can i have a weekend for my weekend?

do you ever get the feeling that we simply try to fit too much in our too-short weekends? i do! without a doubt!! but we loved every minute of it. you see, we are surrounded by family and we want to spend as much time with them as we can ... not only because should - but simply because we enjoy it!

i headed out of the office on friday afternoon to catch our niece's orchestra recital in pearl city. a couple of valuable revelations came out of that ... first, i am not a west-side girl. you see ~ although our little island is, well, little ... the traffic is comparable of that to crazy metropolitan areas (think LA on crack). so, my non-existent patience ended up being tested in an irritable manner. second, i miss the theatre - all manifestations of it. i grew up dancing ballet, so classical music was grafted into my bones at a very early age ... but since i've walked away from the fine arts, i haven't indulged often or regularly in field trips to the classics. thirdly, we have so many smart, loving, talented kids in this crazy pieced-together family of ours!! and too often, it escapes our minds that these kiddos can and should teach us grown-ups a thing or two about tapping into our fun-loving, exploratory side. so, kym girl ... you rocked it! loved watching you take those deep breaths before playing your violin. congratulations girl!!

saturday started off unusually quiet ... i think y'all have heard about my saturday AM adventures with soccer, well, this past weekend, soccer was cancelled. that meant that shortstack got to have a long sleepover at gma and papa's house while panda and mama got to take it slow and easy and have a lazy saturday AM. oooohhhh!!! LUXURY!! a bit of weekend coffee, time to finish a book or two, time to procrastinate on necessary writing ... yep! talk about luxury. but the party began again on saturday night. we headed over to heather's place and reveled in a house filled with 8 kids and 7 women! woohoo!! wine was flowing, food was grillin and brownies were baking! seriously, how does it get better than that? our shortstack ran himself til he practically passed out. we crawled into bed, completely satisfied and counting our blessings of being surrounded by people we have chosen to be our family because of their HUGE hearts and crazy silliness.

sunday AM brought tax forms, cartoons and soccer for panda and shortstack. i got to indulge in some gift shopping for our cousins. now, i am a shopper ... but in a weird sense. i hate to do necessary shopping (i.e. out of good underwear and/or bras or need work clothes) because i get impatient. but i LOVE to shop for random gifts!! i especially love to shop for home and treat gifts. BUT that doesn't go for my better half or the shortstack ... getting them to go shopping with me is painful for EVERYONE involved. so, after they shuttled out to hang with the soccer aunties, i packed myself up and enjoyed some mindless hours wondering through shops that would never be entered willingly by certain members of my family. i finally made it to the flower shop where i (sort of) went overboard in flowers for my cousins and the house. when the rest of the family finally made it home, well, lets just say that the debit card needed a rest. oh- but there was one last shop ... Cafe Laufer!!!!! have you ever been there?? if not, please go!! but don't tell anyone about it because we don't want the secret to get too far out ... talk about a confectioner's heaven! we picked up a selection of tasty treats (i totally believe in options and in dessert!!!) to take over to the Q-grls' new place.

ahhhhh!! i love exploring the homes of our friends and family! there is SO much you can learn about your peeps from their homes. the Q grls have recently moved into a very cool and very welcoming loft-style apartment in downtown honolulu. the funny thing is, it sure didn't feel like we were in the middle of downtown! but the views were gorgeous, the pool was warm and inviting (and the perfect place for shortstack to get all his crazy energy out). the food was ONO!!! and the company was fun! lots of gossip was shared, drinks were consumed, food was enjoyed, jenga was played (unsuccessfully by panda - sorry baby, but you lost!) and curiosity was satisfied.

another awesome weekend enjoyed by all ... but monday AM has rolled around and i have realized that my awesome weekend has pooped me out ... time for some rest ... when's my weekend from my weekend coming up??

hope you all enjoyed yours as well! if not, you might have to jump on board our family train and you'll be sure to have a blast!