After 5 hours and a compressed spine from sitting on the floor, Huanhuan, the 2008 Beijing Olympics mascot, was immortalized in a Halloween pumpkin (until it rots, of course). Oren helped with the gutting, while Daddy did all the cutting. This was a lot more difficult than my past pumpkins (Darth Vader, Yoda, and Gollum to name a few) because a lot more design was involved, but it was the most fun. I might just make a pumpkin for Christmas!

Rainy Bai San

After 15 minutes sitting in our car, the sun finally came out for Bai San. After the traditional food offerings and paper burning, it was off to 604 for another classic potluck. We even squeezed in a little bday celebration for cousin Noa. Oren took advantage of the occasional sunny spots to play with Grandma and her cousin Tehani in the garden. An apology to Aunty Marge: if your flower garden looks a little bare, my daughter is the culprit. She has a bad habit of plucking flowers of their stems. But, just to let you know, she only plucks PRETTY flowers.

EASTER 2008: Family Filled Day

In what has become Easter tradition, we started out the morning with my fam and visited Grandpa at Punchbowl Cemetery. After lunch at my mom’s, we went home for a nap (Daddy included). Then it was off to the in-laws for egg hunting and ham dinner. Oren “found” a lot of eggs, which were conveniently hidden in plain sight. She also took a walk with her two and four-legged cousins (Logan, Tehani, and their dog Junior… see video below). Dinner was great (but Daddy had a mean cold), and Oren ate well (she usually does in social situations).

And with that, another Easter is in the basket!

EASTER 2008: Goh Inshai!
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No, that’s not Japanese. It’s Oren speak for “please direct yourself towards an interior space”, in this case, Junior back into his doghouse.

Chinese New Year Revisted (For The First Time)

Sorry for the lack of photo updates. My site has been a bit buggy lately. Anyway, I’ve been able to get it to kinda work now (you still have to manually go to the Gallery tab above to see earlier pictures–the links in the blog aren’t working for previous posts), so here’s some pics from Chinese New Year a month ago.

NEW YEARS 2007: Boom!

“Boom!” That’s what Oren said as 2007 came to a close at the annual get togethers at Aunty Gloria’s house and then 604. This year, she got into the fiery fray, skipping amongst her sparkler-wielding cousins (see video below) and even throwing a few pops herself. One other thing went “boom” on this New Year’s Eve as well–Tehani’s undefeated Wii Boxing record–as she fell to Uncle Gilbert!

(And yes, I’m wearing a Sugar Bowl shirt in that pic. Let’s not talk about that right now…)

Happy New Year everyone!

NEW YEARS 2007: Fire Dancing
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Oren dances amongst the lit sparklers before the big boom of 2008!

CHRISTMAS 2007: Open! Open!

Oren’s second Christmas was definitely a magical one – for her, anyway. While she screamed “Open! Open!” as she tore into her myriad of presents, we chanted “No more room!” as the mountains of giftwrap and discarded boxes overwhelmed us.

It started on Christmas Eve at the Nelson’s newly purchased and beautifully renovated home in Kaneohe, where the typical Yuen festivities – pot luck, caroling, and grab bag – occurred. Oren stuck it out ’til almost midnight, playing with her cousins, picking out grab bags for Mommy and Daddy, even following along with the Christmas carols. Stage fright got the best of her, though, when it was her turn to perform at the annual talent show. She was going to “read” from one of her favorite picture books, but decided to bail at the last minute.

The mayhem continued Christmas Day at our house, where days and weeks worth of gift-wrapping labor were shredded in minutes. Oren loved her doorway playhouse facade, and Mommy and Daddy received a surprise gift from Santa – a Nintendo Wii.

The festivities finished off at Lola Mama’s house, where our little car filled up once again with presents, including an Elmo bike from Aunty Maria.

Next year will be another storm, I’m sure. Who knows? Maybe Oren will be writing her own wish list this time!

CHRISTMAS 2007: Rainy City Lights

Our annual trip to the Honolulu City Lights was a wet one this year. It poured on and off (which makes me wonder about the chances of electrocution with all those lights) but the conditions just made for more fun for our hoodie-wearing girl (see video below)!

After the lights, we braved the crowds at Ala Moana for a chance to ride the Holiday Train. No luck–it was sold out. We’re planing 1 more trip to the mall, so hopefully, we’ll catch it then.

CHRISTMAS 2007: Rainy City Lights
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Oren jumps in a puddle near the big tree, but runs when the Menuhune train starts smoking!

THANKSGIVING 2007: Stuffed!

Happy Thanksgiving! The massive caloric intake began with a potluck lunch at the Yates’ beautiful home in Kaneohe and ended with a kalua turkey dinner at our house with the Valdezs and Lees. Great job with dinner, Mommy! We are definitely thankful for you!

THANKSGIVING 2007: Horsey!
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Our cowgirl riding the Yates’ old school horsey with the help of Tehani!

HALLOWEEN 2007: Our Supergirl

After nine hours of sewing on Saturday (thanks Mom #2!), some early morning pumpkin-carving on Tuesday, and one and a half hours of Daddy sitting in traffic on Wednesday, Oren finally debuted as Supergirl in Hawaii Kai. It was her first pedestrian trick-or-treat (last year, Darth Vader carried Princess Leia door-to-door; the wheezing was real).

She made it about four-fifth’s of the way around the block before the kryptonite drizzle started to weaken her, but before that, she was harvesting candy like a superhero. Her treat bag was as big as her! The “Halloween Justice League” included her cousins, Tehani, Logan and Candice, along with a slew of aunties, uncles, and tutus (no, not the ballerina kind).

Next year, Oren will probably be picking her own costume. Let’s hope the tradition of sci-fi garb continues!

HALLOWEEN 2007: Gut-O-Lantern
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Oren helps prep the pumpkin for carving.

HALLOWEEN 2007: Pick-A-Pumpkin

Last weekend, we went to the Aloun Farms Pumpkin Patch to pick out the annual Valdez Family jack-o-lantern. This was the first time we went to the patch, but the Valdez pumpkin already has a rich history. Scooby Doo, Yoda, Gollum, and Darth Vader have terrorized neighborhood kids over the years.

The farm was a madhouse (or, madfarm, I guess). People were parking yards away from the actual patch. Masked farm workers, aka, T-shirt ninjas, greeted us and took our $3 parking fee. I’m glad Oren had her sunglasses because it was like a dirt bowl in there. We trekked out into one of the patches and found a few candidates, but it was Mommy who picked the perfect one (she does have a habit of doing that… ). Oren came out of the patch a little dirty and dusty, but I think this was a great kickoff to Halloween 2007!

Oh, what’s the pumpkin gonna be this year? Along with Oren’s costume, it’ll be a surprise. Check back later this week!