The Shortest Vacation Ever!

Our beach cottage on Kauai. Super cute and really comfortable! The view from the beach right outside our cottage at Barking Sands. That's the forbidden island of Niihau in the distance (I think).

Max crawling around on the beach. The surf was pretty big, so it was definitely not a swimming beach, plus the currents are supposedly pretty hazardous.

Me and Max on the beach!

Max and I just had the shortest vacation ever. Dave had a short underway period that would end with him on Kauai for about four days. So we decided that I would fly over from Oahu and meet him (we were arriving on Kauai on different modes of transportation). My parents would watch Sophie while I was gone and it was decided that Max was still too young to be without me for several days, so he would come with me.

I found out shortly after I arrived in Kauai (in fact I was still at the airport) that Dave wouldn't arrive on the same day I did. I would hopefully be able to meet up with him on the following day. Around 7pm the night I arrived I found out that Dave was on his way back to Oahu and so I would have to check out of the beach cottage, return the rental car and try to get on the first flight back to Oahu. All by myself, with Max (oxymoron I know).

Dave was home several hours before I was. I was lucky to get on an earlier flight out of Kauai and while we didn't get to have our mini vacation, it was really nice to see him again.

So it was short and crazy (less than 24 hours on island), but Max and I had a great time just the two of us.

The New Year - 2011

Here's some photos of our New Year's Eve festivities at my parent's house. Sorry they're a little out of order. I'm working on Dave's laptop and having technical difficulties. Oh the little joys of moving.

Sophie and Max - New Year's Day

Sophie and Dave with Sophie's first sparkler

Sophie protecting her hearing during one of Pop's firework displays.
Max's first sparkler. My dad, Lulu the dog, and me.

Max and Dave checking out the sparkler

Max and Dave on New Year's Eve 2010.

All in all we had a pretty fabulous 2010. We welcomed Max into the family, Sophie adjusted to being a big sister, and Dave found out he was going to a fantastic new job.

We already knew that 2011 would bring many exciting changes for our family. Dave will start back on sea tour this spring which means he won't be home as much as he has been the past two years. Don't worry we're getting a fancy new security system so the kids and I will feel safe.

We are buying a new home (very exciting) in our new city! Washington State here we come (do you think they're ready for us)? We're so happy to be going back to the Pacific Northwest. We really enjoyed living there several years ago and can't wait to see how things have changed.

Sophie is changing into a stubborn and hard headed little girl as opposed to the stubborn and hard headed toddler she's been. Her language is improving by leaps and bounds. She knows some of her letters by sight and we've been working on teaching her to write her name. She will start preschool next fall and has been begging me to go to ballet class.

Max is growing and will I'm sure be walking within the next couple months and talking soon after. He's already saying Mama and ball. His weight has steadied out at 23 pounds (pretty close to Sophie's weight) and he can really get around by crawling and cruising around on furniture. He's turned out to be just as laid back, happy, and easy going as I thought he would be (as long as he isn't teething and is well fed).

And I, well, I'm the glue that's holding it all together. Running a house, raising kids, being a wife, best job in the world if you can get it. I'm really looking forward to making new friends and reconnecting with some old ones when we move.

So if you're in our neck of the woods we have a guest room that's available and ready for company after March, although I'm not promising that I won't comandeer it as a craft room at some point.

Happy New Year!

Diamond Head Hike - January 2011

I'm going with the assumption that anyone who reads this blog knows me fairly well. So it will come as no surprise that I balked at hiking Diamond Head. I don't like exercise, sweat, or anything that involves me getting out of my pajamas and into tennis shoes. However my loving husband was SUPER excited about hiking Diamond Head. It was also brought to my attention that Dave's Grammy hiked Diamond Head the year Dave and I were married. So I reluctantly agreed to go with Dave and the kids on this difficult and demanding hike (only difficult and demanding because of the amount of Christmas cookies I ate in December).

This is about half-way up... I was DYING!

It's all worth it for the fabulous views. Sidenote: The nice guy taking our photo apparently didn't realize I had a 23 pound baby strapped to the front of me and took several photos where Max cannot be seen. I mean really?

This is Waikiki. Dave and I got engaged on that beach down there.

Hiking down the mountain was in fact just as bad as hiking up.

1. It was a fun hike
2. Now I can say I hiked Diamond Head
3. I never have to do it again.

Oh Happy Day - Christmas 2010

Sophie and Max had a GREAT Christmas! It was so nice to stay home and open presents and then have friends and family over for dinner in the afternoon.

Sophie was still under the weather when she woke up, so she mostly sat on the couch and watched movies and opened presents. Her favorite presents were her talking Woody and Jesse dolls (from Toy Story) and a floor puzzle (both from her Grammy and Grandad in Texas). Next up was a child sized table and chairs from Marer and Pop (my parents). We've had tea parties several times and Sophie loves sitting at her table working on her puzzles. She also loved her Prince Philip doll and Aunt Lissa and Uncle Danny gave her.

Max was pretty easy to please this year. A box, a little wrapping paper, some tape that he could eat... although he also really likes his new dump truck.

Sophie and I both received Ugg's from Dave which we already wear. It might be Hawaii, but Ugg's are always in season =).

Dave and I decided that our traditional Christmas dinner would be Standing Prime Rib and Yorkshire Pudding. The food was great (although my Prime Rib kept mooing at me). We also made homemade horseradish. We were very adventurous with cooking this year. I like to think that every year I become a better cook, maybe I'll take some cooking lessons in the coming year, then I won't give Dave food poisoning periodically.

Christmas Eve - 2010

We had grand plans for Christmas Eve this year. The kids, Dave, and I were gearing up to head over to my parents house for dinner and gift opening. Unfortunately Sophie woke up in the middle of the night with a fever so I decided we would instead have a relaxed evening at home. As relaxed as one can get with a three year old running a fever and hacking up a lung all over the house. I was sad that I didn't get to spend my last Christmas Eve (for awhile) in Hawaii with my parents but Dave and the kids and I all had fun at home.

Sophie and Max got to open one gift on Christmas Eve. It is always new (and now matching) pajamas in anticipation of photos on Christmas morning. I tried to convince Dave that we should all wear matching or coordinating pajamas but he said "No way!". At least I got to dress the kids up all matchy-matchy.

Sophie and Max hung out on the couch for a while. Sophie insisted on holding Max, which is when I realized that he might be bigger than she is, or at least close. Max isn't wearing any pants because he is quite the messy eater now.

Sophie and I getting ready to bake cookies for Santa Claus.

Dave's turn to help Sophie bake cookies.

Max wanted to help also. By help I mean eat raw cookie dough.

Waiting with bated breath for Santa Claus cookies.

Putting the final ornament on the Advent Tree that Missy gave us last year. It was Dave and Anne's when they were little.

We can't wait for Christmas morning!