Happy 7th Birthday, Elisa!

Another birthday (May 2nd) for our princess Elisa! I'm going to say this every year, but I cannot believe she's this old already. 7!  She's growing up to be a lovely, fun, and smart girl!
This year Grandma Marsha left her with a couple gifts, and Grandma Julie got to be with her in person for her birthday! I gave Elisa her new rainbow unicorn dress to wear on her birthday and daddy even got to take us all out for yummy lunch at Bobby Q's.  Later that evening, Elisa had donuts that she picked out for herself at the store and opened presents from mommy and daddy.  Elisa's big present this year was a pink violin.  She wanted it badly but won't learn how to play it so it just sits in it's case.  She also got some jewelry and a card from Mommy with some money and unicorns made out of Perler beads.  Grandma Julie gave Elisa a real conch shell we found at the DI:

Making use of the little pool Grandma Marsha got her.

My pretty girl in her pretty dress! I love the twirl-factor of this dress!

Elisa and Grandma Julie, having lunch at our new favorite place, Bobby Q's.  Elisa wore her unicorn headband I bought her off of Amazon.  We like this place because the food is excellent and they give you homemade donuts for dessert, free!

Elisa and her new violin.  At least, here is a picture of Elisa opening the box that had her new violin in it.

A book to help her learn violin.

Opening her Jewelry I got her from Claire's.  It was a necklace with an "E" on it, and some "E" earrings and a bracelet, also with an "E" on it.

Opening her card from me...

...she was so excited to get money and unicorns!

Happy Birthday, Elisa!  Erik decided to take call (why?!?) that evening, so he wasn't there but at least we got to have lunch together!  

We had a friend birthday party for Elisa and Gabe a few days later, in which she was showered with even more gifts.  Some of those gifts just didn't work for us so I took them back at Walmart and got her some stuff I knew she'd really like, namely a decent ice shaver with 3 syrups and roller blades with the safety gear. Plus some lip gloss and a small toy. She was obsessed with the roller blades for a week straight, but hasn't put them on much since (it doesn't help that its over 100 degrees outside), but for awhile there, they were her favorite things ever!

Elisa's birthday presents, round 3

She was a little wobbly and nervous at first, but she got the hang of her roller blades really fast.

Elisa would wake up early on school mornings just to wear these blades.

April Randomness Part II

I was very ambitious (or just plain crazy) and made Elisa a unicorn Pinata for her unicorn birthday party coming up. It turned out a little lop-sided but it wasn't noticeable once all was said and done. It took a long time but I left myself plenty of time to finish it so it wasn't too stressful.  I like the way it turned out!

She liked her piñata!

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Ian started Preschool! Backstory: Ian speech isn't quite there yet and a friend and the pediatrician recommended I get Ian screened in order to see if he qualifies for free preschool, which is government-funded and will have a speech therapist working with him.  You had me at free.  A speech therapist is a bonus, haha.  Seriously though, Ian speaks in garble-marble tongue.  He's hard to understand a lot of the time which is why, after several meetings, Ian was able to finally start preschool! As a bonus, he even got in for social reasons because he refused to say a word at the initial screening.  The speech therapist says his social skills are connected to his speech issues and will improve as his speech improves. Anyway, with only 6 weeks left in the school year, Ian started preschool at Terramar, which is a school further down the road because the closer one was full and our school doesn't have a preschool. I had to drive him to and fro Mondays through Thursday. I'm glad he'll be riding the bus this next school year when he goes to the closer school. Ian loved his preschool and even started to talk more in the mere 5 or so weeks he was there!  I bought him a new backpack off of Amazon with the alphabet on the back and he loves it! Ian is excited to start preschool again.  It will be nice for me to have some alone time, even though Ian is a really good boy at home.  This new school year he will go in the morning for 3 hours or so. 

  

Ian's first day of Preschool! So excited!

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A super adorable video of Ian singing!

A sleeping Ian in his carseat

My sweet Ian with a messy face

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Elisa's much-anticipated birthday dress! I've been wanting to make her a rainbow dress for awhile now, and her upcoming birthday was the perfect opportunity.  She adores unicorns and that was going to be the theme for her birthday party, so I decided to embroider a unicorn to match the skirt.  I'm happy with how it all turned out, even though it was time consuming, though not necessarily difficult.

I love the flounces on this dress!

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On April 21st we had a neighborhood ice cream social sponsored by the HOA. It was set up at a (very) small park a few blocks away. They had games like horseshoes, beanbag toss, giant connect 4, and catch. The ice cream was provided by our local ice cream truck who let us order anything we wanted for free. Ian had a jolly rancher pop, Gabe had a blue ice cream cup, Erik had a cookies and cream ice cream cup, and I had a choco taco. Elisa was at Kassidy's birthday party, so she missed out on the ice cream social.

A huge popsicle for a little boy!

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Elisa got a new mommy-made dress! This fabric, though adorable, shrinks like crazy so I had to go back to Joanns and buy more.  Even then, this dress is slightly shorter than I'd like on her.  But you can't go wrong with unicorns!

Heading out the door for the bus!

Hawaii 2018, Days 6 and 7: The Hawaii Temple and Lanikai Beach; The Exit

On Sunday we visited the Hawaii Temple again. Marsha wanted to see a video at the visitor's center about the history of Laie and the Hawaiian Temple. The members in Laie needed money to convert the chapel into the temple, so they hosted luaus at Hukilau Beach and charged tourists for admission. We also looked at some displays that showed the history of the church in Hawaii, and then we walked around the temple.

Looking at displays inside the visitor's center

We picked up some plumerias and put them in Elisa's hair.

We drove down the east coast of the island one last time to visit the beach. The skies were the clearest we have seen them. We could actually see the peaks of the mountains along the coast line. For lunch, I chose Uahi Island Grill because it was featured on the Food Network.

Ian took a picture of himself while driving.

Another picture of the mountains at Kualoa Ranch.

Not a single cloud covered the mountains over the Valley of the Temples.

The mountains over Kaneohe could be easily seen too.

I liked my white fish curry. It was really good.

Erik ordered the Loco Moco, which, apparently, the locals love. Rice, 2 beef patties, an egg, and brown gravy.

Ian told Erik "Daddy, take my picture!" How could we refuse?

We tried to visit Kailua Beach again, but it was impossible to find a parking spot. We did find a place to park in the neighborhood by Lanikai Beach, which is right next to Kailua Beach. There were way too many people enjoying the beach on a Sunday. There was also an endless line of boats up against the backyards of the houses. If owning a house on the beach means that tons of people are just outside your backyard every weekend, I don't want a beach house.

We drove through Haleiwa on our way back to the house. We stopped at Haleiwa Beach Bowls and Banzai Bowls to get some ice cream healthy frozen fruit treats.

The next day was the last day of our trip. We packed up our bags and returned the rental car. We arrived 2 hours before our flight, but we almost missed it because so many things slowed us down. There was a long line of people at the rental car center waiting for the shuttle, so we had to wait for the third shuttle before we finally got a ride to the airport. We picked a short but slow moving line for security at the airport, which also took way too long. Luckily, our gate was right behind the security check point, and the plane had already started boarding by the time we cleared security.

Ian had a hard time on the flight. He was already traumatized after the first flight because he was afraid to use the lavatory and peed his pants. On the flight home, he kept screaming that he had to go potty, but he refused to go in the lavatory. He ended up peeing his pants three times on the flight. His seat was soaked. I hope nobody had to sit in it after we got off the plane.

Ian eating his donut from Ted's Bakery while waiting for the shuttle to the airport.

Elisa is such a funny eater.

When we arrived in Phoenix, we made sure that everybody used the restroom. Well, I accidently left my phone in the restroom after changing Ian's clothes. I didn't realize my phone was gone until after we were on the shuttle to the parking lot. I used Erik's phone to access the internet and find that my phone was still in the bathroom. He called airport security and told them where to find my phone, but they said they couldn't find it. As we started to drive home, Erik got a call from airport security saying that they had found my phone but were waiting for someone to get it out of the restroom. We drove back to the airport and met a security guard at the lost and found office who kindly returned my phone. 

Hawaii 2018, Day 5: Hanauma Bay and Surf Lessons

Saturday morning we went to Hanauma Bay to go snorkeling. We had been warned before that parking fills up quickly at the bay, but we didn't have trouble parking this time. We lugged all of our beach gear out of the car and into a small theater to watch a brief safety video. The movie basically told us to avoid the dangerous areas, leave the marine life alone, and not take anything home. We then began a long steep walk down into the bay. The video explained that the bay was a crater that has now opened up to the ocean, which is why it is such a good place for snorkeling. The weather was overcast and almost chilly. The water was probably the coldest it had been for the entire trip, but we swam anyway. Everyone really enjoyed seeing all the different types of fish, sometimes even without goggles on.

Snorkeling leaves an impression on you.

Last year, Erik really wanted to take surf lessons but didn't get to. This year he tried to convince one of us to take lessons with him, but nobody wanted to. He decided to take lessons by himself this time. The lessons were given by North Shore Surf girls for 2 hours. We dropped Erik off at Pua'ena Point at Haleiwa Beach while the rest of us at lunch at McDonald's. It was just Erik, the instructor, and one other girl taking a lesson. Even though the water was chilly, Erik said that water didn't bother him the whole time.

Surfing involves a lot of paddling out to where the waves are breaking, waiting for a wave to break right behind you, paddling to catch the wave, and keeping your balance as you stand up and ride the wave in. Erik was able to catch a wave and stand up on his first try! He said that he caught more than half the waves he attempted. The most tiring part was paddling back out after riding a wave all the way in. 

After we ate, we watched Erik surf from the shore. The kids got tired of waiting to see him, so they played in the water most of the time. Actually, they must have spend more time in the sand, because they had sand everywhere after playing. When Erik finished surfing, he showed us the sores on his knees and his toes. I guess the constant waves caused his knees and toes to rub against the surf board to make the skin raw. The salty water probably didn't help either.

Erik had to sign a waiver before his surf lesson.

Elisa found a big snail shell in the McDonald's parking lot.

Waiting for a wave. Sometimes 4-5 waves would go by before the instructor told Erik to go.

First you get up on your hands and knees.

Then you get up on your hands and feet.

He's surfing!

Erik trying to keep his balance and wave at the kids.

The hardest part is paddling back out to catch another wave.

There was a really big Banzai Tree by the beach. I love these trees!

There are several shrimp places along the North Shore, and we didn't get to try them on our last trip. For dinner, Erik decided to get shrimp from several places so we could try them all and see which place we liked the best. He and Marsha picked up garlic shrimp from Fumi's, Giovanni's, and Ted's Bakery. After we all tried the shrimp and picked our favorite, Erik revealed which shrimp was which. The winner was Ted's Bakery for the best flavor and the cheese on top. Second place went to Fumi's for the biggest, freshest shrimp. Giovanni's was last for smaller shrimp that didn't taste as fresh.

Left to right: Giovanni's (3rd place), Fumi's (2nd place), Ted's Bakery (1st place).