Hanauma Bay and snorkling

Monday we went the Hanauma bay and went snorkling. Bryson was a scared at first, but he finally went out with Dad and saw some of the fish.




Eric and I then both took turns going out and looking at the fish. It was cool. I love the colors and seeing what is hidden under the water. We stayed there most of the day. Even though it was busy it was a nice beach for the kids to play at. Carley found another little girl and played with her most of the day. She also loved to stick her face in the sand. Maddy loved playing in the sand and we finally got her to take a nap. Bryson loved splashing in the water

Polynesian Cultural Center and Laie

On Tuesday we drove over to Laie. We first went to the temple and took a family picture.

We then went and had lunch at giovanni's and had their famous shimp. Carley loved the shrimp. Bryson and madalyn ate a hot dog.



After lunch we went to the PCC. The kids loved it. This is the guy that does the "act" for showing how to break and eat coconut.
They also liked watching the guy climb the tree.
The next show we went to Bryson tried to follow the dance of the Tahitians.


Carley loved the hawaiian dancing girls. We walked around and did some more shows, then we went to the luau. This is the pig we ate.

After I wanted to take pictures of the kids with their leis. They cooperated just enough so I was happy with the pictures.




We then went to the show. We were on the front row on the side and could really see the dancers. The show started at 7:30, but the kids still weren't used to Hawaii time so really it was 11:30. Bryson stayed awake the whole time. Maddy fell asleep at the beginning and Carley made it half was through. Bryson loved the fire dancers at the end and because we were so close to the stage he could feel the heat. The show went through the life of a boy. The next day Carley kept talking about the new born baby in the show and when he got married. it is funny the things she catches on to and like. It was a very long day and we didn't get back to the hotel until late, but the kids had a lot of fun and at the end of the trip we asked them what their favorite day was and Carley says the PCC and Bryson says surfing and then the PCC.

Wednesday

First thing on Wednesday we went to the flea market at aloha stadium and bought all our souvenirs. We then drove up and got some shaved ice at Matsumoto's. The kids loved it, along with the adults.

We then went and found a beach that the kids could play at. I love writing the kids name in the sand and then taking a picture. I did this while we were in California too. I think I will do it everytime we go to a beach.






I wanted to catch the sunset on Waikiki one night and it happened to be that night. We barely made it in time and it was so crowded on the beach where we were that I couldn't get a very good picture of the kids.

The Dole Plantatiion

Because this was out last day we had to stay busy because our flight didn't leave until 10:00 pm and we were checked out of the hotel. Eric took Bryson and Carley to the beach this morning until we had to check out. My kids love the water and sand and we love the beach. We kept toying with the idea of buying Bryson a boogie board, but we never did. About 30 minutes before they left the beach somebody gave them one because they were leaving. They got to play on it for a little bit and then Eric decided to pay the luggage fee and bring it home - it was his souvenir.
On our last day in Hawaii we went to Pearl Harbor and the Dole Plantation. Unfortunately it was really windy and they had closed the ferry that takes you to the USS Arizona so we didn't stay at Pearl Harbor very long. We went up to the Dole Plantation and went on a train ride and saw a lot of pineapple plants. I guess I have never seen any pictures of how pineapple grows because it is really cool. Anyways I guess you learn something new everyday.



After the train ride through the pineapple plants we went and had a pineapple whip. It was delicious. I love pineapple.


We were still really early after we left the Dole Plantation so we found a park to play at and then went and got some really yummy authentic Chinese food thanks to google maps. Most of the time google maps does a good job getting us were we need to go and finding good places to eat. Occasionally it took us through some funny parts of town. We were all exhausted by the time we got on the plane and were all ready to fall asleep. The kids did really good on the flight to Las Vegas. Then we had a 4 hour layover in Vegas and that about did us in. Finally we got to Salt Lake and we picked up some quick Cafe Rio to take home. We got home and Eric, Bryson, and Carley fell asleep, but Madalyn was wide awake because she slept in the car so i had to stay up with her. We finally got our time back in order after a couple days. It was such a great trip and a fun time with the family.

Busy, busy busy

This time of year is busy one. I have been wanting to post pics and stories of our trip to Hawaii, but when I have a few minutes, blogger doesn't like me downloading pics. I have tried it for two days now. Anyways, I have been canning lately and taking kids places. This past week I canned 2 batches of tomotoes, 2 batches of salsa, and 2 batches of jalapeno jelly.
Bryson is loving school and Carley started preschool last week and it loving it. Bryson is also taking piano lessons and he starts soccer next tuesday. Hopefully one of these days I can get the pics to download.
It is starting to be fall outside. The mountains are full of orange and red. I can't wait for the aspens to turn light green. I love this time of year.

Bryson's 3 month check up

Along with playing catch up I guess I better post on Bryson's 3 month check up yesterday for those of you who don't have facebook. He had a CT scan and X-rays last week and we met with the doctor yesterday and everything came back clean. There is no sign of cancer in his body and he is a healthy, active, energtic little boy. He has even grown 2 inches since January and is now 45 1/2 inches tall. He doesn't gain much weight so he is still skinny (43 pounds) and has no meat on his bones, but he is growing. We love him so much and even when he is testing my patience (which is everyday), I have to remind myself how lucky we are that he is healthy.

Catch up

I am trying to play catch up and get all the things we did over the summer on the blog. Here are a couple new posts from the end of July and beginning of August.

Fair Days cont.

Along with the demolition derby we also got to go to the rodeo the next week. We usually go to this every year and my kids love it. It is fun to get them dressed up and go. They love to watch the animals and I especially love the bull riding.

Wasatch County Fair Days

I love when fair days come around in Heber. It is so much fun and lot of things to do. It also reminds me of when I was younger and these were the weeks that I would come and spend with my grandma and go to all these activities with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. My brother Nathan was in town for Bryson's birthday and the reunion and he wanted to go to the demolition derby. I haven't been since I was in high school, but I got tickets and we went. It was a little red neck, but we had fun- apart from the drunk people behind us getting in a fight. Bryson loved watching the cars smash into each other and couldn't stop talking about it for weeks. he would even go outside with his friends and get his cars and play derby.