Spring Break 2012

This is our first official Spring Break. Tory didn't have to teach early morning seminary and the kids didn't have preschool. We decided to make the most of it and had a GREAT week! It started with a trip to the beach and what makes the beach even more fun is new swimsuits!! The kids all got to pick out new suits at Costco and are utterly thrilled with their choices.


Oliver loves to lay down in the water and say "Look mom, I'm swimming!"

Parker and Penelope borrowed this mini boogie board from their friend and found it made a perfect table to hold all their little toys. It kept them entertained for quite some time!
Then after naps we rode our bikes to a nearby park and had a fun time playing together:

Then on Tuesday we got to go watch Daddy play soccer. Tory plays Tuesdays and Thursdays right when Parker and Penelope are in preschool so the kids haven't been able to see him play. They were so excited to see Daddy play soccer! We even brought along our soccer balls so they could play on the sidelines.

Tory in action (white shirt, grey shorts):

Penelope getting ready to kick the soccer ball:
Oliver getting ready to kick the ball:
After trying to share 2 soccer balls between three kids Parker finally gave up and started playing in the dirt:

Wednesday we had play group and stuck close to home knowing Thursday and Friday were going to be big days.

Then Tory took Thursday and Friday off so Thursday morning I got up early and went to hike Koko Head with some girlfriends. As soon as we got there, it started to pour. We sat in the car for a few minutes and then just decided to go for it. We were soaked within minutes but it wasn't bad because as soon as we started the stairs (all 1048 of them), the rain felt nice and kept us a little cooler. It was quite a climb......straight up. We did it in about 20 minutes (I was sucking air for all except maybe the first 30 seconds!). But we made it and it was a good workout and the view from the top was amazing!

There was a lovely rainbow just for us as we reached the top:

Here's all four of us (Elizabeth, Holly, me and Milena):
The view looking down the steps:
Halfway down (going down was a million times easier which is why we are smiling):

Then when I got home, I loaded up the kids and we headed off to Dole Plantation where we met up with Mikey and his mom. To say Parker and Penelope like Mikey is an understatement, they just LOVE him. We fed the fish, rode the train, ran around outside Dole plantation and of course, enjoyed some delicious pineapple ice cream. It was a perfect Spring Break outing (which I did not take enough pictures at, these are all I have):
On the way home we talked about our favorite part and Penelope's was eating ice cream, Parker's was running up and down the hill with Mikey and Oliver's was feeding the fish. That afternoon we went to the park that has swings (which are few and far between here in Hawaii). Parker made a little friend and they all played tag and hide-and-seek. It was so fun to see them having such a great time.

We decided to cap off the week on Friday by 'hiking' (its really just a walk, the trail is paved and while its uphill, its not too hard) the Makapu'u lighthouse trail. The kids really did well, we took our triple stroller (which can be quite a beast to push so kudos to Tory for pushing all the way up and down the trail) and the kids would take a break in the stroller and then hop back out to walk/run again. Our only mishap was Oliver falling, skinning his knee and bumping his lip, poor kid. He rode in the stroller the rest of the way down.




On Saturday, to recoup from our fun-filled week, we ran errands in the morning and then hit the pool in the afternoon.



Monday morning is going to be a rude wake-up call to, well just Tory, he has to get up at 5am for Seminary. I think I'll take the kids to the beach.....its a rough life here in Hawaii!!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a lovely Thanksgiving - leading up to it, we made a thanksgiving tree and each night we each picked something we were thankful for and wrote/drew it on a leaf. It was fun to see what the kids would choose each night! This is the tree with which we ended up:

On actual t-day Tory abandoned us and golfed all morning while I hung out with the kids. To pass the time we made turkeys out of fruit:
Our main meal was a little different with our recent change in our diet (we eat a mostly plant-based diet, i.e. very little meat, dairy, eggs and processed foods). So we didn't have a turkey, it was a meal of sides which turned out great! It was a nice low-key Thanksgiving. Oh yeah, and we ended the day by going to the beach :)

Hair

Penelope is getting so much better at letting me fix her hair. But usually when I pick her up (from nursery or preschool) I am also handed a ribbon or bow. So lately I've been telling her if she leaves the bows in her hair the whole time, she'll get a treat when we get home. Its all baby steps, right?!

Halloween 2011 (mostly in pictures)

Our darling Snow White in front of our house:
Our esteemed train conductor (he loved saying "All Aboard!"):
And my favorite fishie.....ever!! He was just so cute especially when he make fish sounds by opening and closing his mouth:



Here comes Princess Snow White at her preschool parade:


Here's Parker and Penelope with their teacher Miss Sharon aka Tinkerbell:

And here she is again with Oliver because he likes to think Miss Sharon is his teacher too:

Eating some popcorn at the kids' preschool's carnival:


On the 'big' night we went trick-or-treating with some friends, here they all are although Parker wasn't too thrilled about the photo shoot before we left:





All in all, a great Halloween and Tory is taking the rest of the candy to work with him tomorrow so I can come down from my sugar high!

Pacifiers be gone!

We are now a pacifier free home! Parker and Penelope have used pacifiers from birth. In the beginning they were such a life saver and I was so grateful they took them. Penelope liked hers more but Parker also enjoyed a good suck! Just after they turned one we decided they could only use their pacifiers in their cribs. Since then they have only used them in their beds and it hasn't been a problem. But as time passed I knew I needed to take them away. However, I was worried about the effects on their lovely sleeping habits. As they passed the age of two I was afraid to take them away because I thought they might drop their nap and a lot of mornings I live for nap time! So I let them keep their pacifiers. Then we went to the dentist a few months ago and the dentist 'talked' to me about their pacifier use. He was really nice but essentially said they should probably not be using a pacifier. He could see some effects of the use in Penelope's mouth but not Parker which makes sense because Penelope LOVES her pacifier where as Parker just uses it because Penelope has one. This past weekend I was finally in a place where I was ready to attempt breaking the paci habit. So Friday we 'traded' their pacifiers for a new toy. Parker gave his up without looking back. Penelope started crying right after the trade but we distracted her with fruit snacks. That night Penelope cried for her pacifier but Parker didn't even ask once, he was too busy with his new train. I went in to the twins' room a couple times to help Penelope feel better but she fell asleep ok and they both slept the whole night without calling out for mommy! They woke up a little earlier than usual but after telling them it wasn't time to get up, they read books in their room until I was ready to get up with them. When we were getting ready for naps Penelope asked for her pacifier once but I just reminded her of the swap and she didn't say anything else. They both napped fine and neither one of them has mentioned the pacifier since! I'm so grateful it went so smoothly and so, so happy we are a pacifier free home! (Bless Oliver's heart for never taking to the pacifier!)

First Day of Preschool

It finally happened, Parker and Penelope started preschool. Its so hard for me to believe they are old enough to go to school.
That being said, they were so excited and totally ready for preschool. As the day drew closer, I was the one getting nervous, wondering how their first day would go, if they would be ok. Then the day before their first day, I got an email from the mom helping on the first day (one mom helps each day) saying her child was sick and she needed to swap. So I hurried and called Tory to see if he could take the morning off to watch Oliver. He was going to go in late anyway since he wanted to help drop the kids of one their first day of school. He could and so I quickly emailed the mom back. I'm so glad I got to see them experience (and document - I took a TON of pictures) their first day. I loved seeing what the kids did, how their time was spent and how they did in a school setting. Parker and Penelope didn't really care if I was there or not so I knew they would be ok when I wasn't there. We got to open the door in the morning and help each of their new friends pick out their 'shape' that they would be sitting on in circle time.

Then after everyone sat down Ms. Sharon, their teacher, did some welcome stuff and had the kids practice doing the pledge of allegiance. Since I was the mom helping, Parker got to hold the flag, he did a great job!

Circle time:After a story, the kids drew pictures of themselves and then got to have some free play time. Parker and Penelope LOVED this time.



Then came snack time:


After snacks the kids got to go outside and play, they have some great outside toys at this preschool:
Here is a picture of their whole class lining up to go back inside after playing outside:
When they got back inside it was more circle time and Ms. Sharon had each child come up front with a baby picture of themselves to introduce them to each other:

Then there was some fun singing and dancing:
And then it was time to go home. There were no tears or anything from Parker and Penelope, they were so great the whole 3 hours. They keep asking when they get to go back. I think they are going to love preschool!

As for Oliver, he desperately wants to go to preschool as well. He loves all the toys and cries when I take him to leave, he so wants to be a big kid!