8.27.10

8.27.10 -  I love this boy.  I didn't take this picture today, I took it yesterday but I'm using it for today because I had a "procedure" done today and found out some news that really makes me believe he is our little miracle.   Now, I believe every child is a miracle but this one is extra special and when I think about what could have happened and what the odds were of him not being in our lives it frightens me but at the same time it also makes me all the more thankful he was the exception.  What I found out today also reconfirms our decision to only have one child.  Sometimes you can second guess decisions you make and then something happens and you come to find out you really did make the best decision.  Life has a way of working out just the way it should be.

Yes, I'm being a bit dramatic but when it comes to your child being dramatic sometimes is okay.  At least it is to me. :-) 

8.26.10

8.26.10 - Tonight we took our monthly family picture for August.  I'm so glad we are doing this!  It will be fun to look back at them at the end of the year.

8.25.10

8.25.10 -  Today there was a fundraiser at Chick-fil-A for Andrew's school.  I'm not a fan of fast food but a percentage of the sales went to his school so I thought we should support them. :-)

8.24.10

8.24.10 - Andrew has had a loose tooth for a couple weeks now and it is getting extremely loose so I thougth I better take one more picture while he still has a mouth full of teeth.  Such an exciting time for him!

8.23.10

8.23.10 - Andrew brought home his reading binder today and we sat down to read his books. He did an amazing job and didn't need our help at all!  He is so proud of himself and doing so well in school.  I remember as a child loving school and especially loved to read.  I hope he inherits that from me. :-)  Not that Blake wasn't a good student either!!  I can only speak for myself though. :-)

8.22.10

8.22.10 -  I had a family session this morning with a very loyal client. I believe this was our 4th session in a year and a half.  Their children are adorable and have the biggest and most beautiful brown eyes ever!  I'm a sucker for brown eyes. :-)

8.21.10

8.21.10 - Andrew has been playing with his buddies Madison and Gabby the past few days.  Today they buildt a fort with the floor mats and then used them to shield themselves from Blake spraying them with the water hose.

8.20.10

8.20.10 -  The letter of the week today is C and all the kids were to wear their favorite baseball "cap" to school.  Andrew chose his Darth Vader cap. :-)

8.19.10

8.19.10 -   Today's picture of the day is a photo of an email from our association. For security reasons I'm not posting the picture.  BUT the email is about a siting of mountain lion in our neighborhood.  About 30 minutes before I picked Andrew up from school I got an automated call from the school saying at 1 p.m. today they were notified of a possible mountain lion sighting and the children were brought inside.  Yep, I drove to get him today... no walking.  :-)

8.18.10

8.18.10 - Nothing like coming home to freshly baked chocolate chip cookies after a long day in school. :-)

8.17.10

8.17.10 - The brewmeister made another batch of beer today. :-)

8.16.10

8.16.10 -  Oh dear Andrew.. when did you get this grown up?  Where is my little baby?  I know you are still there because you still ask to cuddle at night and you sleep with a gazillion animals and you still for no apparent reason will say  "Mommy, I love you."  :-)

Today is the start of a new chapter in our lives.  I know there will be tears (by me) but I will be strong and not cry in front of you.  I'll save them for later.  I'm not crying because I'm sad for your new adventure but because I am sad this part of my life is over.  I've enjoyed staying home with you so much and have learned more from being your Mommy over the past nearly six years than I ever thought I would.  I am truly blessed to have you as my son. 

I hope you have a wonderful day today.  Meet lots of new friends and enjoy every second of your Kindergarten days.  Because as we already know time flies and before I know it you'll be heading off to college.  (yes mommy is being a bit dramatic - give me a break!)

I love you chew chew!

8.15.10

8.15.10 -  One more night night before Kindergarten. We read this book in much anticipation of the big day tomorrow.

8.14.10

8.14.10 - Andrew and I headed up to his school this evening to get a few shots of him for back to school.  I can't believe my boy is going to Kindergarten!  sniff sniff... doesn't he look so big in these pictures???

8.13.10

8.13.10 - Andrew met his Kindergarten teacher this afternoon!  I like her already.  She is direct and to the point and super organized.  She had 15 minute blocks of time for each group of parents with a quick slideshow presentation and answered all our questions.  Only three more night nights until Kindergarten (Andrew is counting down!)

8.12.10

8.12.10 - Today we went out and got Andrew's school supplies for Kindergarten!  Yipee!!

8.11.10

8.11.10 - Less than a week before school starts and we are savoring this last week before the structured routine hits. Today we hung out all day with our besties.  These two have been close since they were 20 months old.  They are truly like brothers to each other and I love it. 

8.10.10

8.10.10 - I had a newborn session today and got to meet sweet Ella.  She reminded me of Andrew so much (besides being a girl) because she is over 9 pounds and has a full head of hair.  Wasn't it just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital... definitely doesn't seem like nearly six years ago!

8.9.10

8.9.10 - Today was  a big day for Andrew.  He got his first "real" bike.  He absolutely loves it and his helmut that has flames on it.  Because you know the flames make you go extra fast.   I still remember the day I got my first real bike.. a red and black BMX.  I thought I was hot stuff.

8.8.10

8.8.10 - YES!!!!   We went school clothes shopping today and I finally found jeans to fit Andrew.  His legs are so long yet he is very lean.  Thank goodness for slims!

8.7.10

8.7.10 -  Blake set up Andrew's pool for him so he'd be able to still swim when he got home.  So, we hung out back yesterday afternoon and he had a blast.

8.6.10

8.6.10 - Oh ya!!  I'm a rock star!  I saved 50% at the grocery store.  Spent $121 and saved $122.

8.5.10

8.5.10 -  It felt so good to sleep 12 hours!!!  This bed may be old and not comfortable but there is nothing like your own bed after being gone for nearly a month.  Andrew slept for 16 hours.  I finally woke him up at 11:00 or he would have slept all day.

8.4.10

8.4.10 -  I took this right before we landed in Minneapolis.  The picture doesn't do it justice... it was gorgeous.

8.3.10

8.3.10 -  Our flight last night was delayed and we rebooked for the following day.  Unfortunately, Andrew and I missed our connecting flight to Denver and Frontier did not have any availability for the next couple days.  So, Delta re-routed us from Maui-LAX-Minneapolis-Denver.   Here we are at LAX  "recharging" and waiting for our 12:30 a.m. (that ended up leaving after 1:00 a.m.)  flight to Minneapolis.  The flight made us late and we had to run to another terminal to catch our Denver flight. Luckily we made it and were back in Denver at 8:30 a.m.   Sadly, Andrew's booster seat was lost and my flip flop gave out at the Denver airport. After 36 hours we were home and Denver had never looked so beautiful and being in Blake's arms never felt so good.

8.2.10

8.2.10 -  We had to be out of the condo at 11 so we spent the day in Lahaina and then visited the Maui Ocean Center aquarium.  It was a very cool aquarium and the kids had a great time.  I would definitely go again.  

Little did we know it wasn't "really" our last day in Maui.... ;-)

8.1.10

8.1.10 -  Our last "full day" in Maui.  If I had to describe this trip in one sentence I would have to say.... "a dream come true."  We had so much fun hanging out together and doing so many things for the first time and doing many things over and over.  Andrew got to spend 28 days with his cousins and Auntie and I got to spend 28 days with my nieces and nephews  and my sister.  Who can say that at our age? I'm truly blessed and will carry these memories with me for always. 

7.30.10

7.30.10 -  We pass this church on the way into Lahaina and it's been here for many years.  I rememeber it when we came for our first visit 10 years ago  We are still waiting... and Jesus is still coming soon.  :)

7.29.10

7.29.10 - Today we took a road trip up into Haleakala National Forest.  It was absoluely beautiful and the views up at 10,000 feet were amazing.  Driving through the clouds was really cool and then the sunshine at the top was awesome. 

7.28.10 -

7.28.10 - kicking back watching a hula show and eating yogurt.  Perfect!

7.27.10

7.27.10 - We went to Ulalena this evening.  It's a theatrical performance about the creation and history of Hawaii and it's people.  Andrew and the kids really liked it! 

7.26.10

7.26.10 - Katie gave Andrew a faux hawk today and I had to get a few pictures of him by this dumpster for a grungy look.  (This dumpster was one of my best props during my stay on Maui!)

7.25.10

7.25.10 - Katie working her magic.  I'm sorry Chewy... really I am.

7.24.10

7.24.10 - Meet Johnny! Andrew's newest bedtime buddy.  This makes #6.  He has been introduced to Bongo and Doggie already and will meet up with the rest of the crew (Giraffe, Charlie, Squirt) when we get back home.

7.23.10

7.23.10 - We played with a program on Steph's computer today that morphs your face and makes you look all crazy.  Andrew was fascinated!

7.22.10

7.22.10 - Having more fun in the ocean! 

7.21.10

7.21.10 - Yes, I got a little too much sun this morning. Thankfully it turned brown.

7.20.10

7.20.10 - The kids in DS land playing Mario Cart against each other.

7.19.10

7.19.10 - Spinner dolphins!!  We took a snorkel boat road over to Lanai and on our way to our snorkel spot we saw a pod of about 300 spinner dolpins. They were having their babies and we saw a few newborns that were the size of  a football. So cute!  We also got to swim with the turtles.  Definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

7.18.10

7.18.10 - We had a fun time down at the beach today playing in the surf. Here is Andrew being his goofy self. :)

7.17.10

7.17.10 - We see at least one rainbow everyday.  Yep, guess that is why it's called the rainbow state.

7.16.10

7.16.10 - We took a break from the sun and went to see the movie Grown Ups. Very funny!!

7.15.10

7.15.10 - We went down to Lahaina today and ate at Cool Cats. A restaurant voted best burger on Maui for several years in a row...yep better than Cheeseburger in Paradise.   We took a moment to enjoy the view of the island of Lanai.

7.14.10

7.14.10 - One of our favorite hang outs in Kaanapali. :-)  One word... Mai Tai. or is that two? 

7.13.10

7.13.10 - Gorgeous sunset off our lanai. This never gets old.

7.12.10

7.12.10 - Today we drove up to Kapalua where Blake and I got married nearly 10 years ago.  Sadly, they tore down the hotel and replaced it with condos but it's still absolutely beautiful and the point where we got married is still there (sans the BIG tree). 

7.11.10

7.11.10 -  We all went to the Old Lahaina Luau tonight.  We had a great time and the luau was just as good as I remember 10 years ago.  Andrew loved all the girls with the coconut 'bibs' .  ;-)

7.10.10

7.10.10 -  Kyle and Megan are engaged!! Yeah!   I'm going to have another niece.  :)

7.9.10

7.9.10 - Blake arrived today!  It's so fun to have a bunch of the family together.  We miss you mom & dad!

7.8.10

7.8.10 - Our before sun pics.. enough said. :)

7.7.10

7.7.10- Andrew and his girlfriend Megan.  Yep, I think he has a little crush on her.