Sweet November

Again...another post to wrap up a whole month because I like to procrastinate.  We did not do much in November but welcomed in some visitors, celebrated Thanksgiving, played in the garage (Gracie's play room and Justin's workout room) and got to see the new addition to the family for the first time.  

First big happening in November was our visitors.  Justin's sister, Tina, and her bf, Brandon, came to visit us mid November.  We couldn't wait to see more family and were so happy to have them here with us.  Here are some photos from their 8 day stay.

Character Breakfast at Disney's Aulani Resort.  We love taking Gracie to watch her interact with the characters.  It is seriously so sweet.

Character Breakfast...No fear of Mickey.  Gracie ran right up to him. 

One of her favorite characters.

Family shot with Mickey 

She actually liked Goofy this time!  No tears and no fears! 

Her most favorite character...giving kisses to Minnie!

Brandon, Me, Minnie, Gracie, Justin, and Tina

Playing with the "Dory" fish 

Fish love

Husker Game Day.  We watched quite a beating that day.

Gracie with her pals :)

November is also Movember.  Justin grew a mustache to raise awareness for prostate cancer.  Really creeepy.

Justin, Tina and Brandon went to the Makapuu Lighthouse Trail and hiked to the top.  Pretty amazing view.

The Lighthouse

Brandon doing illegal things ;)

Military bunker...illegal.  Just kidding

Another day, we went to North Shore...famous for their winter waves.  From November to the end of December, North Shore is home to pro surfers trying to win the Triple Crown of surfing.  We made it to the first of three tournaments, "The Reef Hawaiian Pro".  Tina and Brandon were still in town and joined us.

Capturing a first for us

Playing with her cars in the sand

A pro riding a wave.  If I could speak surfer, this caption would be a lot cooler.

 After watching the tournament for a bit, we drove down to Waimea Bay.  The surf totally crashes right on the beach.  It scared me, therefore I put Justin in charge of Gracie since she is a daredevil, and I was in charge of all our belongings.

Gracie and Daddy watching people jump from the large rock.

It's about a 20 to 30 foot drop.  People do this for entertainment.  Why?  I do not know.

Testing out the water and trying to beat the current to get out to calmer swimming water.

My loves :)

Thanksgiving Day.  We were fortunate and so very thankful to still have Tina and Brandon home for this holiday.  In a place where family and friends are so far away, it was a blessing to have the two of them here with us.  This year, more than ever, I was thankful for the things I have back home and missed dearly: family, friends, a beautiful home, seasons, great neighbors, and the love and support from so many family members and friends.  I was also thankful for things that are here: my amazing husband and daughter (and our baby on the way), our health, our new friends, the internet (Skype) and the love and support from our family and friends near and far.  God has truly blessed us, and I thank him on a daily basis.

This was our first time making Thanksgiving dinner. Tina worked on the turkey and stuffing, and I worked on the mashed potatoes and gravy.  It was so yummy!  I'm gonna need Tina and Brandon here next year to help me again!

Tina and Brandon left Thanksgiving night and we were left by ourselves yet again.  But my little lady is always putting a smile on my face.

Playtime in the garage, oh, and Daddy did her hair.  She looks like she is 4 years old in this picture.

Silly face

My 2 cuties 

Gracie and her best friend, Mommy (that's what she calls me :)

Silly faces

The end of November also brought a much anticipated appointment for us.  We had our first ultrasound on November 30th.  Here are a few snapshots of the our little BOY :)  Gracie is so excited for her baby "brudder".

Profile.  He looks like he's getting ready to suck his thumb like his big sis! 

Foot

3D image

Ahhh, what a relief to have another month documented and posted.  December and Christmas posts coming soon!

October Catch Up

After Pam and Rose left we had a few weeks to prepare for our next visitors.  Here is what we did while we waited for them.

Warning...this is a recap, we are not that boring and did do other things between this time but they were not captured on film memory card.


Played, played, played.  Here's Gracie showing off her fancy sunglasses.  She LOVES wearing them out here, possible because it is always sunny.

Gracie being a beauty star

We took our first trip to a local pumpkin patch.  It was, literally, just that.  Nothing like Vala's back home, nothing.  They had their pumpkin patch, banana trees, a couple of tractors, an education tent and a dirt parking lot.  The dirt here is red and super loose.  When it catches the wind or your shoes, it sticks to you like flies on poo.  We were super dirty by the time we got home.  Lesson learned, don't wear anything you love, or like, or cannot get dirt out of.  Gosh, I'm making this place sound as we had a horrible time.  It really wasn't a horrible experience, it was just different.  I swear we had fun!  Gracie loved riding the hayrack ride.  That was her favorite part.  She couldn't get over the tractor pulling us.  We found a couple of pumpkins to bring home, took some photos sitting on tiny pumpkins and gourds, and sweated (is that even a word?) our butts off!  It was a fun experience for her but nothing like Vala's is for kids and parents alike. I missed that place a lot this fall.

Gracie on a pumpkin.  She loved seeing all the punkins! 

We love when Daddy is home on the weekends.  I enjoy the little break from constantly being Mommy, and I enjoy seeing the two of them together.  Here they are one weekend making breakfast.  Gracie's speciality, pancakes!  She loves helping her daddy-o!

Pancake master :)

Then we celebrated our first Hawaiian Halloween.  Gracie was Jessie the Cowgirl from Toy Story 2/3. At first we couldn't get the costume on her, then one day, Daddy did it.  I tell you, he is amazing in more than one way.  She loved wearing the hat around the house and she wore the costume with joy!  Yeehaw!  You can imagine my excitement that she dressed up.  We were invited to our friends' home, the Adams Family, for a Halloween party and trick-or-treating.  Sidenote: I thought to myself, how often can you say that you spent Halloween with the Adams Family?!  Pretty cool, right? :)  It really happened folks.  We had a blast with the other families and their kids.  It was a beautiful night, and since the weather is so awesome at night here, most people sit out on their porches to hand out candy.  Little knocking was involved.  The fun and memories will be with us forever.

Gracie and her pals ~Dylan, Kamryn, Chase, Kiera, and Sophia

First house we hit!  She was so cute saying "Trick-or-Treat" and made sure to say "Thank you".

Funny story...we were locked out of the house and while waiting for the group to return, a family walked by and asked if "Iron Man" (seen in the bottom right corner) could take a picture with Jessie.  It was odd, but cute so we obliged.  Then another family walked by with a Buzz Lightyear and Woody.  I pointed them out to Gracie because she is a real fan!  The mom then wanted a picture of Woody and Jessie together.  It was so hilarious and adorable!  The two sat their sweetly as us moms/dads snapped away and laughed at how cute it was.  I think Gracie felt a little famous.

October is now long gone and we have done quite a bit more.  Next post to come will be our 2nd pair of visitors, Tina and Brandon.

Our 1st Visitors!

Gosh, I'm months behind on this blog.

Grandma Pam and Great-Grandma Rose came to visit us back in October.  They were our first visitors to make the long flight to Oahu to see us, and we couldn't have appreciated their visit any more.

When they first arrived, we took them to La Mariana.  Really neat place, off the ocean, in a marina, with great food.

At dinner, minus Rose because she was taking the picture.

Day 2 of their visit, Justin took Pam and Rose to Pearl Harbor.  Pearl Harbor is a non-profit park because it is a national park.  So everything there is free for viewing, but you do have to go pretty early because of this.  The crowds do increase and once they run out of shuttle boat passes, you can't go to the USS Arizona Memorial that day.

While there, they were able to walk around the historical grounds, view exhibits, take lots of pictures and take the shuttle boat to the USS Arizona Memorial.

Replica of the memorial...everything that is grey/brown is what is underwater. 

Rose's model pose ;)  Behind her is Battleship Missouri that is now decommissioned.

Day 3 consisted of a hike up Diamond Head.  Rose stayed at home with Gracie while Justin, Pam and I went downtown to get to the old volcano.  I was definitely exhausted by the time we finished.  Being pregnant, nauseous and out of shape are not a good mixture for this hike.  I thought I'd die before I reached the top.

Pam taught her kids to walk fast.  I am slow. On our way up!

View from the top! 

Waikiki...close up.

Mom and son made it to the top

On our way down.  That tunnel was scary!

Day 4 we went to the Ko'Olina lagoon for some fun in the sun.  It's called the Hidden Lagoon because it is tucked back behind some property and you have to walk a little bit to get to it.  Every time I've been there, there are sea turtles swimming in the water.  It is an amazing place!

Heading out to do a little snorkeling, minus the snorkel.

Burying Pam in the sand and Rose in the water!

Our little mermaid loves to be in the sand.

Grandma Pam and Gracie

My precious babe :)

Sea turtle!  It actually scared Pam while she had her back to it.  It was pretty entertaining.

Day 5 was our trip to the Disney Aulani Resort.  At the resort, guests and locals can reserve a time to come to their character breakfast and meet Minnie, Mickey and Goofy.  Gracie had a blast meeting the 3 characters.  She absolutely loved Minnie Mouse the most.  Goofy she was a little afraid of.

The gang and Mickey 

Family picture with Minnie

Scared of Goofy

Giving Minnie lots of love :)

We also took a trip up to the outlet shopping center in Waikele.  But no pictures, as shopping means you have to look around and browse and not be camera happy :P  Plus why would I want to take pictures of things I cannot buy.

Day 6 and 7 were mostly spent shopping and browsing and hanging out at home.  Eating delicious watermelons and homecooked meals.  Oh we, Justin and I, had our 1st prenatal appointment and heard the baby's heartbeat too!  That sound will never get old to me, I love hearing it every time we go to the doctor.  We also made the announcement on Facebook to really make it official.

Thanks to Pam and Rose for making the long flight out to see us.  We were so glad to spend time with the two of you and enjoyed your company.  We have missed you every day since you left and can't wait to see you both in February when we return home for our visit.  Love you both!