Hawaii

Dan and I returned last Wednesday from our 2 week vacation to Hawaii! I can't remember the last time I was so relaxed. We had a fabulous time. We spent 6 days on the Big Island, 4 days on Kauai, and 2 on Oahu. Our time on the Big Island was mostly spent at the resort relaxing beach/poolside. There is not alot to do on that island. We did venture out to see the volcanoes which was neat though part of the park was closed off due to high/dangerous sulfur dioxide levels. Our resort here was awesome. It was really large and was not overly crowded. IT had a private man made beach and 3 different pools. We spent some time paddle boating and kayaking on the lagoon watching the fish. eels, and sea turtles. We had a ocean front deluxe room (perk of having a husband with diamond VIP status!). It had a awesome view. We watched the sun set in the evenings which was spectacular. Once the sun touches the water on the horizon, it takes only 180 seconds to completely disappear. You could actually see it drop. We very much enjoyed our time there and would recommend it if you plan on going to Hawaii.

Our stay on Kauai was more adventurous. We took a helicopter ride, took a kayak/hiking tour, and did alot of sight seeing. This island was beautiful! The Big Island was mostly volcanic rock so it didn't have the prettiest countryside.

The 2 days on Oahu were just short visits as we were only there to catch planes. We did spend the better part of one day there though at Waikiki beach. We didn't like that particular area. It was super crowded and urban. We liked the relaxing more private places we stayed.

The traveling was tiresome, but flying first class helped make it bearable. It was a great trip, but by the end I was ready to see my babies again! You can go here to see all of our pictures if you want.

Jericho

Ava heard the story of Jericho in Sunday school yesterday. This morning when I went to get her out of her room, she had taken all the toy storage bins of the storage rack and lined them up on the floor. She also took some pull ups and lined them up by the bins. She proudly announced she was playing Jericho. The bins were the wall and the pull ups were steps up to the wall. She continued on to blow her horn and knock the wall down. I'm so glad she is actually listening and retaining stories from church! Thanks to all of you who invest in our children by volunteering to teach on Sundays!!

We have had our first couple of trips to the pool for the summer! The weather has finally been consistently warm. Ava really loves the "little" pool, but Anderson is not so much a fan. He'll stand in the water for awhile, but he would rather just watch from the lounge chair. I also find it funny that Anderson wears a bigger size of swim wear than Ava. Her suit is 6 to 12 month...she's 3 for cryin' out loud! ;)

Ava be EXTRA cautious in the foot of water.

Dan and I leave for our vacation in just 3 short days! We will be spending 2 weeks in Hawaii without the kids!!! We are so looking forward to getting away. We haven't had a vacation since our honeymoon 6 years ago. So it is a much needed vacation.

What the Bible says (according to Ava)

On Sunday evening, Dan and I had played outside with the kids for a little while. Ava chose to play in the sand box while Dan, Anderson, and I were swinging. I caught Ava throwing some sand so I got after her and told her not to do that again. It wasn't but a minute later I caught her doing it again. So we had to sit down and have our discussion about obeying and what the bible says regarding obeying your parents, get a spanking...the drill we go thru every time she disobeys. We have really been working on Eph 6:1 lately. At the end of our conversation, I asked Ava one more time what the bible says. She quickly responded, "Don't throw sand!" I couldn't help but laugh at her. ;)

Injury update/addition

Today Anderson added a black toenail to his laundry list of injuries. He pulled the air popcorn popper out of the cabinet and it fell right on top of his big toe. (We really need to get some more child locks on our cabinets!) Seriously...I'm just waiting for a trip to the ER! He has a nice "strawberry" on his face from his fall yesterday. It's about the size of a quarter. He looks a little beat up, but he's no worse for the wear! Hope you all had a happy Monday!

Accident prone Anderson

What a day! My poor little guy got quite beat up today! One accident was really my fault, but I'm allowed a "bad mommy" moment on Mother's day right?! This morning we had a baby dedication at church so Dan and I dedicated Anderson. After church, we had my parents, Dan's mom and sister, and my sister Angi and her family over for lunch. Dan grilled some very yummy chicken breasts on his new grill! Anyway...when i finally was able to sit down with my plate, i sat in the chair next to Anderson. I sat everything down and as i was pulling up my chair, my sneaky little guy reached over and grabbed my steak knife by the blade!! I didn't even think when i sat it down...I should have known better! Luckily he only cut 1 finger but it bled a ton! I seriously thought we would never get it to stop. After quite a struggle, between Dan, myself and my sister, we were able to get it all wrapped up. Crisis resolved...for the time being at least!

If you look at his fingers, you can see his bandage!

After everyone had left, Dan and I stepped outside to put the grill cover back on. While we were doing so, Anderson made his was out and as he was trying to step out, he totally face planted into the cement! It really didn't seem to phase him, but his forehead and temple/cheek area were all red and scratched. He continued to play outside for some time. I tried to get a good pic, but he just moves to fast for me and my camera to keep up! Here is a pic that was taken probably an hour after the fall...it was still really red when he went to bed. Hopefully it will not bruise!



So after we came in, the little guy had to have a bath. His bandage on his finger was really dirty so we had to change it after his bath. The cut is on the crease of his finger so every time he bent it it would just gush more blood. The bleeding this time was worse than the initial cut. I made an emergency call to my awesome neighbor and she had her daughter bring over some different band aids. We finally managed to get it wrapped up again but not before a ton of drama! Tomorrow we are heading to the store to get some skin "glue"! Even after all of the events of the day, he was he sweet little self in no time. Praise Jesus that kids recover so quickly. I'm pretty sure it was more traumatic for mommy and daddy than it was him.

Ava's Princess party

On May 2nd we had Ava's big 3rd birthday party! The poor girl actually had to wait an extra week after her birthday to have her party b/c Rylan's (her cousin's) party was the weekend before her actual birthday. Since our family has to drive 2 hours to get down to Indy, we decided to wait an extra week so everyone didn't have to drive back to back weekends. It probably worked in her favor b/c by the time it was actually time for her party, she was about to burst with excitement. She would ask me everyday when she could have her Cinderella cake! She had a wonderful party with all of our family. Here are a few pics...

The Cinderella cake!

Cinderella with her Cinderella cake

Blowing out the candles (she was really excited about the candles!)

Enjoying a big piece!

The new tutu Grandma made her.

Showing off her ballerina skills.

This was her other favorite gift...a princess fishing pole! (she is actually quite good at casting!)

Ava is 3!

On Friday the 24th, Ava turned 3! We spent the day together planting flowers and playing outside. It was just a low key day at home, but we had a ton of fun. We are having her actual birthday party this weekend so I can post pics of that later.