The latest scoops

It's been a busy August and September for us.
-Jeff gave his first public talk in the beginning of August. He did a wonderful job and we were grateful that Mom and Dad came to visit that weekend and show their support.
-I started working full-time again (see the post below for shots of one of my schools).
-Jeff constructed a wooden fence for our front yard! It was his first time building a fence from the ground up. I appreciate the privacy that the fence provides... we were getting tired of looking right into our neighbor's garage while they had karaoke parties. Now all we need is a pitbull running around the yard to make our house even more Ewa Beachy.

Runaway Taco

Here's a random story:
One morning, Jeff realized that our doggy Taco had escaped out of the garage. After checking the yard, circling the neighborhood, placing a missing dog ad on Craigslist, calling the Humane Society, and calling the local radio station to ask them to post a missing dog announcement, Jeff found our mutt. Guess where?!!! After walking around the block again, Jeff heard the jingling of his dog collar next door. Jeff found him in the neighbor's front yard-

Taco was laying on a blanket having a tea party with the neighbor's kids.

(sigh)

Green Team

In an effort to pretty-up our room, Jeff constructed this huge frame out of scrap wood and canvas. We spent about an hour painting it, using a variety of old paint that we found in the garage. The inspiration for the colors was this dog house project in a Readymade magazine. Get the instructions how to build your pooch a fancy-schmancy dog house with a garden roof by clicking here.

Back to Work!

I returned to work in August. My work time is divided between two schools on Kauai's north shore: Kilauea Elementary (about 25 minutes from home) and Hanalei Elementary (about 45 minutes from home).

Hanalei Elementary (pictured above) dates back to 1835. Its a tiny school, with less than 300 students, set against a beautiful backdrop of lush mountains which are filled waterfalls when it rains. Frequently, when I arrive at work I see a huge rainbow stretching across the sky. Pierce Brosnan's kids used to attend the school; he donated $100,000 for this playground: