Future Tiger Woods?

We stole an idea from the Bates Family and went miniature golfing for our Family Home Evening a couple weeks ago. There is little golf course nearby that is perfect for small children.

Tyler actually made a few shots! Dylan was just happy to walk around holding onto a club the entire night. We were the only people on the course until the very end of our game when none other than the Bates showed up!

Haircuts

I forgot to mention that Dylan had his haircut as well. We just didn't do any funky styling with him. Here are pictures of the newly trimmed handsome boys (just note that these were taken post-nap):

Glamour Shots

Since I don't have a daughter, I don't get to spend much time styling my children's hair. Tyler has great hair, though, and occasionally I get the chance to have a little fun with it. Last Sunday, he was at prime-length for a little creativity. So, we used a bit of hairspray, took these pictures and then got his hair cut on Monday.

Tornado Chaser

Tough Guy Faux-hawk
Party like a Rockstar

Who Taught Him That?

When Tyler is playing, he tends to babble about things that make very little sense. We usually just shrug it off and smile as random things come out of his mouth while he is making a mad dash across the house. I almost shrugged off some interesting babble last week. He was repeating numbers over and over in this little sing-song voice. Finally I put it together. It was our phone number!

Ready to give Arthur a "Great Daddy" award for teaching our 3 year old some useful information, I asked him about it. Arthur had no idea how he learned it. So, I think Tyler must have overheard me repeating our number while leaving a voice message for someone on the phone or something. I have a feeling our little guy is going to be good with numbers just like his Dad! Maybe someday he will be able to multiply 3-digit numbers together in his head, too!

Descanso Gardens

My membership to the Arboretum is perhaps my best investment yet. Not only do I get to take any 4 people I want with me, I also can get into about 200 other Reciprocal Gardens in the country. After spending close to 4 days trying to recover from our jet lag, I decided it was time to get out of the house for some fun. We headed over to Descanso Gardens. It had been a couple years since the last time I had visited and was curious to see if it was as beautiful as I remembered and also to test it's kid-friendliness.

The train alone makes this place an instant hit with the kids. At $3 a person, it was more than I wanted to spend for a 5 minute ride, but I had to feel better that at least we didn't have to pay the entrance fee into the garden.

As usual, whenever Tyler sees a grove of trees, he instantly feels the need to run through it and pretend to get lost. Expectedly, Dylan had smiles just to be able to follow his big brother around.


The rose garden was spectacular. Just imagine 4 acres of Roses! If I were still single (not that I wish that I were, Arthur!), this is where I would love to be have my wedding reception. Love was clearly in the air as I even got the boys to sit still and enjoy the beauty for a couple shots.


We ended our day in the Children's Garden. It has a miniature maze which the boys had a blast running through.

So, Descanso passed the kid-friendly test and we will definitely be returning soon!

Hawaii: Days 7-8

Our last full day in Hawaii was spent at Waimea Bay again. This time there was a bit of cloud coverage and it was a little bit cool, but we still had fun. The cooler temperatures may have scared the rest of the family from swimming, but the water called to my old swimmer blood and I had to get in. The boys played in the sand for a while and then finally stuck their feet in the water to play in the tiny waves. We had a great time even if it was not the best weather for a beach day.

Searching for Shells with DaddyShowing us his LootPracticing his Kung Foo

That night, we had a sunset dinner at Jameson's By the Sea in Haleiwa. After a week of hogging the camera, we thought it was only fair to give Tyler a chance to take a few pictures. I think they turned out pretty nice!

Latern from our Table

Artistic shot of a Doodle Sheet

Grandpa's love of flower shots clearly has been passed down to Tyler

What you get when you ask Mom and Dad to make funny faces

The next morning, we packed up our stuff and headed to the airport. Even the airport gave us good memories as Tyler and Dylan were awe-struck by the airplanes. Tyler basically forgot all about his beloved juice cup to get a glimpse of the airplanes! This picture makes me question what sort of parents are we to let our child lay on the floor of an airport like that. I am just going to blame it on island fever!


Even though we had quite a few meltdowns every day of the trip, we are still so happy we were able to go. We have memories that will last a lifetime and if we start to forget, we will just have to return!

Hawaii: Day 6

The next day we returned to the Honolulu area to hike up Diamond Head. This is an extinct volcano with a relatively easy but extremely steep hike. We received a lot of comments about how brave we were to take the boys but Tyler was able to handle the climb to the top without complaining once. Dylan didn't complain either, but he was being carried on our hips the entire time. Although the heat was getting to us, and Dylan's 27 pounds seemed to get heavier and heavier, the view at the top was amazing and I am glad we didn't miss it.


After the hike, we drove out to the Valley of the Temples in Kaneohe to visit the Byodo-In Temple. It is a beautiful replica of a 950 year old temple located outside of Kyoto, Japan. It was built in the 1960's to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the arrival of Japan Immigrants to Hawaii to work in the sugar fields. We loved the peace and beauty. Tyler loved being able to ring the bell and Dylan loved the Koi fish, peacocks, and swans.

After a busy morning, the boys instantly fell asleep in the car. So, we took advantage of this quiet time to take a scenic drive around the southeastern shores of Oahu. We didn't dare risk waking the kids by stopping the car, so we took pictures from inside our car instead. The pictures just don't do it justice, but watching the waves crash against the rocks and driving next to the steep mountains have become great memories.

Only 2 more days to cover, so come back again for the final vacation report!

Hawaii: Days 4-5

We drove down to Honolulu to visit Pearl Harbor. Because the boys would probably not put up with the reverence required at the memorial, we chose to visit the Missouri Battleship instead. Tyler loved the bus ride to the ship, exploring the decks and climbing the ladders. On the way back, he remembered that the bus driver had mentioned something about an elevator for disabled people and was disappointed that we forgot to visit that part of the ship. I am sure that if we had, the elevator would have once again been his favorite part of the day.

After "Big Mo", we walked around Waikiki beach and ate lunch at the International Market. We loved the excitement of the city, but were glad that we had decided to stay in the less-crowded North Shore. That night, we walked across the street from our condo to visit the beach. It was a small beach, but we still had fun jumping over the waves. I spied a few sea turtles swimming along, but was unable to get a picture.

Big MoLooking through the periscope outside the USS Bowfin SubmarineArthur's awesome shot of the view from the Periscope40 mm Quad GunWaikiki BeachOur own "Sunset Beach"

The next day we thought it was time to have a beach day and let the boys relax and play in the sand. Waimea Bay was about 10 minutes from our place and had everything we craved: clear waters, low surf, lots of sand, and showers to rinse off. We had such a great time, we returned here on our last day. The pictures from that day turned out better, so you will have to come back for shots from the beach.

Hawaii Days 1-3

We spent last week on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. The last time we had been to Hawaii was 8 years ago when I was in Maui on a company trip and Arthur surprised me by flying out to propose. Although this trip was not nearly as relaxing or romantic, Hawaii will always remain a very special place to us.

The boys were well behaved on the long flight over and actually slept a bit. We were lucky that the flight was not full and we could spread out a bit.

On Thursday, we spent the day driving along the North Shore. We made stops at Laie Point, the LDS temple, Turtle Bay, and then finished the day at the famous Matsumoto Shaved Ice in Haleiwa.

Laie Point

Admiring the beauty of the LDS Temple in LaiePlaying in the water at Turtle Bay

Sleeping boys after a long day of FunWell-deserved Matsumoto Shaved Ice

On Friday, we went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. The hit was the 2 mile train ride through the plantation and of course yummy Dole Whips for a snack!

Learning the hard way that Pineapple Plants are sharp!

Pineapple Dylan (Tyler was acting camera shy for this)Pineapple ArthurPineapple KerriI guess Tyler just wanted to be his own Pineapple

Come back later for more pictures from our vacation!