Category Archives: family

Hawaii

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We spent months anticipating our trip to Hawaii for my sister’s wedding.

Then we blinked and it was over.

On one hand, it was amazing. On the other, it was exhausting.

This was mine & Andy’s first vacation* since our honeymoon almost 8 years ago. This was both the girls’ first plane rides and trip out of state. It was also our first time to Hawaii.

In 6 days we…

Hiked Diamond Head
{Holy Hell that was steep!}

Diamond Head

Visited Pearl Harbor
{Just…wow…}
Pearl Harbor

Watched my sister say “I Do”
{That will have a post of its own.}

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Played on the Beach
{Both the girls LOVED it}

Beach

Had Breakfast With Mickey & Friends
{Reese was not a fan.}
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Visited the Dole Pineapple Plantation

Dole

Drove along the North Shore looking for surfers.
{no surfers, but amazing scenery!}

North Shore1

Enjoyed a Hawaiian Sunset
 Sunset

Overall, I’m so glad we were all able to make it to the wedding. It’s an experience I will never forget. Of course there’s so much more I could say about our trip {like our experience flying Allegiant Air for the first (and last) time or flying 5+ hours straight with an almost 1 year old or sharing a condo with your family of four and 4 other family members that aren’t used to being around kids 24/7 or that I came back from Hawaii just as un-tan as I went} but I think I’ll just let the photos tell the story because bottom line is the trip was amazing.

I think I’ve been bit by the vacation bug.

*I now understand {and completely agree with} what people meant when they said taking your kids isn’t a vacation, it’s a trip.

Work wins so you get a 10 minute update

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Work is busy. I’m home with a sick kid (yes, again). So I’m left juggling a sick kid and the work I brought home. I’m tired, you guys.

Hawaii is 17 days away and calling my name.

Anyway, my point is this, I’ve got 5 half completed posts sitting in my drafts. I’m sure I’ll get to them eventually but for now, you get 10 minutes of my time:

Our weekend was awesome. It included an impromptu movie night on our front lawn…just Rylee & me. The movie was really stupid but that didn’t even matter. Followed by a slumber party in her room.

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It included being silly with my girl. Sucked that Andy was sick, but I really loved this time alone with Rylee.

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It included goat feeding and a picnic and an ice cream cone and fresh strawberries and lots of sunshine.

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The weekend was great. I didn’t want it to end.

Reese is sick now. Croupy nasty cough and just generally miserable. Someone told me today “at least you get a day off!” Ha. HAHAHAHA! Trust me, I’d much rather A) my child be healthy and B) be at work and not falling further and further behind because I feel like I’m just treading water right now and at any minute I could get pulled under.

Rylee has her “Pre-School Graduation” in a few days. Don’t know what else to say about that…it’s kind of leaving me speechless. Andy can’t go to it because it’s at 9:30 in the morning…that REALLLLLLY sucks.

School is out at the end of this week. He needs it. I need it. The girls need it.  This year has been particularly rough. SO ready for Summer break.

Oh, and I can’t forget…my big girl has upgraded to a BOOSTER! Can’t believe how fast she is growing.

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DING! Ten minutes is up.

It’s TACO TUESDAY!!!!

Camping as a family of four

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Andy and I both grew up camping. We loved it and it’s something we carried our love for into our adulthood. We even got engaged while camping. Camping is something we knew from very early on we wanted to do with our girls. Rylee went on her first camping trip when she was just over two. Then again the summer she was three. We didn’t get out overnight last summer being grossly pregnant then having a newborn and all, but we did make it out for a day trip here and there.

Up until last month, I hadn’t really thought about whether or not we’d make it out this summer. Then Andy’s best friend called wanting to know if we’d be interested in a group camping trip. Always up for an adventure, I said sure, sounds like fun!

As the trip got closer I started second guessing my decision. Camping in Oregon anytime before the 4th of July is questionable at best. Throw in 6 families/nearly 20 people, a camping location that had snow on the ground just days before our arrival and a 10 month old that is rather…spirited and yea…it was going to be an interesting trip for sure. An adventure no matter what!

I’ll be honest…I went into it hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. {if you’re one of our friends that went with us, my apologies}

Day to day life was particularly busy the week preceding so I really didn’t get to do any of my traditional type-a Katherine prep, so that was like the icing on my anxious cake.

Despite my less than stellar attitude going into it and the rain scattered throughout, I am happy to report that the trip went pretty well! Rylee had a blast playing with all the other kids. Andy and I had fun catching up with our friends. Reese did pretty well despite not being allowed to eat the rocks.

Group Camping with little ones is nothing like group camping pre-kids. It’s still fun…just a different kind of fun. I’ll tell you what…the trip would have been nowhere near as successful if it wasn’t for our group. It seriously takes a village, you guys.

Will it happen again this summer? Who knows…the way our summer is shaping up, we may not have time for another trip out but I wouldn’t rule it out completely just yet.

I was going to share my “tips for camping with a 10 month old” in another post, but it’s taken me 3 weeks just to get this post up. Here’s my tips: take food you know they’ll eat. Co-sleep if your worried about them being cold. Take a baby carrier. Create a “safe-zone” where baby can crawl about. If you have any other questions about camping with a baby, just ask!

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The busy season

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I really try not to use the word busy to describe my life in a conversation when someone asks how things are going. Because as a family with two young children, two working parents, a dog, two houses and 12+ acres to take care of, that’s just life. Our reality every day. There is always something that is going on or has to be done. I’m sure much like yours. We are a culture of go-go-go.

But it seems like starting around mid-May life gets kicked up one notch further. This year, despite my best efforts to “keep things simple”, is no different. Well, actually that’s a lie…it is different than previous years but not because we have any less going on…in fact this year we have even more going on than years previous.

Because on top of the Mother’s Day, Andy’s birthday, Rylee’s birthday and end of the school year junk like graduation, classroom clean-up and what not we always inevitably deal with, we’re throwing a memorial weekend camping trip with friends into the mix. Then there’s also Andy’s trip to New York for his best friends wedding and we can’t forget about our family trip to Hawaii for my sisters wedding the week after that. Oh yea, and my sister’s shower/bachelorette party.

I was looking at a calendar the other night and we literally have something going on every single weekend until mid July.

On top of the weekends being booked, I’ve got extra work stuff happening after normal work hours that I’ll being doing on some nights during the week.

So right now? I think I can say we’re busy. But at least we get to top it all off with a week in Hawaii, right!?

So yea…if you need me in the next few weeks and I’m not at work or with my family, I’ll be one of two places…either standing outside at 6 AM with a hot cup of coffee watering my flowers trying to relax before the day even begins, or sitting in a corner making to-do lists like a crazy lady making sure we don’t forget to pack our kids along with our pillows for our camping trip.

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YAY SPRING!!

Weekend Happenings

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You know those weekends that are so perfect you don’t want them to end? Yea…THAT.

That was my facebook status Sunday evening and it was oh-so true. The weekend was great. So great.

While it didn’t start out quite like we had originally anticipated, as in, our weekend plans completely changed, it worked out so well.

We got the news on Friday afternoon that our washing machine was beyond repair, meaning “Shopping for a new washing machine” was officially at the top of our agenda. There was also a Costco trip as well as a stop at our everyday grocery store that we needed to throw in. We got all that taken care of Saturday morning and were home before lunch!

The girls and I hung out for the afternoon {where hung out means I slow cooked ribs on the grill.} while Andy went and bought supplies for our chicken coop. Then we had friends over for a BBQ…hence the ribs. The kids ran around outside looking for bugs. The guys played a few games of donkey balls ladder ball. Reese loved hanging out in the grass watching everything. Good friends. Sunshine. Good food. And an adult beverage. It was a blast.

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We topped the evening off by having a “campout” in our living room with Rylee.

Sunday morning was lazy. Many games of peek-a-boo were played among sisters while Andy and I watched as our hearts turned to mush. We weren’t really up and moving until 11 or so. After that it was go-go-go. Andy was working outside on the tractor and such. While Reese napped, Rylee and I got a head start planning her birthday party. {She’s decided on Angry Birds, in case you were wondering.} After lunch Ry headed out to work on the tractor with Andy. Reese & I headed into town where we hit up Target for exciting things like dog food and vitamins. Then we went to Bi-Mart and I spent some time {and money! HOLY CRAP I always forget how much flowers cost} and picked up some flowers for my raised bed. After we got home we spent the next couple of hours outside planting.

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Not being able to do laundry and having your dinner guests from the night before clean your kitchen really opens up the agenda.

Dinner was easy and so good. Tortellini, chicken and pesto. I always forget how much I love tortellini and pesto {both individually and together}. I need more of both of those things in my life. Turns out Reese feels the same way about tortellini…homegirl couldn’t shovel it in her mouth fast enough.

Kids were in bed, the TV was turned off and Andy & I were passing out by 9 PM. Great weekend.

How was yours?