Ethan's First Piano Recital

He played Bamboo Leaves. This is only after about a month of lessons.

Wizard of Oz

We have had a whirl wind month. The highlights were having Grammy here with us for 3 weeks and a short visit with Captain! They both came over for the performance of the Wizard of Oz.

Sydney was a forest and vine, Ethan was a yellow brick road munchkin and Ember was a lollypop munchkin!

Having three kids in the show was so fun! The theater sold out as there was only one performance, so there was great energy and lots of smiles.

Spring Break - Monday

Sand Monkeys

Good day. It was raining at our house this morning, so we decided to head to the beach. The sun was shining and although the waves were very little, we had a fun time catching what we could and just enjoying the water. We even saw a few Humpback Whales! Sydney has not been interested in Surfing for a few years, but on the last two trips to the beach, she has been back on the board. It is so fun to watch my kids surf and enjoy their accomplishments! Now Ember and Sophie have to get hooked. How will I fit all those boards on my van?

Sydney is so sweet and such a big help to me.

Ember loves to play, talk to animals and be with her friends!

These two are fine siblings, occasionally poor foe's, but gratefully, good friends.

My little Angels, what joy! What fun! Is found in these, our little ones.

*****❖*****

Here are some quick video clips of Sydney and Ethan Surfing.
Sydney still has the same stance she had when she was 4 years old...pretty cute.
Ethan is just...cute.

No Shoes

Today at church I went into the nursery to pick up Sophie.
She was very excited to show me the big tummy on my friend who is expecting.
I asked Sophie what was in there and she said "A BABY!"
I asked, Can it come out?
She answered, "No, it doesn't have any shoes on."

Ember

I took a trip to town with Ember yesterday. I pointed out a passing limousine to Ember, and she enthusiastically responded: "When I grow up and become a vet, I am going to have a limo with a jacuzzi in it and all the animals can ride around with me and go in the jacuzzi if they want to!"

Later the same day...

We went into Borders Books and I bought her a field guide about butterflies and moths. She studied the pictures for a long time and then on the way home she asked if I could roll down her window. I rolled it down and then watched as she opened her butterfly book and wiggled it. While she wiggled it she said, "fly, fly, fly!" She then looked at me and explained that they just wanted to go for a little fly.

I want to live in Embers world. I love that kid!

Twilight and all that it Encompasses

After much hesitation, apprehension, denial, and internal debate. I declare that I am now a fan of Twilight. I think Edward is a hunk and in real life Bella surfs, so she must really be okay. Did I mention that Edward is cute...is it normal for a married woman to feel this juvenile?

The Hover Board

It all started with a Saturday morning shopping trip to Home depot.
Troy with his helpers: Ethan, Sydney and Ember.
They were shopping for all the supplies needed to build a HOVERBOARD!!!
The girls were a big help with the shopping and Ethan and Troy had so much fun building it.

The 200 horse power yard blower and some PVC and lots of duct tape and some pond liner and staples........ will magically become the HoverPower!

Boys do love power tools!

Stapling on the heavy duty pond liner made from recycled tires.

It's done!

Hovering!

Now it is time for the science fair! Talk about being King for the day.
He had the biggest grin ever.
Thanks Troy!

Where do I Start?

It has been along time since my last blog entry. I have gone to the dark side...facebook, and I check in occasionally over there to see whats going on. I loose my blogging connections and don't get over here to add in our new adventures...of which there are always many.
Since I missed October completely, I want to start with the pumpkin patch.



I love going to the pumpkin patch. The only thing that is missing is cool weather. Did you know that October is the hottest most miserable month in Hawaii? The trade winds die off and without them the air is hot, muggy and we stay hot, sticky and sweaty. The only cure is to get wet, stay wet and then shower if too dry. COLD showers are wonderful. Thankfully the tap water stays cool and refreshing. Even our dog loved getting sprayed off. Sophie loves to shower Zack.



We hiked in the bamboo forest. I'll take anyone who comes to visit! We were lucky enough to have Meg and Lily come out and play for a week. It was wonderful!

My wet Monkeys needed Sock Monkeys...

So we made Sock Monkeys! Everyone has one now. Meg brought the socks for me and the kids helped make and decorate their own Monkeys. Lily turned 3 while she was here so she got a Monkey too. Each one we made got better and better. It was a fun and fairly easy project. I found the instructions online and away we went. Sophie didn't have one for this picture, but she has one now and calls it her socky monkey. Sydney is getting pretty fancy with her sewing and stuffing skills. Ethan made hair and shorts for his monkey!



We went to visit Troy while he was working at the Hyatt. Ember saw some funny birds: An African Crowned Crane. It was pecking away at the window while the kids got down at eye level with it. We pool hopped in their very fun pool. Found some of our friends there and they were nice enough to get Ethan and Sydney bracelets for the slides. A great time was had all who were in the wet water. Poor Troy was slaving away in jeans. Thanks for working so hard honey!




Ethan turned NINE! He woke up to a toilet papered room. I perfected this art with my friend MaryAnn when we were around 9 or 10. (You can ask her why we started doing this.) Ethan got a big knife and ate at Casanovas, his favorite Italian restaurant.


Just a note about Ethan. He is a great mellow kid. He is easy going, thinks he is awesome, loves his sisters and adores his dad. He has big plans. There is a science fair coming up and he has talked his dad into building a hover board. Yes, other kids will be soaking eggs in vinegar and the like, but my Ethan can not think small. He does the "little" science experiments after school for fun. Science fairs are for the BIG stuff. So we now have the wood, pond liner, a blower (motor) and pvc pipe ready for assembly in the garage. That will be a blog entry very soon!
I love this kid. He is upbeat and always ready for adventure.


Halloween was fun...Sydney won a costume contest at school. She was Juliette. Ethan was Mut from Indiana Jones. Ember was a LadyBug. Sophie was a Bunny and Troy, well, speak of the Devil - I actually got him to wear that into the Halloween party at church. It didn't last long but I got a kick out of it. I was a pumpkin, but for some reason no one took my picture. I must be a camera hog.





Well that is about all for October...It was hot and fun!

Sophie Hits the BIG TWO!

This little girl runs our world. There is always something cute coming out of her mouth and she always has a plan for fun or trouble. She loves lip stick, water and the swing set. We love her so much and we are so glad that she is a part of our family. Happy Birthday Sophie!

I love the Beach. I love letting the kids have fun getting wet, sandy and sun filled. I don't know if I can think of a more enjoyable activity. I can play, relax, explore, build, swim, jump, climb and I don't have to clean up after anyone!

My kids love it too. Sydney is my explorer, she loves to find caves and jumping places. Ethan is the first one in the water and the last one out. He boogie boards, skim boards, or surfs - as long as he is wet he is happy. Ember is everywhere, she will play in the waves, talk to Ethan, explore with Sydney, dig in the sand with Sophie or raid the lunch bag. Where ever she is, she is happy. Sophie loves to swim with mom, ride on a boogie board pulled on the sand and she likes to have Mom make her, her own pool in the sand which the waves generously fill up for her.

On our last beach trip we were standing out on some rocks when we saw a turtle. Sophie wanted to jump into the water, so I jumped in with her and then she said, "Turtle. Catch it!" She loves the ocean too!



So when life gets too busy, get on down to the beach and enjoy life!

Summer Part TWO

The only reason to go to Phoenix in July is if you have some really cool family to visit. Sydney and Ethan really enjoy playing with their cousins Libby and Liam. Troy and I think his sister Lisa and her husband Gregg are pretty neat too. Troy got to go on a ride-a-long one night with Gregg who is a Sargent for the Phoenix Police Department...pretty exciting stuff. It was sooo hot!

Then we headed up to nice cool Flagstaff to hang out with some of my favorite people. I had cousins from CA and NM and there were lots of Kids. We played at Lake Mary and Hiked the Kachina Trail with 14 kids 10 and under.

Ethan and Sydney learned to wake board! Thanks Jonathan!
Bow crew: Amy, Sophie, Miles, Ember, Kelli and Noah.Ember and her cousin Owen are so sweet together.
We had to go ice skating...which is a great summer activity.Ethan and his cousin Noah are a dynamic duo beating on each other at every opportunity.

After our fun few days in Flagstaff we went North to Colorado for a fun Anderson side Family reunion. Met lots of new people and had a blast floating down the river in little boats. We took a day and went to Durango and rode the train. Unfortunately we were robbed by some bandits. Luckily the Lone Ranger and his friend Tonto were in the area and Caught those naughty guys. It was a fun day!
We rented a neat Cabin with Lisa and Gregg's Family...here are the kids on the stairs:
Sydney, Libby, Liam, Ethan, Ember and Sophie
On the way back to Flagstaff we stopped at 4 corners...took the "picture", ate some fry bread and then got back in the air conditioning of the van...don't think I ever need to go back!


My sister in law Josie and I took 6 of the kids up to the Grand Canyon for the day. We hiked a little, Helped the kids become Junior Rangers, Watched the Imax Movie, and ate some pizza. It was a great day! There was even some lightning and thunder in the canyon which was so cool. Thanks for watching Sophie and Tanner-Mom!

Sophie and her buddie Tanner. She has been asking to go back to Tanner's house since we returned to Maui. He is a sweet kid under his facade of brutness.


This is Ember and her Great Grandma Nilah Elaine Allen. My kids are lucky enough to still have 3 Great Grandparents living...treasures!

So three weeks went quickly by. There are so many other events and pictures to share, but I must get to bed. We are so blessed to be able to travel, visit great family and have good health. So on that note, good night!