Passin Time in Fiji

We've been to a fair amount of children's birthday parties lately.  They are pretty amazing here.   Mostly they have been in friend's back yards.  A lot of times they have a pool and if not, they usually get a bouncy house.  The last two birthday parties have taken place at different hotels.  One was right down the street at the Grand Pacific Hotel and the other was in the next town, Pacific Harbour.   All of them have been amazing in respect to scenery and fun for the kids.  I have been to a lot of chuckie cheese type birthday parties too...in the states.   The kids have a blast....but I can definitely say I'd prefer these settings!   Pretty crazy!   ( I didn't really get pictures of the pools and ocean,.....but they are all around).  

Our friend, Uli, invited us to the above bridal show.   Warren was out of town (and would have no interest in going anyway) so the girls and I went with Uli and her daughter.  I originally thought it would be more like a fashion show with models...but it was more of just a show/display of the most beautiful gowns.    The girls were in awe of all the glitter and glam, as was I!   We got to walk around looking at all of the wedding wear while nibbling on appetizers, sipping wine, and listening to music with an Indian feel.   I can definitely say we have never had an experience like this in the states, although I am sure many have.     The whole event made me re-think our white gowns.    These gowns were stunning and so much fun!  Maybe one of my girls will marry an Indian man (or woman) and get to wear something like this when/if they get married.   Or....maybe they will just break the norm...and choose to wear one anyway.   At the very least, it's fun to imagine!

Kate Anderson Passin  added  2 new photos . Yesterday at 8:40am  ·  A huge VINAKA (Thank you) to  Gigi Gore  and  Shelby Weimer Hines  for the most amazing package today!!! It was such an awesome surprise!!! Made my week!!! Childhood friends rock! Oh, and the girls loved the packaging! They said it was finally snowing in Fiji! Like  ·  Comment  ·  Share Julie Stephenson Rhodes ,  Nikita Wilcox ,  Ulrika Uli Rylander  and  20 others  like this. View 2 more comments Kate Anderson Passin   Love y'all too! I've already made myself sick on laffy taffy! Lol! Yesterday at 8:56am  ·  Like  ·  2 Lori Y. Rausch   Oh wow......peanut butter and girl scout cookies. Yesterday at 9:44am  ·  Unlike  ·  2 Beverly Anderson   Love it! This is such a thoughtful gift Shelby and Gigi! I know Kate will enjoy the reading material too! Yesterday at 11:01am  ·  Unlike  ·  2

Friday night Warren and I took the girls to dinner at one of the nicer places in Suva, Daikoku.  It is one of those Japanese places that they cook the meal in front of you.  Overall, the food was really good and the children's behavior was ok.  Zoe was in a mood before we even walked in....which had me re-thinking our decision to take them to "this fun restaurant!!"   It turned out ok, but I cannot say I relaxed during the meal.  Some friends came over afterwards to play games which was far more relaxing. After our friends left, Warren and I went to bed.   Of course, having small children in the house...you never know if you are going to sleep for the night...or if you will have visitors in the middle of the night.... crying from a nightmare, needing to pee, or just wanting a snuggle.   Not long after we went to bed, Andie came to our bed...scared.   About an hour later, Zoe joined as well  (It's been way too frequent lately that the whole Passin family is in on

On another note, today I was grocery shopping.  I got to the store right when the store opened at 8am.  As I was walking through the veggie isle, I saw one of the employees spraying the vegetables with insect spray.  This was not just your usual spray that you may think is ok to digest... (if that even exists) but ordinary bug killer like you use in your home when you see a roach.   They don't have RAID here, but like that!  It stunk like poison and he was spraying it on the vegetables just like it was water!  I stood there with my mouth open...unable to say anything to him.   So....now what?  Do I only buy fruit and veggies you can peel?  Do I grow everything myself?   I need to find out if they spray like that at the market too.  If not, obviously that's the only place I'll shop for produce.   I hope when I ask I get a straight answer.  I need to befriend a farmer!   Until then...scrub scrub scrub and peel my produce.   Yikes. This is the kind of spray he was sprayi

Today marks the seven year anniversary of the accident.   It's hard to believe it's been seven years...in some ways it feels so much longer than seven years ago...  It's feels more like a whole lifetime ago, except every year when the anniversary pops up.   Every year we take a moment to reflect and feel grateful that Warren is here and healthy.   We remember not to take each other for granted and take  time to savor the moment and rejoice.    I guess I remember the accident too when we go into a hospital for any reason.  Just recently when we toured the hospital we went into the ICU unit and I had some PTSD symptoms...nothing serious of course...but I felt short of breath and highly anxious remembering the whole thing.   I immediately was transported back to the hospital in Texas and it took me a good hour to catch my breath normally again.  I was surprised by my reaction because like I said, I rarely think about the accident anymore. I've never written down the expe