Summer Time and Summer Lovin in SoCal!!

Let's try this again! LOL! The kids are now another year older and wiser. Ali'i will be entering 5th grade and Deleina will be entering 3rd grade when school begins again on Sept. 13!! This will be Ali'i's final year in Elementary.....bittersweet feelings about this! My first-born is growing up so fast and there is nothing I can do about it :( Deleina is going to be tested to see if she would be a fit for the GIFTED program per her teacher's request.

Before the kids summer break began I made a promise that I wouldn't let the kids just sit in the house and do normal kid things. I didn't want the kids to be stuck to the TV or XBOX the entire summer break. I'm actually pretty proud of myself for finding some cheap yet fun activities so far! The kids and I have been hitting up our brand-new (well it's more like 3 yrs old) library once a week. They signed up with the Library reading club. They understand that even though they are on break, they are responsible for keeping their brains active and reading is a good way to do that! Ali'i needs to strenthen his reading skills and Deleina is a very sharp reader (in 2nd grade she was reading at a 4th grade level.) I found this really super cheap movie theater in RPV and now Tuesdays are our family movie nights. Try this on for size.....Eclipse for $20?!! On Tuesdays all day and night, movies are $4.00 per person and if it's a 3D movie they add on an extra $2.00! This pass Tuesday we watched Despicable Me in 3D and that movie was hilarious!! It was too cute!! My kids also found a new love in "Michael's", the arts and crafts store! I absolutely love that store!! They have sooo many art projects under one roof and pricing on things is good. So far we have made our own ice cream, painted stained glass (more like 20 pieces), and the kids have decorated their own mugs. Yes, Jaidyn is involved in everything that the older 2 are doing. It's kinda fun that way! She keeps things lively!! LOL!

I'm also going back to my roots. My Mom doesn't cook pretty much at all! She is getting older but she is dealing with things that she shouldn't have too....which in turn is taking up all her time. So I've decided to take it upon myself to learn how to cook all the amazing Samoan dishes that I loved soooo much when I was little. When I'm cooking I have my girls in the kitchen with me. My girls love to help in the kitchen.....Ali'i has to be in the mood, which he is most of the time =)

One lesson that I have learned thus far with my kids and parenting style.......Russ and I have sheltered and protected (some say we are OVERprotective parents) our kids so much. Now we are realizing all that protecting and shielding that we have done for them has pretty much handicapped them!! Not cool!!! We are doing all we can to rectify this but at the same time kicking ourselves for not letting go.....even just a little bit! Jaidyn as a 3 year old has done more than what we use to allow Ali'i and Deleina to do. For instance her being in the kitchen while the stove is on....the older 2 weren't allowed in there if the stove was on. I actually just started cooking with the older 2 for about 1 year now. Jaidyn is alot more comfortable in a kitchen veruses the older two. It's amazing to watch you kids finally come into their own! As frustrating as some days maybe I'll never want to change or trade my kids for anything. They are each very different in so many ways but when one gets hurt or when one gets into trouble the other 2 are right there ready to go and comfort the sibling that is down and out. These are the memories that I will hold dear to my heart and cherish for the rest of my life! My kids are not perfect, but in my book, they are pretty darn close!! Love them to death!!