Sadie & Sophia's Slumber Party!

Tonight Sadie invited her best friend and cousin, Sophia, over for a slumber party. Although the girls have had slumber parties before, never have they had one at our house. This is a first for them...and for Curtis and I. Tonight's activities consisted of making their own pizza's for dinner, having a dance...excuse me...a ball with their princess teddy bears, and a class of Ring-around-the-rosey with Cooper. Its now 8pm and we finally have them settled into bed ... although I think far from actually being asleep. I have a feeling that they will be up chatting away for another hours at least just as they did in Hawaii.

Here are a few cute pictures from tonight. I'm sure we will have much more to share tomorrow!

We LOVE pizza!

I swear its big enough for both of us!

The princesses at the ball

We LOVE sleep overs!

Ring-around-the-Cooper....

Please...can't we have just one more girl join the sleep over?

Finally...tucked in bed for a good night's sleep...

What's really happening in this picture?

I was searching through my old photo files last night, desperately looking for some pictures showing our house with a green lawn instead of a brown one, when I came across a picture that made me burst out laughing. Why I never noticed this before, I'm not quite sure ... although why I notice this now, I'm also not quite sure either. Nonetheless, when I saw this picture, I immediately grasped the real story behind it...or at least what a mom who sees and hears the sibling rivalry all day long thinks is the real story.

At first glance, it looks like a fun afternoon in the back yard. Right? And in reality, that's what it was...no one got hurt. But take a closer look. For all you mom's and dad's out there, you can definitely agree with me that this picture tells a totally different story!

Here's my version:

Sadie's definitely about to say: "What the F*#& Cooper!"

(just look at her mouth...)

Cooper is definitely trying to say: "BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG!!"

Its painting day!

So, as some of you know, Curtis and I have made the difficult, but exciting decision to put our house on the market. In this market, who knows what will happen or how long it might take to sell our house. We've always known that we would eventually make it back to Mercer Island and thought, why not now?

In order to get ready to list the house, there was a few things we need to fix up first...mainly the walls. Having 2 kids and a dog does wonders for the beauty of cream colored walls. So, we asked our good friend Kris (who is incredibly handy) to come over after work tonight for a marathon painting session. I kept the kids away from the wet walls while Curtis and Kris painted away. They did a fantastic job and we only have a few walls left to do. I think we actually might get this house on the market before our target date of March 1st!


Daddy painting away...in his scrubs! I guess paints better then blood...yuck!


Our incredibly nice friend Kris who is INCREDIBLY handy!
Thank you Kris!!!


While the boys were inside painting, I took the kids outside for some playtime.
Cooper was a little cold despite his big puffy jacket.


Sadie and Cooper enjoying some outdoor time together

Happy Valentines Day!

Although today wasn't really Valentine's Day, Sadie still got to celebrate at school. She could hardly wait to get to class this morning (which is a switch...we normally have to drag her out of bed...when did she become a teenager?) She got dressed in her Valentine's Day outfit, which she looked so cute in so of course, I had to take a picture. She even gave her brother a BIG hug this morning!

Look at me...all Valentine's Day'd out!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Well, after a week of sunny skies, warm sun, sandy beaches and yummy tropical drinks, its finally time to head back to cold and rainy Seattle. Although paradise is fun and somewhat relaxing, we are looking forward to getting back to our normal routine. But before we could leave, there was a couple more things to do on the islands.

Today was Punahoe Carnival day!

My dad, as well as Barrack Obama, went to Punahoe, a private high school here in Honolulu. Every year since the 40's they've had their annual fundraiser...the Carnival. I'd heard about it numerous times but never attended so we thought we would try to make it this year. After all the hype from both my dad and aunt about the famous Punahoe Carnival Malasadas (fryed dough with sugar...SOOO YUMMY!), we just had to give them a try. Needless to say, they were definitely mouth watering! The girls had a fantastic time regardless of the throngs of people in attendance. I love fairs and carnivals but not crowds...especially with a stroller and two toddlers! But in the end, we are all glad we went.

Sadie and Sophia on their favorite ride

After the Carnival, Granddad and Grandma invited us to the Outrigger for dinner. Whenever Dad/Granddad pays we are always in! So, we all got dressed up for a yummy dinner at sunset. It was fun, and even though the kids were completely wiped out, they behaved well so we could all enjoy ourselves.

Brother and sister getting ready for dinner at the Outrigger

Sophia and Sadie ... kind of getting tired of all the excitement

Coop ... with his devilish stare. How could you turn down that face!

Sadie at sunset

Mommy and Cooper on the beach at sunset

Grandma and Granddad

Coop's normal dinner face...but look at those eyes! Thanks Daddy :-)

Daddy, Mommy, Coop and Sadie at the very spot Mommy and Daddy got married.

Mahalo for a wonderful trip to Hawaii. We can't wait to return ... when the kids are a little older. Or by ourselves!

Another day at the beach...

Today was thankfully a little bit warmer and a little bit sunnier so we were able to spend most of the day at the Outrigger. The kids just love the calm beach but most of all, the LOVE the yummy corn dogs at the snack bar. Who wouldn't ... right? Yuck! Nonetheless, there's enough beach for everyone and the adults love the seclusion from all the craziness of Waikiki beach.

My little beach bum. Sadie just loves building sand castles!

And she LOVES seashells!

Another great family photo

But by far...the best part of the day was on the drive from our house in Kahala down Kahala Avenue to the Outrigger. As we pass the many beautiful, multi-million dollar estates, we suddenly come upon what Sadie would call "the best house ever!" Hello Kitty's House!! She asks us every time we drive by if we could go ring the doorbell so she could meet Hello Kitty. We've told her that she's on vacation right now in Japan. But seriously...

WHO WOULD PAINT THEIR HOUSE THIS WAY!!!!!!!!

The home of Hello Kitty Herself!

Hawaii...Day 4

Today we woke up to some cloudy, cold...er (still warmer then Seattle!) weather so we decided to take a break from the beach and drive around the Island to Sea Life Park in Waimanola. We weren't sure what to except but were pleasantly surprised when we got their just in time for the Sea Lion show. Then we walked around and saw the turtles, penguins and other creatures of the sea. We capped the morning off with a high flying dolphin show. The kids loved it and it was a nice break from the sandy beach (Cooper still doesn't like it too much but is getting better.) Tonight Curtis and I are going out to dinner for our anniversary which we are both looking forward too. For those of you who don't know, Curtis and I were married 5 years ago this month at the Outrigger Canoe Club here in Honolulu. The actual date was last Monday, January 26th but we thought we would celebrate it while here on the islands. It will be nice evening out with Christopher and Lissa being gracious enough to watch the kiddos for us.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from yesterday afternoon and today at Sea Life Park.

Our adventure at Sea Life Park

The family at Sea Life Park

The girls at the International Market in Waikiki

The girls in front of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel

Cooper refused to ride in the stroller the entire time we've been here!

Mommy...are we done yet?

The family in front of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel

Off to the beach again to build sand castles

Mommy's first trip into the salty water with the kids

Auntie Momo has loved having the little ones here on the islands!

Coop has definitely mastered the art of lounging...but Will hasn't yet.

Another day in paradise!

Today was another beautiful day in paradise. We spent some time at our house in Kahala in the pool and running around the tennis courts. Then headed to the Outrigger Canoe Club on Waikiki for some more fun in the sun.

The girl's matching outfits. So cute!

Let me out!!! I hate tennis!!

Coop's idea of a vacation.

My little swimmer. He LOVES the pool!

Coop hitting on the ladies at the Outrigger Canoe Club

Sadie playing on the beach at the Outrigger Canoe Club.

ALOHA!!

Well...after one of the most horrendous flights Curtis and I have ever had, we've finally made it to the beautiful island of Oahu. The flight itself wasn't bad...it was just our screaming child that made everyone on the plane wonder, including ourselves, why we would bring an 14 month old to Hawaii. Well...the pictures below say it all. The kids absolutely LOVE it. Sadie and Sophia are having the time of their lives and Cooper (after a little crying because he couldn't quite figure out what sand was) is having the most fun exploring everything in our house, yard, pool, beach and ocean. And the parents are even getting a little quiet drinking time once all the kids pass out from pure exhaustion. So...all in all...after only 1 day, things are going great!

7 days and counting...........

Our AMAZING house on an estate in Kahala. Its absolutely beautiful, one house from the beach, our own pool and tennis court and plenty of grass for the kids to run around on. www.vbro.com is the best place for rental houses!!

WE'RE IN HAWAII!! WE'RE IN HAWAII!! The girls just couldn't believe the house we were staying at. They just kept running around in circles!

Sadie and Sophia's first trip the a Hawaiian beach

Cooper's first experience with sand. He doesn't quite get it yet and doesn't really like it. Not to worry...we'll have plenty of time to break him in this week!

The family's first trip to the beach at sunset

Daddy and Cooper going for a walk