The kids played outside for hours with Evan & Hannah, our neighbors, a few weeks ago. They worked really hard on building some fun forts. Little did we know, but it was the last hurrah of winter (at least we think it was!) Those forts are long gone and today the last of the snow melted in our front yard. There's LOTS left in the woods still, but spring is truly coming! The calendar says spring is here.... I'm hoping it's true.
I rarely post this many photos about one occasion, but I'm posting these for me this time...not really for you! I'm determined to soon print out my first blog book, so I want these for memory sake.
I joked often that the kids will think they were on vacation with their dad as there were no photos of me at all....here's the token "mom photo!" Proof...I was there guys!
My mom called us at 5:30am to tell us about the earthquake in Chile and the tsunami prediction for Hawaii. Soon thereafter, the tsunami sirens began going off. We prepared as much as we could. We "evacuated up" and hung out on the 4th floor for a few hours until we were given the OK to return to our rooms. Our bags were packed, the van was stocked with food & water, & we waited & wondered if we should have done more. Thank goodness it didn't happen as predicted!
Owen surprised all of us on the airplane and did amazing on both flights to Hawaii. He is a SOCIAL little guy and played and chatted with everyone he encountered on our trip. He stood on our lanai (balcony) and said "hi!" to everyone who walked by. A few people apparently felt like they knew him because of this and came up to both Tom & I by the pool to chat with him. "Oh look, Roy...here's your little friend!" Little did they know, he chats with everyone!!!:) Sleeping wasn't his strong point on the trip, so he & I took some nice long early morning walks by the beach & donut runs. And the birds....Owen was forever wandering off to chase a birdie. He loved the water, the sand, & the beach & spent hours dumping water out of his little cups or his bucket.
Thomas had a ton of fun in Hawaii. LOVED the water, the beach, the sand, the geckos, the crabs...all of it. He is always running in the footsteps of his sisters and will try almost anything they suggest:) He & Owen argued & fought like brothers do, but there were windows of sharing in Hawaii too! Owen was too big for the crib the condo provided, so he shared his bed with Owen a few times. Warmed my heart to see these two snuggling together! Thomas became quite the "swimmer" while we were there too. Jumps into the water and freely puts his head under and tries to swim to us! Swimming lessons are in his near future:) A highlight for all four kids was getting to each hold a parrot in Lahaina. Thomas' parrot was a little green guy named, "Peanuts." He did everything we asked of him and was super still for the picture even as the bird decided to crawl up his shirt and onto his head! About an hour later as we were buckling up for the ride home, Thomas looked at me real serious and said, "My birdie's name was Penis?" FUNNY!
Claire snorkeled for the first time in Hawaii. It was so special to hold her hand while snorkeling as two giant turtles swam right underneath us! Claire LOVED to eat the fresh pinneapple we had at almost every meal and was so incredibly diligent at writing in her journal every day about the day's adventures.
Ella bought her own snorkel gear with her birthday money before we left for Hawaii. The first time she snorkeld, she was much younger so got freaked out right away. This time, she did super and loved every minute of it. It's hard to see in this photo, but she and Tom were snorkling quite close to whales this day. She thought it was amazing to get to hear the whales underwater and Tom was amazed with her strength as she swam a LONG ways! Ella got to see her first turtles while snorkling so that was another Hawaii highlight for her. Ella also learned that God has planted her in Alaska for a reason during our trip. She has sensitive skin and had nasty reactions to the sun and sunscreen while we were there. Thank goodness for benedryl, swimshirts & sunhats!
We took our first full "family of six" vacation in February. We went to Maui and had such a sweet, sweet time. We lived in our swimsuits and soaked up as much sun as our white Alaskan bodies could handle. Tom and I believe in RELAXING when we vacation so we didn't have a big agenda or list of things to do or see. One day we would pack a lunch and head to a beach to explore and play, and the next day we would simply hang by the pool and play with the kids. Here are some pool pics...
Ella completed her first year of basketball. She participated in an afterschool program at school in the fall and loved it so much that we signed her up for Valley Youth bball. It was so fun to watch her grow in her confidence & abilities on the court. Her coach was awesome and their team did really well. They only lost one game all season. Go girl!!
