today....

today was nora's first field trip.  and first trip on a school bus.  and i got to go!  c took the boys for the morning, chauffeuring them to and from the normal morning activities!  (so nice that c's schedule looks like mine!)  it was so fun to watch nora interact!  and to see the waikiki aquarium.

i remember my mom coming on field trips.  and it was a weird feeling to be the mom.  i am thankful for the good friends in my life that surround me.  and the friends that have lasted years and moves and locations.  and sometimes survive only in video messages or short 3 minute phone calls over periods of days and weeks.  missed calls.  returned text messages.  voice mail tag.  sometimes i feel like that is the status of my friendships right now, but i am so thankful for them.  (wow, that was a random change of subject...  not even sure how i could get you from field trips to friends!!)

anyway...  i have several good, close friends in my life and i am overwhelmingly blessed!  and it has been so fun, recently, to watch God bless me through them.  at times when i didn't even realize i needed a pick me up, or a phone call.  but HE knew.  and they knew... or acted on a feeling!

i am watching my hubby fix the tv.  and he's so cute doing it!  it's fun to watch him work...  i love his intensity!  and the fact that he wants no help or suggestions from me!  (kind of like when he cooks/cleans up in the kitchen.  he doesn't want me around!)  we got to go on a lunch date today after the field trip.  i had an hour between field trip and when everyone was done with morning activities!  so, we snuck away.  and that's what it felt like... sneaking!  it was so fun.  we stopped and picked up a birthday present for an upcoming birthday party on the way home... cause it was easier without three kids, and that's just life.

you get train of thought blogging today... brought to you by a dusty room and tired mommy!  thanks for riding this train with me....

more from the north shore...

the size of those waves didn't intimidate him!

man, was it pretty!

more at turtle bay resort...

so today, we had a playdate at a friends' house.  chris has previously been PETRIFIED of dogs.  or any animals, really.  i realized this at 6 months, when he saw his first dog.  we don't have many interactions with them (as ours is on the mainland, currently!), and he had never seen one.  our neighbor has a dog, and we see her occasionally, but he doesn't get more than 5 mins or so...

today, he didn't get as freaked out when we first saw the dog.  the mom kept offering to put the dog out, but they don't bother me.  and i was excited to see what chris did.  by the end of the visit, he was VOLUNTARILY reaching out and petting the dog!  i was so proud...  

white plains!!

he did love his pool they built!

sweet boy!!

trying to crawl out!

love this man!!

sweet boy...  wanted to be in the water!

loves his daddy!!

my boys!!

love being married to him!!!

making his escape!!!

sweet girl...

love my boy!!!  he's so much fun!

and this sweet face!!!

sweet face!

we went to white plains last week...  it was a blast!!

this morning, i found out that my pastor from church at home was preaching at my friends' church here.  so, we changed our morning plans and went to church with them.  it was great!  such a fun morning...  and now i am enforcing mandatory quiet time!!!

this week...

do you see the penny standing straight up?  that's how it landed when david dropped his change!

glow stick bath!!

like father, like son!  (that's his, "i hate you for this" face!!)

my sweet "helper"!  his new favorite activity!!  but, keeps him entertained!

sweet boy.  i love getting him up from a nap!

highlight of my life... they just snuggled!

i got a massage this morning.  and my amazing husband watched six kids, from 0-5, so that my friend, who's hub is currently gone, could go too!  amazing man!!  i worked on a project that i will show here later this week!  (you may have seen on fb)  and now we are off on a date!  with free childcare!  we have started trading siting with friends.  so it's our date night!   whoo hoo!

oldies...

sweet boy at the beach back in october...

hanging out with my babe!

my sweet friend!  she and her hubby stayed with us for a night while vacationing in hawaii.  i have been friends with her hubby since high school, and like to take credit for helping introduce them!!  it was so fun to have them.  her hubs took all these beach pics.  

our hawaii ohana after the turkey trot!

beach day...  

nora and her girl holding the flags!  sweet things...

it's been a busy week.  j threw up and quickly got over it.  c had another hearing test.  the amazingly good news is that his hearing is perfectly normal!  (and he cooperated wonderfully for the test!!)  she even said he was quite a stinker cause she could tell when he just didn't want to look for the noise!  but he passed it with flying colors.  so as far as hearing goes, it's normal.  the concern will be speech and language development, and functioning in school, etc.  that's pretty much what she told me last time.  if his speech, etc, is normal, they won't be concerned.  and, unless i am concerned, we don't have to go back for a year!!!  phew...  so nice to cross that hurdle off!!

that's all i got for now...  happy friday!

big waves...

turtle bay resort...

another view...

the swell was even dying down!!

but they are beautiful...

a fun trip with c!

more waves...

my other c...  who just wanted to be in the water, or rolling around in the sand!!

it was so much fun to see the big waves.  and to just be on the north shore.  we also stopped at the food trucks for lunch.  there's this awesome burger truck.  they fly in their meat from molokai, and it's grass fed, organically raised, etc.  wonderful!  you can order meat from there to cook at home, too!  totally going back!!

i walked up, and the guy was watering the plants in front of his truck.  it was just 11am, and not too busy, so i asked if they were open yet.  the (shirtless) hawaiian man answered, "totally, i was just watering my blooms.  gotta keep them looking nice".  oh, and totally think of crush from "finding nemo" when you say that in your head!  we had a nice chat about their meat.  and my order.  and he had some crazy tats.  all in all, it was a totally "hawaii" experience!  i loved it!

the second picture at the top is at turtle bay.  at that point, you are looking at the radar site from 1941.  it's the site that first saw the japanese planes and reported them in.  but, due to conflicting data, etc, they were believed to be b-17s coming in from the mainland.  so, the report was discounted.  can you imagine being the guy that discounted that.  he did his job (and it was only his second day on the job), and it blew up in his face.  my heart went out for the guy!  

chris is getting closer and closer to walking...  standing up on his own sometimes!  and he wants to be down and moving.  but he is TERRIFIED of animals.  dogs, cats.  they terrify him.  it's cute to watch!!!

the birthday boy...

sweet little 1 year old!!

cutest baby ever!!

who me??

maybe i am just biased!!!

but i love those cheeks!!!  and his interest in EVERYTHING that is going on.  he has serious FOMO.  (fear of missing out!)  he hates to miss anything!

those blue eyes!!!

good friends to celebrate!

boy ate three helpings of lasagna, but not ONE bite of cake!!

but, how do you say no to those eyes???

sweet little boy!

eating their cake balls...

mmm...  not so much, mom!

but i am still cute!!

he is the sweetest thing.  he finally crawls, sometimes, with his tummy off the ground.  but his army crawl is the best.  and crazy fast!  and he can be up the stairs in a heartbeat!

his brother and sister take such good care of him!  we were at the beach yesterday, and chris just wanted to go in the water.  jamey had him by his ankle, refusing to let him go, so afraid he would get in too deep!  (which he would love to!  he LOVES being in the water...  even putting his face in and blowing bubbles!!!)

the kid and i (and carley) went to the north shore today, and he LOVED just playing around in the sand.  it was so fun to watch him!!  i just love him...

another homecoming...

james was rocking out to the navy band!

yes... he has his daddy's dance moves!

the hula dancers.  didn't really pay attention to them at our homecoming!

the sub.  fyi, david's ship is the one all wrapped in white behind it!!

a new friend.  so glad to have met her... and thankful that she let me come to the homecoming!  (and that she didn't complain at my stink, coming straight from boot camp...)  i am a sucker for those events!!!  i don't even know her hubby and i almost cried when i saw his boat!

tomorrow is chris' birthday.  sweet little peanut.  i love that boy!  can't believe how fast this year went.