aloha

Aloha

Mason only says a few words.... Mama, Dada, num num, yeah, dit doo (thank you). But out of the blue in Hawaii he copied me when I said aloha. I got a kick out of it and had Brandon video him with my phone. Of course, not that we are home he won't say it again.

Donovan learns how to snorkel

Donovan got brave while we were in Hawaii. He learned how to snorkel and swim underwater. I had to watch him closer each day because he ventured further and further out into the deep waters and large waves. He had a blast and kept going back for more. He wants to go back soon!

Hula Daddy Coffee Plantation

http://www.huladaddy.com/watch-kona-coffee-grow.htm

While in Hawaii we had the wonderful time visiting the Hula Daddy Coffee Plantation. They took us on a tour of the place, we did coffee tasting and it turned out to be one of my favorite experiences in HI. We ventured down into the growing area where we were taught how to pick coffee. We split our beans, tasted them and then were shown and taught about the roasting processes. I had my first cup of extra fancy coffee - the most prized coffee available! It was divine! The coffee bean tasted sweet and fruity in your mouth. And did you know that some coffee beans do not have a half split? These are the rarest coffee beans in the world - and both Donovan and Brandon picked one of them while we were there. You can go online and watch the tours or even watch them roasting their coffee live on the webcams. Talk about amazing. I realized nearly everything I thought I knew about coffee was wrong. For instance.... the medium roasts actually have more caffeine than the darker roasts. All you night owls keep that in mind!

Family Vacation, Dec 2010

We celebrated a short Christmas this year then zipped to Anchorge and boarded the airplane to take our first family vacation as a family of six. We ventured to Kona, Hawaii and let me tell ya, I didn't wanna leave. We stayed at a friends house up on the mountain. It had three bedrooms, two baths and was perfect. We were able to cook our meals, and relax. I am ever greatful to my friend Sherri for letting us stay at her home. Mom and Dad met us there and it was special to share the time with them (and have the extra help!) One day, we chartered a fishing boat to go marlin fishing but got skunk. Bummer. We did, however, see whales, porpoise and other small fish. Aside from the charter, we didn't do a whole lot of the many things the island had to offer, it was just too expensive for 8 of us. so, we mostly just hung out at the beach. Which is what I wanted to do in the first place! Brandon learned how to boogie board like a pro and even tried his hand at body surfing towards the end of the trip. Phillip got to snorkel and we saw soooo much more at Turtle Bay then we ever saw on Oahu in past trips. In a one minute glance I saw more fish than I ever saw on our honeymoon. Yellow, striped, long, short, fat, weird and beautiful... we saw such a wonderful array of saltwater fish. There was an abundance of sea turles as well. The boys sat on lava rock a mere 10 inches from them as they fed and basked in the sun. I didn't get to parasail like I had hoped but this time together was sooo worth it. Donovan learned how to swim underwater but it was Mason that surprised me. He was not intimidated by the huge waves crashing on the beach. He was ready to trudge out there, preferably without us. He even learned how to boogie board, not bad for a one-year-old! We can't wait to go back. Phillip things we should try Maui next. Hopefully it won't be another 7 years between our visits because I miss it. already.

Christmas 2010

Jingle Bells! It's Christmas time! I hadn't realized how long ago I added a post till now so I had to post pictures of the boys decorating the tree this year. Brandon was excited that this is the first year he could decorate the top of the tree and as always, Ty placed ALL his ornaments on like two branches. Sweet. Mason was mesmerized and kept saying "WOW!" which is one of the very few words he is able to say as of yet. Donovan was a seasoned pro this year and instructed his little brothers on how he thought they should be decorating. With the annual Christmas Mix blazing in the background (complete with Chipmunks of course!) and our annual Eggnog toast, the evening was a blast and a great success. Love you all!

May Festivities

Spring is always a busy time for our family - as it is for yours, I am sure. We had a very exciting and eventful weekend. Brandon competed in the regional track meet at Houston Field. Phillip, Mason and I went to cheer him on while Donovan and Tysen enjoyed a picnic at Nana's. The weather was beautiful and Brandon did so well. He placed 2nd in the high jump, 2nd in the 400, 1st in the 4X200, and we are not sure yet if he placed in the long jump - if they announced the finalists, we missed it. That night we went to another Native Festival and I sold some of my guspeq aprons and we got to potluck and watch more native dancing. Tysen is really into dancing lately so here are some videos of his cool moves! lol

Brandon in his high jump.

Tysen dancing his heart out....

Donovan is 5 years old!

My Big Boy and his "lemonade cake" with SuperMan.

Sydnie taking her turn with the bat. She is so silly!

Tysen taking a swing


Nana helps scatter the rest of the treats

The mad scramble for candy and treats and toys


Tysen Layne and Evan Allen in their matching Seward shirts from Nana.

Donovan with his Pinata Candy

Donovan Ayn is our big 5 year old! He wanted a SuperMan birthday party and that he got. We ate tacos and then has his "lemonade cake." We even busted a pinata that Nana had bought him in Canada on their road trip. It was a lot of fun!

Mason Zayne is mobile!

So obviously I haven't blogged much lately - been spending time relaxing and getting those mani-pedi's.... whatever! Amisdt the diapers, dishes, laundry and taxi services to practices, this year is absolutely flying by.

I cannot believe spring break is over and we are beginning the fourth quarter of Brandon's final year in Elementary School. He is currently beginning a Geothermal Power Plant science fair project where he will demonstrate using steam to generate electicity. He also participated in the regional speach competition this last month. He was one of 10 kids that won their school competition and were able to compete at the regional level. He made his dad proud and argued the benefits of hydroseeding lawns. He also just completed both his volleyball and basketball seasons. Inevitably, he had both practices on Mondays and Wednesdays so we were very busy with that. His basketball skills continue to develop and he has become quite the player. We are, without a doubt, so proud of all his accomplishments as well as what a sweet young man he has become.

Donovan returned from his 6.5 week trip with his A'pa and Nana. They traveled to Albuquerque, Dallas, Clovis, San Diego, Seattle, Canada, and many stops inbetween. The favorite stop, without doubt, was Disneyland where he was spoiled beyond belief! I am so glad that he was able to have that special time with them. He returned home taller, more traveled and so much more mature! I don't think he missed us as much as we missed him though - he told me "I think I was having more fun than you, Mom!" With all said and done he has already seen more than twice the world that his dad has been able to travel! He has been working on his alphabet and writing, he knows the alphabet minus about 5 letters, can write his name, and is an amazing little artist. His eye for detail is impeccible. We haven't quite mastered the shoe-tie but it should be a done deal long before the first day of Kindergarten this fall.

Tysen is big and busy. He is now three and very loud. He is our "go-go" child and is always on the move with hoot and a hollar. Literally. I sometimes feel like I should use earplugs around the child. He is such a blessing though and gives the sweetest big-lipped kisses. Between Hot Wheels and his train table, much of his day is devoted to his toys, but he has sparked a deep interest in books and reading as of late. With four children it is sometimes hard to do a nightly story, but we do our best. And sometimes, depending on the length of the book, he can convince us to even read two. He got a pair of kids snow goggles for his birthday and wears them on his forehead all day long, I will have to post a pic of that...

Mason is on the move and he is mobile! Hardly seems possible that he should be pulling up on things, and crawling around, but he is. He is 22 lbs now and just turned 9 months. He can say Mama, Dada and what appears to be a version of Num num.He has kept his crazy blue eyes and has the crazy light hair to go with them. His hair is always standing straight up so we usually wet his hair and let him rock the faux hauk. Phillip says I keep babying him too much but I am just fearing the day when I won't be able to baby them.
I cherish my boys and enjoy every day with them. I love creeping in their rooms at night and watching them sleep so peacefully. They are such blessings, such wonders to behold. For those of you far away, I wish you could see them.

Tysen's Birthday

Our Little Tysen Layne turned THREE!!!

Playing Eskimo Bingo

My two sweet Railway Engineers. I'd ride with them anyday!



We had Tysen's 3rd Brithday party and he wanted a Thomas Train party. I ordered some cute Engineer hats on eBay and got red bandanas to go with them and the kiddos looked so cute. We had family and friends over, ate lunch, played Eskimo bingo, ate cake and whooped it up. Ty tells me he is "big" now.