Thank you Grandma Gail and Papa Cal for taking care of my girls all last week. By all accounts they had an amazing time. Special thanks for letting us get Lauren going on the potty training in your home instead of ours 🙂

Enjoying a popsicle break with Grandma Gail...

Enjoying a popsicle break with Grandma Gail...

Maile Girl and Papa Cal - she keeps getting bigger and bigger!

Maile Girl and Papa Cal - she keeps getting bigger and bigger!

Saying good bye at the airport - we'll be back soon!

Saying good bye at the airport - we'll be back soon!

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Chats with Maile

by Papa K on July 6, 2015

Last week while Maile was in Hawaii we would have little chats in the afternoon over Facetime. For some reason they felt different than our normal conversations. We talk all the time, of course, but when we are home there always seems to be something else competing for our attention – a toy, a game, a little sister. Getting 10 minutes just the two of us is pretty rare. Christine says Maile often blabbers to her on the way home from school, but by the time I get home from work, I don’t get quite as much detail. I guess since I was not there, I was privy to the “blabber” – and I loved it. It was really nice just talking with her, hearing about her day, telling her about mine. Goofing around a little bit. And yes, some tears too.

She also seemed older to me – made me realize how crazy it is that in just a few short days she will be 6 years old.

In any event, I really enjoyed it. Going to find some ways to make it a more regular occurrence even when we are both home in SF!

Sometimes we were happy...

Sometimes we were happy...

... sometimes we were goofy...

... sometimes we were goofy ...

... and sometimes we were sad :(

... and sometimes we were sad 🙁

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Like her big sister before her, Lauren loves giving manicures. Freshly supplied while in Hawaii courtesy of Grandma Gail, she set to work. As you’ll see, Lauren takes her craft very, very seriously!

Even Papa got in on the action…

Dad note: The multi-tasking here is epic – I’ve never seen a nail salon that had the Red Sox games on. Lauren might be on to something…

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

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Let’s just say we don’t come across many lizards in San Francisco…

Pretty brave though – they were really going after it!

(Click here for the video.)

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Judging by the photos and videos I’ve been getting, there’s a pretty good chance that my girls haven’t left the water since arriving on Kauai!

And, of course, not to be out done…

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

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Tinkering School Follow-up

by Papa K on June 29, 2015

As you know Maile attended this great camp at the Tinkering School last week. They posted a video on their blog today about what the kids built and I thought I’d share:

Action shot of the car going over the bridge...

Action shot of the car going over the bridge...

How cool was that!?

How cool was that!?

They also wrote blog posts all week long (which I didn’t realize until today) that tells a fun story about the week:

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday

(Click here for the video.)

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On Saturday, Christine took the girls to visit Grandma and Papa Hawaii. I received a text message when they landed and it seemed like mere minutes later I was already receiving videos of the girls jumping around in the backyard pool. My imagination has it that they literally threw their bags in their room, jumped into their bathing suits and were half way out the door before Mommy, Grandma and Papa could catch up…

BTW – Lauren 100% gets an “A” for effort in this video. Her determination to copy anything Maile does is awesome.

Just the beginning of lots of fun in the Hawaiian sun...

Just the beginning of lots of fun in the Hawaiian sun...

(Click here for the video.)

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Two years ago on our summer trip to Hawaii Lauren learned how to sit up by herself…

Lauren sitting for the first time in Hawaii...

Lauren sitting for the first time in Hawaii...

Christine is taking the girls to Hawaii on Saturday for the week (I, unfortunately, am missing this trip). Can’t wait to see what the girls figure out on this trip!

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Tinkering School

by Papa K on June 24, 2015

This week Maile is going to camp at the Tinkering School – a really cool camp that Christine found. Over the course of the week, the kids build a solution to a problem using all sorts of tools. This week they are trying to move a big box across a bridge (that they are also going to construct) and onto a boat.

From their web site: “We can promise this: we make big art, we build big things and we go amazing places.” – Pretty cool!

Maile has been pretty excited about using the tools (she said she was scared of the electric saw at first, but today she started using it). It’s a mix-aged camp as well and I think the kids really get a kick out of the “size” of the projects they are making.

Maile in front of the game plan that the kids have been working out...

Maile in front of the game plan that the kids have been working out...

Maile showed me the crane that she's been working on - this is the base. The kids have been cutting the wood and drilling it themselves.

Maile showed me the crane that she's been working on - this is the base. The kids have been cutting the wood and drilling it themselves.

Can’t wait to see where they end up by Friday!

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Sticky, Sticky Bubble Gum

by Papa K on June 23, 2015

She’s still a few months away, but clearly Lauren is gearing up for preschool…

PS – She LOVES this song. Ask her to sing it, next time you see her 😉

(Click here for the video.)

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