Nanea's Adventures

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! M...

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 langu...

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 ...

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