Art Class Adventures Part III

My son was having so much fun painting at his two to four year old’s art class, that when I asked him if he wanted to use scissors, he told me no thanks. After he finished his second easel painting, he wanted to paint with the long bamboo extended paint brushes on the large (three or four tall and six to seven feet wide) paper canvas. This time he used yellow. As soon as the child using the blue moved on to something else, my son put down the yellow and picked up the blue. He painted contently using this … Continue reading

Art Class Adventures Part II

As parents guided their toddlers to different art stations, I too led my son to something new to do. He chose the stamping station stocked with lots of rubber stamps and many colorful ink pads. After using a few different stamps and a couple different colors, he realized that stamping was more limited than he liked. We moved on. The next station he chose was really quite neat. Large paint brushes were attached to long bamboo sticks creating three very long paintbrushes. A large and long piece of paper was attached to the wall and on the floor were three … Continue reading

Daddy’s Birthday Part III

On Daddy’s birthday I awoke early hoping to slip out of the house to buy some french bread from a local bakery. Alas, my son heard me getting ready to leave and insisted on accompanying me to the bakery. We got into the car and drove the three miles to the bakery. I got a loaf of bread and my son, thanks to his good looks, got a free chocolate chip cookie. We headed home to make daddy a special birthday breakfast of pancakes, sausage, and french pressed coffee. As I got the pancake batter prepared, daddy and daughter woke … Continue reading

Daddy’s Birthday Part II

I did however find the somewhat rare swiss gruyere cheese with relative ease. In addition to our weekly groceries, I also needed to find Vermouth for the French Onion Soup. We checked out and headed home to continue with our birthday preparations. Once at home (and after the groceries were put away), I started on freezing the ice cream in one of those very trendy no ice and no salt ice cream makers. With my ice cream base chilled nicely, it only took about twenty minutes for the ice cream maker to work its magic. With the help of my … Continue reading

The Painting II

Earlier I talked about the amazing painting my wife created for the kids’ room. It was an abstracted guitar in honor of our son’s fascination with that instrument in particular. The next time she painted our son was by her side painting with her, the two of them side by side. After that painting lesson with his mother our son got recognizably “better” at drawing. He intended to making certain marks on the page, in certain colors, in certain places. That whole situation taught me how much children learn from their parents. The things that are demonstrated to us as … Continue reading

Celebrating the Fourth in Hawaii

Despite what you might think we do celebrate with fireworks, BBQ’s, and parades just like the rest of the country. Spending Independence Day in the 50th state is a dream come true for most folks, and as someone who was born and raised there I must admit there are quiet a few tourists that time their Hawaiian vacations to coincide with Fourth of July celebrations… and rarely are they disappointed with their decision to do so. This year Waikoloa Beach Resort is once again hosting the Great Waikoloa Rubber Duckie Race. The annual Fourth of July festival has been going … Continue reading

Super Bowl XLII: What to Know Before You Go–Other Offerings

For the past few days I have been examining the options Super Bowl fans have in Phoenix as they prepare for the NFL’s biggest game of the season. In previous blog I covered everything from dining options to party places and everything in between. There is no doubt that in a few days Phoenix will be (at least temporarily) the hippest, hottest place in the nation. The super big Super Bowl crowds will likely displace the many snowbirds that flock to Arizona each winter, but I’m sure city and state leaders could careless. In the place of the repeat visitors … Continue reading

Going (Coco) NUTS In Hawaii

It’s the only food festival in the world where I don’t walk away 5 pounds heavier. If it were not for the fact that I am allergic to the hearty fruit I would eat everything in sight at Kauai’s Coconut Festival. Believe me (I was born and raised in Hawaii); if you find yourself in the “Aloha State” during the month of October this is one event you don’t want to miss. The 11th annual Kauai Coconut Festival takes place this year on October 6th and 7th at Kapaa Beach Park on the lush eastern portion of the Hawaiian Island … Continue reading

A Conversation with Pop ARF Artist Nathan Janes, Part II

Nathan Janes’s renderings of his dogs Button, left, and Zipper, right In Part I, I introduced you to Pop ARF creator Nathan Janes. He discussed the business of Pop ARF, but in this section he gets a little more personal…in respect to how his work benefits others. Courtney Mroch: What breeds are your dogs, Button and Zipper? How old are they? Nathan Janes: I have two dogs Button a terrier mix and Zipper a beagle mix, which are both females. Lets start with Button. When it comes to spoiled dogs, Button takes the cake. She loves being held, hugged, and … Continue reading

Art Class Adventures Part IV

Within a few minutes the teachers called time and asked the children to get in line to wash their hands. As all the children left all the stations and got in line, my son took the opportunity to use the scissors at the collage station. I quickly re routed him in line so that he could wash his hands too. The last fifteen minutes of class were spent going through the art museum. There lots of small pieces that were interesting to me but my son could have cared less. The last gallery on the tour housed something rather impressive: … Continue reading