arizona in october=still hot

For Fall break, we were itching to get off the island...and so despite the hot weather there, we decided to fly out to Arizona to visit Mitch's family.

Luckily, Kaden got his own seat!
And I opted to bring his carseat on the plane with us.
May I recommend all parents who fly with infants to, if possible, bring the carseat on board!
When he fell asleep shortly after take-off, it was BLISS being able to relax and forget the fact that I was flying with a baby!
And the fact that he flew beautifully? BONUS!
Here we are in Arizona...with Mitch's parents.
Ok, so this picture is just Mitch and Kaden.
But, doesn't the background look Arizona-y?
NO? Well, I just thought it was a cute pic of Kaden.

And...as per usual, Mitch's mom LOVES to shop at thrift stores.
And also per usual, she finds these articles of clothing that I would NEVER buy...but that my girls L-O-V-E.
This trip, it was Jolee and a Tinkerbell dress.
She literally wore it EVERYDAY!
So much so, that it got so beat up and frayed, I had to throw it away as soon as we came home.
shhh...don't tell Jolee.

In my in-laws back yard...the girls played with some water guns Grandma got the kids.
Can you see Kai hiding in the trees?
Wouldn't YOU hide from 3 girls with water guns pointed at you?!

Jolee...well, she chose a more stationary target to shoot water at.
Yes, those are ceramic bunnies.
Poor things...

While we were there...Kaden learned how to do this.
You can bet the first thing we ordered upon arriving home?
A baby gate.

Sunday after General Conference, we decided that a perfect Sabbath activity would be to visit the Temple grounds in Mesa.
The girls were surprised that it looked just like the Hawaii temple!
Well, minus the ugly scaffolding, of course...

Yes, I'm pretty sure that water is nasty.
But it's on Temple grounds, so should be alright...right?

Dinner on Sunday was barbecue hamburgers.
I made the burger patties... while Mitch grilled.

In between bouts of shooting at planes on his iPad.

Grandpa and the baby boys.
You wouldn't know it...and it probably doesn't look it...but Kaden (9 months old) is 8 months YOUNGER than baby Boston (17 months old).
And in case you were wondering, yes, Kaden is heavier.
But, we haven't told him that yet.

Don't want him to develop any self-esteem issues, you know.

The next day we hit the splash park.
Unfortunately, the one we usually go to was already closed for the season.
What season, I wonder?! Since the weather was still in the upper 90's...but anyhoo, we headed out to this one. It was older, and smaller, and a bit torn up here and there...but the kids didn't mind. They had a blast anyway.

We brought a swim suite for Kaden...but decided to let him go with just a diaper instead.
Less laundry, right?

One thing I absolutely had on my agenda while there was to visit this place.
Joe's Farm Grill
It being showcased on Food Network's Diner's Drive-ins & Dives...I really wanted to check the place out.

And let me just say, Guy's recommendation didn't disappoint!
We had the BBQ chicken pizza and Ahi Sandwich. Oh, and the onion rings.
All showcased on the show.
And all delicious!

Probably goes without saying, but these two were inseparable.
Kinda like Jolee and her Tinkerbell dress.

Which is no more...but at least while in Arizona, was the ONLY outfit she wanted to wear.

Speaking of inseparable...here's Kaden and Boston.
Do you think they are looking at each other and thinking..."Hey, you look familiar...!"
Just so happened Lynn had bought the EXACT SAME outfit for Boston that I bought for Kaden!
Great minds DO think alike!

See?
Hahaha...

While in Arizona, we opted to rent a smaller car...and rely on Mitch's family to take on that extra person so we could save a few bucks.

Mental note for next time...pay the extra $$ and rent a minivan instead.

Here's Anna helping out in the back seat.

One thing Mitch really wanted to do was take the girls to Bass Pro Shop.
Not that Mitch is an outdoorsy person or anything...
I mean, we've NEVER gone camping, fishing, hunting, ATV-ing or anything else that has to do with the outdoors.
BUT apparently, that doesn't mean he doesn't like looking at outdoorsy stuff!

The store is actually quite HUGE!
This giant fish tank was my favorite part.
And Kaden got to look a catfish in the eye...and live to tell the tale.

Not that he can talk. Or, that he'll actually remember it when he finally does begin talking.
But whatever.
He saw a catfish that was bigger than him.

Another item on my personal agenda was to eat some frozen custard at Nielson's.
On our way there, Jolee wanted to wear these bumble bee antennae.
Yes, another thrift store find courtesy of Grandma.

And the custard was heavenly.

In case you were wondering, YES, we did eat at In-n-Out.
I just completely forgot to take a picture of the food while we were eating.
So sue me! We were hungry!

Crazy thing while we were there...Arizona got blanketed in a huge dust storm.
I'm talking, HUGE!
Ok, so this picture probably doesn't do justice to the reality of sand blowing everywhere!!
But did we let that slow us down?

Or stop us from visiting my all-time FAVORITE store?
No.
No visit to Arizona is complete without a stop at Trader Joe's.

Even Kaden likes Trader Joe's!
Particularly the colorful (and noisy) chocolate covered sunflower seeds.
Yum!

And with that...our short, 4 day trip was over.
It's always fun to get away and travel to the mainland, visit family, and do some fun shopping...
but it's always nice to come back home as well.

The flight home was great!
Kaden slept for most of the flight!
And look! No hands!

I took TONS of pictures, as usual...and to check those out, click HERE!

this and that

No more apologies for lumped-up posts!!

So, lately, we've been pretty busy.
With 2 kids in soccer, a husband who travels 1/2 the week, an accident-prone 3 year-old, and a very active (not to mention teething!) 8 month-old, things have been pretty crazy as of late.
But, it's a good kind of crazy.

While Kela is at soccer practice, I hang out at the park with the other kids.
Kaden isn't quite walking yet...but since he can stand, I sometimes plop him down on the playground just to give my poor arms a break. Dirty playground notwithstanding.
Did I mention he's 20 lbs?
So, rather than freak out about a filthy and germ-ridden place the playground is, I opt to tell myself that there isn't anything on the ground that a bath afterwards won't wash away....
Yes, I'd prefer to keep the feeling in my arms, thank you very much.

And at Jojo's preschool this week, the kids helped the teacher make banana bread.
Here she is mashing up some bananas.

...and scooping in the flour...

...and the sugar...

...and then stirring it all up.
Now, I'd post a pic of the finished product, but since Mrs. Neill forgot the banking powder, the bread didn't rise. So...no pic of the dough brick.
Besides, it's the experience of making it that counts, right? Right?

After banana bread making, it was play time.
Kaden really wanted to play with these animals.
But...I doubt Mrs. Neill washes them.
So, he just looked at them.
While sucking on the rim of the tub.
Ewwww....

And then it was bean bag time.
Usually, Jolee doesn't smile at preschool.
I know what you're thinking...why take her, right?
Well, she has fun there.
She just doesn't like to smile while there. Or, more specifically, she doesn't like to smile around unfamiliar people. And if a stranger tries to talk to Jolee? Watch out. She has a glare that could freeze water.
Hahaha...One would wonder where she gets such "friendly" behavior from. Hmmm?

Anyway, this picture was kinda blurry...but it was a rare smile from my Jojo, so there it is.

AND...finally, last week Anna started her soccer season!
She is the Blue Unicorns!!
She asked me if unicorns are fast...and I told her yes. That they have a pointy tusk on their heads and run and fly fast. (okay, so I combined a unicorn and a pegasus...shhh, don't tell her)

Her first game?
They got slaughtered!
Hahah...but they had fun, and according to Anna, she scored a goal so I'm happy.
Did I mention that I am Anna's team parent as well?
Yep, no one seemed willing to step up to the plate, so despite being team parent to Kela's team, I decided to manage Anna's as well.
Way to go, ME! Right?

And then...after a short break, it was time for Kela's game.
Unlike Anna's team, Kela's team is quite strong.
Kela scored her very first goal last week and she was thrilled!
Yay, Pink Cheetas!

Here's Kaden and I cheering her on in the shade!

And Anna and Jojo as well.
Can you tell how much Jojo is enjoying the game?
Yeah, I think she'd go crazy (and in turn, drive us insane!) if we didn't have iPhones.

And finally, my sweet friend Vicki visited me during her stop through Oahu.
She is from Sendai, Japan...and has been keeping me up to date with all that was-and is- happening over there since the earthquake and tsunami in March of 2011.
I love her!! And am so glad she and her husband were safe!
And despite it being over 11 years since returning home from my mission there...I am SO thankful that I can still keep in contact and call her a friend. ♥

labor day picnic

It's become sort of a ritual.
Every Labor Day, our ward sets up a huge tent and holds a big BBQ / Picnic at the beach.
This year, it was at Magic Island-at Ala Moana beach park.
We LOVE Magic Island.
It's usually our go-to beach because of the calm, shallow water, showers, and parking.
We were there ALL DAY.
And by all day, I really mean ALL DAY LONG!
And we all brought back a pinkish sunburn to prove it!

The first thing we did upon arriving was hit the beach.
Duh!
What else is there to do, right?

Here's Anna paddling out on the boogie board.

Whoop!
Standing up!

...And then falling in.

Look at these two.
It's not enough that they are inseparable whenever we get together with the Kurihara's.
Now they gotta MATCH, too?!

After the morning swim, it was time for games.
We had quite a few games.
I took quite a few pictures, too.
But I won't post them here. No, I'll post them HERE.

While most of the kids were busy running around playing games and shoving their faces in whipping cream (see HERE for those pics), these two were playing it cool.
As in, staying cool in the shade.
Smart, them!

Me and Kaden.
His lunch was sweet potato, corn & apple.
(In case you were interested...)


After everyone had lunch, it was time to bust out the shave ice machine.
Yep, our ward goes ALL OUT!
Here's Jolee...waiting patiently.

Still waiting...

Ahhh, satisfaction!

Anna and her shave ice.

Who doesn't like shave ice on a hot day?!
Obviously none of these kids. :)


The kids (cousins) and Aunty Jean.
Our surrogate Aunty.

Awww...nothing says "I love you" like a bouquet of weeds, huh?

After lunch, it was back into the ocean!

Let me tell you...it was pure torture trying to get a decent picture of all the kids in the water.
Believe me when I say...this was one of the best ones.

And since Paul brought out his paddle boards, most of the adults took turns paddling out.
Here are Mitch and Jonas (okay, not an adult, but teenager! Yikes, when did he get so big?!) after their turn out over the surf.
Notice Mitch is dry...while Jonas came back sporting a nice scrape on his feet and back from the coral reef. Ouch!

Me and my baby.
No, we didn't put Kaden into the water this time.

Squirmy baby + sand = too much work for me!

And notice it's sunset?!
Did I mention we were there ALL DAY?!
But, fun was definitely had by all...and that's what holidays are all about, right?!
Right.

Okay, one last time. To look at all the other pictures I took on Monday the 5th of September, click HERE!