Nanea's Adventures

Girl of the Year (2011) Kanani Akina  lives in Hawaii on the island of Kaua'i. She is a cheerful girl who wants to make life beautiful for others. Kanani loves to help out in her family's shave ice business. It doesn't hurt that she gets to taste all the delicious flavors. Kanani especially likes introducing tourists to the Hawaiian treat. "Shave ice is kind of like a snow cone but much lighter and fluffier" Kanani tells one customer "And there are tons of flavors to choose from," Kanani has fresh pineapple and bananas to use in her shave ice plus a rainbow-colored lineup of fruit syrups. "My favorite is a mix of pineapple, mango and passion-fruit" she says. "What kind would you like? They're all ono-licious!" Play the Ono-licious  game ! Mahalo Nui

I just found even more fun games and things to do with Nanea .  I love "Hula like Nanea" and Let's Learn Hawaiian"

I just found a brand new Nanea game on the American Girl site.  It's very simple to play and you can download the picture when you are done. Leis were originally worn by ancient  Polynesians  and some  Asian people  as part of custom.  They were often used by  Native Hawaiians  to signify their ranks and royalty.  They are also worn as a form of honor to each other and their gods.  The religion of the Native Hawaiians as well as the  hula  custom is tied into the leis that they wore.  Leis were introduced to Native Hawaiians by Polynesians who visited the islands and imparted the tradition of wearing leis onto the people. On the first of every May, an event called Lei Day is celebrated to honor the act of lei making and the custom surrounding it. (wikipedia)

Luciana Vega - She's available on Monday, January 1st

I saw this book cover online and wondered if it was real!  YES!! It is being released in mid-February! I'm so excited. Here is the description: Ever since the war started, Nanea's done her best to follow all the new rules. When she meets a boy named Mano in her grandparents' market, Nanea is shocked to hear him admit to breaking some rules. And when things start to go missing from the market, Mano is the first person Nanea suspects. Nanea's determined to protect her grandparents, but Mano, whose name means "shark," seems to be hanging around the market more and more. What can Nanea do to keep her family safe from this dangerous boy? I hope this means many more Nanea adventures. Annie

While snuggled up in these pretty floral-print pajamas, Nanea dreams of frolicking on Waikiki Beach. 

American Girl Cookie Cutter Set We saw this beautiful AG cookie cutter set online and on sale! There are 4 cookies cutters: Flower, Star, Cupcake and Heart.  It's going to be so much fun to make these cookies and then decorate them with yummy icings, sugars an candies. Just in time for the Holidays!  More pictures to come later this month! 

This year, because we are an American Girl Berry member we got to chose a gift. Nanea chose this cute pink dress. It just came yesterday and she could not wait to try it on. She also wanted to wear her cute tiara. Mahalo Nui

More than 2,000 species of plants and about 60 varieties of birds inhabited the Hawaiian Islands when the first Polynesians arrived. Mahalo Nui

From Elsa (Nanea) and Anna (Samantha) Trick or Treat!

It is now possible to create your own American Girl doll and design your own fashions for your doll! I had fun designing some pretty things for Nanea.  We have not decided to order them yet. I want to make some others and see what I like best. But here they are. Do you like? Mahalo Nui

Yesterday Mommy took me and Nanea to see My Little Pony - The Movie. This is "Royal Swirl".  My personal little pony that I made online. Isn't she cute? T he movie was so beautiful. I loved the animation! It was so wonderful to see  Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity  together using the magic of friendship to save their home of  Equestria.  I also loved all the songs! All about friendship!  Nanea enjoyed the movie too!  

The Polynesians are believed to be the people who migrated from SouthEast Asa to the Pacific in about 1500 B.C. They were excellent sailors and navigators. Mahalo Nui

Prints in the Sand: My Journey with Nanea  I love this book. It's so different from other books. Depending on what path you choose you are reading a different story. Like choosing to do baby sitting or go to the book drive.  The story is told by a girl that we don't know. Not ever her name. But before long I realized that that girl is me . I am traveling back in time to Honolulu during World War II. An amazing trip. I learned the hula. I met Nanea's mommy, her Tutu (grandma) & Tutu Kane (grandpa). I met her sister. But the best part is that I met Nanea. I became her friend and slept over at her house. I love Nanea. The next time I read this book I am going to read it to Nanea and let her choose the story path. This is Nanea's dog Mele. Her name means "Song". She is so cute.  Mahalo Nui

I also got this beautiful coloring boon for my Birthday! It has pictures of: Ancient Hawaii Arrival of Captain Cook Kingdom of Hawaii Territorial of Hawaii Modern Hawaii As I have time I will post the pages that I finish coloring and explain the pictures. Mahalo Nui

I had a wonderful birthday celebration last week. So many fun presents. Especially for Nanea and about Hawaii. We even went to the American Girl Store for lunch on Sunday. I brought Nanea of course. I will blog about all of them. The first was Nanea's pretty Island Swimsuit.  Nanea and her friends Donna and Lily love the beach almost as much as they love shave ice. Living on the Island of Oahu means many lovely  beaches everywhere. The set includes: A colorful tropical-print halter-style swimsuit; in the style of the ’40s, it features wide-legged shorts A bright-yellow towel with a wave pattern A  tatami  mat to protect her from the hot sand Faux-wood goggles; they’d have been hand-carved in Nanea’s time Mahalo Nui

A wonderful surprise arrived today. Nanea got a pretty new pink party dress. I dressed her and took some pictures to share.  We need to go someplace fancy now. This is the site ( Lidi Designs ) where the dress came from. Aren't all the dresses cute and adorable? Nanea loves them all! Mahalo Nui

We went grocery shopping yesterday. Pineapples were on sale. They are usually $4.00 but they were selling for half of that. So we bought 6 of them. Mommy knows how much I love pineapple. I asked her to make pineapple upside-down cake and pineapple smoothies.

Nanea lives on Oahu with her family. K nown as "The Gathering Place" it is  the third largest of the  Hawaiian Islands . It is home to about two-thirds of the population of the  U.S. state  of  Hawaii . The state capital,  Honolulu , is on Oahu's southeast coast.   I was browsing all the wonderful places there are to visit on Oahu.

This is the second book about Nanea's adventures.  Everything has changed because of the war.  Nanea had hoped that going back to school would make things seem normal again. But it didn't.  Her friend Donna is gone but there is a new girl, Dixie, in class who is getting all of her teacher's attention. The worst is that her big brother talks about joining the army. She can't bear the thought of him leaving. She is also worried about the army wanting to take  Mele, her dog, away, to help with the war effort.  With all of this, Nanea turns to Hula to try to lift every one's  spirits especially the soldiers. That makes her forget, for a while,  about all the other changes.   Nanea learns more about what Aloha spirit means. Her Mom explains that "The Aloha Spirit means we share each other's joys and sorrows no matter what".  That made me cry. We also read about Nanea celebrating her birthday. That was lots of fun! Mahalo Nui

Nanea has been taking hula lessons from her grandmother since she was 4 years old. Her beautiful hula outfit and her love for hula got me very interested about the history of hula and what the hula means. I found this at " GoHawaii " In ancient Hawaii, a time when a written language did not exist, hula and its chants played an important role in keeping history, genealogy, mythology and culture alive. With each movement – a hand gesture, step of foot, swaying of hips – a story would unfold. Through the hula, the Native Hawaiians were connected with their land and their gods.   Before the arrival of Western missionaries, the hula was danced for protocol and social enjoyment. The songs and chants of the hula preserved  Hawaii’s history  and culture. Many believe hula was born on the island of Molokai, but other legends tell of Hula originating on Kauai.  For many years following the arrival of missionaries, the hula as well as the Hawaiian language and music were suppr

I love Nanea's Hula outfit.  Enjoy this fun video review . I love playing Hawaiian music and watching Nanea do her hula dances! Nanea has been taking hula lessons from her grandmother since she was 4 years old, and she loves the rich and beautiful tradition. This set includes:  A red top A faux- ti -leaf skirt that rustles like the sounds of real hula skirts A lei  po'o  that she wears on her head A yellow  lei  made of faux plumeria bloom; Nanea made it herself before her performance Two  kupe'e leis  she wears on her wrists Two  'uli'uli,  pretend feathered gourds she holds and shakes for rhythm during the dance In this picture you can also see all the things from her accessories set: Nanea and her sister, Mary Lou, bring these items when they go to hula class at Tutu’s. The set includes: A  lauhala  bag made of faux  hala  tree leaves, to carry the implements An  ipu  gourd used as a drum Items tapped together for rhythm during the dance:

If you are not getting American Girl  Magazine  you should put it at the top of your birthday (or Holiday) gift list. Its the perfect gift for celebrating  King Kamehameha I Day  (which is celebrated around June 11th in Hawaii). I'm learning so much about Hawaii!! I adore the stories, crafts, games, letters and so much more! Apple Harvest Triple Treat !  (From AG newsletter) Mahalo Nui