Timothy and I just returned from our annual family trip to Hawaii. Not surprisingly, we always have the most amazing time and each trip seems to be better than the last. This year was no exception.
Some good friends of ours live on Oahu, so our modus operandi is to start in Honolulu and spend a few days with them before meeting my family in Maui. The traditional Hawaiian family, our friends have three children ages ten, eight and five with each Keiki’s (child) name consisting of dozens of characters, half of which are vowels.
We usually slip right into our roles as taxi driver as we shuttle them from hula class to the paddling team, always finding time for a shave ice with azuki beans or a freshly baked malasada. This year we even carved out some time to do a few projects around the house and left our friends with a new herb garden, a reclaimed, refinished tatami table and a super cool tree swing.
Best of all, we fully captured the attention and interest of three kids who have never built anything themselves. We watched as their new-found sense of pride physically puffed up their chests and added a giddy sparkle to their eyes. There was no concealing their excitement as they worked right along side us learning how to properly use tools and how to paint like a pro. And, there was no concealing our satisfaction and pure joy at watching our Built by Kids mission so effortlessly proven true.
It truly was no ka ‘oi.
