HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! (2012)

Happy Valentines Day!
Zach and Ashy were so excited about their Valentines this year. A boy from Zach's class came up to me and said, "Did you get the idea for Zach's Valentine from Pinterest? He proceeded to tell me how his Mom is on Pinterest ALL of the time and she was going to do the same Valentine for him, but did not have time.(Kinda funny!)(I love Pinterest!)
Yes, I am going to start blogging again! I have been out of the loop for awhile.

DAY 3-SAILING AND SNORKELING!

So this was my favorite day. After our breakfast we headed out into the blue waters of Hawaii to go sailing and snorkeling. It was the most perfect day to do this. We sailed out to where we could see whales coming up for air. They would slap their tails on the water as they would dive down, creating a huge splash. That was an amazing sight. The word "peaceful" comes to mind when I think of sailing that day!




When it was time to go snorkeling, the kids could not wait to get in the water. The water was crystal clear. Bob and Ashy were the first ones in. (Notice Bobs pale skin, well, it wasn't pale later on that evening. He was pretty much burnt to the max!)

My Mom was so stinkin cute. This was her first time snorkeling. She was nervous but so excited. It didn't help that the captain of the boat was her age, handsome, and single! As she was getting into the water and he grabbed her foot to put on her flippers and complimented her on her pretty feet. That made her day. I was so proud of her.






We saw the most amazing fish. The turtles would float up right next to us, but we werent allowed to touch them. We could of stayed out there forever.
(That day was April fools day. My sister had called me while were were sailing and I told here Mom was snorkeling and was stung by a jellyfish. Do jellyfish even sting? Anyway she believed me and passed the message on to other family members. Um....problably won't be doing that again. Some of the fam were really concerned. Kinda funny though right?)

Hawaii Day 2 (Pearl Harbor)

Our second day in Hawaii was amazing! We went to Pearl Harbor. The kids learned so much and it really had an impact on them. I am glad we waited till they were a little older to take them so they could really understand what happened there.

A couple minutes after we walked through the entrance this Pearl Harbor survivor came up to us and started telling us stories of what he went through. Truly Amazing!


We were able to go on a submarine. The kids loved it. I felt a little claustrophobic. (Such tight quarters)






We took a boat ride over the the USS Arizona Memorial. The USS Arizona was never pulled from the water after being hit. The Memorial is right over the ship and you can look over and see it just under the water. (you can actually see parts of it above the water.)

(Standing on the USS Arizona with the USS Missouri behind us)



We took a five minute bus ride over to the USS Missouri. That thing is gigantic! We were able to take a tour that was so informative. The kids got to see the actual Peace Treaty and where it was signed. You could see them trying to visualize what had actually taken place there. They really soaked it all up.





Just up the road from the USS Missouri was this amazing restaurant called Schooners. The view was amazing and the food was scrumptious! Perfect ending to a perfect day.

Hawaii Day 1

The flight over to Hawaii was beautiful. Ashlyn kept saying,"I just cant believe we are above the clouds."

Just arrived at the Honolulu airport!(lookin alittle tired)


ALOHA!!!!

JW Marriot we stayed at. It was amazing!




We could not get down to the beach fast enough! We arrived at our hotel, put our swimsuits on and booked it to the beach. It was heaven! Ashy had never been to a beach before. She was so happy to bury her little toes in the sand.



This kid just makes you smile. He had a grin from ear to ear the entire trip. I loved watching him play, explore, and just enjoy life!

Bob took the boys snorkeling! It was so stinkin cute to see their three heads boppin up and down.

On this trip, it really hit me how grown up B is getting. He is so amazing with his brother and sister and is so responsible. It is seriously music to my ears to hear all my kids laughing together!(sorry Im so cheesy)


Zachs favorite thing to do was to find seashells. He would search for hours trying to find one prettier than before. We brought a bag full home with us that I will treasure forever!

B and Z said, "Mom, want us to get ya a coconut?" Ya right boys! They ran off and in couple minutes Zach came back with this coconut. (I wouldnt have been surprise if they climbed a tree to get it.) They are hilarious! You gotta love Z's pose!



View from our Hotel room. These boys were sure livin it up!


After a aftenoon at the beach we found this cute little pizza place in Downtown Honolulu. We walked around some shops before we went to the airport to pick up Masan(Grandma Sandra)........


I am in some of the pictures. I was just trying to capture everything and really just enjoying every moment!!!!

SNOW???

Yesterday morning we woke up to the most beautiful sight. SNOW! Everywhere! In the past, it has not been uncommon that as it would start to snow, the kids would race to get their snow clothes on, step one foot out the door and the snow had stopped. Quite hilarious to watch. Yesterday the snow stuck, and it was awesome! (School was cancelled) The kids literally woke up, put on their snow clothes and headed outside. Bob and I watched them from the window. They could not get enough of it. Snowball fights, snow forts, snowmen, snow angels.
I whipped up some hot cocoa, so they could have something nice and warm to drink when they came in. Well time pasted, no kids. Their hot cocoa had turned cold. I then took my camera out hoping to get some pics. Ashy, was in the backyard making snow angels and writing me messages in the snow. The boys had started a neighborhood snowball fight and I did not dare to walk into the battlefield. (I wished somehow I would of been able to get some pics of that cuz, man were they nailing each other pretty hard.)
I'm so glad we got to enjoy the snow, even if it was for one day. As of today, snow is all melted, kids went back to school, and well......we all go back to livin' in the Northwest weather.