Aloha 2013

So January started off with a BANG. After a SUPER-CRAZY-AWESOME-PLENTIFUL-JAM-PACKED December, we we knew things really weren't slowing down anytime soon.

We wrapped up the holidays with a trip to McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park for their Holiday Lights. We had never taken the trains there at night, and it was really cool to see all the lights from tiny little freight cars. The kids absolutely loved it! But the best part I would say for Quincy was the model railroad exhibit building where 3 different model train clubs build tracks and displays for their model trains and basically spend all their free time there creating these awesome displays. We couldn't pull him out of there. It was a fun night for sure, and we enjoyed spending it with Grandma Chacha and Papa Tom.





Quincy started back at preschool, we celebrated my Dad's 65th birthday with a nice quiet dinner, then a few days later Paloma officially turned 2, then Becky went into early labor and I took an impromptu trip down to Tucson to meet the beautiful Makenzie Rae in the NICU at 5-days old, then we got ready for our week-long trip to Kauai, Hawaii to celebrate Papa Meredith's 70th birthday with Solon's Mom's side of the family. You may remember our last big trip like this was down to Tucson for Lisa's 50th (when Paloma was 9 months old), and the year before that to Estes Park, CO for Mimi's 70th (when I was 7 months pregnant with Paloma), so this was the first trip where Mommy could have a little more fun! I will say I was a little nervous about flying 6.5 hours straight with 2 kids, but the goodie bags I made for the flight attendants once again got us HOOKED UP! And the kids were so excited that they did a great job. Mommy was proud. So without further delay, here are some of our Hawaii highlights.

Fun at Hanalei Bay (which was 3 blocks from our house!)





Quincy and Paloma making the same face while watching Max & Ruby - too funny

Alynsia THREW DOWN on some BBQ Ribs!

Anini Beach was so chill and not crowded, it was probably the most relaxing day of the trip. We loved it.


These cockadoodles were EVERYWHERE!!! The start making noise at 3am! It took us a bit of getting used to, but by day 3 or 4 I had pretty much tuned them out. It just cracked me up to see so many roosters in parking lots, mixing it up with everyone.

Solon and I got a night off to enjoy a grown-up dinner while the kids were sleeping at the house with the great-grandmas. We went to a fabulous place call The Dolphin in Hanalei, and it was easily one of the 5 best meals I have EVER had in my life. Blackened Hebi Fish with prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, and some sushi rolls as a starter. So so so good.

Waimea Canyon

And the gorgeous view on the way down

A beautiful, tranquil drive on the way home from Poipu Beach

We went to an indoor Luau that was just so much fun at a place called Tahiti Nui. It was a family-owned and operated establishment, that provided AMAZING, interesting food, live music and hula dancers, in a setting that was similar to a family get-together. Oh, and if you've seen the movie The Descendants with George Clooney, some scenes were filmed at this place. (see pic of George on the wall)

The kids' first reaction to the hula dancers. They look evil in the pic, but they were mesmerized!


Dancing to the music

Fresh pineapple and POG (Pineapple Orange Guava) juice!

Explanation of the underground cooking process of the Kalua Pork, and samples before dinner! (SO GOOD)


Enjoying the night


Our last day at Hanalei Bay - so sad to have to leave this beautiful place =(





So that was Hawaii for us, a beautiful place that I will love to go back to one day. Thank you again family for that wonderful opportunity to celebrate Papa's birthday in such a memorable way.

We enjoyed the Super Bowl at Charissa and Eric's house
Quincy checking out Beyonce's half time performance


Sleeping Beauty


Celebrating Solon's 35th birthday with family



More adventures to come in the next post!

Until then...

A Truly Magical December

This past December was probably the most magical month I have ever had as a mom.

Quincy finished his first season of soccer with a smile on his face and a stronger friendship with his buddy Jackson (from preschool)


Celebrating Natan & Larel's birthday with the family


For Quincy's birthday weekend, we headed up North to Williams, AZ with the Stromski family for The Polar Express at the Grand Canyon Railroad. Since Quincy's love for trains continues to grow, we knew this would be a great year to try this out.

First thing was trying on the hotel room for size. The kids broke it in well.

The kids met Mrs. Claus before the train ride

Happy Birthday my beautiful baby boy

SO much fun with our dear friends!!!


Have you ever seen this kid so happy?

Palomita was really serious about her cookies

Approaching the "North Pole"

There's Santa and his elf with the "Nice" List - our kids saw their names!

Santa has entered the train car!

Santa giving the kids their bells - so when they hear it jingle, they will always BELIEVE


This was the look I got when he found out the ride was over

Paloma was wondering what these magical hand warmers were

Still in our PJ's the next morning post-breakfast

Paloma & Mason (one month exactly apart in age) were inseparable on the trip

We had such a great time with our kids and our friends. It was truly a magical magical magical experience. Next time, we will try to go closer to Christmas, because then we could experience SNOW, too!

And as if we hadn't had enough of trains after the Polar Express, we headed straight to the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park, for Maia's 5th birthday. It's amazing to see how fast these kids are growing before all our eyes.


After 7 years of an off-again/on-again search, and about 8-10 churches later, we finally found a church to call home. And this month, we officially became members of Coolwater Christian Church. So happy to be a part of this amazing congregation. And we are so thankful to our next-door neighbors, the Huggins', who invited us back in the beginning of our search.


Quincy as a horse in the "Walk-in Christmas Pageant" at church. He took his role very seriously, and even whinnied and neighed while in costume.

Paloma as a sheep - she looked so stinkin' cute!

Makena was an angel - so sweet



After Christmas, a very pregnant & beautiful Becky came to visit us with Scott & little Noah. I can't wait to meet her new baby next month!!

It was great to get the kids together and spend some QT with them


I just loved these pics of Paloma on Christmas morning



For months I have been planning the kids' birthday party. It's what I love to do. And when I picked out our Peter Pan costumes for Halloween, I knew then that I would get us all a second use out of them at a themed birthday party. So the planning began... I may have overdone it a bit, considering the time of year is already so hectic, but it makes me happy, and at the end of the day it was TOTALLY worth it.

Here's a look at Neverland, and the kids who don't ever want to grow up

Marshmallow Pirate Pops!

ARRRRRRRRRRR... a Pirate!

A Pixie!


TINKERBELL!

Deciding between chocolate-dipped Oreos, or Pixie Sticks

Hanging out on the plank of the "Jolly Roger"


Reading the clues on our "treasure hunt"

PETER PAN himself!

Some of the details: Tinkerbell trapped in a jar, Tee Pees, Captain Hook moustaches, Peter Pan's shadow

Feathers & Treasure Chests filled with beads and gold bars & coins (chocolate)

The "buried treasure" for the end of the treasure hunt

It was such an amazing day. I could NOT have done it without Solon (my pirate who got excited for the party at the last minute, got the yard "crackin'" and went to go pick up the pizza in full costume), and Lisa (my awesome mother-in-law who made my house sparkle, just to get messy again from 20+ kids, who provided the yummiest snacks, and who is just all around amazing), and Tony (who is responsible for all these beautiful pictures, and that ridiculously cool pirate ship sign which he did free-hand!!!). Special thanks also to Aunt Shelley and Alaina who showed up early, and helped me prep & stage the food. Without them, we would not have been ready in time. See what I mean about biting off more than I could chew? But seeing all the kids faces full of smiles, new friends being made, some tears when they had to leave, and one special Pixie asked if she could have her birthday party at my house - seriously - it was all worth it. Thank you to all our family and dear friends who took time out from their busy post-Christmas weekend to spend a little time in Neverland with us. These are memories that our family will carry for a very long time.

And finally, to wrap up a simply wonderful month for our family, on Sunday, December 30 (yes the morning AFTER the birthday bash), we had our children dedicated at church. A child dedication is a time for us as parents to present our children before God and the congregation asking for grace and wisdom in carrying out our responsibilities. Our awesome Pastor David created a special blessing for each of the children based on the meaning of their names and the significance of their names found in scripture. He ended with a special prayer, that our children will know and love God in their lives. It was so special and wonderful, and we are so appreciative of the time and effort our Pastor put into the blessings for each child.



Happy New Year from our family to yours!