Dino Museum, et cetera

Last week we did D for dinosaur so I thought it was a good time to hit the museum up the road at Thanksgiving Point. I've been saving it for one of those late-winter days when everyone feels stir crazy!!!

Maddie remembered it from last year but Ella was just enthralled. They loved the big bones, the maps, the footprints on the ground, the dark star room, and of course the sand.



Maddie cracked me up naming everything as we walked around. She is quite the palentologist, thanks to the Pteranadons!

I guess they needed a dose of girliness after that, as the day ended with a ladybug tea party and dress ups. Maddie just discovered the Fancy Nancy books (I know, where have we been?).

Ella is hooked on wearing her "swim supe" all day. Since we came home from Hawaii she asks for it the minute she wakes up!

She also asks to wear necklaces all the time. This one actually coordinated quite well.

Maddie is never without her baby these days. She carries her sweetly, bounces and shushes her, feeds her, and puts her down for naps. I think she is going to be a helpful big sister!

Heart Day!

These little girls make celebrating holidays so much fun. They appreciate every festivity and notice every detail, so Valentine's Day was a big deal at our house!

Here they are all dressed in pink for church.

We settled on pink frills for the big day. A girl has got to be frilly on Valentine's Day.

They were thrilled with the heart attack and candy for breakfast.

My valentine gave me some beautiful peach roses and a sappy love letter, my favorite!

I made him a message in a bottle (from an idea found here).

We had a little friend over in the morning and made Queen of Heart crowns.


Hearts sandwiches were the order of the day for lunch.

After naps we delivered Valentines and then went to the PARK!

The snow finally melted and the girls played their hearts out.


Of course we had to make heart pizzas for dinner, but this was the first year I had help doing it! They are getting so big and useful!

At the end of the day we're always happy to see Daddy, the other love of our lives!

For family night we played "How Do I Love Thee?" and listed things we love about each person.

I'm telling you, I can't have imagined a happier LOVE day. It was one of those days when everything is sweet as sugar and smooth as chocolate ganache. Mmm, mmmm, good.

Hawaii Last Day!

Our final destination was the Dole Pineapple Plantation. We went grocery shopping a few days ago and Maddie pointed out all the Dole logos in the store. And we are suffering from pineapple withdrawls so we had to buy one!

After the kids each picked out a stuffed animal (their gift shop is amazing) we got to ride the pineapple train! Ella loves trains (and they both love Dinosaur Train) so they thought it was really fun to give the conductor their tickets and strap in.

The plantation is just beautiful. Notice the dark red soil? That's because of all the volcanic ash in this area that has turned to iron oxide, and it makes for very fertile soil for pineapple.


Here's a pineapple field in production. We learned such cool things about the process!

Each pineapple crown is planted by hand. It takes about 20 months to produce the first fruit, and 14-15 months to produce a second. They are each harvested by hand as well!



Of course we had to get the posed pictures with the pineapple boards.



Nearby there is a fish feeding area and Grandpa bought and shared some fish food. I will spare you the image of the feeding frenzy, it's disturbing.

Here's cute little baby pineapple...

And an almost ready one! It's really amazing how they grow.



You can't leave without trying their pineapple ice cream. Pure heaven.

After the plantation we drove up to the North Shore and took a scenic hike up Wiamea Valley (filled with every tropical plant and flower you can imagine) to the beautiful Wiamea Falls. It's also a habitat for lots of wildlife, including peacocks!


When my parents were there years ago, there were divers from the cliffs above. Now it is under new ownership and they try to focus more on cultural activities... like hula lessons!

This Hawaiian girl taught us the Hukilau, which means fish pull. The cute little lady in the chair played our music on a ukulele and Maddie and I still find ourselves humming the catchy tune.

The little girls wanted to join us too, but really just stood there looking darling.

The last stop of the day was the beach on the North shore to watch the huge waves. We also got to see two sea turtles basking in the sunshine. They were roped off but we got a good view.

And that folks, is the end of my story. By the way, many of the gorgeous shots, like the one above, were taken by my talented sister Noelle. That belongs in a book or something!

Hawaii Day 6

Time for another beach day! Destination: Haunauma Bay Nature Preserve... a.k.a. amazing snorkeling!


The bay was once a huge crater as you can see by the shape. All those dark spots in the water are coral, home to amazing sea life.


I finally took my first turn snorkeling, and no better place to do it. It took awhile to get used to breathing through a tube, and mine leaked a little, but I still enjoyed it immensely.

Mike had my mom's cheapie underwater camera, but we have to wait for the film to be developed. (I know, film, right? She forgot her real camera at home.) These fish photos are from their website here.

This was my favorite sighting. It's called a parrotfish and was so beautiful! I was amazed at how the fish let you swim right up to them.

My dad and brother spotted a sea turtle and swam with it for about 10 minutes! How cool is that?

Maddie begged to try it too but never even got her face wet. She did look cute in goggles.


The girls sunbathed and the boys made Egyptian monuments out of sand. Mike's masterpiece was a headless Sphinx.


After we all got cleaned up Maddie got her hair braided by Grandma while enjoying the view, and Cole got a HAIRCUT!!! (If you don't remember it scroll back a few posts.)

His hair has been long for 4 years, so this was shocking!! He finally decided to do it because he is going to Texas for the summer with Noelle and Zak to install alarms for APX. He thought it would be too hot, plus it's a little more professional. I think he looks hot!

In the evening we strolled down Waikiki to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. On the way a lady stopped us and asked if we wanted to hold her birds. She was very forceful, and I thought the kids would love it, so I complied.

Then she bossed Mike into joining me, stole our camera, and asked us to kiss. Tender huh?

Yeah, until we tried to tip her with the few dollar bills we had, and she pulled her hands away and demanded "That's ten dollars!" Well, sheesh lady, you should have mentioned that! Or had a sign at least. Too bad for her, my dad is good at walking away.

The Cheesecake Factory is such a treat. Have you ever tried their Thai lettuce wrap appetizer? Delectable. It could have been my whole meal but of course we had to have their pasta and cheesecake. I'm pretty sure we all gained a pound or two on the trip.

I have to end with a shot of our hotel room. It was very Hawaiian!