Pumpkin Patch 2008

Rock the vote

Today is a half-day of school for Gavin and it is also a BEAUTIFUL day. I sent Gavin and Abe out to the backyard. They are usually pretty rowdy out there, so when it got quiet a few minutes ago I stuck my head out to ask what they were doing. Gavin yells back "We're just playing November elections. Abe got a hanging chad because he voted for Barack Obama." He has been really into reading about the history of politics on Wikipedia lately. Strange, I know, but that is what he is into. I guess he has also been reading up on the current political climate..... and hanging chads. Abe is so good-natured and loves his big brother so much that he is running around singing "Obama for president, vote for McCain." I hope someday Gavin realizes how lucky he is to have his little brother.... not too many 4 yr olds would be up for playing Election Day.

Fambly photos

Gavin gets so upset when I spell words wrong on the blog. One day at school he was supposed to write a story about something that really frustrates him, and that is what he wrote about. Funny, huh? I laughed myself sick when he brought it home. So now, of course, I am compelled to do it in all my postings. Anywho, here are some fambly photos we took a couple of weeks ago... I think they are purty cute.

Lorraine, don't read this!

So, I've been bragging about my pet spider for a while now. Well, he's not exactly my pet, he lives on my tomato plant in the backyard, but I love him like a pet (since Skippy died I'm a little desperate for animal companionship). Also, I'm pretty sure its female so I guess I should say she lives in my backyard. She's been out there since July, in the same spot, basking in the sun all day. She may look pretty, but she's feisty....and HUGE. If I mess with her she starts violently shaking her web with her foot trying to scare me away. It is pretty darn cool to see....at least for a biology nerd like me. I think her picture might impress you too......

Sick Day

Last night at around 2am I heard heaving....my least favorite sound to wake up to. I ran out to see who it was and it was Gavin, calmly lying in bed throwing up everywhere. He is such a good-natured sickie that usually we don't know when he is sick at night because he just throws up and then goes right back to sleep. Luckily (or not, I haven't decided) I woke up just as he was throwing up so I could go in to help him. We got him cleaned up and back to bed quickly, but within a few minutes I heard him going for it again. I ran in to help him aim for a bucket and rub his back to comfort him. As he is heaving into the bucket he notices that his eyes are tearing up and says "Mom, why are my eyes crying when I am so happy?". I couldn't imagine what he was so happy about, but I didn't argue. His brother spends entire nights screaming from a stuffy nose, so it is really fun to have one so determined to look on the bright side. I need to learn from his example too, because after only getting 3 hours of sleep I'm having a hard time being good-natured about life. I sure do love my kids though!

Rainy daze

Today is a rainy, yucky day. Today is also Gavin's school picture day. He loves picture day and was excited to pick out some nice clothes and get his hair fixed up. When we were loading into the car to leave for school he says "Mom, why does it have to rain on picture day?". I said "It rains when the clouds get full." Abe chimes in and says "The clouds are heaven, right?" and I said "Maybe". Gavin thought about that one for a few minutes and then says "Mom, I think the rain is Skippy peeing on us from heaven." 

Skippy will be remembered for a lot of things. Unfortunately, I think the thing he will be remembered for the most is his record breaking incontinence. We sure do miss him though!

Rest In Peace Skippy

Goodbye good boy

Aug. 19, 2008

Back to School!

Yeah!! I am so excited for the first day of school! Gavin starts first grade this year. We went over to the school today to meet his new teacher and tour the classroom. His new teacher is really nice, but has lots of rules (perfect for Gavin). First grade also comes with several new perks....2 recesses a day, 2 library books a week (last year it was only one), and lunch in the cafeteria. This will be Gavin's first year with a full day (unassisted) in the mainstream classroom. Gavin is so excited and Mom is double excited to have a little break during the day! 16 hours and counting!

Snorkel fun!

So we got our photos developed from our underwater camera....they turned out ok. They definitely don't do the reefs justice, but they are kinda fun anyway. I especially love the ones of Mom. She was a little nervous to snorkel again after her scary experience in Guatemala, but she was a trooper. I was really proud!

Matt

Mom 

Karen and Momma

Karen

Mom

HAWAII!

So, this will be a long, self indulgent post, but I use this blog as a sort of journal and I don't want to forget one minute of our time in Hawaii.

We arrived in Honolulu on a late night flight and were a little out of it at first....

It was a long strange journey that first night in Waikiki. We didn't even have time to process any of it before we collapsed on the beds, but we were amazed when we woke up to this view from our hotel room balcony....

then we walked 2 blocks down and found this.....

Waikiki had us at Hello!

We spent our first full day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. It is such an amazing place. More beautiful than anything I have ever seen. The people there were so friendly and FUNNY! The night show was crazy good. I highly recommend it to everyone.






The next day (Sunday) was our day of rest....on the beach of course.

Monday we spent the day at Pearl Harbor....





Tuesday it was off to Lahaina, Maui. Here is our hotel...

Matt in downtown Lahaina...

Waiting in line for the Royal Lahaina Luau...

Wednesday we spent the day at Ka'anapali beach working on our sunburns. 

Thursday was by far my favorite day because that was the day we snorkeled at Molokini Crater.

Crystal clear, deep blue waters full of tropical fish, sea urchins, eels and reef sharks so close you could touch them (if it wasn't against federal laws). We took a bunch of photos with an underwater camera, but they are still being developed (old school) so we'll post those later. This trip was my first time in the ocean and I fell in love with it. There will definitely be lots of snorkeling and scuba diving in our future.

Friday we spent the day hiking and driving through Iao Valley State Park.

Friday night our amazing journey ended and my borderline obsessive need to go back began.

It was a life changing experience for me and a renewal of my passion for nature and all of God's creations.

Thanks, Mom and Dad Worlton for a priceless gift!

I am already checking flights and room rates for a return trip.

ALOHA!

Aloha family! We had the time of our lives in Hawaii. I can't wait to share all the pictures and details of our trip. Here is a little teaser......

We saw lots of this...

and this...

we relaxed here...

hiked here.....

and snorkeled here....

and we are already dying to go back!