Now where were we?

I'm so out of sorts right now, I'm not even sure where I left off. So I'll just pick up somewhere and hope I'm close.

Before Bev and Dick left, we hoped to get in at least one more beach day, but the weather wasn't exactly cooperating. So instead we decided to just go and take a walk at the beach, during which of course the sun came out and the weather was beautiful . . . but we didn't have our suits, so we made the best of it.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures during our beach walk . . . and of course we start off with the kids getting tired less than halfway through our walk and wanting to take breaks . . . I love the pained look on Charley's face.

Their spirits brightened, however, when they found trees to climb on, like monkeys of course.

Can you tell that Zander is completely mesmerized by any sort of mechanical equipment?

Here is a front shot of him concentrating on the bulldozer (or whatever it is) in the background . . . but my favorite part is how he is hiking up his shorts . . . classic.

Bev and Dick left last Friday, so we've spent most of our time ever since catching up on some neglected things. On Saturday Brian hit the books, while I spent the day piddeling around the house trying to figure out where I should start. Needless to say, I didn't get a ton accomplished. On Sunday we powerwashed the entire outside of our house, which was quite a long and wet adventure, and then I cleaned the entire inside of the house on Monday, which left us with one clean house. Today was our weekly grocery shopping excursion, and even though we had a rough start, the kids didn't torture me too badly. And they were dually rewarded with M & M's.

We've also got both kids in swimming lessons right now, and I have to say, I am extremely proud of them both. Charley started in Level 2 this year (you may recall she finally graduated from Level 1 last fall), and Zander started in Level 1. I was a little bit nervous about both kids in lessons, for different reasons . . . with Zander I was nervous because the instructor doesn't usually allow kids to start lessons until they are three years old, but he told me that as long as Zander could follow instructions, he would let him try. This one simple qualification had me a little anxious in the beginning, but Zander has proven himself quite capable of following instructions (with a few distractions mixed in of course) AND he loves the water . . . so we are doing good there. I was a little bit nervous for Charley to start Level 2 because in reality, she barely passed Level 1 last year, and we were told if we practiced with her a bit over the winter, she would be ready for Level 2. Needless to say, despite a lot of beach time, we didn't practice her swimming skills a ton over the winter, so I was a little nervous about whether she would be ready for this class. But she too surprised me by rising to the occasion, and she is a much better swimmer now than she was last fall, despite the lack of practice. Whew, thank goodness we have little fish!!

So now it's time for me to get caught up on emails, pictures, the blog, and return a few phone calls because my communication skills have not been so good this past month. Slowly but surely I'm getting there . . . .

The Many Faces of Charley

Anyone who knows Charley knows that she speaks a lot through her facial expressions, especially when we limit her ability to communicate verbally (i.e. not let her yell at us). As a result, we've experienced some pretty entertaining looks over the past few years, so I thought I would share some of them with you.

Now realize that all of these pictures are posed in that I would give Charley an emotion to convey and she would show me what that "face" looked like. However, many of these faces are accurate representations of what we witness on a daily basis.

Of course, there is the traditional "silly" face . . .
And the "scared" face . . .

Oooo, this is a classic, the Charley "mad" face with the nose wrinkle . . . you can tell she's trying not to smile, but the rest is pretty accurate . . .

The good 'ol "happy" face . . .

Ooooo, the "scary" face . . .

The "disappointed" face . . .

The "embarrassed" face . . .

The "sad" face (with a hint of smile) . . .

The familiar posed "cheese" face . . .

The "thank goodness Mom is finally done taking pictures" face . . .

And there you have it, my beautiful little Charley. Like her momma, she doesn't leave to much to mystery, does she?

Have I mentioned that we have guests?

Yep, it's true . . . I know it's hard to believe (can you sense the sarcasm?), but we have guests right at the moment and have for the past few weeks, which is a perfect explanation as to why I've been such a slacker in the blog department.

Nothing particularly new or exciting has happened, we've just been busy doing the usual stuff . . . you know, the same stuff I write about every time someone comes to Casa de Palm and enjoys our deluxe accommodations, tours, and activities. So rather than bore you with too much talking, I figured I would post a few pics for your viewing pleasure (which also helps remind me what the heck we've been doing).

Of course, when visiting the Palms, there will always be some beautiful beach time . . .


We decided to brave the library one morning with two rambunctious children, but they actually behaved themselves pretty well.


We also decided to do "The Boat" ride to Aloha tower, as Brian's parents have never done this before, but the surf was a bit more choppy this time . . . hence, the "drowned rat" pictures that follow . . . Zander thought it was a blast, but Charley wasn't too happy. Can you tell?

Bev and Dick decided to stay at the beach cabins for a few nights, so we enjoyed some more beach time, exploring (we saw a monk seal and sea turtles on one such outing), grilling, and getting covered in sand, head to toe.

Then the Easter activities began. It started with a nice little egg hunt at Charley's school in which both kids were allowed to participate. They were pretty happy with their finds . . .

Next came egg decorating . . . well, more like egg cracking on Zander's part.

On Friday night, Air Station Barbers Point's held its annual Roast for the guys/gals leaving the station this year. Brian had duty that night and was unable to attend, but I decided to take advantage of the free babysitting (thanks grandparents!) and good company (good times Kathy and Marian, good times), and have an evening out. I didn't take too many pictures, but here is one of me, the Captain, and my friend Marian. The might may or may not have involved us girls singing a lot of bad karaoke.

On Saturday we headed down to a condo on Waikiki that Bev and Dick rented for a week, and we spent the day at the Hale Koa pool. Brian and I were able to sneak out for a nice dinner that evening (thanks Roger and Todd for the gift card, and thanks again to the grandparents for babysitting!), and we enjoyed a nice walk on Waikiki at the end of the night.

The next morning, the kids were excited to discover that the Easter bunny had visited the condo, with tons of eggs to be found, as well as Easter baskets.

After egg hunting and basket rummaging, we headed down to the beach for a nice Easter breakfast and some photos.

So I guess that about covers it. Some beaches, some boats, and a whole lotta Easter stuff. We will continue to have company until April 24th, and then we have a break until May 19th . . . did I mention that we have guests lined up all through the summer? Casa de Palm is booking up fast . . . ;)

I can't even make this stuff up . . . .

Charley: "Grammy, why is your butt so big?"

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Charley: "Mom, I really want my own phone. A cell phone."

Danielle: "Why do you want a cell phone?"

Charley: "I want my OWN cell phone so I can call someone."

Danielle: "Who do you plan on calling?"

Charley: "My Aunt Jen . . . I sure do miss her . . . (sigh)"

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Charley: "Moooommmm, come look at the picture I drew!!!!"

Danielle: "Wow Charley, that's a great picture . . . what is it?"

Charley: "It's a jellybean. See, there are his eyes, and his nose, his mouth, his arms and legs, and there is his peanut."

Danielle: (trying to contain my laughter) "Boy, that's a good picture and I can definitely see all those parts. But let's try to leave private parts out of our pictures, okay?

Charley: (huge sigh and clearly annoyed) "Oooookkkkaaaayyy, Mom."

************************************************************************************

Zander: (in the bathtub, mumbling to himself, as Charley plays next to him) "____ then ___ going ___ touch ____'Gina' (our word for girls parts) ."

Danielle: (entering the bathroom) "Zander, did you just say something about touching Gina's?"

Zander: "What Mom?"

Danielle: "Did I just hear you say something about touching Gina's?"

Zander: "Noooo Mom . . . we don't touch Gina's because those are PRIVATE PARTS . . . I'm only going to LOOK at Gina's."

*****************************************************
In the very busy movie theatre bathroom . . . . Zander: (yelling loudly) "PEW Mom!!!!! It's STINKY in here!!!! Did you just take a POOP?!?"

I.O.U.

I know, I know, I owe you all much more than a short little email with no updates, no pictures, and a bunch of excuses. But I promise, they are really GOOD excuses. :)

Between our friends here house hunting and Brian's parents here visiting, we have been running around like a pack of chickens with their heads cut off (you like that little redneck saying I threw in there? ;)). I have hardly had two seconds to check my email lately, much less sit down, download some pictures, and write. But I promise, give me a little more patience and a decent blog entry will be forthcoming.

Suffice it to say, we've had a good spring break, kids are having a blast, and everything seems to be going fairly smoothly. Hopefully your spring is shaping up nicely, and I swear, I WILL be back!!

Ready, Set . . . Go

I'm all ready and set, now I just need to wait for the "go" . . . the go of guests that is.

The house is clean, the laundry is done, the fridge is stocked to the brim . . . so now we are just wait for the impending arrival of all our visitors.

As mentioned, tomorrow our friends, the Williams, will be arriving on a house hunting trip. On Monday, Brian's mom and step-dad arrive for a three week visit, bringing the total number of people in the house to 6 adults and 3 kids, for a few days anyway, but whose counting. ;) No doubt it will be busy around here, but we are all looking forward to the various guests and fun activities that will inevitably follow. The Williams have a daughter that is only a year older than Charley, so the kids cannot wait to meet their new friend . . . and the Williams are also Hobie's surrogate parents (they watched Hobie many-at-time for us when we were in Sacramento), so he too is excited for the extra attention. The kids are also beside themselves with excitement for their Grammy and Papa to arrive, which always means lots of extra play buddies and fun stuff for a few weeks. During this visit, Bev and Dick are going to be staying in the beach cabins for a few nights, and at a condo in Waikiki for a week, so that will also be some extra entertainment during their visit. Plus Easter happens somewhere in there, so this should be pretty good few weeks for everyone.

Charley is on spring break this week and next week, so we did manage to squeeze in a beach day on Tuesday. Aside from that, however, we've mostly just been getting ready for our company and tackling some neglected projects around here, like shampooing all the carpets/rugs/furniture, mopping every square inch of floor, weeding the yard and trimming bushes, etc. Potty training is going even better than I had hoped with Zander . . . I was only concerned with daytime training, sticking with pull-ups at night, but much to my surprise, Zander has woken me up the past two nights to tell me that he has to go to the bathroom. Hopefully this is a trend and not just a fluke. And besides, he's been waking me up several times a night for the past couple weeks anyway, so if he's going to torture me with that, at least he has a good excuse. We still have our accidents once in awhile, especially when he is distracted and busy playing with friends, but we are getting there. My diaper days are quickly coming to an end!

Brian is busier than ever at work, as he is currently acting as the head Operations Officer for the next few months, which means that all helicopter and C-130 missions go through him. As a result, this also means that he is on-call 24/7, so his phone may (and does) ring all hours of the night and day. As if that doesn't keep him busy enough, he is also taking a programming class as he works toward his Masters in Information Technology, and for someone with no programming experience what-so-ever, the class is time-consuming and requires a lot of his attention. So, Brian's life is pretty crazy right now, but thankfully it is all temporary . . . if the next four or five months count as temporary anyway.

That's about it at Casa de Palm . . . for now, anyway.

Excuses

Danielle: "Charley, how did you get that fairy costume and wand? I thought I asked you stay out of your room since I just shampooed your carpet?"

Charley: "I don't know."

Danielle: "Come on Charley, how did you get the costume and wand?"

Charley: "Magic."

Danielle: (trying to restrain my smile/laughter) "Charley, you need to tell me the truth. How did you get those things if you weren't supposed to go on your carpet?"

Charley: "Magic."

Danielle: "Charley, you know your not supposed to lie. Now tell me the truth."

Charley: "But Moooommmm, the fairy panties that I'm wearing made me do it!!!!!!

Birthdays, Bands, and Boats

Nothing ever slows down here at the Palm house, or so it seems.

Last weekend we braved a torrential rainstorm (with flash flood warnings and all) to attend a birthday party on the other side of the island. And boy were we glad we made the drive because the home that we were at and its views were absolutely breathtaking. Here's just an example . . .

And here we are cheesing it up for the camera . . .

It's always fun to experience new and different parts of the island, and visit with friends, so we were glad we went to the party.

Then it was back to the usual . . . work, school, and playdates of course. I had to post this picture of the kids trying out "Rock Band" for the first time at our friend, Kathy's house. Uncle Kurt would be proud . . . although it's too early to tell if either one of my children have any musical talents yet.

This past week was a little bit different in that Brian took leave on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday . . . Tuesday was his "homework" day, Thursday was his golf day, but he gave us Wednesday all to ourselves . . . and we took full advantage. We started the day by taking the kids to the beach for a couple hours, and they loved the change in pace of having Dad there too. Then we ran home, showered, grabbed some lunch, and we were back out the door to catch "The Boat" from Barbers Point Harbor to Aloha Tower, which is near downtown Honolulu.
The ride is about an hour, so we relaxed, took some pictures, and even spotted a whale not too far from the boat.



When the boat docked, we went over to the Gordon Biersch Brewery and Restaurant, and grabbed a bite to eat. The atmosphere couldn't have been better as we sat outside under the warm sun, enjoying yummy food and live music. After dinner we had a little time before our boat ride back, so we milled around the Aloha Tower shopping area. Then it was time to head home, so we grabbed the last boat back the other direction to end our fun day.

That about covers the excitement of our week. Charley is officially on spring break for the next two weeks, but we'll be plenty busy getting ready for our upcoming visitors, so no one will have time to get too bored. Our friends, the Williams family, will be arriving a week from today from Alaska on a house hunting mission. We were stationed with the Williams in Sacramento, but our paths split when we got sent to Arkansas and they got sent to Kodiak. Now, much to our delight, our paths are crossing again, as the Williams are moving to Hawaii this summer. Just a few days after they arrive, Brian's mom and step-dad will be arriving from Michigan for a spring visit. It's been awhile since we have had any guests (by our standards anyways), so we are all excited to see our friends and family.

So excited that Spring is officially here!!

"I'm a big kid now . . . "

As you may recall, I recently mentioned milestones. We seem to have been hitting a lot of them lately.

Zander is completely out of diapers during the day (he still wears them at night of course), and there seems to be an increasing amount of time between accidents (we haven't had one for a few days now). Zander has also transitioned to a regular twin bed AND he has remained in the bed ALL NIGHT a few times now. He is also learning how to dress/undress himself, and he is almost completely done with sippy cups. He has even recently learned how to wear flip-flops with no strap on the back, which as you mommies and daddies out there know is an acquired skill. And, today I left Zander with a friend for a few hours because I had to be class mommy at Charley's school, and it was the first time I left him without "sneaking" out. He didn't bat an eyelash when I left, nor when I returned (he was WAY too busy playing with toys and friends), and the report was that he was a good boy and even went on the potty in this new place. He is becoming such a big boy.

Yesterday, Charley showed a renewed interest in trying to go to bed without a pull-up on. We tried this a couple months ago, but the results weren't consistent enough to stick with it . . . she had a ton of accidents and even slept through a lot of them. However, she recently demonstrated the willingness and ability to get up out of bed and use the bathroom at night, so tonight we are going to give the whole thing another shot. She also participated in her first sleep-over when we were in Montana without any major incident. She is also wanting to take care of her own hygiene needs (washing herself, brushing her hair and teeth, etc.), and she is constantly wanting to "wear her hair down" like a big girl. She has also become very opinionated about her outfits, and tends to want to wear dresses more than anything else. She is becoming such a big girl.

I also see them growing in their own sibling relationship. There is really very little doubt that they are best buds. This is a pretty frequent occurrence these days . . .

They keep each other pretty entertained most days, and rarely do they play without the other one around. Don't get me wrong, they fight like cats and dogs quite often, but within minutes of fight resolution, they are back to being best buds. They are much more expressive with their feelings for each other lately, and they often give hugs and kisses and exchange "I love you's" completely unprompted. When they are not together, they are constantly asking about the other and making sure they get to see each other soon. In fact, today at preschool, about two hours into class Charley declared, "Boy, I sure do miss Zander."

In all honesty, I'm loving where we are at right now with the kids. Not only do I love this age, but everything seems to be getting easier and easier as time goes on . . . running errands, traveling, eating out, taking hikes, camping, going to the beach, and even spending lazy afternoons at home. I feel like a haze is lifting and I can finally relax again once in awhile, especially living here in Hawaii. Now if I could only figure out how to freeze time . . .

Losing Track of Time

I had a few extra moments this afternoon, so I sat down to take a look at the blog, thinking I was about three or four days behind and maybe I should post something . . . boy was I shocked to see it had been an entire week! I have no idea where the last week went. And that got me thinking . . . I have no idea where the last two years have gone. Two years ago we were getting ready to sell our house in Arkansas, and making arrangements to move to Hawaii. I don't even know how that is possible, how time has flown by that fast.

So, that means we have just a little over two more years here in Hawaii, and then it will be time to go again. It's hard to believe that's even possible. So keep in mind that if you were planning on trying to make a trip out here before we leave, half your time is up and you better plan soon!

Let's see . . . oh yes, last Saturday was yet another Jimmy Buffett concert on Waikiki Beach. I know, I know, life is rough. We bought two tickets thinking we'd be able to find a babysitter, but when it was five days before the concert and we hadn't made a plan yet, Brian offered to stay home with the kids while I go to the concert with someone else. When I mentioned that the "someone else" that I would like to ask was my friend Marian, whose husband just happened to be deployed, Brian offered to watch our kids AND her kids. I know, I've got a pretty good man here. So here is a picture that Brian took of all four kids snuggled up in their pj's, watching a movie. They sort of all look related if you ask me. Talk about a bunch of toe-heads.


We knew several people going to the concert, so we had an awesome time with a random and "interesting" group of people (Heather, Kathy, Marian, you know who I'm talking about!). The weather was beautiful, the atmosphere was fabulous, and of course as usual, Jimmy didn't disappoint.

Last week was just an ordinary week in most respects, with Charley going to school, Zander and I going to playdates, and one afternoon we even managed to squeeze in a birthday party. Right before the party, when I was picking Charley up from school, her teacher told me that Charley got in trouble that day . . . but before I even had time to worry too much about it, she smiled and said that Charley and Cayden, a little boy in her class, were holding hands during circle time and she had to tell everyone to "keep their hands to themselves." Apparently PDA at preschool is not allowed. :) So, I couldn't resist taking this picture of Charley and Cayden, her "boyfriend," at the birthday party.

And of course here is Zander enjoying his hot pink frosting . . .

No party in Hawaii is complete without a bounce house, so here are my little monkeys being, well, little monkeys.

And the highlight of my entire week? The opening of the first-ever Target in Hawaii, which much to my excitement is less than a ten minute drive from my house. I couldn't resist braving the crowds on opening day, because you all know how very much I love Target.

Don't laugh, but I've already been there twice in three days. Life on the island is finally starting to feel complete . . . a Costco nearby, a Target nearby . . . I hardly have any excuse to leave this side of the island!

Tomorrow we invited a few friends over for the fun of it, which will include a few drinks and a taco bar. I'll let you know how our "Siete de Marzo" party turns out.

Milestones

Since we've been back from Montana, we've hit two huge milestones with Zander.

The first one is the fact that his crib "magically" disappeared while he was gone and was replaced with a "big boy" bed. Before we left on our trip, we picked out a bed for Zander, and while the kids and I were gone, Brian replaced the crib in Zander's room with this bed. The bed is made by a company called Flexa, and this particular bed is a mid-loft twin, which is the same bed that Charley had in her room.
We then redesigned Charley's bed to free up even more space in her bedroom using this lofting system, as her bed is now the high loft. Hers look something similar to this, except she has a toy kitchen and kiddie table instead of a desk and couch.

So, when Charley and Zander walked into their bedrooms after our trip, things were a bit different. Thankfully, Zander did not object at all to going to bed in new digs, but what he DOES object to is staying in his bed all night. Now that he has the freedom to wander around at his own free will, he is taking full advantage, and somehow, and some point in the middle of the night, he ends up in our bed, turned sideways, kicking one of us in the head in his sleep. We've been trying very hard to make him go back to his own bed each and every time he gets up, but it's been hard. We are so exhausted from this process, that I had no idea Zander came into our bed last night until I woke up next to him this morning. Hopefully he adjusts soon.

Our other milestone is a 100% commitment to potty training, and so far, so good. This past week, Zander is about 90% accurate on peeing on the potty, although we have yet to conquer the pooping part. And wearing underwear (which he HATES) is a whole other story, but one step at a time, right?

The thing is, I absolutely have to have Zander master potty training by August because I now have him signed up to attend the same preschool next year that Charley is in this year. In fact, I was able to schedule them so that I will have two mornings a week to myself . . . can you even imagine? Six whole hours to myself a week. Wow. I won't even know where to start . . .

So change is on the horizon. My kids are growing up and I'm growing old. :) But not too old to keep up the fun stuff, like hiking in the Waimea Valley to see some waterfalls last weekend. Here are the "explorers" getting ready for the big hike.

The hike was about a mile each direction, and we saw some pretty cool things along the way . . .


Lots of flowers, interesting plants, and of course, waterfalls.

Some people were even brave enough to go for a swim in the frigid waters pouring from this waterfall. We didn't bring our suits, but we did manage to dip our toes. As you can see, the hike completely wore this little trooper out.


I had a busy week this past week with a Pampered Chef party, a preschool meeting, and a ladies' night with the Momtourage, so Brian was in charge of the kids quite a bit. And HERE is what happens when Brian is in charge . . . all I can say is unsupervised Sharpy.