Catching Up with Old Friends

Cisco was excited for this conference to be in Seattle for many reasons. Another reason was the chance to visit some old college friends. Cisco's old roommate, Lynn (Kajihara) Yamada, and flag-football buddy, Garrett Yamada, live in Fife, WA, about 30-40 minutes from Seattle. So we rented a car and drove down to spend the afternoon with them. We hadn't seen them in a few years, so we haven't had a chance to meet their son Cade, and for them to meet Kaila.

Kaila and Cade team-up to try and figure out the toy.

Kaila trying to convince Cade that they should just beat the toy with the red bat.

Cade pushing Kaila around on the scooter. "Oh yeah!!"Watching Cade drinkGetting a free ride from Uncle KyleWatching the balls roll and rollSpending some time in the play pen. Cade loved it!!The moms and kidsKaila sitting in the grass with SportBBQing it up!Taking a big bite into the "Juicy-Lucy:" a slice of cheese sandwiched between two patties. Yummy!The Yamadas and ReyesGarrett, Cisco, and KyleKaui, Kaila, Lynn, and CadeThe old roomies. One-half of Vandervelden 242, missing Lori and Brian.

We had an awesome time spending the afternoon with them. During the visit, we caught up on what we're doing now and reminisced about old times at Pacific. It didn't feel as if we hadn't seen each other in years; it felt like we just saw them last week. It felt good being able to relax and talk story with some close friends.

We are so happy to see them successful and happy, with a such beautiful family. They'll be moving back to Maui in about a month, so who knows when we'll see them again. But we are thankful we had the opportunity to see them again, even if it was a short time. We will miss them.

Our Kind of City: Seattle

Our hotel was in a prime location in Seattle. We stayed at the Red Lion on Fifth Avenue, which was not only a really nice hotel, but it was in the middle of all the attractions. We were just a hop, skip, and a jump from tons of shopping and good eats. We were also only two blocks from the convention center, which is where Cisco's conference was at. The downer was that both of us suffered some sort of respiratory infection. Kaui had/has some sort of sinus infection, while Cisco had some sinus irritation. So while the weather was beautiful, and attractions calling us, Kaui spent the first two days sick in bed, while Cisco was gone. On Friday, Kaui started feeling better, so we were able to walk around.

While Kaui was sick, this is what Kaila did to entertain herself. She would sit on the chair and look at the windows. She would see the seagulls and yell, "burr" (bird). She did a good job entertaining herself while Mommy was sick.

The Puget Sound

Kaila was REALLY good during this trip. She would just sit in her stoller and admire the city life around her. There was so much for her to see!

We've never spent too much time in Seattle, but after this trip, we have gained an appreciation for this city. Kaui LOVED Seattle and we both could definitely see ourselves fitting in here. We love the diversity, the trendiness, the style, and "go-green" mentality. We feel so comfortable here and this is our kind of city.

American College Sports Medicine Annual Conference

This time of the year is the time for the Annual ACSM Conference. This year, it was in Seattle (West Coast!). Cisco was excited since he would be able to meet up with his old Pacific and Idaho professors and fellow students, because of the close proximity.

Cisco's poster he presented: his dissertation. He got a lot of interest from many people about his research.

Cisco and his major professor, Dr. Dolny

The Idaho Gang: Josh Guggenheimer, Cisco, Dr. Dolny, Wafa Alkurdi, and Matt Silvers. It was so much fun catching up and hanging out with the old gang.The nice surprise was running into his old Pacific professors. Here, his old Exercise Physiology and Nutrition professor, Dr. Shawn Henry, with his son, Liam (sorry for the blurriness).Cisco with his old Biomechanics professor at Pacific, Dr. Phil Schot, with one of his current students at Pacific.

Saying Our Farewells

We just can't believe how fast these past two weeks went by. When we sit and think about our trip, we can't even remember what we did. We arrived, blinked our eyes, and the next thing we know, we're leaving. It was very hard to say goodbye to our family, since we don't know when we'll be back.

'wena and Trenton wanted to help bathe Kaila one last time

Kristine and kids

Cousin PrestonTrenton, La'a, and 'wena before they headed off to schoolUncle LopakaOur last family picture in Hawai'i. We may look happy out the outside, but we were crying on the insideTutu and Papa

This trip was originally planned for December, but because of the snow storm in the Pacific Northwest, we couldn't go. So we had to wait 4.5 months, but it was worth the wait. We had so much fun spending time with family that we don't see very often. We enjoyed good weather, had lots of laughs, had lots of belly-aches from eating too much good food, and lots of good memories in only 13 days. We cherished every minute of our trip, since we don't know when we'll be back. That just made it even harder to leave; we're just so far away from our family.

We know Kaila had a blast. As parents, it was a joy to watch Kaila have so much fun with her cousins. What made it great was seeing the older cousins really look out after Kaila and include her in their games (as much as possible). When she's there, you can really tell that she has Hawaiian in her blood.

We will miss you, Family. We love you all very much. Thank you for such a memorable trip and we pray that we can be together again soon.

Our Last Day

We had this fun plan of having a big BBQ at the beach. We had the food set-up, a plan for some people to head down early and save a spot (Memorial Day was a busy day for the beach). But when we got there, nothing but rain and coldness.

Baby Pounders, Cisco's favorite beach. Rain and cold didn't make this beach visit fun.

Even after two weeks, Kaila STILL didn't like the feel of sand between her toes.

With the weather being so yucky, we packed up our stuff and the food and headed to Nancy and Lopaka's house about 10 minutes away in Hau'ula.

Trenton and Kaila

Darrell playing cards with the kidsDad stopped by to spend some time with the kids. Kaila with Papa BobbyDad with his three grandkidsDad and daughterThe Torres Clan
We were so looking forward to spending our last day in Hawai'i soaking up some sun on a nice beach, with family and good food. But we didn't let the weather spoil all the fun. We still had a fun time at Nancy and Lopaka's house and the food was still great. We know the kids had fun, and that's the most important thing.

Memorial Day

On Memorial Day, we stopped by the grave to visit Papa and Grandma Torres and Mahelona, to pay our respects.

Papa (who was a Vet) and Grandma Mahelona

Dad met us at the grave

Papa and Grandma Torres

Kaila's 1-year Birthday Luau

Four and a half months later, we finally had Kaila's 1-year birthday luau. The theme was "Lilo and Stitch."

Kaila sitting in front of the kiddie pool, getting excited about the possibility of playing in there.

Kaila taking a stroll across the farm to see what the big kids are doing.

The cousins in the bigger pool.

Getting everything decorated and set-up.

We were trying not to let the kids get in the water until the guests arrived. But we finally gave in and let them play. Here, playing with Rowena.

The Polynesian Pinata.

Mom and Lopaka hanging the birthday banner......

........as Kaila looks on in approval.......with her ice cube.

Kaila en route across the farm from the kiddie pool to the big pool.

Waiting for the guests to arrive.

Kaila playing in the water in the cardboard box.

Kaila, on the outside looking in.........

.............so she runs back across the farm to the kiddie pool.

The guest table.

Goodie-bags for the guests.

And souvenir pictures for the guests, along with a chance to write Kaila a birthday message.

Kaila finally gets into the big kids pool with Rowena, La'a, and Papa.

She sees Mommy and Teresa setting up the slip-&-slide, so she wants out (meanwhile, Uncle John is getting squirted in the face with water by Karsen).

Playing on the slip-&-slide.

But she was more amazed by the fountain at the end of the slide.

Getting a juice break with Uncle Lopaka.

Her Chantilly cake.

Her guava cake.

Anuhea Pratt

We had several games set up for the kids. The first one was a limbo contest. Rowena limbos under the bar.

Trenton

Kaila thought she'd give it a try.

The kids pose with Lilo

Us with Lilo

Time to eat!! So Jane, Ikaika, Uncle Glen, and Uncle John dug out the lau-lau from the imu.

Lau-lau!

Mommy and Kaila coloring Lilo and Stitch pictures with Raylenne and Nohi.

Kaila with Auntie Lee Kamekona

The last game we had set-up was the pinata. Trenton lets loose on some built-up anger.

Parker Reppun

Rowena swings

La'a takes a whack

Anu broke it open

SUGAR!!!

Even Kaila got a bag-full, with help from Auntie Lee

Blowing out the candles and cutting the cakes

Uncle Gabby, Auntie Sue, Lynn, Kiana, and Karsen Mahelona

Troy and Lee Kamekona, and Auntie Wanda

Auntie Glenna, Jacob, and Zach.

Uncle Paul and Auntie Laurie Reppun

Rob, Raylenne, Ikaika, Nohi, and Anuhea Pratt (with baby Noi, whom Raylenne baby-sits).

It would be an understatement to say that Kaila had fun. She had SO much fun playing with all the kids. She was running all over the place, talking, yelling, and playing. You could tell she was so tired, but she didn't want to stop; she wanted to keep up with the big kids. THANK YOU to all our family and friends who came to celebrate with us. Thank you to those who helped get this luau set-up. We truly love you all and will miss you lots!