Christmas Tree... Check

It felt weird crunching through an inch of snow instead of a few feet, but we found our tree just the same!! The outside is finished... now onto decorating the inside!

Here's the one.... right before we chopped it down! It's always such a fun time when we make the final choice.

Nearly a year later...

What can I say other than having two babies has been a roller coaster that I would ride again and again and again. No posts in almost a year is sad to me, but then life has still been lived and documented in other ways... I will move on.

So much has happened in the last year - all of the milestones that come with having kids - Aiden rolls over, sits up, crawls, has teeth, stands, and just about walks. He's had his first birthday, enough chocolate to satisfy the next four birthdays, and has already left the state twice. Charlie is a riot; a total ladies man. He loves his tricycle, trains, trucks, cars, planes, and, um, princesses. And sparkly jewelry. But most of all, he loves his sister. She's pretty cool. And she is in Kindergarten now. A bonafide big girl. Just ask. She can ride a two wheeler, loves the water, and has had her first sleep over.

There's just too much to tell... so, I will do what my scrapbooking friend suggests when it comes to organizing pictures: "start with the present and work your way back when you have spare time." So, let's be realistic. Be sure to check back in about 15 years and I will try to have some of those oh so very sweet baby pictures, but until then, all I will commit to is a glimpse of my little peanuts, and an overview of our trip to Hawaii. And I mean "our" as in Brian and I's. Yep, just the two of us!

OK. As reported. Here are the SUPER CUTE BABES!!

And here is where my handsome, most fabulous husband in the whole world took me for my first trip away from my kids. I'd say he definitely did good! I certainly missed my kids, but the fabulous, wonderful, ever-present sun helped me mope right through it!! How I long for that heat right about now! And seriously, where do you go on vacation when you live in Hawaii? To the snow? This is the view from the lanai... I think that I would have my groceries delivered because I would never ever leave my house if I lived here.

Our first full day there, I talked Brian into a touristy snorkeling trip to Lanai'i. We both had so much fun, and we were totally that couple... holding hands while we swam face down with the turtles, fish, and coral, falling in love all over again. It was so cheesy, but what can I say?? I got a good one!!!

The water was so clear that you could see the fish from the boat. It was AMAZING!!

Wanting to get back on the water but not necessarily in the water, we went on a submarine tour on Friday. It was definitely different - I would recommend it for sure. We cruised around a shipwreck, saw tons of fish up close, and learned lots of new things. Plus, we had a really funny tour guide. That always helps.

You can see the sub coming up in the center of the picture.

Moohaahaahaa.... I snuck in a few more of the kids. But come on... how could I resist? This is what I had on my nightstand =).

And here is what we had hanging on our fridge. Kailyn, ever the artist, hid Brian and I each a picture in our suitcase. Of course, I balled when I found mine!

Here's my completely random activity. Followed by my completely random spiel. This is me at the tattoo parlor. For the second time. Here's the spiel: If you ever wanted a tattoo... consider the henna ones. Or maybe the kind that come free in the cereal boxes. Because this kind stays. Whether you like it the next morning or not. Found this out the tough way - as in, I came home from Mardi Gras vaguely remembering that I got one and it hurt REALLY BAD. And I HATED IT. Almost immediately started looking into getting it removed, which, by the way, also hurts REALLY BAD. And costs way more than the original $50 to get the tattoo added. So, over a decade later, I still had remnants of that weekend at Mardi Gras. And I didn't want them anymore. So, I had Kaib at Lahaina Tattoo cover my blob with a beautiful blue forget-me-not, the Alaska State flower. Aaaaahhh. Much better. And I will comment that scarred tissue is quite tender. It was not really the funnest time that I had in Hawaii.

Dad's Birthday

December 2nd marked the 60th anniversary of the day my dad was born, and it was just as I would have asked if I did indeed ask for things like that. It snowed all day... and not just any snow. It snowed BIG, FAT snowflakes just like dad loved. I will always think of him when it dumps like that because he really thought it was cool. He loved to just sit at the window and watch it snow. Kind of how some people like to look at a fish tank.

We had a birthday cake, and Kailyn made him a picture that we attached to a helium balloon in hopes that it might make it up to heaven. You just never know... But I hope that somehow, he does know. I hope he knows how much he is missed and loved by this entire family.

This pretty much sums up how Aiden feels about not knowing my dad. I agree.

Charlie & the Spoon

He is offically feeding himself! Yeah!!

It's a little messy, I'll admit, but we have two dogs, so really, it's a win-win situation. Everyone's happy here!

All Alaska Girl

Two feet of snow in an afternoon can't keep this girl from playing!!!

Gotta love this kid...

... and his hair! God bless him!!

Aiden

First Day on Our Own - Nov 16th

Our first day without Mema went amazingly well. The boys even took a nap at the same time... I definitely couldn't have asked for a more mellow and easygoing day to get me on my feet. I was able to get my kitchen cleaned and laundry done, as well as log onto facebook twice in one day. I don't think that's happened since =), but it was nice to be eased into taking care of the kiddos all alone!

Here's a quick pic of the boys all bundled up for the walk to Kailyn's school. Aiden slept so great we even got to walk a little extra, too!

Nothing

I was given this beautiful picture one day after Brian and I went to dinner together sans kids. Kailyn missed us alot, and expressed her love through her art. She does this often, and one day I will take a picture of my home so you can see all the art work literally hung all over. As in on every door, every shelf, most every drawer & window... this girl is an artist!

If you notice the detail in the picture above, you can understand why I questioned what this picture was. Me: "Is it a donut?" Kailyn, arms crossed, faced frowned: "NO." Sensing that I was missing something, I tried really hard to guess correctly... me: "a person standing sideways?" Kailyn: "NO. It's not, MOM." Such attitude packed into a four-year old!!! Me, now squatting down as I sensed there was more to the picture: "What is it, honey?" Kailyn: "It's nothing, mom." Me: "Well, it looks like it means something to you, and that's important to me. Please tell me what it is." Kailyn: "It's nothing, mom. Nothing. I drew you a picture of nothing."

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That's when I realized. She was punishing me through her artwork. I did not receive my normal beautiful picture because I had placed Kailyn in time-out earlier for not putting her toys away when I asked. Apparently she gets it: there are consequences to your actions.

I was waiting for her to end it with a flick of the hair and a sassy "duh, mom." I wonder when that begins?

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I was not sure how to react, so I told her that made me very sad and I hope that I got more beautiful pictures later when she felt better. Luckily, the tears that came to my eyes as I tried with all I had to suppress my laughter were taken into consideration as legitimate sadness, and she quickly went to work drawing me a new, prettier picture. Phew!!