hawaii continued...

i hope i never forget...

their excited squeals of delight when running into the ocean for the first time

sandy faces

sandy bottoms

sand everywhere

crystal blue waters

skinny little legs

wrinkly fingers and toes

friends made

swimming, kicking, playing

digging, building, jumping

the way she looked in her cowgirl hat

hula dancing

our first luau

the beat of the drums

the way he carried his first boogie board

hawaiian shaved ice

postcard sunsets

black rock

passing along my love of the ocean

games on our iphones

their love of the water slide

going to bed with the sun and waking up with the sun

beautiful fish

giant sea turtles

their growing confidence

races to the elevator

smiles

the way we are together.

hawaii in hipstamatic

i fell in love with maui and my hipstamatic camera app on my iphone.  it's a throw back to old-school polaroid-type pictures, and i love the effect i got with it while in maui.  i had them all printed, and i'm working on ideas for displaying them in our house.  so excited!

our vacation was so wonderful.  i'm already ready to go back!  we loved the laid back style of maui, the perfect weather, the beautiful birds, the clear blue water and the fact that we never had to venture very far for anything we wanted or needed.  it was definitely a little taste of paradise.

we enjoyed spending full days together as a family, and we let the kids drive most of our decision-making, which mostly included the question - beach or pool?  the kids loved the fact that the sun shined every day (imagine!), and they both really loved the water.  i was thrilled with how comfortable they both were in the pool and the ocean.  brooke was a little fish who never wanted to leave the pool.  gavin usually opted for building sand castles on the beach, but he had lots of fun in the pool, too.  they both even went down the water slide that was built into our pool - first with mommy & daddy and then all by themselves.  they are growing up so fast and gaining more confidence with each passing day.

one afternoon when brooke and i were in the pool she said to me, "mommy, this is the best vacation i have EVER been on."  yep, that's an easy one.  two minutes later i over heard her saying to herself, "and i am never going back to where i live!"  it was so funny to me that my four year-old daughter feels the way most of us do when on a great vacation - why couldn't we just live here?

some firsts for us/me on this trip included: perfect sleeping arrangements for the entire family :), great runs along the beach, mai tais, snorkeling with giant sea turtles, POG (passion/orange/guava juice), a luau, SUP (stand-up paddle board) and purchasing 4 seats on an airplane!

these pics are a great snapshot of our vacation, but i also have a lot more pictures to share very soon.

tiny dancer

it's a precious gift to be able to watch my daughter dance, let alone to capture it in pictures.  parents are only allowed to observe class once every couple of months, so it's always very special for the moms/dads and the kids when we are able to sit on the sidelines.  this time around we were able to see the girls practicing their ballet and tap.  i couldn't wipe the smile off my face when they broke out those top hats.  i love to watch brooke practicing her ballet moves one minute and running around the studio pretending to catch fairies the next.  she goes from serious and concentrating to silly and laughing many times during the 45 min. class.  her teachers are great like that.  they make sure the girls are having fun, but they keep them in line, too.  it's a great balance and so much fun to watch!

double take

last friday i took the kids to the mall and gavin was walking along drinking his smoothie, and i thought, "wait a minute. i've gotta have this picture."  because it reminded me of a picture i already had.  both in a mall (in different states), both newly turned 2 years of age (only 3 weeks difference in brooke's age and gavin's age at the time these pics were taken), both walking along on their own doing their own thing, both taken with my iphone.  and the hair... pretty similar :)  i laugh... but then i cry.  because my little girl is not little anymore and soon my little boy won't be either.