cute kids

Yesterday after church we went up to Byron's parents house (it's now become our usual thing) and I got some great shots of the kids.

Flash back

I don't have any new pictures to post at the moment, so I thought I would flash back on Olsen.  His eyes are still big, steel blue and beautiful.

This is from our visit to DC Feb. 2005.  That is Monticello in the back ground.  

Here we are at the Jefferson Memorial.  
I remember when I took this picture I thought that Olsen was getting so big and no longer a baby.  Date:  March 3, 2005
At Akaka Falls.  This is one of my favorite pictures.  Date: April 23
And here he is today.  He is so fun.  

Monday at Grandpa's house

Monday Byron's dad needed help rolling up the tarps off the trellis.  They rolled them out for the holidays during all the parties they hosted.  That way people can sit and dine on the grass and it won't matter if it's raining or not. 

Olsen decided he need to help daddy and Grandpa (not a bad view from the roof)
Then decided that Grandpa needed to carry him
The cousin's set up "Rock Band" in the gym.  Olsen was singing on the microphone, but let's face it, he only wants the drum stick.
Byron showed Olsen how to ride his car all the way around the house in a circle.  He loved it.  (not a bad view from the lawn either)
Makin' the rounds......  He LOVES this car.

Sunday after dinner

After dinner on Sunday the kids wanted to go out and ride bikes. We now have the 9:00 ward and I love it. Last year it was 1:00 and it was hard.  

Gabriella can now ride the trike a bit.  She can't use the peddles, but she can push with her toes.  Here Olsen is helping her out

Gabriella with a bandana

Byron and I decided that Gabriella looks more like a little lady than a baby girl in these pictures. She is my pretty girl.

What did you do today

Well, we went to the beach.  It was a beautiful day here in Kona.  (Sorry, all picture are from my phone, so they aren't the greatest.)

But first we went up to Grandma's and Olsen took Gabriella for a spin.  She only last for about 2 minutes before she wants off.  Not that I blame her, Olsen is a crazy fast driver.  He has so much fun on the car.  He has gotten so good, he can steer around things and go in reverse without no problems.  

Then I picked up Echo, Nivee and Alema and we made our way to the beach.  

Olsen hitched a ride between the chair on the walk to the beach.
Nivee enjoying herself.
Olsen and Alema digging in the sand.  Olsen made a sand castle all by himself today.  He came up to me and said "look mama, castle home"  It was very cute.  
Gabriella exploring the lava rocks.  She is my dare-devil in the water.  I am not kidding, she has NO FEAR.  She was laying on her back and then she would turn around put her arms down and kick her legs.

Cookin' Time

The kids are loving the kitchen set. I bought some pot and pans and they are cookin' up a storm.

Here they are the other morning.  Making breakfast.



Later that day making lunch

Gabriella decided that there was more room on the train table to cook.

Mauna Kea - Snow day

Last Saturday we decided it was time for the kids to see snow. So we loaded up Byron's truck (you need 4 wheel drive to get up there) and made our way up the mountain. First we had to stop at the visitor center at 9000' (everyone must stop before going all the way up to get acclimated or you could get sick if you don't) While at the center I realized our battery was dead, so we had to buy a disposable one from the gift shop. Poor Gabriella, she doesn't have one long sleeve shirt, so I had to use a pajama top. But hey, it was covered by a sweatshirt the whole time anyway.

Here were are hanging outside the visitor center
There was a little trail area you could hike around
Gabriella found a great log to sit on.
Since we don't have a sled, we had to make do with a boogie board.
Olsen had fun, but his hands were getting cold after 5 minutes.  It was an icy snow, no powder, so it hurt when they landed on it.  
Gabriella hated the snow and would only stay on the rock with me
The sky was pretty amazing from up there.  




All in all it was a fun trip. Even though we were only up there for 15 minutes. It was worth it.

About a boy......part ????

Here are some random shots from the last month.

We were at Costco and Olsen really liked the massage chair



Olsen put his shirt on all by himself.

Happy New Year

New Year's Eve everyone met up at Byron's parents house where we had hamburgers and hot dogs and fireworks for dessert. All the cousins were there and it was great. I forgot my camera and had to use my cell phone camera. So, sorry about the quality of the shots.


Olsen LOVED the sparklers. He couldn't get enough of them. Please note the older kids in the back setting up the real fireworks.
Here they are going off (we had a couple of those big boxes from Costco)
And here is Olsen while the fireworks were going off.  It was pretty funny because as soon as they went off Olsen was looking franticly for a place to hide.  He wasn't crying or anything, but he liked being sheltered under the table and watched from there.  Eventually he came out from under there and watched with the rest of us.  And we gave him some more sparklers.
Gabriella did NOT like the fireworks and I had to take her inside.  Toward the end she didn't mind so much and went back outside.