Light at the end of the tunnel

My five-months long work project is finally coming to end. I haven't been able to sleep well, eat well, blog, etc. for most of that time period. But I promise, I will be back. Life has been otherwise rough...but we're on the cusp of something pretty exciting, and I'll reveal more once we're further into the process. I will tease you by saying it involves investing in a tiny-house prototype, however, and that it just might help us retire a tad sooner (although not in the way you might be thinking). By which I mean, we have no plans to become tiny house moguls. ;-)

A few pics of the last few weeks before I leave...

Our extended family enjoyed a brief respite out in Mauna Lani for three-nights. It was heavenly, as you'd expect.

We also had a family birthday celebration in August (we have three birthdays that month), which included a rousing, competitive game of Bingo, of course...

Ryan also earned his first (of three) degree brown belt. This journey at brown will continue on for many years, but he's inching closer to black. It took five years of near daily practice, two hours a day. It's far from easy, but we're so honored to be a part of this karate association, learning under the best of the best.

But all work and no play make Ryan not only a very dull boy, but a very depressed one as well. So we make sure he has plenty of time with his besties, Momo and SeiSei. Funnily enough, we call Ryan 'RyRy' all the time, so we joke that you must have a repeatable first name to hang with this group of cool cats.

They went to the carnival together this year, which was a first. Usually Ry has gone with one of them, but we've never managed to do both.

We got to hang with the ohana a bit as well...

And I snuck away from work a bit to help at the school's pancake breakfast...and as always, it's a blast. I love our school. I love our teachers. I love that Ryan gets to be a part of it.

We got these wolf ears from Great Wolf Lodge on our summer vacation, and I told the girls to look like wolves. I think they nailed it.

Celebrating Keni's birthday (orthodontia isn't cheap in Hawaii).

Supporting Grandma at her annual Relay for Life event...

That's her in the front waving at us!

Ryan during the watermelon eating contest at a friend's birthday...unsurprisingly, he did not win. Or get second. Or third. ;-)

Ry in his tennis group at school, with his crew (these friends are tight).

And last but not least, a pic of my super determined nephew, Riki at last week's cross country meet. He ran cross country on a lark as a freshman. last year. It was a year of riding the pain train, as he'd never run before. The first year was rough for him- he was a rookie, injured and had no idea what to expect. This year, he's a little better prepared, and far more determined- he ran 7:30/miles at today's race, and broke into the top 1/2 of the runners for the first time. His goal is to break into the top 1/3 by season's end. I couldn't run a 7:30 downhill, with a strong tail wind, and some speed ingestion. Much less three miles of that, with minimal training (he starts training in August). The leaders are running 6 min miles, but I couldn't be prouder of Riki, who runs only to get in shape for baseball (his real love).