Aloha- Day 3- Dolphin Excursion

On our third day in Hawaii we got up early and went out on a dolphin excursion. We went with the company EO Waianae tours. It's run by an LDS family and they were so fun. They even took all of these pictures and sent us a USB as part of our package.  I would highly recommend them to anyone that's going!

We headed out with our group early in the morning.  When we got to our snorkeling spot, I was nervous. I haven't been real snorkeling really, and I didn't know what to expect.

Then I got in the water and looked down. This is what I saw!! My worries were gone and I was amazed. We were surrounded by a huge pod of dolphins. They are the Spinner Dolphins. They are called that because they like to jump out of the water and spin.

Here's Ryan and me out in the water. We swam with them for a little over half an hour, and they started showing off. They would come around to say Hi then jump out and show off their spins. It was so incredible. I didn't want to get out.

Then we loaded back in the boat and went to a different area to visit the sea turtles! There were 5 turtles here. They come to this area because the fish eat the junk off of them. . There is a law against harassing sea turtles in any way. So, you're not supposed to touch them but they really were not shy at all. We had to keep dodging them because they swim right at you.

The company also had a kayak and paddle board. We didn't use them because I was feeling gross. We swam with the turtles for a while, but then I had to get out of the water.

This is a picture of us just after swimming with the turtles. I am trying not to throw up. I had to sit at the edge of the boat for a while. The crew kept telling me to just throw up and I would feel better. It didn't happen. I eventually felt better.

On our way back we had lunch, worked the Titanic pose (they had everyone do it, I promise!! We aren't that weird), learned some hula, and enjoyed the breathtaking views.

It was such an incredible experience. Really one of the most amazing of my life. I can't wait to do it again some day!!

Nauvoo

While my mom was here, we decided to take a trip down to Nauvoo. It's about 5 hours from my house and my mom hasn't been in over 20 years. It wasn't too bad of a drive. I love the greenness of Illinois and saw plenty of it on our drive. We did have to stop on the bridge going over the Mississippi while a ship passed through. That was not fun. I discovered that I'm not a fan of huge bridges. I don't envy the toll collector stationed in the middle of the bridge.

We spent one night in Nauvoo and saw a ton in the 24 hours we were there. My mom and I took turns going to the Temple.

We checked out some of the pioneer homes. We made sure to stop at the Heber C. Kimball house, because he is Ryan's great great something Grandfather.

We went on an oxen ride, visited the horses, saw a couple shows, and played pioneer children games.

We had a great visit and enjoyed feeling the spirit of Nauvoo and the faithful saints who lived there. I'm so thankful for their faith and perserverence. What great examples they are of truly faithful disciples of Christ.

A few days before we headed to Nauvoo, we went to the Strawberry Festival in Long Grove, a historic town near our house. We went with our friends, the Cottrells, and enjoyed looking in shops, getting and losing multiple balloons (yes, each loss was accompanied by a fit), and eating some festival food.

We had so much fun with Grammy. We kept her busy and we all loved having her. It made such a huge difference to have her here while Ryan was gone. Thanks for coming Grammy!!

4 Year Old Princess

Hayden turned 4 last month and was beyond excited. The picture above is from the morning of her birthday. She got the outfit from Grandma and Grandpa Woodland. She HAD to wear it that day. They were smart to get her a skirt because she wants to wear a skirt every day! Grammy and Grampa got her princess light up shoes which she has been dying to have for months now. Ryan and I got her a Repunzel baby doll and Goldie the Unicorn.

This year she wanted to have a princess party with a castle cake. The cake didn't turn out as nice as I wanted it to, but Hayden loved it!

All of her girl friends came dressed as princesses and her boy friend came as a super hero. We played some princess games, hot slipper (like hot potato) and pin the crown on the princess. Then it was time for cake and presents.

She was definitely spoiled by all of her friends this year. I love that she has such great friends. She got dress ups, ponies, barbies, markers. All the usual 4 year old girl stuff.

She had a very happy birthday! Thanks to all of our family and friends who made it special. She sure missed Daddy that day but luckily she got to talk to him on the webcam and tell him all about her day.

We love you Haydie babe! You'll always be our little princess :)

Grammy Time

Ryan went to China for just over 2 weeks in June. While he was gone he missed Hayden's birthday, Father's day and my birthday. Major bummer!! But while he was gone Grammy came to play, and play we did.

We went to the Chicago Botanic Gardens. It has been 5 years since I've been there. I forgot how beautiful it is!

The kids loved the adventure and Grammy and I got our workout in for the day!

These purple ball flowers (I can't remember what they are actually called) were our favorite. We had a great day enjoying the beauty of nature.

We also went strawberrry picking at Stade's Farm.

The berries were tiny but the kids really enjoyed picking them.

Cole insisted on wearing this hat, even though it is obviously too small for his head!

After sweating in the heat for a while, we ended up with about 4 pounds of strawberries. We ended our excursion with delicious apple cider donuts!

On my birthday, we headed to the zoo. I love the zoo and so do my kids, so it was the perfect place to go.  My kids were so close to the grizzly bear I was getting a little nervous, even with the glass. I decided I would never like to meet a grizzly bear in the wild. But It was pretty cool to get a close up view.

My kids are so lucky to have a Grammy who will be silly with them!

Of course we had to end the day with another picture on the Brookfiels Zoo lion. Good times!

Little Fish

My two little fish had swim lessons at the beginning of June.

Cole and I did the Mom and Tot class together. He liked it at first but the last few days it was pretty cold and he was done. We mostly sang songs and practiced scooping and kicking.

Hayden LOVED her swim class. They did a lot of songs, also.

She thought swimming with the "giant q-tip" was awesome.

They didn't even mind their ear plugs and often reminded me they needed them. They both love the water and it was great to go to the pool every morning.

Aloha- Day 1 and 2

Ryan and I had an awesome opportunity to take a vacation to Oahu. Ryan's mom, sister, and brother-in-law were so kind to watch our kids and make the whole trip possible. On Tuesday May 17th, we drove to Indianapolis to drop the kids at Ryan's sister's house. The next morning we arrived at the airport about 4:30 am. After 2 layovers and almost 12 hours, we landed in Honolulu. We checked into the Beachcomber hotel, right on Waikiki. Then we grabbed food and went to the beach and swam for a bit. After waking up so early, traveling so long, and the 5 hour time difference, we were exhausted. So, we went to bed at 7 o'clock!

We woke up about 3:30 and sat on our balcony for a while. Then we went back to sleep for another hour. About 5:30 we got up and headed to the beach to watch the sunrise. It was amazing and I loved the fact that there were already about 20 surfers out on the water.

I don't know that you can ever get over the beauty of Hawaii once you've seen it!

We walked a couple miles to Leonards Bakery and tried out their donuts. They had a sweet and sour donut that was funky but good.

Then it was back to the hotel to get ready for the Polynesian Cultural Center. We took the bus service the offer and had a nice ride there.

We really enjoyed the shows. Especially this first one. He was hilarious and made fire right on stage.

Can you see the man at the top of the tree grabbing a coconut. Awesome!

Man are we white or what?! After the Fiji show, I went and got my own Fiji marking on my ankle.

We were able to see all of the shows and then we went on the LDS tour.

The tour took us past BYU Hawaii then on to the Temple. We stopped at the temple and went in to the visitor's center for a bit.

Then we headed back to enjoy the Luau and show at the PCC. It was such an awesome day. Learning about the Polynesian cultures and seeing their excitement for life was amazing.

I would definitely recommend going to the Polynesian Cultural Center to anyone heading out there. It was a wonderful day, but again, we were exhausted by the time we made it back to our hotel about 10:30!

Big Boy

I just want to do a quick update on this little man. He is such a big boy lately. He still talks A Lot. He finally started saying "Hayden" a couple months ago. He loves bubbles!! Multiple times a day he says "play bubbles outside". He's also very curious about sounds. Whenever he hears something he says "what that sound?". 
He is now binky free. He's only been having his binky in bed for a couple months. Then a few weeks ago, Ryan took him to the cupboard and had him put his binky in. Ryan told him no more binky and to say goodbye. He did, and hasn't asked for it since. It's been an awesome transition.
He also loves nursery now. All because of their bubble machine. He can spot an airplane a mile away. He loves to sing and read "Down by the Bay." He often sings throughout the day.
We love our big boy!!