Caught Up...Hooray!

Between last night and this morning I posted 10 new posts on our blog. After a 6 week hiatus I have returned to the blogging world and am happy to say that I am finally "caught up." If you want to see all of the posts you'll need to click on "Older Posts" at the bottom of the first page of posts. Enjoy!

Birthday Time!

Yesterday our sweet Jonathan turned 2! We had a "truck-theme" birthday party for him on Sunday afternoon. We had a really nice time and Jonathan was all smiles. He loved it!

Here he is sporting his darling Mickey Mouse ears birthday hat that Grandma and Grandpa got for him when they were on the mainland.

We sent out little postcard invitations that invited people to "Come have a 'load' of fun at Jonathan's 2nd Birthday Party!"

We loaded up the back of one of Jonathan's dump trucks with brownies (yes, I thoroughly cleaned it first!) and then drizzled hot fudge over the top. We served the "dirt" a la mode =)
It was quite yummy!

Jonathan was just as excited about this wrapping paper as he was about the gifts inside!

For party favors we gave the kids construction truck stickers and construction truck matchbox cars. Thanks Grandma Snow for hunting those things down for us!

The happy birthday boy!

The big kids helped Jon Jon unwrap his gifts.

In addition to all of his gifts Jonathan really enjoyed all of his birthday cards. He likes to look at them and talk about the pictures on the cards, etc.

Auntie Rebekah, Uncle Jakey, and Auntie Stacy got Jonathan this cool basketball hoop. The boys love it (and Mommy does too!) but the cutest thing is that Jonathan's "basketball" of choice is his football! Silly boy!
Thanks Bex, Jake, and Stace for the great gift!

Here is the motorcycle that Grandma and Grandpa Snow got for Jonathan. It's perfect for my motorcycle-loving boy! Now he can ride a motorcycle just like Grandpa Jesse!

Aden's First Day of Preschool

The Preschool at Kauai Christian Academy opened last week and because Daniel is the principal our kiddos can attend school at KCA for free! We decided to start Aden two days a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) and his first day was last Thursday. He loved it!

Miss Connie is very sweet and Aden immediately took to her. He came home that first day, grabbed his ukuele, and started singing a new song, "I love preschool, I love preschool..."

The new preschool building won't be ready for a few more weeks so for now they are meeting in an empty classroom at the school. Miss Connie had it set up so nicely. Lots of color, lots of toys, lots of music...Aden feels very comfortable there.

When asked which cubbie he wanted Aden made a bee-line for the ORANGE (of course) cubbie that was front and center. His is the one with the Pooh backpack in it.

Right now there are only 5 kids in the class but starting September 1st there will probably be closer to 10.

I'll keep you posted on how it's all going. For now, Aden is VERY excited about school and I am enjoying my Tuesday and Thursday morning one-on-one time with Jonathan.

My Baby Boy in a Big Boy Bed

When we moved here the boys transitioned into their bunk bed. I couldn't resist taking a picture of this sweet monkey sleeping in his new bed. What a cutie!

Playing in the Rain

A few weeks ago we met Great Grandma (Mary Jane) at the Princeville park for some playtime. It's a really nice park and it is only a few blocks from her house. Well, within a few minutes of getting there the clouds moved in and it started pouring. All the other children ran for cover under the picnic area but these two silly gooses kept right on playing. They had so much fun and were drenched from head to toe! On the way hom Aden said, "Mommy, it rains a lot in Kauai!" So true...espcially when compared to the high desert of California!

Afternoons at Kalihiwai

Daniel enjoys going to the beach when he gets home from work. Of course, the boys love it too! We like going to Kalihiwai because it's close and it's a nice beach for the kids. Here are some pictures of the boys playing in the waves.

A Sweet Blessing

A few days after we moved in our neighbor across the street (Lisa) brought over this bouquet of Hawaiian ginger. It was so sweet of her to do that!
God is so good to have blessed us with the Squire family as neighbors. They go to our church, they have two small children (ages 5 and 2), they're from California, and she's a stay-at-home mom! Anyway, when the tower of boxes in the house seemed overwhelming I was able to glance at my pretty flowers and smile...not just at their beauty but at the goodness of God that they seemed to represent.

Rain Rain Rain

It rains often here (which I LOVE!) but we have had a few days where it rained and rained and rained...we're talking buckets of rain, flash floods, the whole shebang. Anyway, during one particular 24+ hour rainstorm I attempted to take pictures. They really don't do justice in showing you just how hard and heavy it was raining but perhaps if you can enlarge it you'll see the intensity more clearly. It was quite fun.

A shot from the front balcony

A shot from the back balcony

All Our Stuff!

Our container arrived on Monday July 20th...just about 2 weeks after we arrived in Kauai. The boys were very excited about the big truck that would be delivering "all of our stuff." Not surprisingly the very first thing Aden asked for was his lawn mower! He was disappointed when Daddy told him that mowing our new yard would have to wait a few days...he was ready to mow right then and there...I mean priorities people!

Here are the boys watching the truck back into our driveway. Very exciting stuff!


Just the beginning to a house filled with boxes!

Aden surveying the new yard and its maintenance requirements.

Low Tide Beauty

One morning the tide at Anini was really low. Aden and I walked over at about 7:00 am to check it out. It was amazing and beautiful! It was so quiet and still it was almost eerie. The reef was exposed and there were a few people out reef walking. You could see right through the clear water to the floor of the ocean and the clouds reflected beautifully on the water. It was really cool! If your computer will let you, click on the pictures to get an enlarged view.

July in Anini

We spent our first couple of weeks in Kauai at Dave and Carolyn's house in Anini while we waited for our container to arrive. I decided to lump all of the pictures from that time into one post. Enjoy!

We celebrated Lucas' 16th birthday with family and friends and enjoyed some yummy Mud Pie.

We also enjoyed some live entertainment from the birthday boy. He sang a few songs for us including "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight..." It was a lot of fun and Aden discovered that he and Uncle Lucas share a passion for singing and music =)

Here's Aden singing along and strumming on Uncle Lucas' ukulele.

Just a fun shot of a typical "clothes" line in Kauai...beach towels!

Aden wearing Uncle Ryan's work boots

Jon Jon checking out the vastness of the ocean

Water Wing silhouettes

Twinsies...I love these trunks!

My boys TOTALLY look like "Haole" tourists with their Hawaiian sun hats. Poor babies! Also, notice Jonathan...his "fie-fie" (pacifier) in his mouth and a car in his hand...the essentials for this kid! We're working on weaning him off the pacifier...unfortunately he's not really on board with our efforts =)

A Beautiful Anini Sunset

Jonathan (above) and Aden (below) playing at Anini Beach


Ready to hit the sand! Sand castles anyone?

His obsession with yard work and all things related continues...

One day Dave and Carolyn's gardeners came and they were so sweet to let Aden "help." He followed the poor lady around for at least an hour with shovel and rake in hand.

At one point the clouds covered the sun so the gardener took off her hat and hung it on this tree branch. If you look closely you'll see that Aden took his hat off too and set it on top of hers. What a cutie!

Some shots of the beautiful views as you make your way to Anini (above and below)