anniversary celebration

Well it's been a month since our anniversary but we finally had a free weekend to go out and celebrate. So we used a gift card someone gave us and went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. We had a nice dinner, with great conversation and amazingly yummy food...can I just say chocolate coconut cream cheesecake. We were so giddy people were asking where we were from...they thought we were vacationing in Hawaii. "No we actually live here" we would say...we just don't get out much, just the two of us.

After seeing that taking our own picture wasn't turning out to be very flattering, we finally asked someone to take our picture for us.

This was our sweet ride we had for our date. A friend of ours who was recently deployed to Iraq asked if we would drive his car around while he was gone. So Jason said goodbye to our "free" Ford Explorer (that was breaking down at least once a month) and now cruises around in this...

...yes those are low profile tires.

the game of 5

It's my first time being tagged....so here it goes. Just so you know I won't be following rule 4 and 5...not because I'm a ruler breaker but because I'm one of those people that never forward the e-mails when it tells you to either. So if you would like to tag yourself, feel free.

How it works:
1. Post the rules of the game at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read the player's blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer.

What were you doing five years ago?
I was a very new mom and very panicked. I was probably crying at this exact moment 5 years ago. Who knew Ethan would turn out so laid back and easy going. I was also in a home that had air-conditioning...I miss air-conditioning.

What are five things on your to-do list for today?
1. buy a bird feeder for Science...check
2. sweep the floors and mop...still not done
3. drop off old clothes at second hand store...had to make an appointment for Sept.
4. do school with Ethan...check
5. drop off something I borrowed from a friend of mine back in March...check

What are five snacks you enjoy?
1. chocolate
2. ice cream
3. dried mangoes
4. English muffins with peanut butter
5. hummus and french bread
(Hey, I'm pregnant...what can I say.)

What are five things you would do if you were a billionaire?
1. buy a house here in Hawaii...with it's own laundry room, garage and yard
2. set up college funds for our kids
3. give to missionary friends
4. buy or build a building for the new upper division of Trinity Christian School
5. fly my family to Hawaii whenever they wanted to come

What are five of your bad habits?
1. eating too much chocolate
2. procrastinating when it comes to cleaning
3. wanting to be comfortable instead of growing through life's challenges
4. being a control freak
5. checking e-mail or blogs too much during the day...that's the bad thing about fast Internet-it's easy to check e-mail "real quick"

What are five places where you have lived?
1. Fort Hood, TX
2. Manassas, VA
3. St. Louis, MO
4. Lookout Mountain, GA
5. Chattanooga, TN

What are five jobs you've had?
1. life guard
2. waitress
3. 1st grade teacher
4. tutor for an inner city reading program
5. camp kitchen worker

dinosaurs

Well it's been a while since we've had some crazy splish-splashing tub pictures. So here are my two crazy kids with mohawk hair...actually Ethan always corrects me and says they are dinosaurs. So here are my two crazy kids with dinosaur hair.

And it just got crazier after that...Then Jude joined in with his "say cheese" face...This craziness must be from their dad's side of the family...okay maybe not.

boys weekend

Jason wanted to take Ethan camping for his 5th birthday. So this plan has been in the works for some time now (Ethan asked every day how many days were left until they could go camping) and Friday afternoon they headed out to the woods to be in nature. Yes, this is the nature they were in.

They did stuff like fish....not your typical bass or trout...they were more like goldfish. But these fish were trained to bite. So Ethan got to experience catching his first fish...which he told me later was bigger than dad's fish.
They took a hike too...yes, not your typical hike. But it is Hawaii. Ethan was fascinated by the moss on this tree and wanted Jason to take a picture of it. They also saw some pretty amazing flowers and plants.

Ethan found a heart shaped leaf that had a Velcro-type back to it and placed it where his real heart would be...and then wanted Jason to take a picture.

They then set up their tent and slept on the ground. Jason told me that Ethan's bedtime story before turning off the flashlights was The Epic of Gilgamesh (what Jason is teaching for the 7th-8th graders) and I guess Ethan was pretty captivated. Later they found out that their waterproof tent wasn't and woke up a bit soaked. But Ethan didn't complain and Jason said he slept like a champ.

They also cooked their food over an open fire and then once it rained...over an open flame on the kerosene stove. Ethan told me his favorite part was roasting marshmallows.

Ethan even took a few pictures too. So this happened to be about the only picture of Jason.

His other pictures included things like this...

and this...

So even through the rain it sounded like camping was a great experience for all. Ethan is already talking about when they go next time...maybe Jude could go too.

milestone

Just to warn my readers, this post is about potty-training so it may not be of interest to you to read on. But if you are a young mom who feels like their child will never use the potty until they're 18, then be encouraged and keep reading. I can officially say that Jude is now potty trained. Will there be accidents in the future? Probably. But I think he passed a huge hurdle yesterday when we were at a friends house playing outside and he came running up to me saying he had to go "poo-poo". Previously if he was distracted and having too much fun, I ended up cleaning out underpants and shorts. But this time he was able to stop and recognize the "sensation" and come tell me. After about a month of potty training and me almost giving up at least twice (well, more like everyday I had to clean up an accident) and trying later...things have finally clicked. This is the only time I use rewards for our kids....not a believer of the behaviorism (manipulating) thing. So what motivated Jude for going #2 (little pieces of candy worked for going #1) was a Lighting McQueen car and lolli-pops. This is the first time in 5 years that I have not had to change a diaper...until December when this baby girl of ours is born. Praise God for 4 months of being diaper free!

So this post is for Jude...Congratulations, our big boy!! Mommy is really excited for this milestone in your life...really excited!

the short "o"

This is Ethan's first reader for his Phonics program. It focuses on the short "o" sound. We've had about 30 days of Kindergarten so far and it's fun to see how much he has learned already. I look forward to seeing all that he will learn this year and am thankful that I get to be a part of it.

happy 5th birthday Ethan!

Ahoy, mateys! Welcome to the Wood Lair. Captain Ethan sent a secret message to invite his buddy's to go in search of the hidden treasure....either by reading it backwards or using the secret decoder...a mirror.

Once they were outfitted with balloon swords and bandannas they were ready to follow the clues on their old, worn treasure maps to find the secret treasure.

It led them to the Lagoon sands to where they found the big red X. After much digging they were able to retrieve the treasure box with much pirate's booty (not to be mistaken for a person's backside) to be found inside.

After dividing the spoils, they headed back to the Wood Lair for some feasting and celebrating. They topped off their meal with a Pirate ship cake (the only picture I got of it before it was devoured...actually I didn't get many pictures of the entire party...that's the problem with being the host).

To conclude all of the running around, silly laughter and crazy fun, Captain Ethan opened his gifts from his fellow mateys. The rest of the pirates then headed home to their own Lairs with some crazy sugar energy and hopefully went straight to bed.

Happy Birthday Ethan! We are thankful to God for our sweet, thoughtful, adventuresome boy.

flowers & pink & dresses...oh my!

I can tell already that it is going to be a weakness of mine when it comes to buying girl things for this little baby of ours. I bought these adorable little outfits at our thrift store here for .50-$2. This is so fun!

recipes

For those you who were wondering why I don't post recipes anymore...well maybe no one wonders that...but I now post my recipes on a blog started by my Chattanooga friends. So if you're ever curious take a look at dinnerchatt. There are some very tasty ideas.

big day

This is a monumental day today. Jason had his first day of teaching...I told him I wanted to take his picture, like the first day of school pictures. But he didn't go for that. But it is really exciting to start this new opportunity God has presented to Jason. I was asking him questions last night about what he was going to teach on the first day, etc. and once I got him started I couldn't stop him. He is really excited about where God has called him to at this time. It's neat to see all of the work, planning, renovations, frustrations, set-backs, break-throughs that have gone on this summer to lead to this day...the first day for the secondary school at Trinity Christian School. It's also amazing to see how God has prepared Jason for this day to be an administrator and teacher through all of his experiences he's had over the years (jobs, masters degrees, conferences, meeting other administrators and teachers, reading great resources, etc.). God's timing is amazing. I am thankful that we have God leading us through this new adventure here in Hawaii.

The other part to this monumental day is that I am 20 weeks pregnant, which means I am half way there. I can't believe how quickly it's gone but at the same time I feel like I've been pregnant forever. So for those of you who say I don't look pregnant in pictures....here's the proof.

friday fun

I finally got around to trying sidewalk paint that my friend Alli had on her blog. It's made from corn starch and water so when you're done, pull out the hose and wash it all off. Well it ended up being a huge hit.
I don't know...I think it kind of resembles a Pollock painting. What do you think?
Then we took a break to eat lunch (pb&j, fresh pears and edamame...yum!)
And to get all of the pb&j and sidewalk paint washed off, we topped it off with a little splish-splashing fun...
...well Ethan had fun washing Jude off with the hose, that is. And now we are all ready for naps...or at least this pregnant mama is.

sewing, sewing, sewing

My next order on its way. Congratulations Amy on baby Garrison!

multi-purpose furniture

Furniture in Hawaii has to be multi-functional. There is no need here for decorative tables with pretty candles or lamps on it, or a special cabinet for your collectibles. Why do you ask? Because homes in Hawaii are very small and don't have a lot of storage (no basements, attics, extra closets, etc.). So every piece of furniture that we own has to have at least two purposes. Such as a coffee table with storage or beds with drawers underneath them. So in our living room we bought some cheap-o shelves last year to hold books, toys, picture albums, puzzles and Ethan's curriculum. It's amazing how quickly they filled up...but they aren't very pretty looking or neat and tidy. So I was a little embarrassed when people came over because it made the room feel really cluttered....even though it was organized clutter. So my solution? Make curtains on the lower half of my bookshelves.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

It's probably not something you'll see in Pottery Barn or something Martha Stewart would approve of but it definitely makes the room feel less cluttered...and that was all I was trying to accomplish.