Visiting Gina in SF

Gina just moved into a new apartment and we wanted to go visit with her and see her new digs!  We love the place.  It is so light and bright and she has an awesome room!  We love going up to see her and explore San Francisco.  While I loved her old neighborhood, I am IN LOVE with her new neighborhood.  There are fabulous restaurants, great little shops, a few awesome gyms, and some nightlife all situated within minutes from her! 

We all had a great time seeing her and trying out a few new restaurants.  While the food and ice cream were hits, Emily would say that applying red lip gloss on Gina was her own personal highlight.  Gina and I were dying over the pictures and thought that Emily made Gina look so beautiful!  

What a fun day.  We are so happy that Gina is movin' on up!

San Diego Getaway

We just got back from a fabulous weekend in San Diego.  Damien and I snuck away from the kids for a relaxing and wonderful weekend.  It turned out to be just that.  We flew out Friday afternoon and were relaxed the minute we left the house.  Our anniversary is in a few days so we kind of called this our Anniversary Getaway!  Any excuse to get away, right?

Damien and I love San Diego.  Any time we have visited there, be it before kids or with kids, we absolutely fall in love with this beautiful city!  There is so much to do, the weather is phenomenal, and we love being able to bounce back and forth to the ocean.  We decided to stay in the Gaslamp District as we have heard about how much fun that can be!  We absolutely loved it and will be back some day!  There are so many restaurants and so many fun little shops to explore!  And the people watching . . . amazing.

In a nutshell, we had a wonderful weekend.  We loved our long walk on the beach from Pacific Beach to Mission Beach, we loved all of the fabulous food that we ate, we loved the shopping, the laughing, the lazy breakfasts, and mostly- just being together.  I sure do love this husband of mine.  I couldn't imagine being happier with anyone else in the world! 

Sprinklers in the Sunshine

Today was hot.  Like over 100 degrees hot.  We had the air conditioner on inside but you could still tell that it was ridiculously hot outside.  I decided to go outside and water my sad and thirsty plants.  They get water every night from the sprinklers, but with this heat- there was no escaping the wrath of the sun.  I set the sprinklers to go off in front for about seven minutes.  It didn't take long for Matthew and Emily to wonder what was going on!  They both came outside in their underwear (I said it was hot) and asked if they could run through them.  Of course they could!  It's summer!

Emily loved running through the sprinklers and sitting on them, while Matthew loved to go to the edge of the grass, take off running and then jump over them.  Despite their different approaches, they giggled and had the best time.  We stayed out in the front yard for much longer than I had anticipated (about thirty minutes) but they were having too much fun to stop.  Summer is the best!

Matthew's Painting

We are having such a great summer.  Although we are doing a lot of things and keeping busy, there are plenty of amazing quiet moments that make me so happy.  Take for instance, today.  Matthew and Emily wanted to paint.  I set everything up on the counter for them and then left them to create!  When I came back in the room and saw what Matthew had painted, I was completely blown away! 

I was so impressed with Matthew's creativity.  I love how painted around the sun.  I love the purples, the greens, and the way he painted each letter of is name with a different color.  I love that he was able to paint his name.  That is hard! I was most happy when I looked at Matthew's face and saw the satisfaction he was feeling after doing such a great job painting.  It was a reminder for me, that the little things are what make me the happiest.  Seeing Matthew so happy with himself was wonderful and I plan on holding onto this painting forever!

More California Cousin Love

10 out of 12 the Cousins. 

Boy, are my kids blessed.  They have so many cousins and the group just keeps growing and growing!  In total, they have twelve cousins and one more on the way!  How lucky are they?  Wow!  Eight of their cousins are in California and when they get to see them, they are in heaven. 

Tonight, it just so happened that we were able to have dinner with Lani and her girls!  Megan and Catie are like rock stars to Emily!  Those three love each other and it is so cute to watch them chat and giggle over the most mundane of things.  We are so happy we were able to see them!

We had the pleasure of having Brennan and Gabe over for one morning.  Only Matthew and Emily were home but Gabe and Brennan didn't seem to mind!  They watched a quick movie and were so cute together as they spun and danced around.  These truly are such sweet and special times.  I can't wait to see where life takes all of this great little kids!

Demi Lovato Concert

One morning on the way to school, Claire urged me to call a radio station to try and win tickets to a Demi Lovato concert.  We called and called and called and then someone answered and said, "Congratulations!  You just won tickets to the Demi Lovato concert!"  They asked me who I was and I told them that I was a Mom, sitting in the parking lot before school with a very happy daughter and Demi Lovato fan!  Then, they asked to talk to her!  The radio DJ talked with Claire and she was just beside herself!  We couldn't believe we had just won!  Claire told all of her friends at school and they were all screaming with delight!

When we found out when the concert was, we breathed a big sigh of relief when we realized that we would just be getting back from Hawaii but would be able to go!  Claire would have been crushed to have missed it.  Miss Claire and I got ready this evening and prepared to go have awesome night!

We were able to squeeze in a quick dinner at Pizza My Heart and then headed over to the concert which was held on the San Jose State University campus.  There were so many people there, so much excitement, so much energy which filled the air!  Claire and I got some snacks, I bought her a blinking Demi Lovato bracelet, and we headed to our seats. 

A band called Hot Chelle Rae opened for Demi and they were awesome!  The screams from the pre-teen and teenage girls was literally deafening.  I couldn't believe it!  I have to say, this band was really good.  Claire and I were both surprised to recognize so many of their songs!

And then, sweet Demi Lovato took the stage and I got to watch my daughter absolutely fall in love with her music and the concert going experience.  It was emotional for me to watch her jump around and really get into the whole experience. 

Demi did not disappoint.  She has been through a lot over the past few years (rehab for drugs and alcohol) and her message to girls of all ages was to be yourself and not to try to be someone that you are not.  She urged her fans to support one another and to build each other up, rather than pull someone down to make you feel better about yourself.  Demi Lovato has such a sweet demeanor about her and she seemed genuinely touched by the support she received from her audience.  And to be honest, she is incredibly talented.

We were both blown away at her vocal talent.  I know for sure that Claire felt connected to Demi tonight and I hope she heard her message and lives by it.  When Claire made a heart with her hands, my heart was more full with love for my little girl than ever before.  It was a wonderful night.  I am so glad that Claire urged me to pick up the phone to try and win these tickets.  We not only won tickets to the concert, but I won the opportunity to watch my amazing little girl grow up right in front of my eyes.

Hawaii: The Good, the Bad, and the Funny

You'd think that by looking at the plethora of pictures from our Hawaii trip, that I posted every picture that I took.  Not so!  There are plenty more!  While our trip was amazing all around, there were some ridiculously hilarious and heart warming moments.  Four kids can find a lot of different ways to be kooky or wacky and our little kiddos didn't disappoint us!

As I mentioned, Emily was completely obsessed with the flamingos at the hotel.  She had to see them each and every morning and yell, 'My Flamingos'!  She also, on several occasions, made us observe her doing the Flamingo Stand.  Watching her, completely unsteady, try and be a flamingo was such entertainment for all of us!  It did grow a little old by the third day, though.

I managed to catch Matthew and Damien in a sweet moment at the luau.  Matthew is totally into Damien these days.  He sure does love his Daddy!  Damien does the best job of giving him what he needs and making him feel like the most important little boy in the world!

Matthew and Emily got tossed around in the ocean the whole trip.  It didn't matter if they were wearing life jackets or not.  These two were constantly tumbling around when the waves would come in.  And the best part was that they never really learned from their past shoreline mistakes!  They would erupt with laughter and have the best time with each other each and every time they were swept away by a wave!

Monkey see, monkey do.  Claire wanted her picture taken with her face in the cut out of a bikini clad hula dancer.  And if Claire got to do it, Michael needed to do it, too!  And now I get to hold onto this picture until he is older so I can blackmail him with it!  Oh, the power!!

After the Angry Robot Walk, the kids were exhausted.  I mean, absolutely exhausted!  This picture was taken of Claire when we finally made it back to our room! 

Michael and Emily really seemed to bond on this trip.  He was in charge of her a lot at the pool and was pretty patient with her which was nice.  He took the time throughout our trip to explain things to her and answer her questions.  It was so sweet to see my oldest and youngest child interacting like this.

Do I need to really explain this picture?  We didn't plan these outfits but these 'peas in a pod' always seem to get it right! 

By the last morning, the kids were getting a little wacky.  After picking up and packing one of the rooms, I came into the other room to find Michael and Claire wearing shower caps, holding bars of soap and cracking up. So naturally, I took their picture.

And since BIG siblings are so cool and LITTLE siblings want to be just like them, Matthew and Emily wanted to wear the shower caps, too.  It was Emily's idea to take a picture in the shower.

I can't leave the boys shower cap picture out!  It is too classic.  Um, not sure the gangster lean and shower caps go together but I am not up on the latest trends.  Maybe these two are onto something!

Lastly, I was surprised by this sweet note from my sweet Matthew.  He is just learning how to spell and read and this little gesture caught me off guard.  He snuck into our room and put this on my pillow.  Sigh.  I love this kiddo.

 

Day Six in Hawaii: Mahalo

What a wonderful trip this has been.  It truly surpassed any and all expectations I had set for it.  The kids were amazing, we were really able to do a lot of different things, and most of all- we all had so much fun together.  I am so blessed to have such an amazing family. 

We woke up this morning to a lot of sad little faces.  Faces of kids who weren't ready to leave the beaches, the water slides, the sun, and all the fabulous things that Hawaii brings.  I can't blame them, either.  We had an absolute blast.  For years, they begged us to come to Hawaii and now that they've experienced it, they don't want to let it go.

We rolled our bags down the long hallway, rode the elevator for the last time, and took one last deep breath in the lobby to enjoy the tropical smell of flowers.  We climbed into the limousine (same one we took here- it was as round trip deal that Damien booked) and before we knew it, we were at the airport. 

Check-out was a breeze, we were able to grab some lunch before our flight, Michael left his roller bag in one of the shops in another wing (Damien and Michael then sprinted to get it before it was deemed unclaimed and then blown up for security reasons), and we flew home without a hitch.

This vacation was amazing.  I love all the pictures that we were able to capture during the various moments over the past six days.  After some serious relaxation and some fun in the sun, we are home again and are ready to enjoy the rest of the summer!

Uncle Larry

Uncle Larry, meet everyone. Everyone, meet Uncle Larry. This is Uncle Larry's world premiere! If you haven't met Uncle Larry, then you haven't been to Hawaii lately. He generally spends his time on the island waiting for the perfect opportunity to make his mark, which is a signature big eyed, open mouthed, arms spread pose! Maybe you have seen other photo bombers before, but make no mistake. Uncle Larry is the best at this new craze. Please, let me share a few of his best. (And thank goodness we only met him on our last day in Hawaii or many more pictures would have fallen victim to his special talent.)

Day Five in Hawaii: Padre Damien, Paddleboats, and Precious Last Moments

To say that the day started out a little rough would be accurate.  We wanted to go to Mass this morning and had set an alarm that never went off.  Now we were in a rush!  Blinds flew open, we flung the kids church clothes at them while ignoring their holy protest.  I can't blame them.  Why would they want to go to Mass on vacation?  That's where their church going parents come into play and show them that no matter what, Mass on Sunday is part of your life!

Once dressed, we gave them some dry cereal and told them to get ready for a fun walk on the beach to Mass.  Damien had put the address of the church in his phone so he was leading the way.  I have to say that from the start of the walk, Damien was walking very fast.  We brought both strollers with us to hopefully not hear complaining from the little ones that their legs hurt.  Damien pushed Matthew, and I pushed Emily and kept Michael and Claire motivated in the rear.  Did I mention that Damien was walking really fast? 

The walk consisted of pushing the strollers on the sidewalk and then having to pick up the strollers because suddenly the sidewalk would stop and it would just be soft beachy sand.  This went on for a while.  We all woke up tired today.  I want to mention this so that you know that we were all kind of on our last nerve.  Damien was riding that nerve dangerously on the edge and was not happy with the pack not keeping up with him.  I turned to Michael and said, "When Dad is like this, you just need to avoid him if possible."  Soon the word AVOID was coined.  We might have been saying it with a German accent.  When Michael wanted to say something sarcastic or complain that Damien was walking, as the two older kids put it, Like an Angry Robot, I tried to persuade him to zip it and keep walking.  This worked about 80% of the time. 

This little walk turned into a 30 minute, Angry Robot walk.  Although the scenery was beautiful- the walk was not.  Finally, we made it to the church.  We were only about five minutes late so that was good, I guess.  We were all sweating, really not speaking much to each other, and a little irritated.  However, being in church- being brought to a place of peace and being reminded of what truly is important in our lives brought us back to our own happy reality.

St. Augustine by the Sea Catholic Church, which is literally right off of Waikiki Beach, was absolutely beautiful.  It is also has a museum in it dedicated to the life and times of Blessed Father Damien of Moloka‘i.  Damien was really excited to be here and after Mass, we even went to the museum to learn more about this amazing Saint! 

Sometimes, I think my kids complain too much.  However- their complaints after that ridiculous walk were justified.  It just so happened that I hadn't had coffee yet and the kids were starving!  We found a cute coffee shop that had something for all of us!  I mean, who doesn't love $4 doughnuts?

While the walk back to the hotel wasn't a training exercise in speed walking like the walk to church, the kids were still tired.  So we really took our time and looked in shops, moseyed through the palm trees, and made sure we kept everything mellow and relaxed.  We cut through an awesome park which led us to the path to our hotel  The kids loved the park.  It had swinging bars, beautiful flowers, and a lot of room to throw the skipping water ball around.

Again, we had no real agenda for the day other than to rent a paddle boat in the lagoon.  Seemed easy enough!  Damien and I had thought for sure that we were going to have to accompany the kids out on the lagoon with the paddle boat.  However, Michael and Claire told us they had it under control.  With Michael (driving, of course) and Claire in the front seats and Matthew and Emily on the rear facing seats- our four kids paddled into oblivion as Damien and I watched from the sand. 

There were a few moments of silence between me and Damien as the kids went off on their adventure until Damien leaned over and said to me, "Is this really happening?"  I answered, "I think so."  "Do you think this is okay?" he questioned.  "Um, I'm sure it's fine.  It's just weird to not be out there with them," I thought out loud.  Another few moments of silence went by and Damien leaned in and said, "We would have never let Michael and Claire, when they were little, do the things we let Matthew and Emily do."  "Dude, we would never have let them just go out in the middle of a lagoon," I answered.  It's true!  We would never have let them do that when they were 5 and 3!

They were happy and playing nicely for about five minutes when Emily fell off the paddle boat, only to have Matthew follow.  Claire immediately sprung into action to save her two youngest siblings but all Michael did was laugh (which could be heard from shore) as he tried desperately to paddle away!  Claire jumped off the boat as not to leave them and wouldn't you know who was captaining the ship?  Michael.  If only he knew how to steer correctly.  A stern yell from Daddy got Captain Michael to bring the boat back to the kids.  And from then on out, it really was a blur.  Kids getting on the boat, kids falling off the boat.  Kids arguing who got to be in the driver's seat, kids arguing about who was driving.  This went on for an hour until it was time to bring the paddle boat back to the rental station.  Oh, the memories of that hour.  Definitely got our money's worth!

We hit the pools, water slide, and ocean one last time before we headed back to the room to change for dinner.  We gave all of our fun boogie boards and other fun toys to another family who was more than happy to take them off of our hands!  In terms of water play, we were done.  How much fun did we have here?  Man, it was amazing. 

We headed to dinner at an Italian restaurant on the premises.  We had eaten so much over the past five days that no one was really hungry.  But, that didn't stop any of us from stuffing our faces with amazing breads and yummy pastas!  After we finished, we wandered into a courtyard where we saw a statue of a man, sitting on barrel, holding a dirty pig.  The kids thought it was hilarious!  They named him Uncle Jerry.  They also tried to scare the living daylights out of Emily and tell her every three seconds that Uncle Jerry was coming to get her!  She would then sprint into Damien's arms! 

Soon, Uncle Jerry's brother, Uncle Larry was born.  Matthew assumed the role of Uncle Larry quite easily.  Uncle Larry loves to jump into pictures that aren't being taken of him and try and ruin them.  Uncle Larry also likes to act like he is Matthew when he is taking a picture and then all of the sudden, turn into Uncle Larry.  Uncle Larry had all of the kids laughing until, literally, they collapsed on the floor.  Uncle Larry will get his own blog post because the amazing pictures he took, deserve more than a shared post.

What a great last night.  The kids are devastated that we are leaving tomorrow, but Damien and I feel that it was the perfect length of a vacation.  Now, let's try and get some sleep before we have to pack up in the morning!

Editorial Comment:  Anytime Matthew has tried to put his fingers up and say Hang Loose, he puts them to his ear like he is making a phone call.  We've explained that you just put your hand out and shake it back and forth but he couldn't do it!  So the last picture on this post was a shot out to Matthew and his 'Call Me Maybe' Hang Loose hand signal.  At his point, he was still completely oblivious!