Maui in May!!!!!

Jon & I were finally able to take part in a Dell sales trip. It was suppose to be to The Fairmont in Mexico (which would have been very nice), but thanks to the swine flu outbreak, we were rerouted to The Fairmont Kealani in Maui!!!!! What a fantastic vacation. Thanks to Jon's Mom, Richard (her husband) and James (my step-dad), our kids were in good hands so that we could relax & have a lot of fun for 6 full days. We went 11 years ago for our Honeymoon & have always wanted to go back. This trip took care of the '10 year trip' we weren't able to take last year.The view from our suite on day 1.

We had 3 half-days of group activities while the rest of the days we spent scouting the island & hanging on the beach. We also had 2 evening dinners planned leaving the other nights open. The 1st half-day we did some team building events. I honestly wasn't looking too forward to it, but it turned out to be fun - I haven't used my brain for such adult conversations in a long time.

Headed to dinner at Tommy Bahama's on day 1. Good food, but too much wine w/the jetlag.
On days 2, we did a zip-line adventure on Haleakala. What fun! I definitely want to do this again sometime. Here is Jon harnessed up and going on the 1st of 5 zip-lines. It was short & perfect for beginners like us.

On day 3, we kayaked on the south Maui shore to snorkel with turtles. It was fun & interesting, but not as exciting as some of our friends who snorkeled around Molikini and saw an eel eat an octopus - then a shark finished it off! Sorry, no pics of this adventure.

The rest of the days were spent shopping & hanging at the beach. Ahh.
The seafood in Hawaii was absolutely fantastic. Many suggested we go to Mama's Fish House which is on the Road To Hana. So, after a little shopping in Kahului, we headed to the north shore. First of all, the beach and water on this side of the island is absolutely beautiful. The food at Mama's was equally fantastic. Jonathan doesn't like fish, and they had very few things to choose from that did not involve seafood of some sort so he had a beef appetizer. It was very very good (thank goodness, it was $18 and this was at lunchtime.) My fish - I think it was Opakapaka - was awesome. The other fish I had in Wailea was called Monchong. It was perfect. Even Jon said it was good and asked for a 2nd bite!!!! Here are our pics from Mama's & the beach.

Mother's Day

We went to one of our favorite places to eat for Mother's Day - Japanese Steakhouse! Although taking Hudson to any restraunt these days isn't fun, we made the most of it (at least the leftovers were good :) And, I got a new camera - Nikon Coolpix - took these photos with it. Not sure if I recommend it yet.

Karys as a Dolphin

Karys played T-Ball for the 1st time this spring. Her team name was the Dolphins. As a lefty, it was a little hard to figure out how to catch, throw and bat since she was the only one. During one of the 1st few games, she accidentally ran to the pitcher's mound instead of 3rd. It was very cute - she still made it to 3rd in time though. She, along with many of her teammates, preferred to play in the dirt while on the field - I think I did the same :)

Karys in flight

As we drove back to our beach house from Longboat Key, we rolled the windows down to enjoy the salty air. We got a fun picture of Karys taking it all in.

Garrett's 8th Birthday

Backing up a few months, we celebrated Garrett's 8th Birthday at Greatwolf Lodge in Grapevine (even tho he holding up only 7 fingers...) What a fun place - the kids enjoyed every bit of it. Hard to believe we are at a waterpark in January when the temp outside was 27 degrees.

Garrett & Jon, his handsome Daddy, at the Rainforest Cafe on G's b/day.

Easter in Florida

After 2 days at Disney, we went to Anna Marie Island to spend Easter at the beachouse. Kids had a great time with Grandma Susan and we enjoyed relaxing (a bit.)

Garrett didn't like the smell of vinegar while decorating Easter eggs so Susan fixed the problem - tape over the boy's nose (as seen below.)We went to a nice Easter Brunch in Longboat and *tried* to get some family photos. It is just about impossible to get everyone to look and halfway smile at the same time.

Disney in April

We took a week in April and went to Florida to see Jon's Mom - Grandma Susan. Of course, we can't fly into Orlando (where it's cheapest to fly into) w/out going to a Disney park. This year, we went to Hollywood Studios this year b/c Garrett is into Star Wars. Garrett's view of Jedi Training from Jon's shoulders. To our surprise, he did not want to take a chance at fighting the Clone Troopers and Darth Vadar. I just love how they so cleverly have you come into the Star Wars store as you get off the ride... Karys & Yoda and Garrett & an Ewok
We took Garrett & Karys on the Tower of Terror. It was not one of our best parenting decisions. Garrett said it was scary, but he liked it. He would ride it again, but not for at least 2-3 months. lol Karys on the otherhand cried & cried & cried. We had to let her get a tattoo & ice cream to make it all better. Surprisingly, Hudson was quite a trooper at the park (unlike the flight to Orlando - which he screamed thoughout). He finally gave out and crashed for about 30 minutes in his stroller.

All Garrett Wants For Christmas

Garrett lost both of his 2 front teeth on the same day about 2 weeks ago. He lost one at school (not sure if he swallowed it or what b/c it was never found) and I pulled the other one that afternoon. As expected, it changed his appearance significantly. In light of the holiday and his missing teeth, he sang a little song for us. See the video...

Hudson-stein - Walking

Hudson so very into walking now. He is on his feet about 90% of the time. He would be on his feet all the time if he could figure out how to stand up by himself. He is trying, but can't quite do it yet. Anway, when he walks, he always has his hands out in front of him like Frankenstein. Very funny. Here is a little clip of him. Seems that every time I get the camera out to video him, he gets too excited and doesn't walk far. He can actually walk the length of the house now without falling :)

Hudson Taking Steps

Hudson is trying out his walking legs this week. He has been taking a step or 2 between the couch and coffee table for a few weeks, but he is now letting go to attempt going across the room. Here is a little video of him taking about 10 steps (once again, I don't know how to turn it sideways!)

Kristi's Knee Surgery - Update

I decided to once again have surgery on my knees to help with my rheumatoid arthritis. This time, I chose to do both knees at the same time. It has been 10 days now and I am happy I did both. It has been considerably more painful than I expected - mainly b/c the dr. did more cutting on the inside than I expected. He did what was called a synovectomy on them to remove the lining of the knees. This helps b/c their isn't much left for the arthritis to attack (until it eventually grows back.) Additionally, he cleaned up the torn cartilage and the most painful part was the lateral release he did on the left knee. He cut the outer tendon down the middle (I think.) Anyway, I had excessive swelling so my good doc drained them (yes, it hurt very very bad) in the office last Thursday and gave me steroid injections. I am a new person now. I can walk with very little limp! Here is a picture of how I have spent most of my days since getting out of the hospital. Ice, exercise machine and a laptop (Christmas shopping :)

Garrett's Holiday Gig

Garrett got in the holiday spirit by performing for us along with his stuffed elephant's cousin, Spike and a stuffed teddy bear (aka Taffey.) He performed a song he made up himself, then the 12 Days of Christmas (see the sideways video - sorry I don't know how to turn it.) The recording starts toward the end of the song - watch all of it as the end is the best. Jon decided to join him for the 12th day of Christmas. It was hilarious.

Hudson loves Maddie!

This is Hudson with his girlfriend Maddie. They are 1 month apart and get very excited at just hearing the other ones name. They like to play together, share food and sometimes fight over toys.

Hudson was either trying to kiss Maddie or give her a love bite. He has been biting all of us lately...

Halloween 2008

This year, we have Garrett as Star Wars Boba Fete, Karys as a very pink Angel & Hudson is a race car driver. Each costume was important to the kids. Garrett is a Star Wars fanatic, Karys lives and breathes pink and Hudson's favorite thing to do is ride in his car. The weather was perfect and the kids had a great time. I love it when Halloween falls on the weekend - no rushing to get to bed for school the next day, etc.

Pumpkin Patch 2008

We made a quick trip to a local pumpkin patch the other night. We usually go during the day, but now that both G & K are in school, we found it easier to go in the evening. Little did I know the pictures would be better w/o the sun in their eyes.

Fall School Pictures

Here are Garrett & Karys's Fall school pictures

Garrett in 2nd Grade

Karys in Kindergarten

Hudson loves to cruise

Hudson is so interactive these days. He is trying to say so much - lots of 'Baaa' sounds - for 'bite' & 'bye-bye' we know for sure. He is not interested in trying to stand or walk on his own, but loves to walk with you holding his hands, cruising around the furniture and pushing toys. Here is a little video clip of him pushing his walker. As you can see & hear, he gets frustrated easily.

Garrett's new obsession

I haven't posted a note about Garrett in a while so here is what our biggest little dude is into now - in 2 words - STAR WARS. After Jon took G to see the Clone Troopers and bought the Star Wars Lego game for the Wii - it is officially the new obsession. We are happy about this for many reasons. Of course, Jon & I were both Star Wars fans as kids (him more than me, so he is in heaven playing with G now.) We are tired of hearing about Transformers and Bionciles and would much rather sit down and play with Star Wars characters. When I told G that I saw Star Wars about 10 times when I was a kid, he couldn't believe it - especially when I pointed out that we had to go to the theater to see it each time. That leads us into the conversation about having no VCR, DVD, TIVO and having only 3 channels on 1 TV, etc.
Anyway, everyday after school, Garrett comes home and plays the Star Wars Lego Wii game. After his time is up, he gets his 'gear' and goes outside to act out the entire Star Wars movie. I have to try to get this on video.
This weekend, Jon and G have a date to watch The Empire Strikes Back. I see an opportunity to bride (yes, bribe) Garrett with some new little characters :)

Hudson's Birthday Invitation

Here is the b/day invite I created for Hudson's 1st Birthday. Amazing to see how he has changed in one year.

Happy 1st Birthday Hudson!!

Our Birthday boy posing for the camera.

Hudson turned 1 on September 17th! We can't believe a year has gone by since he was born. Jon took the day off work so we took Hudson to eat lunch and took several walks. Hudson's favorite thing to do is go for a ride in his little car. He practically begs for it every day by crawling to the car and pointing to the front door.

Anyway, after dinner, we sang Happy Birthday do him and gave him a piece of cake. He wasn't sure at first what to do then eventually dug his hands into it. He only tasted a little bit of it and really didn't like it the whole experience that much. After a few minutes, I took him out of his highchair crying. We went straight to the bath - his 2nd favorite thing to do. His crying stopped immediately when I walked into the bathroom.

A collage of pics from Hudson during his 1st 10 days - from right after birth to NICU days. Hudson after 10 days in the NICU, he was finally off of all machines :)

Hudson and his b/day cake (again - posing for the camera.)

After the bath with new birthday toys.

Standing with his car (which Garrett got for his 1st b/day from Gram & Pop.)