pals

Today we got to hang out with some of our very favorite buddies at the park...Brett was over the moon because not only did Grace and Claire come over, but also Elsie and Carter joined in on the fun!  All his best buds in one place...h.e.a.v.e.n.!  It rocked for mama too because it's not very often I get an equal ratio of girls to boys...:)

 At the jungle jym.  Fear not, Zack did not get kicked in the face :)

 All smiles

 Snack time!  Poor Claire...this mama of boys wasn't very good at keeping hair out of her face. 

 Carter found a fun snack spot

We found three cute kids and one very scary monster in the jungle!

 Brett rode his bike around the big walking track several times...plus all the way to and from the park.  Thanks to Gracie, today he mastered starting all by himself with no push.  Yessss!

 Hard to believe Claire is one of the "big kids" now.

And from last week -
Elsie and Carter joined us for a fun afternoon of berry picking.  It was a fun first for the littles.  Zack and Carter especially loved grabbing already-picked berries from the pail and throwing them by the handful.  Stinkers.

 I think he may have actually picked this one himself.

 Hoisting up their haul...and about to run through some serious sprinklers.

 Love using the add-on seat for the stroller!  Carter started a little game of peek-a-boo with Zack.

Cooling off with ice cream cones.

Drip, drip, drip...ahh the sticky awesomeness.

 Love how both big sibs were so sweet to share with their littles. 

How blessed are we?!  There's not much I love more than watching my kiddos getting along and having a blast with their sweet little friends.  Thanks for sharing them with us, Hannah and Christina :)

A milestone

Last Christmas, Brett received his first bike. 

We got him a balance bike (no pedals).  Boy was that ever a good investment!

Flash forward six months...

Our good friends passed on a pedal bike to Brett.  It took about a week of practice, and...

After shooting this video he wanted to ride some more, so we trekked down to the school track.  He rode the whole way, and two full times around the track by himself...totaled over a mile.  Momma couldn't even keep up.  Didn't plan on a scorching midday workout, but hey, I'll take it.  :)

YEAH BRETT! So proud of our little dude!

Al-O-Ha (Part 2)

Here we are, Day 5 on Waikiki!  We weren't sure what to expect, navigating all the touristy spots downtown with two kidlets in tow.  But we ended up scoring BIG.

Drumroll please...Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls...I give you - TEDDYBEAR WORLD.  It's a relatively new attraction in Honolulu, and although it has nothing to do with Hawaii, oh MY was it a hit.  The boys were absolutely over the moon watching animatronic bears perform in dozens of exhibits...from pandas in China, to Time Square, to a life-size Elvis on stage. 

Next up (i.e. after tearing two ecstatic boys away from thousands of plush toys) was dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. 

My three rockers. 

 Brett got quite a treat - our server was very taken with our musical little guy, and arranged for him to get some stage time during the live band's intermisson.  Yep, Brett has played his own little set at the Hard Rock.  That'll look good to the record companies, no? 

Day 6: Zack gets a little surfing practice before heading out on another excursion.

We hiked up to Waimea Falls and then snorkeled at Waimea beach. 

Day 7: Toured the Battleship Missouri.  Brett still talks about it 2 months later!

We are OH SO mature.  Planning to frame this one and hang in a special place in the bathroom.

Last night before headin' home - zipped back over to Waikiki to watch the fireworks at the Hilton.  Oh, and one last trip to see the teddy bears...:)

That's all folks!
Aloha everyone...

Al-O-Ha (part 1)

Last month we were blessed to take our first *big* family trip in many years...hadn't left the continental US since 2006, a year and a half before Brett was born. We've traveled a bit with the boys, but mainly to visit faraway family. This time it was all about having fun, just the four of us.  We spent eight days on Oahu...such a blast. Managed to hit just about every recommended attraction on the island, returning home to our little private house on the beach every night.  Here, finally, is a little snippet of our journey to paradise. 








Day 1:
Settled into our beach house, stocked up on food, and snuck into Disney's new resort to party down with Chip and Dale.


Day 2: Sea Life Park - lots of cool marine animal shows...and meeting a new very special friend (more photos below)

Why hello there, Mr. Dolphin!

Brett's first dolphin dance








Smooooch!
Brett was so tough in the chilly water.  He insisted on swimming out with the dolphins, although Mommy held on tight so he wouldn't go on any unexpected dorsal fin rides. 

Day 3: Beach bummin' at Hanauma Bay.  Brett and Daddy snorkeled together while Mommy watched Zack consume copious amounts of sand. 










Stopped for some larger-than-life ice cream cones after the day at the bay. 

Day 4: Toured the Dole Pineapple Plantation

Pineapple ice cream with berries on top...yes please!  Devoured before it could be photographed: a fresh chocolate covered banana.

Day 4, Part 2: Germaine's Luau.  I love this photo - umm, Zack, why aren't you looking at the camera?

Yep. This was the day Zack discovered pretty girls.  Ladies' man... He really hit it off with this little sweetie named Marley...who was sitting at the next table.

Da-da and Zacker-oo chillaxin' at the luau.  Both boys stayed up super late to enjoy all the festivities. 

In the interest of getting *something* published...I'm going to stop here and just give a sneak peek of Part 2.  Stay tuned because Day 5 rocked'!

Day 5: Waikiki 

Zack turns One - the movie

Just like we did for our first little sweetie (see here), we documented Zack's first year by shooting weekly five-second videos.  Soon I will replace this version with one that includes his birthday party, but for now, enjoy!  :)