Arise: 2012 Mutual Theme Song

TAKE ME BACK TO THE KINE

Aloha.....
I am writing for the first time in a very long time a lot has happened in that time the most important is that I did it! I brought my family back to Hawaii.... Believe me when I say that it was not the easiest move but once I took that leap I have not looked back. My kids thank me every day for bring them to this Paradise were a kid can be a kid... they run outside, play in the waves at Hukilau beach, hike the mountains of the Ko'olau's, in surf shorts and t-shirts with the Pacific sun kissing there hapa skin....
When I say it wasn't the easiest move I am referring to the fear I had as a parent in bring my kids who have been raised in the mainland to Laie... I place I understand but can sometimes be difficult to maneuver as some who doesn't understand the culture and the unwritten rules that have been established. But I will tell you that my personal fears where unfounded as my kids have come and fit in with out any issues or growing pains fitting right into the melting pot that is Laie.
The other thing that worried me was the cost of living and I wont lie it is not easy paying some of these prices for things like Milk and even bread... but things even out you spend more here and less there, You still end up on the losing end financially but... This past Saturday my wife and I drove up to the Laie point to eat a plate lunch we got from Papa Ole's . We watched the waves break on the rock its strange how comforting that is, we watched as a mother whale and here baby jumped out of the water for about half and hour... we drove over to Sunset and sat on the beach with my boys and watched the sun set... it cost me nothing.
The saddest part to me about moving back here is realizing that so many of my friends and class mates are not here for what ever reason... there are a lot of people who are still around and the feeling of Laie still is as strong as it ever was but I wish some how more people could find there way back home....

Mele Kalikamaka

Mele Kalikamaka

It's Christmas time and its freezing over here on the mainland… Thinking back to the time before I had ever seen snow…. When the days were warm and Santa Claus wore slippas and shorts.





I was teaching my kids the Hawaiian version of 12 days of Christmas… its funny to hear them try and sing it with a pidgin accent and realize how not local my kids are.

I am grateful for the chance this year to take the family home for the summer… I am planning to make it a yearly tradition. My boys learned to surf and got to spend time with cousins… it was great to just walk the streets with time to cruse in stead of rushing around trying to get in every second of sights and sounds…. We cruised on the beach and hung out with friends and family… it was almost like being home for realz.

My lil sister found some old pictures of my grand parents in Laie back in the days it was cool seeing them, it reminded me that Hawaii is really home… proud to be from Laie and the islands.

Maybe one day I can find a way back… Like many of you I know that is the dream…

Aloha from the Uyehara's

Summer has come and gone, I spent it in Laie and it was like breath of fresh air. People are always talking about living in a bubble in Laie and I say "what's wrong with that, isn't that what Zion's all about?" Anywayz from the moment I saw my kids running bare foot on Hukilau beach I knew that I was depriving them of the most essential of birthrights... the simple pleasures that I took for granted growing up in paradise. It's almost like a dream when you get back to the mainland and slowly you forget and resume your daily tasks and only once inwhile catch yourself in a day dream....

I walked down the old street and even sat with Mike Jackson on the drain outside his house, it was like stepping back in time. But sadly I woke from the dream to find myself driving down the highway back to my house.