HAWAII

Heavenly! It was such a wonderful vacation! Everything about it was amazing, well maybe not the tsunami evacuation part of the trip, but even that was made pleasant by the hotel accommodations.
The hotel was amazing!!!! We stayed at the Hilton on the big island and the rooms were really nice, but the hotel as a whole was unbelievable. The food was my favorite. They had a breakfast buffet that was to die for! Brian teased me saying that the breakfast was going to be the only thing I remembered about the trip and to be quite honest it really was one of my favorite things. (I've decided since I'm used to eating hot dogs, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese and peanut butter everyday, I've found a whole new appreciation for food.) This picture from our room just doesn't do it justice.
We went snorkeling and it was beautiful. The coral was so close I started to have anxiety that I was going to scrape my belly because it was so shallow. On our way to our snorkel destination, we saw three whales! We were probably 100 yards away from a 30 foot mama and her baby. And then we saw another large one, as well as two 8 foot mana-rays. It was amazing.
We had massages, which Brian thought was a huge waist of money and time, but since we didn't pay for it I figure it's okay for him to take one hour of doing nothing! We also went to the volcanoes to see the continuing lava flow. Unfortunately we weren't able to get too close, but we could feel the heat from under the rocks below us so I guess that's close enough.
We played in the water at a black sand beach, so neat. And being in Hawaii of course we also went to a Luau. Brian and I both were pulled upstage to try to dance with the amazing hip swingers. I'm sure we looked like idiots. It's funny I would've never done this 10 years ago. I don't know if it's just age and being more comfortable with myself or if Brian's carefree attitude has worn on me, but I had a lot of fun making a fool of myself.It was hard to leave the kids, especially Norah, but it is so nice to have my time with Brian, not having to share him with anyone else for 5 whole days. Thanks family and Mandy who played with our kids for us.
This is "we're in Hawaii!" face

Yearly Questions

ASHER
1. What is something that Mommy always says to you? “yes"
2. What makes Mommy happy? "making good choices"
3. What makes Mommy sad? "When I make bad choices"
4. How does your Mommy make you laugh? ”jokes"
5. How old is your Mommy? “30”
6. How tall is your Mommy? “30 hundred and sixty pounds”
7. What is her favorite thing to do? “help and play.”
8. What does your Mommy do when you're not around? “shower”
9. What is your Mommy really good at? "bingo"
10. What is your Mommy not so good at? “bingo.”
11. What does your Mommy do for her job? “written" I guess because I'm typing.
12. What is your Mommy's favorite food? “broccoli.”
13. What makes your Mommy proud? "Shows on the stage like Johnny Cash."
14. What do you and your Mommy do together? “Play.”
15. How are you and your Mommy the same? “Sometimes we wear the same shirts”
16. How are you and your Mommy different? “you're bigger than me and I'm smaller than you and Evie is smaller than you and Norah is really smaller than you."
17. How do you know your Mommy loves you? “You like me.”

1. What is something that Daddy always says to you? "No and Yes"
2. What makes Daddy happy? "When I play with him and when I hug him and when I kiss him."
3. What makes Daddy sad? "When I make bad choices."
4. How does your Daddy make you laugh? ”Like this, (his arm up and his mouth open singing opera"
5. How old is your Daddy? “31.”
6. How tall is your Daddy? “Very tall."
7. What is his favorite thing to do? “Play with me and make me laugh.”
8. What does your Daddy do when you're not around? “He goes to work and to the store.”
9. What is your Daddy really good at? "violins, and guitars, and drums."
10. What is your Daddy not so good at? “I don't know.”
11. What does your Daddy do for his job? “Go to work."
12. What is your Daddy favorite food? “I don't really know. Not chocolate."
13. What makes your Daddy proud? “When I laugh at him and when I play with him."
14. What do you and your Daddy do together? “Play with all kinds of stuff”
15. How are you and your Daddy the same? “sometimes we wear the same shirts."
16. How are you and your Daddy different? “My dad is bigger than me and I'm smaller than him."
17. How do you know your Daddy loves you? “because he loves me so much in the whole live planet."



EVIE
1. What is something that Mommy always says to you? “a secet (secret)."
2. What makes Mommy happy? "My dad."
3. What makes Mommy sad? "a leaf." ( I think this mean when she leaves)
4. How does your Mommy make you laugh? ”Maybe Noa (Norah)."
5. How old is your Mommy? “I da know.”
6. How tall is your Mommy? “Four."
7. What is her favorite thing to do? “Four”
8. What does your Mommy do when you're not around? “At the tore(store)"
9. What is your Mommy really good at? "At the tore."
10. What is your Mommy not so good at? “Not the tore.”
11. What does your Mommy do for her job? “Weed the books."
12. What is your Mommy's favorite food? “Wice.”
13. What makes your Mommy proud? “a T.B. (TV)” ?
14. What do you and your Mommy do together? “Maybe a ellipoter (hellicopter).”
15. How are you and your Mommy the same? “A mommy and a mommy.” (they match)
16. How are you and your Mommy different? “Back and a front.”
17. How do you know your Mommy loves you? “I isten (listen).”


1. What is something that Daddy always says to you? "A name."
2. What makes Daddy happy? "A fawer (flower)."
3. What makes Daddy sad? "And you sad too."
4. How does your Daddy make you laugh? ”(Laughing), Like tat (that) way."
5. How old is your Daddy? “Two, no I two. Brian is four and Asher is six.”
6. How tall is your Daddy? “Bigger and bigger."
7. What is his favorite thing to do? “Like, like treats.”
8. What does your Daddy do when you're not around? “When I answer the door.”
9. What is your Daddy really good at? "A lights."
10. What is your Daddy not so good at? “Not like cookie.”
11. What does your Daddy do for his job? "work."
12. What is your Daddy's favorite food? “Chicka nuggets.”
13. What makes your Daddy proud? “Proud, proud."
14. What do you and your Daddy do together? “ I da know.”
15. How are you and your Daddy the same? “ I da know.”
16. How are you and your Daddy different? “Yeah."
17. How do you know your Daddy loves you? “I da know."

bounce house blues

We thought Evie broke her ankle but it was just very badly sprained. This bruise is 10 days after the collision. I made Brian take her in because I didn't want the questioning from the doctor since we've previously been in twice for dislocated arms! Poor Evie. She still plays it up occasionally. She was able to walk with a limp about a week later, but even a month out she'll still saying, "Daaaadeeee, cawry me, I tant walk".