Sneak Peak

I love to catch little moments of love between the kids.  Even on their worst days when they are driving each other and us crazy these two cuties are still good friends.  We have been working hard to instill in McKenzie that she is a leader and being older than Ben means she should set a good example.  Luckily Ben has a pretty easy going nature so he doesn't mind that she sometimes takes this role a bit to seriously and acts like a mother hen.  It's so nice to see her big sister role coming out naturally when they are together without us right there.

The kids are taking in the evening hula show at Queens Market during our Hawaii trip.  Apparently, Ben must not have been fully understanding the show and McKenzie was glad to fill him in.  They watched so nicely together and then gave into their inner urge to join the dancing.

Somethings Never Change...

And that's a good thing especially when you're talking about your favorite Girl Scout Cookies or your only sister.  My sister and I were in Brownies together when we were little girls and it's one of the many things I remember doing together as we grew up.  Growing up with a sister so close in age had its pluses and minuses but in the end now that we're grown and have kids of our own I'd say it was definitely a good thing.  Each year when I enjoy my Girl Scout Cookies I am reminded of the time we shared as Brownies and how much fun we had together.

This picture is always what comes into my mind when I think of our time as Brownies.  I can see so much of our own kids in this picture it makes me laugh.  My niece, Kayla, has the same toothless smile and long hair as Kacey is displaying.  I wish I saw more of McKenzie in myself but I see Ben's dark brown eyes and little face peering back.  I also see where Ben gets his height... I am standing on a chair and I'm still not taller than Kacey who is only fourteen months older than me.

Inside Joke

All families have inside jokes that they share with each other that other people might think are silly or weird.  Growing up my sister and I had an obsession with the word 'hogwash' at one point when we were probably 4 and 5 and would use it whenever possible in conversations with each other.  We also would pretend we were actually wash hogs - either way it was always good for a laugh.   While we were in Hawaii Ben started what I suspect will be a lifelong joke within our family.  

We were driving up in the hills heading towards a spot that we had seen a rainbow during our last trip.  The landscape was changing from lava and dried grasses to greener pastures and some small bushes.  In an attempt to keep the kids from just yelling wildly in the backseat Matt told them to look for animals out the window.  Unfortunately, it was pretty barren county side with nothing to be seen.  McKenzie asked if we could play 'I Spy' and so we started in.  It was all going along normally with everyone taking turns and say 'I spy something....' green or red or black and then everyone else would try to guess.  Then it was Ben's turn and here is what he said 'I spy something.... stinky!'  It might have ended there but we laughed and then McKenzie and Ben laughed and laughed for close to fifteen minutes. Every time they started to settle down Ben would choke out another 'something stinky!' and off they'd go again.  I have heard the phrase enough since that day to know it's here to stay.

Our little joker in May 2011 - seemed like the perfect picture 

Hawaii Three-O

We came, we saw, we loved every moment of this years Hawaiian adventure.  Again, this year I will talk as if we will go over year of our lives on a wonderful family vacation to Hawaii just because I have to dream that I'll be back next year.  Our trip this year took us to the Big Island where we stayed in the same resort near Kona as we did two years ago on the kids first trip to Hawaii.  The weather wasn't as windy this visit and the kids were older - both were huge positives for us and allowed us to spend as much time as possible in the water.

Two years ago the obsessive topic of our trip was 'why dirt, why dirt?' which McKenzie asked over and over as we drove by lava, lava and more lava.  This year the obsession came from Ben and it centered around our rental car.  His conversation would start out with a statement which we soon learned just to agree with and not engage around.  He would say 'This is not our car.'  Which for the first few times led into a long discussion about airplanes being too small to bring our car and then about where we got the minivan we were driving and on and on.  After the long flight, missing naps and conversation that was going nowhere we were glad to check into our condo and then hit up the pool to enjoy the last of the sunshine on our first day.

We had big plans to check out a lot of different beaches on this trip but after our day at Hupuna beach we only made it to one other beach during our trip.  Everything just lined up perfectly for us at Hupuna and we went back nearly everyday.  The beach has lots of parking, a nice clean beach area perfect for sand castles and our number one requirement for a good beach - decent sized waves.  Here's Grandma Z and the kids heading down to the beach.  This was the last time they walked calmly down the hill - every trip after this they ran wildly down the hill to the beach. 

We experienced and overwhelming amount of kindness from strangers on this trip from the other vacationers we ran into.  On our first night at the condo we were stopped by a lady who asked us if we needed beach toys.  She gave us the ones they had bought for her daughter since they were leaving in the morning.  Almost everyone we met at the pool shared where they were from and recommended other locations on the island to visit or things to try.  It was so nice to meet so many friendly, helpful people - a good reminder to keep paying that forward with others even back at home.  

Here are the kids working hard to gather sand before the next wave comes in.  It's so nice that they get along so well most of the time. 

Once we got to the beach we didn't leave until the sun was gone. The kids are running into the sunset - enjoying every last minute they can.  

Water bug Benny - he loved to run from the waves and then chase them back out and crash into the next wave coming in.  He was impossible to get out of the water.

The kids also learned some new tricks on our trip to add to their list of dare devil activities - boogie boarding.  Their smiles were so big while they were on the boards I was worried they would drink a lot of salt water.  

Short videos of them on the boogie boards.  ** If you only read my blog via email you have to visit the site to see the videos. 

The other beach we visited was the small secret beach that you need a parking pass to use - it's a secluded lagoon perfect for splashing around and playing in the sand.  Due to our kids love of extreme activities I think that may be our last trip to this beach unless we go back just to look for turtles.  Here we are braving the lava with our bare feet to check out the tide pools. 

Our shadows still look pretty good in bathing suits!

The kids being adorable as we headed back to the car.  (Note: It is not our car, just the rental car.)

Grandma Z took Matt and Aunt Annie on a deep sea fishing adventure hoping to catch some fresh fish to enjoy while we were there.  Grandma Z's dreams came true when she landed a 33 lb mahi-mahi which we enjoyed all the different ways that Grandpa Z prepared it.  Now she has a big fish story and pictures to prove it!  

We have a couple of favorite places to visit while on each of the island and for the Big Island Cafe Pesto definitely makes the list.  We discovered it on a trip with my work and have been back every change we get since then.  Here's Kenzie with a new friend she met on the way to the restaurant.  

We started a new routine towards the end of our stay, after we coaxed the kids out of the ocean once the sun had set we'd head to the Queen's shops to watch their nightly show and enjoy some ice cream... before dinner!  Yes, you heard that right - we were very clear to distinguish with the kids that this was a vacation only idea.  

We also discovered a new breakfast location right by our resort and it was a hit with everyone.  Ben though gets a special mention because when he saw his plate of giant pancakes coming towards him he said 'Wow!!!' This boy does love his pancakes no matter where he is.  I thought their sweetbread french toast was something more worthy of the excitement but to each his own.

McKenzie has really been picking up new games quickly of late and she learned two great new games on this trip - Dominoes and Go Fish.  Once she learns a game she wants to play again, again, again please!  Grandma Z loves to play games as well and they enjoy quite a few sunny games out on the patio.  You can't beat the views we had - right on one of the greens.

One of the things we love about this resort is the animals that are on the property.  Our favorite is the turkeys  who come around everyday to see if you have anything they could eat.  The kids ate lunch outside one day and were a little slow with their sandwiches and almost lost them.  This was the first trip that Ben could interact with them and he thought they were so much fun.  

There is also quite a collection of cats on the property and most should be avoided but there was one really nice one who came and hung out at Grandma and Grandpa Z's unit and the kids loved to visit with him. 

We also saw quite a number of geckos which the kids call 'yeckos' and I will never tire of hearing them say that word.  I really need to capture that on video for the future so Matt and I can listen to their little voices and remember these times.  We had one who got into our condo somehow and left just as mysteriously.

We had a fantastic trip that seemed to slip away too fast but we enjoyed every minute we while we were there.  None of us were ready to come home but home we are and at least we had our few days in the sun to fill our tanks up until Springtime rolls around.  The temperature shock after getting off the plane was a bit much for the kids - good thing they had their blankets handy!  

Renewing The Love

In honor of Valentine's Day a new take the Statue of Liberty quote, written by yours truly...

"Give me your tired, your broken,

Your bits and pieces yearning to color again,

The abandoned singles from every nook and cranny.

Send these, the paperless, separated from the pack to me,

I renew your live and bring coloring joy again!"

Our tired and broken ready for a new life.

I have been planning a planning a fantastic Valentine art project for the kids since early Fall last year when I saw the idea on Pinterest.  I even put supplies for it on my Christmas list.  Finally the time was here to make our heart crayons.   The only thing I didn't count on was that items on the internet may be smaller than they appear. When I added silicon heart shaped pans to my Christmas list I didn't realize how many crayons it would take to fill the size I requested.  Now looking at the example pan the hearts are much smaller.  The end product is amazing and the kids will love giving them to their special friends for Valentines Day but my dream of them giving them to all their classmates is a bust.  Good thing I had a backup plans in place so the show can go on.  

Here's the process of making this project -

Step 1: Gather all your old worn out crayons.  We had approx 200 old crayons.

Step 2: Have your kids help you peel the paper off the crayons.  I found it helped to slit the paper with a small knife so it could be easily peeled off.  Note: Peeling the paper off crayons when Mom says it's okay is not nearly as exciting as peeling it off when you're suppose to keep your crayons nice.  This also applies to breaking the crayons with Mom's permission.

All the paper we peeled off our crayons!

Step 3: Break and / or cut up the crayons into small pieces approx 2-3 centimeters so you can get them into your pan.

Step 4: Fill pans, I used silicon hearts but any silicon shapes should work since the bendable pan lets you remove the crayon neatly.  We filled ours almost level with the pan top but not brimming, they did melt down as they cooked.

Step 5: Preheat over to 230.  Bake for 20-30 minutes until your crayons are fully melted down into your mold.  The directions I found said 15 but due to the large size of our hearts it took longer.  

Step 6: Try not to cry when you think they are ruined - for some reason the top of our crayons turned nearly all one color and I thought the colors had all blended together but the bottoms and sides are nicely speckled.

Left is the top view and right is the bottom view.

Step 7: Remove from oven and cool.  Pop out of the molds and enjoy!  We used about 2/3rd of our crayons up and made 12 large heart crayons.  

The heart with a quarter for prospective of how large these crayons really are

Overall this was a great project for the kids, you got to break things, watch them melt and there was something you could actually use at the end!  

Pampered Princesses

For my birthday this year I rounded up some of my favorite ladies - McKenzie, Kayla, Aunt Kacey and Grandma C and we headed out to get pedicures.  This was the first time for McKenzie and Kayla to get their toes painted anywhere besides home so it was quite the treat.  They could not believe all the colors of polish they could choose from.  Kayla knew just what she wanted, pink without a doubt, but McKenzie went through the entire rainbow before selecting a nice dark green.

The girls were very impressed with the massage chairs and laughed when it was pounding their backs.  Grandma was in charge of delivering things phones and things from chair to chair while the girls waited as patiently as possible for their turns.

Aunt Kacey relaxing with her nice tan even in the winter.

My girl cuddling on my lap - when did her legs get as long as mine?

I would recognize those monkey toes anywhere.  Somethings really do run in the family.

Our finished toes looking beautiful  - too bad it's the middle of winter and we aren't getting much chance to show them off.  McKenzie has already been talking about how I need to learn to paint flowers on her big toes.  Time for me to learn some new skills.

And They're Off!

The kids are at great ages to engage in activities together and it makes me happy that they enjoy playing together.  Recently they discovered that they could race their remote control toys against each other around the loop in our house.  Every house should be designed to have a loop so kids can chase each other on foot, bike and every other mode imaginable.  Sometimes the dogs even get in on the chasing fun and Matt and I have been known to do a lap or two.