Fun with Gram-O

Pictures are out of order again...sorry. It was Vickie's idea to take the kids mini golfing and it was a great choice. The kids had a ton of fun and it was fun to watch them whack the ball around! I chose to sit out for the bumper boats so I could take the pictures, but is was so funny to watch! They had a blast and they all got soaked and were laughing the whole time.

Dole Plantation

The Dole Plantation is, in my opinion, one of the supreme, all around places to visit with a family here in Hawaii. It's absolutely beautiful. There are so many fun things to do and see. The Pineapple Express was great fun for the kids. It took us around 2 miles of the plantation where we were able to learn about the harvesting and other plants and fruits there. The scenery was gorgeous. We had a lot of fun spending the day out there and we look forward to returning so we can try out the world's largest maze (we didn't have time for that). We also got to try the delicious pineapple ice cream (or was is sorbet). Lots of fun to be had there and we'll definitely be going back.

Paradise Cove Luau

Kevin and the kiddos with a Tahitian Princess

Vickie with the Fire Chief

Imu (pig) ceremony

Vickie making some Hawaiian handicrafts

Vickie with the lovely locals

First off, the pictures are not really in order. So Vickie has been to Hawaii probably 3 or 4 times and she's never been to a luau. We chose not to tell her about it and just surprised her. Boy was she surprised! We all, especially Vickie, had so much fun! The kids were great and enjoyed everything they have to offer at Paradise Cove. It is so breathtakingly beautiful there. It is by far the best and only luau I would recommend to anyone (and I've been to another). I cannot say enough how much we enjoyed ourselves. Kevin and I love taking our family and friends here because it is such an unforgettable experience and well worth the money you spend on it.

About the birds...they were flippin hilarious! What I'm about to write involves the white bird on Kevin's arm. The photographer/handler was repositioning the birds and placing some on our heads. Landon saw everyone else with a bird on their head and was pretty much begging for one too..."I un a bir". So the photographer put one on his head and his face went from extactic to "what the heck" and he started saying ow ow ow. I thought the rapid change in his facial expression was hilarious so I started laughing out loud....well so did the bird...and Kevin...and Vickie. So I started laughing harder (you know how it is when one person laughs because you're laughing....) and that bird started laughing even more. It was so belly hurtin' funny that Kev, Vickie and me were all crying from laughing so hard. Guess you had to be there because to hear that bird.....oh man...had to be there. Great times, great times!

Our Romantic Date

Wow. What can I say to even begin to describe how wonderful this date was. Kevin and I have not been on a date for a couple of years now. With Vickie here, Kevin decided to seize the opportunity of a free babysitter. He purchased tickets for us to go on a 5 star sunset dinner cruise on the Star of Honolulu. It was so romantic and he made me feel so special. I mean he always has a way of making me feel special, but him planning this for us and being there together just kind of hit the ball out of the park, so to speak. We were greeted with a private Captain's Reception and champagne toast then our escort took us into the dining area. It was so wonderfully romantic sharing dinner together and watching the sunset and seeing the Waikiki skyline from the ocean. The food was amazing and exquisite. It was a 7 course dinner consisting of some very tasty french cuisine. It was Delicious! We had private window seating and live jazz entertainment that was just lovely. One of the most interesting details of the night was the fact that most of the staff thought we were newlyweds, newly dating or recently engaged! The vocalist came up to talk to us, and thought we were a new couple, and when we told her we have been married almost 9 years she was shocked. It definitely put some giddy smiles on our faces to know that we act, look and feel so in love that it seems as though we just started our life together. This was definitely a night I will always remember.

Cora sings Rock-a-bye baby

Every night when Cora and Landon get in bed we sing "Twinkle Twinkle," "Jesus loves me," and "Rock-a-bye baby." Well the past few nights Cora has been wanting to sing one of the songs. Last night she chose "Rock-a-bye baby." And here is her rendition of the classic song...

"Rock-a-bye baby
on the tree top
when the tree grows
the grocery store
when the bell rings
the cradle will fall
and down will go baby
cradle will fall"

My nephews

Dylan and Jesse

Jesse and Dylan

Well my little twin nephews are a little over 7 months now and I have been told they are crawling! It seems so crazy to me because it honestly does not seem like that long ago that I was hearing they just got to come home from the hospital. I don't remember how premature they were but they sure seem right on target now. They are so cute. I cannot wait to meet them the next time we are able to go home. We were going to try to go back to MO to visit at the end of March but Kevin could not get leave. Oh well, soon enough.

Noah Looses His Tooth

First off you have to watch the video below this post first. I accidentally added it first and it took so long to upload I didn't feel like deleting it and re-adding it so it would be above this one. So anyway, I know I know, I'm pathetic, but we were just so stinkin' excited! His tooth had been wiggling so much and he says to me "tomorrow is going to be Tooth Fairy night" so I said "well if you just yank it out then tonight can be Tooth Fairy night". What does he do? Yanks the dang thing out! I was shocked...I didn't think he would be able to do it! He made like this big breath noise that was part excitement part "what the heck did I just do." I yelled with excitement when he held it up and said "oh my goodness it just popped right out!" It was an awesome experience for a first lost tooth. By the way, he's super excited about the Tooth Fairy visiting! Oh and I hope the video didn't make anyone squeamish. He's been wanting to do that, like the kid on Emporer's New Groove ever since his tooth started wiggling. Anyway Congrats Noah!

Noah's First Loose Tooth

Our tour of a P-3

Landon was in awe

"What's that?"

That's us looking so small in front of the P-3

Kev's Buddy Salmon--Uncle Fish to the kids

Noah in the Pilot's seat

Noah and Cora in the Main Load Center

"Hmmmm? What do I want to touch first?"

I wanted to add these pictures, even though we did this a while ago because it was such a fun experience for the kiddos. Back in October I was presented with the opportunity to take the kids to the hangar for a tour of a P-3. I jumped all over it because I knew they would enjoy it and they would get to see what daddy actually works on, inside and out. There were 3 people with us to answer all the kids questions (and boy did Noah ask) and they were so wonderful with the kids! One of the guys, Chris Salmon (but we call him Fish--he's a friend of Kev's), talked a lot about how he works with daddy when he is home (at the time Kev was still gone). There is one picture of Noah and Cora in a Main Load Center and I love it because when Kevin was in Iraq he had someone take a picture of him working in a MLC and he emailed it to us, so when I took this one I emailed it to him. I thought it was cool (but it's late as I write this so maybe I'm not making much sense and it doesn't help that Kevin is standing here reading over my shoulder correcting me) ANYWAY....I will just shut up and post the pictures. I hope you like them.