Go Mariners!

Mariners Vs. Yankees, July 10th 2010

Just a few days after we got back from Hawaii we had the once of a lifetime chance to go with my Dad's family to a Mariners' game. And not just any Mariner game. A Yankee vs Mariner game. And not just any Yankee vs Mariner game. A Yankee vs Mariner game in a luxery suite!!!! This was amazing! Especially for my little family who is currently obsessed with the Mariners, and someone like me who has always adored the team (yes, even when they lose!). :) This suite was fantastic, I kept looking around waiting to see someone famous! :) This was the life! We got to go in the ballpark through a special entrance, had a private inside room that was catered, and a whole outside area all to ourselves to watch the game. My Dad's brother and his family flew all the way up from Reno especially, which was such a treat since we hadn't seen them in a few years.

We had an amazing time. We cheered, we ate, we laughed with our family non-stop. The boys were in heaven, and Teage and I just kept talking about how unbelievable the suite was and that we were ruined for life. And, the best part, the M's crushed the Yankees!!!

It was overall an amazing day!

Jose Lopez after he hit what would be the game winning home run!

Another amazing highlight....the Mariner Moose came up to the suite to personally meet the boys (though I think it was just as fun for my Dad!!!!) They were in awe!

Our whole group, minus Uncle Rich (thanks for taking the picture!!) :)

Mr. D

My little man Dylan is such a comedian right now. He never fails to crack me up, even when he is trying to be difficult. :) I feel like the minute he turned three he felt like he had a free pass to just talk talk talk talk talk all the time! But, I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. I love to hear his sweet little voice, asking me every question under the sun, and why mommy? all the time. He loves to chat about his day and his accomplishments, says "look at me!" constantly if I am not paying close enough attention to his latest project or feat. He also has so many funny questions or sayings, I feel like I am always having to write something down so I don't forget his cute personality! For example, there is a game on my phone that he loves to play and it uses numbers to help them draw a picture. One of the pictures is a ukulele, and every time it comes up he asks me, "Mom, is this a looky-lady???" Hilarious!!! I have to try not to laugh every time. :) I just love this little man!!

And yes, he really did fall asleep in this picture.....it was so sweet!

Hawaii, Part 3

Our last few days in Hawaii were really special. We truly valued every single day that we spent in the sunshine with our family! Day 6 was a long, but wonderful one. We got up early that morning and went to the City of Refuge, which was only a few minutes down from where we were staying. This "city" is now a national park, and sea turtle sanctuary of sorts. It was literally a place of refuge for the Hawaiian people and an old religious site.....in the old days if you broke some sacred laws or made the chief angry, you were usually sentenced to death. The only way that you could survive is to make it to this city before your pursuers got to you first. If you made it to the City of Refuge, you were safe, "home base" if you will, and all prior crimes would be forgiven.

We spent the morning reading and seeing the history of this beautiful place, and take some great pictures with the family. Afterwards, Teage, the boys, and I went and found our own personal tide pool area, and literally spent almost two hours just hanging out in the shallow water, throwing rocks, looking for shells, and watching the ocean just a few yards away. It was a wonderful peaceful afternoon.

The twins with the twins

The whole group minus myself at the site of the old city

Once the boys were down for a nap, my brother, stepmom, and I went back to the City of Refuge to take some pictures of a sea turtle who had come on shore to rest in the sunshine. There is a rule there that you can't get within a certain distance to the turtles, so all of the animals feel extremely comfortable coming onto the shore. They know no one will disturb them. We were able to take a ton of pictures, which of course is one of my very favorite things to do!

Isn't he cute?

That night we took some family pictures at our Hawaii house as well. We all dressed in our Hawaiian best, wore beautiful matching leis, and smiled for the camera, hoping that the boys would cooperate. :) We actually did end up getting quite a few great family pictures, even with me clicking a remote while trying to pose with the boys the whole time! And afterwards, dinner out for one of our last nights in the beautiful state of Hawaii.

Poor David....we were making fun of him all week for not finishing his food, so I think that he felt like he needed to show us up the last night with all you can eat pasta! :) Go David!

Day 7 was simply amazing. Our house was just above Captain Cook bay....a historic and beautiful landmark, where there is no street access what-so-ever. That morning, there were dolphins swimming in the bay, so my wonderful stepmom took the boys for us, and Teage, myself, my brothers, and sister all went down and rented kayaks to go into the bay and over to the Captain Cook monument on the other side. This is also a sight for some of the very best snorkeling on the big island, so thankfully we were able to take our snorkel gear as well. :) Since we were such early risers (thanks Dylan and Lucas) :), we were the very first ones to tie our kayaks up to the billowing trees, take a walk around to the Captain Cook monument, and get into the water. We also arrived before all of the site-seeing boats, so we had the place all to ourselves. What an amazing sight it was!!!!!! The most fish I have ever seen. And since there is no access to that side of the bay besides a full day hike, or kayak across the bay, the fish are not afraid of people and will swim right beside you the entire time. I have never experienced anything like it. Teage and I literally spent about 15 minutes in one shallow spot near the rocks, surrounded by hundreds of bright yellow fish going in and around us, coming so close that we could reach out and touch them. It really was an amazing sight. All of us then spent a little time and ate lunch over there as others were arriving, and played out on the big black rocks near the water before kayaking back to the other side of the bay and going home. We had a fabulous time!

You probably can't read this, but it is a plaque that says "Near this spot, Captain James Cook met his death, February 14th 1779"

All of us at the Captain Cook monument

I know this is also hard to see, but I absolutely love this picture. Sean took it at the edge of this very elaborate tree covering, with myself, Teage, Lindsey, and David standing in various places throughout.

Grammy and Papa, thank you so much for all that you have given us, on this trip and always. We had so much fun with you and really cherished each day in our beautiful Hawaiian paradise! The boys still talk about it and want to be back as well. :) They loved being there with all of our family. We appreciate you so very much!!!

We miss you Hawaii!!!!!!! :)

Mr. L

I would really like to get back into the habit of posting about the "little" things, as well as the big adventures of our family. These small moments with my boys are so precious to me and I don't want to forget. So today, it is about Mr Lucas. :)Mr L has been such a cuddle-bug lately. Well, I take that back. Mr L has been such a cuddle-bug at sleep time lately. Of course the other hours of the day are spent running around, playing baseball, and being Mr. Independant. But, recently, before nap time and bed time, his favorite thing to do is cuddle up with me on this big oversized chair we have in their room, with his softie and blanket in tow. We just lay there for about 15 minutes, either singing a song, or quietly talking, or just falling asleep holding hands. It is such a precious few minutes for me and makes me feel so special. He looks up at me with his little adorable face and says "night-night Mommy", or even an occasional "I love you Mommy", and my heart just melts. I don't want to forget these precious moments with my children. They are at such a wonderful and adorable age....I wish that I could capture each and every facial expression and funny saying.

I love you Lucas!!!!!!

Hawaii, Part 2

OK Erin, time to catch up!!!!

I realized that in the last post I didn't even thank the wonderful people who were responsible for this amazing trip in the first place!!! THANK YOU so much Grammy and Papa for allowing us to have this adventure with you!!! :)

Day 4 was a pretty low-key day. Teage, the boys, and I went to the store in the morning to get grocieries for the rest of the week's dinners and then stopped by the Kona Temple on the way back to the house. What a beautiful temple it is! We grabbed some lunch and ate on the temple grounds with the boys, who had a great time. Then just took a few moments to snap a few pictures (with my camera propped up on the car hood :) ) before we left. What fun we had.

When we got home the boys took a much needed nap while the older "kids" decided to have some fun playing volleyball in the sand pit. I actually had just as much fun shooting pictures of them while they were rolling around in the sand. And honestly, they did really well for hardly ever playing beach volleyball before! Another dip in the pool before dinner, and our day pretty much came to a close. :) Well, after a few games of Knock of course!!!

Day 5 was a busy and wonderful one!!! Day 5 was also a Sunday, so Teage and I took the boys to church in Captain Cook. The Hawaiian people are just so wonderful and friendly. The minute we walked into the church building we were greeted by a very enthusiastic man who gave us all hugs and just dooted over the boys! As we were in Sacrament meeting, I looked around and realized that I was the only blond one there.....how FUN! :)

After church we took a drive around the island to the volcano on the other side and met the rest of the family in Volcano National Park. Teage and I had never been to this part of the island before, and it was such an amazing experience. It actually worked out great, because the drive was so long, the boys slept in the car and were ready to go by the time we got there. We drove over to the lookout point where you can see some huge craters, then to the steam vents (the boys had no idea what to make of those!), and finally to the lava tubes, which was our favorite part. You can actually walk through these lava "tubes" for about a quarter mile which were formed naturally from the volcano's lava flow.

Mommy and Grammy at the crater, and then the whole family.

Lucas is definitely not sure he likes this steam!

Walking through the amazing act of nature. Good thing my Dad wasn't there! :)

Then on the way back, we took advantage of our time and stopped at the Black Sand Beach, which truly does have jet black sand. The rocks all around were also jet black and it made a really neat effect with the water coming and going. We took a few minutes to grab a few model shots and throw some rocks before we were off again!

Since we STILL didn't want to go home, we stopped again for dinner at the Southernmost Resturant in the US and had a fabulous and relaxed meal, though Uncle David couldn't finish all of his and lost his bet. Poor David. :)

Only two more days to go!!!! Getting a few more pictures from my brother this weekend and then I promise to finish up! WE MISS YOU HAWAII!!!!!!!!