Happy Independence Day!

I never understood why people say "Happy 4th of July". It's Independence Day, is it not? You don't go around saying "Happy 25th of December" or "Happy 17th of March". It ranks up there with "Merry Xmas" in my book. The most important part of the holiday is missing!

Now that I got that off my chest, we did have a fantastic Saturday celebrating our independence. We started off the day sleeping in, which is always great. Then we were going to all go on a hike with our Abelmann friends, but sleeping kids ruined the plans. So Ashlyn and the dads went.

Goin' on a hike. When did my little girl get so big?

When they got back from hiking, we had a "tea party" and took some pictures of our patriotic-ness.

In the afternoon, we headed over to the Abelmann's place for some swimming and bbqing. The food was soooo scrumptious.

The little boys: Kai Abelmann, Caden Hong, Jaxon Tang

Jason was so proud of his ginormous burger. And yes, it tasted as good as it looked.

Once it started getting dark, we headed upstairs to get ready for the show. They have a fantastic view of Ala Moana Beach Park where the fireworks were being shot off.

Fireworks pictures just never do them justice, do they?

All in all it was a great day, but I think Ashlyn's favorite part was eating ice-cream in her underwear!

Another birthday, another forgetful sibling...

We won't mention which sibling forgot to call me on my 29th...

But here's a hint:

It begins with a "C" and ends with a "larence".

Since I had to work on my birthday we saved our "festivities" for Saturday and hit up Coldstone Creamery. If you haven't signed up for the birthday club or whatever it is, you should. You get a free "Like It" size ice cream with one mix in. We used the coupon to get Ashlyn her own ice cream and she picked the "pink ice cream" with M&M's mixed in.

Heather and I had a buy one get one free coupon for a "Love it" creation and we even splurged a little and got the waffle bowls. Yummy. Heather chowing the Cookie Mintster.

And here's Ashlyn and I enjoying an afternoon together as a family. I got the Strawberry Blonde for the record.

But of course our family isn't complete with out our little monkey boy. Jax got treated to a nice cup of luke warm water. Lucky boy. Maybe his luck will be better next year.

It's Back!

We FINALLY got our camera back....just in time for Mom's visit. We sent it in a while back, and had it back for maybe 2 days before it crapped out again. So we sent it in again, and got it back about a week ago. It was working fine, and I was able to get some amazing pictures and video, but then it decided to not be waterproof yet again. So, I sent it in a third time, and Olympus said they would send me a new camera! So, once again we are camera-less. When we get the new one, hopefully this time it will last longer. Time will tell.

Anyway, we have been having a blast having Mom around. The weather has been perfect, and so has the water. Here is Ash and Grandma enjoying a little R&R at Kaimana Beach.

Ashlyn and Jaxon going down a water slide. Do you know any other 7-month-olds that can swim? I don't. Just kidding! Jason just sat them there for a quick pic.

Whoa! Jax looks extra chunky!

Snorkelling at Shark's cove

Of all the times I have snorkeled there, I have never seen a turtle. This time we saw 4!

The beginning of the video is of a baby. There were two swimming around with a bigger one that you will see towards the end. I seriously could have stayed out there with those things all day. They were so beautiful!

Just Because....

The poop was getting old and nasty to look at....

Ashlyn definitely endorses Nacho Cheesier Doritos.

Beef... it's NOT what's for dinner

WARNING!

Nasty Picture Below!!!!

Okay, so you can probably see it despite my warning. Oh well.

A couple days ago while changing Jax's diaper Heather told me to come over and look at it. Of course I hesitated, but like the obedient husband I am I came over.  Well, here's what I saw.  Paper in our boy's poop.  Of course that only means one thing, he was grinding on something he shouldn't be.  We didn't really want to pick through it to find out what it was, but by evening Heather figured it out.  Ashlyn had gotten into some business cards I have and left them out.  And of course since Jax is mobile now, he saw the opportunity and took it. 

(You took it, and broke a major rule of engagement..what movie?) 

Well, as it turns out, he ate half of KHNL's assistant News Director Rich Meiers business card.  You can see the "Mei" and part of his phone # in the fecal matter. Yummy.

But here's something to warm your heart and unturn your stomachs, look how cute our kids are!

 (And compare this first pic to the one on our sidebar! Yoiks! Jax has grown!)

Boom Boom Pow.

Six Months

Holy cow! How could my baby boy be 6 months old already?!? Here are the current stats as of Monday, May 11.

Height: 25.5 inches (25-50%)

Weight 18 lbs. 11 oz. (75-90%)

Short and fat...just the way we like 'em

Here is the most recent picture we have. Our "waterproof" camera decided it didn't want to be waterproof anymore...on the day its warranty expired. Arrrghhh!!! It is currently receiving medical attention and will hopefully come home soon. Hopefully Olympus will be nice and repair it as if it was still under warranty. Keep your fingers crossed!

A few of our favorite things

I'll tell you why we love visitors coming to see us, besides the obvious fact of seeing our friends and family. For one, it gets us out of the house, and two, it helps us realize how nice it is to live in the Islands.

Seriously, living here is not like vacationing here. But when people come it flips a vacation mode on for us, and we appreciate our surroundings more. This month our visitors were Mark and Moe Williams. I'm sure Moe will post something when she settles back home. They stayed with us for three days and two nights, but we only got one full day with them. They were on Maui for most of their vacation. But when they asked us to take them to do our favorite things, it was easy. Lanikai Beach and Castle Beach.

Ashlyn never hesitates to accessorize for beach days.

Kind of looks like Heather left Ash in the middle of the ocean here, but they were pretty close to the shore at Lanikai, and Ashlyn loves her freedom with the water wings.

Lanikai is great because of it's beauty and warm waters, but for a little fun we headed north to Castle beach to do some body boarding. Funnily, after all our trips to the beach, both in California and Hawaii, I think this is the first time I've seen Heather on a board. She crashed into me, as you can see.

It was Mark and Melissa's first time, but they picked it up pretty good.

Plus Heather showcased her new found talent, wave photography. Looks like a huge wave huh? It's actually only about a four foot face though.

Here's a nice little curl, not bad for her first time shooting in the waves.She even got pummeled a few times, but what good ocean photographer doesn't?!
I tried to get a nice little shot here, but Ashlyn's desire to get in the water trumped her desire to please her parents for a picture.

But she still came through for me. My sweet girl.

And boy!