When we eventually end up in the ER with Lauren, we’ll be able to show the doctors this video and say, “it roughly happened like this”…
(Click here for the video.)
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maile
Lauren has taken a keener interest in how the Facetime chats with the grandparents work. No longer content with being on screen, she is now excited about directing and framing the shot.
Director Lauren and her star, Maile Girl
Unfortunately, her technique makes everyone pretty dizzy. BTW – I love Maile’s face at the end of this video – it’s the perfect “big-sister-are-you-kidding-me?” look 🙂
(Click here for the video.)
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School ended on Tuesday … and camp started on Wednesday! (That’s the way we roll with Mommy and Daddy both working 🙂
A couple years ago I heard about this camp called Steve & Kate’s and I thought it looked like a lot of fun. Maile was old enough to attend this year so we thought we’d give it a try.
Early returns are extremely positive – she’s been two days so far and has come home (a) full of stories and (b) exhausted. Those are two requirements of a good camp in my book 🙂
Our little camper - ready to rock!
At the entrance to Steve & Kate's
The camp is setup as a number of different “studios” and the kids came bop around as they please during the day. So far it seems Maile has been spending a lot of time in the Fashion Studio – she designed and sewed her very own pillow; the breadmaking studio – we ate her creation for dinner last night and it was quote good; the dance studio – picking up some new moves and sharing some she’s developed on her own; and judging by her freckles and tint of red – plenty of time running around outside. Every week they also have “special” things they bring in – this week is a climbing wall. This may come as a shock, but Maile has decided NOT to participate in that activity 😉
She also has a bunch of friends attending – including Sophie and Jake and a bunch of friends from school. Looking forward to an awesome summer!
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Incredibly, three years have past and Maile has finished preschool and in the fall will head to Kindergarten.
When she started on August 8th, 2011, this was our little girl…
Maile Girl - all ready for her first day of school!
And yesterday…
And now, this is our preschool graduate!
I can’t say enough about the experience we’ve had over the past three years at Presidio Knolls – Maile has certainly blossomed in all types of exciting ways from her artistic ability to her language (both English and Chinese) to her interactions with her friends … but the best part of all was the love that Maile developed for school and that she received back from her teachers. Maile ran into her classroom almost every day – more than anything else that is what we were hoping for from her preschool experience and it was delivered in spades.
Yesterday’s end of year/graduation ceremony also showed how well the teachers know Maile and her classmates – their strengths, their quirks, the little things that make them tick. After welcoming us and singing some songs, the teachers shared a personal message for each student and gave them their diploma. For Maile, Ruth LaoShi said:
Your artistic talent continues to thrive. Whatever we make in class, you add more embellishment and take it to the next level. You take your job seriously and responsibly. You take care of others around you. When we get together to work on projects, you take the initiative to start conversations and ideas. You gather the group up to make decisions together. Thank you for being you and for your leadership.
I think that captures Maile at almost 5 quite nicely – it leaves out some aspects of her personality – along with those strengths are the challenges of patience, sharing and just enough selfishness to drive you bonkers sometimes. But a lot of that is just a 5 year old little girl learning her way in the world. Ruth shared with me later that Maile really challenges you – she pushes you to be on the top of your game because most of the time she can keep up. I agree. And most of the time it is wonderful to be a participant in those challenges … most of the time 😉
Maile receiving her diploma from her lao shis: Shu-ying, Ruth and Fei
Maile singing along with all her friends...
Are they talking about me?
Here’s a bit from the beginning of the ceremony – they stood up one line at a time and said some words in Chinese and English and then sang a song in Chinese.
One more note about Ruth – at PKS they break the classes down into smaller groups. Most of the time they do things together as a full class, but they do more focused projects with their smaller teams of 5-6 kids and that teacher really spends a lot of time with then. Ruth was Maile’s team lead for most of the past three years. She’s an incredible teacher and we know she’s one we will always remember.
Maile and Ruth Lao Shi
Three years ago, I ended that post about Maile’s first day of school with this picture and caption:
I have a feeling we'll be chasing her from here on out...
I was right.
She's getting faster...
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On Saturday we headed over to the annual PKS Spring Picnic. The school is getting kind of big now (7 preschool classes, 2 kindergarten and a first grade) so there were tons of kids running around all over. The organizing parents planning some fun activities – including some field day-style events like the three-legged race and tug-o-war. It was a beautiful day and we had a blast celebrating the end of another school year and the start of summer!
They had an ice cream truck - and I actually think this was Maile's first visit to one - for posterity, let the record show she went with the watermelon popsicle...
... while her sister dug into the real thing!
As if a popsicle wasn't enough, later Maile and her friend Zoe shared the biggest ICEE I've ever seen...
... and they enjoyed being goof balls about it!
Time to get serious - Maile's first tug-o-war - great body position - she's ready to rock!
(Click here for the video.)
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For the past few years, we’ve had a tradition of going on a bike ride for father’s day. This year, Lauren joined for the first time. We rented a trailer and the girls both sat in that while I pulled it and Christine pedaled along side, stopping occasionally to document the adventure.
I felt like Rocky in the Rocky IV training scene where he is pulling Paulie in the sled – except I was biking over the Golden Gate Bridge on a beautiful sunny day instead of in the Russian winter.
My girls are decidedly cuter than Paulie though…
Mommy and Maile
Mommy and Lauren
I taught Lauren why we need to wear a helmet to keep our heads safe...
... and then she shared with everyone else 🙂
For the ride itself we rode up over the Golden Gate Bridge and back – perfect weather and it was a first going over the bridge for both Lauren and Mommy!
Family picture halfway through the ride
This was actually Mommy's first time riding over the Golden Gate Bridge too!
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With almost 5 years of material under our belts, we can definitely handle a little #TBT (throw back Thursday) action here on hapa-haole.net.
Christine actually inspired me when she sent me a link to this video tonight. This feels SO long ago!
(Click here for the video.)
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On Saturday, Maile had her second dance recital with the Tutu School. If you need a refresher on where we left off, here’s a link to last year’s.
This year’s theme was the garden and Maile’s group was the finale – dressed in red as roses.
Our ballerina, striking a pose!
I managed to get a pretty good video this year – Maile starts off on the far left of the screen…
I think it’s fair to say, stage fright is not a problem with Maile Girl – she loves performing and being on stage!
(Click here for the video.)
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Lauren, Maile, Kate, Hannah, Willa and Sophie
We headed down to Hannah’s house for a play date with the girls both older siblings (Maile, Hannah and Sophie) and younger (Lauren, Kate and Willa). We made a good effort a group shot – but not quite there yet 😉
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Thought this was a cute one to start the week with 🙂
(Click here for the video.)
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