All through October, I asked Na'u what she wanted to be for Halloween and most every response was "treak-or-treat". I was expecting that maybe she'd say tinker bell or little mermaid but she didn't. I don't think she quite gets the whole Halloween concept of dressing up as something/anything, say one little phrase, and get loads of candy in return. Since Na'u wasn't very passionate in what she wanted to be, Cam and I decided that they would be....
Oompa Loompas from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.







Na'u loved her orange face and green hair. It was a hastle to put Iwi's look on, but I am very happy how everything turned out :). Although, I wish I had decided what they were going to be a little earlier so that I wasn't stressing but that's just how it goes.

We joined my brother's ward for trunk-or-treating. On our way over, I had the following conversation with Na'u.

Me: Na'u, what do you say to people so that they give you candy?
Na'u: Can I have candy, please?
Me: No, you just have to say, trick-or-treat. What do you say?
Na'u: Can I have candy, please? Trick-or-treat.
Me: (lol) No...just trick-or-treat. You don't have to say, Can I have candy please. So what do you say....
Na'u: Can I trick-or-treat.

I just LOVE it! We have drilled the "Can I please" phrase into her so much that she carried it over to Halloween. What a little cutie! By the time we actually went out, she said trick-or-treat a couple of times. Then she decided that she didn't want to say anything but hold out her bucket for people to put candy in. This method was still very effective :).

Alot of people had games for the kiddies to play.


We ran into our cousin Ashley there with her cute Tigger. As you can see, I did dress up but no one knew who I was. I'm suppose to be Vironica Salt trying to stay with the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory theme but I guess this character wasn't a very known character like Violet. Oh well, I tried :). I should have just worn a santa hat and been Mrs. Claus.


The Oompas with Uncle Keola and Uncle Kana.


They feel asleep on our drive over to Kaneohe to visit their cousins. Notice the green from their hair ALL over their carseats? I didn't think about that little detail:).


The Oompas LOVE spending time with their Kaneohe cousins! They had the cutest costumes ever! La'iku was a lobster in a pot, Chan was the customer, Chris and Sina were chefs, Ka'ehu the lobster catcher, and Sarai the waitress. Such a cute idea! Channy and her grandma made all of their costumes....so talented!






Halloween day Evan and Paigy came over. We decided to go trick-or-treating right around our neighborhood.


You can see Cameron's costume here. He is a member of A Touch of Gold. He came straight from a show and made it just in time to go door-to-door collecting the goods.


A Hello Kitty pumpkin


Every year, this particular house in our neighborhood makes a huge sculpture in their front yard based on a movie that came out earlier in the year. In the past, they have done Kong Fu Panda and Pirates of the Carribean. This year was Avatar. Definately COOL!


We hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween just as we did!


With all that sweets, don't forget to brush your teeth :).

(Cameron's Post)
So, like most American Families, I work during the day. I guess it's my duty as Father to be the breadwinner for the family. Anyway, working a 9 hour shift as a policeman can vary. Sometimes its fun and exciting, and other times is long and boring. We'll, I'm grateful that I have a GREAT message plan with my cell phone company.

Now, I've always been kind of a tech savvy person. So, getting the new iphone was never a doubt in my mind. However, I was excited when my wife told me that she too wanted the iphone. It didn't take long before Lohi was learning all the tricks to the phone. I decided to get an unlimited messaging plan (unlimited text, picture, and video messaging), since we text each other now and then (plus I use a lot of texting for work).


Well, like I mentioned before, sometimes work can be long and boring. So of course, I call Lohi and chat with her and the kids. But talking can get repetitive. So Lohi started sending me pictures. One day, she sent me 4 pictures within a half hour time period. IT MADE MY DAY! I was able to see what my kids were doing, and put a smile on my face throughout the day.

Since then, Lohi has been great at sending me pictures everyday. She sure is taking advantage of having an unlimited message plan. Whether it be a picture of the kids swimming in the pool, a fresh injury from falling, or even some bananas growing in our backyard, the pictures make me feel like I'm with the kids all day. Thank you Lohi for taking the time to do this.


Now, she sends me videos once in a while. And with the new iphone, we can even Facetime (video chat) from time to time. Technology is great!

So for all of you who have similar message plans, take advantage of it. Send your wife/husband a random picture, or even a short video. An unexpected picture from a loved one will put a smile on any one's face.

Last weedend we went to the Aloha Week Parade. I'm pretty sure that every island has this and different festivities through out this time of year. But I know for sure they have it on Moloka'i. I grew up going to the parade and the ho'olaule'a, but this was the first time that I went here on Oahu.

Here we are on the median waiting for the parade to start.

I was a bit sad that Na'u didn't get to see all of this because she was on Moloka'i again. I knew she would have loved it all. Maybe next year.

For these Aloha Week festivities, they have a royal court that attends all the different events.


...and for the parade, they have pa'u riders that represent each island. There is a princess and her court. These riders (and horses) are dressed in their island color. They are soooo beautiful. Secretly I've always wanted to be one :). They look so graceful guiding their horse to either side of the street, smiling and bowing to everyone. I figure I can ride a horse and smile, should be nothing to it :). Here is....

Moloka'i


Ni'ihau


Oahu


Maui


Lana'i
This is one of my hula sisters from Ka Pa Hula O Ka Lei Lehua. She did awesome!


Here is a close-up of Lana'i's horse's adornments. BEAUTIFUL! Alot of work goes into preparation starting weeks in advance.


And here's our friend Mandy who was singing and playing ukulele behind Lana'i's pa'u riders.


Kaho'olawe


Kaua'i


Big Island


There were many bands that participated. Here is Cameron's high school Marching Band. He said he marched in this parade when he was a freshman. It was "super hot, and super long." In fact, they're wearing the same uniform.


There were floats that came by all beautifully decorated with native flowers. Some even had hula dancers like this one.


We had so much fun. Can't wait til next year!

FYI-All pictures and videos were taken with our iphones :).

We were all at my Aunty Nei's house practicing songs for her funeral and papa Ipo was taking care of Iwi boy. It was late and I think he just wanted to be in his own bed. I could hear him fussing for a while. When we were finished, I came back upstairs and found my son like this. He wasn't responding to the carrying and rocking and I'm pretty sure that my dad was getting tired too. My dad plugged Iwi's ears, played some music and my son was out like that. Thank you IPOD (and papa :)!

I've always admired those of you who are consistent with your blogs. My intentions are there and I go through little spurts of wanting to up keep this thing but always fall into those non-posting slumps. I would like to change that.

This sudden change came on because of what happened to our computer a few weeks ago. It DIED. All of our information...gone. The computer wouldn't even turn on. The most important things on there was ALL of our pictures and videos from the past two years. Cameron was on a mission to retrieve whatever we could. He hopped on craigslist and found a guy out in Laie. As soon as he was off from work he headed out there. This guy worked on it for a few hours with no success. Cam found another guy out in Kapolei and went straight there. Cam left the computer with him and after a few hours, he was able to get our pictures from 2009. This guy said that the longer the computer ran, the more corrupt the system became. Since it took so long, he got a new part (I don't know what it's called), reinstalled everything, and gave us back the old hard drive. I was happy to know that all of Iwi's birth and the first half of his life was saved and that MAYBE someone else could get the rest of the pictures and videos. Through "police business" Cameron met this other computer wiz who offered to help. I was so hopeful. This computer guy tried but the old computer went COMPLETELY dead. I'm so SUPER sad even til this day. I don't think that I'll ever get over it but I'm looking forward to taking even more pictures then before.

Although this is such a sad story, I have definitely learned my lesson. We always meant to back up our files but never got around to doing it. Please learn from us. Don't wait till tomorrow. Just do it. I'm also kicking myself because if I had kept up with this blog, then I would have had most of my pictures...at least the more important ones anyways.

So with all of that being said, I'm starting this thing up....again :).

A few days ago, I mentioned to Cameron how one of these days (maybe when Na'u is older), I'm not going to be around to fix her hair and that he would have to do it. Right then he went to it. He pulled her hair back into a lower ponytail and tied it. Not to bad from the front.


Here's the back.

If you look a little closer, daddy didn't use a rubberband. He used a twist tie from the bread. My poor girl will be going to school with her hair all made up with a TWIST TIE :). I better coach him now so that when the time does come, Cameron will be able to use a rubberband and maybe even do some fancy hairdos like braid. But for now, we'll stick to the basics :).

And for your viewing pleasure, some brotherly/sisterly love.
These two make me smile. Even though they occasionally fight, I can tell that they love eachother.


I can't believe how big they both are getting. Too fast!

I am a proud mommy!

PS-If you haven't already, go and back up all your important files NOW!