The Big Trip: Part 4--Hawaiian cousins

From Idaho, we flew to Hawaii to stay with my sister Kamie and her family for 6 days. This is their front yard! And this is about 50 feet away! (This was taken our first morning there. The kids got up at 5:00AM so we went out for an early morning walk to the beach.) It was so fun to see their family. Our first big stop was Sea Life Park. All the kids loved the animal shows.

The huge sea turtles were a hit too

We all loved meeting new little cousin Avery

Can you blame us??

She is such a beautiful baby!We met on the North Shore for some delicious Ahi burgers.

We had a really fun pool day at the Hale Koa

and fun at the beach too

Our favorite game was jumping over the waves as they broke on the shore

The night before we left, Aaron and the kids played "Bean Boozled". You never know what you might get i.e. black licorice or skunk spray!

I think Aaron got the nasty kinds every time.

Kamie is the most amazing mother, aunt and...

sister!

Thanks Berkeys!!! We miss you already. Now it's your turn to visit!

Stay tuned for Part 5!

The Big Trip: Part 3--Fun in Idaho

Cousins in the bathtub

Lots of fun on the trampoline

Fathers and Sons camp out. I can't believe they really took all the boys. They didn't stay the night, just went for the terrible food and swimming. Meanwhile, we had a nice little girls night and went to see "Letters to Juliet". Thanks for the night off boys!

Look at my beautiful sister!!

We got to spend some time at my parents new house! It should be done in the next couple of months and I can't wait to see the finished product. The best part is the grandkid cubbie under the stairs. What awesome grandparents!This was taken at their rental

My Grandma and Grandpa Petty--Dillon loves his face in this picture!

Aaron's Grandma and Grandpa Luke---we tried to get a couple 4 generation pictures.

We were able to see all 4 sets of grandparents and lots of other family on our trip. It was just awesome. We always love spending time in Idaho and miss it already.

The Big Trip: Part 2--Welcome home Luke

We arrived in Twin Falls (Idaho) just a few hours before Aaron's brother Luke returned from his mission to Washington D.C. Despite the 11:00PM arrival, we decided to take all the grandbabies with us. They were pretty good considering the hour. Here they are in their matching shirts waiting for Uncle Lukie.

He's home!

Brothers

I think he was a little overwhelmed with all the nephews!

The Fam

The extended Fam

Chandler boys

Luke was an awesome missionary and we're so happy to have him home. Thanks for being such an awesome example for our boys. Love you Lukie!

The Big Trip: Part 1--Utah

We left on the 11th and flew in to Salt Lake where we stayed with my sister and got to meet our new little nephew--Bradley. He is adorable and Heather is such a great little mommy.

Wesley loved giving kisses to Baby Bradley... ...and holding him too (please excuse my bed-head!)

Sweet little boy

The next morning we buzzed down to Orem to see my grandparents for an hour or so. They are just the greatest. There is something so relaxing about their home. I could stay there all day.

I love this picture!

I'm so mad this one isn't in focus!

Wesley is just really fun to squeeze

Me and my grandparents! Don't they look great!

As we left town, we drove by and showed Dillon the hospital where he was born. A nice little walk down memory lane for me!!

We drove back to Salt Lake, met up with Lindsay and took her little boy Chandler with us and headed to Idaho.

Stay tuned...

This is the birthday that never ends...

My sweet Dillon turned 5! Because his birthday fell in the middle of our big trip, he ended up with not one, but THREE birthday parties. Before we left town, we had a small get together at his favorite restaurant--All Aboard Diner. He didn't know where we were driving...

but when he figured it out, he was pretty excited! He had the funniest expression on his face as the train brought out his cupcake

Dillon was excited to have friends and cousins there to celebrate with us.

Presents!

Party #2 was in Idaho with his grandparents and extended family.

Lots of voices there to sing "Happy Birthday..."

Grandparents and the birthday boy

Dillon's actual birthday was the day we flew from Idaho to Hawaii. A long day of travel! So long, at one point he asked, "Is it still my birthday? This is the longest day ever!"

So Party #3 was hosted by my awesome sister in Hawaii. She went all out and got all kinds of fun Thomas decorations, etc. A fun Welcome to the island for all of us.

Fun to be with cousins we haven't seen for almost 2 years

I can't believe he's FIVE! He is such a great kid and the best traveller in the world. He always has been. He is super sweet and really aware of his mommy's feelings most of the time. He's an awesome cuddler and a great big brother. I love you Dillon. Happy Birthday--again!

Mother's Day

My awesome hubby gave me the greatest gift by watching the boys while I went to a Relief Society (church) activity yesterday morning. While he had them, they did a little shopping. To present my little gifts today, the boys put on a little modeling show. They both came into the room singing "Happy Mother's Day to you..." Super cute!

I have such awesome boys and really am grateful to be a mom.