Happy Holidays

I have'nt posted in so so long...for many reasons, but mainly due to my camera floating up stream somewhere and therefore having no pics to post.  We have had a lot happen in the last few months, but I will save u the long drawn out update and say all is well here.  My babies have been very sick (on and off) since Halloween and I'm hoping my many sleepless nights are coming to a close.  I'm tired, an emotional wreck, and sick of wiping snot off my childrens faces.  It's so cold here right now, and it really makes me miss home(FL) and my sweet family.  Ever since I got married, I always become so homesick and miss my family so much during this holiday season.  I seriously feel like a hot mess right now, however I am so excited about Christmas.  My boys, all 3 of them, are so excited.  We drive around looking at Christmas lights every night and sing Christmas music non stop.   Mike ask Hampton everyday what is he going to give for Christmas this year, and his answers are so priceless.  Last night he told his sister, "hey Kalani, let me tell u what u can give me for Christmas." We laughed forever about that one.  I really feel like the magical Christmas moments with kids is such a small window, and so therefore we TRY to eat up every moment in this house.  Although this time of year has been a little hard for me, we could not be more exicted about the coming weeks.  Our best friends are flying out with their kids for the weekend(next week), and my mom just called and said she would be coming for a week at Christmas.  I have so much to look forward to this month!!
*hopefully the new camera we are getting will put me back on the blog band wagon...hopefully

                                                                    *little instagram love

                                       *cant get enough this song, a little personal fav this time of year


             

Our family 2012

Family pictures are such a labor of love, and they never turn out like to imagine they would.  I mean, they never end up on someone's pinterest board as inspiration for their next family photos.  I analyze outfits for months, I mean weeks, I mean for a few days and end of feeling like I wish I could have done it all over again.  So although I wish I could redo our pictures and make them look a little more "pinterst perfect", I really do love them because of who is in them.  I love my family and all their cuteness and willingness to do this and then listen to me complain about them when its all over!!

Whatcom Park

2 weeks ago we went on a little adventure with some friends to a place called Whatcom park.  It is such a gorgeous place, but a lot of work with 2 little guys.  It's a lot of hiking and lots of little water falls.  We went all the way back to the main area with gorgeous waterfalls and cliffs 25ft up to jump from.  I was a chicken and did not jump, but the men did and had a great time.  Mike and I both would love to go back without our dear kiddies to really explore and take advantage of the beautiful scenery. 

  I am learning that I don't have to be in Florida laid out on a beach for hours upon hours, or on a boat getting sunkissed to enjoy the outdoors with my family.  We are finding a new norm and I am really ok with it. 

Florida!!!

Oh man, I don't know where to begin or even what pictures to post.  My dad was kind enough to fly the boys and I to Florida for almost 2 weeksin mid July .  My brother just received a major job offer and is moving to Chicago with his family, so we thought it would be great for us all to be together before he moved.  I will sum the trip up by saying swimming, boating, golf cart rides, sleepovers, eating, laughing, and REPEAT. 
I was originally pretty nervous about flying by myself with my two little ones.  Hampton has become a pretty seasoned traveler, BUT Finn is like trying to contain a shark out of water.  He is so busy and flaps around non stop.  I am always so worried about my kids disturbing others, especially on an airplane.  I'm not even kidding that I cried when Mike dropped us off, because of the nervousness that I was feeling.  Well, kids did great going and did even better while we were there.  The ride home was terrible.  The first leg was over 4hrs and Finn never once cried, but was seriously out of control.  I will not go into details, but I will say that I was stuck in the middle of the row with him and there was lots of hair pulling, water spilling (even on people in front of us), food everywhere, and NO SLEEPING on his part.  Hampton was a gem and I was so proud of him.  He actually said to me at one point..."mom please be nice to our baby, he can't help it." They both were so tired and slept on the last leg and gave me a moment to re group and find love in my heart again.  I told Mike when we landed that I will never travel again.  Funny how I forgot how amazing they were for the entire 2 weeks and only remember how awful the flight home was.  Thankfully it's all over and we have great pictures to help us focus on the good of the trip!!

      Saying goodbye to this little trio was really sweet.  You never saw one without the other, and I'm pretty sure they will never forget this time they had together.  Thank you to my sweet family for all they did for us, it was more than I could have ever expected.

July (4th of July)

Mike had to do some work in Spokane for the 1st week of July.  We decided to tag along and spend time with our cousins there.  We then thought we would leave a day early and take the kids to a hotel and play for a night.  We had a great time and even better 4th.  We spent it with my brother in laws family and had such beautiful weather and stayed busy playing games, watersliding, hot tubing, and eating.  We missed the firework show because it started so late, and my kids were both so tired.  Bummer for them, but at least we had fun doing our own little show just before they crashed on us!!

     Cruising the halls of the hotel.  Boys are ready to go swimming.

            My little "firecrackers"

          The Hegwer family....SO FUN

         Hampton trying to learn to play croquet

         The fireworks were really loud and a little scary for my 4yr old.  My baby seemed un phased by them....sad, but true!!

June

Hampton loves his cousins Deakan and Maverik to pieces.  He asked me for quite some time if I would please take him back to Idaho to be with his cousins and see his best friends.  I promised we would go for Deakan's birthday, and now that Hampton is older I really have to keep those promises.  I always say that when it comes to kids, that work is worth the memories it brings.  SO....I packed my kids up and we went to Boise for a week. It was just the 3 of us (no daddy), and I was pretty darn impressed with us.  The kids did A-Mazing on the way there, and did really well for the week we were there too.  We played so hard and spent lots of time with cousins and freinds.  I am so thankful for the time we lived in Boise and for the friends we made there.  I remember so clearly being a kid and how exciting it would be to go visit my cousins and grandparents every summer at the beach.  I know that no matter how much work it can be, it will always be something I try to give to my children as well.  The trip home was less than perfect, but I think it was because we were all so tired.  The 8hr trip turned to 10, but regardless we made it and can't wait to do it again next year!!

             No trip would be complete without Hampton's very favorite ice cream.

May

I am going to attempt to catch my blog up.  We seriously have been on the go constantly since May.  There hasn't been one month that we haven't had guest or have been a guest in some ones home.  It's been a really fun summer with less then perfect weather!!
In May, my mom came out for a visit and stayed for a week with us.  We had so much fun and she spoiled all of us so much.  Hampton actually told me that he loves going to Target with GaGa "the most." She really is "the most" fun because you end up with leaving with all kinds of goodies.  I feel so blessed to have a mom that loves my kids as much as I do.  She takes such good care of them, and I went through serious with drawls after she left.  More than all the fun spoiling she did, we enjoyed her time more than anything.  Time with your family is what you find yourself craving once you move away from them.  Here are a few pictures of our time with her-

                      Deceptions Pass-most beautiful place I have ever been to.

       Enjoying a picnic eating our clam chowder and bread bowl.

Finners

I can't help it....but have you ever seen a baby this cute!! This baby has stolen all our hearts and we are so smitten with him.  It's so fun to sit around with Mike and Hampton and all fight for this little bugs attention. He will be 8mos old in less than 2 weeks and it blows my mind.  He has been such a joy to have, that I seriously hate to watch each phase end.  I am however excited to see him start crawling and walking.  He wants to keep up with his brother so badly, but no luck.  He will be one busy baby, so the crawling and walking will come with it's pros and cons. 
I am pretty sure I have broken ever rule with this baby.  I rock him with a bottle every night and every nap, I go get him in the middle of the night with the slightest whimper, I can't let him cry it out, I hold him constantly, I pick him up everytime he cries....I mean they could write a book on what not to do with your baby and follow me around all day.  I have no complaints though, he is so sweet that it just does'nt matter to me.  He still sleeps really well at night, and still does'nt take great naps.  He smiles non stop, lights up when we walk into a room, eats everything in sight, and grabs anything he can get his hand on.  The other day we were at McDonalds and I had our tray of food.  I turn my head for one second and his grabs the box of nuggets and slings them across the resturant. It was a little funny and a little annoying!!!  Altough 2 kids can be super busy, I would'nt have it any other way.  Mike and I always say that giving a child a sibling is the greatest gift a parent can give.  I wish my nerves could tolerate a house full of kiddies, I can only imagine how rewarding it could be!!!

Mutual Love

I could not add just one picture of these two, I loved a little something about each of them. 

One thing these two have a mutual love for is popsicles.  Hampton loves them so much that I am the mean mom that refuses to buy them.  He could easily put about 5-6 down in no time, and I choose to not fight with him all day long.  So...we let our new neighbor, a.k.a. grandma, buy popsicles and we walk down everyday and have a little treat.  Grandma gave Finn his first one, and it has been true love ever since.  We can't wait for true summer weather to come, so we don't get a chill after eating them!!!