Eight years down and many more to go!

We started off this anniversary season with a trip to AMPM for slurpees Sunday night after the boys went to bed. Shaun was scheduled to work Monday and Tuesday so we wouldn't be together on the 26th. :( I was sad about that but, I guess over the years I've kinda (kinda) gotten used to not celebrating holidays on their actual dates.

Monday came and went. When I woke up Tuesday morning I was wishing Shaun was next to me! Instead I had snotty little Blake hitting me in the face and rubbing his little boogers into my shirt. But, because he's so cute it didn't matter! If I couldn't have Shaun, I'd gladly take his offspring! My parents are here so my mom and I were going to let my dad take the big boys to the park and we were going to take Blake and go shopping. We were almost all ready when Shaun walked through the door with a card and flowers! Surprise! I wasn't even entertaining the idea of him taking off so I was super shocked! Change of plans: My parents had all the boys now and we were out of there! Here's a little glimps into our day... iphone style!        

Look! No kids!

Shaun told me that he wanted to take me shopping... I was so excited!

Little did I know we were going to Malcom Smith for my "desert" outfit! After eight years of marriage I learned something new... Shaun will gladly take me shopping but, only if it involves riding gear! I have never seen him so excited to look for my size and to keep bringing me more and more to try on! I found my set and it is pink (not these pants though)!!!  

The next stop was lunch at the Mission Inn. We sat outside and the sounds of the water and chirping birds were so relaxing! A yummy meal with a yummy date! We should have gone in search of the room we stayed at eight years ago!  

Every time I go to the Mission Inn I have to sit in President Taft's massive chair!

We went by the church we were married at and the office lady unlocked the doors, turned on the lights, and even took this picture for us. What's even cooler is that we took this picture at the exact time we were married... 1:42pm! That little detail made it extra special!

We ended the day on the couch asking each other if we wanted to go out for dessert. Sadly, at this stage in our life (parents of a preschooler, a 2 year old, and a baby) we just wanted to go to bed! That would have been way too much for one day! ;)

Happy anniversary baby! I'm looking forward to the next 50 plus years! 

A Pink Promise

This is one of my three hydrangea plants in my front yard. This one is extra special to me though. You see, it didn't look like this when Shaun bought it for me last spring. The flowers were actually blue and there were only three puffs of flowers. We planted this soon after we found out Blake was a boy. Shaun knew I was sad about not having a girl however, he gave me this to symbolize what we would have...Our three boys. It lifted my spirits and it was pretty cool to see the grouping of three, blue flowers. Somehow it made it more real to me that I was going to have three sons! Pretty cool!

Blake was born in August and I loved looking at the plant even more now! I had a face to match with each flower!

Our summer finally hit (September and October) and I was pretty sad when the hydrangea died! Shaun wanted to rip it out but, I just couldn't let that happen! The leaves still seemed to have life in them so I made him leave it alone! I gave him a sad face and reminded him that the plant represented my children! He rolled his eyes at me but, finally, he let me keep my "boys!"

I kinda forgot about it for a while and didn't even notice that it had begun to grow back. Before I knew it, it looked like this! Countless puffs of pink and purple flowers!!! Amazing! What did this mean? It meant that my boys had multiplied and given me girls!!! When I thought a dream had died I realized it had come back to me a million times greater!

I did a little research on hydrangaes and learned that it is not uncommon for them to change their color. However, it is much more common and easier for them to change from pink to blue rather than blue to pink! Interesting!

I feel like this hydrangea is a promise from God. Somehow, someday... I'll get a girl! According to this plant though I'll get many girls! ;) It reminded me of the story of Abraham in the Bible. God promised him that he would be the father of many nations... AND he didn't even have a son yet! However, because his faith was strong and he trusted, God soon gave him Isaac. Well, God has given me an Isaac... And a Parker and a Blake and a.......

FYI: I just need to clarify... This does not mean we are trying for a girl! We are content with our three boys!

Intermission: Blake is 10 months

So, I am writing this on my brand new lap top! Our old one fried again and Shaun was done putting money into it. The only problem is that all my pictures are on the old one. Thankfully the hard drive is still good and we just need to transfer all our files. In the meantime Hawaii will be put on hold and I get to talk about my Blake!

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 Today this little guy turned 10 months old! I can hardly believe it! This past month we have seen the most growth in him developmentally. He's learned lots of new tricks and is thrilled when we praise him for it! He's interacting more with his big brothers and gets mad if they leave him and go in the other room. You see, Blake is still not crawling so he needs Isaac and Parker close so they can roll the ball back to him. For months the big brothers thought it was fun to get anything and everything that littlest brother needed. They were right there every second to make sure he was happy! We'll that's getting old and Blake is getting frustrated. He's still a content little guy but, hopefully this will help him realize that he needs to get moving!

Accomplishments:

He can clap,

He loves to wave,

But, his favorite is to growl! Just ask him... He'll show you how fierce he can be!

He has mastered the sippy cup. He chugs like no other!

He gives the best open mouth kisses! ;)

He is working on tooth #8!

We're guessing he's around 22lbs.

He can palm a basketball!

He can lay on his back and gargle his spit!

He sounds just like Chewbacca and his big brothers love that! 

He is loud and has many, many, many different noises and sounds!

See! Palming a basketball!

Mr. Blake Tyler, you are still my shooting star...

Kauai: Day 2

Day two started around 6:30 and it was still just as beautiful! The first thing I did every morning was open up the back sliding door. I was greeted with a cool breeze, the sound of crashing waves, smell of flowers, and cock-a-doodle-doos (which I will get to later)! Today was also a big day for me because it was my last day in my twenties! I wanted to make the most of it... 

Around 8:30 we packed the cars and headed to the north shore. We went straight to Tunnels Beach to snorkel. Even though we were early into our trip, Shaun and I weren't sure if Kauai was a snorkeling island. The water wasn't as clear and little more rough than the other islands. We've had some great past experiences so our expectations were pretty high. We loved Hanauma Bay in Oahu, the Molokini Crater in Maui,and the Big Island has Kealakekua Bay. We decided that we would try again tomorrow on the south side. We still enjoyed the views, water, and of course all the sticks! After a few hours we were ready for shaved ice and Bubba's Burgers.

On the journey back home we toured the sites, Hanalei, Princeville, and the Kilauea Lighthouse! All were breathtaking! I guess this is how I would describe most things in Hawaii! The boys were such troopers. They never slowed us down and just kept on going.

When we got back all they wanted was the POOL! We already knew this would be the highlight of the trip for them!

The night ended with hourly text from my dad and brother reminding me that I would be old (retro) in a few hours. It didn't really work because if the people that are teasing you about your age are older than you, than it's ok... ;) Good night and good bye twenties! you've been so good to me!

Tunnels Beach

The gang! Isaac has the best seat!

Mr. Go With The Flow!

I love how my guys will ask for pictures. Probably because they know I'm going to put the camera in their face no matter what...

I tried to get a family picture wherever we went.

Shaun was constantly putting sunblock on Parker. You can see how happy he was about it!

Ammah chillin' with the little ones and making sure they share the gold fish!

Rough and tough!

Bubba's Burgers in Hanalei.

Kilauea Lighthouse.

By this point maybe we had pushed the boys a little too much. They didn't want to look at the camera... Parker didn't even want to be in the picture! Poor Ammah and Papa!

My big boy!

The view from the pool!

Blake did amazing in the water. Shaun's always makes them learn new things! 

Their version of a muumuu!

We went to put the big boys to bed but, we couldn't find them! Hehehe!

Kauai: Day 1

The first time we took Isaac to Hawaii he was up at 4:30 so seeing as how this time around all the boys weren't officially up til six was great! I say officially because Blake came in bed with us at two and when Parker came in at 4:30 Shaun took him out to the sleeper-sofa and they fell back to sleep. If the first morning was so good I wasn't worried about the next five!

We had breakfast and headed out to explore while we waited for everyone else to wake up. There was a playground and kid's beach about a fourth of a mile from our condo. The boys were thrilled and would have stayed there the rest of the day. They don't make playgrounds like this in California!

At 8 o'clock, during Blake's morning nap, I took the big boys swimming. On our way to the pool we yelled in at Ammah and Papa's condo and told them to wake up. Papa and aunties soon joined us in the water.

After a trip to Wal-Mart for groceries and souvenirs we went site seeing. Opaeka'a Falls was our first stop and it happened to be right across from the Wailua River. These were two gorgeous views! This is where the boys experienced their first liquid sunshine. They were a little confused that the sun was out and they were getting wet! Our next adventure truely was an adventure. We found a beaten, dirt path that led to who knows what and took it! The boys thought it was great and beacuse off all the rocking it put Blake to sleep! Parker really wanted to play I spy. He said, "I spy something in my eye that is..." Then he thought and thought and looked all around. Seeing as how we were in a jungle there was only one color to choose from. He finally shouted, "GREEN!!!" The boys were really hoping to see Tarzan swing from some of the vines! Next time I guess!

The boys took off and wouldn't turn around for a picture!

Sooooo cool!

The lava was a nice touch!

The kid's beach that didn't have waves. It may look like sunset but it's really just that early in the morning!

The boys hanging out on the back patio!

Isaac finding more sticks!

Opaeka'a Falls

Wailua River

My twins!

In the jungle... The biggest green leaf ever!

This is how we ended the day.

Can you guess what movies we brought with us?... Yup! The boys are introducing daddy to episode one!

Kauai: Arrival

After three years and four months of dreaming about our LAST trip to Hawaii and then another four months and 29 days of waiting for THIS trip... The time finally came to board that plane! For weeks I had been telling the boys all about Hawaii and how much fun we were going to have. In fact, anytime they were upset about something they would say, "But I just want to go to Hawaii!" I had them trained! They did well on the five and a half hour plane ride. However, they kept asking, "Why does it take for such a long time to get there?" Cute! Ammah's bag of tricks helped to keep them entertained as well as their new Star Wars guy! Papa helped put together lego firetrucks and helicopters! When Blake is really tired and won't go to sleep he has this ear piercing scream thing... He made sure to share it with everyone on the flight. Isaac would always nurse to sleep and Parker had the pacifier but, Blake, well he's going to make you work a little harder. I usually pass him over to Shaun for his magic touch. He now refers to himself as "The Blake Whisperer!"

The last 20 minutes were probably the longest for me! I couldn't take my eyes off that window... I was so ready to see my beloved islands again! When I finally saw the beautiful coast I felt myself relax and breathe again. To saw I was excited is an understatement! See, Shaun is right. I do need help!

There is something amazing about walking into a Hawaiian airport. The breeze (cause there aren't walls), the smell of fresh leis, the bright, blue ocean calling your name! Yummy!

We got in around 1pm, went and got some food, and then checked in at the condo. First order of business was to apply the sunblock and head right out to the water (aka: our backyard for the week)!

I couldn't wait to introduce my boys to a real beach... White sand, clear water, and fresh coconuts right off the tree!

Keeping busy with movies, games, food, trips to the bathroom, and everything else!

First sightings of land! Gorgeous!

The first picture taken on the beach! I was finally home again! ;)  

Parker using the force on the camera!

 Isaac loves playing in the water and was thrilled to find soooo many sticks to play with!

Parker still has a fear of the ocean so aunties (who met us there) had to hold him!

And Blake, well, he stayed on dry land holding down the fort! :) these teepee things were everywhere!

The boys were a little confused when I told them that this was their new room. Isaac got very serious and asked if our new house (where we actually live) is now our old house!? Sadly, I had to tell him that we were not moving to Hawaii and that we were just borrowing someone elses house for the week!

It had been a long day and with a three hour time change we were a little worried about when the boys would wake up the next morning....... 

Hawaii

Aloha! Sadly, we are back from my paradise on earth! We spent an amazing week on the island of Kauai and now I think I'm going to spend the next week crying and wishing I was still there. Shaun thinks I'm ill and that I need to go to therapy! That would probably cost the same as planning another trip to Hawaii so he might as well just start saving for another island adventure!

The next few (and by few I mean like seven) posts will be about Hawaii. I want to make sure I cover everything so I'm going to blog about each day. Not only do I want to reflect on how wonderful it was but, because the boys are so young and won't remember much when they are older, I want to give them as much memory as possible!