Silliness at our House

one of my favorite pix of all time!

Remember how I said earlier this last year that I would have lots of random pictures?  You know, the ones that are just silly kids being silly, or something you know you'll never see again, or kids being cute, these are the pix that show up in these kind of posts.  So here is some more random moments from our home!

 Joe got a knight dress up costume.  So cool!

 I know this whirling dervish is tricky to see, but I swear it's Lizzy!

 Evie looking fantastic in her dress up Rockstar look!

 Cool spiderman face!  My web slinger is in the house

My adorable Ally, before she gets too old.

no one can be unhappy with a Hawaiian Shaved Ice!

honestly, I have no idea how she got up there or why

Chris especially loves these two pix.  Guess a Vaughn taco is pretty funny

Waiamea Falls

We are so blessed to have had the special opportunity to go to Waiamea Falls.  This is a beautiful, easy-going hike through a tropical botanical garden.  Each tree is labeled (a fun activity for older kids) on the way to a fantastic fresh water waterfall.  It was so fun and really safe since they have life guards and provide life jackets.  We had so much fun!

I especially enjoyed getting under the waterfall directly with Evie (a pursuit that required a lot of effort!)  We loved how each kid responded to the waterfall.  V was not a fan of how cold it was, but then hated the life preserver.

can you see the not so happy look on his face?

  Evie jumped in and took off!  That's about as close as I got to getting a picture of her hitting the water.

  Joe and Liz helped each other in and then tried to drown one another.  

Ally laid back and just allowed the jacket to float her around.  Whoever grabbed her got to be with her.  Cracked me up.

 This waterfall was so fun for all of us.  When we realized that we were going to be moving to this island, we discussed things that the kids might want to do once we got here.  One of the biggest things on their list was to swim in a waterfall.  I was so grateful that we found one that was so little-kid friendly.  Yeah for us!

 Getting into the water was the tricky part.  The walk on the way up was so warm, but the water was so cold!  Fresh water is still fresh water.  It also happened to be a little rocky at the entry point, hence the pile up.

 We so loved this whole experience.  Thanks Grampa and Grama for being with us for this kept promise.

 Grampa and Lizzy and warming up after a cool dip in the waterfall.  

 Grama w/ Vaughn and Lizzy and Joe

Grampa and Joe Play Catch

I just had to record this somewhere.  Little boys grow up to be big boys and I'm almost 100% convinced that if those little boys play catch with an honorable male family member they turn out to be great big boys.  So, in respect of that belief, here are some great pictures of Joe doing just that with his Grampa Fosburg.

Our Night Off

One of the nicest things about having parents in town is when they offer to watch your kids.  To have them not only offer to watch them, but to send you to their reserved condo for the night, yeah, that's love.

So as I gleefully, but lovingly kissed all my kids goodbye, we headed out to an action flick and dinner.  We ate at a local favorite called Zippy's.  Not so high on my list of places to eat, but it did make a great mushroom burger.  Anyway so we go to our movie and enjoy not having to rush back.  We drove over to the "condo" and find it's like a hotel room built on the side of a local's home.  She rents it out regularly to help pay the bills.  I thought it a very inventive way to take care of yourself.  It was lovely, actually.  Big, comfy bed, cable, a kitchen and a nice bath with linens.  I would pay to stay there any time.

We fell asleep quickly and then slept in the next morning.  Such a luxury for parents with five children under 8.  Eventually we decided to get up and go to breakfast.  We found a great little restaurant.  I mean it was really tiny.  We were all scrunched in there, but the food was so worth it.  

Then we hit the beach, just the two of us.  It was wonderful and so relaxing.  People assume that we're at the beach all the time because we live on island, but honestly the beach is quite a trip with all our kids, their stuff, and all the safety/behavior issues that are possibly around the corner.  The chance to go to the beach like other adults do was so nice.  I got to read a book (I know!) and lay in the sun (again, I know!).  Then we took a swim just in time for me to discover that I just can't stand on anything that's not an obvious rock or sand.  Chris on the other hand doesn't seem to care and thinks my squeals of ickiness are hilarious.  I'm sure everyone watching thought we were being so cute and romantic, but I was actually in Chris' arms because he kept threatening to put me down on something I knew was not sand!  I haven't seen him laugh so hard in a long time.  

It was great and a little hard to go home.  The reception our kids gave us when we got home was worth the effort it was to say goodbye to our time off.  Love my kids so much!

Thanks mom and dad for a great night off.  Anytime you want to do it again, we are ready!

Baskin Robbins

Of course what visit would be complete without a walking trip to our next door neighbor ice cream shop, Baskin Robbins?

We are so lucky to live where we do.  Our house is just across the street from our commissary, bx, food court, and post office!  What more could we need?

We love to take walks with the kids.  Gets out the energy, gets us outside, sometimes we get ice cream. What's not to love?

As you can see, we Fosburgs love our ice cream!

Happy 4th of July! (2013)

I love the 4th of July!  I really do.  I love the history, oh how our family loves the history.  I love the weather, it's summer of course.  I love that Daddy gets a day off (not always been that way).  I especially love the community activities.  And as any normal American, I love the fireworks.

This year was so amazingly fantastic!  It was our first year for fireworks on island and it was great.  We went to down to Hickam beach here on our base in the morning and then went to Schoffield for an outdoor concert and fireworks.  It was so fun!

In the morning, Chris and Ronda (grama) took the kids to the beach - all except Vaughn who needed a nap!  They had a blast.  There was a boat ride and games and the best Hawaiian Shaved Ice.

*Just a note here for those of you on the mainland: Hawaiian shaved ice is not a regular snow cone, they have those unique flavors you find here, but then it's the way they start, not the way the end.  All Hawaiian snow cones, if they are to be called truly Hawaiian, start with ice cream at the bottom.  My favorite is vanilla because it mixes with all the other flavors so well, but Chris loves to try the pineapple ice cream or any other flavor the vendor happens to have.  Needless to say it is an even bigger sugar overload than previously thought!*

They got home just in time for lunch and a happy baby boy.  After a short break so mom and Grama could pack the car and get directions, we were off on our 4th of July adventure.  You may wonder about my calling it an adventure, but we have five kids, two parents and two grandparents all trying to get somewhere they've never been.  It's always an adventure with our family!

We got to Schoffield without problems and even found parking, though it was a bit further away than we had anticipated.  Walking is always good for us, right?  When we finally got to the field where the festivities were being held it was crazy!  Tons of people, lots of food, and a gigantic stage with even bigger screens on either side of the area so everyone could see.  They even gave away a brand new car during this thing!

So we set up our chairs, go over the rules for our kids (and grandparents), and off Chris and I went to get dinner.  By the time we got back we were all STARVING and within about two minutes we lost Ally.  I mean we really lost Ally!  There were so many people there and all Grama kept saying was "she was right here."  Now some moms freak out, some get angry, and some cry.  I totally understand.  But I have come to realize that no matter how I'm feeling (see previous sentence), I suck it up, stay calm, and try to think.  My kid is missing.  My meltdown is not productive and will not find my daughter.  Searching the area carefully and then finding an MP is a wiser course of action.  So after about a good five minutes I found myself an MP.  He wrote down my daughter's description and full name and then took me to the lost and found children's booth.  (no, seriously, they had a booth of MP's and nurses for lost/found children.  Love the military organization!)  Of course as I get closer I find that Ally was listening to the rules and found herself an MP too!  That's right folks, my 2 yr old found a man in uniform and told him she lost her family.  He walked her to the booth and they were playing a game with her when my MP brought me to her.  So grateful that of all the kids who was going to get lost, the one that did get lost also happened to be the one that listened.

After that great escapade, we had each kid in sight the whole time!  We locked V and Al in the double stroller to eat and had them all with us before they went to play again.  Right after we ate the main attraction began: a free concert by One Republic!  I know!  It was so fun and we got to see all of the band up close thanks to those huge screens.

We had a great time.  Then I passed out the glow necklaces and little American flags.  V especially liked the flags.  So cute.  then just as the last song finished the fireworks began.  It was great.

What a wonderful day!  Happy Birthday America.  Thanks everyone for all you do to keep our country fantastic!  Thanks Grama and Grampa!  We love you all!

 that's me!  see, I was there too!  

even got to cuddle two of my little ones.