk, Chocolate Milk!

Chocolate milk at the end of the run! Christine said she kept Lauren going during the run with chats of Chocolate Milk, Chocolate Milk!

The whole crew, post run

The whole crew, post run

Look at the muscles on those girls!

Look at the muscles on those girls!

Maile and Tori ran the whole way together - proud finishers!

Maile and Tori ran the whole way together - proud finishers!

One last shot - very proud of my girls :)

One last shot - very proud of my girls 🙂

(Click here for the first video.)
(Click here for the second video.)

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#tbt Daddy Not So Fun

by Papa K on June 2, 2016

Daddy wasn't so fun when he got home from Las Vegas...

Daddy wasn't so fun when he got home from Las Vegas...

This one cracked me up when I stumbled upon it this evening. Also made me realize its been awhile since my last Vegas trip!

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Grandma and Papa Boston have always loved taking the girls to museums. In fact, here’s Maile on her first trip to the MOMA with Grandma Jill and Papa Mike.

The new MOMA just re-opened a few weeks ago – so was a perfect chance to check out the new digs. Its a pretty amazing museum – one of the nicest art museums I think I’ve been to. Excited to have it here in SF and I’m sure we’ll be back again.

Here are some shots of the girls and the rest of us exploring…

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Grandma and Papa Boston flew in to town for the long weekend and we packed in lots of fun while they were here. They arrived Saturday afternoon and left Tuesday AM, but along the way we went to a BBQ, played some bocce with our old neighbors, ate some delicious meals, went to the new SF MOMA (more on that trip later), went to the park with some old friends, went bike riding, walked all over, read, introduced Grandma to Totoro and just had a blast. Whew, I’m tired just thinking about it. And that doesn’t even count Grandma and Papa’s visit to Lauren’s classroom on Tuesday morning, which by all accounts, was pretty epic!

Grandma and Papa Boston with Maile (almost 7) and Lauren (3.5)

Grandma and Papa Boston with Maile (almost 7) and Lauren (3.5)

It was definitely enough to tied us over until later in the summer when we all get together again!

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We’ll miss you GG Kiyoko

by Papa K on May 30, 2016

On Saturday we received the sad news that Great Grandma Kiyoko had passed away. GG Kiyoko was Papa Cal’s mother and a staple of our visits to Kauai. She was a part of every visit and always loved seeing the girls. I can still hear her voice every time just saying over and over: “Oh my, so beautiful!” and then Christine would often say something like “And they are smart too, Grandma!” and she would say, “Yes, yes, but on my, so beautiful!”

Yes, my skin is quite soft. What do I use? Nothing special - I just make sure I moisturize every night.

GG Kiyoko was always admiring our beautiful little girls...

Both girls met Great Grandma when they were about six months old – Maile on December 30th, 2009 and Lauren on June 27th, 2013…

Great Grandma Murashige, Mommy and Me

Great Grandma Murashige, Mommy and Me

Great Grandma Kiyoko, Mommy, Maile (almost 4) and Lauren (almost 6 months)

Great Grandma Kiyoko, Mommy, Maile (almost 4) and Lauren (almost 6 months)

Great Grandma Kiyoko lived in a assisted living home – but seeing the old people needing help around never phased Maile and Lauren. They always went right up and gave GG a big hug and spent some time with her before racing off to the pool. The pool was definitely their favorite part of the visit. For Daddy it was always a little bit too cold (for some reason it was built in the shadows of the building or something – never seemed to get direct sunlight and was always freezing!), but the girls never cared – they absolutely loved being in that pool.

It's kind of hard to get a 1 year old and a great grandma to both look at the camera at the same time...

It's kind of hard to get a 1 year old and a great grandma to both look at the camera at the same time...

When we were talking about GG and the girls on Saturday night, Christine was remembering how on our last visit, GG had moved to a more directly assisted part of the home and Maile noticed that GG’s slipper had fallen off, so she got right down and helped her put it back on. Needless to say Maile took the news particularly hard. Lauren was mainly concerned that Mommy was upset, but Maile felt it and was quite sad. She sat down and wrote a card about GG…

Maile's note to GG :(

Maile's note to GG 🙁

We then talked about how we could remember GG and we decided that we would think of her whenever we went swimming because we love to swim and swimming was a bit part of our visits to see her. That felt right to all of us.

Swimming is fun, but horsing around with Daddy is even better!

We'll always remember GG when we are having fun in the pool...

We love you Great Grandma Kiyoko and we will miss you always!

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