Leilani at 38 Weeks

It does not take long for Leilani to get wet at Lanikai Beach.  A few looks up and down the beach to see if there is any other dog to play with or a stick to chase and then into the water she goes.  She does not need to chase a stick or ball.  She just likes to run in and start swimming.

She has perfected the dog paddle.  She keeps her front paws  below the surface for maximum power.  This morning, in early Spring, I walked along the wet sand and Leilani just kept swimming.

Leilani reminds me of the German Shepherd we had over 30 years ago who would jump in Lake Temescal and swim for the fun of it.  Why shouldn't she, it is fun!

Leilani at 37 Weeks

It is the beginning of canoe racing season here in Lanikai.  The Lanikai Canoe Club is in the middle of registration and some teams have already begun to practice.

The keiki of Lanikai are encouraged to participate as soon as they can hold a paddle. They have their own division and will race later this year in the annual George Perry Memorial Na Keiki O Na Wa'a Race.

Of course, Leilani wants to be a part of the action.

The first part of getting ready for any sport is to buy the right clothes and equipment.  Leilani thinks she looks like a real paddler in her Lanikai Canoe Club t-shirt.

If she keeps paddling, someday she could take part in the 35 mile long Na Wahine O Ke Kai race from Molokai to Oahu.

In the meantime, go LCC!

Leilani at 36 Weeks

Before we ever met Leilani we received this photo of her father, Hana Boy.  Hana Boy works as the mascot at Mckenna Ford.

Hana Boy has a rope toy that is well loved.

Leilani has her own rope toy.  Every evening before dinner she wants to play with her rope toy that she knows as Rag Doll.  When we say "go get Rag Doll", she will select it out of her collection of toys.  She likes to play tug of war and fetch and then tug of war and... with her Rag Doll.

She has a rhythm when she shakes Rag Doll and soon we will introduce the music to complete her Rag Doll act.

Leilani at 35 Weeks

We have never lived someplace where the public utilities are so fragile.  We have become used to the power outages that shut down part of, or all of the island of Oahu.

This past weekend, after a tsunami warning at 6:00am, we brought out our emergency supply kit and recharged our battery operated lights from Vector and OXO.  No one knew what to expect but we were prepared to run or drive to higher parts of Lanikai if needed.  Well, nothing happened.  Chalk it up to good training. 

As usual Percy started today off before daylight and I knew something was wrong.  Our Toto toilet would not flush.  (It does that automatically, neat huh?) At first I though the power had gone out but then I realized that there was no water pressure.  It was dark and I used one of our OXO lights to get a water bottle from the emergency supply to brush my teeth and make the coffee. 

Daylight came and I called the Board of Water Supply. They expected at least a couple more hours before there would be any water pressure in Lanikai.  It could be that the road paving crew had broken a water main at the entrance to Lanikai.

Leilani however had her own plans on how to overcome the lack of water.  She spotted a coconut fresh from the tree on our walk in the neighborhood.  When we got home, Leilani had the end of the coconut open in about 5 minutes of focused chewing.  She then lapped up the freshest coconut water to be found in Lanikai. 

So, if we have another prolonged water outage, here is the plan.  Pick up a coconut in the neighborhood and let Leilani chew the end off and then try to get her to understand the concept of sharing.  We have a bit more disaster training ahead of us!