So I am having technical difficulties: my computer crashed and i wiped the c drive I haven't managed to fix the initial cause of the problem, and I haven't been able to save any new pictures or reduce any favorites, blah blah blah, so long story short, here we are in December and I've no new pictures for you.
So instead, an actual update.
The children are -- no surprise-- hilarious and cute and challenging. They both have strong minds-- a trait that I figure will be a wonderful asset as an adult, but I found myself saying to Rosie yesterday, "Just say 'yes, mom.'" But no, we have mini lawyers. Even Maile, even though she can only make two vowel sounds (d and m), can renegotiate the terms of any parent-kid contract. Don't underestimate the fury of a 20 month old wielding her arched skeleton and her syllable: NO!!!!!!!!
My time lately has been taken up with 1. tutoring Rosie and some friends in a makeshift homeschool kindergarten group. We've studied food groups, tastes, the scientific method, the senses, reefs, sharks, whales, rainbows, color theory, princesses of the world, continents, horses, classes of animals, types of horses, 4 times tables, the clock, five times tables, 10 times tables, 12 bar blues, 4/4 time, phonics, many sided polygons... It has been fun-- possibly more for me than for the children, who are sometimes unimpressed by the many rows of whale-shark teeth or by heptagons.
And 2. packing. We are heading on an adventure-- we are going to Utah for a semester. In the dead of winter. And for some reason, I am really excited about this. I like that we are going to a new-to-us place. And I get to show my kids snow and cold, and fire places, and we get to spend time with grandpa and great-grandmas and aunties and cazouples... and maybe this will scratch our wanderlust itch for a couple of years. And allow us to return cheerfully to the balmy swaying palm trees and elephant-eye-high-grass without ire.

Children are cute and some other mildly interesting stuff.

This post will be in English, the language of America. This poster is from the Kauai museum-- notice those forward moving arrows-- or are they downward moving? And those chummy plantation kids, about to volunteer for the 442nd.

This is a Rosie art-shot.

baby sings country.

This is math. Go Tutu and Me Traveling Preschool!

Putting the chillins to work cleaning up...

This pretty much sums up my kid.

When you ask Maile for a joke, this is what she does. She is a comedienne.

Cute little china-town shoes! worn once by Rosie and now once by Maile.

Smoothy art.

Dear Tip Top/Ichiban Sushi. I love you with my whole heart.

Rosie's favorite.

Maile's triumphant first climb to the top of the playhouse.

We have entered the era of epic trantrums. First, she goes horizontal. Legs and arms batter the ground. Then she lies still and tense and angry. I think it is sooooo funny. Here, note the pickle.

The Kauai Museum (no photos, please!)

pigtails make me happy.

Life on our kinda farm. Or, life on kinda-our farm. Pastures of thick palm-slicing grass higher than our roof, laying hens, house cats, goats, egrets, pheasants, rock doves, kolea plovers, wild chickens, wild dogs, wild pigs, abandoned and rusting out farm equipment, coffee stands, pineapple, awa, noni, papaya, coconuts, bananas, baseball bat squash, taro, bitter melon, sleeper grass, sweet potatos, wild guava, passionfruit, ti leaves, arrow root, and a scraggly garden of endangered native plants. It has an eerie, Ray Bradburian feeling-- space station meets tropical island meets ghost story.

these escaped hunting dogs were so bony and dehydrated they flopped right over where Matt found them, by the chicken coops.

Like father like daughter.

starfruits the size of watermelons!

Starfruit are so excessive- clumps of them right on the branches. Forget grapes, Bacchus.

White perfumy mountain apples

No idea what this is, if it was ripe, or how to eat it. Tasted like rubbery chalk.

Mmm, guava. Just don't look too closely at any -- is that movement?-- seeds.

Uluwehiwehi-- bountiful breadfruit!

our demented carrot crop.

For the love of poles

Some kids go to the grocery store and get excited about the animal crackers or gum. Maile went nuts for this post.