Hawaii-Thursday, Day Six

This morning began bright and early as I decided to head to the fitness center early instead of going after lunch like I had been. There were hardly any people there, and when I got home, completely charged, Ellert and Embla had just woken up. At breakfast, Kate and I took an inventory of the things we might need if we decided to go grocery shopping that day. It turns out, we were in dire need of milk (the children drink it like water) and we needed supplies to make a nice breakfast for George and Arnheidur we had been planning for them when they return.

Before we went, though, we took the children out to the volleyball net to play soccer, football, and volleyball. Ellert, the most eager of our participants, immediately went across the street with Kate to the court. However, I didn’t even get out the door before Embla, whether because she was tired or just mad, decided she didn’t want to come. She sat on the couch and whined that she wanted to watch the T.V. I walked out, and then looked back inside and then walked some more and then came to see what she was doing and, as expected, she was watching TV. I walked in and said, “Well, believe it or not Embla I am more stubborn than you are. We were not going to watch TV right now.” I then said that I could pick her up while she screams and carry her across the street like a little baby, or she could walk to the beach herself. She just stared at me with a expression of utter determination. So, an expert in the art of man-handling (or, in this case, girl-handling) I picked her up and without much of a fuss I carried her to the park where Ellert was awaiting her eagerly. Well, you can guess what happened next-she sat down and put her hands across her chest and pouted. Now, I don’t know if I have mentioned it before, but Ellert’s mood is, for the most part, completely tied to Embla’s. So, you can imagine how he felt. His best friend was not coming to play with him, and, on top of that, wouldn’t even look at him. He cried, and she pouted, basking in the reality of her control. I tried to get him to play with me, but he just said, “GO AWAY!!” and went back to trying to get Embla to come play with him. I also tried to get him to see that Embla wanted his attention and once he didn’t pay attention to her nonsense she would be soon to join him, but, understandably for a 2 year old boy, he didn’t quite grasp the concept and continued on.

Finally, Kate was able to successfully lure him away to the court, and we began to play. Just as I had predicted, as soon as her I.V. of sympathy was cut off, she joined us in playing ball games. But, it was not to last! I was playing soccer, I was the goalie and she was the shooter. She kicked a ball that landed right next to the goal line and I playfully kicked it back to her but it went past her. BIG mistake!! When I got back from retrieving the ball, she was on the sideline in the same hunched up position she had been in before. Ellert came over to sympathize with her, bless his heart, but she pushed him away. About then we decided that it would be a good time to return to the house. When we got back home Embla did her picture journal entry with the help of Kate and I played with Ellert.


So, after coming inside at about 9:45, we set out to find Foodland. We weren’t quite sure of how to get there, so we went to the nearest shopping center to see if it was the one with the grocery store in it. Kate ran into one of the nail parlors and asked them where it was and they said just down the row. So we turned and went around the shopping center to get a better view and there it was! We got out and grabbed a cart and set to work finding the things we would need at the first regular grocery store we had been to in Hawaii. Embla and Ellert rode in the cart and Kate and I had them help by holding the groceries. We each allowed them one thing to pick out, so Embla chose balloons and Ellert got granola bars. Everyone always seems to say how expensive food is in Hawaii, but it depends on what you buy. Most of the healthier things like produce and fruit is relatively cheap- for example, pineapple was 89 cents EACH, and everything else seemed to be normally priced, that is, with the exception of milk. It was 6.89 a gallon! After getting through the checkout with no one throwing a fit, we were able to successfully load the children and groceries in the car and navigate our way back to the house.

It was lunchtime when we got back, so we fixed them some cereal and yogurt and then Kate and I ate the leftover chicken, salad, quinoa, chips and some salsa. It was good!! Then we all went out and drew with chalk for quite some time! We did it on the sidewalk across the street. I traced Embla and Kate traced Ellert’s body and we drew the faces in and then had some lessons on how the heart and blood vessels work, how the lungs help you breathe, and drew each of them carefully inside the outline of their bodies. Then we noticed that at our front door was a big 5 gallon container of water just like the one that we had run out of the day before, with the brand sticker on the front and a receipt next to it. They have a water cooler, and so we figured that they have more water delivered every week or so to their house. But, being my skeptical self, my first thought was, "Oh! Someone left us water and poisoned it...."

Then I examined the receipt from Menehune Water Company that was stuck underneath it as well as the sealed container and deemed it safe for our consumption.

:-)

A bike ride was next on our list and we outlined the entire neighborhood with our bikes that have seats on the back for Embla and Ellert. On the way back, Ellert fell asleep, and so we all drew and did quiet activities while he slept. Next we woke him up with the promise of “sidewalk paint” and off we went over to the sidewalk across the street to try it out. Midway through the painting time, Ellert got upset because he couldn’t have his own puddle of paint to use by himself, so Kate took him home to take a bath, since by now his hands were very messy anyway. Embla and I remained painting until she got her hands covered in it so bad she said she wanted to go home and wash it off. I did manage to finish the first words of the Apostle’s Creed in Latin before we left for home.

The rest of the afternoon was spent playing wild Icelandic pony (when Kate and I are the horses and she’s the rider) on the trampoline and playing ball with Ellert. I attempted to read a book to them that was written in Icelandic, but as expected I didn’t do very well. Ellert understood me though, because he said some words back to me in excitement like any child would do if you were reading them their favorite book. We ate dinner and after we were all cleaned up they watched a movie (in Icelandic, of course!) and Kate and I blogged and cleaned the house up a bit because Arnheidur and George fly in tomorrow at about 5 pm!