Thanx 4 da Memories!

The weather is cold and as I type the sun is shining through my bedroom window and the sound of the pitter pattering raindrops has ceased. I don't even know how long it's been since the rain stopped. I've been in my bedroom for almost 24 hours, maybe more. As I shiver and shack from the cold I think back to our family trip back to our beloved Hawaii in July and I realize I haven't finished scrapping the photos we took on 'Oahu.

Here are a few pages dedicated to our fun ride on the 'Oahu Railway & Land Train. This is something special to me because this train used to run through my home town of Wai'anae way back during the sugarcane plantations. The train ran from the west coast of 'Oahu through Wahiawa into Kahuku to the sugar refinery. Now just a small portion of the tracks are being used and restored by the Railway Historical Society. They have 90 min. train rides every Sunday. . . except the 4th Sunday of December. link

Here's my sister and her fab hubby.
It was their anni. & Ron's b-day (ingenious of them).

The special made passenger car for Dillingham
[co founder of 'Oahu Railway & Land].
I must ride in it some day.

The gorgeous woman waving is my niece
[behind her is her handsome husband and adorable son]
. . . she's just 9 years younger than me.
I'm a 30 year old grandaunt...
in fact Keiko is only 4 mos. older than my grandnephew.

Precious moments I'm glad we captured. . .
Daddy teaching daughter to shaka. . .
her shaka is a shaking fist [no thumb or pinky sticking out].

Kanalu had a great time making train noises during the train ride.
Kolu fell asleep fast. . .
the picture I got of him wasn't very good
but he fell asleep on Aunty Wendy's lap.
Kolu aka Bubba absolutly loves Aunty Wendy and Uncle Ron
because he gets that extra bit of affection from them
that his siblings usually hog at home.

The boys had a good time in the train yard too.

They didn't have a Waianae car so we had to settle for the Nanakuli car.
Don't ride in this car if you want to hear the narator.
This car is right next to the engine which is super loud.

Behind us is the power plant. . .
when I was little my dad told me that the big tower
[which has lights that blink on the top to warn low flying aircraft]
is winking at me.
Till this day I still think of that moment and
imagine that it's still winking at me.

We thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon on the train.
But the best part was being with our family.
Thanks for the memories Nana Banana!

AND...
Thank you everyone for the sweet get well comments!!! Kolu did end up getting sick so I was blessed with an entire sick family. On Monday Piko went back to work. When he came home for his lunch break. . . he works 10 mins away from our house. . . I made the comment, "you didn't get to mow the lawn and the weather is supposed to get bad soon." I wasn't scolding just saying with a really kind voice and he felt really bad. He asked me how my day was going and it was going perfectly. . . the boys did their school work with me in my bed while I nursed Lynea and Keiko made pretend that she had school work to do too. It really was way better than I was imagining it would be but what made it perfect is that when Piko was ready to go back to work he took a second look at us all as he walked out of the house . . . I must have looked terrible. . . he came back into the house and walked into the workout room/man room/storage room. When he emerged from the W/M/S room he started to change his clothes. . . don't ever come over unannounced people; my husband changes his clothes while walking throughout the house. I asked him why he was changing and he said,"I'm going to mow the lawn." He proceeded to tell me that he took the rest of the week off so he could take care of us. . . like Piko's name sake [Kolu is named after him] he has an amazing immune system because he was just like Kolu as a little boy. . . if any of you know him from hanabudah days. . . he did the same dirty things as Kolu does, minus the blanket thing. I've pretty much been in bed with baby. . . except on Tuesday I needed to get out so I went coupon shopping at Walgreens, Target, Toys R Us, Barnes and Noble, and the local grocery store (4 hours to myself!!!). Piko's been taking care of the other sick kids while I concentrate on Lynea. . . she has a stuffy nose and she can't breath while sleeping on her back so she sleeps on her tummy on my chest or I'll prop her up on some pillows but I worry that she'll choke on her mucus so I stay near her all day or Piko will take over if I need a nap or potty break. Sick babies are the worst. She's just got a mini cold but I can't be too cautious. . . better safe than sorry! Piko's the man, he's been so great at caring for us. . . hot chocolate with whipcream and cinnamon sprinkled on top with breakfast...back rubs..."yes hunny" when I need him. It's been great. This makes me more excited for ETERNITY with him. [The clothes still need to be folded but the dishes are being washed by your's truly of course, yet I'm still happy.]

luvs and kisses, prayers and wishes!