HAWAII

Welp we're finally back from a much needed AMAZING trip to Hawaii. Chris's dad could possibly be the most generous person on the face of this planet, and flew the entire family, grand kids and all, to the North Shore of Oahu for 10 days. He not only did that, but he put us up in ocean front villas, that were absolutely incredible. It doesn't end there. Lets just make this short and say he basically took care of EVERYTHING. Needless to say, it was soooooo much fun! Chris and I don't get to go on to many vacations, so I had been looking forward to this for months, and it lived up to every hope I may have had. Chris and I really tried to take advantage of every second, and went to lots of amazing places, beaches, and restaurants. All and all, it was one of the best vacations I've ever been on. I honestly took over 200 pictures, so I tried to just pick a few favorites. These in no way captures the fun we had, but at least it might give a little glimpse.

Nap time was definitely an "on the go" thing most of this trip. She was great, and just made due sleeping where ever we were

I was definitely the one taking pictures on this trip, so I have TONS of Charli and her Dad.

I had to just get a picture of this little dress I found, that I absolutely love.

A few of us spent the last morning at sunset beach, and Torrin did a little boogie boarding... he needs just a little more practice I would say.

Charli and Me at Sunset beach

While we were there, we were blessed to attend the sealing of Chris's 3 youngest siblings in the Hawaii temple. They were absolutely adorable, and it was a beautiful ceremony.

Charli and Torrin at Sharks Cove

I just love this picture of Kaho, at Turtle Bay Beach

Charli couldn't get enough of these parrots! She would point at them and laugh when ever they moved.

Our little family at the Polynesian Cultural Center

Steph and AJ at Hanauma Bay. By far the most amazing beach I've ever been to in my life. The snorkeling was incredible, with tons of sea turtles, fish, and crystal clear water.

Just a picture that doesn't do this place any justice, but it's taken from the cliff above, overlooking a small part of Hanauma Bay

Please excuse my brother-in-law Robs obscene finger! This was one of the only pictures I got of everyone (except me) who went to Wiamea Falls. Charli napping in her stroller, as usual

This one is just funny, because someone put a leaf on her head, and it stayed there for a good 10 minutes before she realized it was there!

OK, so in my opinion it was worth the money and the walk, because you go through botanical gardens that are AMAZING, but the finally is supposed to be the falls...... here I am with Charli, in front of the falls/trickle. Normally you can swim, but since there has been so little rain, the water hasn't been flowing into little stream. Since its been standing still, the water collects lots of bacteria, so there's no swimming aloud.

We learned during this trip that Charli is obsessed with birds! A perfect example of this obsession is pictured here, with Charli chasing after this poor peacock. Little did I know that peacocks will attack other "things" that are it's same height. Luckily a lady who worked there saw us all laughing at Charli and told us she was getting way to close, and the peacock was getting mad.

Fia, Kinsey, Torrin, and Emma!

On one of the days, we went to a water park that Charli loved! Chris took her on a couple water slides, and she played in all the little fountains. The cold water didn't even phase her, she just loved it!

Over all it seriously was a pretty amazing trip, and I'm sad that its over. Especially now that Chris has to leave again on Wednesday for Alaska for another month. The one thing we do have to look forward to, is our house is finally going to close at the end of this month, and we will officially have a place to call our own! So I guess its happy furniture shopping for me:)

Squints

So, at first I thought it was my camera, and the way it flashes that causes me pictures like this. But after trying for 5 minutes (just to see if I could) to get a picture of Charli without squinting like crazy, I learned that she is doing this on PURPOSE! When she sees the camera pointed at her, and knows that it might flash, this is the face she makes. I seriously could fill an entire album with my collection of these beautiful pictures of my baby that looks like she's well ya know..... hahaha So anyways I thought I would post a few

Just a little bit of Lately:

So the last couple of weeks have just flown by! I'm not sure if its the nice weather, the fact that we're going out of town on Saturday, or that Chris is back, but I can't believe we're almost in the middle of AUGUST!!!! We've defiantly stayed busy, and Charli is just as cute as ever, learning new things everyday. Her favorite thing to do now, is stick her arm out, tilt her head sideways, and spin around in a circle.... kinda strange, but very cute! She still shakes her head no, when ever you ask her any question, and is walking and climbing on everything! Anyways this is just a little peak of what we've been up to lately:

I've been dying to take Charli to a little spray park, and let her splash around in the water and I finally did!! I was worried the water was way to cold, and she wouldn't like it, but she did, and had a blast!

Just taking a little break



when ever she would get close to the water that was taller than her, she would slowly inch her way over to it, then stick her foot out and try to block the water.




This is where we spent most of the time there, right next to this little tiny fountain that wasn't quite as scary, as the other ones



Shes really been loving just walking around outside





Swimming with her Dad



OK, this was a HUGE HIT! She LOVES this Elmo chair! every morning the first thing she does, is run and sit in it, while I'm making her breakfast. As you can see she's not the only one who loves it! It's so funny when the dogs get on her chair, she walks over to them and tells them "no no no!" then looks at me to make them move.

Breaking Dawn!

So, I haven't really mentioned it before, because I hate being all caught up in something that everyone goes crazy over, but after last night there's really no denying it any longer. Of course I'm referring to the Twilight series! I'm sure many of you out there understand, and were having a very similar night to us. We started out the night at the always amazing Cheesecake Factory! It was my sister-in-law Lindsay's sixteenth birthday (actual b-day, remember the Joe Bros concert....her.) so we defiantly took advantage of that, left the kids at home, and made a night of it. After some great food, and amazing desert, we casually decided to swing by a Breaking Dawn release party ...... hahaha Here's one side of the table: Bri, Lindsay, and JessicaAnd the other side of the table: Kristi, Me, and Tiffany
Here's some really obsessed girls that we're by far the oldest ones there, (that weren't there as chaperones.... getting Jonas Brothers flashbacks) in some really sweet T-shirts! OK lets be real, Lindsay and I made all the shirts.
The party wasn't quite the rager we thought it might be, but it did have a pretty sweet countdown to midnight! I can't Deny that it was really fun, and I'm already reading and fully addicted to Breaking Dawn!

Chuck E. Cheese!!

Last week, we had some bad weather, and had to try and find some fun things to do inside. Someone threw out the idea of Chuck-E-Cheese, and we figured Charli might just be old enough to have a little bit of fun there! I have to admit, I know kids love places like this, and they have loads of fun, but I can't help but think of how filthy these places are, with all the bare feet, slimy hands, runny noses, slobber, and just overall grossness that my baby will be surrounded by! But I have to remember I was once one of the kids that loved these places, and I survived, so whatever, that's what washing your hands is for right! So of course we went and lots of fun. I think pizza might be Charli's favorite food already! Every time we eat it (I especially noticed when we were here), she can eat nearly two whole pieces herself! Not counting all the bites she decides to throw on the floor of course. Anyways after pizza, we put her on a few of the little rides that barley move, and after finally getting her to sit, without crawling down, she seemed to really enjoy herself.

Charli and Ava, checkin this one out together!

Charli really seems to prefer to go up the slide, rather then go down.

The only other little ride I could get her to stay on, a little trolley! They really liked turning the steering wheel, and trying to climb over the back of the seat!

It was really fun watching her run around this place, and I can't wait until she's old enough to enjoy real rides, and we can finally go to Disney Land! Seriously, let me know if you want to go, because I'm really going to plan a trip!

Polka-Dot Party!

Last Saturday we had quite the birthday party! Charli, Ava, and Kaho were all turning one, with-in a month of each other, so Kristi, Amy, and I decided to have a triple birthday bash, and celebrate all together! It was a pretty big project, complete with a BBQ, water balloon toss, and a doughnut eating contest, but well worth it in the end! Our goal was to get as much taken care of before hand as possible so we could actually enjoy the party, and not have it turn into a stressful event! A big thank you to all of our family and friends for coming, and especially to everyone who helped us make it happen! It was great to get everyone together, and watch all the kids play! I had a blast, and I think Charli, Kaho and Ava did too!

Me, Amy and Kristi, the sweet party planners. This is the only picture I had of us, and when I showed Chris he started laughing and said that I look like someone photo shopped my head onto a different body. I looked at it, and its true! I have no idea why I look so "off" but whatever, I think its funny.


Here's some of the kids bobbing for apples! We tried to convince all the adults to join the fun, but for some reason they weren't to excited! Its pretty gross when you think about it.

Our little One-year-olds waiting with shirts off for their birthday cake! (and yes, those are doughnuts dangling from a tree in the back round)

I was lucky enough to have my Dad come up from Portland to come to our party! It was really great to see him, and I'm pretty sure he had a good time! Thank you Dad!

Lucky for us, Chris FINALLY made it home from Alaska. He actually got back the night before, after having been gone for 5 weeks! Its amazing to have him back, and I defiantly need to give him credit for all he does for me and Charli! I wouldn't last up there for a single day, living on a boat, surrounded by fish! Thank you Chris for everything!!!



OK, I could not resist posting this picture. This is NOT Charli's birthday cake, this is a couple weeks ago, and her uncle Keni's birthday! I've never seen her go to town like this! It was everywhere!! From her hair to down in her diaper she was covered! On her birthday she was slightly more dainty, but I'm glad I at least have these pictures to look back on!