Aloha Summer Vacation in Hawaii

Interestingly enough this was a short notice trip that got planned this summer. Eric's grandparents had been wanting to take the family to Hawaii for some time to visit Eric's cousin but we didn't expect to go until the fall or winter. In the end they decided to go this summer! My brother and friend Ashly tag teamed watching the girls while we were gone and the girls had a blast! We're so grateful to have family and friends that will watch our kids for Eric and I to enjoy a little break every once in awhile!

We flew to the Oahu and stayed in Waikiki beach. Most of the things we did however seemed to be on the other side of the island so we did end up doing a lot of driving, but got to see a lot in our 5 days there.

The first day we drove to Sharks Cove in North Shore and went snorkeling and had our "beach day". On the way home for dinner we stopped at the famous Kahuku Grill and had their coconut shrimp featured on many Food Network shows, but I think the best was their fish!

The next day we went and explored a big market they have set up at the stadium in Honolulu and then we had a chill afternoon and went to a nice Italian restaurant near our hotel for my birthday dinner; yes I got to spend my birthday in Hawaii and it was a great day! Since we're clearly all about the food, we tried the famous Hula Pie for my birthday dessert. While we were waiting to be seated at dinner we watched a firework show they did off shore by the beach.

The third day Eric's grandma scheduled a private guide and all the events at the Polynesian Cultural Center. It was interesting seeing everything there and we loved the girl who was our guide, but by the end of the night all the jokes and dances throughout the day's shows got really repetitive and it was so hot! It's obvious I could never live in Hawaii as beautiful and relaxing as it is, it's just to humid and hot!

On our way to the PCC we stopped at a rare black, sand beach.

Between the luau dinner and night show they had a bus that took us to the Laie Temple. It was so beautiful and fun to see considering I always had a picture of this temple in my bedroom growing up, swearing I would get married there. Haha.

The last day we spent at Pearl Harbor. Another hot and sweaty day out being tourists but still interesting to see. We took a red-eye home and landed the next morning in Utah ready to be parents again and whip our discipline needing children back into shape!

It was a great vacation and first time trip to Hawaii! I'll always treasure the trips we've been able to take with Eric's grandparents and family, considering I know it won't always be something we will have the chance to do with them. 

Summer Lovin' 2015

This summer so far has been packed with a lot of fun! We're blessed to live in a neighborhood where we have friends with children the same ages as ours. It's not uncommon for us moms to get together during the day while the husbands are working and let the kids play outside or in the water while we visit. It sure helps the day pass with some entertainment for everyone; basically we love it! We also sometimes switch things up and take the party to different swimming pools, free activities around the area and whatever else we can find to do.

Aside from fun activities and BBQ's with neighborhood friends, we've been out to Oregon as a family, I've recently went back when Sara had her baby, Eric took the girls to Vernal and we went out to Ely for the 4th of July. We're also taking a trip to Hawaii in a few weeks with Eric's family, without kids.

Once of the biggest developments this summer is that Mia has learned to ride a bike! Eric's grandma got Mia a balance bike a couple years ago and since learning to balance on that she was able to switch to a 2 wheel bike pretty easily once she learned to peddle and steer. It's so exciting to see Mia grow and make these little milestones in her childhood.

So here are some random pictures throughout our summer so far when I actually remembered to take some...

This is Mia's preschool teacher. Mia loved her! We signed up for a few summer camps throughout the summer with her and Mia will be in your Preschool class for 4 year old's in the fall.

We met a friend at the Hogle Zoo this summer. The girls both were way more interested in the dinosaurs then any of the real animals.They both look a little more scared in this picture then they actually were haha.

It's become a norm to go swimming at least once or twice a week this summer. Mia is finally starting to get a little more brave in the water as far as putting her face in and getting water in her eyes.

We love having friends over to pass the day! They love turning on the water and getting wet and muddy. It's also a norm this summer to have to change outfits at least 2-3 times a day because of this, but at least they are entertained!

Eric has been traveling a lot this summer for work...or maybe it just seems a lot for me but when he is home the girls just hang all over him! They love their daddy and we love when he gets to be home!

This is the fish Mia caught when Eric took the girls to Vernal while I was in Oregon. It was the biggest fish caught that day!

These next few pictures are from our 4th of July in Ely. I forget how much I love celebrating the 4th in a small town. It's fun to celebrate without all the crazy crowds and get to see a lot of people I haven't seen for awhile. This year my brother had a car in the parade and he had Mia and her cousin, Sophia throw candy from the back seat. They had so much fun in the parade and playing together the time we were there!

I decided to host a craft project for a group of kids in the neighborhood. We had 12 kids under the age of 5 and 5 of us moms to help out. It turned out being a lot of fun! The kids got really creative with it. Once they were done we ordered some pizza and let the kids play.

Our Little Livy

It's probably because I don't have a child younger than Livy, but even at 2 years old I still consider her "my baby". It also probably doesn't help that she still isn't talking much yet, with actual words anyway, She babbles, screams and tells us full stories all in a language we cannot understand. I'm secretly hoping one day soon she will just start talking in full sentences and we won't have any problems...here's to dreaming though right!

Some things I really love about Livy is that she loves to snuggle; on her own terms of course but when she does it's for quite awhile and a lot more than Mia would ever want to. In the last year Livy has also joined in with Mia and I with developing a love for crafts and books. She loves to color, paint and do anything crafty and she also loves looking at books. She even will sit through long stories I'll read to her. Having similar interested gives me hope that one day the girls will be close.

As for now when it comes to Livy and Mia, they have their cute moments but the majority of the time it's them fighting over what the other person has and then vise versa. However, in the last few months Livy has finally wanted to have a little more to do with Mia as far as playing with her and wanting to do everything she is doing.

Even though this little girl can drive me crazy at times, she's also the one to make me laugh with how cute and silly she can be. I couldn't imagine our family without her!

For Livy's 2 year birthday we played it pretty low key. I just bought some cupcakes from the store, let her blow out some candles and she got to unwrap a few presents from extended family. For the girls combined birthday present, Eric and I bought them a playset from Costco that we had to build ourselves. After opening the boxes and seeing the hundreds of pieces we were feeling pretty overwhelmed by our ambitious gift idea. However, with some much appreciated help from friends and the girls having to wait a good month after their birthdays to play with their present it has been well used since then and throughout the summer!