Life of Larisa or LOL

Nothing beats the beach. The beach in Hawaii...even harder to beat. We have been trying to take full advantage of this luxury.  2016 is already shaping up to be our year of the beach. Weekly outings to various beaches are already on the calendar, and I'm not complaining.  Where else can you take in beautiful palm trees, bright blue skies, dip your toes in the warm sand, and splash in refreshing ocean waves? Even if we only make it for the last few rays of sun with a packed picnic, we are loving the year of the beach...our car, not so much.    My hair may be getting a little more damaged, but my feet are getting a free exfoliation. And the kids? Energy used is translating into early bedtime and better nights sleep. Fun in the sun is about the only thing I've found to tire these two out.  Those VitaminSea hashtags are on to something. Those surfers who "would go"...also on to something. Salt water is healing and mood altering. If you haven't visited your favorite ...

It's feeling a lot like milestone mania around here. I've jabbered on about turning forty...but, how about the mini milestone? It's not high school graduation or running a marathon, but what about things like being able to drop off my pre-teen at the movies, the local shopping center, or recently the carnival, without me hovering close behind? Or my preschooler writing his first and last name by himself? (good grief that was painful...and looooooong to watch). It's the daily tasks and accomplishments that I'm referring to here.  Milestone mania has arrived and brought along its friend crazy curls.  My kiddos have been growing and I decided I better document it. For Moms, documents are known as photos. And for their kids, they are known as irritations. Please enjoy some of our recent irritations...documented on the Internet for my pleasure---one of the luxuries of my forty milestone---gonna do what I like!  Milestone: "Mom, I put all these buttons on my pjs a...

If you are looking for a post on tennis...this ain't it. But, it is all about the milestone of turning 40... However you choose to rationalize, label, or disguise it... Forty. Four decades. Twenty twice. Halfway to eighty...there's no denying that there are way more "adulting" days in my week than there were in my twenties and thirties. With two kids at home, my forties will most likely involve a great deal more driving to various sport practices, having hard talks with the teen about peer pressure, treating more colds and coughs, breaking up brotherly scuffles, and hopefully laughter and celebrations for other milestones (learning to drive---gah! heading to kindergarten---sniff, sniff!) sprinkled in.  Turning 40 seemed like a lifetime away when I was graduating high school. And a place in the distant future for "old people" when I was in college. But, now, I'm here. I've arrived at 40 with a more realistic outlook. I've acquired a few new gray h...

In the words of Greenday, "Welcome to paradise." That's what I thought making my way up the rocky trail that ends at the western most tip of Oahu. How could I not think of paradise with green mountains on one side and blue sky and ocean on the other? Last weekend we did a hike with forest views (it was okay...we are super spoiled) and also the opposite side of the mountain from where we hiked today. That's right, there are two (kinda) Ka'ena Point hiking trails. One trail starts past Mokuleia (considered Northshore) and the other (today's adventure) starts past Makaha (considered the Westside). As I'm sure you have figured out, the two trails meet. Since we usually roll with a 4 and 12 year old, we decided to break up the trail---one portion last week and the other, more beautiful portion this week! Both Ka'ena trails are family friendly, good for novice hikers, hot, and in winter, perfect for whale viewing. But, the coastlines are quite different. Tod...

Similar to my tardy Happy New Year wishing efforts, my goal to "get moving" in January...is...well, late. But, the saying isn't a cliche for nothin'! Better late than never. So, this past weekend we walked/hiked/swam every. single. day. Three days. Active lifestyle posers for three days. Three days with three boys.  Our first athletic jaunt was a 3 mile evening walk to Times Supermarket. Bet you didn't see that one coming. My boys who are 4, 12, and recently turned 38 (the hubby), LOVE their fruit. As a treat for walking, instead of lounging on the couch watching bad T.V., they can pick out any fruit their hearts desire. It's a winning trifecta. Walking, fruit picking, distracting them from becoming one with the couch. Who knew my weekend nights would someday involve walking to get fruit. That was Friday. Saturday morning we woke up ready to hike! We descended upon Moanalua Valley armed with water bottles, snacks, and our hiking shoes. It was a perfect morning...

Gone are the days of on time well wishing. On time anything actually. Here I am, twenty days into the new year, wishing you, the reader, a very happy 2016.  My excuses for tardiness range from "we were on Maui" to "just couldn't look away from Making a Murderer" to "reading the Revenant" to "oh yeah, I have two boys, ages 12 and 4 to tend to".      (Gabe photo bombing the sun.) But seriously, I hadn't realized until this very moment, that my New Years resolution will be tending to my neglected  blog. Which probably looks something like neglecting Instagram in order to update the blog. It's a trade off.  Welcome 2016. You definitely started off well. We were NOT suffering from the Flu. We were NOT cruising Kapiolani Hospital. We were NOT scared out of our minds over the health of our children. Hashtag winning. We DID, however, ring in the start of my 40th year on planet earth, with fireworks on the beach, two mini road trips, waterfall...