Aloha- Part 4, Kauai: The Wedding

Jessica and Mike got married at the Botanical Gardens in Kauai. It was a beautiful setting and ceremony. Our family friend performed the beachside ceremony and it was beautiful and very personal. It was amazing to have someone who knows Mike and Jess so well marry them. There were about 40 family and friends who made the trip. We all had a great time, especially the kids. They were both in the wedding and were adorable. The had a great time at the reception too! Despite being totally exhausted, they both managed to dance the night away with all the grown ups and a few of their cousins. Brian was even able to squeeze in a quick air guitar lesson for Will. Now that is entertainment!



The ceremony was down this path and looked out over the beach.

Baby Siena! Could she be any cuter?
The parents of the bride! They look so tropical.

Jess with mom, dad, Kristin and Rick
Yes...Lammy made a full appearance at the wedding. I was able to tear Lammy away for the walk down the aisle, but that is about it.
Father of the bride
Did someone say air guitar?

Aloha- Part 3, Kauai- Surfing and Snorkeling

Surf's up! While were here, one of the days involved surfing lessons for the big kids! So we gave Will a boogie board and let him play around in the surf. He decided after this adventure that he was in fact a surfer and he loved surfing. "Surfing" via the boogie board became a daily routine for the Little Kahuna!

The Little Kahuna on the Big Kahuna's Board
Surfer Girl-- this was as close as Jeanne would get to the water:)Jeanne and Marissa!
Scuba Steve
The Big Kahuna (Brian)

Aloha- Part 2-Oahu

We spent one of the days in Honolulu just driving around the island. Like all of the islands the views and beaches are amazing. The temperature was perfect mid to upper eighties. The kids did not appreciate the scenery quite as much as we did, but they were pretty good sports about all of the touring. Of course if it was up to them, we would have spent the entire time at the pool at the hotel. We compromised and spent the afternoons at the pool!


Jeanne was not to sure about the sand, the ocean, or any of this really. She was a bit confused and upset by the entire beach experience. It was pretty funny. When we would put her down in the sand she would just freeze and not move. When we would carry her down toward the water, she would put her hands over her eyes and hide from the water. Maybe next year, she will be more into the beach!

Aloha! Part 1- Oahu

As if the month had not been hectic enough, we threw in a trip to Hawaii, for Jessica and Miks's wedding. We spent 4 days on Oahu and then went to Kauai for the remainder of the trip. OK, so it was a little crazy to take a 4 and 1 and 1/2 year old to Hawaii, but you only live once. Will and Jeanne were both in the wedding and they really did have a good time...so did Brian and I. The flight was actually pretty easy, both kids did really well. That was what we were worried about...now the time zone thing, was a little dicey. The first few days we had some very cranky kiddos...which makes for some cranky parents unfortunately! While we were on Oahu, we went to Pearl Harbor and spent a day driving around the island. Pearl Harbor was amazing. It was very interesting and an extremely moving experience. Will even seemed to be very interested and ask a lot of good questions. It was a little over his head however. We were all very glad that we took the time to go there and spend a half a day...well worth it and a very sobering reminder of our country's history.

Fun at the Ballpark

Later in July we went to the Frisco Rough Riders game. Will had a great time, our next door neighbor brought her son and we left the girls at home! It worked out nicely for everyone.
Will and Christian with the prarie dog!
Will and Uncle Mike...daddy was out of town for work, so he did not get to make it.
The kids in the box all got these packs of cracker jacks and baseball cards. This was his first baseball card experience and enjoyed it! We had to keep an eye on him, because he was wandering around the box...collecting lots of cards from any box he could find.

July was a busy month. Will turned 4 and we had lots of fun at his swimming birthday party. He was so excited about his birthday this year. A day did not go by from May to July when the party took place...that there was not a great deal of discussion about his impending party. It was a "pirate" themed party and he was very excited. He even told Papa, that he wanted him to dress up like a pirate for the party! He did not, but did wear a shirt with a pirate looking guy on it. Will was distracted enough that he let Papa slide on that one!

Sea World and San Antonio Trip

Cousin Caitlin, Nana Anne and Pop Pop Taylor came to visit in June. We had lots of fun! While they were here, we took a trip to San Antonio, to include Sea World, of course. A good time was had by all, except for Jeanne, who did not expect or appreciate our seat in the splash row for Shamu. Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of her face, as she bore the brunt of the splashing, she was on my lap. Ooops...there goes my mother of the year award. It had been a long time since I had been to Sea World, I forgot that you get a pretty good soaking! Will loved it and as Shamu swam around the tank, he would yell, "woo hoo"...it was pretty hilarious!

The dolphins were also a favorite, we all really liked the idea that you could lean over and touch them. However, clearly there was not a mother of a toddler or preschooler involved in the creation of this process. It was all we could do to keep Will from actually diving head first in to the tank of fishy smelling water, by the way. That was fabulous on the ride back to the hotel!

The bean....enjoying a show with less splashing!

Summer Fun!

We were very busy this summer, hence the fact that I am just sitting down now, to update the blog. The kids both had a great time. We did lots of swimming at Gigi's house. Will is getting to be a really good swimmer, he can do the freestyle and has figured out how to swim underwater and can swim down to the bottom. Jeanne loves the pool too...she has actually learned quite a bit, just by hanging out with Will. She will literally throw herself into the pool and kick her legs and move her arms. It is pretty amazing...but it means that whoever is on duty, has to keep all eyes on her. She is liable to just jump in or let go of the side at the drop of a hat.

Ridem' Cowboy!

I love my brother and my rocking horse!
This is fun...
....uh oh....
...not so much fun for 1 member of the team.
What did I do? I don't know why she got off!

Soccer

Will played soccer this spring and I was the coach. I use the terms, played and coach loosely. What I quickly discovered was that "coaching" 3 year old soccer more closely resembles herding cats. My main function was to fish kids out of net, hug the crying ones, and make sure that we always had 5 kids on the field, since they had a tendancy to just go sit with their parents mid game. It was hilarious. As the season went on, it began to more closely resemble an actual game, but not too closely. Here are some pics of our future soccer star?

Guess who?

3 Years ago...how time flies and hair grows or recedes, I guess it depends on who you are talking about. Just thought this was funny!

More pics.....much to the kids dismay...

When in Texas...make your kids take pictures in the Bluebonnets. We also thought that Madisyn could show these to her friends back in Boston.

Another satisfied customer...it isn't really a good session unless someone cries..right?

Will is posing for all of his fans....I am not sure where we got him from! But I think we will keep him.