Day 1 - Honolulu

Woke up early this morning to make our flight to Hawaii. A long layover in Honolulu allowed us to spend the afternoon at Pearl Harbor. Wow!!



The names of those who died that day.


The memorial is built directly above where the USS Arizona still lays today. Of the 21 ships destroyed that day only 3 of them never returned to service.


Gray enjoying his turn on top of the USS Bowfin submarine.


Of course Sean couldn't resist touching.


So many shiny knobs, buttons and thingy-ma-bobbers I wanted to touch and take pictures of.

What an amazing piece of American History that I ashamed I didn't know more about.

Argyle Friday

Stephens Margolin's first argyle Friday.

Too cool

Sean's latest addition to his argyle collection and on his way to his first Diwali party. All on a Saturday night.

Twilight

Tonight we are enjoying a candlelit dinner by a Grayson original.

Tacos!

Since I am a super lame mom I'm using another photo from my friend Gretchen. She took great photos of our kids on Halloween. Here's a picture of Bryn and her good friend Morgynn.

Bryn's costume may warrant a little explanation. She is Gir from Invader Zim in his dog costume. So basically her costume is a cartoon character's costume. My head was spinning when I was told by Bryn that she wanted me to make her Gir costume. Despite my reservations it worked out perfect. Hunter's old neon sweatshirt was the perfect base. We took the zipper off and sewed up the front and then added the felt pieces. She can even where it as a sweatshirt now that Halloween is over. The girl has vision.

Caaaaannnnndddyyyyy

zombie #1. the picture is by our good friend gretchen.

Braaaiiiinnnnnssss

zombie no. 2

The Rabbit and The Fox

Bunny and Foxy.

Tower power

Hunter's Wednesday Dixie Cup project.

Kickin It

Picked up these new kicks last week. Tried them out last Thursday and it hurt so bad. Did I really run a marathon a few years ago? Looking forward to another attempt tomorrow. My buddies Nirvana and Shakira are coming along for the ride.

Bill Clinton

President night at Cedar Lodge. Hunter pulled of Bill Clinton but the accent could use a little work. Hunter's favorite fact was that Bill likes fast food. He's also up to date on the whole Monica situation.


The evening was incredibly fascinating. So many presidents I knew nothing about. McKinley was the biggest surprise for me.

Silly bands

Oh silly bandz..... Oh silly bands.... How I despise you silly bands. Consuming my life. Oh the conversations I've had with my children about the economics surrounding you or how so and so has the Halloween glow-in-the-dark 24 pack. I now use you as bribes and incentives. I know.. I know... I'm such a bad mom for not hunting down the desired silly bandz pack of the week. The one glimmer of hope is that in 20 years my children will be having a generational conversation with others of like age and they will reminisce over the perfect silly bandz trade they made in 4th grade. The black penguin for the purple pixie. A perfect score. So, I've heard.

Beautiful September

Not too many of these afternoons left. I'm finding myself cherishing every second of this amazing autumn weather and at the same time dreading the moment we realize it's all over until next year.

Girl Scouts

Last few moments as a brownie.



Officially a Girl Scout.

Cooking with Laura

Bryn's school library pick this week. She's been waiting months for this book. It's a highly coveted book among her classmates. What to make first?

Amazing Days

What an amazing summer. We used every drop of it. Sad to see it end but enjoying getting into a back to school routine. Sean and I survived middle school orientation. Hunter is thrilled to be at Mt. Tabor. Bryn and Gray are just going with the flow.

Surprise Ball

Surprise balls are way too cool. I found this one on etsy for Bryn's birthday. It was a blast to see all the treasures hidden inside. I'm contastly looking for items to try and make one sometime soon.

Birthday girl

List of Birthday 9 Love for Bryn...

...that ice skating is her new passion.

...that instead of a birthday party she wanted time with her grandparents.

...that for her birthday she asked for Oregon Humane donations instead of presents.

...that she's growing her hair out for Locks of Love.

...that she's asking to get her ears pierced.

...that she can't decide if she wants to play the guitar or drums.

...that she tries to get her little brother to play school with her.

...that she loves her puppy (a little too much).

...that she will still cuddled with her mom and dad even though she's nine.

Happy Birthday Bryn.

Reading nook

I'm head over heels for white. New reading nook in the living room. It's right where the full length mirror used to be so quite often I glance at the wall of books for outfit approval.

Color

When we bought our house 8 years ago all I wanted was color color color. I wanted each room a different color. Flash forward and all I can think about is neutrals. Soft whites, cream and maybe a little latte. While Sean and Hunter are in Japan I'm taking a giant step and painting the living room. I've struggled with the color and the final was not among the initials ones chosen. It will be a surprise.