Kicking off 2023

It feels like as soon as we landed back in Hawaii, life quickly resumed it's normal pace and I was struggling to juggle it all. Figured I'd just give you a glimpse of it all in pictures, as so much happened.

Ryan's Japanese sensei came for a visit (her parents live on island) and she hosted a calligraphy class.                                          

Rich and Ryan purchased and installed a new diswasher into my parent's condo (he doesn't love the home repair/furniture assembly/yardwork he is conscripted to doing, but we want this lazy lump to be well rounded). We have made some big updates to the unit this year, and Rich and Ryan have been pivotal to helping with them.

Ryan and his friends performed taiko at their temple's annual New Year's service...

He and his two besties from taiko were able to reunite as he recently got a Switch for Valentines Day/good grades and could finally play a few games with them (it's not shown in this pic). He's been wanting one, and we figured he's finally earned one with a second quarter of all As.

He's been helping to teach the new kids at the dojo...

We hosted a 52nd year wedding anniversary dinner for my parents, complete with Bingo and prizes, as that's what all seniors enjoy. :-) 

Ryan's longtime bff came back for a visit from boarding school, so they had an afternoon of fun...

Ryan and his friends went to view cherry blossoms and picnic one day...which was followed by a stretching session, as his friend is a dancer. I think his karate has ensured he's fairly flexible, luckily. He's also been running a little more lately, as we've reintroduced it to his schedule anytime karate or taiko is cancelled for any reason. Poor kid doesn't get the night off, he gets to run to town with mom!

Rich began rehearsals for a musical he's in called Disaster...which runs three days a week, for five weeks. It's a long run. Three months of rehearsals and performances. 

My nieces were able to accompany my parents one night for a two night-weekend getaway celebrating their anniversary at the Lava Lava Beach Club Beach Cottages...a perk of the job. Staying there has become a fun tradition for these little girls with their grandparents, and gives me a great joy I get to experience watching the four of them have so much fun together.

We got to join them for a sunset dinner on the beach one evening...

Livi is wearing the adorable Frozen nightgown we got her from Target that she insists, is not just a nightie. It can also be worn to town, school, etc. ;-) 

Their mom and dad came out to drop them off and take the girls on a paddleboard session. God I hope these girls remember how special their lives were when they were young out here on this legendary property...

Ry and his friends (yes, he needed a hair cut) joined them one night for dinner...lots of sand, sun, live music and cool servers making our day so special out there at Lava Lava Beach Club.

Ryan's dojo waited until he returned from Japan so they get a photo with him in it...so sweet!

One weekend he and his friends helped make mochi most of the day for a smaller temple. Love that he was able to help, to exposed to new traditions (for him) via a Setsubun service, and that he got to spend time with friends.

Oh, and I got a cool new set up at work! My coworker was so kind to set me up with a massive new monitor (hard to tell, but it's like 40-something inches and HUGE) and docking station for my laptop. 

Ryan had his first appointment with a chiropractor, simply for a wellness check in and adjustment (he had no aches and pains). I'm a huge fan of chiropractic and laser work, as it's done wonders for my plantar fasciitis, right ankle and left knee issues. The two doctors there are pretty amazing.

I blinked, and it's now March. I am hoping things slow down a little, but it doesn't appear that will happen until summer, haha. Ryan keeps us hopping. For a pretty quiet kid, he does like the company of others quite a bit, and is always asking to have friends over. Thankfully, with the exception of one rotten apple, I've liked all his friends! :-) 

I believe I have a short trip to Kauai for work over Spring Break, but that's about it for awhile... 

We are busily planning our next trip for this summer, where we will be heading back to Asia, but to a few new places for once! Ryan will get his way with a four-day stop in Japan (he'd have a stroke if we were in Asia and did not go to Japan), and once again, we plan to take the parentals and have purchased tickets that includes them.