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 washing 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 saying "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.  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 every 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.  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 an 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 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 the boogie board on our trip to add to their list of dare devil activities.  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. For the Big Island Cafe Pesto definitely makes the list.  We discovered it on a trip with my work and have been back every chance we get.  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.  We enjoyed every minute 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 of 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 their life 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 last Fall 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 were 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 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.

The Cleaning Streak Continues

I'm still going strong on my 2012 Mission Organization, though there is always something coming up to throw me off.  I just forget about missed days and focus on what's next.  I've already been to meet up with the Goodwill truck twice this year.  I love the feeling of getting rid of unwanted and unneeded items.

A big area of trouble for me has been the closet under the stairs.  It is home to many things that are suppose to live there and many more things that are just hiding there hoping someone finds them again and uses them.  When I set out to tackle this area I focused on what was suppose to live in that closet.

We had two areas of shoes that were overflowing but some shoes needed to stay since they are more seasonal shoes and not something we wear every day. So I decided to test out moving the shoe cubby we had in the closet out on top of our other shoe cubby in the mud room and like magic I ended up cleaning and organizing two trouble areas with one new idea.  Now we have enough room for the shoes we wear all the time and we can easily put them on and take them off in the mud room.  We can keep them from gathering right inside the kitchen door which drives me crazy.  The remaining seasonal shoes fit nicely in bins under the shelving in the closet.

Next up we had kids games.  As the kids are getting more and more into games we needed a place for them to keep them where they can get them and put them back without help.  Matt and I also love games so we have two or maybe three other game storage areas in other closets but they were full so the kids needed their own place.  Once I put away or gave away all the abandoned / misplaced items that were filling up the shelves, I had more than enough room to stack the games, including some that my sister had passed on that were nicely stored in bins.  That also solved the program of storing the game bins in McKenzie's closet since the games were constantly being dumped out and left on the floor.

That left arts and crafts that needed a neat and tidy home and that fit easily on the top and bottom shelves depending on if the items could be used without an adult or if they required Mom or Dad to help.  Organized in a few bins to keep things under control and we are set!

It's so nice to not fear this closet and to be able to find things when we want them!  So many more areas to go but the progress has been motivational.  I've decided 'before' shots are too scary and so I am focusing on the 'after' when I have a big project like this complete.

I got that for my birthday!

The whole concept of birthdays and how amazing they are finally dawned on Ben just before Christmas.  After that point everything he wanted to show us he would say "I got that for my birthday."  Even if he knew he had gotten it yesterday at the store it was from his birthday.  As we headed into January he was gearing up and kept asking when it was his birthday and then would yell "Yeah, my birthday" when I would tell him how many more days.  Needless to say this was a year perfect for going big with the birthday celebrations since he was ready to celebrate.  He has been practicing holding up three fingers and hasn't quite gotten the traditional method of holding his pinkie down with his thumb but I much prefer his version - he's doing okay!  He will tell you he's six instead of three but I don't think it's because he is counting all his fingers, he's just very excited.

On his birthday he came downstairs to our family tradition of the table decorated with balloons and presents.  He was very excited to see his presents, lollipops, balloons and cookies to share with his friends at school.  

Can you tell he's excited!?!

After celebrating with his friends at school we headed out to Red Robin to meet up with some of the family for his birthday dinner.  The birthday boy and his sissy with Grandpa and Grandma Z.  So exciting to see Grandma and and Grandpa at your favorite restaurant.

Uncle Eric and Aunt Kacey helping to celebrate.  Nathan and Kayla couldn't wait for Ben to open his present which was a firetruck that dances, talks and shoots balls.  He slept with it that night he was so excited.

Ben and Daddy all smiles.  Ben is apparently telling me he'll call me later.

Birthday picture with Mom and his favorite girl Indy.  He was one tired boy by the time the day was done.

On to the birthday party!  We had his party where the kids do gymnastics and it was perfect for our crowd of all age friends.  We had baby Keaton who was zero according to McKenzie all the way up to Nathan who will be nine in March.  Here's the line of party goers marching along.  They weren't fast enough to keep up with Ben who had heard the foam pit was open for jumping.  

 And speaking of jumping our little paratrooper McKenzie didn't hold anything back at the party and was just a flying ball of energy.  Time to get enrolled for the next session of gymnastics and get her focusing all that energy.

For Ben's cake I made four 'pizza' cakes because he loves pizza so much.  He was very excited and it was a very easy and fun way to have a unique cake.  I picked up pizza boxes from the little pizza place by our house to make it authentic.  Big thank you to Pinterest for connecting me with the idea. 

Cousin Claire helping to celebrate Ben's big day!

Keaton practicing for his upcoming birthday by sporting his party hat and enjoying some of the pizza cake.

Looking forward to a terrific year with a great big three year old boy!  I still can't believe my baby is three, where has the time gone?  Must mean I'm getting older too.

Good-bye Old Friend

Hello big sky.  They say when one door closes another opens and that is how we are looking at the major change that happened to our backyard landscape during the big snow storm.  One of my favorite features of our backyard has always been our weeping willow tree which was located in the center of the yard and provided a nice canopy over the yard in the summer.  Growing up I had two willow trees in my yard that I loved to play under.  When Matt and I looked at this house, I saw the tree and fell in love.  The tree was not much to look at when we moved in since the backyard had not been maintained and the willow was leaning quite a bit in an effort to get some sunshine.

{ Spring 2004 }

We cut down over twenty alders that were shading the willow and gave it back its rightful place in the yard.  We also cleared out the rest of the overgrown bushes and trees and had rock wall built to contain the hillside near the willow tree.  We've put a lot of blood, sweat and even some tears into our yard and all the while the willow was there with us.  As we had kids we added a swing to one of it's largest branches and the kids loved to grab at the leaves as they soared through the air.  

{ Summer 2011 }

When we had our big snow storm this year the willow had some snow on it but it didn't seem to be anything more than normal.  I took a picture out the kitchen window when the kids and I were eating breakfast so I could show Matt how much snow we had.  

{ 8:30 a.m., January 2012 }

We played outside in the backyard and under the willow, I decided to remove the swing from the tree so we could dry it off.  At lunch time I noticed the branches seemed closer to the ground than normal.  I walked the kids up stairs for naps and saw the willow had fallen when I went to close Ben's curtain.  The cold and the weight of the snow must have just been too much for it.  We lost two other willows in our neighborhood during the snow.

{ 1:00 p.m., January 2012 }

Now we have a big mess to clean up but we also got one thing that I've been wanting for for a while - big sky.  With such a large full tree in the backyard sometimes I felt like I never got to see the sky.  Now we have a perfectly good view of the sky, enough to keep me happy anyway.  So we'll remember our beautiful tree for the time we had and be glad that we didn't have to make the choice to cut it down someday.  We can hit our  baseballs a little higher, play soccer on a bigger field and we'll enjoy many a great bonfire with friends from this giant of a tree.  

{ January 2012 }